Abstract:
Teaching practice is a significant aspect of teacher preparation that equips the teacher
trainees with pedagogies that enhance students’ learning. This study assessed the
effectiveness of teaching practice strategies during the pre - service period of teacher
preparation in the Bachelor of Education degree program in a public university in Kenya.
The objectives of the study were to establish the extent to which teacher trainees
effectively presented their lessons and used teaching learning resources in class
interaction. The Pedagogic Content Knowledge (PCPK) model by Shulman (1986) guided
the study. A case study approach was employed with a study population of 500 Bachelor
of Education teacher trainees who were going through the teaching practice stint in the
third year of their course. The study assessed the teacher trainees’ lesson presentation
from introduction to conclusion including use of teaching learning resources during the
lesson presentation. Secondary data was used by analysing the Teaching Practice
Observation Schedule entries and scores by 36 teaching practice assessors of the 500
teacher trainees. It was found that the trainees’ performance in lesson presentation was
rated ‘fair’ for the majority of the teacher trainees in a rating scale of Very good, Good,
Fair and Poor. In learner engagement and participation, the majority of the teacher trainees
performance was rated ‘fair’ as follows: lesson introduction 300(60%) fair; lesson
development 290(58%) fair; conclusion 280(56%) Fair. A majority (256(51%) of the
teacher trainees were also rated ‘fair’ in the use of teacher made and acquired teaching
learning resources. A longitudinal study should be conducted to follow up the teacher
trainees in the future teaching schools to find out the trend of their performance. The study
indicates that the use of resources in the classroom and lesson presentation strategies
require special emphasis in teacher education
