Assessment of Teacher Trainees’ Performance in Lesson Presentation: A case of a Kenyan Public University

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