mentoring practices of the cooperating … volume tijoss/marc.pdf · teaching strategies ... the...
TRANSCRIPT
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES 15th January 2017. Vol.47. No.1
© 2012-2017 TIJOSS & ARF. All rights reserved
ISSN 2305-4557 www.Tijoss.com
1
MENTORING PRACTICES OF THE COOPERATING TEACHERS AT THE
RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY LABORATORY HIGH SCHOOL
1Marc D. Garvida,
2Rizaldy E. Garcia,
3Edna P. Cabrera
1Department Head, Mathematics, College of Education, Rizal Technological University
2Principal, Laboratory High School, Rizal Technological University
3Student Teachers’ Supervisor and Head, Physical Science Department, College of Education- Laboratory
High School
Abstract
This study was conducted as preliminary venture of continuously improving the
quality of education received by the students of the college of education specifically on
their mentoring practice of their cooperating teachers during their on-the-job-training in
the RTU-Laboratory High School. This study made use of the descriptive research
methodology and employed a validated survey-questionnaire adopted from the Rizal
Technological University Teaching Standards. Data gathering was held during the
school year 2015-2016, 1st semester. The RTU Teaching Standards model is composed of
four dimensions such as subject content, classroom management, pedagogy and feedback
mechanism in teaching, which the respondents have to indicate the frequency of practice
and extent of practice of their cooperating teachers’ effective mentoring practices using a
five point scale.
One-hundred ninety-two pre-service teachers and thirty cooperating teachers
participated in this study. Findings revealed that based on the perceptions of the pre-
service teachers, their cooperating teachers frequently give them a small extent of
effective mentoring practices contrary to what the cooperating teachers themselves
perceived wherein they frequently give their best, in a large extent. This difference in
their perception was statistically confirmed to be significant. Problems encountered and
suggestions among the respondents were also taken to determine the specific innovations
that can be best recommend to improve the quality of the mentoring program for the
education students of the RTU-Laboratory High School.
Keywords: mentoring, practices, pedagogy, extent, frequency
Introduction
Teachers are made not born. The
making of a teacher is one of the primary duties
of any educational institution like the College of
Education-Laboratory High School of Rizal
Technological University. The Laboratory High
School as the name itself is a laboratory school
for the practice teachers in the College of
Education. It is the student-teachers’ training
laboratory prior to their deployment outside the
University.
The laboratory school of any Teacher
Education Institution or TEI stands as the most
visible structure in support of its Practicum or
the Student Teaching Program. It primarily
exists to expose the education students through
their field study subjects and provide the basic
teaching experiences to its pre-service education
students when they reach the fourth year level in
a teacher education program.
Student teaching is a phase where
senior students are induced to actual teaching
duties. At this point, theory gained in campus-
based classroom instruction is translated into
practice, as they develop the desired teaching
competencies and values in their field of
specialization. As Ole Sand said, theory without
the check of practice is empty and practice
without theory to guide is blind. Student
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES 15th January 2017. Vol.47. No.1
© 2012-2017 TIJOSS & ARF. All rights reserved
ISSN 2305-4557 www.Tijoss.com
2
teaching serves as a transition from pre-service
to in-service experiences.
Meaningful student teaching program
lies primarily on the hand of a cooperating
teacher. Cooperating teachers or CT’s provide
support for the development of effective teaching
behaviors. They model effective teaching
behavior while allowing the pre-service teachers
or PT’s to develop their own teaching styles.
They also encourage developing a sense of
professionalism and taking accountability of the
learning activities in the duration of the student
teaching program.
The CT’s discuss with the PT’s
appropriate methodology, classroom
management, feedback mechanisms in teaching
as well as the subject matter which comprises the
whole mentoring program. The implementation
on the mentoring practices as it is used in this
study is defined as the quality of the cooperating
teachers’ performance as determined by their
extent of practice and frequency of practice in
effectively implementing the appropriate
methodology or pedagogy, classroom
management, feedback mechanisms in teaching
and expertise in the subject matter otherwise
known as subject content.
It is therefore imperative that the
cooperating teachers, who are the regular faculty
members in the Laboratory High School, are
assumed to be the ideal example of what and
how a teacher should be. That is, these teachers
should demonstrate empirical and pedagogical
quality as indicated and determined by the way
they mentor pre-service teachers in charge of
them.
Theoretical Framework
This study was anchored from
Bandura’s Social Learning Theory which posits
that learning is a cognitive process that takes
place in a social context which is the Laboratory
High School and that learning occurs purely
through observation and direct instruction, the
mentoring of the cooperating teachers to the
practice teachers who are called models. In
society, learners are surrounded by many
influential models such as parents within the
family, friends within their peer group and
teachers at school. These models provide
examples of behavior to observe and imitate.
Learners pay attention to some of this people
(models) and encode their behavior. At a late
time, they may imitate the behavior they have
observed. They may do this regardless of
whether the behavior is appropriate or not.
According to Bandura in McLeod
(2016), there are a number of processes that
make it more likely that a learner will reproduce
the behavior that is society deems appropriate.
Thus, learners do not automatically observe the
behavior of a model and imitate it. There is some
thought prior to imitation and this consideration
is called meditational processes. This occurs
between the observing the behavior who are the
cooperating teachers (stimulus) and imitating it
or not by the practice teachers (response).
Conceptual Framework
The first phase of any evaluation model
process is the self-assessment (Boston Public
School, 2008), this is the very reason to identify
the from the CT’s themselves about their own
mentoring practices and the same data has also
being gathered from the PT’s in order to liken.
The areas under the mentoring practices are
focused on content, classroom management,
pedagogy and feedback mechanism. Content
refers to the CT’s knowledge of the subject
matter. Philosophical arguments as well as
common sense support the conviction that
teachers’ own subject matter knowledge
influences their efforts to help students learn
subject matter. When teachers possess inaccurate
information or conceive of knowledge in narrow
ways, they may pass on these ideas to their
students.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES 15th January 2017. Vol.47. No.1
© 2012-2017 TIJOSS & ARF. All rights reserved
ISSN 2305-4557 www.Tijoss.com
3
INP
UT The environment (
CT's and PT's mentoring experiences):
• Content
• Classroom Mangement
• Pedagogy
• Feedback Mechanism
PR
OC
ESS Identifying the
extent of practice and frequency of practice among CT's mentoring practices
Informal interview to both the CTs and PTs
OU
TPU
T Desired Learning Behavior among PTs and Mentoring Practices among CTs
Figure 1 shows the conceptual framework of the study.
Figure1
Conceptual Framework
Classroom management is a term used
by teachers to describe the process of ensuring
that classroom lessons run smoothly despite
disruptive behavior by students. Pedagogy refers
to teachers’ knowledge of the art and science of
teaching. Effective teachers use an array of
teaching strategies because there is no single,
universal approach that suits all situations.
Different strategies used in different
combinations with different groupings of
students will improve learning outcomes.
Feedback mechanism is often described as the
most powerful influences on achievement
(Hattie, 2008), which refers to all kinds to all
comments made after the fact, including advise,
praise and evaluation.
The process includes identifying the
extent of practice and frequency of practice on
the mentoring practices of the cooperating
teachers. Informal interview was conducted to
assert the responses among the respondents of
the study. Data or information gathered from this
study would be a subject of a more extensive
research on the improvement of the mentoring
program of the laboratory high school as well as
in attaining quality practice teaching experiences
for the education students of the Laboratory High
School.
Statement of the Problem
The purpose of this study was to
determine how student teachers perceived that
they are being mentored by their cooperating
teachers to assist them in meeting the Rizal
Technological University Teaching Standards,
specifically standards related to the teaching
competencies. The data obtained in this study
will be helpful to improve further training
experiences to the pre-service teachers and of the
mentoring program of the College of Education-
Laboratory High School.
To achieve the purpose described
above, the following research questions were
addressed:
1. How do the cooperating teachers implement
the following characteristics of effective
mentoring as assessed by the practice
teachers?
1.1 Subject Content?
1.2 Classroom management?
1.3 Pedagogy?
1.4 Feedback Mechanism?
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES 15th January 2017. Vol.47. No.1
© 2012-2017 TIJOSS & ARF. All rights reserved
ISSN 2305-4557 www.Tijoss.com
4
2. To what extent and how often do the
cooperating teachers meet the University
standards in the said competency dimensions as
perceived by the practice teachers themselves?
3. What is the difference in the perceptions of the
student teachers and cooperating teachers on
meeting the University Standards by teaching
competency dimensions?
3.1 Extent of Practice
3.2 Frequency of practice
4. What are the cooperating teachers and pre-
service teachers’ suggestions/recommendations
to improve the mentoring system of the LHS?
Materials and Methods
This study made use of the descriptive
method of research. This method is the most
appropriate one to describe the existing condition
or status of the current mentoring practices of the
College of Education-Laboratory High School
teachers as perceived by the pre-service teachers.
The survey instrument was adapted from a model
for teacher effectiveness by Dabas (2013) which
has been modified in order to be suitable in the
Philippine setting. The extent of practice and
frequency of practice has been indicated using
the following arbitrary scale.
Arbitrary Scale Extent of Practice Frequency of Practice
4.20-5.00 to an extremely large extent always
3.40-4.19 to a large extent frequent
2.60-3.39 to a moderate extent occasional
1.80-2.59 to a small extent seldom
1.00-1.79 to an extremely small extent never
A test on reliability has been made as
part of the validation process. A reliability
coefficient average of 89 percent has been
obtained which means that the instrument has a
high reliability in general. The validated
instrument has been administered to both
cooperating teachers and student teachers.
The respondents of the study are the
whole population of pre-service teachers of the
college of education. The pre-service teachers
are the regular fourth year students who are
enrolled in the professional education 13 which
is the in-campus teaching. Other respondents
were the cooperating teachers who are the
regular faculty members of the laboratory high
school, who were assigned as the mentor of the
pre-service teachers. The pre-service teachers
have a total of 192 distributed among the six
different specializations such as computer
education, English, Filipino, mathematics, social
studies and physical science.
Data were gathered during the end of
the first semester of the school year 2015-2016.
The data gathered were tallied and subjected into
a data analysis such as the weighted mean, t-tests
and relative frequency.
Results and Discussion
Table1 displays the cooperating
teachers’ mentoring practices as determined by
their extent of practice and frequency of practice
in terms of the subject content.
Exhibited in table 1 are the assessment
of the pre-service teachers on the mentoring
practices of their cooperating teachers in terms of
the content or knowledge of the subject matter.
Data shows that although cooperating teachers
always show subject matter expertise to a
moderate extent, they occasionally or frequently,
cope with the subject content demands of the
new curriculum, outline the subjects’ curricular
documents, discusses the aims of teaching, assist
the PT’s on the different resources in teaching
the subject matter and use proper language from
the syllabus to only a small extent.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES 15th January 2017. Vol.47. No.1
© 2012-2017 TIJOSS & ARF. All rights reserved
ISSN 2305-4557 www.Tijoss.com
5
Table 1
Extent of Practice and Frequency of Practice by Subject Content of the Cooperating Teachers as
assessed by the practice teachers
CONTENT
Extent of Practice Frequency of Practice
WM VI WM VI
1. show subject content expertise 3.36 To a moderate
extent
4.2 Always
2. cope with the subject content demands of new
curricula
1.93 To a small extent 3.45 Frequent
3. Outline the subject's curr. documents 2.22 To a small extent 2.75 Occasional
4. discuss the aims of teaching 2.11 To a small extent 4.00 Frequent
5. model the teaching of difficult topics 2.13 To a small extent 4.27 Always
6. assist you with different resources in teaching the
subject matter
2.09 To a small extent 2.80 Occasional
7. use proper language from the syllabus 2.34 To a small extent 4.10 Frequent
Over-all 2.31 To a small extent 3.65 Frequent
This means that cooperating teachers
per se demonstrated expertise in the subject but
frequently, the practice on the art of reflection,
interpretation and criticism in the discipline
which is also part of the knowledge of the
subject matter is being practice only in a small
extent. This further implies that the levels of
learning are only reach on the lower taxonomy.
What teachers need to know about the
subject matter they teach extends beyond the
specific topics of their curriculum. Shuman in
Ball and McDiarmid (2016) argues that “
teachers must not only be capable of defining
students the accepted truths about its domain,
they must also be able to explain why a
particular proposition is deemed warranted, why
it is worth knowing and how it relates to other
propositions” (p.9). This kind of understanding
encompasses understanding the intellectual
fabric and essence of the subject matter itself. i.e.
while English teachers need to know about a
particular authors and their works, about literary
genres and styles, they also need to know about
the interpretation and criticism (Grossman, in
press).
In implies therefore that based on PTs
perspective, CTs need to further demonstrate
mastery by allowing the PTs understand the what
is essential in the teaching of a subject matter,
and not only focusing on the skills and end there.
Table 2 reveals that, in terms of
classroom management, the cooperating teachers
always give to a small extent, clear expectation
and guide the pre-service teachers in the
preparation in teaching the subject. To a small
extent, cooperating teachers occasionally model
specific lessons, assist in the teaching strategies
and in giving assignments, frequently assist in
the time-tabling and in classroom management.
This implies that, on the part of the pre-service
teachers, the cooperating teachers in general do
not always provide, in a large extent, the
necessary classroom management practices the
pre-service teachers need to be mastered or
learned.
Table 2
Extent of Practice and Frequency of Practice by Classroom Management of the Cooperating
Teachers as perceived by the pre-service teachers
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
Extent of Practice Frequency of Practice
WM VI WM VI
1. model specific lessons in the classroom
1.98
To a small
extent
4.00 Occasional
2. give clear expectations on teaching
2.00
To a small
extent
4.56 Always
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES 15th January 2017. Vol.47. No.1
© 2012-2017 TIJOSS & ARF. All rights reserved
ISSN 2305-4557 www.Tijoss.com
6
3. assist you with teaching strategies in the
subject matter 2.05
To a small
extent
2.79 Occasional
4. assist you with time-tabling in teaching the
subject matter 2.17
To a small
extent
3.98 Frequent
5. guide you in preparation in teaching the
subject 2.19
To a small
extent
4.3 Always
6. assist you with classroom management
strategies in teaching the subject 2.14
To a small
extent
3.94 Frequent
7. assist you in giving assignments
2.39
To a small
extent
3.3 Occasional
Over-all
2.13
To a small
extent
3.84 Frequent
According to Marzano (2003), of all
other variables or dimensions of teacher quality,
classroom management has the largest effect on
the student achievement. This makes intuitive
sense-students cannot learn in a chaotic, poorly
managed classroom. Researches have shown that
teachers who had high-quality relationships with
their students have fewer discipline problems
and rule violations than those who did not.
Therefore, it must be noted that the
cooperating teachers should always have a more
extensive training for PT’s on the effective
classroom management and this can be made by
three specific teacher behaviors (Marzano and
Marzano, 2003) namely: by learning to acquire
skills and attitudes such as exhibiting appropriate
levels of dominance as determined by
establishing a clear behavior expectation and
learning goals for the students to achieve and
exhibiting assertive behavior; exhibiting
appropriate levels of cooperation as determined
by providing flexible learning goals, taking
personal interest to students and using equitable
and positive classroom behaviors; and being
aware of high-needs students.
Table 3
Extent of Practice and Frequency of Practice in terms of Pedagogy of the Cooperating Teachers as
perceived by the pre-service teachers
PEDAGOGY Extent of
Practice
Frequency of Practice
WM VI WM VI
1.assist you to reflect on
your teaching practices 2.16 To a small extent
3.86 Frequent
2. increase your confidence
to teach the subject matter 2.10 To a small extent
3.73 Frequent
3. inspire you to teach the
subject matter 2.12 To a small extent
3.47 Frequent
4. show enthusiasm for
teaching 2.21 To a small extent
4.01 Frequent
5. discuss policies &
procedures for teaching 2.16 To a small extent
4.59 Always
6. discuss the specific details
of the subject you are
teaching 2.11 To a small extent
3.23 Occasional
7. show examples of
programming the subject
matter 2.26 To a small extent
3.69 Frequent
8. discuss assessing and 2.19 To a small extent 4.75 Always
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES 15th January 2017. Vol.47. No.1
© 2012-2017 TIJOSS & ARF. All rights reserved
ISSN 2305-4557 www.Tijoss.com
7
evaluation of the subject
matter
9. have difficulty in
obtaining equipment for the
subject matter 2.40 To a small extent
3.30 Occasional
10. develop problem-solving
strategies in you 2.30 To a small extent
3.12 Occasional
11. provide assistance to
solve or reduce problems in
your teaching 2.18 To a small extent
3.45 Frequent
Over-all 2.20 To a small extent 3.75 Frequent
Table 3 displays the assessment of PTs with
respect to their CTs’ mentoring in terms of the
effective pedagogical experiences. Data shows
that, in general, the CTs frequently mentor the
PTs, on a small extent, in terms of effective
pedagogical practices such as reflection,
inspiration and boosting confidence in teaching,
in providing examples and assistance to solve
and reduce problems, the pre-service teachers
frequently feel that it is only in a small extent,
thereby may delay lessons even if the PT
demonstrate an expertise on the subject. This
may also result to various discipline problems
which may subject the PT in such situation
wherein he/she may not yet ready to manage.
Pedagogy comes with mastery of the
content and classroom management because
appropriate pedagogy recognizes learners’
learning styles which may or may not affect the
learning process. i.e. two teachers may be both
expert on the subject matter however, in terms of
effective pedagogy, the first teacher may be
more effective with the imparting of certain
knowledge rather than the other, and for this
reason a pedagogy is a factor since the first
teacher is aware of how best a certain knowledge
is to be imparted.
Table 4
Extent of Practice and Frequency of Practice in terms of Feedback Mechanism in Teaching of the
Cooperating Teachers as perceived by the pre-service teachers
FEEDBACK MECHANISM IN
TEACHING
Extent of Practice Frequency of Practice
WM VI WM VI
1. observe you in your teaching sessions 1.91 To a small extent 3.83 Frequent
2. provide oral feedback in teaching the
lessons 2.03 To a small extent
3.97 Frequent
3. provide written feedback in teaching the
lessons 1.95 To a small extent
2.43 Seldom
4. discuss the knowledge & skills needed
in teaching the subject matter 2.08 To a small extent
4.00 Frequent
5. discuss questioning skills for effective
teaching 2.15 To a small extent
2.96 Occasional
6. feel comfortable in talking with you
about the subject matter 2.05 To a small extent
4.59 Always
7. address any of your anxieties about your
teaching 2.09 To a small extent
3.20 Occasional
8. instill positive attitudes towards your
teaching 2.03 To a small extent
4.10 Frequent
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES 15th January 2017. Vol.47. No.1
© 2012-2017 TIJOSS & ARF. All rights reserved
ISSN 2305-4557 www.Tijoss.com
8
9. make you feel more confident as a pre-
service teacher 1.92 To a small extent
3.87 Frequent
10. provide opportunities for reflection on
our teaching 2.03 To a small extent
3.47 Frequent
Over-all 2.02 To a small extent 3.64 Frequent
Table 4 tells us that cooperating teachers
frequently give effective feedback mechanisms
but is only in a small extent which is not
enough to train them to do the same in the future.
Feedback is a valuable tool in providing pre-
service teachers with information so they can
improve certain skills and abilities.
Based on the informal interview from
the pre-service teachers, cooperating teachers
have straight class schedules both in the
Laboratory High School and in the College, and
feedback quality is sacrificed since there is no
available pre-service teachers’ lounge or venue
where appropriate post conferences can be
conducted. The volume of the pre-service
teachers is also one of the reason which the
cooperating teacher is budgeting his or her time
to accommodate all other pre-service teachers.
Further, the informal interview revealed
that in the consultation among the PTs and their
program supervisors (head of their respective
department), which were held every evening was
not religiously realized since most of the PTs do
not attend anymore the said consultation (as they
have a morning class and they still have to
prepare for it).
Table 5
Summary of Extent of Practice and Frequency of Practice of the Cooperating Teachers as perceived
by the pre-service teachers
Dimensions of the Mentoring Practices Frequency of
Practice
Extent of Practice
Content 3.65 Frequent 2.31 To a small extent
Classroom Management 3.84 Frequent 2.13 To a small extent
Pedagogy 3.75 Frequent 2.20 To a small extent
Feedback Mechanism in Teaching 3.64 Frequent 2.02 To a small extent
Over-all 3.72 Frequent 2.17 To a small extent
Table 5 summarizes the pre-service assessment
of their cooperating teachers mentoring
performance. In general, frequently, their
cooperating teachers provided them the
necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes in the
areas of content, classroom management,
pedagogy and feedback in a small extent. This
means that mentoring experiences among the
pre-service teachers were insufficient to prepare
them to deal with more challenging classroom
situations.
The data further implies that the off-
campus teaching experiences, although may
supplement this limitations but may be a cause
for the pre-service to feel exhausted,
dissatisfying and the likes. Based on the laws of
learning by Thorndike, since a learner is not yet
fully ready (as in the off-campus), he/she may
feel annoyed and dissatisfied in learning which
may be detrimental to his/her learning
momentum.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES 15th January 2017. Vol.47. No.1
© 2012-2017 TIJOSS & ARF. All rights reserved
ISSN 2305-4557 www.Tijoss.com
9
It is hereby necessary that the
cooperating teachers must effectively improve,
to a larger extent, their mentoring practices in
order to make students feel ready to be deployed
in a more challenging world of teaching and
learning. Part of the said improvement should
also come from the administration who can be
best implementer of change in the current
mentoring practices. This includes adopting a
public school outside the periphery of the
University that could accommodate other pre-
service teachers that cannot be accommodated
from the Laboratory High School and also by
earlier deployment so that longer duration can be
met.
It is very important to consider the input
coming from the PTs such as the absence of the
lounge for PTs which is a proper venue for feed
backing and other meetings.
Table 6 displays the cooperating
teachers’ perspective on their mentoring practice
in terms of the content. Contrary to the
perspective of the pre-service teachers,
cooperating teachers frequently demonstrated, in
general, the expertise on the content in an
extremely large extent. This implies that enough
preparations were made to the assigned pre-
service teachers in terms of expertise in the
subject matter which includes always modeling
the teaching of difficult topics and assisting them
with different resources in teaching , outlining
the subjects’ curricular documents and
discussing the aims of teaching, to an extremely
large extent.
Table 6
Extent of Practice and Frequency of Practice in terms of Content of the Cooperating Teachers as
perceived by the CT’s themselves
SUBJECT CONTENT Extent of Practice Frequency of
Practice
WM VI WM VI
1. show subject content expertise 4.53 To an extremely large
extent
4.21 Always
2. cope with the subject content demands of
new curricula
4.01 To a large extent 3.24 Frequent
3. Outline the subject's curr. documents 3.81 To a large extent 3.54 Frequent
4. discuss the aims of teaching 4.23 To an extremely large
extent
4.67 Always
5. model the teaching of difficult topics 4.79 To an extremely large
extent
4.71 Always
6. assist the PT’s with different resources in
teaching the subject matter
4.35 To an extremely large
extent
4.52 Always
7. use proper language from the syllabus 3.67 To a large extent 3.48 Frequent
TOTAL 4.20 To an extremely large
extent
4.05 Frequent
Based on the informal interview, teachers have
been handling the subject for quite a number of
years and that they have already mastered the
lessons. According to one of the cooperating
teachers, they even have a separate discussion
with the practice teaching about the empirical
details of the lesson so as to ensure that the PTs
who are about to execute a lesson will also have
a mastery of the subject matter. They are doing
this frequently, according to them, because some
other PTs have no mastery of the subject.
It can be gleaned from table 7 that the
cooperating teachers believe that they always
provide, in a large extent the necessary
preparations for the pre-service teachers in terms
of classroom management. This includes
modeling specific lessons, giving clear
expectations and guides, as well as assisting in
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES 15th January 2017. Vol.47. No.1
© 2012-2017 TIJOSS & ARF. All rights reserved
ISSN 2305-4557 www.Tijoss.com
10
preparation in teaching, time –tabling and in
giving assignments.
This finding is also in contrast with the
perception of their respective pre-service
teachers who believe that the mentoring in terms
of classroom management was frequently made
but in a small extent.
Table 7
Extent of Practice and Frequency of Practice in terms of Content of the Cooperating Teachers as
perceived by the CT’s themselves
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT Extent of Practice Frequency of
Practice
WM VI WM VI
1. model specific lessons in the classroom 3.59 To a large extent 4.73 Always
2. give clear expectations on teaching 4.11 To a large extent 4.87 Always
3. assist them with teaching strategies in the
subject matter
3.65 To a large extent 3.87 Frequent
4. assist them with time-tabling in teaching the
subject matter
4.29 To an extremely large
extent
3.87 Frequent
5. guide them in preparation in teaching the
subject
4.90 To an extremely large
extent
5.00 Always
6. assist them with classroom management
strategies in teaching the subject
5.00 To an extremely large
extent
5.00 Always
7. assist them in giving assignments 3.46 To a large extent 3.81 Frequent
TOTAL 4.14 To a large extent 4.45 Always
These differing perceptions between CTs and
PTs on classroom management practices can be
attributed from the high ratio of CT to PT. Due
to the volume of PTs handled by each CT; CTs
exhausted all their consultation time to jus to
mentor all of their respective PTs, on the other
hand, each PT may not be given a generous time
since there are other PTs needed to be mentored
as well.
It can be recommended that the
cooperating teachers, having this very
challenging duty apart from their instructional
duties, should be given a deloaded regular
teaching loads, say 12 or lesser from the original
18, so that they will have more time to
effectively discussed with their PTs the
intricacies of not only in terms of teaching but
also in terms of other teaching aspects such as
the classroom management.
Table 8
Extent of Practice and Frequency of Practice in terms of Pedagogy of the Cooperating Teachers as
perceived by the CT’s themselves
PEDAGOGY Extent of Practice Frequency of Practice
WM VI WM VI
1.assist PT’s to reflect on their teaching
practices
4.56 To an extremely
large extent
4.22 Always
2. increase their confidence to teach the
subject matter
4.80 To an extremely
large extent
4.27 Always
3. inspire them to teach the subject
matter
3.57 To a large extent 3.37 Frequent
4. show enthusiasm for teaching 3.49 To a large extent 3.77 Frequent
5. discuss policies & procedures for
teaching
3.91 To a large extent 3.62 Frequent
6. discuss the specific details of the 5.00 To an extremely 4.21 Always
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES 15th January 2017. Vol.47. No.1
© 2012-2017 TIJOSS & ARF. All rights reserved
ISSN 2305-4557 www.Tijoss.com
11
subject they are teaching large extent
7. show examples of programming the
subject matter
4.10 To a large extent 3.61 Frequent
8. discuss assessing and evaluation of
the subject matter
3.89 To a large extent 3.55 Frequent
9. have difficulty in obtaining
equipment for the subject matter
3.23 To a moderate
extent
3.33 Occasional
10. develop problem-solving strategies
in them
2.74 To a moderate
extent
3.13 Occasional
11. provide assistance to solve or
reduce problems in their teaching
3.43 To a large extent 3.60 Frequent
Over-all 3.88 To a large extent 3.70 Frequent
Table 8 informs us that, in terms of pedagogy,
the cooperating teachers have frequently
mentored their respective pre-service teachers in
a large extent contrary to the pre-service
teachers’ perspective.
This is in consonance with the study of
Tice (2004) about a teacher diary, majority of the
teachers think about their pedagogy in teaching
that went well but the students didn’t seem to
understand the lesson.
This difference among perceptions must
meet and understand the gap. Factors can be
attributed from this difference in perspective.
Clearly, age is one factor. It is but a clear
difference by what the CTs (whose average age
ranging from 40-50 years old) think of what
effective pedagogy is best compared to what the
PTs (whose average age is ranging from 18-20).
Another factor is that the PTs nowadays are baby
boomers who are wedded to a stand-and-deliver
teaching process as Carroll (2008) said, “We
have a new group of young Generation Y
teachers or so called millennial. They are in their
20’s and while they often share the values of the
[baby] boomers’ they tend to be very idealistic
and very oriented to teamwork, collaboration,
constant communication, multi-tasking and
technology. These young teachers find
themselves in classrooms and schools that don’t
match their expectations. Couple that with
boomer’ teachers who are being push into
perhaps uncomfortable technology environments
and you have some dissatisfaction at both ends
of the spectrum”.
Table 9
Extent of Practice and Frequency of Practice in terms of Feedback Mechanism in Teaching of the
Cooperating Teachers as perceived by the CT’s themselves
FEEDBACK MECHANISM IN
TEACHING
Extent of Practice Frequency of Practice
WM VI WM VI
1. observe them in their teaching
sessions
3.80 To a large extent 3.79 Frequent
2. provide oral feedback in teaching
the lessons
4.67 To an extremely large
extent
4.00 frequent
3. provide written feedback in
teaching the lessons
4.92 To an extremely large
extent
4.08 Frequent
4. discuss the knowledge & skills
needed in teaching the subject matter
4.59 To an extremely large
extent
4.16 frequent
5. discuss questioning skills for
effective teaching
4.00 To a large extent 3.99 Frequent
6. feel comfortable in talking with
them about the subject matter
3.85 To a large extent 3.90 frequent
7. address any of their anxieties about 3.49 To a large extent 3.83 Frequent
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES 15th January 2017. Vol.47. No.1
© 2012-2017 TIJOSS & ARF. All rights reserved
ISSN 2305-4557 www.Tijoss.com
12
their teaching
8. instill positive attitudes towards
their teaching
3.97 To a large extent 3.51 frequent
9. make them feel more confident as
a pre-service teacher
5.00 To an extremely large
extent
3.98 Frequent
10. provide opportunities for
reflection on our teaching
4.79 To an extremely large
extent
3.94 frequent
Over-all 4.31 To an extremely large
extent
3.92 frequent
Table 9 displays the CT’s mentoring practice in
terms of the feedback mechanisms in teaching.
Contrary to the perceptions of the PTs, CTs
frequently mentor them with in an extremely
large extent. Just like the other dimensions e.g.
content, pedagogy and classroom management,
the feedback mechanisms in teaching can be
attributed from the gap discussed in table 9.
Communication gap explains the gap
between the CTs and PTs in terms of feedback
mechanism in teaching. According to Davis
(2013), millennial are the most sought-after –and
most misunderstood. With this, the same might
apply between the CTs and PTs during the
feedback process. In David’s recommendation,
she said that effective communication must be
observed using the following five tips: recognize
their intelligence and efforts made in the
classroom; include a bit of playfulness or jokes
in their content; create flexible content; give
them the opportunity to engage in various
contexts; and establish and uphold the value of
their product.
In the context of this study, the CTs
must acknowledge the PTs efforts and
contributions in teaching, do not be very serious
in the mentoring process instead, use some jokes,
implement flexibility by allowing them also to
make implement their own styles and desired
teaching strategies, give them opportunity to
correct their own mistakes and acknowledge that
it is a part of growing up.
Table 10
Summary of Extent of Practice and Frequency of Practice of the Cooperating Teachers as perceived
by the CT’s themselves
Dimensions of the Mentoring
Practices
Frequency of
Practice
Extent of Practice
Subject Content 4.05 frequent 4.20 To an extremely large extent
Classroom Management 4.45 always 4.14 To a large extent
Pedagogy 3.70 frequent 3.88 To a large extent
Feedback Mechanism in Teaching 3.92 frequent 4.31 To an extremely large extent
Over-all 4.03 frequent 4.13 To a large extent
Table 10 summarizes the cooperating
teachers’ assessment of their own mentoring
performance. In general, frequently, the
cooperating teachers have mentored their
respective pre-service teachers and provided
them the necessary knowledge, skills and
attitudes in the areas of content, classroom
management, pedagogy and feedback in a large
to an extremely large extent. This means that
based on the cooperating teachers themselves,
quality mentoring experiences among the pre-
service teachers have been made. As discussed
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES 15th January 2017. Vol.47. No.1
© 2012-2017 TIJOSS & ARF. All rights reserved
ISSN 2305-4557 www.Tijoss.com
13
from the previous tables, gaps on the perceptions
which are clearly evident must be addressed in
order to avoid misconceptions. In the context of
practice teaching, the cooperating teachers must
be the one to make a major adjustment as they
are still the one sought in this training.
Understanding their nature as millennial is very
important aspect to avoid differing expectations
and conflicts that may arise in the future.
Table 11
Difference between CT’s and PT’s assessment on the Cooperating Teachers’ Mentoring Practices in
terms of Extent of Practice
Dimensions of
the Mentoring
Practices
Extent of Practice as
perceived by PT’s
Extent of Practice as
perceived by CT’s
p-value Interpretatio
n
Content
2.31
To a
small
extent
4.20 To an
extremely
large extent
0.000 Significant
Classroom
Management
2.13
To a
small
extent
4.14 To a large
extent
0.035 Significant
Pedagogy
2.20
To a
small
extent
3.88 To a large
extent
0.019 Significant
Feedback
Mechanism in
Teaching 2.02
To a
small
extent
4.31 To an
extremely
large extent
0.012 Significant
Over-all 2.17 To a
small
extent
4.13 To a large
extent
0.021 Significant
Table 11 is presented in order to
statistically confirm significant differences
between the mean performance of the CTs and
PTs in terms of the extent of implementation of
the mentoring practices in the College of
Education Laboratory High School. The
respective p values have been displayed using
the t-test for independent samples using the
SPSS version 18 and clearly smaller than the
assigned alpha level of 0.05 which generally
means that there is a significant difference
between the assessments of CTs and PTs in
terms of the extent of implementation of the
mentoring practices in the Laboratory High
School.
Table 12
Difference between CT’s and PT’s assessment on the Cooperating Teachers’ Mentoring Practices in
terms of Frequency of Practice
Dimensions of the
Mentoring Practices
Frequency of Practice
as perceived by PT’s
Frequency of
Practice as
perceived by CT’s
p-value Interpretati
on
Content 3.65 Frequent 4.05 frequent 0.065 Not
Significant
Classroom Management 3.84 Frequent 4.45 always 0.041 Significant
Pedagogy 3.75 Frequent 3.70 frequent 0.149 Not
Significant
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES 15th January 2017. Vol.47. No.1
© 2012-2017 TIJOSS & ARF. All rights reserved
ISSN 2305-4557 www.Tijoss.com
14
Feedback Mechanism in
Teaching
3.64 Frequent 3.92 frequent 0.133 Not
Significant
Over-all 3.72 Frequent 4.03 frequent 0.247 Not
Significant
Table 12 displays the p-values computed using
the SPSS version 18. In general, the frequency of
practice on the effective mentoring practices in
the Laboratory High School as perceived by the
CTs and PTs were the same. This means that PTs
and CTs agree in terms of the frequency of
implementation of the effective mentoring
practices in the Laboratory High School, except
in terms of classroom management wherein the
computed p-value of 0.041 is lesser than the
assigned significance level of 0.05.
Table 13
Suggestions and Recommendations of the CT’s and PT’s on the Mentoring Practices in the LHS
Suggestions/ Recommendation
(Unedited)
Relative
Frequency
Rank
From the CT’s
Prolong the length of time for the deployment of pre-service teachers 20% 1
The ratio of CT’s to PT’s must be at most 1:2. 17% 2
PT’s still lack the required knowledge of the subject matter 14% 3.5
Values and other professionalism issues are still present with the PT’s being
deployed
8.9% 6.5
PT’s still lack the knowledge in the art of teaching such as lesson planning,
assessment and strategies
14% 3.5
Low commitment among PT’s are rampant as manifested by their tardiness and
poor attendance
8.9% 6.5
Students have other commitments which affects their teaching responsibilities 11.4% 5
Lightens work as a CT but the pacing of the lesson gets slower 5.8% 8
Total 100%
From the PT’s
Very exhaustive on our part 23% 1
Very difficult for us to think of the next strategy everyday 12% 5
Teachers sometimes completely assigned their class to us not only in instruction but
more on paper works and other works
6% 6
Sometimes our lesson plans were not carefully and extensively check 16% 4
Sometimes, they seldom/cannot help us think of the appropriate strategy in teaching 5% 7
There is no venue for us to stay and have a meeting with the CTs and give feedback
after our classroom teaching
19% 2
They are too busy with their commitments such as meetings and the likes in that
they fail to actually observe us in our classroom teaching
17% 3
Very limited time to practice teaching in the LHS 2% 8
No Comment/s 0 9
Total 100%
Table 13 presents the PTs and CTs’ comments
and/or recommendations on mentoring practices
in the laboratory high school as to their
experiences. From the perspective of the
cooperating teachers, rank 1 of their suggestion
or recommendation is to prolong the PTs’ stay in
the laboratory high school, followed by
regulating the number of PTs assigned for each
CTs. Based on an informal interview,
cooperating teachers clamor for the number of
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES 15th January 2017. Vol.47. No.1
© 2012-2017 TIJOSS & ARF. All rights reserved
ISSN 2305-4557 www.Tijoss.com
15
assigned PTs on them which ranges from 10 – 20
in each CTs, which in turn may really be a
hindrance for a quality mentoring practices. In
effect because of the high CT to PT ratio, the
time for each PT assigned in lesson execution
will be minimal and therefore it would not be
enough to give them actual teaching experiences.
Another suggestions and/or
recommendations from the CTs is the academic
preparation among the PTs, according to the
CTs, the PTs deployed mostly lack sufficient
knowledge of the subject matter as well as
knowledge on the art of teaching such as lesson
planning and assessment. i.e. exam preparation
procedures. Further, based on an informal
interview among the CTs, they said that they
could have, however, enhanced these limitations
among PTs if only they were thorough exposed
further in a longer duration to classroom
situations.
On the perspective of the PTs, almost
quarter of them said that practice teaching was a
very exhaustive on their part. Based on the actual
observation, these PTs were under a period of
adjustment which has been further stiffened by
doing their unfinished thesis and few back
subjects. Secondly, PTs commented that they
have no place to stay and do hey work and which
no venue can be a place to discuss necessary
details about their teaching performances, due to
this, post conferences among PTs and CTs were
sacrificed which was actually very important as a
proper venue to address feedback.
Other suggestions or recommendations
from the PTs reflect from their lack of
knowledge on strategies in teaching as they feel
difficult to think regularly on the strategies they
have to implement.
Conclusions
In light of the findings of the study, the
following conclusions were derived:
1. As perceived by the pre-service
teachers, their cooperating teachers
frequently mentor them, in a small
extent, in the areas of content, in
providing effective classroom
management and pedagogy as well as
feedback mechanism in teaching.
2. As perceived by the cooperating
teachers themselves, they frequently
mentored their respective PTs to a large
extent in all areas such as providing
knowledge of the content, providing
effective classroom management and
pedagogy and feedback mechanism in
teaching.
3. Significant difference were noted
among the perception of PTs and CTs
on the mentoring practices in the
Laboratory High School
4. PTs and CTs noted their comments on
their mentoring experiences and
highlighted more on the duration of PTs
stay in the field, PT to CT ratio, need of
a venue or student- teachers’ lounge and
more training for practice teacher
preparation such as lesson planning and
assessment, and time for feedback.
Recommendations
From the conclusions of the study, the
following are recommended:
1. The cooperating teachers should be
aware of the characteristics of the PTs
as this will be a way in order to avoid
differences among perceptions on what
it take to have an effective mentoring
practices
2. Designate a room for the PTs as this
will serve as an official venue for the
CTs and PTs to discuss matter
pertaining to their performance
especially in terms of their feedback
mechanisms in teaching
3. Implement the “adopt a school
program” for PTs in order to maximize
their practice teaching experiences and
to help each CTs to concentrate on the
manageable number of PTs to be
mentored. In this way, quality
mentoring can be achieved.
4. Ensure that a fourth year education
student can only be able to have their
practice teaching if they have already
successfully finished their other
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES 15th January 2017. Vol.47. No.1
© 2012-2017 TIJOSS & ARF. All rights reserved
ISSN 2305-4557 www.Tijoss.com
16
academics subjects as this will only add
up to their responsibilities/commitment.
5. Arrange class schedules among CTs so
that they will have time to effectively
meet the PTs assigned to them. Being a
CT is also a huge duty thus, it may be
possible to make this as part of their
regular load.
6. A follow-up study shall be conducted to
evaluate the mentoring program of the
LHS. The findings of this study can be
used as a valuable input and rationale to
improve the teacher education program
of the university.
References
1. Ball, Deborah & McDiarmid, G.W. in
Houston, W.R.(Ed). Handbook of
research in teacher education. New
a. York: Mcmillan retrieved on
July 8, 2016.
2. Boston Public School (2008) Office of
the human capital. Retrieved at
a. www.bostonpublicschools.org/
Page/193 on July 5, 2016.
3. Carroll, Thomas G (2008). The National
Commission on Teaching and
America’s
a. Future. Teaching in the 21st
century: A review of the issues
and changing models in the
teaching profession retrieved
at
www.blackboard.com/resource
s/k12... On July 11, 2016.
4. Dabas, N. (2013) Questionnaire on
teacher effectiveness constructed and
standardized.
a. Retrieved from
www.shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.i
n on July 9, 2016.
5. Grossman, P.L. (in press). Subject
matter knowledge and the teaching of
English. In J.
a. Brophy (Ed), Advances in
research on teaching Vol. 2.
Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
6. Hattie, John (2008). Visible Learning: A
synthesis of over 800 meta analyses
relating to
a. achievement. New York:
Routledge.
7. Marzano, Robert J. & Marzano, Jana S.
(2003). Educational leadership: The
keys to
a. classroom management. V. 61
Pg. 6-13.
8. McLeod, S. A. (2016). Bandura-social
learning theory. Retrieved from
a. www.simplypsychology.org/ba
ndura.html on July 7, 2016.
9. Telefonica (2014). The list of millennial
characteristics. Retrieved at
a. www.luckyattitude.co.uk/mille
nial-characteristics/ on July 10,
2016.
10. Tice, Julie, (2004).Reflective teaching:
Exploring our own classroom practice
from the
a. article Writing a teaching
diary; Think. British Council
retrieved from
http://www.teachingenglish.or
g.uk/article/reflective-
teaching-exploring-our-own-
practice on July 9, 2016.