A Study On Informal Peer Coaching By Pre-service English Teachers During The Teaching Practicum

Peer coaching was first put forward in the 1980s,and was formally introduced to preservice teacher education in 1983.It is regarded as a method for teacher development.Peer coaching has been incorporated into instructional practicum for decades in countries beyond China,and conducted as formal programs.At home,it is not widely adopted at present.However,it can be noticed that informal peer coaching initiated by student teachers during the teaching practicum is a common phenomenon.The established literature mainly focuses on guided,formal peer coaching programs,while little attention has been paid to informal peer coaching(IPC)occurred during the teaching practicum.To offer suggestions for the current situation,there is a need to figure out the exact forms of informal peer coaching as well as its purposes.In addition,as the main initiators and practitioners,student teachers' responses to informal peer coaching are worth studying.Participants of this study are 55 pre-service English teachers from a normal university in central China.A questionnaire is used to study the conduction of IPC and its influences on instructional skills.Meanwhile,interviews are conducted to group leaders of eight practicum schools to get deep understandings of the forms IPC take,the reasons for the engagement of IPC and student teachers'responses toward IPC.This study aims to answer the following questions:1)What forms does IPC take during the teaching practicum?2)Why do student teachers engage in IPC during the teaching practicum?3)How do student teachers respond to their experience of IPC?Results indicate that informal peer coaching is a voluntary behavior conducted among pre-service teachers.The most common forms include peer observation,formal or informal conferences conducted by two or more preservice teachers,sharing class design,and free talk on the teaching practicum.Reasons for the engagement of IPC can be divided into student teachers' motivations and external factors.Motivations include mitigating conducting class tension,yearning for feedback,seeking for personal improvement and emotional support.External factors consist of insufficient guidance from mentors,diverse learning contexts,and the convenience of interaction provided by the practicum context.The study also demonstrates that participants admit the usefulness and necessity of IPC.Some important attributes are also mentioned by participants for the smooth conduction of IPC,which are candidness,willingness to share,cooperative consciousness,critical thinking,trustfulness and responsibility.In addition,personal attributes are regarded as preconditions for launching IPC.Furthermore,equal status shared by peers is identified as the key element of IPC.Based on the results,this study puts forward challenges of IPC,and provides suggestions on directing preservice teacher to conduct IPC.Three problems exist in IPC.First,since no plan is made in advance,IPC is unsystematic and unsustainable.Second,the effects of IPC are not maximized because of insufficient training.Third,pre-service teachers fail to realize the importance of IPC due to inadequate cognition.To counter these challenges,formal peer coaching programs can be launched in teaching practicum.Related training can be provided by universities,including guidance on class observation skills and training on the form and content of peer feedback.In addition,the concept of peer coaching can be introduced to pre-service teachers to build the right consciousness.For preservice teachers,more communicative opportunities can be created within practicum groups to cement the interpersonal relationship,as a closer relationship contributes to effective conduction of IPC.