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Exploring the Impact of TeachME™ Lab Virtual Classroom Teaching Simulation on Early Childhood Education Majors’ Self-Efficacy Beliefs

  • Published:
Journal of Science Teacher Education

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a mixed-reality teaching environment, called TeachME™ Lab (TML), on early childhood education majors’ science teaching self-efficacy beliefs. Sixty-two preservice early childhood teachers participated in the study. Analysis of the quantitative (STEBI-b) and qualitative (journal entries) data revealed that personal science teaching efficacy and science teaching outcome expectancy beliefs increased significantly after one semester of participation in TML. Three key factors impacted preservice teachers’ (PST) self-efficacy beliefs in the context of participation in TML: PSTs’ perceptions of their science content knowledge, their familiarity with TML technology and avatars, and being observed by peers. Cognitive pedagogical mastery (TML practices), effective/actual modeling, cognitive self-modeling, and emotional arousal were the primary sources that increased the PSTs’ perceived self-efficacy beliefs. Overall, the results of this study suggest that the TML is a worthwhile technology for learning to teach in teacher education. It provides a way for PSTs to have a highly personalized learning experience that enables them to improve their understanding and confidence related to teaching science, so that ideally someday they may translate such an experience into their classroom practices.

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Notes

  1. Unless it is specifically stated as personal efficacy or outcome expectancy, the term “self-efficacy” is used to refer to one’s both personal efficacy and outcome expectancy beliefs together in this study.

  2. More information about the TeachME™ lab can be found at the University of Central Florida’s website: http://srealserver.eecs.ucf.edu/teachlive/.

  3. The duration of the TML sessions was determined based on participants’ daily schedules, the availability of the TML interactors, and the total number of participants. Since the PSTs were in cohorts and have schedules determined by the early childhood education program, the researchers easily identified the days in which the PSTs had the most available time. To eliminate the any possible interactor effect on the TML performances, we reserved the same interactor who was available for 7 h, including a 15-min lunch break. Finally, we calculated the average time per participant (5–7 min).

  4. The original STEBI-b consisted of a five-step Likert scale which included a middle category of “Undecided”. In the current study, we forced participants to express a definite opinion one way or another to better detect overall change, if any, in their self-efficacy beliefs over the semester. Detailed reliability information is provided in the “Data Analysis” section.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Teacher Education, College of Education, Health and Society, Miami University, 401 McGuffey Hall, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA

    Nazan Uludag Bautista

  2. Department of Educational Psychology, College of Education, Health and Society, Miami University, 155 McGuffey Hall, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA

    William J. Boone

Authors
  1. Nazan Uludag Bautista
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  2. William J. Boone
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Correspondence to Nazan Uludag Bautista.

Appendix: Journal Entry Questions

Appendix: Journal Entry Questions

Journal Entry 1: Pre-semester

  1. 1.

    Please EXPLAIN how confident you feel about your ability to teach science in early grades.

  2. 2.

    Please EXPLAIN how confident you are about your science knowledge to be able to teach in early grades.

  3. 3.

    Please EXPLAIN how confident you are about your ability to manage a classroom while teaching (when you are the lead teacher).

Journal Entry 2: After the First Practice

  1. 1.

    How confident did you feel about your ability to teach science after the first TeachME™ Lab practice? Please provide a detailed and clear explanation.

  2. 2.

    How confident did you feel about your science content knowledge after the first TeachME™ Lab practice? Please provide a detailed and clear explanation.

  3. 3.

    How confident did you feel about your ability to manage a classroom after the first TeachME™ Lab practice? Please provide a detailed and clear explanation.

  4. 4.

    What did you learn from this experience overall? Explain.

  5. 5.

    How did the instructor’s modeling help you? Explain.

  6. 6.

    How did your peer’s modeling help you? Explain.

  7. 7.

    How do you plan to get ready for the next practice? Explain.

Journal Entry 3: After the Second Practice

  1. 1.

    Now that you have done TeachME™ Lab twice, explain what you took away from this experience regarding teaching of science. Make sure to reflect on your learning in the context of content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge.

  2. 2.

    How was this experience different from or similar to the previous practice?

  3. 3.

    How well do you think you did during your practice? Please briefly explain your answer in terms of areas where you are strong and you need improvement.

  4. 4.

    How well do you think your peers in your session did? Explain overall strengths and areas where they need improvement.

  5. 5.

    How confident did you feel about your ability to teach science after the 2nd TeachME™ Lab practice? Please provide a detailed and clear explanation.

  6. 6.

    How confident did you feel about your science content knowledge after the 2nd TeachME™ Lab practice? Please provide a detailed and clear explanation.

  7. 7.

    How confident did you feel about your ability to manage a classroom after the 2nd TeachME™ Lab practice? Please provide a detailed and clear explanation.

Journal Entry 4: After the Third Practice

  1. 1.

    Explain what you took away from this experience regarding teaching of science. Make sure to reflect on your learning in the context of content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge.

  2. 2.

    How was this experience different from or similar to the previous practices?

  3. 3.

    How well do you think you did during your practice? Please briefly explain your answer in terms of areas where you were strong and you need improvement.

  4. 4.

    How well do you think your peers in your session did? Explain overall strengths and areas where they need improvement.

  5. 5.

    How confident did you feel about your ability to teach science after the 3rd TeachME™ Lab practice? Please provide a detailed and clear explanation as to what made the difference, if any.

  6. 6.

    How confident did you feel about your science content knowledge after the 3rd TeachME™ Lab practice? Please provide a detailed and clear explanation as to what made the difference if any.

  7. 7.

    How confident did you feel about your ability to manage a classroom after the 3rd TeachME™ Lab practice? Please provide a detailed and clear explanation as to what made the difference, if any.

Journal Entry 5: Post-semester

  1. 1.

    Explain what you took away from the TeachME™ Lab experience overall regarding the teaching of science. Make sure to reflect on your learning in the context of content knowledge (science) and pedagogical knowledge.

  2. 2.

    How did practicing with TeachME™ Lab affect your confidence in teaching science during student teaching and in your future classrooms?

  3. 3.

    How did practicing with TeachME™ Lab affect your confidence in classroom management during your student teaching and in your future classrooms?

  4. 4.

    In what ways did TeachME™ Lab make you REFLECT on your ability to teach or function in a real classroom environment? In other words, what did you learn about yourself in the context of science teaching as a result of this experience (positive or negative)?

  5. 5.

    What parts of the TeachME™ Lab preparation and practice were helpful and what were the parts needed help (what to keep and what to modify)? How do you suggest I should modify the TeachME™ Lab practices and preparations for the next group?

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Bautista, N.U., Boone, W.J. Exploring the Impact of TeachME™ Lab Virtual Classroom Teaching Simulation on Early Childhood Education Majors’ Self-Efficacy Beliefs. J Sci Teacher Educ 26, 237–262 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10972-014-9418-8

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