DEVELOPMENT OF A BLENDED LEARNING SUPERVISION MODEL TO ENHANCE ENGLISH-MAJORED STUDENT TEACHERS' REFLECTIVE ABILITY AND TEACHING PERFORMANCE

Abstract

The research objective were (1) to develop a blended learning supervision model to enhance English-majored student teachers’ reflective ability and teaching performance, (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of the model in terms of the student teachers’ reflective ability and teaching performance, and (3) to explore the student teachers’ and the supervisor’s opinions towards the model. This research employed the research and development approach (R&D) as the research design. The procedure consisted of 4 stages; problem analysis, solution design, pilot study, and implementation. The participants were 4 English-majored student teachers from a Thai public university who were attending the 2nd semester teaching practicum of the academic year 2011.The research instruments were: 1) reflective journal and reflective ability scoring rubrics, 2) classroom observation form, and 3) open-ended interview questions. Data were analyzed using mean and content analysis. The research findings were: 1. The blended learning supervision model comprised of 4 components: 1) environment, 2) agents, 3) supervision activities, and 4) technologies; and covered 3 supervision stages: 1) pre-observation, 2) observation, and 3) post-observation. 2. The effectiveness of the blended learning supervision model on English-majored student teachers’ reflective ability revealed that the participants’ reflective ability remained at the descriptive level (level2) as a group. However, there were two individual participants whose reflective ability increased to reach the pedagogical level (level3). Two factors that influenced the participant’s reflective ability were 1) face-to-face interaction with supervisor at the post-observation stage, and 2) online self-reflection. 3. The effectiveness of the blended learning supervision model on the participant’s teaching performance indicated that the participants’ teaching performance increased from initial level (level 2) to proficient level (level 3) in general. Three factors that influenced the participants’ teaching performance were 1) online scaffolding on lesson planning; 2) face-to-face interaction with supervisor at the post-observation stage, and 3) online self-reflection. 4. Both English-majored student teachers and the supervisor had positive opinions towards the blended learning supervision process as well as the online technologies and the feedback given by the supervisor.