Teaching Practices in Teacher Education Departments as a Factor of Professional Development of Teacher Candidates: A Proposed Project

Abstract

The Teaching Practice (TP) of teacher candidates is a key factor in their professional development. On this basis, this paper seeks to highlight the role of TP in the professional development of teacher candidates, the main characteristics of TP and the basic models of TP, which are applied internationally in Teacher Education Departments. The implementation methodology of the proposed TP project is based on the combination of the following three models: the partnership and collaborative learning model, the reflective learning model and the pedagogical content knowledge focused model. Based on these parameters, the novelty of this paper is the structuring of a proposal of a TP project for teacher candidates, which results from their direct and experiential activation in the teaching and learning process of formal education. The proposed plan includes the following four stages of implementation: i) Observation of three classroom days where the teacher candidates will teach, ii) Lesson planning in collaboration with the TP academic supervisor, iii) Implementation of lessons by the teacher candidates over a period of fifteen teaching days in the TP implementing schools, iv) Evaluation/reflection on campus of University after the TP in the TP implementing schools.