Prompts in Learning Journals Foster Reflection of Student Teachers in the Practical Semester; [Prompts im Lerntagebuch fördern die Reflexion von Lehramtsstudierenden im Praxissemester]

Abstract

Summary: Practical phases in teacher training like the practical semester enable student teachers to reflect on their own teaching practice. Reflection is key to improving our teaching, as we notice our mistakes and can develop better ways of planning classroom activities for future teaching. This study's aim is to investigate whether prompts in a learning journal exert beneficial effects on reflection in terms of Gibbs' reflective cycle (1988). We tested the effects of prompts in a field experiment during the practical semester. Student teachers (N=50; 43 female) wrote two learning journal entries about their own teaching on an online-platform and were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (a) a learning journal with prompts (experimental condition, n=27) and (b) a learning journal without prompts (control condition, n=23). Prompts led to more reflections on feelings and activity planning in the learning journal, and better reflections on feelings and analyses. Prompts also promoted conceptual knowledge about reflection and application of reflective knowledge. © Ernst Reinhardt Verlag