Enhancing ELT pre-service teachers' reflective thinking skills: Going beyond descriptive writing

The study investigated the pre-service teachers' (PSTs) reflective writing experiences within a learning environment in which guidance was provided with explicit instruction, reflective tasks with critical friends, and constructive feedback. Within this learning context, the study aimed to explore (1) the nature of the incidents that PSTs mostly reflected on in their observation reports, (2) the development of the PSTs' criticality in time, and (3) their overall reflective writing experiences. In the study, a qualitative research paradigm was adopted, and the study was conducted with 26 ELT PSTs who were doing their practicum. The data were mainly gathered from the participants' observation reports and a semi-structured interview, and the documents collected from the participants in the workshop sessions were used as supplementary tools. The data were analyzed with an interpretive framework, and it was found that PSTs mostly reflected on the issues related to teachers' instructional practices, the conduct of the lesson, and the classroom management in their observation reports. Concerning PSTs' criticality, although they were inclined to reflect at superficial levels in their reports, they started to demonstrate some reflective features during the provision of guidance. In addition, it was revealed that PSTs found reflective writing productive, and they could overcome their challenges in reflective writing thanks to the guidance and their critical friends in time. In this sense, the study contributes to the literature by indicating that PSTs' reflective writing experiences and their reflective thinking skills could be enhanced in a learning environment that is designed with multifaceted guidance.