A school-based curriculum development study on the teaching principles and methods course

The purpose of this study is to develop a school-based curriculum for the Teaching Principles and Methods course and assess its implementation. In accordance with this aim, preservice teachers' educational requirements for the teaching principles and methods course, their stakeholder opinions on the development of the course and the international trends that shape the course curriculum were analyzed, the objectives and content of the course and the teaching-learning and assessment-evaluation activities were developed in the implementation process in line with the requirements determined, and the curriculum was evaluated based upon the curriculum in practice. The study was designed as an action research, one of the qualitative research designs. In this context, the implementation process was carried out in a 14-week period with the participation of 36 second year students taking the teaching principles and methods course at Çukurova University, Faculty of Education, Department of Classroom Teaching, in the 2014-2015 Academic Year Fall Semester. Observations, interviews and document analysis were used to collect data. In addition the data were collected using the personal information forms, semi-structured interview forms, reflective evaluation forms and researcher's diaries, kept throughout the study. According to the need analysis findings obtained in this study, it was determined that the objectives of the teaching principles and methods course should be at the cognitive and affective understanding and cognitive skill levels. It was concluded that the content commonly used and functional in practice should be addressed in depth by reducing the content coverage in achieving these objectives. Furthermore, it was determined that there was a need for a learning-teaching process which is based on a student-centered approach and includes the use of variables that increase presenting and making sense of information and the quality of teaching, in which the implementation dimension is increased and authentic learning experiences are offered. In evaluation of teaching, it was determined that it is necessary to use alternative assessment instruments based on the process-based evaluation, to perform written examination that measures the understanding and skill level, and to give feedback to assessment results. According to the findings obtained from the action research process, it was observed that the problems encountered in the implementation process were mainly associated with the insufficiency of the time allocated to the course for all learning outcome in the draft guideline that directed the action plans, the functional implementation of peer assessment process and the seating arrangement with the group. Most of these problems were tackled in the action research process so that the difficulties that students had during the course decreased while the number of participants who found the implementations satisfactory increased. In the findings revealing the functioning of the implementation process, the categories describing the teaching process were determined to be "presenting and making sense of information", "increasing the quality of teaching", "basing on student-centered approach", "increasing implementation dimension", and "offering authentic learning experiences". In the assessment and evaluation process, it was revealed that alternative assessment instruments based on the process and product evaluation were used and regular feedback was provided. In this implementation process, it was determined that students used their thinking skills, actively participated in the process and achieved learning outcomes at the understanding and skill levels. Nevertheless, it was determined that the implementation process made individual and occupational contributions to students in the fields such as "gaining occupational equipment and self-confidence, achieving retention of information, increased success in different courses, increased awareness and effort, gaining responsibility, development of creativity and communication skills". It was found that group studying, long-lasting and intense teaching, inadequate preliminary preparation and effort complicated the teaching process. It was determined that participants proposed structural arrangements for the improvement of the process in a way to increase the weekly course hours or increase the number of breaks given in the weekly course time and the duration of these breaks. Consequently, it was concluded that the curriculum which was developed with a school-based approach for the teaching principles and methods course largely was in line with the requirements arising in the context of the current situation, provided students with personal and occupational gains, and was implementable.