CHAPTER 4

FINDINGS

This section discussed the findings for answering the following research questions:

Research Question 1: Who are the significant others in student teachers’ community of practice?

Research Question 2: How does the relationship between the student teachers and the significant

others contribute to the development of student teachers’ professional identity?

The themes in this study are categorized as mentor, university supervisor, senior teachers, peers,

administrators and students.

Mentor

Ambrosetti (2014) defines mentors as classroom teachers who mentor student teachers. Other

common terms used in previous studies to refer to mentor are ‘cooperating teachers’ (e.g Farrel,

2001; Hamaidi, Al-Shara, Arouri & Abu Awwad, 2014; Ganser & Wham, 1998) and associate

teacher (e.g Ferrier-Kerr, 2009). Ferrier-Kerr (2009) states that the professional relationship

between mentor and student teacher is also known as an expert-novice continuum and it is

evident that the hierarchical relationship between them exists during the practicum.

Mentor-Student Teacher: Learning about Teaching Strategies

This section discusses the relationship established by mentor and student teacher in terms of

learning about teaching strategies. Lai (2005) states that mentor and mentee (student teacher)

interactions provides student teacher the opportunity to learn about teaching strategies in school

context. The following excerpt shows Izy was anxiously waiting for her mentor to observe her.

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Yes, knowing that maybe my mentor will come and observe has been keeping me feel

uneasy because she didn’t come in yesterday, and today! It could be tomorrow. So in

order to gain more ideas and confidence, I went to see her for advice and tips. I want to

teach the poem Heir Conditioning but I didn’t know how to make the lesson interesting

and how to teach the elements such as devices, structure and language. She (mentor) gave

me an idea which was the first thing I had to do when I go in the class is to switch off the

fans and see how the students react. (Izy, 10th April)

Preparing a lesson creates a high level of anxiety for Izy as she claimed having the feeling of

uneasiness. She reflected on her own learning and teaching strategies. She reviewed herself as a

novice who lacked skills in teaching, thus it was necessary for her to learn from the expert

(mentor) to provide better teaching and learning strategies for the students. Discussing with her

mentor would give her “ideas and confidence”. Izy wanted to teach “Heir Conditioning” but did

not know “how to make the lesson interesting” nor “how to teach the elements such as devices,

structure and language” which posed problems. However, working with her mentor seemed to

help her strategize. In this case, the relationship established between Izy and her mentor reflects

mentoring. Her mentor gave positive response by providing good strategy for her to start her set

induction in the classroom. She suggested that Izy “switch off the fan” and “see how the students

react”. This relationship contributes to the development of student teacher’s professional identity

in terms of preparing an effective set induction that can grab the students’ attention and interest in

the lesson. The ideas from the mentor on how to do the set induction reflects Lave and Wenger

(1991) confirmation that “the ability to learn would develop in close relation to the ability to

perform tasks”. This means when Izy is being taught by the mentor, she is learning about

teaching along the ability to perform task (preparing set induction).

Similar to Izy’s experience of learning the teaching strategies from her mentor, Tiqa also received

response from her mentor on teaching strategies as shown in the excerpt below:

My mentor came to observe me again today and I thanked God he helped me throughout

the lesson. My mentor provided some advices for improvements. For the pre-listening

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stage, I asked the students to do an acrostic poem on the word “kindness”. My mentor said

it should be done in groups as the students were a bit passive. (Tiqa, 11th April)

The excerpt above presents Tiqa’s experience in learning the teaching strategies from her mentor.

The presence of her mentor made Tiqa “thanked God” as her mentor helped her throughout the

lesson. This indicates that as a novice, Tiqa still need to do some “improvements” on her teaching

strategies in classroom. She wanted to do “an acrostic poem” using the word “kindness”. The

mentor observed Tiqa’s students as passive students, hence, she pointed out that the task “should

be done in groups”. The strategy taught by her mentor also reflects the Lave and Wenger (1991)

confirmation as stated beforehand.

Mentor-Student Teacher: Problem Solving

This section presents on the mentor-student teacher relationship in relation to problem solving in

a school context. Gagen and Bowie (2005) state that mentor has to play a role in providing the

student teachers with problem solving skills. As a student teacher, Izat expected his mentor to

suggest solution if he faced any problem as shown in the excerpt below:

At first, I thought it would be impossible to assess all students in my two classes. So I

asked my mentor what she would do if this problem happened. My mentor suggested to

me that I could ask the relief teacher, the teacher who is in charge with placing teacher to

relief classes for the evening session, to give me free periods so that I could complete my

PBS. Another way is to personally ask the teacher who is currently teaching the class to

take the students who haven’t finished their PBS to the teachers’ room to complete the

PBS. (Izat, 2nd September)

The excerpt above reflects the role of his mentor as a problem-solver by providing Izat the

solutions to the matter he assumed could not deal with. In this case, Izat thought it would be

“impossible to assess all students” in his two classes for PBS purposes. Suggestion from his

mentor to “ask the relief teacher” indicates the experiences of the expert (mentor) are very useful

to be shared with the novice (student teacher). Izat may develop his professional teacher identity

by instilling problem solving skill as practiced by his mentor. Moreover, based on the mentor’s

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experiences, she also taught him how to interact and compromise with the other members of the

school community which were “the relief teacher” and “the teacher who currently teaching the

class”. It shows that the mentor made him realized that the student teacher also had to be treated

the same way as the other senior teachers when it comes to academic matter which is the core

activity in the school context. Lave and Wenger (1991) provide evidence that “learning is not

merely a condition for membership, but is itself an evolving form of membership”. This means

that his mentor gave the impression that even though Izat was still learning to fit in the school

environment, his role as a teacher was similar with the senior teachers when it comes to academic

matter. Therefore, this would contribute in developing his professional identity as a teacher.

Similar to Izat’s experience, Tiqa’s mentor also helped her in solving problems during teaching

session which would make her aware of the importance of having the problem solving skill to be

an effective teacher. The excerpt below shows the restless life Tiqa encountered in preparing her

lesson plan.

I had two lesson plans to be completed by Sunday because I would have two lessons on

Monday. I just hope I can cope with sleeping so late at night, waking up so early and still

be energetic enough to teach. (Tiqa, 8th March)

In the excerpt above, Tiqa mentioned her hope to “cope with sleeping late at night”, “waking up

so early” and maintained to be “energetic enough to teach”. This is because she felt preparing two

lesson plans would consume time and energy. The following excerpt below shows how Tiqa

managed to handle the problem she faced in preparing lesson plans for her two classes with the

solution provided by her mentor.

During this week, I finally get first-hand experience on using the same lesson plan for

both class and preparing them weekly to save time and energy. Thanks to my mentor, my

classroom management has also slightly improved. (Tiqa, 9th April)

Tiqa thanked her mentor for providing her solutions through “first-hand experience” which were

to “use the same lesson plan for both class” and preparing the lesson plan in weekly basis. By

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applying this method, Tiqa could “save time and energy” in preparing the lesson plans as she

realized as a teacher it is important to have enough energy to teach the students. This incident

shows how Tiqa developed her professional teacher identity throughout her practicum with the

help from her mentor as Lave and Wenger (1991) mention learning promotes “an evolving form

of membership”.

Mentor-Student Teacher: Classroom Management

This section discusses on how student teachers learned from their mentor on matter regarding

classroom management. Sempowicz and Hudson (2011) point out the student teachers claimed

that managing the classroom is their major concern during the practicum especially when it

comes to dealing with misbehaving students who keep refusing to follow instruction (McNally,

I’anson, Whewell, & Wilson, 2005; Crosswell, 2009; Putman, 2009). In the excerpt below, Izy

admired her mentor for being able to control the students during the teaching and learning

session.

Today I observed my mentor. What I admire about her is that she is a very friendly teacher

but very firm with her students. She can manage her students very well because they will be

quiet and sit still when teaching and learning process was taking place. But her students still

like her despite her firmness. One thing I realize about these young students is that it is almost

impossible to make the students be quiet and sit still, but it can be done. (Izy, 6th March)

Izy’s mentor gave a chance for her to observe her way of teaching. Izy described that she was

amazed with the way her mentor’s characteristic as a “very friendly teacher but very firm with

her students". Her mentor managed to deal with her students “very well” as the students were

“quiet and sit still” during the teaching and learning process. Izy also acknowledged her students

liked her mentor’s attribute. Through her observation, she realized that although “it is almost

impossible” for the teacher to deal with variety of students’ traits like “be quiet” and “sit still”,

she could still improve her classroom management as how her mentor demonstrated beforehand.

Sempowicz and Hudson (2011) state that mentor should demonstrate “desirable teaching traits”

in order for the student teachers to gain valuable insights in managing the classroom effectively.

In Izy’s case, she did observe how her mentor managed her students with the teaching traits that

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she had and at the same time managed to demonstrate positive rapport with the students. In the

following excerpt, Izy once again amazed with her mentor’s capability in managing the

classroom effectively.

Today I observed my mentor again but she only did PBS with the students. But I learned on

classroom management. My mentor was great at managing them. I relieved my own class

today and the boys treated me like a friend. They stayed quiet for a while and then they made

noise again. I really need to adapt how my mentor manages them. (Izy, 8th March)

In the above excerpt, Izy was given another chance to observe her mentor doing the PBS with the

students. During PBS, Izy did not observe on the teaching strategy but she learned about

classroom management. The term “great” indicates how effective Izy’s mentor in managing the

classroom during PBS. As she relieved her own class, she noticed that her male students treated

her “like a friend”. She managed to make the students “stayed quiet”, but after a while the

students started to make noises again. She was eager to “adapt” her mentor’s trait in managing

the students. In this case, Izy’s mentor did demonstrate the strategy to have effective classroom

management based on the teaching traits a teacher should have. Izy may take some time to make

it works.

Similar to Izy’s experience, Tiqa also shared same opinion regarding her mentor’s trait in

managing her students.

She invited me to observe her and I did. I think she taught with the love of a mother – strict

but full of care. (Tiqa, 10th June)

In the above excerpt, Tiqa went to observe her mentor. She personally believed her mentor taught

her students with “the love of a mother”. She observed her mentor’s trait as a “strict” teacher but

at the same time “full of care” towards her students. It is proved that even though the teacher has

the trait of being firm in managing the students, but demonstrating positive rapport with the

students can facilitate learning.

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As for Izat, he also experienced the same thing like Izy and Tiqa as shown in the excerpt below;

I was actually looking forward for this day. Why? My mentor had promised me to bring me

to her class. I was very excited. I could feel that I would learn a lot of things from her

especially when it comes to classroom management. Generally my mentor was strict with her

students. She was firm but at the same time gave her students a perception that she is

approachable in necessary occasion. Her lesson plan was neat and well-managed. She was

confident with the content and showed no sign of doubt so that she could gain trust from her

students. What I have learned about her class is we need to feel confident with what we are

going to teach to our students. We also cannot give our students any room for them to be

playful during the teaching process as it will also affect other students in the way that they

will feel that it is needless to listen to us. (Izat, 31st July)

Izat showed his eagerness to observe his mentor by stating he was “looking forward for this day”

and he was “very excited”. He admitted that he could learn more regarding classroom

management from his mentor during the observation time. Similar to Izy and Tiqa, Izat also

perceived his mentor as a “strict” and “firm” but “approachable” teacher. This shows that this

teaching trait demonstrated by the three mentors is similar and applicable to manage the students

effectively. Izat commended on the lesson plan prepared by his mentor as he considered it as

“neat” and “well-managed” which also proved that his mentor was “confident” with the materials

used without any hesitation. For Izat, having high level of confidence in the materials used would

give positive impact on the teacher-student relationship as a sense of trust can be gained during

the teaching and learning session. Other than that, Izat believed that there is a need for managing

the students’ “playful” behaviour in order to make the students aware that it is essential for them

to focus on the lesson instead of having the feeling of “needless to listen” to the teacher. From his

observation, Izat managed to obtain the technique to manage the classroom as well as the

students. This shows how importance it is for the mentor to demonstrate valuable traits and

techniques for the student teachers to model effective classroom management.

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Mentor-Student Teacher: Power Relation

In a school community, mentor is acknowledged to be someone who has an authority over

student teacher. Ambrosetti and Decker (2010) point out that mentor-student teacher’s

relationship can be a hierarchical in nature. The excerpt below reflects how mentor is considered

to have a higher position than the student teacher in determining her teaching activity in

classroom.

Oh, before I forget, my mentor actually instructed me to teach them summarizing today,

which left me quite stressed because I had told them beforehand that they would be going

to the library for Nilam. Then, I decided. I would merge both Nilam and summarizing

together! Thus, the lesson was manifold and I did not care if people told me it was too

idealistic, just as long as the students had fun while learning something at the same time.

(Tiqa, 21st March)

As for Tiqa, she was instructed by her mentor on what to teach which led her to feel “quite

stressed” as she had planned of conducting the class in her own way. This means that student

teacher forms strategies of their own through their prior knowledge at school. However, as she

acknowledged her mentor as a superior with authority, she was constrained to follow the

instruction. This incident reflects Lave and Wenger’s (1991) legitimate peripheral participation as

it can be a “source of power or powerlessness, in affording or preventing articulation and

interchange among communities of practice”. This means the student teacher has no power not to

follow the mentor’s instruction because what the student teacher planned to do beforehand might

be another thing which is not parallel to the one thing her mentor wanted her to do. In this case,

to satisfy herself and her mentor, Tiqa creatively planned to conduct a lesson by combining both

“summarizing” and “Nilam” together. This incident shows how the relationship between Tiqa

and her mentor develops her professional teacher identity as she exhibits a positive, innovative

and creative approach to teaching and at the same time in accordance to her mentor’s expectation.

Similar to Tiqa’s view about her mentor who has authority in determining her activity in

classroom, Izat also felt the same way towards his mentor. However, Izat’s experience on

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reflecting towards his mentor’s authority was in contrast with Tiqa’s experience, as shown in the

excerpt below:

Today, my mentor took over the class. She was going to show me how to do PBS for

writing. This has solved my problem as I was wondering how to teach the students and do

PBS with them. PBS was confusing. The most confusing part is to match the syllabus with

DSP. I don’t even remember the full for DSP. (Izat, 21st August)

The excerpt above shows Izat had no idea on how to conduct the PBS in classroom, unlike Tiqa

who had her own planning on what to do in her classroom. Izat stated that “PBS” was confusing”

especially “to match the syllabus with DSP” because he did not remember the full content of

DSP. Izat felt his problem of not knowing “how to teach the students and do PBS with them” is

solved as she decided to take over his class to show “how to do PBS for writing”. The phrase

“my mentor took over the class” indicates that the mentor has an authority to decide the student

teacher’s activity in classroom. However, Izat took his mentor’s decision to take over the class as

an opportunity for him to learn from his mentor. This incident reflects the Lave and Wenger’s

(1991) view on how legitimate peripheral participation can be a “source of power or

powerlessness in affording or preventing articulation and interchange among the communities of

practice”.

Mentor-Student Teacher: Role Model

This section discusses on how the student teachers perceive their mentors as role model.

According to Maynard (2000), in the school context, role model can be defined as mentor who

has effectively practiced different teaching strategies and allows student teachers to practice those

teaching strategies in their lesson. The excerpt below shows Tiqa’s consideration of accepting her

mentor’s opinion in providing her with appropriate teaching strategies to be used in classroom.

So, I taught them the plot of the story today. Although some students had not read the

story, they managed to fill in all the blanks correctly. Then, we discussed the answers

together. My mentor told me that I should select several students to shout out the answers,

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but I don’t know… I thought it was better if I asked the whole class because they would

be less shy to answer the questions. However, I think I should listen to my mentor. (Tiqa,

17th April)

In this case, Tiqa conducted the question and answer session using her own teaching strategy by

discussing the answers together with the students. However, her mentor told her to “select several

students to shout out the answers”. Tiqa showed her faltering feeling to accept her mentor’s

opinion based on the phrase “I don’t know” as she thought that it would be better to ask the

whole class so that the students “would be less shy to answer the questions. This means Tiqa’s

thought might be influenced by her prior experiences as a student whereas the mentor provided

her teaching strategies based on her experiences as a school teacher. However, as Tiqa realized

she is a novice, in which the experiences she had was nothing compared to her mentor’s

experiences, therefore she was compelled to listen to her mentor’s opinion. The sentence

“However, I think I should listen to my mentor” indicates the sense of trust in the mentor-student

teacher relationship in terms of providing effective teaching strategies to be applied in the

classroom. It also indicates that Tiqa took her mentor as her role model in teaching context by

thinking it was necessary to listen to her mentor’s opinion due to the experiences that she had.

Lave and Wenger (1991) locate “learning not in the acquisition of structure, but in the increased

access of learners to participating roles in expert performances” which means a novice considers

the mentor to be an expert and could learn better when there is an interaction with the mentor.

In the excerpt below, Izy similarly felt the same way as Tiqa as she also took her mentor as a role

model in teaching context.

What a day! My observation by my mentor was done today and the comments I got were

not that bad. She just stated suggestions and things I need to improve especially in terms

of classroom management. And I need to state instructions clearly because if I only tell

them the instructions, only some may listen and understand while the rest will not and

tend to ask again, or not bother to do the task at all. Later, when the class ended, my

mentor gave me suggestions on how to do the lesson for tomorrow since I’ll be using

slides and I will take her advice. (Izy, 23rd April)

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The phrase “What a day!” in the excerpt above indicates that how relieved Izy was after the

observation by her mentor. She obtained constructive feedback from her mentor and the need of

improvement especially in terms of classroom management and giving instructions to the

students. Her mentor also justified the need of providing students with proper instruction as if she

“only tell them the instructions, only some may listen and understand while the rest will not and

tend to ask again or not bother to do the task at all”. With her mentor’s justification, Izy would

understand the relevant need of using the teaching strategy. Other than that, Izy intended to use

teaching aid (slides) in her next lesson, thus her mentor gave suggestions on how to use it

effectively in reinforcing teaching. The phrase “I will take her advice” indicates that Izy has built

trust on her mentor’s experiences in conducting an effective teaching and learning session. This

would develop the student teacher’s professional identity in providing the students with the

relevant teaching aids which are suitable to the topic.

Mentor-Student Teachers: Emotional Support

Beck and Kosnik (2002) mention that providing positive or negative comments show emotional

supports to student teachers throughout their practicum. In the following excerpt, Tiqa was

demotivated due to receiving negative comments from her mentor during her observation.

My second mentor came and observed during the second half of the period. Today only

did I really learn about whiteboard management and classroom management, which were

to divide the whiteboard to three sections and instructing the students to ensure

classroom’s cleanliness before starting any activity. My mentor also instructed me to

specify my learning outcomes. My lesson ended 15 minutes early because my questions

were too easy and little for them. My mentor instructed me to give comprehension

questions the next time I teach reading. However, my students were really interested to

read my story. All in all, I felt quite dejected today because of too much negative

comments. (Tiqa, 3rd April)

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The above excerpt shows how Tiqa felt “quite dejected” because of receiving “too much negative

comments” on her observation day. As a novice, Tiqa had less experience in dealing with the real

school context. This is because she is not exposed to these school matters during her university

life. Therefore, as her mentor (expert) noticing this issue has not been taken care of by the Tiqa,

she directly emphasized on that matter. She commented on Tiqa’s whiteboard management,

classroom management and classroom cleanliness. She instructed Tiqa to “specify learning

outcomes” and “give comprehension questions for reading” as she noticed Tiqa’s lesson ended

earlier. From her mentor’s comments, Tiqa would be exposed more on what teachers are

expected to do in school. This is evident in Lave and Wenger’s (1991) theory in which they

believe the newcomers (student teachers) “need to engage in the existing practice which has

developed over time: to understand it, to participate in it, and to become full members of the

community in which it exists”. The existing practice in school context may be different from

what they have learned from academic lesson in the university context. Therefore, in developing

the professional identities, they have to apply existing teaching practices in school under the

guidance and support from their mentors. The below excerpt shows Tiqa’s improvement in terms

of “classroom management”, “whiteboard management” and “student-centered activity” which

indicate that she had succeeded in developing her identity as a school teachers by practicing the

existing teaching practices.

My mentor said that I had improved since the last time she came to observe me, in terms

of classroom management, student-centered activity and whiteboard management. My

instructions were also clearer. Alhamdulillah! Too bad she did not grade me today. (Tiqa,

8th April)

The above excerpt also shows how Tiqa’s mentor appraised her by saying Tiqa “had improved

since the last time she came to observe” her in classroom. The appraisal boosts Tiqa’s motivation

to teach better next time. This shows how important emotional support on student teachers’

behalf. In addition, the phrase “Too bad she did not grade me today” also indicates that the

student teacher was trying to impress the mentor. It shows that the student teacher was trying to

develop her professional identity in line with the expectations of the mentor.

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In contrast with Tiqa’s experience, Izy found out that the feedbacks given by her mentor were

“encouraging and motivating”, as shown in the excerpt below:

Yesterday and today I felt a bit relaxed because my mentor has observed me and her

feedbacks were encouraging and motivating. (Izy, 26th April)

This is evident to say that the student teachers experienced various emotional feeling during the

practicum training and somehow the mentor plays a role in motivating them to develop their

professional identities as a teacher.

University Supervisor

Based on previous studies, another term used to represent ‘university supervisor’ is teacher

educator (e.g Ferrier-Kerr, 2009). Steadman and Brown (2011) stated that the university

supervisor contributes teaching experience in various ways from offering “resource to students”

to acting as “someone to translate or make intelligible the tension between schools and university

experience”. On top of that, Fairbanks and Meritt (1998) point out that the university supervisor

gives as much freedom to student teacher in developing their professional identities during

practicum. Therefore, the university supervisor should spend most of the time with the student

teachers during practicum to provide them with necessary guidance and feedback.

University Supervisor – Student teachers: Pedagogical and Emotional Support

As shown in the excerpt below, Izy expressed her gratitude to her supervisor for being such a

“nice and understanding supervisor”.

Anyway, I’d like to thank my supervisor for being such a nice and understanding

supervisor. I feel so thankful even though this practicum has been one of the toughest

challenges I ever encountered in my life, having a supportive supervisor really helps to

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ease the burden. Thank you!! And I’m really sorry for all the troubles I caused and for all

my imperfection as your supervisee. (Izy, 14th May)

In the excerpt above, Izy described her supervisor as a “supportive supervisor” who “really helps

to ease the burden” during her practicum. She also described her practicum experience as “one of

the toughest challenges” she has ever encountered in her life. Izy kept repeating thanking her

supervisor in the excerpt above, “I’d like to thank …”, “I feel so thankful …” and “Thank you!!”.

The phrases “for all the troubles I caused” and “for all my imperfection as your supervisee”

indicate that Izy was given the freedom to practice her own teaching during the observation by

her university supervisor. She was still in the process of learning on how to teach effectively, thus

flaws and errors may occur throughout the process. As Izy was a novice, practicum gave her

opportunity to learn and develop her identity as a teacher in an authentic teaching with the help

from her university supervisor.

From the interview conducted, the university supervisor mentioned that it is important for the

student teachers to internalize the dispositions and values espoused by the teaching profession.

Therefore, as a supervisor, they should spend as much time with the student teachers in order to

provide guidance and feedback as a way to develop their professional competence and confidence

when entering the profession. This is supported by Lingam et al. (2014) in their study as the

feedback from the university supervisors could be taken as their future references for self-

development.

Similar to Izy, Tiqa develops her professional identity by learning from the flaws during her

teaching observation.

For 4 Al-Kindi, my supervisor came to observe me today. I was to teach them writing

skill – how to draw a conclusion of an essay. I drew four pictures with the theme of old

people and extraterrestrial (I know some of my students were really into Star Wars and

Doctor Who). However, I did not actually teach them the skill – they just did everything

on their own. Come to think of it, I did not even know what to teach, actually. That was

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my biggest mistake for today. Nevertheless, I think I managed to engage students’

interests in the activities. (Tiqa, 29th April)

The excerpt above shows Tiqa’s supervisor came to her school for observation. Tiqa has decided

to teach them “writing skill – how to draw a conclusion of an essay”. Therefore, it proves that her

university supervisor gave freedom for her to practice her own teaching skill as she had to decide

on her own teaching. Tiqa used her own creativity for the lesson by drawing “four pictures with

the theme of old people and extraterrestrial” as she knew her students’ interest of “Star Wars and

Doctor Who”. However, at first Tiqa thought she was going to teach her students writing skill but

she realized that she “did not even know what to teach”. By not knowing what to teach, Tiqa

considered it as her “biggest mistake”. The following excerpt shows that the observation by her

university supervisor made her learned something to improve her teaching.

My supervisor told me that fun in classrooms needs to be balanced with what a teacher

intends to impart in students’ cognition. Therefore, I need to pay attention to the formality

and the details, too. (Tiqa, 29th April)

The above excerpt shows Tiqa’s supervisor gave her feedback on her teaching by telling her “fun

in classrooms need to be balanced with what a teacher intends to impart in students’ cognition”.

From the feedback, Tiqa agreed that she needed to “pay attention to the formality and the

details”. This shows that Tiqa is willingly listen to her supervisor’s advice which may contribute

in developing her professional identity as a teacher as stated by Asplin and Marks (2013) in their

study.

From the interview, the university supervisor pointed out the need for the student teachers to

acquire the skills needed to grasp the students’ interest of learning. By receiving comments or

feedbacks from the supervisor, it is actually a learning opportunity for student teachers to grow

professionally.

The following excerpt shows Izat’s creativity in preparing teaching aids for teaching purposes.

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This was the day my lecturer would come and observe my class. It was quite sudden to

me but I tried my best to get myself prepared. Luckily, I had a paper crafted dice prepared

and my lecturer came at the right time. I was planning to use the dice as my daily

instruction aid. The reason I use the dice is because to me it is kind of flexible and you

could almost do any activity with it. However, I did not have the chance to use my dice

for a stupid reason which I had left it at my rental house. (Izat, Week 5, 9th September)

In the excerpt above, Izat was preparing himself for the teaching observation by her university

supervisor. He prepared “a paper crafted dice” to be used as his daily instruction aid for the

lesson. He thought that the dice is “kind of flexible” and he could almost do any activity using the

dice. This shows he believed that the use of teaching aid could facilitate students’ learning. He

would like to show his creativity in using teaching aid for teaching. This is evident when he said

“my lecturer came at the right time”. In other words, Izat was trying to impress his lecturer and

meet the supervisor’s expectation. However, because he was not fully prepared, he did not have

the chance to use the dice as he forgot to bring it to school.

In the interview, the university supervisor stated that it is common for the student teachers to do

such preparation when it comes to observation day. Preparation has to be done before student

teachers enter the classroom in order to have smooth teaching and learning session. However,

they also have to prepare themselves in dealing with the unexpected and unpleasant situation that

sometimes inevitable. To be a professional teacher, they should prepare for the worst and be able

to solve any problems arise.

As university supervisors, they have to regularly supervise student teachers during practicum to

guide them by providing both constructive written and oral feedback (Lingam, Lingam &

Raghuwaiya, 2014). The three excerpts below show the written feedbacks provided by the

university supervisors in the student teachers’ reflective journals.

Instead of just stating the students as ‘lazy’ or ‘passive’, reflect as to why they were of

that state. (Tiqa, 26th April)

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The above excerpt shows the written feedback from Tiqa’s supervisor. Her supervisor wanted her

to reflect more on the reasons she claimed her student as “lazy” or “passive”. This indicates the

importance of being a reflective practitioner in developing her professional teacher identity.

In contrast, Izy’s supervisor gave her inspiring words, for example, “be positive”, “keep awake”

and “energetic”, as shown in the excerpt below:

You gained a lot of experiences from this school/practicum. Be positive and keep awake

and energetic! (Izy, 23rd April)

In the following excerpt, Izy express her happiness as she glad to hear her supervisor’s

comments. However, she believed that she “can still do better in the future”.

I was really happy to hear my supervisor’s comments. I hope I can still do better in the

future. (Izy, 25th April)

Similar to Izy, Izat’s supervisor also gave him words to encourage him to learn during the

practicum.

Quite insightful. Focus on your learning experience. Keep the journey going! (Izat, 5 th

September)

Izat received positive comment “quite insightful” from his supervisor for his journal writing on

that day. Plus, his supervisor provided inspiring words for him like “focus on your learning” and

“keep the journey going” to motivate him to continue his learning during the practicum to be an

effective teacher in the future.

In the following excerpt, Izat’s supervisor gave positive comments in his evaluation, as shown

below:

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My lecturer’s comments were also positive. However, she said that I had put too many

contents and said that I must focus on one aspect of grammar only. (Izat, 26th September)

However, his supervisor also facilitated discussion to improve his teaching. His supervisor said

he had put “too many contents” in a lesson. Therefore she suggested Izat to “focus on one aspect

of grammar only”. This shows that instead of giving only motivational support, the supervisor

also providing them with pedagogical support.

As for Izy, her supervisor provided pedagogical support as she was exposed to the use of teaching

aid (powerpoint slides) in classroom.

Next week, my supervisor will be coming to observe! Oh my I’ve started to feel nervous now.

She wants us (Amani and I) to use powerpoint slides which means we need to find a room

with LCD projector and I’m not sure if this school’s language room has it or not. If not we

might need to borrow from the school. Well I don’t know how I will teach using slide and I

also don’t know how the students will behave. (Izy, 19th April)

In the above excerpt, Izy mentioned that she was started to feel “nervous” as she knew her

supervisor would come to observe her teaching. Her supervisor required her to use the

powerpoint slides during her teaching. Therefore, Izy and her friends, Amani had to explore

where to find “a room with LCD projector” or borrow the LCD projector from the school. This

would expose her to figure out things to be used for her own teaching session. Izy admitted that

she did not know how to “teach using slide” and she wondered “how the students will behave”

during the teaching and learning session.

The following excerpt is the day of Izy’s observation by his supervisor.

My students behaved well, since my supervisor was there. But they have been good students

but just a bit noisier than this. I guess they felt restricted because someone else (who was

supervising) was in the class. I really hope I did well. (Izy, 14th May)

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She noticed the changes in her students’ behaviour as they were behaving well during the

observation. She claimed that her students was “a bit noisier” before. She assumed that the

students felt “restricted” because of the presence of her supervisor. She was hoping she managed

to show a better classroom management during the observation day.

Senior Teachers

In school community of practice, student teachers also deal with senior teachers who may

experience working in that profession for few years. In this study, student teachers demonstrated

the relationship they encountered with the senior teachers that somehow affect the development

of their professional identities.

In the following excerpt, Tiqa had been assigned by the senior teacher to lead the Scouts in

marching.

The Scouts were marching lazily when I arrived. I felt like taking charge but I held back

as I was still new to all of them. Puan Siti Hajar, the facilitator teacher looked quite

worried when she saw them marching like slugs with feet. When she knew that I was once

a member of Police Cadet in high school, she pretty much just asked me to take charge.

Although it sounded like another work to do, I think I have made quite an impression for a

beginner to these teachers. (Tiqa, 9th March)

Tiqa noticed that the Scouts did not show their best in marching as they did it “lazily”. She

wanted to take charge in handling the marching group but she kept her intention to herself as she

assumed it was not proper for her to do so because she was “still new to all of them”. The senior

teacher who acted as facilitator was worried of the marching group as they were “marching like

slugs with feet”. The senior teacher asked Tiqa to take over after she knew Tiqa used to be a

Police Cadet during her high school. As for Tiqa, she personally thought it was an instruction as

“it sounded like another work to do”. However, at the same time, she actually portrayed positive

value about herself to the other senior teachers as she believed that she managed to make “quite

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an impression for a beginner”. This would boost her confidence level and contribute in

developing her professional identities in teaching profession.

Another excerpt by Tiqa shows her nervousness to explore the school and get to know the other

teachers.

I am still quite nervous to roam around the school but I guess this is a courage test. I went

and walked around the staff room to ask the teachers what should I do while invigilating

the exam: what are the procedures, rules, and whatnot. (Tiqa, 12th March)

Tiqa took the opportunity to explore the school compound with nervousness as she treated it like

it was a “courage test”. She thought that it was necessary for her to ask the senior teachers in the

staff room about “invigilating the exam” in order for her to know the procedures that she had to

follow. Tiqa shows her effort in developing her professional identity as a teacher by approaching

the senior teachers first. This indicates that staff room could be a place where they mostly had the

chance to interact with senior teachers.

Similar with Tiqa, Izat spent his time chatting with senior lecturers in staff room, as stated in the

following excerpt;

So, I spent the whole day writing down my lesson plans on the record book and chatting

with other teachers in the staff room. Chatting sounds not beneficial, does it not? But it’s

more to gaining tips and tricks from the veteran teachers on how to manage a classroom

that has a group of overly active and naughty students. (Izat, 2nd August)

Izat was leisurely chatting with the other senior teachers in staff room while writing his lesson

plan. As for Izat, having a conversation with the senior teachers gave him the chance to grasp

“tips and tricks” on “how to manage a classroom that has a group of overly active and naughty

students”. Therefore, Izat perceived the conversation as a good opportunity for him to learn from

those teachers with more experiences in that particular school and this may contribute to his

professional identity.

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However, instead of having positive feedbacks from the senior teachers, Izy experienced was

quite contrast with the other participants.

It’s been only two days since the case and one day since the complaint was made. I was

not really motivated. It was more disappointing when the teachers mentioned about it

again. Other teachers also talked about it. I feel horrible. It somehow shows that I am not

that capable to manage my own class. (Izy, 14th March)

Izy received a complaint regarding a case which was related to her classroom management. She

felt demotivated after the complaint was made. She also felt disappointed with senior teachers’

behaviour as they kept mentioning about the mistakes made by Izy. She felt “horrible” as she

thought that the senior teachers looked down on her ability to manage her own classroom. This

would affect her relationship with the senior teachers in the future as she was not feeling

comfortable to face them.

In the following excerpt, Tiqa mentioned the need of putting a “mask” during the practicum

period to fit in the school community.

We also toured the staff room and the school office. Although one or two teachers were

not smiling at us when they saw us, I kept smiling at them as genuinely as I could. I think

I have gotten a lot tougher ever since I took the TESL program. We put on our masks and

applied our drama skill to blend in smoothly, but cautiously especially with the other

teachers. Finally, there was a meeting organized in our ‘temporary staff room’ and the

teachers were really nice as they invited us to join the meeting. Today has been a good

day for me. (Tiqa, 5th March)

Tiqa did show her effort to get to know the members of the school community by touring the

“staff room” and “school office”. She noticed that some of the teachers did not give her a

welcoming expression. Even so, she still tried to put a smile as genuinely as she could. She

admitted that after being a TESL student, she learnt many things that made her tougher than

before. For instance, her drama skills that she learnt in the university can be put into practice

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when she was dealing with the members of the school community especially the senior teachers.

She mentioned about putting a mask to be able to be part of the community in a smooth way with

caution. This indicates her first impression towards the senior teachers who may have the

unpleasant feeling of having student teachers doing practicum in their school. However, after she

was invited to a meeting in a “temporary staff room”, she found out that the senior teachers were

“really nice” for inviting her as well. This situation shows their effort to make the student

teachers feel comfortable during the practicum. It is proved as Tiqa felt good on that particular

day. This situation gave positive vibes for Tiqa to be confident in meeting the other teachers and

fit in the school community during the practicum. Therefore, it is very clear that interacting with

senior teachers may contribute to the development of student teachers’ professional identities.

Peers

In practicum context, student teachers may cooperate with their peer or colleague who is also a

newbie in dealing with an authentic school community. It happens because sometimes the

university provides student teachers with the same practicum placement or sometimes the school

itself allows two or more student teachers from the same university to have their practicum in the

school.

The three participants in this study shared the same thoughts regarding their relationship with

their peers which may contribute to the development of their professional identities.

The below excerpt is based on Izy’s experience in asking for help from her peer.

This is my first time using the slides in class. It turned out that the projector’s wire was

super short but I managed to borrow my friend’s extension. Thank God Ema and Amani

(peers) helped me with the preparation. I am not sure if I could have done it on my own.

Thanks guys. (Izy, 25th April)

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Izy was preparing her LCD projector for her lesson on that day because she was going to use the

slides for the very first time in classroom. However, the unexpected thing happened which was

“the projector’s wire was super short” to be connected to the plug. Her peers lend her the wire

extension. She felt relieved because her peers helped her to make things run smoothly by stating

the phrase “Thank God”. Furthermore, she also thanked her peers by expressing her appreciation

with a phrase “Thanks guys”. She believed things may be difficult if she had to do things on her

own.

Other than that, based on Izy’s experience in following excerpt, Izy personally thought that it was

her responsibility to offer help for her peers as well as to provide emotional support.

So yesterday Amani (peer) was observed by our supervisor and it was my turn to help her

with the preparation because she also helped me but even if she had not helped me, I

would still help her because that’s what friends do for each other. Farhana (peer) and I

even waited outside of Bilik Sejarah until all students of hers have got into the class, to

give her support. After the class, she said that her lesson went well. (Izy, 26th April)

In the above excerpt, Izy figured out that it was her peer’s turn to be observed by her supervisor.

Previously, Izy was helped by her peer during her observation. Therefore, Izy realized that she

had to help her peer (Amani) in return. For Izy, “that’s what friends do for each other”. They

helped each other to prepare and conduct their lesson smoothly especially for the observation

purpose. Their cooperation can be seen not only between Izy and Amani, but also with another

peer named Farhana. During the observation, Izy and Farhana stayed outside the classroom which

was the “Bilik Sejarah” to ensure all Amani’s students entered the classroom. They intended to

provide “support” for their peer. Izy’s peer (Amani) mentioned that “her lesson went well” which

indicates that she managed to conduct the lesson in smooth way during the observation.

Comparable to Izy’s experiences with her peers, Tiqa also faced the same situation of being

helped by her peers in conducting the lesson during the practicum.

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It was 4 Al-Kindi’s turn to go to the library. Based on my experience with 4 Al-Din

yesterday, I know that the students would not read the story books. So, I came up with an

idea. I will read a story out loud with the help of my two colleagues, Jannah and Junaidi,

and the students will jot down notes while listening to us. I can see the students enjoyed

the activity. Thank God! To Jannah and Junaidi, you really help me a lot. Thanks! (Tiqa,

21st March)

The excerpt above indicates a situation faced by Tiqa in managing the students when she brought

them to the library. She was aware that her students dislike to read story books based on her

previous experience with the other class. Hence, Tiqa applied a strategy to tackle the students’

interest in reading which was to “read a story out loud” and the students had to “jot down notes

while listening”. To conduct this session of reading out loud, she asked for help from her two

peers. From the session, she noticed that the students really enjoyed doing the task given. The

phrase “Thank God” indicates that Tiqa felt relieved because she was able to conduct an

enjoyable activity for the students. She did express her gratitude for her two peers by saying “you

really help me a lot” and “Thanks!”

Izat also faced the same situation similar to Izy and Tiqa when it comes to relationship with peers

during practicum.

Training the students to do drama and choir for next competition. It was my first

experience. I need extra hands to help me out. My friends (peers) and I may not be the

qualified teachers to train them but we know the basic mechanism on how to train these

students so that they are well-prepared and ready for drama and choir. Each one of us

knows our roles very well. Plus, I can see they also put their maximum effort to help the

students, just like me. (Izat, 29th August)

In the above excerpt, Izat had been assigned to train the students to do “drama and choir” to

prepare them for competition. Izat admitted that was his “first experience” in training the students

for drama and choir. Izat thought that he should ask his peers to provide “extra hands” for

training session. He personally thought they were still new and not qualified enough to be the

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trainers. However, he did not underestimate his peers as he was aware that they knew the “basic

mechanism” needed for drama and choir training session. Izat really wanted his students to be

“well-prepared” and “ready” for the drama and choir competition. He did not assign task to his

peers as he believed that all of them knew their own roles in preparing the students for the

competition. On top of that, he noticed the “maximum effort” of his peers to train the students

which is equivalent to his effort. This indicates that all of them were giving their best in

providing the students with proper training.

Students

For the three participants, students referred to those who learn in secondary school which is their

practicum placement. Based on their reflective journals, the three participants confirmed that

their relationship with the students also contributes to the development of student teacher’s

professional identity.

In the following excerpt, Izy shared her experience meeting the students in the school compound.

This school’s condition is pleasant and students were starting to greet us as ‘Cikgu’

whenever we meet while we’re walking. I feel good about it. (Izy, 6th March)

As written in her reflective journal, Izy perceived the situation in the school as “pleasant”. It

means she was comfortable to be a part of the school. She met the students along the way and the

students started to greet her as “Cikgu” which made her to “feel good” in that kind of situation.

This indicates a sense of respect of students towards the teachers in school.

Similar to Izy, Tiqa also felt “proud” of herself whenever the students greeted her, as shown in

the following excerpt,

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I kind of feel proud of myself, especially when a student greeted me with a

“Assalamualaikum, Cikgu”. At that point, I realized that my motivation to teach depended

on my students too. (Tiqa, 4th March)

In this excerpt, Tiqa felt “proud” of herself whenever the students greeted her with

“Assalamualaikum, Cikgu”. The kind of greeting used by the students indicates a respectful

feeling they have towards their teachers.

Similar to Izy and Tiqa, Izat also experienced the same situation when students greeted him.

It feels awesome when the students acknowledge your presence and greet you with the

title “Cikgu”. (Izat, 10th March)

In the above excerpt, Izat also received greetings from students and they acknowledged him as

“Cikgu”. He felt “awesome” as his presence as a teacher was recognized by the students.

Receiving greetings from students illustrates a situation a teacher would face in an authentic

school compound.

Other than that, during practicum, student teachers could create bond with the students. As Izy

experienced creating a bond with her students during the three-months period, the students tend

to appreciate her more.

So today I’ve started to let my students know that Friday will be my last day here and

some of them already showed their reluctantness to let us trainee teachers go. I guess it’s

because our presence in school is something new to them because this school did not take

trainee teachers for quite sometimes. The students become more excited with our presence

in school perhaps because they’re bored with the same old teachers they’re having. And

since we are younger than the other teachers, they could almost make us like their friends.

(Izy, 18th June)

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Before Izy ended her practicum, she did inform the students her last day teaching in that

particular school. Based on her experience, she realized she managed to build a strong rapport

with the students as the students showed they were unwillingly let the teachers from leaving the

school. Izy assumed that student teachers’ presence in school is “something new” which led to

boost excitement in students as it had been a long time after the school decided to take practicum

teachers again. She also assumed that the students were “bored” dealing with the “same old

teachers”. In addition, Izy thought that the students tend to treat the student teachers as “friends”

because of their young ages. It means the students are comfortable to deal with the student

teachers who they think can understand them better.

In another situation as shown in the following excerpt, Izy also managed to create a bond with the

students.

These students really need some pushing by the teachers in doing work because they think

that the tasks given are too hard so they tend to give excuses. Sometimes, they really upset

me, but I try not to give up and ignore the feeling so I helped them when they ask

questions and when they seem too clueless to do the task given. It is hard for us trainee

teachers to have them listen to us and immediately get on doing the work given but that’s

the challenge we have to take. To see things on the positive side, we’ve created quite a

bond and I think they now are listening to my instructions better. I have to keep my spirits

high! (Izy, 2nd May)

In the above excerpt, Izy felt “upset” with the students’ behaviour of giving excuses when doing

the tasks given. The students tend to consider the given tasks as “too hard” which means the tasks

were difficult to be done within the allocated time. Hence, Izy assumed that the students need to

be pushed by the teachers. However, Izy dealt with the matter positively as she noticed that they

had created “quite a bond” in class. Besides that, Izy also noticed that the students listened to her

instructions better. Dealing with students’ behaviour in classroom really requires a teacher to

have high motivation in order for them to maintain their pace in teaching. Izy reminded herself to

“keep her spirits high”.

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The following excerpt shows similar situation with Izy in which Tiqa also managed to create

bond with her students.

Regarding the English papers, many students contacted me via Twitter and Whatsapp as

well as face-to-face to ask for final tips. Of course, I did not spill the beans though I

already knew the questions. I just told them to read everything I have taught in class. I

also helped them correct their grammar, selectively read the short stories, and most of all,

encourage them. They would always report their difficulties and anxiety in answering the

exams to me and hope that I would calm them down. I did not know if I did well enough

in being a good listener, but I know I had developed some kind of bond between me and

them (students). (Tiqa, 8th May)

In Tiqa’s case, the students were using the social networks like “Twitter” and “Whatsapp” as well

as face-to-face interaction to keep communicating with Tiqa in regards of getting “final tips” for

their English examination. As a professional teacher, Tiqa affirmed that she could not “spill the

beans” which means reveal the exam questions to the students. This shows that Tiqa already

possessed one quality of a professional teacher should have when dealing with examination. Tiqa

advised her students to “read everything” she had taught in class. In addition, Tiqa offered help to

“correct grammar” and “selectively read short stories”. Above all that, Tiqa also encouraged the

students to study and prepare for the examination. Besides that, the students tend to “report their

difficulties and anxiety in answering the exams” with the intention to be comforted by Tiqa. As

for Tiqa, she did try to soothe her students by being a “good listener” but she did not know she

was able to be one or not. Even so, Tiqa believed that she managed to create a bond with the

students.

In contrast with Izy and Tiqa’s experiences, Izat did not manage to create special bond with the

students as the students showed disrespectful manner as shown in the following excerpt,

2 Karisma is the thirteenth class in ranking. Students are very noisy and also rude to their

teachers. Calling them rude will be too harsh and when I think back they were not that

rude to me. It is just that they didn’t know the gap between teachers and the students.

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What I want to say here is they didn’t know the proper way to have conversation with

their teacher. (Izat, 23rd August)

From Izat’s experience, he dealt with students from the thirteenth class in school ranking. The

students’ attitude was quite different from those in upper classes as they were “very noisy” and

“rude” to their teachers. However, Izat believed that the students were not that rude as he

assumed that the students did not know the “gap” and “proper way” when communicating with

teachers.

The following excerpt indicates the way taken by Izat which was controlling the students’

behaviour in classroom.

Eventually I was right. The students of 2 Karisma is a problem that cannot be taken for

granted. The behaviour is at an alarming rate. Fortunately, the cause for the bad behaviour

comes only from one student. Once you have controlled the student, the others will not

dare to step up and cause problems. (Izat, 30th July)

As time passed by, Izat noticed that the students of the same class did not change their attitudes

as he considered it to be at an “alarming rate”. As a teacher, Izat tried to find a root that led to

attitude problem among his students. He discovered that only one student was the cause to it.

Therefore, Izat took one step ahead by controlling that particular student, and he figured out that

the other students were well-behaved and did not cause any problem in class.

Izy, comparable to Izat, did experience almost similar situation when dealing with naughty

students.

Teaching a class full of naughty students was quite challenging. It was quite difficult to do

two different activities in one lesson especially with these naughty students, they don’t

have respect for us teacher, especially the practicum teachers. (Izy, 10th May)

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In the above excerpt, Izy found it was “quite challenging” to deal with naughty students. She had

difficulty to conduct two different activities in a lesson as she noticed that the students being

disrespectful towards teachers, especially the practicum teachers.

Therefore, Izy also changed her way of managing the students in classroom as stated in the

following excerpt,

However, since I become more firm, the students don’t make more noise anymore and

they cooperate with me well during the teaching and learning process. (Izy, 15th June)

Izy chose to become “more firm” in classroom to handle those naughty students. She noticed that

her students were behaving well as they did not make any noise. In addition, the students tend to

participate in teaching and learning session by showing their cooperation with Izy.

1. Administrator (Principal, Office staff)

6th March Izyan: Today we also met the PK KOKO (administrator) and the principal. The

principal has just been the head of the school for about two years so she can be considered a new

one. She was very nice and sweet. I can see her credibility as a leader and she emphasized one

thing the most and that is students’ safety and our treatment as well as methods of teaching

towards the kids. This is because the students’ parents today will tend to complain easily. So it is

very important for us to pay attention to this matter. The PK KOKO was also very friendly. She is

a woman with humour. Both teachers welcomed us in a very pleasant manner. The PK KOKO

asked us to tell our experience in KOKO so that she could put us in the suitable clubs.

5th March Atiqah: Then, Mr Abdul Ghaffar (administrator) came in for our next briefing. He is

the Guru Penolong Kanan for the morning session and also the administrator responsible for the

school curriculum. Throughout the briefing, it was decided that me, Jannah and AJ (peers) will

teach for the morning session while Amir and Nudiya (peers) in the afternoon. Mr Ghaffar was

very helpful and kind. He tried his best to help us blend in and gave us freedom to choose our

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sessions. He also told us that practicum teachers will only be given intermediate and advanced

level students to help us pass our practicum. I am not sure if it is a good news, but I really

appreciate his effort. Unfortunately, we could not get hold of our timetables yet as the school

timetable is being rescheduled.

13th March Izyan: Today was normal until I was called by the principal. Another practicum

teacher was called as well. It turned out that the school received a complaint from one of the

parents saying that their daughter was slapped by her classmate and teacher was in the class and

did not do anything about it. Honestly I did not see anything. And it was not even my class. It was

a relief. I was shocked and it was strange that the students did not come to me and complain

about it herself if I was in the class. The principal was only worrying about what to answer to the

parents. I was devastated. My self esteem went down the drain.

14th October Aizat: Unfortunately, I could not conduct of the class because the school counseling

division had decided to bring all of the students to the school hall. This was due to the small

number of students who attended the school.

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