Facilitating peer learning for student teachers: A case study

Information technology is a convenient and powerful tool to stimulate and support learning at any time and place, and the special features of online communication foster collaborative learning. However, a number of studies have indicated that teacher education institutions do not adequately prepare the student teachers to teach with technology. In view of this, the author attempted to integrate technology with content and pedagogy in her postgraduate student teacher class. She engaged the students in several face-to-face and online individual and group activities so that they could experience and appreciate blended learning and teaching approaches. A model of investigation was then developed by the author to examine if there was any relationship between the students’ learning processes, learning products and learning outcomes. Data was collected through a questionnaire, a focus-group meeting and from the grades that they obtained. It was found that the student teachers embraced the different face-to-face and online collaborative activities, though the collaborative effort was not reflected in their grades. Copyright © 2009 Sense Publishers.