Epitomizing Teacher Educators’ Conception of Teaching from Student Teachers’ Reflection

Teaching practices of teachers strongly influence students’ learning. In turn, teachers’ practices shaped by the teaching conception they hold. Hence, this study explores the teaching conceptions held by teacher educators from the angle of their teaching practices using student teachers’ learning as a lens. In addition, refining the dimensional variations of teaching conception and figuring out teaching practices that work across the different conceptual categories were the intention of the study. To this end, reflection of 54 student teachers on what and how their professors have been doing and in what way did that assist them develop as a new teacher was considered. This came in three hierarchically related teaching conceptions: transmitting teachers’ understanding of the discipline, developing students’ understanding and challenging students’ understanding. These conceptions appeared to be varied across: contents, student role, interplay, motivation and evaluation. Coming to teaching practices, availing learning resources, modeling of teaching practices and using of video films were used differently across the conceptual categories.