Funded by the British Council, the study took place in Beijing Normal University, Shaanxi Normal University, and Hebei Normal University for Nationalities and aimed to explore PMLS as an alternative to traditional peer-teaching methods for supporting English language teachers in training.
In these programmes, pre-service teachers often have limited opportunities to practice in schools. PMLS provided a new way for these teachers to develop their professional skills and confidence. The project investigated how PMLS might build teachers' knowledge and skills, as well as support their professional identity and confidence.
The team collected a range of data from recordings of lesson planning sessions and pre-service teachers' peer microteaching classes. They also used questionnaires and interviews to collect feedback from teacher educators and pre-service teachers about the effectiveness of PMLS in developing teaching skills, teacher identity and confidence, and classroom practice. The team worked to develop online resources and an online platform to support educators in using PMLS.
The results were positive. Most pre-service teachers felt that PMLS improved their teaching skills, classroom abilities, and confidence. However, some did mention challenges, noting that more preparation would help them feel ready for collaborative teaching. Teacher-educators also responded positively, reporting that PMLS increased collaboration, discussion quality, and reflection, and improved pre-service teachers' curriculum knowledge and motivation for teaching.
Although direct school-based teaching practice remains ideal, this project showed that PMLS is a valuable tool when school placements are limited. The team has created an open-access platform to help spread and support PMLS in other education settings.
Cite this report:
Rogerson-Revell, P., Norton, J., Xu, H., Baldry, F., Stanford, J., & Cajkler, W. (2024). Enhancing pre-service English language teachers' professional knowledge, skills and confidence through peer microteaching lesson study (PMLS). British Council. https://doi.org/10.57884/2EXB-AG89