Project-based learning in science-teacher pedagogical practicum: the role of emotional experiences in building preservice teachers’ competencies

Abstract

The study investigated preservice teachers’ (PST) emotional experiences, teaching competencies, and the connection between the two over the course of a pedagogical practicum conducted using a project-based learning (PBL) approach. The study addressed the following research questions: (a) Which emotional experiences accompanied PSTs’ PBL-based pedagogical practicum? (b) Of the competencies for implementing PBL that the PSTs developed during the practicum, which did they consider using as part of their classroom practices in the future? (c) Is there a connection between PSTs’ emotional experiences and their self-reported competencies for implementing PBL in their classroom practices? Participants were 16 preservice teachers in their first year in the teacher-education program for teaching sciences. Data were collected from reflective reports, submitted at the end of the first and second semesters, thereby addressing the middle and final stages of the PBL-based practicum, and were analyzed using three complementary methodologies: content, linguistic, and statistical analyses. The findings indicate that, as portrayed by the participants, PSTs’ immersion in the PBL-based practicum was accompanied by both positive and negative emotional experiences. While immersed in the PBL practicum, the PSTs described themselves as developing various teaching competencies for implementing PBL in the classroom. It was also found that the positive emotional experiences outnumbered the negative, and this predominance was positively linked to the development of the PSTs’ competencies.