Examining Pre-Service Teachers' Instructional Strategies for Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Via Video-Conferencing

This action research observes instructional strategies and appropriateness of the strategies that pre-service teachers have applied during their training based on the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) training model. Participants include 14 pre-service teachers who were enrolled in a Distance Education training course in Taiwan. During the course, pre-service teachers were trained to develop teaching skills based on the TPACK training model and applied their skills in video-conferencing teaching which involved 14 American students who were learning Mandarin Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) in an intermediate level course in the United States. Data were collected via screen recordings of online teaching, pre-service teachers’ lesson plans, and instructional PowerPoint presentations. The results revealed in the content analysis that the CFL pre-service teachers applied four instructional strategies including using body language, graphic and pictures, animations, and text-based input to enhance understanding of the content. These instructional strategies were relatively simple and easy to use in the online teaching environment; however, overusing multimedia may cause instructional obstacles. This study suggests that when training pre-service teachers to use technologies, it is more important to train pre-service teachers to develop abilities that link technology tools with instructional goals.