Online Microteaching Lesson Study: An Approach to Improve Prospective Elementary Teachers’ Subject Matter Knowledge in Chemistry

Abstract

The abrupt changes in teacher training brought by the COVID-19 pandemic urged teacher education institutions to implement interventions that would continuously equip prospective teachers with professional knowledge. As a response, this study utilized the online microteaching lesson study (OMLS) as an intervention in developing prospective elementary teachers’ (PETs) subject matter knowledge (SMK) in chemistry. It employed a mixed-method explanatory sequential design to determine the effects of OMLS on the SMK in chemistry of 36 PETs. Quantitative results revealed a significant effect of OMLS on PETs’ SMK as indicated by the improved achievement in chemistry, the identical normalized gain scores of the OMLS groups, and the enhanced SMK survey results of the OMLS teams. On the other hand, qualitative results showed that OMLS reinforced conceptual understanding by involving PETs in active learning and catalyzed conceptual change by enforcing PETs to employ metacognition. In addition, OMLS improved PETs’ ability to demonstrate SMK in teaching chemistry through repeated lesson implementation. In conclusion, PETs’ SMK in chemistry improved through OMLS.