Video-based reflective practices have long been part of teacher education. Frequently the feedback or focus is about content or organisation of the material, but enhancing one’s level of emotional mindfulness has also been suggested as a means to improve performance in teaching and a speaker understands of how they may be perceived by the audience. The affective component of teaching has been argued to be a key predictor of pupil engagement. The effects of emotion on vocal expression is apparent in everyday speech but can also be characterised by using voice analysis software (PRAAT). The aim of the current research was to inform reflective practice and test links among various indices of emotional state in pre-service teachers (PSTs) giving lessons to school children. Participants were 54 PSTs in teacher training at 3 regional universities. Participants worked in small 60 groups and alternated between being the Teaching PST and Observing PST. Several emotion measures were used in repeated measures designs. Teaching PSTs completed the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) before and after each lesson. Emotion checklists completed by Teaching and Observer PSTs for segments of recorded lessons were evaluated to determine the level of individual emotions and profiles of blended emotions. Observer PSTs also rated the affect of Teaching PSTs during the lessons. The points of concordance and disparity between the Teaching and Observer PST ratings were used to inform the reflective exercises overseen by mentor teachers. The affect/emotion ratings were also used to help characterise various voice parameters (e.g., fundamental frequency, intensity variability) as calculated by PRAAT software. Preliminary results indicate that the method for recording emotion during teaching was feasible and did not intrude significantly on the classroom. Concordance between Teaching and Observing PST reports was not always high but the discussions about differences were considered fruitful in terms of assisting reflection. The similarity between PANAS scores and ratings of emotion for teaching segments was also variable. Our voice analyses to decode emotion effects indicated that laboratory reports about emotion-parameter links may not apply well to recordings in naturalistic settings that evoke blended and fluid emotional reactions
Funding
Other
History
Start Page
59
End Page
59
Start Date
2014-09-30
Finish Date
2014-10-02
Location
Hobart, Australia
Publisher
Australian Psychological Society
Place of Publication
Flinders Lane, Vic.
Peer Reviewed
Yes
Open Access
No
External Author Affiliations
Southern Cross University; Central Queensland University
Era Eligible
No
Name of Conference
49th Australian Psychological Society. Annual Conference (2014)