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five to two during the field experience portion of the semester and providing a more
structured feedback delivery system from the instructors and peers (Jakopovic et
al., 2021; Lemke et al., 2022). With these design changes in place, the aim was to
continue to support PSTs’ growth in self-efficacy through our refined format.

Participants
Participants in this study included elementary education PSTs enrolled in the
Dr. Sheryl McGlamery same field-experience block. Due to the pandemic, PSTs enrolled in Fall 2020 had
is Professor of Science completed their previous field experience in Spring 2020 when schools were shut
Education at the University down and virtual simulated teaching opportunities were created to complete the field
of Nebraska at Omaha.
Her research interests requirements. The field experience block that occurred in Spring 2021 included not
include science teacher only students who had experienced a traditional, in-person field experience but also
development, teacher those who had only had virtual experiences. Therefore, some students in Spring 2021
induction, and gender had experience in a classroom whereas others started this field experience block
equity in STEM. She serves having never participated in an in-person field experience. Fourteen PSTs from Fall
as principal investigator 2020 and 14 from Spring 2021 agreed to take part in this study. All identifying
on a national grant aimed
at the education of middle information was removed for purposes of protecting the anonymity of participants
school girls in STEM as we report our results.
subjects. McGlamery
is a member of Omega Data Collection and Analysis
Chapter in Nebraska State We collected data from participants in the form of end-of-semester written
Organization. reflections in both Fall 2020 and Spring 2021. The reflection questions were as

smcglamery@ follows:
unomaha.edu 1. What components and supports of the practicum experience did you find
beneficial this semester?
2. What were the most beneficial parts of the on-campus micro-teaching
opportunities before and during the field experience?
3. How did the on-campus micro-teachings impact your performance in the
field? Develop your skill set?
4. What supports do you wish you had, or what changes would be helpful for
the instructional team to consider?
5. What suggestions do you have on improving micro-teachings for future
semesters and candidates?
Authors 1 and 2 initially coded the data from responses to these questions deductively,
using Bandura’s four sources of self-efficacy (see Table 1).
Table 1

Level 1 Codes: Student- and Instructor-Identified Self-Efficacy Sources

Codes Description of Self-Efficacy Source

Mastery Experiences Engaging in hands-on teaching experiences

Vicarious Experiences Observing other people teaching

Verbal Persuasion Feedback from classmates and peers

Physiological Arousal Emotional experiences related to teaching

32 The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators