Analysis of an 'international teaching practicum' as a program for achieving 'teacher agency' and strengthening 'technological pedagogical content knowledge'

IntroductionThis research aimed to study the achievement of teacher agency of Korean pre-service teachers through their experiences in an international teaching practicum (ITP). This study also diagnosed the domestic pre-orientation (DPO) program of G University to seek the possibilities of developing a TPACK strengthening program. The participants of this study were five female Korean pre-service teachers who were in the ITP from 2015-2016.MethodsThe data were collected in two different time slots: the teaching diaries and ITP reports from the Korean pre-service teachers, DPO teaching materials, and program instructor's field notes were collected in 2016, and then, the interview was conducted in 2018.Results and discussionTo study their teacher agency achievement, the three chordal triads of agency, the iterational dimension, the practical-evaluative dimension, and the projective dimension, were spotlighted and used as the lens to analyze the data. In addition, the DPO program was analyzed based on the elements of TPACK competencies. The research shows that the ITP was a trigger experience for the Korean pre-service teachers in terms of the achievement of teacher agency. The participants could project their aspirations and then decide and execute what they had learned from the ITP in their actual Korean classrooms. Also, the need to reconstruct the DPO program to be able to assist the pre-service teachers' TPACK achievement has been raised.