Talking About Instruction: Student Teachers' Reflections on Success and Failure in the Classroom

Verbal descriptions of successful and unsuccessful lessons were used to examine 47 student teach ers' conceptions of instruction. The interns identified seven elements related to lesson success or failure. Further, responses were typed according to attribution of lesson outcome. Three perspec tives represented the degree to which student teachers emphasized their role or that of their students in the success or failure of the lesson. Illustrations and commentaries on the typology are presented, and its use to promote reflection in teacher education is discussed.