Improvisation Training in Teacher Education: Preliminary Assignments and Learning Diaries 2017-2018

The data consists of pre-assignments, learning diaries and peer feedbacks from learning diaries written by student teachers at the University of Helsinki, in which they discuss improvisation and improvisation methods as well as interaction and performance situations. The data was collected in the context of a study conducted during the course "Improvisation for self-confidence in teaching" at the Faculty of Education in the University of Helsinki. In order to participate in the course, students had to take part in the research. The study also included a neuroscientific section measuring the psychophysiological responses of the participants, which placed requirements on the course participants. This material includes the writings produced by the participants. The course was organised in two parts, with the participants in the first part forming the intervention group and those in the second part the control group. During the course, the intervention group completed a pre-assignment, a learning diary and two peer feedbacks from the learning diaries, while the control group completed a pre-assignment and a learning diary. In the pre-assignments, participants reflect on their relationship with performing, performance anxiety and teaching. In addition, they were asked about their thoughts on improvisation and their expectations of the course. In the learning diaries, on the other hand, participants reflected on what they had learnt during the course in relation to improvisation and performance exercises and how they applied this to practical teaching and performance situations. Participants also reflected on different everyday interaction situations through the exercises and concepts presented in the course. Furthermore, the participants reflected on whether they had received help with their performance anxiety and also, in general, on where they felt they had developed, become stronger or, on the other hand, what they would have liked to learn more about. In the peer feedback in the learning diaries, the authors, in turn, freely reflect on their learning experiences in relation to the ideas of others, such as what they experienced in the same or different ways about the subject areas of the course. Background variables included the respondent's group in the study and the code generated for the respondents. The data were organised into an easy to use HTML version at FSD.