A Reflection Based-Program to Enhance Student Teachers’ EFL Teaching Performance and Decrease their Cognitive Load

The current study aimed to examine the impact of a reflection-based program on enhancing specific teaching performance skills and decreasing the cognitive load of third-year student teachers in the English Language Department at the Faculty of Education, Damietta University. A one-group pre-posttest design was employed. Teaching performance skills were identified using various tools during the data collection and diagnostic phase, including a checklist approved by a jury of EFL specialists. The program focused on improving five core teaching performance skills: Pedagogical competence, teacher-student interaction, delivering lessons, assessment knowledge, and language of instruction. A randomly selected group of thirty-two participants received the reflection-based program in the 2023-2024 academic year. Reflective tools such as unstructured reflection interviews, written reflective journals, audio reflective journals, recorded reflective video, and peer feedback meetings, instructor feedback meetings, and Cognitive Load Scale were employed to capture different aspects of participants' reflective practices and teaching experiences. Additionally, a cognitive load scale was used to assess and decrease participants' cognitive load. A pre-post application was administered to measure the development of teaching skills. The results indicated that the reflection-based program was effective in enhancing teaching skills and decreasing cognitive load.