In this study, we examined the professional development of preservice teachers (PTs) in the framework of simulation-based learning (SBL) during pedagogical courses. The study’s goal was to examine the reflective discourse patterns by focusing mainly on the linguistic behaviour of the SBL’s participants, to describe their experiences that tended to contribute to the professional development. To this end, two SBL workshops were studied using three data collection tools: (a) workshop transcripts, which were analysed using positioning theory and the systemic functional linguistic method; (b) interviews conducted with the main SBL participant in each workshop; and (c) observations collected by two simulation instructors who viewed the videotaped simulation of the two workshop scenarios. Thus, we obtained a broad picture of PTs’ perceptions of the SBL experiences. The data analysis revealed distinctive patterns of behaviour during the participants’ discursive interactions, pointing at three directions of PTs’ learning process. The findings show that SBL, as perceived by PTs, is a unique and novel tool that contributes to the enrichment of their professional training as well as benefits their professional development. The study contributes to the field by suggesting the connection between SBL experiences of the participants and the professional development process they undergo.

This study aims to understand processes related to the development of student teachers’ professional identity, by using a Systemic-Functional Linguistics-based methodology to analyze the written reflections of 33 student teachers. Participants were enrolled in the science teaching tracks of two teaching colleges in the country and reflected on their recent exposure to Project Based Learning. Three linguistic markers were observed: 1) personal references forming group- and self-focused narratives; 2) verbal phrases forming future-oriented narratives; 3) intensifications forming emotionally-colored narratives. The findings demonstrate that the suggested methodology enables the identification of messages conveyed implicitly throughout the reflective reports and, thereby, affords a better understanding of the student teachers’ concerns, expectations, and hopes during the process of their professional identity development, as they study to become teachers.

Despite a growing awareness of the importance of future-oriented reflective practices among teacher-education researchers, there is a gap in the literature regarding the question of whether and in what way these kinds of written reflections promote the development of student teachers’ professional identity. To fill this gap, the current study aims to explore the contribution of future-oriented discourse within written reflective narratives to the shaping of student teachers’ professional identity. The participants of the study were 16 student teachers in their first year of studies towards a B.Ed. degree with a specialisation in science education. The data were obtained from the student teachers’ reflective reports (n = 32) submitted at the end of both the first and the second semesters. The data were analysed combining linguistic and content analyses. The main finding of the current study is that this kind of reflective practice contributes to the development of student teachers’ professional identity in three main ways: It allows them to (1) predict the kind of teachers they are going to be, (2) formulate expectations of themselves as teachers, and (3) express concerns regarding their future as teachers.