ENHANCING PRE-SERVICE ENGLISH TEACHERS’ CREATIVE ENGAGEMENT THROUGH INTERACTIVE TEACHING STRATEGIES
Keywords:
Creative engagement, interactive strategies, pre-service teachersAbstract
This article examines the impact of systematically embedded interactive teaching strategies on the creative engagement of pre-service English language teachers. A semester-long mixed-method study involving 68 third-year undergraduates at a metropolitan pedagogical university in Uzbekistan investigated whether dialogic techniques, task-based digital simulations and reflective micro-teaching could foster higher levels of imaginative investment and pedagogical originality. Quantitative analysis using the Creative Classroom Engagement Scale (α = 0.91) revealed a statistically significant improvement in fluency, flexibility and elaboration (t = 3.97; p < 0.01) within the experimental cohort compared to a control group following a traditional lecture-seminar format. Qualitative data derived from video-stimulated recall and learning journals indicated a parallel shift in professional identity, with participants describing themselves as “learning designers” rather than lesson deliverers. The findings support sociocultural and constructivist positions asserting that creativity flourishes in dialogic, learner-centred spaces and underline the importance of embedding such spaces in teacher-education curricula.
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