Field Experience as the Centerpiece of an Integrated Model for STEM Teacher Preparation

The purpose of this study was to provide a descriptive account of one pathway for preparing high-quality STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) teachers for work in high-need urban schools. In this account, we discuss the supports that STEM majors need in learning how to think about the content that they know well, through an educational perspective that focuses on teaching and learning. We also describe the approach that we use that integrates content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and three extensive teaching co-op experiences to facilitate the transition from successful STEM undergraduate students to effective teachers of STEM content. We suggest that by using the teaching co-op experiences to both filter and reflect on content and pedagogical content knowledge, the STEM undergraduates develop a particularly strong foundation of knowledge for teaching

Ripples of Gratitude: The Flow-on Effects of Practicing Gratitude in the Classroom Environment

This research explores God’s call to gratitude, summarizes current research on the benefits of gratitude, identifies key gratitude disciplines/practices, and utilizes a conceptual framework to study gratitude in the context of educational settings. In contribution to the relatively recent discussion on gratitude, especially in the education field, the researchers explored the effects when pre-service teachers practice an inner attitude of gratitude and intentionally express gratitude in the classroom setting. This study expands the current educational research of gratitude by incorporating three primary gratitude practices – the State of Preparedness, gratitude language, and gratitude journaling – and examining both personal benefits and flow-on effect toward the teaching-learning process. Fourteen pre-service elementary school teachers were invited to practice gratitude during nine weeks of their full-time fieldwork placements. Participants experienced personal benefits such as enhanced well-being, strengthened relationships, and heightened cognitive skills. Ripples of gratitude were observed as positive flow-on effects in their classrooms: a more positive and calmer classroom atmosphere, better behaved students, and students more willing to focus effort towards learning. Pre-service teachers also experienced a flow-on effect towards themselves through increased resiliency when facing adversity and greater satisfaction in teaching. These findings are significant for the field of education as the power of gratitude can foster positive transformation through promoting engaged environments and strengthened relationships for both teacher and student

Examining Literacy Specialist Candidates’ Self-Efficacy Beliefs in Leadership Competencies Before and After Internships in Schools

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in the self-efficacy beliefs of 25 literacy specialist candidates in three key leadership areas before and after 15-week internships in schools. The three leadership areas, identified by university faculty as important to the leadership role of literacy specialists in schools today, are: 1) serving as a resource to classroom teachers, administrators, and parents; 2) conducting staff development; and 3) engaging in literacy program development and coordination. Paired-sample t-tests used to evaluate pre/post-survey scores at the end of the 15 weeks suggest self-efficacy beliefs in all three categories grew significantly over the course of the internships. Using Bandura’s framework and the leadership competencies to code and analyze interviews, electronic communications, and reflective papers, the author shares examples of how candidates at the top and bottom of the group in self-efficacy growth compared in interpreting self-efficacy related information during the course of the internships. Implications for graduate literacy programs are discusse

“You Want Me To Do What?” The Benefits of Co-teaching in the Middle Level

Exemplary middle schools use interdisciplinary teaming which often involves some level of co-planning, co-teaching, and co-assessing. In addition to this collaborative foundation, federal mandates for supporting students have led to frequent co-teaching between special educators, bilingual/bicultural specialists, and regular classroom teachers. Given that middle level educational frameworks, current inclusion practices, and demands for differentiation are all dependent upon teachers working together, increasing the presence of co-teaching within middle level teacher education program is both pragmatically sound and connected to foundational theories of middle level education. Middle school teachers and university faculty members who engage in co-teaching with teacher candidates can provide candidates with practical experiences tied closely to the work that will be expected of them as public school teachers. Early exposure to co-teaching models can better equip our students for their future work in today’s schools. This study highlights the benefits possible from the implementation of a co-teaching model within a middle level education program. Benefits of co-teaching for middle level teacher candidates, classroom teachers, and university faculty are included. The results of this study may provide a unique framework of co-teaching which enhances interactions among educational constituents for improved teacher preparation, professional development for practicing teachers, and improved instruction for middle grades students

New Generation of Educators Initiative: Reform Focus at Comprehensive Grant Sites

This first analysis of the early NGEI work at comprehensive grant campuses shows that collectively campuses are working across points on the pipeline to address the need for teachers who are better prepared to effectively teach to the new standards. While the bulk of the NGEI reform efforts are targeted at teacher preparation program reform, we see NGEI campuses reaching as far back as high school to cultivate early interest in, and preparedness for, teaching in response to local conditions such as limited candidate pools.Within teacher preparation, the early NGEI work of campuses is primarily clustered around the reform of the teacher preparation program coursework and clinical work (reflecting the first and third Key Transformation Elements). Partnerships with districts are at various stages of development and, in several cases, are focused primarily at the school level. A few campuses are reforming the formative feedback process for candidates through their NGEI work (Element 4). Work with district partners on the identification of the key skills, knowledge, and dispositions of well-prepared new teachers (Element 2) and work on continuous improvement based on data on candidates and program completers (Element 5) are less prominent in the NGEI work to date.As campuses clear the hurdle of launching their reforms in the summer and fall and look toward the next phase of NGEI funding, the evaluation (WestEd/SRI) and the facilitation (ConnectEd) teams are poised to provide support to grantees on the Key Transformation Elements that are not yet fully developed across all comprehensive sites, that is:* Partnerships with K–12 district partners to align programming as much as possible.* Shared understandings with K–12 district partners about the key knowledge, skills, and dispositions of a well-prepared new teacher that are used to inform teacher preparation program elements.* Feedback to candidates on their mastery of prioritized skills during preparation.* Data on candidate progress toward mastery of identified knowledge and practices during their training and after program completion.Specifically, ConnectEd is available to assist with implementation coaching and support for comprehensive campus teams and can support the work with K–12 partners.In addition to providing ongoing formative evaluation work across the comprehensive grant sites, the WestEd/SRI team can provide technical support for grantees to assist with the development of high-quality data on candidate progress toward mastery of identified knowledge and practices during their training and after program completion. The data inventories that the evaluation team developed for each campus show that there are opportunities to: a) enhance the quality of existing data, b) improve access to those data, and c) develop new data sources targeted toward the measurement of prioritized skills and knowledge for formative feedback to candidates. In the coming months, the evaluation team will also be seeking opportunities to bridge the system-level work described above in Box 1 with campus efforts to strengthen systems for continuous improvement.

Preparing Tomorrow’s World Language Teacher Today: The Case for Seamless Induction

This essay is a call to action. It offers a comprehensive overview of the challenges facing world language (WL) teacher educators and their employers, the K-12 schools, during the teacher induction period. We propose a new paradigm for WL teacher education based on national accreditation standards, best-practice pedagogy, insights from the professional literature on methods education, and the enhanced role of the methods instructor/supervisor. In order to become successful in the classroom, the pre-service educator undergoes a seamless period of induction that is student-centered and college/university-supported beyond the classroom arena

Preservice Literacy Teachers in Transition: Identity as Subjectivity

This research addresses the complexities of identity development of elementary and middle school preservice literacy teachers during their teacher education program using a poststructural feminist theoretical lens. This research investigated two questions: 1) How do preservice teachers develop their identity as teachers of literacy in the midst of authoritative discourses? 2) What kinds of strategies and discourses do preservice literacy teachers use to negotiate the competing discourses of literacy during student teaching? The results indicated that the identities of the preservice literacy teachers were in transition during their teacher education program and authoritative discourses were at work constituting their subjectivities throughout this process. These discourses were heard as the preservice literacy teachers used deconstructive and reconstructive literacy discourses and strategies from their personal literacy biographies, literacy coursework, and student teaching practices. Their agency as literacy teachers was demonstrated through the strategies they used to negotiate and perform their identities during student teaching—working within and outside of the literacy structures of their cooperating teachers’ classrooms. The research also indicated the power of time and space in relation with others, as a means for continued identity transformation

Mentor Teachers Speak: Valuing Teacher Voices in English Education

This narrative inquiry case study brings the voices of mentor teachers into the discourse of English language arts teacher preparation. In a series of interviews, mentor teachers discuss the challenges faced by student teachers, the pedagogical content knowledge needed to teach secondary ELA, and the relationship between secondary schools and universities. At the heart of this project is a desire to empower mentor teachers, whose voices are often missing from scholarship about teacher preparation. This study can give English educators and mentor teachers common ground, fostering connections between the colleges who prepare new teachers and the schools in which they will teach

An Analysis of Cooperating Teacher Feedback: A Qualitative Inquiry

Cooperating teachers are a key component to the success of student teaching internships, serving an integral part in “raising” a teacher. To effectively facilitate the student teaching internship, teacher preparation programs must identify cooperating teachers who align philosophically with the pedagogical training delivered by university programs (Korthagen & Kessels, 1999; Tom, 1997), specifically, cooperating teachers who can reinforce the theoretical framework underpinning the professional coursework pre-service teachers experience in university teacher preparation programs. This qualitative study sought to better understand the feedback provided to future school-based agricultural education (SBAE) teachers during their student teaching experience. Through initial and secondary coding, the research team identified themes among the feedback provided to student teachers by their cooperating teachers. The study revealed cooperating teacher feedback reflects the pedagogical training provided via the teacher preparation program, specifically, around effective teaching behaviors. Understanding the cooperating teacher feedback provides insight for teacher preparation programs

The Foundation Center 2002 Annual Report

Nonprofit organizations faced new challenges in 2002 as a result of the effects of September 11, 2001, and a weakened economy. To identify sources of support to sustain their organizations, and often to respond to increased demand for their services, growing numbers of grantseekers turned to the Foundation Center for authoritative information on grantmakers and their giving. This increased need for information coincided with the Center's efforts to expand our grantmaker and grant information and to increase the currency of the data we provide to grantseekers and other researchers through our print and electronic resources