Listening to the Voice in the Field: Cooperating Teacher, Candidate and Supervisor Perspectives on Creating Collaborative Environments

Abstract: The researcher surveyed teacher candidates, cooperating teachers and university supervisors in a teacher preparation program at a 4-year, public university. This article focuses on a four semester study surveying the perceptions of pre-service teachers, cooperating teachers and university supervisors as to the necessary elements for a collaborative framework in a co-teaching environment

The Impact of Collaboration on Clinical Practice in Teacher Education: A Pilot Study

This article shares one university’s work with two metropolitan districts to support preservice teachers during clinical practice through the use of a common language. The pilot merged the concept of co-teaching and coaching to the clinical practice experience. The study was completed over a year’s time and connected preservice teachers’ last methods class placement to their clinical practice placement. Preservice teachers participating in this pilot were paired with a cooperating teacher for an entire year as opposed to a semester experience. Preliminary findings yielded a positive outcome

Comparing Formative and Summative Instruments: What Tools Inform Practice and Guide Teacher Candidate Decision Making?

With an increased focus on field-based preparation, the relationship between P12 school districts and universities has been forced to change with little or no support to create effective third space environments. The complexity of the student teaching experience is compounded by the need for redefined roles, the lack of a common lexicon and the incongruence of accreditation systems. A Convergent Parallel Mixed Methods study was conducted to compare the use of formative and summative evaluation tools used to evaluate teacher candidates during student teaching. It also explored how the use of these two tools impacted the feedback provided and implemented by teacher candidates. The formative evaluation was developed using Delphi methodology and merged the language of the local P12 school districts with the summative evaluation tool grounded in the InTASC language. The results showed increased candidate growth and more effective feedback from mentor teachers and university supervisors. As a result, a common explanatory framework was developed to support third space environments

The COVID-19 Impact on Induction Support

For beginning teachers, Fall 2020 provided an unforgettable first year. The previous spring had brought abrupt and unexpected changes to teaching. Schools closed without notice, student teaching experiences stopped midway through, and teachers were thrown into situations they had never been trained to address. This led to difficult decisions and new obstacles as the world fought to manage COVID-19 and the associated fallout. Teacher candidates graduated with incomplete student teaching experiences and gaps in understanding. Induction programs support beginning teachers as they transition into their own classroom and provide guidance in meeting performance standards. As a result, seven local school districts and one metropolitan university induction program partnered to support high-intensity induction in the midst of the pandemic. This raised the question: What impact, if any, did COVID-19 have on beginning teachers and the induction support provided? This paper outlines the changes in targeted mentoring and coaching actions, the actions most affected by COVID-19, and the implications moving forward

Collaborating With University Faculty and District Partners to Provide Meaningful Field Experiences for Pre-service Teachers

The most effective teacher preparation programs require candidates to spend extensive time in the field practicing skills related to coursework (Darling-Hammond, 2010). When a candidate is provided opportunities to work alongside expert teachers to put coursework into practice, the candidate receives support and guidance along the way making he/she better equipped to problem solve, engage and impact student achievement. Effective teachers are the most influential factor on student achievement; students exposed to an ineffective teacher for three or more years, will never catch up academically (Darling-Hammond, 2010; Madda, Skinner & Schultz, 2012). Teacher candidates need to be exposed to effective teachers in the field in order to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to impact student achievement

Preservice teachers’ perceptions of feedback: The importance of timing, purpose, and delivery

If the purpose of feedback is to reduce the discrepancy between the established goal and what is recognized, then how can this discrepancy be minimized through support and guidance? Feedback is instrumental to a preservice teacher development during their teacher preparation program. This qualitative study examines 31 first year teachers’ previous experiences with feedback during their undergraduate practicums. The two research questions addressed: What can be learned from PSTs’ perceptions of feedback practices utilized in teacher preparation programs? and What modifications or adaptations can be made to current feedback practices and structures in teacher preparation programs to enhance teacher efficacy and classroom readiness? Semi structured interviews provided a comparison of qualitative data and an opportunity for open ended questioning. Using descriptive analysis, researchers discovered that current feedback loops and structures can inhibit pre-service teachers’ ability to make meaning from the information and move their learning and instruction forward. As teacher preparation programs work to establish more dialogic approaches to feedback that provide pre-service teachers with multiple opportunities to reflect individually and collaboratively with university faculty, timing, purpose, and delivery are important components to consider. Although this article is written based on preservice teacher perceptions, the implications pertain to multiple fields and authors share a universal framework for feedback