Ten Years Later

2012 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 324-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colleen M. Conway
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Experienced Teachers ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Preservice Preparation ◽  
Music Teacher Preparation ◽  
Group Interviews

The purpose of this inquiry was to examine the current reflections of experienced teachers on their past perceptions of preservice music teacher preparation as documented in the author’s previous research. Research questions included the following: (a) How would participants describe their reactions to a present-day examination of 1999 or 2000 data (journals, individual and focus group interviews, and two questionnaires) and 2002 study findings? (b) How had their perceptions regarding preservice music teacher preparation changed since 1999-2000? and (c) On the basis of their recent work with preservice interns and student teachers, what could these experienced teachers say about preservice music teacher preparation today? Data collected in 2010 included participant journals and individual interviews. Findings categories include (a) general agreement with 2002 study findings regarding best and worst facets of preservice preparation, (b) experience is the best teacher, (c) teacher education is doing the best it can do, (d) preservice students will get out of teacher education what they put into it, and (e) specific suggestions for teacher education provided by participants.

What cooperating music teachers say about educative mentoring: A focus study research project

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Michael Abramo ◽  
Mark Robin Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Cooperating Teachers ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Education Practice ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Teaching Music ◽  
Educative Mentoring

In this study, we examine and provide a framework for “educative mentoring” by investigating five cooperating music teachers’ experiences and strategies of serving as mentors to student teachers. Data collection included a survey, focus groups, and individual interviews. The themes that arose suggest that cooperating teachers use narratives and wait for educative moments to emerge rather than preparing them ahead of time when mentoring. Cooperating teachers also wanted more guidance from the teacher education programs they serve. From this, we suggest that educative mentoring for the cooperating teachers was structured by the negotiation of three dialectical relationships: reflecting versus modeling; emergence versus purposefulness; and learning to teach in specific contexts versus preparation that transfers to teaching music in all settings. These findings may inform music teacher education practice and research by providing a framework for how cooperating teachers support novice teachers’ educational growth and providing cooperating teachers with the guidance they may desire from universities.

scholarly journals Species Learning and Biodiversity in Early Childhood Teacher Education

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 3698
Author(s):  
Lili-Ann Wolff ◽  
Tuula H. Skarstein
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Species Identification ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Early Childhood Teacher ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Social Perspectives ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Local Nature

To understand biodiversity, it is crucial to have knowledge of different species and their life conditions. Biodiversity learning for children starts with observing plants and animals in the neighbourhood. Therefore, it is important that early childhood (EC) teachers know the local nature. There are few studies on species knowledge among EC student teachers but results from a Norwegian study show that although EC student teachers had poor species knowledge when entering university, their knowledge increased remarkably during their studies. Based on these results, the current study investigates the implementation of species learning in an EC teacher education course in Finland. Our aim was to study the student teachers’ species identification skills, their views on the importance of species knowledge, and their experiences of species learning. The study used a mixed-methods approach and included species identification tests, a questionnaire, learning diaries, and focus group interviews. The results show that the student teachers were eager to learn about species. They found species learning important both for EC teachers and for sustainability, and they appreciated learning about species in a broad sense, from personal, educational, and social perspectives. Our conclusion is that implementing species knowledge in EC teacher education promotes an interest in the natural world and may form a significant contribution to nature and sustainability education for EC teachers.

Music Teacher Preparation for Teaching Children With Exceptionalities

2019 ◽  
pp. 543-557
Author(s):  
Ryan M. Hourigan ◽  
Alice M. Hammel
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
Special Education Teacher ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
Education Teacher ◽  
Music Teacher Preparation ◽  
Working Together

This chapter examines a framework for special education teacher preparation within music teacher education. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, as of the 2013–2014 academic year, 6.5 million students representing 13% of all public school children qualify for special education services. This was an increase from 4.7 million, or 11%, in 1990–1991. Music education and special education share similar challenges with teacher preparation. Finding, preparing, and developing a qualified workforce in special education presents one of the field’s biggest challenges. The first logical place to examine pathways to successful preparation for music teachers is the literature focused on teacher preparation in special education. Brownell (2005) proposes a framework for special education teacher preparation that includes crafting impactful field experiences, working together (collaboration), examining outcomes of teacher education, and focusing on inclusion and cultural diversity.

Music teacher educators’ visions of music teacher preparation in Finland, Norway and Sweden

2015 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia Ferm Thorgersen ◽  
Geir Johansen ◽  
Marja-Leena Juntunen
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
Music Pedagogy ◽  
Music Teacher Education ◽  
Music Teacher Preparation ◽  
Good Music ◽  
Functional Concept

In this study we investigated the visions of 12 music teacher educators who teach pedagogical courses called instrumental pedagogy and classroom music pedagogy in three music academies in Finland, Norway and Sweden. The data were collected through individual, semi-structured qualitative interviews. Drawing on Hammerness’ concept of teachers’ vision we concentrated on the educators’ visions of good music pedagogy teaching, an ideal graduate, and visions of their subject as a whole, as well as how those visions can be extended to denote some characteristics of the teaching traditions at play. The results indicated that visions were personal and not necessarily consistent between educators or across institutions. Rather, they were strongly related to, steered, and limited by established teaching traditions. We suggest that vision might constitute a functional concept in music teacher educators’ reflections on their work and that clear programme visions should be formulated in music teacher education institutions through collective collegial efforts.

scholarly journals Student-teachers' Experiences During Practicum in Pre-service Teacher Education in Myanmar

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ei Phyu Chaw ◽  
Erika Kopp
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Doctoral Research ◽  
Pre Service Teacher Education ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Pre Service Teacher

Teacher education program differs internationally in accordance with the admission, assessment, teaching practice period, induction program, professional learning, initial teacher learning, continuous professional development, and performance appraisal systems for recognizing accredited teaching. Experts in teacher education recommends that the practicum is the focus and an integral part of initial teacher education program. In most countries, teacher education programs face difficulties in finding the proper role and form of practice. Referring to National Education Strategic Plan (2016-21) of Myanmar, practicum in teacher preparation program is dull and it has limited guidance and supervision. Moreover, very few publications are available in Myanmar that label the perceptions of teacher candidate on their practicum experience. This study explores student-teachers' experience during practicum in their pre-service teacher education program. The doctoral research will focus on the role of practicum in pre-service teacher education in Myanmar. This document describes the results of the pilot study conducted in 2019, July. The researcher employed convergent mixed-method design to collect data for the pilot study. Data collection methods include semi-structured focus group interviews and questionnaires. The final year student-teachers (N=23) who were enrolled in 2014 academic year at the Yangon University of Education are the subject of the study. The questionnaire consists of 27 closed items. Fourteen final-year student-teachers discussed their practicum experiences in two focus group interviews. Student-teachers' responses to the questionnaire are mostly positive. In the focus group interview, they mentioned their critical point of views such as their university program could prepare them to some extent for their practicum. There were some differences in responses to the questionnaire and focus group interviews. From the results of the quantitative and qualitative part, the researcher could learn some potential problem areas that can affect the whole doctoral research.

Being “adopted” into a teaching community

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 228-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erinn Bentley ◽  
Madison Workman ◽  
Alex Overby
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Mentor Teachers ◽  
Mentoring Relationships ◽  
Field Placement ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
The Impact

Purpose In order to prepare new members of the education profession, it is imperative that teachers enter their classrooms with the confidence, knowledge, and skills to serve their students from day one. One method for preparing such teacher candidates or student teachers is through school-based field placements during their preparation program. The purpose of this paper is to describe one example of a yearlong field placement and the mentoring relationships that emerged among participants. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative study used the following data sources: focus group interviews among the teacher candidates, focus group interviews among the mentor teachers, field placement reflections and teaching analyses composed by the teacher candidates, and interviews conducted among teacher candidates and mentor teachers. Findings Analysis of the data revealed that the yearlong field placement promoted positive mentoring relationships between teacher candidates and their classroom teachers. Specifically the following themes emerged: the “adoption” of teacher candidates into the high school classrooms, risk-taking within the classrooms, the mentor teachers’ use of constructive feedback, and collaborative “mentoring-down-the-hall.” Originality/value In recent years, various scholars have investigated the impact of field placement experiences on teacher candidates; however, these studies have lacked a detailed analysis of how such experiences impacted mentoring relationships among candidates and their mentor teachers in a collaborative setting. This paper provides an in-depth study of the perceived experiences of mentor teachers and their candidates.

What's the Story?: Exploring Parent–Teacher Communication through ePortfolios

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 13-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Higgins ◽  
Sue Cherrington
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
Electronic Portfolios ◽  
Communication Tool ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Teacher Communication ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Reported Data

ELECTRONIC PORTFOLIOS (ePORTFOLIOS) ARE a relatively new phenomenon in early childhood education (ECE) with minimal existing research available on their use and effectiveness as a learning and communication tool in ECE. This article reports on a study examining the influence of ePortfolios on parent–teacher communication in one early childhood (EC) service. Reported data has been drawn from online surveys, document analysis of ePortfolios, individual interviews and focus group interviews with parents and teachers. Thematic analysis identified two main themes: the benefits and drawbacks of communicating via the ePortfolio, and the types of communication that were evident.

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