scholarly journals Teacher Preparation and Diversity: When American Pre-service Teachers Aren’t White and Middle Class

Author(s):  
Jodene Morrell

The majority of American educators are White, middle class, and female. Most textbooks and articles for pre-service teachers assume their readers reflect these characteristics. However, as the K-12 student population becomes increasingly diverse, so do the pre-service teacher candidates at our Southern California public university. This article describes a prerequisite education course on diversity, showing how its original assumption that students needed to be convinced of the importance of diversity changed to a focus on improving the academic achievement and opportunities for linguistically and culturally diverse K-12 students.

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 728-750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P. Brady ◽  
Katie Miller ◽  
Jazarae McCormick ◽  
Lawrence A. Heiser

Educators struggle with “value-added” teacher evaluation models based on high-stakes student assessments. Despite validity and reliability threats, these models evaluate university-based teacher preparation programs (TPPs), and play a role in state and professional accreditation. This study reports a more rational value-added evaluation model linking student performance to teacher candidates’ lessons during Practicum and Student Teaching. Results indicate that K-12 students showed learning gains on these lessons, with mixed findings on comparisons of part-time to full-time internships, academic and functional lessons, and candidates’ grade point averages (GPAs). Results indicated that teacher candidates’ lessons are a viable value-added model (VAM) alternative for TPPs.


Author(s):  
Kisha L. Walker ◽  
Stacy Ness ◽  
Fran Reed ◽  
Katherine Strang

What if teacher candidates had the opportunity to practice research-based instructional strategies and the application of critical skills without fear of failure or harm to students? Would you be interested? One of the biggest challenges that teacher preparation programs face is a struggle to provide meaningful and realistic practice for pre-service teacher candidates. How do we provide practice in “real” settings with “real” students who demonstrate a depth and breadth of learning and behavioral challenges? How do we make practice sessions safe environments for both our teacher candidates and the students they serve? How do we provide needed experiences for candidates in a world where in-person learning may be curtailed by unforeseen circumstances? The purpose of this chapter is to examine the use of virtual reality simulations in education that provide scaffolded learning experiences for pre-service teachers in an online learning environment.


2016 ◽  
pp. 1252-1272
Author(s):  
Dana L. Grisham ◽  
Linda Smetana

This chapter reports on a study conducted by two teacher educators in literacy instruction and provides examples of the ways teacher educators can “distribute” technology-rich writing instruction across their coursework. Using the TPACK model, 21 graduate students in a preservice course on curriculum planned, taught, and reflected on generative technology lessons with real students in real classrooms. Data collected included the lessons and reflections, ePoster presentations, and other writings by students on the topic. Findings indicate that graduate students chose a diverse array of technology tools, and planned carefully, matching tools with desired learning outcomes. Although graduate students initially felt “pushed” by the assignment, post lesson reflections showed positive changes in attitude and appreciation for the motivation and engagement of their K-12 students with the technology lessons. Graduate students also derived a more realistic picture of planning for instruction. Implications involve the necessity of supporting 21st century literacies in teacher preparation programs. Examples of lessons and tools used are included.


2018 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 372-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Ryan Lavery ◽  
Joyce Nutta ◽  
Alison Youngblood

Researchers compared pre/post classroom assessment scores of n = 8,326 K-12 students taught by n = 288 teacher candidates to determine if a differentiated teacher education program prepared them to support English learners’ (ELs) achievement in classrooms including native and nonnative speakers of English. Candidates in Group 1 comprised academic subject (secondary mathematics, science, and social studies) teacher candidates, who completed six teacher preparation courses with 15 key assignments that included a focus on ELs. Certification areas for Group 2 candidates include language arts instruction (elementary, early childhood, and secondary English language arts). Group 2 candidates completed from 12 to 15 courses with 41 to 50 key assignments that included a focus on ELs. Results indicate that teacher candidates in both groups helped narrow the gap between ELs and non-ELs from pretests to posttests. ELs performed no differently when taught by candidates from either group. Implications for teacher preparation are discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Roegman ◽  
Joni Kolman

In this conceptual article, we present a theoretical framework designed to illustrate the many contexts and factors that interact and shape the work of mentor teachers. Drawing on the literature on K-12 teaching and on teacher preparation, we argue for greater acknowledgment of the complex work of mentor teachers as they navigate multiple contexts. We conclude by considering how this framework helps us to better understand the work of mentor teachers and by offering suggestions for teacher preparation programs and K-12 schools to better support mentor teachers and best prepare teacher candidates.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-235
Author(s):  
Joan Barnatt ◽  
Lisa Andries D’Souza ◽  
Ann Marie Gleeson ◽  
Kara Mitchell Viesca ◽  
Jessica Wery

This mixed-method study utilizes survey and interview data reflecting teacher candidates’ beliefs about intercultural competence to identify areas of targeted support in teacher preparation. Intercultural competence is operationalized by performance on the Cultural Intelligence Survey (CQS) identifying relative areas of strength and weakness in four dimensions. Participants reported awareness of cultural differences and motivation to interact with those from other cultures, with less confidence in their knowledge base and ability to adapt behavior in intercultural interactions. Qualitative data provided explanatory support for understanding how program elements influenced intercultural competence along a developmental trajectory of learning.


Author(s):  
Barbara Fink Chorzempa ◽  
Michael D. Smith ◽  
Jane M. Sileo

Within their teacher preparation courses and field experiences, preservice teachers are introduced to numerous instructional practices, not all of which are considered research-based. For this reason, instruction in how to evaluate the effectiveness of one’s practices is essential, but it is often a lacking component of initial certification programs. In this article, a flexible, problem-solving model for collecting and reflecting on practice-based evidence (PBE) is described. The model, utilized in a graduate program in Special Education, was designed to assist teacher candidates in evaluating the effectiveness of the practices they implement to optimize students’ learning outcomes. Implications for practice in the K-12 environment are also provided.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. p296
Author(s):  
Donna R. Sanderson

This article shares an innovative learning assignment that pre-service teacher candidates completed to support early childhood students in the area of emergent literacy. To learn the many values of home-school literacy bags, teacher candidates enrolled in a university teacher preparation course designed homemade literacy bags and brought them into their preschool field classrooms and distributed them to the preschoolers’ families. The author shares the rationale behind the assignment, the processes and strategies the students used to create the home-school literacy bags, the results of the parent satisfaction survey that was collected, and the pre-service teacher candidates’ reactions and reflections of the learning assignment.


Author(s):  
Salika A. Lawrence ◽  
Rupam Saran ◽  
Tabora Johnson ◽  
Margareth Lafontant

When teachers use technology and digital tools for academic purposes, they are more apt to introduce it to their K-12 students. This chapter describes methods used by teacher educators to incorporate technology into their courses to help candidates meet professional standards, and methods used by teacher candidates to incorporate technology into their teaching to help P6 students meet technology and 21st century standards. Teacher preparation programs should introduce candidates to different technologies and software programs, provide opportunities for candidates to use the tools, and guide candidates as they develop learning resources in the field using the technology. Three factors impacted candidates' use of technology: their perceptions about their capabilities as users of technology in academic contexts, their experiences using technology, and their access to resources such as digital devices and software. Although some pitfalls occurred with program-wide technology integration, the study offers strategies for addressing these obstacles.


Author(s):  
Penelope Debs Keough ◽  
Unoma B. Comer

An overarching issue of preparing teachers for the K-12 teaching professions rests with a lack of specific, well planned, and effective support for preservice teachers going into the profession. The main focus of this chapter will be to focus on what can be done to strengthen teacher preparation programs for preservice teachers, especially in California, where student population is burgeoning.


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