scholarly journals Contextualizing the Identity Development of Preservice Elementary Mathematics Teachers in Methods Courses and Mentor Teacher Support

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyun Jung Kang ◽  
Dan Battey
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Identity Development ◽  
Beginning Teachers ◽  
Student Teaching ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Prospective Teachers ◽  
Mentor Relationships ◽  
Identity Constructions ◽  
Practice Knowledge

Drawing on a situative perspective, this study explores how preservice elementary teachers develop themselves as teachers of mathematics and critical experiences in their identity development, in particular, from teacher education coursework through their student teaching experiences. Through two cases, this study reveals that mentor relationships were critical in shaping preservice teachers’ identities as mathematics teachers and in building their initial mathematics teaching practices. Findings suggest that successful mentoring is necessary, and this generally requires sharing common goals, receiving feedback, and having opportunities to practice knowledge, skills, and identities on the part of beginning teachers. This study adds to the field of teacher education research by focusing on prospective teachers’ identity constructions in relation to their communities of practice, and also by emphasizing the role of mentors in preservice teachers’ identity development.   

scholarly journals A Communities of Practice Approach to Field Experiences in Teacher Education

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Connor Kirwan Warner ◽  
Heidi L. Hallman
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Identity Development ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Student Teaching ◽  
Prospective Teachers ◽  
Field Experiences ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Teaching Practicum ◽  
Mutual Engagement ◽  
Practice Approach

This article argues that prospective teachers who have the most productive experiences withinpre-student teaching field experiences are those whose field sites allow them to become membersof communities of practice, the conditions of which, according to Wenger (1998) include jointenterprise, mutual engagement, and shared repertoire. Employing interviews and contentanalysis of documents, the researchers explored the experiences of a cohort of teacher candidatesin a pre-student teaching practicum to better understand elements of field experience that mightinfluence identity development. We highlight the cases of two prospective teachers as illustrativeand contrasting experiences of the cohort as a whole. We conclude by offering recommendationsfor how teacher education programs might assist prospective teachers with negotiating forconditions within field sites that allow for productive participation and growth.

A New Conceptual Model for Principal Involvement and Professional Collaboration in Teacher Education

2009 ◽  
Vol 111 (2) ◽  
pp. 480-510
Author(s):  
Anita M. Varrati ◽  
Mary E. Lavine ◽  
Steven L. Turner
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Beginning Teachers ◽  
Preservice Teacher ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Student Teaching ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
School Principal ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
University Supervisor

Background/Context Beginning teachers often identify the school principal as a key figure for support and guidance. Few teacher education conceptual models exist that significantly integrate the building principal into the clinical experiences of teacher candidates. The rationale behind initiating discourse on principal involvement grows out of current policy and reform initiatives that require increased accountability for improved student performance. The call for more deliberate principal involvement in preservice also arises in regard to teacher attrition and retention concerns. Having the principal engage in active mentoring during preservice may positively address these issues by providing a more complete socialization and enculturation process into today's context of schooling. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study The major research questions for this study were: (1) What are the level and types of support that building principals provide for the preparation of new teachers? (2)What are the obstacles that may be preventing principals from becoming more involved with teacher preparation? (3) What are the types of activities that make sense for principal involvement with field experience and student teaching? (4) What are suggestions for more meaningful collaboration between schools and teacher/administrator preparation programs? Research Design The study was designed as an interpretive qualitative research project that attempted a measure of self-reporting through in-depth interviews. Conclusions/Recommendations M3—A new conceptual model of collaboration (three supports for preservice teacher: mentor, university supervisor, and principal) was presented to include the principal with the preservice teacher, university supervisor, and cooperating teacher in a community of practice for teacher preparation. To build on this research and continue the discourse about the principal's role, several implications and areas for future study are presented: (1) investigation of teacher preparation programs more in depth to get further information about how principals are involved in teacher education, (2) implementation of the M3 conceptual model in a pilot capacity during field and student teaching experiences to gather more data about collaboration, especially the role of the principal, (3) the collaboration of principal preparation and teacher education programs to address this aspect of supervision in course content and internships, (4) the difference in perceptions of prospective and practicing principals regarding their role with teacher candidates during preser-vice, and (5) study of professional development schools to see how the principal is involved in a supervisory and instructional leadership capacity with preservice teachers.

scholarly journals "I can't believe I just said that" : discursive filters and beginning mathematics teachers' enactment of ambitious practice

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Cara Haines
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Beginning Teachers ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Teaching Methods ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Institutional Settings ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Pedagogical Discourses

After being introduced to "ambitious" teaching methods during teacher education, only some beginning teachers attempt to enact those methods, as others gravitate toward the conventional practices that overwhelm K-12 settings. To learn more about why, I conducted a multiple-case study of four beginning secondary mathematics teachers who graduated from three cohorts of one teacher education program and went on to teach in two different schools. Through longitudinal interviews and classroom observations, I examined the teachers' enactment of ambitious practice through the lenses of their discursive teaching identities (critical pedagogical discourses) and perceptions of messages about teaching circulating within their institutional settings (contextual discourses). Findings revealed that the extent to which teachers' critical pedagogical discourses acted as resources for filtering out contextual pressures to teach in conventional ways helped to explain their enactment of ambitious practice. Among other implications, these results suggest that teachers' discourse development should be a more explicit focus of teacher education.

scholarly journals Perception of Prospective Teachers about Practices of Sustainable Competencies Learned During PreService Teachers Program

2017 ◽  
Vol II (I) ◽  
pp. 448-466
Author(s):  
Ambreen Siddique ◽  
Muhammad Anwer ◽  
Huma Lodhi
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Prospective Teachers ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Teaching Profession ◽  
Teacher Competencies ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Teacher Training Programs

The quality of teachers and teaching depends on prospective teacher education programs which have been enthusiastic to gain competencies among teachers. Therefore, to attain essential teacher competencies during teacher training programs has great meaning to prepare prospective teachers for the teaching profession. This research focused to explore the pre-service teachers perceptions about practices of competencies they learned during the teacher education program. Through survey research data was collected from B.Ed. Hons student through an instrument. A convenient sampling technique was employed. The result of data shows no significant difference in competencies practices on basis of gender and sector, the only significant difference was seen in in-service teacher competencies, where in-service show high mean score in particular competencies practices as compared to the pre-service teacher. Researchers should focus on these variables and plan their orientations according to the perceived lack of prospective teachers.

scholarly journals Stories in Mathematics Teacher Education: Preservice Teachers’ Experiences Creating an Important Book

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Limin Jao
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Mathematics Teacher ◽  
Mathematics Teaching ◽  
Mathematics Teacher Education ◽  
Secondary Mathematics ◽  
Teachers Experiences ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
Writing Task

This paper describes a mathematics task inspired by a children’s storybook, The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown, and how secondary mathematics preservice teachers’ (PSTs’) experiences with this reform-based task influenced their development as educators. Findings suggest that PSTs enjoyed the opportunity to be creative and make connections to personal experiences. Engaging in this writing task also affected PSTs’ development as mathematics teachers as it allowed them to think more broadly about mathematics teaching and see the value in reform-based approaches for teaching.

scholarly journals Investigating the Different Dimensions of Preservice Mathematics Teachers’ Understanding – The Case of Factorisation

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (10) ◽  
pp. 73-94
Author(s):  
Olivia Fitzmaurice ◽  
◽  
Jacqueline Hayes ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Conceptual Understanding ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Education Programme ◽  
Procedural Understanding ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
Preservice Mathematics Teachers

This paper reports on a study designed to investigate preservice teachers’ understanding of factorisation, a topic not explicitly taught within their teacher education programme, but one they will be required to teach when they graduate. We query if the knowledge they bring from secondary school, prepares them sufficiently to teach their future students for understanding. 83 preservice secondary school mathematics teachers’ procedural and conceptual understanding of quadratic factorisation were assessed using Usiskin’s Framework for understanding mathematics (2012) which identifies several dimensions of understanding. The study provides evidence that the preservice mathematics teachers have a strong procedural understanding, and while some conceptual understanding does exist, there was very limited conceptual understanding within most of the dimensions of the framework (Usiskin, 2012). We conclude the paper by considering how teacher educators can address the issues of preservice teacher knowledge and understanding of content not formally covered within their teacher education programmes.

Field Experience

2019 ◽  
pp. 481-508
Author(s):  
Sean Robert Powell
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Student Teaching ◽  
Field Experience ◽  
Clinical Teaching ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Early Field Experience ◽  
Departments Of Education ◽  
Potential Benefits

This chapter presents an overview of preservice field experiences in music teacher education. Field experience, also termed fieldwork, early field experience, clinical practice, clinical teaching, extern teaching, or practicum, refers to teaching and/or observation experiences undertaken by preservice teachers within P-12 classrooms or other off-campus settings as part of curricula leading to teacher certification prior to the student teaching semester. Field experience is a common curricular requirement or standard among university teacher education programs, state departments of education, and higher education accrediting agencies. The chapter examines current practices and addresses potential benefits and problems associated with various field experience arrangements. Finally, it explores innovative approaches to field experience, poses questions for consideration, and suggests implications for practice and research.

Issues and Challenges in Preparing Teachers to Teach in the Twenty-First Century

2012 ◽  
pp. 183-194
Author(s):  
Susan Gibson
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Student Teaching ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Online Tools ◽  
Practice Teaching ◽  
Willingness To Use

Preservice teachers need to acquire both technological skill and understanding about how technology rich environments can develop subject-specific knowledge as a part of their teacher education programs. The purpose of the research project, as described in this case study, was to examine the impact that immersion in technology-infused social studies pedagogy courses had on preservice teachers’ willingness to use computer and online tools as well as how they used them during their student teaching. Teacher education students enrolled in two pedagogy courses were surveyed at the beginning and end of the courses and interviewed over the duration of the courses regarding the nature and extent of their technological knowledge and skill. Following the completion of the pedagogy courses, six volunteered to have their technology use tracked during their nine-week practice teaching experience. Findings showed that while the preservice pedagogy courses did increase the student teachers’ knowledge of and skill with a variety of computer and online tools as well as their desire to use them during their student teaching, the elementary schools in which they were placed for their practicum were poorly equipped and the mentor teachers were not using the tools that were modeled on campus. If preservice teachers are to truly understand the benefits of learning and teaching with technology, teacher education institutions and school districts need to work together to present a consistent vision of technology integration, and schools need to provide environments that encourage and support technology use.

(Re)-Defining ‘Teacher’: Preservice Teachers with Disabilities in Canadian Teacher Education Programs

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (01) ◽  
pp. 17-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alina Wilson ◽  
Laura Sokal ◽  
Deb Woloshyn
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Student Teaching ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Canadian Provinces ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Current Standards

Directors of Student Teaching from the Western Canadian provinces participated in focus groups about the realities and decision-making processes around practicum for preservice teachers with disabilities. Results showed current standards, when applied rigidly, served to reify a static, homogenous, and unrealistic definition of ‘teacher’ that marginalises preservice teachers with disabilities. However, the effort of directors to challenge this notion of ‘teacher’, framed within the constructionist model of disability, gives hope for a more inclusive future teaching force.

An Alternative to Traditional Student Teaching

1991 ◽  
Vol 84 (7) ◽  
pp. 533-537
Author(s):  
William S. Bush ◽  
Marvin T. Moss ◽  
Michael J. Seiler
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Preservice Teacher ◽  
Student Teaching ◽  
Preservice Teacher Education ◽  
Teaching Mathematics ◽  
Critical Component ◽  
Traditional Student ◽  
Attitudes Toward Teaching

Student teaching is a critical component of preservice teacher education. During this time preservice teachers begin the transition from student to teacher. They find out if they have the desire or skills to teach. Their views and attitudes toward teaching, mathematics, and students are developed and challenged. In this setting, the subsequent success or failure as a teacher is often formed.

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