scholarly journals Factors Affecting Teacher-Candidates’ Practicum Evaluations

2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin Ralph
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Grade Level ◽  
Teacher Preparation Programs ◽  
Teaching Skills ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
School Location ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Grade Levels ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Pre Service Teacher

This report is an extension of a study that examined the final evaluations of 17 cohorts of teacher-candidates (n=374), who completed their 16-week extended-practicum through one Western Canadian university in one of the years from 1986 to 2002. Evaluation results based on nine instructional categories were analyzed according to four factors: (a) grade level taught; (b) school location; (c) year of the internship; and (d) gender of the intern. Descriptive statistics calculated for each of these four factors revealed minor differences in the intern sub-groups’ aggregates of final evaluation ratings. For grade level, interns who taught K-3 were rated slightly higher than those in the other grade levels in six of the nine instructional skills. The interns who taught grade 7-12 were rated lowest of the three groups in three of the teaching categories. With respect to urban/rural school location of the internship, interns from rural schools were evaluated slightly higher than their urban counterparts for six of the nine skills. For year of the practicum, calculations showed slightly better evaluations in three teaching skills for interns who completed the practicum after 1996, than for those who completed it during the 1986-1995 period. Female interns were rated slightly higher in eight of the nine teaching categories than were their male colleagues. Possible explanations accounting for these minor differences are provided, and implications discussed for the program under study and for their “transferability” (Donmoyer, 1990) to pre-service teacher preparation programs.

A Safe Space

2021 ◽  
pp. 120-134
Author(s):  
Kisha L. Walker ◽  
Stacy Ness ◽  
Fran Reed ◽  
Katherine Strang
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Instructional Strategies ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Teacher Preparation Programs ◽  
Safe Space ◽  
Practice Research ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Behavioral Challenges ◽  
Critical Skills ◽  
Pre Service Teacher

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.

A Rational and Manageable Value-Added Model for Teacher Preparation Programs

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 728-750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P. Brady ◽  
Katie Miller ◽  
Jazarae McCormick ◽  
Lawrence A. Heiser
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Student Teaching ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Teacher Preparation Programs ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Value Added Model ◽  
K 12

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.

scholarly journals ENHANCING THE ROLE OF FIELD EXPERIENCE SUPERVISORS: TOWARD MULTICULTURAL EQUITY IN A TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAM

2021 ◽  
pp. 24-36
Author(s):  
Lisa VASQUEZ
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Field Experience ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Teacher Preparation Program ◽  
Teacher Preparation Programs ◽  
Multicultural Society ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Program Leaders

The current state of education embodies increasing public demands and policy mandates for teacher accountability in all classrooms, pre-kindergarten through Grade 12. Leaders expect increased academic performance to meet grade-level curriculum standards within a multicultural society. Teacher preparation programs are tasked to create and manage field experiences that guide practice within diverse learning communities. Teacher candidates interact with the cultural, social, and historical context of schools, of professional colleagues, and of the pupils they teach. In addition, teacher candidates should be prepared to develop practices that are intentional, personalized, differentiated, and purposeful for the pupils within their classrooms. This paper offers a case study of one university’s re-design of field experience supervision in its teacher preparation programs. The curriculum designers sought to ensure support for teacher candidates based on each student’s individual needs, while fostering systemic change responsive to ideas of race, gender, and other areas of intersectionality in a multicultural society. The field supervisor was the key to connect the practical, field-based experiences with the vision and mission of the university. Thus, program leaders identified the need to invest in the professional development of field supervisors in a way that brought the vision and mission to life—from words to action. The resulting framework included a multi-faceted approach of coaching / mentoring, professional development, and reflective discourse with colleagues.

Using Mobile Technology for Student Teaching Observations of Special Education Candidates

2015 ◽  
pp. 114-127
Author(s):  
Josh Harrower ◽  
Cathi Draper Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Student Teaching ◽  
Mobile Technology ◽  
Video Conferencing ◽  
Teacher Preparation Programs ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Pre Service Teacher

Student teacher supervision has been an important part of teacher preparation almost since the inception of teacher education programs. The goal of this type of supervision is to strengthen the skills of the pre-service teacher. Providing this type of observation can be difficult for teacher preparation programs and university faculty. Many factors, including large numbers of students in teacher education programs and student placements in remote schools, contribute to this. In order to make the most effective use of faculty and pre-service teacher time, other options for providing this support need to be explored. The rapidly developing field of mobile technology (e.g., iPads, iPhones, Smart Phones) can be used to facilitate student teaching observations. This chapter discusses how teacher preparation programs can implement candidate field supervision using video conferencing via mobile technology to increase the ability to conduct observations in schools and in a more efficient manner. It also explores the security of video conferencing applications and the issues related to using video conferencing in special education classrooms, where student confidentiality is heightened.

Fostering the Disposition to Serve

2018 ◽  
pp. 445-460
Author(s):  
Reid Richard Riggle
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Teacher Preparation Programs ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Field Placements ◽  
Educational Need ◽  
High Need Schools ◽  
The Village

Many teacher candidates enter teacher preparation programs with the desire to serve or to change the lives of others. Teacher education programs are uniquely positions leverage this desire to serve through intentional service-learning field placements. Service-learning, particularly early in the preparation program, can play a critical role in building the disposition to serve. This chapter explores one way teacher preparation programs can cultivate the orientation to serve high-need schools. Candidates enrolled in the Village Project serve in high-need schools, address a real community and educational need, and are provided reflection opportunities to connect the experience to their developing knowledge of learning and motivation. Ultimately, the goal the Village Project as an early service-learning field experience is to help teacher candidates develop a professional identity that increases the personal desire to work in educational communities that have a need.

Critical Ways of Thinking and Learning

2021 ◽  
pp. 325-343
Author(s):  
Kari Dahle-Huff ◽  
Erin Stutelberg ◽  
Donna Marie Bulatowicz
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
State Standards ◽  
Teacher Preparation Programs ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
The Common ◽  
Ways Of Thinking ◽  
Thinking Tools ◽  
Pre Service Teacher ◽  
Education Courses

It is important for teacher preparation programs to develop 21st century skills, suggested by the Common Core State Standards as necessary for student success, with the pre-service teachers who will be expected to incorporate these skills into their pedagogy. This chapter traces the critical thinking tools practiced in two different pre-service teacher education courses. A commonality between the courses was the use of particular young adult literature novels to explore critical thinking with pre-service teachers. The authors first identify and explicate six critical ways of thinking and learning employed with pre-service teachers. Second, the authors frame critical thinking through the use of multiple narratives with pre-service teachers. All of the critical thinking tools described in the chapter are supported with examples and provide valuable suggestions for teacher preparation programs.

Preparing Globally Competent Educators Through Critically Engaging in Service-Learning

2021 ◽  
pp. 940-962
Author(s):  
Tonya Huber ◽  
Elizabeth R. Sanmiguel ◽  
Lorena P. Cestou ◽  
Mayra L. Hernandez
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Preparation Programs ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
International Service Learning ◽  
International Service ◽  
Theoretical Inquiry

As teacher-preparation programs educate and evaluate candidates to become globally competent instructional leaders, special attention should be given to international service-learning. Immersing teacher candidates in real-world experiences beyond their comfort zone is a cornerstone of this theoretical inquiry, including self-reflection strategies grounded on Paulo Freire's liberatory pedagogy for social justice. The research team reviews self- and cultural-awareness experiences, dispositions, and profiles of university teacher candidates, during a semester of curriculum studies affording opportunities to engage in local, local to global, and/or global/international service-learning. The discoveries will inform teacher educators as they develop and strengthen critical inquiry and service-learning components of their own courses.

Instructor-Learner Partnership in Preparing Teacher Candidates to Teach Secondary School Students

2021 ◽  
pp. 127-158
Author(s):  
Alpana Bhattacharya
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
The United States ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Teacher Preparation Programs ◽  
Future Research ◽  
School Students ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Fieldwork Experience ◽  
Psychology Course

Teacher preparation programs in the United States are expected to educate preservice teacher candidates through instructor-learner partnerships. Collaborative learning, project-based learning, and authentic assessment therefore are vital for preparing teacher candidates to teach in 7-12 grades. This chapter shares instances of instructor-learner partnership from an undergraduate educational psychology course via course-based and field-based assignments. First, an overview of constructivism is presented as foundational theory anchoring instructor-learner partnership in the teacher preparation course. Next, instructor-learner partnership is illustrated within a simulation task, technology-enhanced project, and fieldwork experience. Finally, instructor-learner partnership in formative assessment of course-based and field-based activities are illustrated. The chapter concludes with recommendations for inculcating instructor-learner partnership in teacher education courses, and directions for future research pertinent to instructor-learner partnership in teacher preparation programs.

Guiding Online Graduate Special Education Candidates Through E-Performance Assessments and edTPA

2022 ◽  
pp. 1021-1036
Author(s):  
Charmion Rush ◽  
Karena J. Cooper-Duffy
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Special Education Teachers ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Teacher Candidate ◽  
Performance Assessments ◽  
Teacher Preparation Programs ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Online Teacher ◽  
Field Supervisors

As online teacher preparation programs continue to grow, guiding the process for edTPA candidates can pose varying challenges. As such, teacher preparation programs must be equipped to provide guidance to online candidates as they complete the actionable items required for edTPA. Provided from the field supervisors' perspective, this chapter outlines the current process Western Carolina University has in place to provide effective clinical and teacher candidate experiences for students in their online program. The purpose of this chapter provides guided structure for graduate special education teachers pursing initial licensure through an online masters' program. This chapter will include 1) the challenges of guiding online students through the e-portfolio process, 2) an exploration of the provided structure for the teacher candidates to fulfill the requirements of edTPA, as well as 3) recommendations for teacher preparation programs and teacher candidate readiness in the practice and application of e-performance assessments and edTPA.

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