The Methodological Content of Teacher Education Programs in Learning Disabilities: Clearly Specialized and Impressively Current — Another View of Pugach and Whitten's Survey Results

1987 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 325-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
William L. Heward ◽  
Timothy E. Heron

Conclusion: We believe the field owes Pugach and Whitten a debt of gratitude for conducting their survey of methodological content in teacher preparation programs in LD/mild handicaps. The field can only benefit from further research of this type. In addition to determining course content, future research should also ask the more difficult questions: Are preparation programs in LD/mild handicaps effective in training preservice special educators to apply the instructional approaches they emphasize (whatever they may be called)? Can learning disabilities professionals play a useful role in getting regular educators to replicate the application of research-based instructional strategies to prevent so many children from failing in the first place?

Author(s):  
Hannah Morris Mathews

In general education, researchers find candidates’ pre-service experiences are a tool for socialization into the knowledge, norms, and values of the profession. An important aspect of this process is program vision—the collective understanding of teaching put forth by a preparation program. Yet, few investigations in special education examine program vision. Using interviews with candidates across six teacher preparation programs, the author generates theory to understand the role of vision in special education teacher candidates’ professional socialization and how experiences of program vision are associated with their conceptions of their future roles and responsibilities. Candidates’ conception of special educators’ roles reflected three characterizations consistent within, but distinct across programs: Direct Instructor, Supportive Differentiator, and General Responder. Each profile was associated with unique roles and responsibilities for special educators. Findings draw attention to the importance of examining vision as a tool for professional socialization in special education teacher preparation.


2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (10) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Woodcock ◽  
Wilma Vialle

Over recent years, moves toward the inclusion of students with special needs in mainstream classrooms has brought about increasing attention to the way general education teachers perceive these students. Commensurate with this has been a growing interest in what may constitute educational success for children with special needs in mainstream classrooms, plus the ability of general education teachers to provide effective and appropriate instruction for them. It is known that teachers form beliefs about the process of teaching during their pre-service training and also that once a belief has been held for a long time, it becomes extremely difficult to change (Bandura, 1977, and Liljedahl, 2005). With learning disabilities being one of the most common disabilities in the classroom (Clark, 1997, and Clark & Artiles, 2000), it was considered that the need to further explore pre-service teachers’ perceived use of instructional strategies in relation to students who have what is termed learning disabilities, is indeed critical. This study looked at the instructional strategies Australian pre-service teachers reported they would use for students with a learning disability compared to students without a learning disability. The findings show that pre-service teachers favour more direct teacher-centred instructional strategies for students with a learning disability and more learner-centred instructional strategies for students without a learning disability. The greatest discrepancy in strategy use between the two groups of students was the higher cognitive level instructional strategies within a learner-centred environment. Pre-service teachers would use these strategies more frequently with students who do not have a learning disability. Implications for future practice and recommendations for future research are presented.


Author(s):  
Melissa D. Hartley ◽  
Barbara L. Ludlow ◽  
Michael C. Duff

Second Life®, an online virtual world, is currently used at West Virginia University for simulation activities and role-playing exercises in teacher education programs in special education. The purpose of this chapter is to describe a design experiment in a pilot case study, explain the rationale for using virtual reality, describe how learning activities were developed, implemented, and evaluated, discuss plans for future research and practice, and offer suggestions for using virtual simulations in other teacher education programs.


Author(s):  
Josh Harrower ◽  
Cathi Draper Rodríguez

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.


Author(s):  
Jarrett D. Moore

This chapter advocates for the (re)framing of critical thinking from a skill to a disposition and proposes a framework whereby teacher education programs can create space for pre-service teachers to develop a critical disposition. By studying the context of American education and schooling and their corporate interest, pre-service teachers along with teacher educators can start to unravel the discourse and power inherent in American education. Understanding how these concepts lead to hegemony can begin the process of creating a counterhegemonic movement among American educators that includes the reclaiming of the purpose of education, raising pertinent epistemological question, and practicing critical self-reflection. The final part of the new framework for developing critical dispositions is a reintroduction of broader theoretical concerns into teacher preparation programs.


Author(s):  
James Falco ◽  
Meredith Riddle ◽  
Gregory Duffy ◽  
Tracy Mulvaney ◽  
Lauren Niecz

The primary responsibility for training pre-service teachers previously fell solely on the shoulders of university teacher-preparation programs, with a short field experience component in partner P-12 districts. As research continues to support the value of increased clinical practice in P-12 schools when training pre-service teachers, the responsibility is becoming shared equally between university teacher education programs and P-12 school districts. This chapter describes three innovative programs implemented by P-12 schools through strong partnerships with Monmouth University's teacher education and Provisional Teacher Preparation program. These strong partnerships afford students the opportunity to receive direct instruction in P-12 settings with the support of curriculum, mentors and professional development. The partnership with Lafayette Mills School (the last of three initiatives discussed) was also awarded, along with the university's other PDSs, the National Association of Professional Development Schools Distinguished Partnership award in 2017.


Author(s):  
Abdulsalami Ibrahim ◽  
Shirley Johnson

Multicultural education and culturally responsive pedagogy training should be within the core curriculum and begin in teacher preparation programs. This could be accomplished by providing opportunities for teacher candidates to research and acquire knowledge regarding cultural characteristics and cultural contributions of diverse students, pedagogy, instructional strategies, methods, and resources that support diverse student populations. This chapter presents the results of a mixed-method study that examined student teachers' perceptions and understanding of culturally responsive pedagogy and instructional strategies observed and utilized in classrooms during student teaching in diverse classrooms. Findings revealed that student teachers were inexperienced in terms of being culturally responsive educators. The authors suggest that educators engage student teachers in class projects within the scope of culturally responsive practices. The chapter concludes with a list of reflection questions for K through 20 educators.


Author(s):  
Alpana Bhattacharya

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.


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. 819-832
Author(s):  
Kristen C. Cuthrell ◽  
Diana B. Lys ◽  
Elizabeth A. Fogarty ◽  
Ellen E. Dobson

This chapter will share a model for teacher preparation programs to consider when attempting program improvement through the use of edTPA data. This model, regardless of the edTPA context, mandated or voluntary, provides a frame in which teacher education programs can begin using edTPA data for program improvement and can advance their data use towards transformative, institutional improvements. This additive model takes time, commitment, and vision in order to systematically create programmatic improvements. Performance assessment data provides the structure and information needed for units and programs to make these purposeful changes. The increasingly explicit culture of assessment in teacher education, in conjunction with the promise of valid and reliable performance assessments, invites teacher education programs to engage in third spaces with renewed focus.


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