Education Commons^™

Developing A Clinical Literacy Experience That Improves Outcomes For Students And Preservice Teachers, Susan Keesey, Charley Jo Allen, Madison Loy, Amanda Schaefer

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

Improving literacy outcomes so more students graduate from high school career- and college- ready is critical in today's society. There is a wealth of evidence-based practices for teachers to utilize and yet student literacy outcomes fail to improve. This article provides an example of how a clinical model literacy clinic, housed in a partner elementary school, improved learning outcomes for preservice teachers and the at-risk students they instructed. During this twice weekly, semester-long literacy clinic, the preservice teachers explicitly taught all five critical literacy components to support struggling readers with the focus on using high-leverage practices for instruction. This taught …

Developing Growth Mindset And Grit In Preservice Teachers, Susan Keesey, Amanda Schaefer, Madison Loy, Charley Jo Allen

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

Educator preparation programs are charged with developing preservice teachers ready to meet the many challenges of today's classrooms. Developing a growth mindset and GRIT provides future educators with important dispositions to increase their teaching effectiveness and improve the success of their students. A growth mindset helps learners realize that intellect is not fixed but through time and effort, skills will increase. Developing GRIT (i.e., growth, resilience, integrity, and tenacity) builds the perseverance to continue until goals are reached. Developing GRIT and a growth mindset helps teachers understand that all students, even diverse learners, can be successful if provided the appropriate …

Using Focus Groups To Explore Sources Of Self-Efficacy In Puerto Rican Preservice Teachers, Yitza A. Arcelay-Rojas

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

This article used focus groups to explore Puerto Rican preservice teachers' perceptions of sources of self-efficacy. The present study allowed, through a qualitative design, examination of the experiences of preservice teachers at the end of their student teaching practicum. The qualitative design and the use of the focus group technique provided insight into the main sources of their perceived self-efficacy through the self-assessment of their field experience. The beginning of the student teaching practicum provoked an intense process of emotions in which the preservice teachers needed support and guidance, particularly in aspects of planning, differentiation, and classroom management. The participants …

Inquiry, Discovery, And The Complexities Of Teaching: Learning From The Research Of Practitioners, Angela Hooser, Laura Sabella

Journal of Practitioner Research

In this opening article, Guest Editors Angela Hooser and Laura Sabella define the purpose of this special themed issue of Journal of Practitioner Research: Inquiry, Discovery, and the Complexities of Teaching: Learning from the Research of Practitioners and introduce the seven pieces of teacher research published in this volume that encapsulate this theme.

How Does Training From A Stem Elementary Education Program Influence An Elementary Teacher’S Instruction And Experiences?, Courtney G. Mayakis, Jessica R. Robinson, John Williams Iii

Journal of STEM Teacher Education

In the United States, innovation and our economy seem to be lacking in comparison to other countries. Many cite the shortage of individuals interested in STEM careers as part of the problem. The following research article addresses how STEM programs may influence the efficacy and practice of curriculum integration as well as the mathematics and science instruction of teachers in elementary education. Data were collected using interviews and taped instruction from an elementary educator who graduated from a STEM-focused elementary program. This exploratory case study will aid in understanding how preservice programs focusing on STEM-integrated curriculum in elementary education can …

Voices Of Cooperating Teachers And Preservice Teachers: Implications For Elementary Social Studies Education, Mary Beth Henning, Eiu-Kyung Shin

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

Examining the current beliefs and practices of elementary social studies teachers and preservice teachers suggests that there are similarities and differences between how they perceive their roles as curricular-instructional gatekeepers (Thornton, 1991). Using both survey data and focus groups, cooperating teachers describe their contemporary elementary social studies teaching practices as a blend of stand-alone activities and integrated instruction. Elementary teachers recommend more hands-on activities and literacy development strategies be taught in social studies methods classes. Preservice teachers also reported their preferred teaching practices and rationales in social studies, showing some significant differences from cooperating teachers.

Preservice Teacher Sense-Making As They Learn To Teach Reading As Seen Through Computer-Mediated Discourse, Angela J. Stefanski, Amy Leitze, Veronica M. Fife-Demski

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Abstract

This collective case study used methods of discourse analysis to consider what computer-mediated collaboration might reveal about preservice teachers’ sense-making in a field-based practicum as they learn to teach reading to children identified as struggling readers. Researchers agree that field-based experiences coupled with time for reflection benefit preservice teachers as they learn to teach reading. However, research is not as clear about which features of practicum experiences lead to preservice teacher learning, which may contribute to preservice teacher misconceptions, and how learning about reading instruction might be rendered more visible to researchers. Grounded in sociocultural perspectives, analysis focused on …

The Iterative Development And Use Of An Online Problem-Based Learning Module For Preservice And Inservice Teachers, Peter Rillero, Laurie Camposeco

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

Teachers’ problem-based learning knowledge, abilities, and attitudes are important factors in successful K–12 PBL implementations. This article describes the development and use of a free, online module entitled Design a Problem-Based Learning Experience. The module production, aligned with theories of andragogy, was a partnership between the recipients of a grant using PBL to enhance English language learner education and the Sanford Inspire Program. A multistage evaluation design was used in the iterative process of module creation. Starting with an initial white paper, the module’s conceptualization, development, pilot testing, and refinement are described, along with the current use statistics. The URL …

An Investigation Of Preservice Teachers’ Beliefs About The Certainty Of Teaching Knowledge, Leila E. Ferguson, Jo Lunn Brownlee

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Beliefs about the certainty of teaching knowledge may influence how preservice teachers engage with and learn from knowledge sources in teacher education, and their subsequent practice. In light of inconsistencies in prior findings that mainly employ epistemic questionnaires, we extended research focusing on a contextual analysis. Sixty-six elementary and lower-secondary preservice teachers in Norway responded to the Beliefs about the Certainty of Teaching Knowledge (BECK) scale in the first and second year of study, respectively. Participants believed knowledge about teaching and learning was more tentative and evolving at T2 than at T1 (t (65) = 2.0, p = .049, Cohen’s …

Attracting Preservice Teachers To Remote Locations, Kenneth D. Young, Peter Grainger, Dennis James

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Teaching in rural/remote regions poses many challenges to teachers and is identified as a priority research area by the state government. Despite initiatives by the state government and university providers to solve the issue through various incentives designed to attract teachers, the problem remains significant. This research describes and analyses the impact of a regional university initiative to attract teachers to rural and remote locations in Queensland. The data was gathered through analysis of responses from preservice teachers completing education degrees at a regional university in Queensland. The data revealed that a pre-graduation teaching placement to a rural/remote region resulted …

A Systematic Review Of The Research On The Knowledge And Skills Of Australian Preservice Teachers, Jennifer Stephenson

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Since knowledge and skills related to curriculum content and pedagogy are crucial for teachers, it is of interest to explore the research relating to what preservice teachers know and can do. Refereed journal articles published between 2005 and 2015 that reported on the assessment of the knowledge or skills of Australian preservice teachers are reviewed. Data were extracted from 52 articles relating to the context of the research, participants in the research and the adequacy of the knowledge and skills of preservice teachers. Most authors expressed some concern about the level of knowledge and skills of preservice teachers and where …

Professional Knowledge Landscapes In Online Pre-Service Teacher Education: An Exploration Through Metaphor, Frances Quinn, Jennifer Charteris, Peter Fletcher, Mitchell Parkes, Vicente Reyes

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper explores metaphors as a process of professional learning, and as a research method to interrogate professional knowledge landscapes (PKLs) within the flexible space and time of online pre-service teacher education. The methodology comprised five pre-service teacher educators with different disciplinary areas of responsibility engaging in metaphorical analysis of our teaching work. We found that the metaphors that frame our e-pedagogy are multiple, reflecting a range of theoretical positions and objects of our teaching work, sometimes internally contradictory notions of education and e-learning, and the complexities of our individual and collective PKLs. We argue that it is crucial in …

Examining Preservice Teachers’ Reflective Thinking Skills In The Context Of Web-Based Portfolios: The Role Of Metacognitive Awareness, Emine Adadan, Diler Oner

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This mixed method study aimed to examine if, and then potentially how, the level of preservice teachers’ metacognitive awareness (MA) influences their reflective thinking on their teaching practicum experiences in the context of web-based portfolio construction. Data sources included two sets of reflection task responses and a Likert-type metacognitive awareness inventory. Data from these sources were coded and analyzed using quantitative and qualitative methods. The total number of high-level reflective thinking indicators produced by the preservice teachers with high MA was notably higher than those generated by the preservice teachers with low MA. A Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test revealed a statistically significant …

The Impact Of Intercultural Experiences On Preservice Teachers’ Preparedness To Engage With Diverse Learners, Denise A. Beutel, Donna Tangen

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The diversity of student populations globally is increasing more rapidly than the diversity of the teaching workforce. Concerns are that beginning teachers are ill-prepared to meet the needs of the diversity of students in their classrooms. This lack of preparedness has been partially attributed to inadequate preparation within teacher education programs. We advocate that preservice teachers need to understand how their prior intercultural experiences can be utilised to better prepare them for teaching diverse groups of learners. This qualitative study (n=40) draws on Hammer’s (2009) Intercultural Development Continuum to explore the impact that these experiences have on shaping preservice teachers …

Bridging Pedagogy And Practice: From Coursework To Field Experiences In A Teacher Preparation Program, Judith M. Emerson Phd, Pier Junor Clarke Phd, Alesia M. Moldavan Med

Georgia Educational Researcher

In this study, two teacher educators, one special education faculty and one mathematics education faculty, examined ways to infuse educational theory into their practice to develop preservice teachers’ ability to meet the demands of the 21^st century classroom. The study took place at an urban university in the southeastern United States where the teacher education program prepares future educators for the most diverse classroom settings existing in U.S. public schools today. Results informed the teacher educators of relevant challenges preservice teachers experience with regard to instructional design that addresses the needs of diverse learners. The action research study took …