Pre-service teachers’ use of metaphors for mentoring relationships

The purpose of this study was to examine pre-service teachers’ and their mentor teachers’ metaphorical images of their mentoring relationships and the extent to which the participants changed their metaphors as they went through their practicum experience. Three rounds of interviews were conducted with seven secondary pre-service teachers over a one-year Graduate-Diploma of Education Course; at the outset of the programme, at the end of the first placement and at the end of the second placement. Thirteen Mentor teachers were also interviewed at the beginning and end of each placement. The findings indicated that the metaphors the two groups initially constructed significantly overlapped and focused on interpersonal relationships and providing guidance and support. Also, some changes were observed in the metaphors used by the two groups depending on their mentoring experiences. Implications for mentor teachers and teacher education are discussed.     

Integrating theory and practice in the pre-service teacher education practicum

This article reports on a study into student teachers’ perceptions about their professional development during practicum. Framed within a symbolic interactionist perspective, the study examined to what extent, and how effectively, one group of student teachers was able to integrate theory and practice during a three-week practicum in the first year of their degree. The context for this mixed methods study was a Master of Teaching, graduate-level entry programme in the Faculty of Education at an urban Australian university. Although there is a strong field of literature around the practicum in pre-service teacher education, there has been a limited focus on how student teachers themselves perceive their development during this learning period. Further, despite widespread and longstanding acknowledgement of the ‘gap’ between theory and practice in teacher education, there is still more to learn about how well the practicum enables an integration of these two dimensions of teacher preparation. In presenting three major findings of the study, this paper goes some way in addressing these shortcomings in the literature. First, participants in this study largely valued both the theoretical and practical components of their programme, which stands in contrast to the commonly identified tendency of the student teacher to privilege practice over theory. Second, opportunities to integrate theory and practice were varied, with many participants reporting the detrimental impact of an apparent lack of clarity around stakeholders’ roles and responsibilities. Third, participants overwhelmingly supported the notion of linking university coursework assessment to the practicum as a means of bridging the gap between, on the one hand, the university and the school and, on the other hand, theory and practice.     

Restructuring and Reculturing: Practicum supervision as professional development for teachers

This paper reports a small case study in which selected experienced co-operating teachers were appointed as school-based teacher educators (SBTE) undertaking a supervisory/ mentoring role for the 3-week period of the first practicum for students in a one-year Graduate Diploma of Education-Secondary (GDE) course. The study identifies any benefits that accrue as a result of changes to the traditional triadic arrangement and any changes in perception about the various roles of participants. The findings illuminate the opportunities for a more collaborative practicum model that has the potential to benefit all participants.     

A big part of education also: A mixed-methods evaluation of a social and emotional learning (SEL) course for pre-service teachers

A teacher training course entitled Classroom and Individual Emotional and Behavioral Supports (CIEBS) includes four modules: School-wide Positive Behaviour Supports (SWPBS), Trust-based Relational Intervention (TBRI), Non- violent Crisis Intervention (NCI), and practicum experience. The present article describes the rationale for selecting each of these modules, the activities included in each module, and a mixed-methods evaluation of the course’s influence on its participants. Group-wide quantitative measures showed growth in the efficacy for classroom management and preparedness for dealing with students’ stress among the treatment group, with little observable change among control participants. Through pre-/post-course vignette responses, individual interviews, and focus group interviews, participants reported that the course helped them to become better prepared and more confident in their SEL abilities. The participants pointed to the neuroscience of complex trauma, as taught through the TBRI module, and active learning provided through NCI module as critical reasons for the course’s effectiveness.     

Perceptions of pre-service teachers on mentor teachers’ roles in promoting inclusive practicum: case studies in U.S. elementary school contexts

This case study examines a Chinese and Korean-Chinese pre-service teachers’ perceptions of their mentor teachers’ role in supporting inclusive practicum experiences in USA elementary school contexts. The findings demonstrate that a mentor teacher’s open conversations and willingness to host those students bring positive influence on their learning and growth. The findings also indicate that the facilitative roles of mentor teachers in the promotion of inclusive environments are intersected with the socio-cultural and political contexts of practicum schools and universities. The study concludes with implications for enhancing the inclusion of diverse pre-service teachers through collaborative roles of multiple practicum stakeholders, including pre-service teachers, mentor teachers, practicum schools, and universities.     

Taking risks with a growth mindset: long-term influence of an elementary pre-service after school science practicum

In this study, we present the long-term influence of an after school science practicum associated with an elementary science methods course. The practicum or field experience could be considered a community-based service learning programme as it is situated both within and for the community. Study participants included eight third- and fifth-grade teachers who had participated in elementary science methods courses; four of these teachers participated in the after school teaching practicum while four participants experienced a more traditional observation-based elementary science practicum. All of these teachers were in their second or third year teaching which was 3–4 years after taking the methods course. Investigation methods included questionnaires, field observations and semi-structured, individual interviews. Teachers more regularly utilised reform-based teaching strategies and cited the after school teaching practicum as preparing them to use these strategies in their own classrooms. All teachers exhibited a growth mindset to some degree, but the after school practicum participants did demonstrate a wider use of reformed-based teaching strategies and a higher growth mindset. Elementary teachers perceive risk associated with these key aspects of instruction: (1) managing instruction and classroom management, (2) teaching science through guided inquiry, and (3) overcoming adoptions in other ‘mandated’ curriculum like math and reading.     

An exploration for a critical practicum pedagogy: dialogical relationships and reflections among a group of student teachers

Student teachers’ potential to change and reflect on their activities can be positively influenced by the opportunities created in teacher education programs. This paper explores an educative opportunity with the researcher and his practicum advisees by facilitating a continuum of reflective school‐based activities through a dialogical relationship. The opportunities were sought through the researcher’s personal action research project during a practicum assignment at Haramaya University, Ethiopia, in the 2005/06 academic year. The action research was an exploratory practicum pedagogy in which the researcher, as a teacher educator practitioner, and eight student teachers as pedagogical and research participants, seized opportunities of collaboration and dialogical relationships. In the process, the participants examined pedagogical issues which emerged out of continuous and intimate discussions. Furthermore, the process affirmed the possibility of engaging educatively in contexts where resources are inadequately provided.     

Teaching Inquiry to High School Teachers Through the Use of Mathematics Action Research Projects

Abstract

This paper describes the use of Mathematics Action Research Projects (ARPs) as a capstone experience in lieu of a Master’s Thesis in a Master’s program for in-service secondary teachers. The ARPs include two primary components: (i) each teacher participant conducts mathematical research that is new to them on a topic that is connected in some way to the material they teach in one of their classes; and (ii) each teacher participant also creates an in-class innovation related to the mathematical research they have been doing, and implements it in their own classroom. Ten teacher participants have completed such ARPs with the author over the last 3 years. In completing their ARPs, teacher participants not only learn how to conduct mathematical inquiry themselves, but also most often choose to implement some kind of inquiry-based classroom innovation that allows them to share some of this experience with their own students. This course structure has had the effect of encouraging teachers to decide to try more inquiry-based teaching methods, and at the same time, has given them the knowledge and tools to be successful in doing so.     

Out of the book and into the classroom: The experiences of Korean social studies pre-service teachers in an international teaching practicum in the United States

Despite the growing interest and importance of pre-service teachers’ cross-cultural experiences, a review of the literature shows that few studies have discussed the international teaching practicum experiences of pre-service teachers from Asian countries. Bridging this gap, this qualitative case study examined the perceptions and experiences of 15 Korean social studies pre-service teachers who participated in an international teaching practicum in the United States. The findings of the study demonstrated that although participants encountered difficulties in speaking a foreign language and adjusting to a different culture, they also gained confidence and self-efficacy by negotiating and actively participating in the teaching and learning process. This international teaching practicum also helped participants promote their own understanding of multiculturalism and their different perspectives of the teachers’ roles, teaching pedagogies, and local education systems. This study offers implications for future multicultural professional development in teacher education and contributes to developing a body of research and scholarship on international teaching practicums from Asian contexts that have, to date, been largely underexplored.     

Early childhood educators’ experiences and perceptions of professionalism and professionalisation in the Asian context

Increasingly early childhood educators are referred to as “professionals,” but how do they view themselves in terms of professionalism? What does it mean to be an early childhood professional? This study explored the views of 78 Asian early childhood educators who were upgrading their qualifications to degree level. In groups of five to eight, participants visually created and explained metaphors of professionalism as a class activity. The visual metaphors were analysed using Gleeson’s polytextual thematic analysis with Rogoff’s personal, interpersonal and institutional planes as the theoretical framework. Findings revealed that the educators’ perspectives of professionalism and professionalisation related to their work–life roles, their cultural understandings and relationships, and how they believed they were viewed by others in relation to the status of early childhood education. This study provides an insight into perceptions and challenges related to the developing professionalism and professionalisation of early childhood educators in Asian contexts.     

Understanding Candidates’ Learning Relationships with their Cooperating Teachers: A call to Reframe my Pedagogy

Abstract

This self-study frames the influences of cooperating (or mentor) teachers on teacher candidates in my teacher education classroom as an action-at-a-distance on my pedagogy of teacher education; that is, a tacit set of influences and expectations that teacher candidates develop about my course before it even begins. Interviews with teacher candidates enabled me to develop two conceptual metaphors to think about the relationships candidates develop with cooperating teachers on practicum. The first, freedom with foundation, reflects the fact that teacher candidates hope to have considerable autonomy in their practicum placements while simultaneously having the support from their cooperating teacher to receive meaningful, regular, feedback. The second, power and performance, names the tensions teacher candidates feel in experiencing the practicum as a site of performance rather than as a site of learning. I offer some specific pedagogical ways in which I have responded to these issues before making a turn to self. I examined journal entries from my own experiences as a teacher candidate 20 years ago with a view to understanding the ways in which the two metaphors may have played a role in my own development as a teacher. This research compels me to attend explicitly to action-at-at-distance forces in my teacher education classroom, such as candidates’ relationship with cooperating teachers and my relationships with my former cooperating teachers.     

School psychology students' perceptions of their practicum experiences

We surveyed a national sample of 139 school psychology students to better understand their perceptions of their practicum experiences. Specifically, we examined the students' reports of the types of activities in which they engage during practicum experiences and their perceptions of their school‐based supervisors' activities. This information is potentially important as school psychology engages in a paradigm shift. Although most school psychology programs may teach students the proposed new and expanded roles, it is unclear whether field‐based experiences are congruent with such university‐based training. Results indicate that students spent the majority of their practicum time in assessment‐related activities. They were generally satisfied with their practicum experience and supervisor, although many knew little about the range of their supervisor's activities. Most field‐based practicum supervisors appeared to provide limited modeling of new and expanded roles. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 43: 727–736, 2006.     

Straddling Teacher Candidates’ Two Worlds to Link Practice and Theory: A Self-Study of Successful and Unsuccessful Efforts

Abstract

This self-study examines a teacher educator’s quest to provide an integrated practice-and-theory approach to learning to teach that places the experiences of the teacher candidates at the centre of the curriculum by focussing on their developing questions, challenges and issues through socio-constructivist discussions of their emerging practices. Constraints of university structures with regards to offering such an approach are discussed, including the impact that offering seminars on the university campus rather than in schools has on teacher candidates’ ability to integrate theories and practices of learning to teach. The research questions guiding this study include: How can I understand what process candidates actually undergo during practicum in the development of their ability as teachers vis-à-vis my course?, and How can I re-structure and re-organize my course to enhance the development of candidates’ practice as teachers? Data include interviews with volunteer student participants before and after observations made during classroom visits as well as discussions with groups of students. Analysis is based on reading and rereading the data as well as discussing it with the larger research team. The findings include the realization of how little of my course is integrated into my teacher candidates’ teaching, how much greater the influence of their mentor teacher is, and the extent to which teacher candidates need explicit help and guidance to transform or reframe their teaching. The article concludes with specific suggestions for adjusting a seminar associated with the practicum to enhance the development of a practice-and-theory approach to teaching.     

Re-envisaging and reinvigorating school–university practicum partnerships

The study that provides the context for this article developed from a major overhaul of the practicum in an undergraduate initial teacher education degree in which practicum roles and relationships were re-envisaged. The aim was to reinvigorate university–school practicum relationships through the collaborative development of a practicum where teacher professional knowledge and university scholarly knowledge could come together in the service of student teacher learning. The article reports a qualitative study involving 72 participants from one university and four primary schools. Analysed through the lens of “third space” the findings indicated that relationship and role transformations undertaken by the participants, along with collaborative practice during the practicum, were key to reinvigorating the practicum. In the discussion, we examine the main factors that contributed to the development of a “third space” between the university and participating practicum schools, and also note some cautions related to this development.     

Enhancing preservice teachers’ motivation to teach diverse learners

This two-year mixed-method case study examined if and how a teacher preparation program can change preservice teachers' motivation to teach culturally and linguistically diverse learners. Survey data from Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) candidates demonstrated statistically significant changes in MATs' self-confidence for teaching diverse learners, their self-efficacy for culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP), their perception of the value of multicultural teaching, and in their interest in teaching diverse learners. Interview and focus group data identified explicit instruction on CRP, diverse practicum opportunities, and an emphasis on culturally-oriented self-inquiry as factors that enhanced teachers’ desire to teach diverse students.     

Using Slack for computer-mediated communication to support higher education students’ peer interactions during Master’s thesis seminar

Our study contributes to the research on computer-mediated communication in higher education by experimenting a modern communication tool called Slack. In particular, we consider using Slack to support students’ peer interactions during Master’s thesis work. For this purpose, we designed a case study that was executed in a Master’s thesis seminar course. During the course, all out-of-class communication was carried out by using Slack, instead of e-mails or learning management systems. After the course, we used a questionnaire to investigate how the students perceived Slack for asking for assistance, their intention to use Slack, and Slack’s ease of use. Furthermore, the questionnaire asked feedback about challenges that the students found in slack. To examine the students’ peer support in Slack, we analysed the messages in the course’s public discussion channels. We investigated opportunities and challenges of Slack from instructional perspective by conducting an auto-ethnographic data collection. Our analysis revealed that the students perceived Slack as an easy-to-use communication tool with a low threshold of asking questions. The students also expressed high intentions to use Slack in the future. However, the students were worried of information overload in Slack, frustrated with decentralisation of communication tools in higher education, and cautious of using communication tools that are not officially supported by the university. The students’ interactions were assigned to three categories: practical, technical, and thesis-related. Analysis of these categories revealed that the students were able to explicate and solve issues in Slack, but the issues were only related to practical and technical problems, instead of actual Master’s thesis writing. The teacher perceived that Slack enhanced bi-directional communication with the students, but faced issues related to file management and user authentication. The results implicate that developing an alternative for Slack from educational premises could be more useful than a product that is not originally developed for pedagogical needs. Finally, we present recommendations that help educators to use Slack in their educational practices.     

Chinese student teachers’ perspectives on becoming a teacher in the practicum: emotional and ethical dimensions of identity shaping

This research examines the emotional and ethical dimensions of identity shaping in student teachers’ teaching practicum. By interviewing seven Chinese student teachers who had just finished their student teaching practice, the research examines the participants’ emotional experiences and the ethical dilemmas they encountered in their practicum. Specifically, for the emotional aspect of professional identity formation, the student teachers experienced eagerness and anxiety at the beginning of the teaching practicum, shock and embarrassment once teaching, and guilt and regret towards the end of the practicum. Alongside the influx of emotional experiences in the practicum, the researcher identified four paired ethical dilemmas that the participants were trapped within: (1) tensions between classroom authority and the ethic of caring; (2) acting as a community member or an ‘outsider’; (3) working as an office assistant or a ‘real teacher’; (4) conflicting pedagogies regarding teaching different tracks of students. Finally, implications for teacher education are briefly discussed.     

Improving the Quality of Practicum Learning: Self-Study of a Faculty Member’s Role in Practicum Supervision

Abstract

This self-study of activities as a practicum supervisor in several secondary schools focuses on the supervisor’s contribution to the quality of a teacher candidate’s professional learning in the context of a familiar tension between on-campus courses and in-school practicum experiences. Data from both formal and informal supervisory experiences are taken from notes recorded in classes with those supervised formally, records of notes taken in practicum observations, and email messages exchanged with teacher candidates about their supervision experiences. Analysis of formal supervision experiences generated a series of insights into candidates’ experiences of the practicum, a modest innovation in supervisory practice, and important reminders arising from a significant error in personal practice as a supervisor. Informal supervision experiences involved visits arising from invitations to observe extended by candidates in the author’s physics methods course. These experiences generated opportunities to test an alternative supervisory strategy focused on candidates’ perceptions of their learning from experience. Related literature includes the topics of learning from experience, reflective practice, and the potential significance of an epistemology of practice. In closing, attention is given to trustworthiness, the personal significance of the study and connections to the teacher education literature.     

Taking the Show on the Road in Holding Academic Classes in Community Agencies: Exploratory Study Findings

Social work educators often teach students clinical knowledge within a university classroom, whereas students tend to learn clinical practice through their practicum experiences. This article describes data from a cross-sectional, mixed-method study on one way to effectively bridge the gap between teaching clinical knowledge and practice to graduate students. In this study, students participated in a newly developed and delivered 3-hour weekly course, over 12 weeks, based around students’ observation of ongoing live family therapy sessions at a children’s mental health organization. Findings suggest that this course design can fill a gap between the classroom and practicum experiences for students.     

Structural and conceptual interweaving of mathematics methods coursework and field practica

This paper describes a study of observed relationships between the design of a preservice elementary mathematics methods course with accompanying field practicum and changes in the extent to which participating prospective teachers identified themselves with the mathematics reform movement after becoming practicing teachers. The curriculum of the course with its embedded field practicum experiences was designed to support prospective teachers in interweaving methods coursework and pedagogical instruction with classroom practice. University and elementary school structures were interwoven by conducting weekly mathematics methods course sessions at a school site followed immediately by related practicum experiences in classrooms in the school. The interweaving of conceptualizations about mathematics teaching and learning was facilitated as the methods instructor provided professional development for classroom teachers simultaneously with the methods course, encouraging the teachers to create “reform-friendly” classroom environments. Survey data from 68 prospective teachers involved in the project were analyzed to identify and describe relationships between course/practicum experiences and the degree to which they as practicing teachers, 1–3 years following the course/practicum, identified with a reform mathematics perspective, as well as to examine factors influencing those relationships.