Service-learning in early childhood teacher education: Using service to put meaning back into learning

Service-learning is defined as a teaching/learning method that connects meaningful community service with academic learning, personal growth, and civic responsibility. In this study, conducted at an American University, we describe a cascading model of integrating early childhood teacher education and service-learning for preservice teachers who then implemented the combined model in their field classrooms with young children. Examples of the projects from the two cohorts of 25 and 26 undergraduate students are provided. We demonstrate that service-learning projects provide an instructional avenue for preservice students to teach in an integrated and/or experiential manner in their field classrooms and discuss why service-learning is an appropriate and meaningful strategy to use with preservice teachers and children.     

Utilizing Service Learning in a College-Level Human Sexuality Course

Implementing service learning into college courses has been shown to have positive benefits for both students and community members; however, service learning has not been largely evaluated in the literature on human sexuality courses. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to design, implement, and evaluate a service learning project in a human sexuality class. Students who were enrolled in a human sexuality class designed and delivered two outreach presentations at their university as part of their service learning projects. The presentations were geared toward other college students with specific majors (i.e., future teachers and athletic coaches) and focused on areas related to child and youth sexuality. Overall, the service learning projects garnered positive support from both the students and the attendees at the presentations. Thus, results suggest that service learning is a useful pedagogical tool that college level instructors might consider implementing into their human sexuality courses.     

How teacher educators created a course curriculum to challenge and enhance preservice teachers' thinking and experience with diversity

Recognizing that students of color often do not achieve as well as their White counterparts, the authors of this article acknowledged the need for preservice teachers to study racial and cultural issues as they relate to teaching in diverse classrooms. For four months prior to the beginning of the course that the authors would co-teach, they systematically read multiple articles and book chapters about racial and cultural issues in schools and met weekly to discuss, from their own perspectives and experiences, their reactions to the readings. Simultaneously, they considered emerging possibilities for a course curriculum where preservice teachers would explore issues important to what they called creating culturally celebratory pedagogy and classrooms. The authors, a Black faculty member and a White faculty member in a teacher education program, share key questions that emerged from their readings and discussions, describe four major components they integrated into the course curriculum, and present assignments that may reduce preservice teachers' deficit knowledge and thinking about racial and cultural issues in classrooms and schools. The authors also consider students' initial reactions to the course content and what the students' reactions might mean for the structure and restructure of the course.     

A case study of how a sample of preservice teachers made sense of incorporating iPads into their instruction with children

The increased use of and demand for technology in early childhood education classrooms and programs creates new challenges for practicing and preservice early educators being asked to employ such technology within their teaching. Early childhood teacher education programs have struggled to meet these demands for teaching their students how to integrate such technology into their instruction with young children. Preservice teachers who do receive such training often fail to develop the skills and/or beliefs required to implement technology effectively into their own classrooms. The study reported on in this article addresses this issue by providing insight into how a sample of early childhood preservice teachers who used iPads and their apps in their coursework and high-stakes early learning field placements made sense of using these devices as teachers. Such findings illuminate instructional opportunities for teacher educators to consider as they seek to assist their students in making sense about how to implement as well as adopt appropriate and effective instructional strategies into their own classrooms.     

Lessons learned: Using the literacy histories of education students to foster empathy

In order for new teachers to foster equitable literacy learning environments, they must first understand the scope and variety of experience that will pervade their classrooms. The following multi-case study describes the potential of digital stories as an instructional tool in a literacy methods course at a northeastern university and college where the authors examined four digital autobiographical stories created by their students and the subsequent reactions to these stories by classmates. These stories were shared to allow the preservice teachers to reflect on social equity with a goal of building empathy.     

Let the (Board) Games Begin: Creative Ways to Enhance Teaching and Learning

Gaming, in its many forms, is becoming a more active force in classrooms. To prepare preservice candidates for this trend, one teacher education program asked candidates (n = 60) to develop games in varied curricular fields tied to curriculum standards. This article describes the development of a model game, assignment requirements, provides a content review of eight games (geography and novels), their features, and highlights benefits and lessons learned from this experience.     

Preservice teachers’ self efficacy and knowledge of emotional and behavioural disorders

This research examined preservice teachers’ knowledge of emotional and behavioural disorders (EBD) and their sense of efficacy. The participants included a convenience sample of 230 undergraduate general education and special education preservice teachers enrolled in teacher education classes. The age of the participants ranged from 19 to 51 with a mean age of 23.37 years (SD = 6.8 years). The Teacher Self Efficacy Scale (TSES) (long form) and Knowledge of Emotional and Behavioural Disorders questionnaire were administered. The participants had higher efficacy in instructional strategies, classroom management, and instructional abilities than in student engagement. There was no significant correlation between field experience, additional coursework, and familiarity with a child with EBD and the preservice teachers’ knowledge of EBD or self efficacy. This information is relevant to teacher programme coordinators indicating that further efforts should be made to increase preservice teachers’ knowledge of EBD, and to provide strategies for identifying and working with students with EBD in classrooms.     

The Common Core State Standards: An Opportunity to Enhance Formative Assessment in History/Social Studies Classrooms

This article discusses the opportunity that the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) present for enhancing formative assessment (FA) in history and social studies classrooms. There is evidence that FA can enhance learning for students if implemented well. Unfortunately, teachers continue to be challenged in implementing FA in their classrooms. We examined reading standards for literacy in history and social studies in lesson plans created by preservice teachers in order to discuss opportunities presented by the CCSS for enhancing FA.     

Associations among community college students’ technology apprehension and achievement emotions in developmental education courses

The saturation of technology in learning environments can create feelings of apprehension in students who are not technologically savvy, especially for community college students who may meet basic expectations for technology use. Despite the infusion of communication technology into higher education, the effects of incorporating this technology in community college classrooms, particularly developmental education courses, remain to be thoroughly studied. Developmental education students enrolled at a multi-campus community college in the southeast of the United States completed a survey containing measures of technology apprehension and achievement emotions. Positive associations among students’ technology apprehension and negative achievement emotions were detected. No significant associations were detected between technology apprehension and the positive achievement emotions of enjoyment, hope and pride. This implies that technology may not play as significant a role in course satisfaction as popular opinion might assume. Data from open-ended questions offered insight into the ways developmental education students view technology and the challenges they face when using technology in their academic pursuits, including concerns related to technology access (i.e. the digital divide). Community college students expect technology in the classroom; however, more research is needed to determine exactly how much and what kind of technology they expect in a specific learning setting.     

Differences in Competence and Beliefs About Autism Among Teacher Education Students

Students with autism often are placed in general education classrooms, indicating general education teachers should be prepared to meet these students' needs. This survey study of teacher education students examined differences in educational training, beliefs about autism, and competence working with students with autism, according to college level and major area of study. Results showed that teacher education students held accurate beliefs about most aspects of autism, but they demonstrated misconceptions about special, gifted abilities. Secondary teacher education students were less likely to demonstrate accurate beliefs about the social emotional features of autism over the course of their training. General education teachers reported a lack of competence working with students with autism and believed additional training was needed. Findings suggested ongoing preservice training is needed to foster accurate beliefs about autism and competence working with students with autism.     

Australia’s supervising teachers: motivators and challenges to inform professional learning

This paper offers an overview of what motivates and challenges Australian supervising teachers to work with preservice teachers in their classrooms. In the contemporary Australian context of new National Professional Standards for Teachers, a new national curriculum and new standards for Initial Teacher Education programs, what motivates and challenges supervising teachers becomes a focus for professional learning through analysis presented in this paper. Data are reported from a national data set that includes 314 responding supervising teachers who took the Mentoring Perspectives Inventory from 2012–2014. The MPI data are aggregated in this paper to suggest that the wider system of teacher education could benefit from attention at various levels of interest to develop the underlying knowledge base of supervising teachers and our understanding of how they are challenged and motivated in their work with preservice teachers.     

Dilemma-based Cases Written by Preservice Elementary Teacher Candidates: An analysis of process and content

The present paper describes how preservice teachers constructed dilemma-based cases as part of a reflective and inquiry-oriented teacher education program. Twelve elementary education majors wrote dilemma-based cases based on critical incidents experienced during their field placements in Professional Development Schools. Examination of these data reveals that writing cases allowed these teacher candidates to resolve dilemmas they experienced during their internships, which influenced their perceptions of their roles and relationships in elementary classrooms. The process of writing cases also helped these prospective teachers to work through their feelings about these incidents and to understand the value of reflection. Content analyses of these data revealed that all of the cases centered around two typical novice teachers' concerns: (a) the preservice teacher's relationship with their cooperating teachers and students, or (b) classroom management concerns. None of the cases revolved around content or curriculum issues .     

Helping Preservice Teachers Learn to Teach for Understanding in this Era of High-stakes Early Education Reform

As early childhood education becomes more regulated through a range of education reforms and mandates, early childhood teacher educators are seeking ways to prepare their preservice teachers to address these policy constraints through appropriate teaching practices that foster learning with understanding. Using the National Research Council’s conception of learning as a framework for analysis, this article considers strategies to achieve this goal by first presenting findings from a case study that examined the training of a sample of preservice teachers who were both educated in high-stakes learning classrooms as well as taught to be early educators in these same environments. This article then uses these findings to the make case for practical and political approaches to teaching that can assist teacher educators in preparing their students for this regulated field of early education.     

Strengthening the Conversation in Blended and Face-to Face Courses: Connecting Online and In-Person Learning with Crossover Protocols

There is currently strong and widespread support among university administrators for blended learning at the college level, or courses that incorporate some degree of online instruction. As instructors are called on to incorporate online and face-to-face elements into their instruction, they face the critical question of how to intentionally connect the two modalities in ways that strengthen learning. This article first outlines the historical context of social-constructivism's presence in online instruction, and then presents a rationale for the use of “crossover” discussion protocols that connect online forums and face-to-face discussions. The article argues that by drawing deliberately on the benefits of both online and in-person learning environments, crossover protocols help students make more insightful connections among ideas and push their own—and each others'—thinking in unexpected ways. A set of crossover protocols is then provided, along with considerations for implementing them effectively. These practical strategies for facilitating conversations across the two modalities were developed in the author's undergraduate and graduate level courses in English and education and are adaptable across course levels and disciplines. The article concludes with a discussion of how students experience the learning benefits of crossover protocols.     

Crossing the Border from Science Student to Science Teacher: Preservice Teachers’ Views and Experiences Learning to Teach Inquiry

Preservice science teachers face numerous challenges in understanding and teaching science as inquiry. Over the course of their teacher education program, they are expected to move from veteran science students with little experience learning their discipline through inquiry instruction to beginning science teachers adept at implementing inquiry in their own classrooms. In this study, we used Aikenhead’s (Sci Educ 81: 217–238, 1997, Science Educ 85:180–188, 2001) notion of border crossing to describe this transition preservice teachers must make from science student to science teacher. We examined what one cohort of eight preservice secondary science teachers said, did, and wrote as they both conducted a two-part inquiry investigation and designed an inquiry lesson plan. We conducted two types of qualitative analyses. One, we drew from Costa (Sci Educ 79: 313–333, 1995) to group our preservice teacher participants into one of four types of potential science teachers. Two, we identified successes and struggles in preservice teachers’ attempts to negotiate the cultural border between veteran student and beginning teacher. In our implications, we argue that preservice teachers could benefit from explicit opportunities to navigate the border between learning and teaching science; such opportunities could deepen their conceptions of inquiry beyond those exclusively fashioned as either student or teacher.     

Preservice secondary subject teachers incorporating movement integration into classroom practice

The present study explores Finnish preservice subject teachers’ perspectives and experiences with movement integration in academic classrooms. In the study, 44 subject teachers applied an integrated approach to infuse physical activity into a required teacher-preparatory course. The program’s framework is the constructivist learning approach. Data were collected through interviews, classroom observations and field notes. The findings show that movement integration was a new concept for the preservice teachers and that their experience positively influenced their beliefs regarding the use of that concept in academic lessons. Thus, it is possible to support implementation of movement integration into secondary academic classrooms.     

Preservice teacher perceptions of preparedness for teaching: Insights from survey research exploring the links between teacher professional standards and agency

In this article we explore the use of teacher professional standards in an initial teacher education programme and preservice teacher perceptions of their preparedness for teaching using a survey of 54 first- and second-year preservice teachers in a graduate-entry programme. The survey asked the preservice teachers to respond to 16 questions based on professional standards as well as their knowledge of student learning, professional identity and teaching as a career path. The preservice teachers’ responses were analysed using a mixed methods approach that relied on quantitative methods, but was supplemented by qualitative analysis of short-answer responses. Our analyses hypothesised about possible links between the preservice teachers’ responses and the extent to which they perceived they were classroom and career ready. The themes of teachers, teaching and student learning are used to present and discuss the results, while the notion of agency as achievement is used to deepen possible understanding about their meaning and implications. We conclude that the preservice teachers appeared to benefit from learning about professional standards throughout their programme but appeared to lack confidence in: engaging professionally with others such as parents/carers; setting objectives for all students with different backgrounds; and implementing lesson sequences that engage students and promote learning. Most doubted teaching as their future career. Finally, we discuss implications for: adopting standards-integrated initial teacher education programme approaches; preservice and early-career teacher professional learning needs; and future research opportunities, which include using innovative methodologies and conceptual frameworks.     

A demographic and epistemological divide: problematizing diversity and equity education in traditional,rural teacher education

This study documents the experience of an Asian woman faculty in the rural Mountain West as it relates to difficulties teaching predominantly White preservice teachers about the importance of diversity and social justice to prepare them adequately with skills and materials for their P-12 classrooms in a rapidly changing world. The current challenge has its origins in US history (the macro-level) and continues into the present (the micro-level) beyond the preservice teachers to include college of education colleagues and administrators, and community members. Using nexus analysis to reveal this larger picture, the hope is to develop actions to keep the problem from persisting into the future. This study is geography-specific in that not all rural areas are predominantly White, nor do they all share the same worldview. The results suggest that rural university communities remain predominantly White in their demographic makeup and crucial actors often hold fast to Whiteness and White ignorance. This is problematic – the need to transform and change is urgent in rural teacher education programs.     

Agency, Identity, and Social Justice Education: Preservice Teachers’ Thoughts on Becoming Agents of Change in Urban Elementary Science Classrooms

Using multiple theoretical frameworks, reflective writings and interviews, this study explores preservice elementary teachers’ emerging identities as science teachers and how this identity is connected to notions of critical agency and a stance toward social justice. The study addresses two central questions pertaining to preservice teachers’ conceptions as “agents of change” and how their perceptions as change agents frame their science teacher identities and understanding of teaching science in urban elementary classrooms. Their identity in the moment as elementary preservice teachers—not yet teachers—influences how they view themselves as teachers and how much agency or power they feel they have as agents of change in science classrooms. Findings suggest that science teacher education must play a more immediate, fundamental and emancipatory role in preparing preservice teachers in developing science teacher identities and a stance toward social justice.