The proposed dissertation follows a three article format. The articles represent two distinct but interrelated strands of research; the first article examines the role of a cooperating teacher as an expert and co-learner. The second article is an exploratory case study examining the use of a structured mentoring guide, The Reflection and…

Often considered an experience in instructional preparation for preservice teachers, the student teaching practicum is both a practical "and" relational experience for both the cooperating teacher and student teacher. In this qualitative study, I examine both the instructional and relational core practices cooperating teachers enact…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to investigate how general and special educators' attitudes, efficacy, and collaboration promote co-teaching relationships that benefit exceptional students in urban middle schools. The impacts of co-teaching on the attitudes, efficacy, and collaboration of secondary teachers were explored. A…

Cooperating teachers play a critical role in preparing teachers during the student teaching experience. Yet, they are often an undervalued contributor to the conversation of teacher education. This exploratory study highlights the voices of cooperating teachers regarding their perspectives on the student teaching experience. Through a Qualtrics…

The present bounded case study explored preservice teachers' experiences using a boundary object in the form of a mathematics course assignment during a pre-student teaching clinical experience. The study focused on preservice teachers' perceptions of how utilizing a boundary object influenced the dynamics of their hierarchical relationships with…

Many K-12 independent schools feature introductory teaching programs, like teaching fellowship or assistant teacher programs, as part of the faculty and school structure. The benefits of these programs for assistant teachers or pre-service teachers are well researched and documented in public school settings. Little, though, is known about the…

New teachers have been trained by mentor teachers for hundreds of years. While Kolb's theory of experiential learning (Fry & Kolb, 1979) provides a framework supporting the long-held traditional model of clinical practice, more recent models have emerged including the co-teaching model of clinical practice. In 2010, a report commissioned by…

Today's elementary teacher candidates (TCs) are entering a world of public education decimated by decades of neoliberal education reforms (Kumashiro, 2010; Lipman, 2012) exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic (Giroux, 2021) and the current white-supremacist, heteropatriarchal backlash (Pendharkar, 2022). For justice-oriented TCs, finding agency in…

Field experiences are critical components of educator preparation programs. The opportunity for a teacher candidate to collaborate with an experienced mentor in an authentic classroom environment can be of great benefit to the teacher candidate, the cooperating teacher, the students in the class, and the reciprocal partnership between the educator…

Teacher candidates, while completing their student teaching internship, are part of an important teaching-and-learning triad. The other members of the triad, mentor teachers and university field instructors, provide essential support to teacher candidates throughout the student teaching internship experience (Yee, 1968). Recent research has…

The effectiveness of teacher-preparation programs to produce high-quality teachers has been an issue of concern for a long time. Teachers play a significant role in shaping students' academic achievement and social-emotional growth. Therefore, it is critical to focus on how teacher education programs, especially the field placement component,…

The problem addressed in this study was new elementary teachers lack preparation in classroom and behavior management. This qualitative phenomenological study aimed to describe (a) perceptions and experiences of new teachers, cooperating teachers, and elementary school principals regarding teacher preparedness in classroom and behavior management…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore cooperating teachers' perceptions of a year-long teaching residency program at a four-year college located within the Midwest. This exploration is critical considering that residency programs appear to show promise and continue to grow in number and influence, still limited scholarly research…

Many aspects of a student teacher's clinical year help determine their success in the future. Understanding the lived experiences of both cooperating teachers and student teachers is essential to understanding the dynamics of that relationship and how district-university partnerships foster an environment of mentoring and support. This study aims…

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the lives of educators across Massachusetts when schools closed their doors to in-person learning for the school year. Online teaching and learning became the norm as teachers quickly adapted their lessons for virtual classrooms. Student teachers were among these educators, finding themselves…