Preservice field placements and student teaching experiences have been identified as influential factors in elementary teaching candidates' (ETCs) development as teachers. This study examined several factors during the student teaching experience, including the English language arts (ELA) teaching self-efficacy of cooperating teachers (CTs) and…

At a time when there is great emphasis on teacher quality and the preparation of excellent teachers, this portrait explores the process of one such aspiring teacher, Katie, in the fall of her full-year student-teaching internship. Her mentoring teacher, Kristen, is a veteran fifth-grade teacher at a small elementary school in New Hampshire who…

The clinical internship--also called student teaching--represents one of the most important experiences of teacher preparation programs nationwide yet remains not well understood. This article focuses on the experiences of teacher candidates who have struggled in their schools. Here we present data from a survey administered to 107 undergraduate…

The lack of preparation for cooperating teachers is a long-standing problem in teacher education, as is the haphazard nature and quality of field experiences. This study of 119 preservice and 146 cooperating teachers in 10 university-based credentialing programs in California examined the difference preparation made in how cooperating teachers…

This exploratory study documents the practices of a group of mentor teachers (MTs) in high-need schools within a high-accountability district. These MTs support teacher candidates, called residents, in an urban teacher residency program. The primary research question--what are the mentoring practices of a group of strong MTs?--led the authors not…

Encouraged in large part by the work of Schon (1983), teacher education programs have spent the last two decades providing preservice teachers with experiences designed to help them examine their beliefs and develop reflective habits (Roskos et al., 2001; Tsangaridou & Siedentop, 1995; Zeichner & Liston, 1987). The present study…

Teacher beliefs have for some time been directly linked to teacher actions. What teachers believe about curriculum, pedagogy, their students, and the greater goals of education itself influences their instructional behaviors and resultant decision-making. This study sought to analyze how experiences influence changes in beliefs, can provide…

This article investigates one small aspect of the work of secondary social studies teacher preparation at Michigan State University (and, of course, the surrounding public schools where so much of this preparation actually takes place). The authors have come to see that there cannot be a successful program without having close, warm, collegial…

Socialization is the process of gathering knowledge and constructing it in a social context. This gathering of knowledge is often acquired formally through an educational process or informally by interaction with other people (Capel, 2007). A physical education teacher goes through a socialization process where beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, and…

Planning is a central task of teaching and a central focus in learning to teach. But what does planning entail, and how is planning best learned? What challenges do experienced teachers serving as school-based teacher educators face in becoming teachers of planning? What role can university teacher educators play in helping mentor teachers learn…

By educating pre-service teachers about new pedagogical strategies and techniques, the intention is to address and change ineffective practices in physical education so that children learn to love movement and engage in regular physical activity for their health and wellness. However, as Lortie (1975) suggests, experience is more powerful than…

Every year teacher preparation programs invest considerable time and energy in selecting and supporting cooperating teachers who serve as mentors for their student teachers. Given the weight and importance educators place on the student teaching experience and the powerful role it can play in shaping future teachers, it makes sense for teacher…

A key factor in learning to teach during student teaching is the cooperating teacher, who supports and mentors prospective teachers. In the apprenticeship that is student teaching, the cooperating teacher serves as a gatekeeper to the experiential learning of pre-service teachers. Although several studies indicate the significant influence…

As is recognized by many teacher educators, teacher candidates enter their teacher preparation programs with individual attitudes, views, beliefs, or personal theories of teaching. These views may or may not change, develop, or consolidate as a result of coursework and field experiences throughout the teacher preparation program. Nevertheless, in…

Student teaching is a key event in the lives of future educators; it can make or break their success in their own classrooms. The selection of qualified cooperating teachers with whom these students will work is accordingly imperative. Student teaching should provide students the opportunity to grow as educators--to learn from those who are more…