Since the last decades of the 20th century, the teaching and learning environment at colleges and universities has been expanding significantly beyond the standard space-bound classroom. In addition to online and distance learning opportunities, many students have taken part in structured experiential learning that has given them opportunities to…

Professional identity is a term used to describe both the collective identity of a profession and an individual's own sense of the professional role. This article draws from the literature exploring professional identity with attention to the issues of developing professional identity in fields such as art therapy where lower wages, fewer jobs,…

Using interviews, focus groups, and observations, we examined teacher candidates' understanding of the conceptual orientations that defined their preservice program and practicum experience. Using Feiman-Nemser's (1990) framework, we analyzed our data to determine the dominant perspectives of teacher candidates. Results indicate congruence between…

The dominant models of initial teacher preparation have relied primarily on a school-based practicum where a single student is placed with a single "cooperating teacher" or "mentor". This paper reports on a number of research projects of teacher preparation at the secondary level suggesting that placing student teachers in subject pairs can be…

This article discusses the findings of a project that sought to understand the professional, and perhaps the personal, benefits gained from participating in an overseas teaching practicum. Using in-situ classroom observations, semi-structured interviews and informal discussions, it became apparent that the participating students believed they had…

To explore the kind of training counseling psychology programs provide with respect to religious and spiritual issues, surveys were distributed to training directors or designated representatives of 69 counseling psychology programs in the United States. Responses were received from 40, or 58%, of the programs. Results indicated that programs…

This paper begins with the observation that, for a variety of social, political, and economic reasons, many universities are beginning to rethink the nature of their relations with local communities and asks about the place of Faculties of Education in such processes of reconsideration. It describes recent initiatives at York University as…

The teacher education programme of Obafemi Awolowo University, like those of the other universities in Nigeria, and elsewhere, adopts a university-school partnership model in principle, requiring students in the programme to take academic courses in the university and go for teaching practice or field experience in a placement school. Through…

The practical teaching course, also known as the "practicum", is an essential component in graduate TESOL programs in the United States. The rationale behind this course is to allow preservice teachers the opportunity "to acquire the practical skills and knowledge needed to function as effective language teacher[s]".…

Efforts to enhance students' management action and leadership skills are generally based on behavior modeling and experiential learning models. The classroom practicum approach to developing leadership skills described in this article enhances student learning by integrating a greater emphasis on the transfer phase of the learning process than is…

The current U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) emphasis on the preparation of teachers in content knowledge, and de-emphasis on pedagogy and teaching practicums, constitutes a major issue concerning how best to prepare a sufficient supply of highly qualified teachers. By contrast, federal policy represented by the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act…

This study assessed and compared the effects of two supervisory models, self-assessment and direct supervision, on types and frequency of teacher verbal feedback statements and questions during a 6-week one-teacher-to-one-learner teaching practicum. Sixteen students majoring in physical education instructed the same learner twice per week for 6…

Four main areas are addressed in this guide for learners and mentors in internship experiences in postsecondary education: (1) career orientation and planning; (2) experiential learning theory; (3) individual learning and development; and (4) program implementation and evaluation. Part One of the text identifies the structure of work in…

Teaching practice is an integral component of teacher training. It grants student teachers experience in the actual teaching and learning environment. We explore the experiences of student teachers in the Vaal University of Technology Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) during their 10 weeks' teaching practice in the Vaal area. In this…

One of the greatest challenges of any K-12 teacher education program is providing pre-service teachers opportunities to work with students who are culturally and linguistically different from themselves. Despite best efforts of selecting texts and facilitating discussions, new teachers recently interviewed report that coursework just did not help…