This research explored the impact of informal learning (IL) in primary music initial teacher training. A small group of undergraduate student teachers had an opportunity to learn about and facilitate an IL approach. Data were collected from interviews, participant reflective logs and researcher reflections. The findings show that perceived…

As the landscape of news media continues to evolve, preservice teachers today may have a unique set of understandings of what it means to be news conscious; may engage with different forms of news media than previous generations; and may have different reasons for including (or not) news media in their classroom. This qualitative study utilizes…

This interactive guide is designed to help preservice early childhood educators use self-compassion to mitigate the stress of teaching. Barry argues that learning healthy stress-management strategies while enrolled in teacher education programs will equip students with the resilience needed to manage stress when they enter their own classrooms.…

Due to the teacher shortage, school divisions and educator preparation programs are working collaboratively to provide alternative routes for student teaching to meet licensure requirements (Donitsa-Schmidt & Zuzovsky, 2014; Flynt & Morton, 2009; National Research Council, 2010). This qualitative case study explored the strengths and…

This article discusses four exemplary activities to highlight imaginative approaches that encourage critical literacy: building a jackdaw, responding to text through multimodal journaling, engaging in dramatic roleplay, and practicing multi-genre writing. Each activity connects imaginative approaches to critical literacy as learners view the world…

Ensuring teacher candidates have high-quality experiences in their clinical placements is essential for sustaining their progress as teachers, and ultimately, the teaching profession. This article explores mentor teachers' perceptions of effective university supervisors and the ways in which the mentors' perceptions of effective supervision…

Schools in the United States are servicing more multicultural students than ever before. In order to provide the best schooling possible for these students, preservice training needs to offer training and practice in understanding the diverse needs of multicultural and multilingual students. Teachers need to be prepared by understanding the…

The shortage of qualified special educators within the workforce historically has been limited since the need arose over 50 years ago. Adding additional factors such as an increase in the population being identified with a disability as well as fewer individuals pursuing a degree within special education, has significantly increased the shortage…

A growing quantitative literature finds evidence that student teaching placements predict later outcomes of teacher candidates and their students, but there is little large-scale quantitative evidence about the mechanisms for these estimated relationships. We used data from a survey of STEM teachers in Washington State to better understand how…

The student teaching experience is often an important capstone experience of teacher preparatory programs. Student teaching is designed to provide college students who are preparing to be educators with experience in an actual classroom while supervised by a certified teacher. The purpose of this study was to determine preservice teachers'…

We designed and implemented an innovative teacher learning activity within the context of a graduate course. Course-takers created and completed a teaching demonstration and their "students" (i.e., fellow course-takers) were each assigned a specific role to play (e.g., disengaged) in order to provide the "teachers" with…

School closures and testing disruptions during COVID-19 prevented many teacher candidates from completing certification milestones, prompting many states to waive or alter licensure requirements to prevent losses of new teachers for the 2020-21 school year. Michigan allowed in-state candidates to teach under temporary certificates before passing…

Preservice teacher education programs worldwide are increasingly becoming field based with student teaching as the capstone experience for preservice teacher learning in the program. Consequently, mentor teachers at field-placement program schools are bestowed with new and unique functions to support preservice teachers' learning to teach, which…

Preparing student teachers for the world of work is seen globally as a challenge. This research aims to explore mentors and mentees experiences in teaching practice during the COVID-19 period. In order to explore the challenge in this study, the following research question guided the paper: What are the teaching practice experiences of mentors and…

When Mikayla Helton, Stephanie Baer's preservice art education student, first asked what she thought about her creating and teaching a summer art class at a youth residential treatment center, Baer was intrigued and fearful. Nichols and Sullivan (2016) described the importance of experiencing dissonance as a young teacher, encountering contexts…