This case study of a preservice secondary mathematics teacher focuses on the teacher's beliefs about his role as mathematics teacher. Data were collected over the final 5 months of the teacher?s university teacher education program through interviews, written course assignments, and observations of student-teaching. Findings indicate that the…

This is an account of a teacher education program's attempt to connect with a neighboring community in order to better prepare faculty to teach about the urban context in which their preservice teacher education students practice. Taking a feminist perspective, the two authors discuss their goals--the processes of using a community organization to…

This study examines the use of electronic networking technologies in the context of a secondary science methods course and an accompanying student teaching experience. Specifically, we examined the effects of social context on the student teaching reflections written by students randomly assigned to one of three different online settings: (a) a…

Becoming a teacher is hard work. A sizable body of research indicates that student teaching internships or other field-based practica are a particularly difficult part of this process. Many preservice teachers have misconceptions about the work of teachers and teaching; when they begin their field placements they often feel disillusioned by the…

Student teaching in New York City on September 11, 2001, forced the author to scrap her carefully planned lessons. Instead, she designed a unit to address the urgent needs of the ninth graders in her care. In this article, the author describes the poetry unit she designed to help students deal with the grieving process and allow them a way to talk…

This article details the transition of second career teachers to the workplace called "school". Post-baccalaureate students at a mid-size comprehensive state university completed surveys pre- and post-student teaching. Participants responded to the personal and professional challenges in changing careers. Issues faced by the non-traditional…

This study determined the effects of three levels of clinical experiences on teacher education students' perceptions of the importance and performance of various teacher attributes. Measures of importance and performance were obtained from a sample of 216 (37 male, 179 female) teacher education students from Jacksonville State University (Alabama)…

The Cross Island Parkway divides the New York City borough of Queens from suburban Nassau County. Surveillance patrols in several Nassau communities observe families who are suspected of living in Queens and illegally registering their children in Nassau schools. This report describes a preservice, urban teaching program at Hofstra University, a…

Each year since 1993 the Teachers College at Emporia State University (Kansas) has placed 20 to 30 of its senior elementary education students in Professional Development School (PDS) sites in selected elementary schools. In the Emporia State PDS model, faculty from a public elementary school collaborate with faculty from the university to provide…

This paper reports on changes in the practicum component of a teacher education program, designed to provide experiences related to the systemic functions of schools. The practicum evolved from genuine collaboration between a school and a university to share responsibility for preservice preparation. The program involved having the teacher…

Because of the potentially significant effect that cooperating teachers can have on student teachers' philosophy, teaching strategies, and classroom behaviors, it is imperative that cooperating teachers be selected, prepared, and evaluated carefully. Certain attributes need to be present in effective cooperating teachers. A questionnaire was…

In 1993, the University of Melbourne's Institute of Education determined that School Experience and Professional Practice subjects would be graded according to the University's standard assessment scheme instead of a pass/fail scheme. To establish a framework for assessment, the Beginning Teacher Competencies from the National Project on the…

A study was done of student teachers and cooperating teachers' assessment of the student teachers' performance in order to investigate how their relationship was affected by these perceptions. A survey instrument in two versions, one for student teachers and one for cooperating teachers, was devised listing 54 specific student teacher performance…

The preservice teacher education program at Monash University (Australia) focuses on the nature of learning. A central antecedent to this is to have student teachers reconsider their concept of quality learning. The purpose of this paper is twofold--first, to highlight how student teachers' understanding of quality learning develops, and how this…

This paper explores the scope of "failure" in the period of practice immediately prior to teacher certification, by examining personal experiences of 25 preservice teachers who "failed" or hovered in failure-like circumstances. Indicators of failure included poor interpersonal skills, lack of primary focus on students, lack of commitment and…