Nine student teachers kept logs and responded to questionnaires during their two student teaching assignments of 7 weeks and 8 weeks in the spring semester. The student teachers transitioned from observing to actual teaching more quickly in the second assignment. Within the assignments, however, the time they spent observing at the beginning of…

The thinking and decision making of expert and novice teachers were studied during three stages of teacher decision making: (1) preactive or planning, (2) interactive or actual teaching, and (3) postactive evaluation and reflection. The novices were five student teachers and the experts were their five cooperating teachers. Differences found…

This study explored the beliefs, intentions, and knowledge bases of nine university supervisors and their sense of efficacy in relation to their performance as supervisors. The supervisors were attached to two teacher education programs based within two universities which differed in the structure of their teacher education programs and, to some…

The Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia conducted a pilot project to establish and investigate the effectiveness of a Clinical Instructor Program. This program had the major goals of (1) improving the way clinical instructors (formerly cooperating teachers) were selected, trained, and rewarded, and (2) enhancing collaboration…

At the conclusion of each student teaching semester, 50 student teachers enrolled at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale were asked to list positive and negative influences of their cooperating teachers. The study was conducted over a period of three years with three different sets of student teachers. Listings of the participants fell into…

This review of research on the influence of the cooperating teacher seeks to clarify the relationship between the preservice student teacher and the cooperating teacher, and to provide a better understanding of the student teaching experience. The expectations and the role of the cooperating teacher are reviewed and it is pointed out that, though…

To strengthen the performance and commitment of beginning teachers by improving the supervision and support student teachers receive, the California State University established the Clinical Supervision Initiative (CSI) in 1984. This paper describes the Far West Laboratory Mini-Studies investigation of beginning teachers. The triad study…

This study examined the time constraints imposed on teacher interns by the fact that they enter a classroom already established and owned by a cooperating teacher and leave the scene before the actual year-end closure. Participants in the study were eight secondary language arts student interns. Separate case studies were completed for each…

The problem investigated in this study was to determine how student teachers perceived their cooperating teachers' leadership practices. Specifically, the problem had three parts: (1) to identify leadership behaviors that cooperating teachers used; (2) to see if there were dominant mentoring styles that existed when a cooperating teacher and a…

The literature on teacher education indicates that cooperating teachers are significant persons in the professional training of teachers, that student teachers are reinforced for reproducing the kinds of teaching styles they most often experience as students. This paper suggests a model of teacher training that identifies practicing outstanding…

The student teaching program at the University of Northern Iowa places priority on developing a preservice teacher's ability to become a reflective practitioner. As a required field experience for teacher education students, the program provides time for learning, experimentation, critical analysis, and practice. The second major construct on…

A survey was made of student teachers in the Secondary Education Program at Western Kentucky University to determine their attitudes regarding their student teaching experience. Responses to a 25 item questionnaire were obtained from 123 students. The findings showed that: (1) Most student teachers were highly positive in their rating of the…

The personality of the individual admitted into training as a prospective teacher is a key factor in successful training. The person should possess the characteristics of an effective teacher, and admission to a school of education should, in part, be based upon an assessment of these criteria. These personal characteristics include the ability to…

A new educational psychology course that combines mastery oriented content learning with direct participation in an elementary school classroom is described. The integration of theoretical-empirical information from psychology with the applied view of education in the classroom is the most important outcome of the new course. A variety of learning…

The College of Saint Rose (Albany, New York) initiated a Dean's Grant inservice program for secondary school teachers and administrators to prepare them as master teachers for the college's student teachers who were being trained to deal with mainstreamed students. The group met twice a week for a semester under the guidance of the college…