Search results for: Methods courses

An essential component of teacher preparation is clinical practice that allows teacher candidates (TCs) to observe, reflect upon, test their ideas, and adjust and improve their methods in classrooms. Weaknesses in the structure and organization between coursework and clinical practice in teacher preparation programs often present barriers from fully achieving these goals. University–school partnerships have the potential to overcome these challenges and create spaces for mutually beneficial learning opportunities for all stakeholders. In this article, the authors identify six levels to illustrate the continua of work with schools in the preparation of TCs that describe how a program might move from current partnership practice to the kinds of partnership practice described by McDonald and colleagues and the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). While developing partnerships with schools is work that has inherent challenges, the potential of this work to meaningfully transform the preparation of teachers is crucial.

The purpose of this study is to examine whether using Lesson Study with preservice secondary mathematics teachers might better prepare students to be teachers. The main finding of this action research is that Lesson Study can have a strong influence on the efficacy of preservice mathematics teachers. In addition, it was found that a key factor in establishing the confidence of the preservice teachers was the direct connection from the field-experience school to the methods classroom.

This study examined how prospective teachers engaged in class discussions within a synchronous, online environment. The findings reveal that the prospective teachers used variety of ways to participate in the online discourse. The participants also responded to the instructor with quick affirmations. The authors found that many of the participants commented on how they appreciated viewing live technology demonstrations and the opportunities to discuss issues related to content, technology, and pedagogy with one another.

Using a qualitative approach, the authors documented experiences of teacher educators who were content experts and were asked to teach a tech-infused course. The authors found evidence that small changes in their practice were creating larger consequences within their college; it appears the author's professional development model is creating a positive cultural shift.