Striving towards an ideal: coevaluation of student coteaching experiences

Abstract

ABSTRACT The goal of clinical practice is to enrich teacher candidate learning through enhanced field experiences. Evaluation is a key element of coteaching during which coteachers review their teaching and its impact on pupil learning. However, coteachers are challenged in enacting coevaluation, that is, a critique of the teacher candidate’s and clinical educator’s teaching. In this paper, dyad and triad evaluation of teaching practices in coteaching field experiences are discussed to illuminate barriers to enacting coevaluation that aligns with coteaching principles. Most preservice evaluation tools, systems, and structures are designed for compliance with consensus standards (Zeichner 2006); some of these structures focus upon teacher candidates’ competencies with limited emphasis on pupil learning. Using data from examinations of field instructor meetings with coteachers and interviews with clinical educators, we find that coevaluation meetings address pupil learning and improvement of practice along with accreditation and licensure. However, when evaluative instruments with a teacher competency emphasis are introduced, triad discourse about teacher development narrows. If we are to expand the field of teacher education to provide clinical field experiences that emphasise new ways of thinking and learning for all participants, then it is critical to understand how existing evaluative structures circumscribe teacher learning opportunities.