Elementary Teacher Preparation Program Research Articles

Using Internal and External Evaluation to Shape Teacher Preparation Curriculum: A Model for Continuous Program Improvement

The same high stakes accountability measures that have shaped the K-12 educational context over the past decade have become part of the university teacher preparation landscape. National accrediting organizations have created more rigorous, outcomes-based accountability measures for teacher preparation programs. Educational stakeholders offer mixed reviews about the value and impact of these accreditation efforts. In this article, however, we argue that such external evaluation measures when paired with our own internal evaluation processes have generated meaningful changes to our elementary teacher preparation program.

Preservice Early Childhood Educators’ and Elementary Teachers’ Perspectives on Including Young Children With Developmental Disabilities: A Mixed Methods Analysis

This mixed methods study reports on the perspectives of 143 preservice early childhood educators (ECE) and 208 elementary teacher candidates (TC) on teaching children with developmental disabilities and delays (DDD) in inclusive classrooms. A questionnaire was administered which included items on demographic characteristics, experience, knowledge, and feelings of competence when collaborating with colleagues and meeting the needs of students with DDD. Included was the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale short form (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001). Qualitative data were collected through open-ended questions about successes and challenges in including children with DDD. Whenever applicable, items asked respondents to respond based on their most recent practicum in a child care or school setting. Similar findings were reported by both preservice ECE and elementary teacher candidates. TCs reported significantly greater experience, knowledge, and sense of efficacy in their teaching compared to ECEs, but no differences in feelings of competence. Analyses of open-ended questions about successes and challenges experienced by ECEs and TCs yielded similar themes related to differentiating teaching, enhancing participation for children, and collaborating, with TCs also expressing concerns about differentiating curriculum. Implications for early childhood and elementary teacher preparation programs are discussed.

The Making of a Man: Rethinking and Challenging Stereotypes

Five literature selections with detailed instructional strategies offer practicing and preservice teachers lessons to help students think deeply about traditional male stereotypes, gender role development, and acceptance of individual differences. Incorporating gender variant books and techniques into early childhood and elementary teacher preparation programs readies future teachers to deter bullying and provide for the academic, emotional, personal, and safety needs of all children.

Mapping the Journey of Reform and Assessment for an Elementary Education Teacher Preparation Program

This article describes the non-linear journey of an elementary education teacher preparation program in a large southeastern university during an eight-year process of program improvement. In that time period, the program developed and implemented innovative programs; collected data from various sources; and adopted a robust, valid, and reliable performance assessment instrument in order to enact program improvement. The authors provide details and lessons learned that highlight the relationship of practices for improving teacher candidate programs and performance assessment data. They conclude by sharing suggestions for continual improvement by utilizing actionable data.

Working with Families in Urban Teacher Education: A Critical Need for All Students

The positive impact of family–school relationships is well documented in the literature, as is the need for teacher education to prepare teachers to work positively with diverse families. This article reports the experiences and perspectives of candidates in an elementary urban teacher preparation program in the United States as they engaged in authentic experiences with the families of their students. Findings provide evidence that authentic experiences within constructivist teacher education can help candidates regard families as a valuable resource for teachers in urban schools. The results highlight the need to provide candidates with authentic and relevant community- and family-based experiences within carefully designed teacher preparation programs as we strive to prepare the teachers all children deserve.

Effects of an Additional Mathematics Content Course on Elementary Teachers' Mathematical Beliefs and Knowledge for Teaching

This longitudinal study examines the effects of changes in an elementary teacher preparation program on mathematics beliefs and content knowledge for teaching of two groups of prospective teachers (N = 276): (1) those who completed a program with three mathematics content courses and two mathematics methods courses and (2) those who completed a program with four mathematics content courses and a single mathematics methods course. The results reveal salient benefits of a second methods course that were not evident in the new program with only one methods course. Further, the addition of a fourth content course did not result in notable differences in mathematical knowledge for teaching. In addition, mathematical knowledge for teaching was positively linked to change in pedagogical beliefs about learners, further illuminating the interwoven nature of knowledge and beliefs.

Disability Studies and Inclusive Teacher Preparation: A Socially Just Path for Teacher Education

This article explores the benefits and challenges of operating an inclusive elementary and special education teacher preparation program within a disability studies framework. How does such a program balance issues of theory and practice? How does it provide students with a critical approach that essentially views disability as a social and cultural category much like race and gender, with a practical approach that attempts to address, remediate or eliminate those conditions that are considered disabling? How is it possible to become a successful professional with a disability studies perspective within a field such as special education that is traditionally based around a deficit model? The article provides recommendations for how such questions might be addressed in teacher education.

Student Teaching Practice in Two Elementary Teacher Preparation Programs

This study examines student teaching of elementary teacher preparation programs in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the United States of America (USA). Two programs comparable in program design, course requirements and goals were selected for exploration. The key aspects that were studied about student teaching include its unit ratio in a program, features of placements, written work by student teachers and evaluation. Findings indicate that these programs share the same basic elements related to student teaching but differences exist in student teaching sequence, focus on candidates’ practice to assume teaching responsibilities, participation in evaluation and level of peer interaction. The PRC program places an emphasis on teamwork of candidates and makes them active evaluators in a three-step sequence including mock mini lessons. The USA candidates are required to gain considerably more field and teaching experience in duration and number of lessons to teach cross multiple subjects. They also reflect on their practices regularly in addition to fulfilling other credential requirements beyond the program. Educational implications are discussed regarding the characteristics of the programs in an international context.

Examining the Culture of Poverty: Promising Practices

ABSTRACT Spurred by preservice teachers' perceptions that diversity issues such as poverty would not affect their teaching, professors in 1 southeastern U.S. elementary teacher–preparation program took action, which resulted in this examination of the culture of poverty and the identification of strategies to best serve children living in poverty. The authors explored the effect of poverty in the role of schools, families, and teachers. In this article, they identify key strategies that focus on providing a strong support system for children living in poverty. The authors make recommendations on how teacher-preparation programs could infuse the teaching of these strategies into programs.

Sexual orientation topics in elementary teacher preparation programs in the USA

This investigation is a descriptive study documenting the inclusion of sexual orientation (gay and lesbian) topics in a sample of 65 public university elementary teacher preparation programs across the USA (representing the preparation of 14,000–19,000 new teachers annually). Findings indicate that only 55.6% of programs address sexual orientation topics within official program curriculum. It was also found that sexual orientation topics are largely isolated within educational foundation courses, receiving very little attention as pre‐service teachers get closer to practica and professional practice. The findings also report on the various challenges to addressing sexual orientation as indicated by program coordinators and the primary reasons given by the 44.4% of programs in the study that don’t address sexual orientation as a form of diversity within official curriculum. Conclusions suggest that elementary teacher programs may work to sustain homophobic and heterosexist school cultures through the omission of sexual orientation topics, despite the apparent commitment of the field to prepare teachers for diverse schools and communities.

Addressing diversity in US teacher preparation programs: A survey of elementary and secondary programs’ priorities and challenges from across the United States of America

Data gathered from 142 public university elementary and secondary teacher preparation programs across the United States (representing the preparation of approximately 23,000–30,000 new teachers annually), indicated that race/ethnicity was the most emphasized diversity topic followed by special needs, language diversity, economic (social class), gender, and sexual orientation. The majority of programs addressed diversity topics across program classes. States were similar in the priority assigned to various diversity topics, with the exception of California, which placed greater emphasis upon language diversity but less upon special needs as compared to other states. In addition, there appeared to be little to no relationship between the faculty demographics (gender and race) and the priorities placed upon gender and racial diversity in programs. The project also surveyed program coordinators’ assessments of the various challenges to the inclusion of diversity topics. Finally, the data suggested that possible relationships might exist between faculty attitudes/knowledge regarding diversity topics and student attitudes.

SPECIAL-EDUCATION DELIVERY MODELS IN A GENERAL-EDUCATION TEACHINGPROGRAM: A COMMUNITY COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY INITIATIVE

ABSTRACT This article describes the process of integrating special-education content into 2 delivery models used in 2 different general-education teacher-preparation programs for elementary-education majors at the University of Wyoming and Casper (Community) College. One program was the traditional 4- year undergraduate elementary-teacher preparation program; the other was a creative and resourceful way of offering the same program at one of the state's community colleges. The models were based on theoretical and practical applications of current teaching practices. These included the integration of special-education students into the general-education classroom. Students' reactions to what they were learning and implications for practice are included.

Case‐based pedagogy as a context for collaborative inquiry in the Philippines

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to investigate the potential for using case‐based pedagogy as a context for collaborative inquiry into the teaching and learning of elementary science. The context for this study was the elementary science teacher preparation program at West Visayas State University on the the island of Panay in Iloilo City, the Philippines. In this context, triple linguistic conventions involving the interactions of the local Ilonggo dialect, the national language of Philipino (predominantly Tagalog) and English create unique challenges for science teachers. Participants in the study included six elementary student teachers, their respective critic teachers and a research team composed of four Filipino and two U.S. science teacher educators. Two teacher‐generated case narratives serve as the centerpiece for deliberation, around which we highlight key tensions that reflect both the struggles and positive aspects of teacher learning that took place. Theoretical perspectives drawn from assumptions underlying the use of case‐based pedagogy and scholarship surrounding the community metaphor as a referent for science education curriculum inquiry influenced our understanding of tensions at the intersection of re‐presentation of science, authority of knowledge, and professional practice, at the intersection of not shared language, explicit moral codes, and indigenization, and at the intersection of identity and dilemmas in science teaching. Implications of this study are discussed with respect to the building of science teacher learning communities in both local and global contexts of reform. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 38: 502–528, 2001

Teaching Development and Diversity in Field-Based Methods Courses

This paper focuses on the issue of teaching development and diversity in an innovative elementary and special education teacher preparation program. Using the language arts and physical education components as examples, we describe problematic conceptions that preservice teachers hold about development and diversity and a set of learning experiences aimed at confronting these conceptions and helping undergraduates begin to learn to differentiate instruction. These learning experiences occur in elementary school settings during lessons taught by the university professors as a way to model effective practice and provide links to theory taught in the university.

Two cultures of teacher preparation: Effects on teacher candidates' world view

The present study investigates the observations that teacher candidates majoring in elementary education exhibit a world view very different from teacher candidates majoring in a science discipline while obtaining teacher certification in elementary education. Teacher candidates from two different elementary teacher preparation programs were asked to describe their experiences in two different discipline courses, one in which they do very well and one in which they generally do less well. Analysis of the papers revealed the presence of two distinct world views among the teacher candidates with regard to education and the learning of different discipline courses. Many of the attitudes inherent in these world views appear to have their roots in early experiences in and out of school. Implications for elementary science teaching and teacher education are discussed.

Long-Term PDS Development in Research Universities and the Clinicalization of Teacher Education

In the past decade, educational reformers have created professional development schools (PDSs) similar to those the Holmes Group (1986) and the Carnegie Forum (1986) advocated. PDSs aims are now commonplace: provide exemplary education for preservice teachers, support continuing professional development of experienced teachers, and involve schools and universities in collaborative research. Underpinning this work is the assumption that school reform and the reform of teacher education require simultaneous renewal (Goodlad, 1994, p. 236). Collaboration should transform the school and university cultures (Case, Norlander, & Reagan, 1993; Stoddart, 1993) and result in improved teacher education and increased learning in schools. For this reason, Robinson and Darling-Hammond (1994) conclude, PDSs are much more than a fashionable new idea. They are an imperative of professional responsibility in education (p. 217). Creating PDSs has resulted in new staffing patterns. In research-oriented universities, clinical faculty are assuming increasingly important roles in teacher education (Fullan, Galluzzo, Morris, & Watson, 1996). The place and role of non-tenure-track faculty undoubtedly will expand as programs increase and enrich connections between schools and universities. The American Association of University Professors has expressed concern that increased use of non-tenure-line faculty for university instruction will result in lower educational quality (American Association of University Professors, Committee G, 1993). However, the most recent Holmes Group report (1995) argues that clinical faculty should form a living bridge between campus and practice as they share with colleagues on campus responsibilities associated with the Professional Development School agenda and with the development and operation of professional studies programs. Differentiated roles will be developed, where faculty having their tenure with the schools collaborate with faculty tenured with the university in making significant contributions to programs of teaching and inquiry (p. 62). The Department of Educational Studies at the University of Utah is experimenting with a variety of staffing patterns that include clinical faculty (Ellsworth & Albers, 1995; Fullan et al., 1996). The department, centrally responsible for secondary and elementary school certification programs, is large and diverse, combining undergraduate, masters, and doctoral programs and specialty areas in teaching and learning strategies; and cultural, critical, and curriculum studies. Members of the department have been involved in PDS-related work since the late 1970s (Nutting, 1982). We conducted a study of seven current and former PDS sites and interviewed more than 60 informants to identify program strengths, weaknesses, and issues requiring attention (Bullough, Kauchak, Crow, Hobbs, & Stokes, 1996). The place of clinical faculty in teacher education emerged as a critical issue, resulting in a second, descriptive case study (Yin, 1989), which we report in this article. In this article, we explore through the eyes of clinical, non-tenure-track, and tenure-line university faculty the increased use of clinical faculty in teacher education programs, a shift resulting in what we call the clinicalization of teacher education. Four sections follow. First, we present a brief institutional history of our PDS work and the staffing patterns that evolved. Second, we describe the study. Third, we present themes emerging from our data. Finally, we consider implications of our findings for future PDS development. PDS: A Brief History In the late 1970s, University of Utah faculty and staff, anticipating PDSs, created elementary Professional Development Centers (PDCs) as sites for pre- and inservice teacher education and research (Nutting, 1982). In the late 1980s, the Department of Educational Studies restructured elementary and secondary teacher preparation programs to include extensive field components and extended coursework and was thus in a strong position to respond to the Holmes Group (1986) agenda to establish Professional Development Schools, despite no external funding. …

Effect of laboratory experiences on undergraduates’ perception of the ideal pupil

Purpose of this study was to determine the impact of laboratory experiences on undergraduate students’ perception of a creative pupil. The Ideal Pupil Checklist developed by E. Paul Torrance was administered to 179 students enrolled in six different segments within an elementary education teacher preparation program. The Kendall Rank Correlation Coefficient was used to determine the degree of association between the students’ rankings and a panel of experts’ rankings of 66 affective characteristics. Based on the analysis of data, implications and recommendations for colleges of education and local school systems are proposed.

Special Education Content Included in Regular Teacher Education Programs

If elementary and secondary teacher preparation programs are to be responsive to the needs of exceptional students in the schools, special education content must be included within the preservice curriculum and appropriate inservice training must be available to faculty. This article describes a research project involving a national survey of selected elementary and secondary teacher education programs within public and private institutions of higher education. The status of special education content included within these teacher education programs was assessed. Major findings reveal (a) public institutions are more advanced in integrating special education content within the curriculum and providing appropriate inservice training and field experiences than private institutions, (b) elementary preservice programs require special education courses and integrate special education content at a higher rate than secondary programs, and (c) at least a quarter of the elementary and secondary programs require some type of field experience with exceptional children or youth. Issues are discussed in regard to curricular change and faculty development.

Effect of a four‐year elementary teacher preparation program on undergraduates' preferences for teaching science

Effect of a four‐year elementary teacher preparation program on undergraduates' preferences for teaching science

Individualized Learning in a Methods Course

Educators proclaim that effective teaching is effective teaching, whether in preschool or in graduate school. Accepting this, it seems reasonable to suggest that there is something common to all effective teaching. Moreover, since effective teaching implies learning, it is also reason able to advance the suggestion that there is something common to the learning that results from effective teaching. A synthesis of teachers' action that make up effec tive teaching includes establishing provisions for indi vidual differences among students. The amount of emphasis placed on making provisions for individual differences may vary according to the particular teacher or grade level of the learner, but these provisions are always necessary for proficient teaching, and hence learning, to occur. The elementary teacher preparation program at Cali fornia State University, Sacramento attempts to include provisions for individual differences among the students enrolled in the mathematics methods course. The back grounds and interests of these students are very diverse. There are great variations in the amount of knowledge possessed by the students. Some have competed a bac calaureate major in mathematics while others have never enrolled in a college mathematics course. Teaching in terests ran^e from kindergarten through grade eight. The existing diversities among students dictate the need for individualized learning in this mathematics methods course. Here are objectives from this course: 1) Reading in a methods textbook. To demon strate that he has done some reading, the student completes ten post tests. Fewer than 80% correct on any post test is unsatisfactory. Post tests are retaken as many times as are necessary to achieve the minimum acceptance level.