Pre-service Candidates Research Articles

Exploring Candidates' Initial Images of Similar Figures

This article investigates preservice candidates' knowledge of similar figures while engaged in teacher-related mathematical tasks (TRMT) with the primary goal of developing a lesson plan on similar figures. This investigation was part of a larger study investigating candidate knowledge of what and how to teach proportional reasoning concepts while engaged in TRMT. The data collection and TRMT cycle included individual discussions and reflections, group planning and discussions, and group presentations. Individual candidates also wrote their teaching philosophies and math autobiographies, which were reviewed. While candidates appeared to grasp many of the aspects of the concept of similar figures and similarity, there was a lack of precision and strength in their representations. The knowledge base of the candidates in both mathematics and teaching varied. As the study progressed, candidates relied heavily on their subject matter knowledge to justify their images and ideas.

EdTPA as educative, evaluative, and enduring professional tool for guiding teachers’ development?

ABSTRACT The edTPA is an educative performance assessment designed to assess teacher readiness. It has gained momentum across the country; yet, it has often met with resistance from educators in various roles. This study addressed the gap in edTPA literature by exploring new teachers’ perceptions of the assessment as an educative and efficacious tool. The researchers explored: 1) What are novice teachers’ levels of self-efficacy regarding readiness to teach as measured by the edTPA Teacher Survey? and 2) How do novice teachers perceive the edTPA process as an influence on their professional practices? A major outcome revealed new teachers are using mastery experiences to build efficacy and hone their craft in spite of their edTPA experience. Recommendations include a re-tooling of the edTPA process with pre-service candidates to ensure meaningful long-term value and prompt in-service development for new teachers.

An evaluation of a decision‐making model on preservice teachers' instructional decision‐making from curriculum‐based measurement progress monitoring graphs

AbstractThe current study used a randomized control trial to evaluate a decision‐making model on special education preservice candidates' instructional decision‐making and self‐reported confidence ratings when analyzing graphed student data. Thirty‐two special education preservice candidates viewed authentic curriculum‐based measurement (CBM) graphs and selected an instructional decision based on the data. Half of the participants received a decision‐making model (i.e., flowchart) to guide instructional decision‐making and all participants were asked to rate their level of confidence analyzing graphs pre‐ and poststudy. Statistically significant and large differences in the accuracy of instructional decisions and confidence ratings were observed for the participants who used the decision‐making model relative to the control group. The results of the study suggest that a simple, cost‐effective intervention that does not require training from an expert can have a positive impact on teachers' data‐based decision‐making.

Toward More Meaningful Tech Integration: Supporting Preservice Teachers to Connect and Ideate

Mentor teacher technology practices are typically not considerations when identifying practicum placements for preservice candidates. Yet, these shape how new teachers use technology in their own future classrooms. Grappling with patterns in candidate gathered observational data (121 pre-service teachers over seven separate technology-focused courses), this study explored the perceived impact of a designed Thinking Tool and ideation process in lieu of practicum experiences revealing little to no modeling of student use of technology for in-process learning. Data were collected from the Thinking Tool and candidate reflections, and findings suggest a value add toward generating multiple innovative applications. Ideation resulted in moving beyond book-end use in instructional designs to creatively integrating technology to support student talk and sense-making, collaboration, and student organization, engagement, and content creation.

Like Riding a Bike: Tactical Intentionality in a PETE Curriculum

While the tactical games (TG) model has been shown to be effective in motivating students and increasing activity levels during physical education (PE) lessons, few PE teachers report using the model. The continued dominance of multi-activity PE programs may be due to the occupational socialization of physical educators. This article describes how faculty from a Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) program piloted a project with pre-service candidates to determine if an intentional integration of the TG model in a PETE curriculum may lead to more future use.

COVID-19 and Digital Literacy: Assessing Pre-service Music Teachers’ Views on Piano Lessons Provided in Emergency Remote Teaching

This research aims to examine pre-service music teachers’ views on piano lessons provided in the emergency remote education process during Covid-19 lockdown. The population of the research comprises 82 students studying at the Departments of Music Education at Kastamonu University and Gazi University. The survey model, which is one of the quantitative research methods, was used in the research. Research data were collected through a “pre-service teacher feedback form” comprising 19 questions prepared by the researchers and finalized through expert opinions; the data obtained are compiled under relevant tables. The results of the research indicate that majority of the pre-service teachers follow piano courses through their computers, that more than half of the students have the opportunity to play the piano and/or keyboard at home, that they have problems with sound and image synchronization, and that they evaluate the infrastructure of the courses as inadequate. The opinions of the pre-service candidates expressing that they want to pursue their piano education face-to-face after the pandemic ends and that the instrument education they received during emergency remote teaching is not acceptable, which also due to the insufficient level of digital literacy, are also among the results of the research. Pre-service music teachers suggested that piano courses should be held one-on-one and face-to-face, the synchronization problem should be resolved, and the hours for piano courses should be increased. The results of the research presented suggestions regarding the instrument education process and future studies to be conducted on this subject.

The Positive Implications of Intentional Feedback

Positive and constructive feedback is a high leverage practice that can be learned and practiced through scaffolded and structured experiences. Teaching preservice candidates to provide effective feedback is an efficient way to increase P-12 students’ learning and behavioral outcomes. Teacher educators can craft experiences for their preservice teachers that offer rich coursework experiences, practice-based opportunities, and aligned clinical placement. Using the scaffolded approach provided in this article, teacher educators can ensure these experiences are robust and aligned with evidence-based pedagogy.

Pre-Service Teacher Experiences during COVID 19: Exploring the Uncertainties between Clinical Practice and Distance Learning

Teacher preparation programs assist candidates with the pedagogical, theoretical, and practical application of teaching and learning. This article explored the dialog between a state education agency and teacher preparation programs’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The author presents a research study of current teacher performance expectations (TPEs), online readiness, and the design of distance learning in pre-service teacher clinical practice. The participants are 10 current pre-service teachers. The researcher collected data from fieldwork supervisors, observations, and survey results from participants. Kolb’s experiential theory was used in the analysis of co-requisite policy and observations of field experiences of students in a teacher education program. The article analyzed data that suggested that in-person observations and opportunities to practice classroom instruction contribute to teacher readiness and relationship building in comparison to online learning. Furthermore, states will have to re-assess their teacher certification requirements, quality control efforts, and mandatory exams since COVID-19, which may lead to the reauthorization of the pre-service guidelines. Program learning outcomes and critical assignments that allow candidates to demonstrate content knowledge and instructional delivery are being compromised. The finding were that pre-service candidates did not have the opportunity to demonstrate mastery of specific teacher performance expectations within the distance learning format. This article aims to encourage further research teacher education and distance learning to discuss potential alternatives to certification and creative ways to embed flexibility into teacher preparation. Substantial changes can lower the quality of a program and significantly decrease effectiveness while increasing data misrepresentation. Distance learning can potentially limit quality supervision and teacher mentoring. In addition, pre-service teachers will enter classrooms with substantially fewer clinical practice hours.

Deconstructing the Challenges Black Male Preservice Teachers Encounter in Rural Schools

ABSTRACT Nationally, school districts and postsecondary institutions are developing and implementing a variety of initiatives to close the teacher diversity gap. Unfortunately, only 20% of teachers are from ethnic and racial backgrounds, yet schools educate majority-minority populations. More troubling, less than 2% of teachers are Black males. Overall, Black male preservice teachers encounter misconceptions and stereotypes, which impact their student teaching experience. Further, national leaders have neglected to address the education concerns of rural Black communities, where students disproportionately attend segregated schools. For this reason, this review of extant literature will explore the following: (a) how economic trends in rural communities are impacting the recruitment of Black male preservice candidates; (b) the challenges Black male preservice teachers encounter in rural schools; and (c) steps teacher education programs can take to support Black male rural preservice teachers. The article includes recommendations for teacher education programs and school leaders.

Improving Preservice Teachers’ Feelings of Preparedness to Teach Through Recruitment of Instructionally Effective and Experienced Cooperating Teachers: A Randomized Experiment

New studies show that the instructional effectiveness of preservice candidates and their cooperating teachers are positively related. However, we neither know if these relationships are causal nor, assuming they are, if it is possible to significantly increase the instructional effectiveness of the cooperating teacher pool. In this study, we randomly assign districts to receive recommendation lists (generated using administrative data) for the recruitment of more promising cooperating teachers. Districts receiving lists recruited significantly more effective/experienced cooperating teachers, while candidates placed in these districts felt significantly better prepared to teach. As a result, this study offers an innovative, low-cost strategy for recruiting effective/experienced cooperating teachers and presents the first causal estimates that more effective/experienced cooperating teachers improve candidates’ preparedness to teach.

School librarians online: integrated learning beyond the school walls

PurposeThis study aims to explore preservice school librarians’ ability to develop and deliver integrated library lessons under remote teaching and learning conditions. This study will help school library educators identify the preparation required in coursework to effectively implement blended learning practices as well as identify perceived barriers and opportunities for implementing effective remote school library practice.Design/methodology/approachA participatory action research approach was used to explore online teaching strategies in coursework then implement them in K-12 practice.FindingsThe findings include six criteria selected, developed lessons and the analyzed reflections of the preservice candidates. These discussed findings identify trends in developed online inquiry lessons and suggest considerations for school library educators when scaffolding instruction in preparation coursework. Future planning also explores considerations of access and technology instruction prior to practice.Research limitations/implicationsThe COVID-19 crisis presented a unique challenge ideal for exploration by an educator and candidates in a school librarian preparation program. Using a revised assignment to facilitate a deliberate, authentic experience designed to blend theory and practice (Grossman, 2011), the evidence presented in the sample lessons and participant reflections documents that candidates are able to develop online learning and articulate the American Association of School Librarians Learner Competencies through work samples. According to this brief exploration, this preparation program was able to adapt the requirements of the assignment and prepare candidates to develop quality instructional lessons when online teaching pedagogy was embedded along with scaffolded instruction on collaborative teaching and instructional design. The limitation to this study is that the COVID crisis was accepted as the problem in the participatory action research model.Practical implicationsWhen provided instruction on embedded librarianship models and pedagogy practices of online instruction and scaffolded instruction, school library candidates successfully integrated online K-12 instruction. These instructional supports provided the integration of theory and practice necessary for effective preparation. Additional challenges remain to include considerations of access and student motivation which should be addressed in preparation coursework.Originality/valueNever before have we seen all schools closed and instruction moved online without warning. School library preparation programs must look anew at how well they are preparing school librarians for practice across a variety of circumstances. This study looks at the preparation for online instruction K-12 schools were faced with in Spring 2020.

Integrating Multiliteracies for Preservice Teachers Using Project-Based Learning

Using a project-based learning approach, three teacher educators, teaching three different methodology courses, worked together to create, plan, and assess an arts-based assignment completed by preservice candidates. The preservice teachers created an animation project while applying curriculum expectations in three subject areas: visual arts, music, and language arts. The three subjects were segregated for the purpose of instruction, integrated during the group work and creative process, and then jointly assessed using negotiated reporting. This paper describes the project and details the challenges of integrating teaching and learning across institutionally segregated courses when student expectations are conditioned by their prior experience of siloed, subject-based learning, and discusses lessons learned by the three teacher educators and implications for team teaching across the curriculum.

How Comfortable Are You Really?

In an increasingly diverse school population, teachers find themselves facing students whose ethnicities, cultures, experiences, and religions are vastly different from their own. While this is a fantastic opportunity to develop a unique learning community, it is also challenging for teachers who may or may not have adequate training to meet the needs of all students. Using a survey designed to determine how comfortable an individual is in a variety of situations characterized by diversity, pre-service education candidates from the Elementary K-6 and Special Education K-12 degree programs from a mid-sized university in Arkansas were given a questionnaire on their comfortability with different diversity characteristics. The semester in which participants engaged in this survey included field placement. Results from the questionnaire indicated that the lowest average comfortability rating was for the HIV category, and the highest average comfortability rating was for the disability category. Qualitative information suggests that pre-service teachers perceive that they are "comfortable" with different groups of people, although previous research cautions against this comfortability. The authors suggest that teacher education programs, professional development, and staff in-service training on diversity topics should consider several practices designed to bolster how teacher candidates prepare to work with diverse populations of students.
 Keywords: teacher candidates, diversity, perceptions, comfortability

The Role of Pre-service Training for Civil Servants Group III: Perspective of Regulation of the Head of the State Administration Agency Number 15 2015 Regarding Banjarmasin Religious Education and Training Center

Education and training are activities that are designed to prepare new employees, to be better prepared to carry out work, or to be organized to develop old employees so that they are more able to develop their potential. To form a new professional Civil Servants (PNS), there needs to be an update on the current pattern of education and training. The practice of conducting Pre-service Training with classical learning patterns is more dominated by lecture methods, making it difficult to form the basic values of the PNS profession, especially the internalization process in each of the Pre-service Training participants. The focus or subject of this research is all parties involved in the implementation of Regular Group III Pre-service Training in South Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and East Kalimantan, which took place on 28 September to 30 October 2015 at Banjarmasin Religious Education and Training Center. This research uses a descriptive qualitative approach. The results of this study indicate that the Banjarmasin Religious Training Center has implemented the Head of State Administrative Agency Regulation No. 15 of 2015 concerning Guidelines for Organizing Education and Training of Pre-Service Candidates for Civil Servants Group III quite effectively. This can be seen from the 10 SOPs regarding the implementation of Education and Training; there are only 3 SOPs that have not been appropriately implemented. Factors influencing the implementation of Regulation of the Head of State Administration Number 15 of 2015 concerning Guidelines for Providing Education and Training for Civil Servant Candidates for Class III in the form of lack of socialization, relations between organizations are not optimal and limited resources can still be improved for the implementation of Training and Education that will become.

Interpersonal Dynamics of the Supervisory Triad of Pre-Service Teacher Education: Lessons Learned from 15 Years of Research

Clinical field experience is recognized by many as the most influential and beneficial component of pre-service teacher education. The present article represents part of a larger qualitative meta-synthesis, the purpose of which was to explore the influence of the interpersonal dynamics of the supervisory triad—comprised of the pre-service teacher candidate, the mentor teacher, and the university supervisor—on pre-service candidates’ clinical experiences. Positioning theory was chosen to frame this investigation, as it employs distinct definitions for role and position, the delineation of which is of critical importance in the context of pre-service clinical relationships. Findings of the larger study reveal three primary factors of influence, four primary patterns of communication, and many modes of positioning of self and others as influential to pre-service teachers’ clinical experiences. This article addresses those findings regarding factors of influence and modes of positioning, the implications of which are discussed through the lens of positioning theory and in connection to practice in the field.

An Examination of Two African American Males' Decisions to Become Secondary Science Teachers

Despite calls for an increase in the number of African American male teachers, very few research studies have closely examined how African American men arrive at their decisions to become educators. This study examines why two African American male pre-service teacher candidates chose secondary science teaching as a career. This study also examines how the men discussed their experiences as educators in training. Findings from the study revealed that the African American male pre-service candidates pursued teaching for altruistic and intrinsic reasons. The men also primarily discussed their experiences in light of the challenges and obstacles they faced on the teaching pathway.

Evaluating the psychometric qualities of the edTPA in the context of pre-service music teachers

The Educative Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) is a widely implemented performance assessment in the United States used to indicate the readiness of pre-service teachers to enter the classroom and the level of pre-service teacher preparation supported by individual colleges of education. The purpose of this study is to investigate the psychometric qualities (i.e., validity and reliability) of the edTPA specifically in the context of pre-service music education candidates. The study was guided by the following questions: ‘What is the overall psychometric quality (i.e., validity and reliability) of the edTPA rubric items in the context of pre-service music educators?’ (Research Question 1); ‘How do the rubric criteria fit the measurement model and how do they vary in difficulty?’ (Research Question 2); and (c) ‘Do the category response structures for each criterion empirically cooperate to provide meaningful measures?’ (Research Question 3). Results indicated overall adequate model-data fit but demonstrated measurement optimization concerns attributed to the category response structures. Implications for pre-service music education training are discussed.

Will Mentoring a Student Teacher Harm My Evaluation Scores? Effects of Serving as a Cooperating Teacher on Evaluation Metrics

Growing evidence suggests that preservice candidates receive better coaching and are more instructionally effective when they are mentored by more instructionally effective cooperating teachers (CTs). Yet teacher education program leaders indicate it can be difficult to recruit instructionally effective teachers to serve as CTs, in part because teachers worry that serving may negatively impact district evaluation scores. Using a unique data set on over 4,500 CTs, we compare evaluation scores during years these teachers served as CTs with years they did not. In years they served as CTs, teachers had significantly better observation ratings and somewhat better achievement gains, though not always at significant levels. These results suggest that concerns over lowered evaluations should not prevent teachers from serving as CTs.

Studying Program Effectiveness in Preparing Teachers for English Learners

ABSTRACT To investigate how competent preservice candidates were prepared to teach English learners (ELs), a case study was conducted to examine 30 candidates use of effective practices for ELs during preservice preparation and the first years of teaching. Data included: (1) preservice assignments related to planning and teaching; (2) student teaching supervisors’ records; (3) observations during the first two years of teaching; and (4) English language proficiency results from the first year of teaching in grades 3 and above. Results indicate that some practices which participants were exposed to in their preservice preparation were found with greater frequency than others when comparing preservice artifacts and observations with the first years of teaching. Contextual factors including certification choice, grade level, and content area correlated with the use of some practices. Findings are discussed in relation to existing research on preparing candidates to meet the academic and linguistic needs of ELs.

Preparing Pre-service Early Childhood Candidates for Diverse Classrooms

The demographics of schools in United States (U.S.) are rapidly changing. Therefore, teachers in the U. S. need to be prepared to teach children with a wide variety of diverse backgrounds. This article describes an introductory early clinical experience purposefully designed to provide early childhood pre-service teachers from a large Midwestern university in the U. S. with opportunities to teach children in a high-need and diverse setting. Data from exit slips and surveys associated with the Open Doors program were analyzed over four years. Results indicated that almost 90% of candidates felt the experience was beneficial to their professional growth and would consider working in a diverse school. Slightly over 90% felt the experience increased their knowledge and skills regarding working with diverse students. Implications for similar projects are provided.