Undergraduate Teacher Preparation Program Research Articles

The state of agricultural mechanics in the preparation of school-based agricultural education teachers

Agricultural mechanics is a primary subject area in school-based agricultural education (SBAE). Despite a high prevalence in SBAE, preservice and in-service SBAE teachers have frequently expressed concerns regarding teaching agricultural mechanics. Early 21st century research documented the characteristics of preservice SBAE teacher training in agricultural mechanics, although more recent studies have suggested that the agricultural mechanics training requirements have changed. This study sought to compare the agricultural mechanics preparation of preservice SBAE teachers between 2000 and 2021. A survey instrument was distributed to a representative of every institution with an undergraduate SBAE teacher preparation program in the contiguous United States, resulting in an 86.7% response rate. The results were compared to previous studies from 2000 and 2005. A reduction in the average number of required agricultural mechanics credit hours was found. Faculty perceptions of importance and preservice teacher preparation had increased slightly; however, deficits were found in all competency groups. Further research is warranted to determine the perceptions of preservice and in-service SBAE teachers regarding agricultural mechanics. Recommendations include that teacher educators evaluate current preparation methods for preservice SBAE teachers and provide professional development in the areas where the greatest training deficits were observed.

Examining the Effectiveness of Lesson Study on EFL Instruction

The aim of this research study was to explore the effect of lesson study in English as a foreign language classes with respect to teacher development and students’ learning outcomes. To fulfil this research aim an experimental case study was designed with three prospective English language teachers who participated in this study in the course of an eight week teaching period as the requirement of a compulsory course called Practicum offered by an undergraduate teacher preparation program. The participants engaged in lesson study through a cycle of three research lessons, with each participant only having to teach one research lesson. The data were gathered through semi-structured interviews at the end of the intervention to be analyzed qualitatively. The analysis of the data revealed the themes as changes in participants’ perceptions, professional learning outcomes and challenges experienced. Overall, it was found that the participants’ perceptions of lesson study were positive and that lesson study was beneficial in terms of professional empowerment.

Discomfort, Resistance, and Othering: A Poetic Inquiry into Urban Teacher Preparation Program Redesign

This article explores the experiences of three Black female doctoral students and one White female professor as they engaged in a doctoral seminar course on the redesign of an undergraduate urban teacher preparation program at their university. Borne out of a promise to one another to write about our experiences navigating increasingly complex and politicized dynamics within the college, we explore how we, as current and future teacher educators, make sense of reform in teacher preparation. We drew from the literature on neoliberalism, whiteness as a wicked problem in teacher education, colonialism, and teacher educators’ work in the “swamp” throughout our course, for our proposals, and this article. We utilized poetic inquiry methodology to explore the real, everyday implications of program redesign in our lives and our careers. Equally important is our use of critical race theory to examine and make sense of our experiences as we engaged in this work. We discuss differences across our program redesigns, our reflections on why those differences might exist, and a reflection on the process of engaging in this way in a doctoral program. Our findings revealed feelings of discomfort with and resistance to a teacher education program redesign that centers racialized contexts in the spirit of social justice. We concluded with implications for research, policy, and the practice of teacher education as we write to understand, write to resist, and write to survive.

Salient Experiences in Student Development: Impact of an Undergraduate STEM Teacher Preparation Program

The need for a comprehensive, high-quality pipeline for the development of undergraduate pre-service teachers, especially those that represent a diverse student body, within STEM disciplines is acute. Here, we studied the NoyceSCIENCE program to determine the most impactful experiences offered to undergraduates through the lens of student development theory. We used qualitative coding to analyze data collected from journals (n = 29) written by students of varying backgrounds, and at varying levels within the program (i.e., the Scholar and Intern level) over a 3-year program running period. We observed that faculty mentorship, the ability of undergraduates to mentor others, volunteer experiences, and learning directly from experts had the greatest influence on student development overall. For Scholars that participate for more than 1 year in the program, access to undergraduate mentoring and volunteering experiences contributed most to student development. We posit that these findings are broadly applicable to other science learning communities and STEM content-focused teacher preparation programs as they are program components that can be integrated in isolation or in their entirety.

Voices of Teacher Graduates: Preparation for Black Mattering in Schools

The Institute for Urban Education (IUE) began in 2005, following unitary status of Kanas City Public Schools in 2003, as a four-year undergraduate urban teacher preparation program to prepare students to interrupt school-centered practices of Eurocentric identity and antiblackness. A program feature entails recruitment of high school students from urban communities and scholarships to support fulltime preparation without employment distractions. Graduates commit to teach for a minimum of four-years in an urban school. Our investigation incorporated BlackCrit with in-depth interviews to capture the experiences of nine graduates in the schools where they teach or engage in school leadership. While testimonials from graduates indicate success of the program, our investigation underscores new pathways for Black valuing of youth and their communities.

Exploring the Factor Structure of the Constructs of Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK): An Exploratory Factor Analysis Based on the Perceptions of TESOL Pre-Service Teachers at a British Private University in Malaysia

Using the TPACK framework, this research study investigated how pre-service teachers perceive their development of the knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy necessary for technology integration; and explored the opportunities that pre-service teachers have to learn about technology integration. It employed a convergent parallel mixed methods case study design. It has a single-embedded case design. The unit of analysis for inquiry is the undergraduate teacher preparation program at a private British university in Malaysia. This study incorporates quantitative data collection in the form of a survey alongside qualitative data collection conducted through semi-structured interviews. The participants for the survey comprised of three purposefully selected convenience samples of pre-service teachers (Years One, Two, and Three) studying the undergraduate teacher preparation program. Following the administration of the survey, a maximum variation sample of pre-service teachers who participated in the survey was invited for semi-structured interviews. The results indicated that the EFA found support for TK and CK being distinctive knowledge constructs within the pre-service teachers’ knowledge perceptions. While PK, PCK, TPK, TCK, and TPACK were postulated to be distinct knowledge constructs in the TPACK framework, these were not reflected in the perceptions of the pre-service teacher participants of this study. Implications and recommendations are suggested.

Setting empirically informed content knowledge policy benchmarks for physical science teaching

AbstractIn the United States, research on beginning science teachers provides little guidance regarding empirical minimum levels of discipline‐specific science coursework for sufficient subject matter knowledge to teach science. Accordingly, in this study we analyzed secondary physical science teachers' science coursework for subject matter knowledge (SMK) and resulting misconceptions of chemistry and physics concepts. Findings were compared with state‐level science teacher certification policies. Participants had either: (a) completed a master's level teacher preparation program with an undergraduate degree in science, (b) completed an undergraduate teacher preparation program with a minor degree or more in science, or (c) were undergraduate students enrolled in science courses required for chemistry and physics teacher certification. We analyzed participants' transcripts for discipline‐specific science coursework credit hours and GPAs and identified possible predictors of SMK predictors of the likelihood of passing chemistry and physics misconceptions tests. We categorized teachers' level of SMK and used multiple variable and logistic regressions (n = 212 participants; n = 109 chemistry and n = 103 physics). To identify teacher candidates' possible misconceptions, we analyzed chemistry (n = 97) and physics (n = 91) participants' item responses with the corresponding science credit hours and GPAs. With increasing numbers of credit hours teachers held fewer misconceptions. However, even with medium to high SMK levels, teachers still held misconceptions about chemical bonding, electromagnetism, and Newton's laws until they reached critical credit hour and GPA thresholds. Lastly, we provide recommendations for physical science teachers' programs of study and state‐level teaching certification policies, using empirical minimum quantity and quality of chemistry, physics, and mathematics coursework.

Respecting, Embracing, and Honoring Cultural Practices through Collective Storytelling

This article discusses a final writing assignment for “Culturally Responsive Service Learning,” a course taught during a four-week experiential education program in rural Fiji. This elective course was situated in an undergraduate teacher preparation program but included students from a wide variety of disciplines and majors. This article discusses the theoretical and cultural framework for the assignment, the pedagogical decisions that led to the final paper, the process of sharing the assignment with the community through a public event, the limitations of using a storytelling framework from another culture, and suggestions for future adaptations. In alignment with the topic, the author uses two different voices to interweave personal storytelling with academic research. The article opens and closes with vignettes that demonstrate how the class arrived at new levels of critical consciousness through engagement with the readings and learning from Indigenous community partners. The body of this article is written in a traditional academic format. Storied vignettes are italicized for clarity.

Change Is Inevitable

Change Is Inevitable

NUMB3Rs Revisited: Long-Term Impacts of Reimagining Service Learning

Background: Despite an extensive literature-base documenting strong outcomes for undergraduates engaged in service learning, few studies have investigated whether, and to what degree, these outcomes extend beyond the semester(s) undergraduates are actually engaged in service learning. Purpose: This study addresses this gap by following up with undergraduates who participated in an innovative service-learning project as part of their teacher preparation program. Our goal was to investigate the impact their participation has on their practice as teachers of mathematics (postgraduation). Methodology/Approach: Project participants (PPs) and matched controls (MCs) were surveyed using Qualtrics, a web-based survey tool. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed. Findings/Conclusions: Results indicate robust differences between PPs and the MCs self-reported descriptions of their current classroom practices, with the data confirming that participation in reimagined service learning has the potential to affect undergraduates’ beliefs, practices, and global mindsets postgraduation—while employed as classroom teachers of mathematics. Implications: Findings suggest that engagement in innovative service-learning projects, as part of undergraduate teacher preparation programs, has the potential to help early career teachers: transform their ideas about teaching and learning, move beyond traditional ideas of what mathematics looks like, and to embrace reform-based instructional methods.

Book Review: The Leader’s Guide to Emotional Agility: How to Use Soft Skills to Get Hard Results

Technology education is often discussed as a dying profession. According to Volk in his 1997 article reviewing technology education teacher preparation programs, “the demise of the technology teacher preparation programs will occur around the year 2005” (p. 69). The number of technology education teacher preparation programs across the United States, programs that train educators to teach critical thinking about technology tools, are disappearing at an astonishing rate. Without teachers for the programs, tool-based instruction will cease, and our society will not be educated to look at tools in a critical manner. The number of technology education teacher graduates has decreased by 68.35% between the years of 1995 and 2008 (Moye, Jones, & Dugger, 2015). Currently, only 24 undergraduate technology and engineering teacher preparation programs with an enrollment of 20 students or more exist in the United States (Litowitz, 2014). The steady decline of programs that prepare technology and engineering education teachers has been a consistent issue for over 40 years (Moye et al., 2015). In the Commonwealth of Virginia, there is currently only one program that trains students in undergraduate technology education, which is housed in the STEM Education and Professional Studies Department (STEMPS) at Old Dominion University (ODU). Virginia was instrumental in the creation of the Standards for Technological Literacy and has been a leader in technology education since the name change from industrial arts in 1978. However, the undergraduate technology education programs at Virginia Tech, James Madison University, Norfolk State, and Virginia State University have all become inactive, making the technology education program at ODU the last remaining program in the Commonwealth.

Surveying the National Landscape of Online Teacher Training in K–12 Teacher Preparation Programs

Online teaching and learning and the need for qualified online teachers are on the rise across the United States. Currently, the majority of teacher preparation programs do not formally prepare teacher candidates to teach online. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the ways teacher preparation programs are responding to the increasing need for K–12 teachers to be proficient in online teaching. A Web-based, national survey gathered data from 215 participants, mainly deans and associate deans. Participants recognized the need for online teaching, but reported there are too many state requirements from their traditional teacher preparation programs, leaving limited or no room to incorporate new curriculum on online and blended teaching methods. While undergraduate teacher preparation programs have limited or no room for other courses or initiatives, deans of graduate programs were generally more likely to support the inclusion of graduate degrees, optional courses, and/or certificates that prepare teacher candidates to teach online. Implications for teacher education are discussed. (Keywords: online teaching, online teaching methods, teacher candidates, teacher preparation, teacher preparation program deans)

Exploring Secondary Science Teacher Preparation Program and Suggesting its Development Direction: A Case of USA and Korea

Teacher quality is a topic of international concern, as it impacts student learning and teacher preparation. This study compared the undergraduate secondary science teacher preparation programs from two universities in Korea with those of Oregon, USA. We examined the programs' structural curricular coherence, conceptual curricular coherence, and curricular balance. Structural curricular coherence was determined by examining the overarching goals of the institutions' programs, the organization of the programs of study in terms of meeting those goals, and outside bodies of evidence. All universities were in structural coherence for various reasons. Conceptual curricular coherence was determined by examining students' perceptions of the connection between their preparation and their clinical practice. In case of Korea, most students from both universities were not satisfied with their practical preparation. In the US, the students from both institutions felt well prepared to transition to inservice teaching. To determine curricular balance, we examined the institutions' preparation programs looking at the credit hours taken in the four main areas of the teacher knowledge base: GPK (General Pedagogical Knowledge), SMK (Subject Matter Knowledge), PCK (Pedagogical Content Knowledge), and CK (Contextual Knowledge). The total credit hours taken in each category was very similar by country but the application and field component in the USA was far greater than those of Korea where the focus was heavily on SMK and PCK. The main reason for these may be the nations' licensing and employment processes.

Improving Exercises of Reflective Thinking and Practice in Teacher Education at a State University in USA

Reflective practice since its inception became a significant part of teacher preparation and professional development programs around the world. Teachers like any other professionals are expected to review and reflect upon their current practices for improving their future performance. This paper explores the current exercises of reflective thinking and practice within an undergraduate teacher preparation program at a state university in USA. The findings are based upon descriptive and narrative data analysis of interviews conducted with two professors and six course and field instructors. After open coding with question oriented analysis, the author has reduced the analysis to current practices and suggestions for improvement in relation to the related literature.

Bringing Informal Science Education to Elementary Pre-service Teacher Preparation

The purpose of this study was to explore how a health-based informal science education course, as part of an elementary undergraduate teacher preparation program, influenced pre-service teachers’ ideas about formal and informal science teaching and learning. Additionally, the study explored how the course impacted their understandings of the value of bridging informal science to supplement formal instruction. Qualitative study data were gathered through two (mid- and end-of-semester) focus group interviews with five pre-service teachers enrolled in a health-based informal science course. Analysis of data indicated that the inclusion of informal science education experiences during PST preparation has the potential to support novice teachers’ developing ideas about science teaching and learning including ways to connect science to students’ lives and make science engaging and meaningful. Findings are reported in four key themes that emerged from the data: (a) formal teacher preparation and informal education, (b) connections between formal and informal science education, (c) personal and professional collaborations, and (d) benefits of informal science education.

Women and mathematics: a course and a scholarly investigation

This article describes an interdisciplinary course on women and mathematics and a scholarly investigation of its impact. Grounded in the biographies of ten women mathematicians (Hypatia to Emmy Noether), the course engages students in mathematical topics related to the women's mathematical work and addresses gender equity in mathematics education and mathematics-related careers in the USA. Many of the themes that emerge from examining the lives and work of these historical figures remain relevant today. The course encourages students, many of whom are future K–12 teachers, to move away from seeing mathematics as a study of numbers and to adopt a richer, more expert view. The students also learn about twenty-first-century role models for women doing mathematics, gain knowledge of equitable classroom practices, and–in the case of future teachers—resolve to incorporate these into their teaching. Potential implications for undergraduate teaching practice and teacher preparation programs are noted.

Community-based collaboration for early childhood teacher education: Partner experiences and perspectives as co–teacher educators

ABSTRACT The relevance and effectiveness of traditional, course- and clinical-experience-based models of teacher preparation have been called into question, and institutions of teacher education must respond to the changing landscape of educational policy, which increasingly emphasizes that candidates must be prepared for challenges faced in complex, increasingly diverse classroom and community contexts through extended field experiences (Rust, 2010). In this article, we present a case for the development of mutually beneficial community partnerships as the foundation of all early childhood teacher education. First, key policies and research findings are presented that point to partnership as a key theme that must be addressed by preparation programs; next, a framework for the development of mutually beneficial partnerships between preparation programs and schools/community agencies is introduced; interview and focus group data are presented from the development and implementation of a field-based undergraduate early childhood teacher preparation program. These include examples of strategies that assist in leveraging resources toward mutual benefit, as well as vignettes illustrating field-based teacher education in action. Finally, partnership practices that address the shared goals of early childhood educators and those who prepare them are presented.

The reflective writing continuum: Re-conceptualizing Hatton & Smith’s types of reflective writing

This paper presents the Reflective Writing Continuum (RWC), which is a reconceptualization of Hatton and Smith’s (1995) reflective writing framework. The RWC is developed from the evaluation of 125 eJournals made by 25 distance education learners in the University of the Philippines – Open University’s (UPOU) undergraduate education studies and teacher preparation programs. The eJournals were analyzed using collaborative content analysis that initially utilized Hatton and Smith’s Types of Reflective Writing. However, the attempts to apply the definitions and categorizations of the typology in the analysis of the reflective writings have indicated a need for some reconceptualization of Hatton & Smith’s reflective writing framework. To make the classification more specific, a spectrum of subcategories of reflective writing types was created. This led to the development of the RWC. With its detailed descriptions and categories, the RWC provides educators and learners a new framework to evaluate and improve reflective outputs.

Specialized Preparation for Middle Level Teachers: A National Review of Teacher Preparation Programs

Since William Alexander’s (1963, 1995) call for attention to the need for specialized middle level teacher preparation in 1963, 45 states have created requirements for middle level certification, licensure, or endorsement (Association for Middle Level Education [AMLE], 2014) which have led to institutions of teacher preparation creating routes designed to prepare candidates to teach grades 5–9. Because of questions raised about content and consistency of these programs, this study systematically documents components of undergraduate middle level teacher preparation programs in 1,324 institutions from 50 states and the District of Columbia. The findings reveal that even though 45 states have explicit mandates for middle level certification, licensure or endorsement, almost half of the institutions preparing teachers for grades 5–9 do not offer courses or experiences specific to middle level education or young adolescents.

The <i>Project Approach</i> Meta-Project: Inquiry-Based Learning in Undergraduate Early Childhood Teacher Education

This article describes a case study involving the planning, phases, and outcomes of an exploration of the Project Approach led by four teacher candidates as part of an undergraduate early childhood teacher preparation program. Four undergraduate junior-level teacher candidates investigated the phases of the Project Approach during their junior year; this work took place during a 26-week learning module comprised of a seminar and part-time student teaching placement in a preschool setting. The candidates aligned the stages of their investigation with the phases of the Project Approach, which provided a framework complementary to that of action research, within which the candidates directed their own exploration of essential issues of early childhood pedagogy and curriculum. This investigation took place both at the Loyola and at a preschool in which the Project Approach was in use. Candidates assumed the role of the teacher and led actual projects with preschoolers; these served as culminating events for their project. In addition, at the conclusion of the module, candidates planned and hosted a session at which they shared documentation of their learning and outcomes of the investigation for an audience of university faculty and other teacher candidates. Candidates demonstrated an increased understanding of the Project Approach and a greater appreciation for its use with preschoolers. They also identified perceived advantages and challenges of implementing projects in various types of early childhood settings. Candidates exhibited high levels of collaboration with mentor co-teacher educators, and acquired knowledge and skills that informed their roles in guiding preschoolers through project planning and investigation during student teaching.