Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2003. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains iv, 83 p. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 54-60).

Not available / text

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

This study demonstrated that the notions of reflective practice, as advocated by Donald Schon, are applicable to student-teachers in practica settings. For Schon, a practitioner is reflective when he or she becomes intrigued or curious about some element of the practice setting, frames it i n terms of the particulars of the setting, reframes it in terms of past experience and knowledge, and then develops a plan for future action. Reframing occurs as a response to the 'back talk' in the action setting where something does not happen as expected (producing the 'curious' or 'intrigued' response). A number of issues specific to student-teacher reflection emerged from the analysis of four student-teachers engaged in a thirteen week practicum. The analysis was guided by three research questions: What is it that student teachers reflect upon?; What precipitates that reflection?; and What factors enhance or constrain that reflection? The student-teachers in this study reflected upon three main issues: the ownership of their practice; pupil learning; and the different levels of their understanding of practice. From the analysis, it was possible to identify up to four different précipitants or triggers for the types of reflective activity documented: a primary and secondary precipitant at each of the framing and reframing stages. The secondary precipitant at the reframing stage was deemed to be the most significant i n terms of student-teacher reflection. Factors that either enhanced or constrained reflection have been summarized in terms of their implications for enhancing reflective practice. These factors included: exposure to a multiplicity of perspectives; intense examination of one's practice; theorizing about one's practice; and the ability to entertain uncertainty. Finally, the study contributes in three ways to Schon's conceptualization of reflection as it applies to student-teachers in practica settings. Firstly, reflection is bom of incidents but is thematic in nature. Secondly, ownership of one's practice is central to a variety of reflective concerns raised by student teachers. Finally, Schon's coaching models need to be reviewed in light of changes that occur in the relationship between student and sponsor as the action which students reflect upon moves from a virtual world of planning to the real world of performance.

This study examined instructional strategies and their impacts on preservice teachers' attitude toward multicultural issues and learners. A qualitative phenomenological approach is used for this study because of my philosophical belief in multiple realities. / The research site was a classroom of the Multi-Cultured/Multi-Racial course offered by the Faculty of Education in an English University located in the Montreal area. The studied course was a compulsory preservice teacher training course implemented for the first time in response to the requirement of the Ministry of Education in Quebec. / The data were gathered through classroom observation, questionnaires distributed to preservice teachers in the classroom, interviews with five preservice teachers enrolled in the studied course, and an interview with the course director. / Sessions of cooperative learning and discussions following videos seemed to be effective to deepen preservice teachers' understandings of multicultural issues and teaching. The effects that the studied course had on preservice teachers differed among respondents depending on their previous experience. Preservice teachers with minimal multicultural experience felt that they learned a lot from the course, whereas preservice teachers with more multicultural experience felt that the course fell short of their expectations.

This study investigated associate teachers and student teachers perspectives of ‘successful’ mentoring. It aimed to understand how a group of associate teachers, who had been identified as being successful, viewed their role, looking at what it was that they specifically did that they felt made them successful when mentoring student teachers. It then compared these perspectives with those of a group of student teachers. The aim of the comparison was to establish any agreements or contradictions between the associate teachers’ and the student teachers’ perspectives about ‘successful’ associate teachers. An additional aim was to establish knowledge of particular professional development experiences that the associate teachers of this study felt had positively impacted on their practice as mentors. Four ‘successful’ associate teachers, as identified by their visiting lecturers from within the University of Canterbury, College of Education, and five student teachers who were enrolled at the same university in one of the primary programmes at the time of the study, were interviewed regarding their perspectives. The data revealed three conceptual themes as being relevant to ‘successful’ mentoring of student teachers: acquiring professional knowledge, becoming a professional through practice – teaching the student teacher, and building professional relationships. Findings of this study suggest that pivotal to ‘successful’ mentoring is the establishment of a successful working relationship between the associate teacher and the student teacher. The study identified that the mentoring relationship is more likely to be viewed as being ‘successful’ if associate teachers demonstrate certain knowledge, dispositions and practices when mentoring student teachers. Findings also highlighted the vital role that communication plays in supporting this relationship, not only between the associate teacher and the student teacher, but also the significant impact that effective communication on behalf of the initial teacher education provider has. The findings of this study calls for a review into the way that initial teacher education providers communicate with associate teachers, suggesting that providers should introduce a face to face element to communication. What became apparent through this study was the conclusion that there were excellent examples of ‘successful’ associate teachers, including those that were interviewed for this study, who were mentoring student teachers. Initial teacher education providers need to draw from this wealth of knowledge by increasing the opportunities where they facilitate discussions between themselves and associate teachers, in order to ensure that they are supporting the professional growth of their student teachers. It is my hope that the findings of this study will help to inform initial teacher education providers about the mentoring of their student teachers and hopefully result in improved outcomes for student teachers in the future.

The purpose of this study was to explore a particular opportunity for experienced teachers to continue to learn and grow professionally within the context of their daily practice. Using the cooperating teacher/preservice teacher dyad as a framework, the study explored reciprocity of professional learning and growth in mentoring relationships.The participants, six secondary teachers from two Professional Development Schools, had each mentored one or more preservice teachers during their careers. Identified through non-probability sampling, the participants represented both genders, several disciplines, and career spans of 3 to 30 years.Data were collected through a series of three semi-structured, phenomenologically based interviews with each participant. Additional data were provided through researcher observations and a reflective research journal kept by the researcher during the data collection and analysis. All interviews were tape recorded and transcribed in their entirety. Individual case narratives were developed for each participant and a cross-case analysis of the individual case studies was performed. An inductive analysis of the data identified five discrete yet overlapping themes: professional pride, collegial relationships, sources of new learning, personal/professional growth, and professional renewal.Each theme encompassed several sub-themes. Sub-themes comprising the theme of professional pride included giving back, making a difference, touching the future, learning to teach, and the real world. The second theme, collegial relationships, was comprised of breaking the isolation of the classroom, teacher talk, mentoring meetings, and time. Sources of new learning included modeling, observing, and evaluating. The theme of personal/professional growth encompassed new roles and responsibilities and interaction with the university. Professional renewal was comprised of three sub-themes: challenges, enthusiasm of student teachers, and revival of mentor teachers' enthusiasm.The five identified themes and attendant sub-themes provided insight into the participants' interpretations of their experiences and their understanding of the meaning of the experiences to them as professional educators. While the research centered on the mentor teachers' perceptions and explored the psychosocial and career benefits offered to them through the experience of mentoring, its value would be increased by expanded study on the subject and its implications for teachers, schools, and colleges of education. / Department of Educational Studies

Typescript. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1975. / Bibliography: leaves 133-142. / ix, 142 leaves ill

More than half of Australian primary teachers have negative feelings about mathematics (Carroll, 1998). This research study investigates whether it is possible to change negative beliefs and anxieties about mathematics in preservice student teachers so that they can perceive mathematics as a subject that is creative and where discourse is possible (Ernest, 1991). In this study, sixteen maths-anxious preservice primary education student teachers were engaged in computer-mediated collaborative open-ended mathematical activities and discourse. Prior to, and after their mathematical activity, the students participated in a short thirty-second Online Anxiety Survey based on ideas by Ainley and Hidi (2002) and Boekaerts (2002), to ascertain changes to their beliefs about the various mathematical activities. The analysis of this data facilitated the identification of key episodes that led to the changes in beliefs. The findings from this study provide teacher educators with a better understanding of what changes need to occur in pre-service mathematics education programs, so as to improve perceptions about mathematics in maths-anxious pre-service education students and subsequently primary mathematics teachers.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-06, Section: A, page: 2086. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 175-184).