<p> College of Education faculty members at the University of Central Missouri found that public school teachers and administrators from surrounding schools were reluctant to hand over classrooms of students to novice teachers for student teaching. With high stakes accountability for test scores, teachers voiced their need to be present in the classroom, particularly during spring semester of statewide testing (Diana, 2014). The university adopted a co-teaching model of student teaching to prepare its teaching candidates for the first year of teaching while allowing the cooperating teacher to stay in the classroom throughout the student teaching term. The problem-of-practice addressed in this study focuses on the need to determine if a co-teaching student teacher model provides university students an adequate amount of clinical experience and preparation to support a successful first year of teaching.</p><p> The purpose of this study is two-fold: (1) analyze the perceptions of former and current student teachers, cooperating teachers, and university supervisors on the coteaching model of student teaching and (2) assess the model&rsquo;s effectiveness in preparing student teachers for their first year of teaching. To this end, the research questions are as follows:</p><p> Research Question 1. What are the perceptions of University of Central Missouri current and former student teachers on the co-teaching student-teaching model&rsquo;s ability to prepare student teachers for their first year of teaching?</p><p> Research Question 2. What are the perceptions of University of Central Missouri university supervisors on the co-teaching student-teaching model&rsquo;s ability to prepare student teachers for their first year of teaching?</p><p> Research Question 3. What are the perceptions of cooperating teachers on the co-teaching student- teaching model&rsquo;s ability to prepare student teachers for their first year of teaching?</p><p> The research questions were answered through an analysis of the data collected via a quantitative survey followed by a qualitative interview. The quantitative survey asked respondents to rate items on a Likert-type scale (Fink, 2013) as to how well they perceived the co-teaching model of student teaching prepares student teachers to meet Missouri Teaching Standards. The qualitative survey asked respondents to discuss their perceptions of how well the co-teaching model of student teaching prepares student teachers for their first year of teaching based on their personal experience.</p><p> The responses indicated that the co-teaching model scored higher in first year teacher preparation by elementary teachers and elementary supervisors than by secondary teachers and supervisors. Responses also indicated that student teachers and cooperating teachers perceived the co-teaching model as more positively preparing student teachers for their first year of teaching than do university supervisors. Additionally, responses indicated that the co-teaching model of student teaching closely aligns to the Gradual Release of Responsibility theory of learning (Pearson &amp; Gallagher, 1983) with the co-teaching model of student teaching strengths as follows: extensive modeling by a More Knowledgeable Other (Vygotsky, 1978), extensive professional reflection and immediate feedback, a narrowing of focus, professional collaboration, and building of confidence in the student teacher. Due to the student teacher never solely taking over the classroom responsibilities in a co-teaching model of student teaching, the model&rsquo;s barrier for preparing student teachers for their first year of teaching centers on the student teacher not receiving a fully realistic teaching experience in a classroom without a co-teacher.</p><p> On this basis, it is recommended that universities and school districts adopt the co-teaching model of student teaching to provide a strong base of teaching background for the student teacher through the Gradual Release of Responsibility. The student teacher should also receive two to three weeks of sole classroom responsibility and all the duties in that role as to provide a realistic experience of teaching without a co-teacher present. Further research could synthesize the perceptions of the same group of participants in this study regarding a model similar to the one recommended.</p><p>

<p> Teacher attrition is a growing problem within the education system in the United States. A study that tracked the experiences of graduates of a particular program was designed to gauge the program&rsquo;s success. There were three research questions. The first asked, What are the first year teaching experiences of Midwestern University educator preparation program graduates? The second question was in two parts and asked, What do graduates of Midwestern University educator preparation program perceive as the strengths and weaknesses of their ability to carry out their duties as a first-year teacher? How does this change from August to May? The third question asked, How do the responses of graduates to the first two questions vary by type of school where they are employed, level and area of certification, and MAT or BA? To answer these questions, six graduates of Midwestern University&rsquo;s Educator Preparation Program were followed during their first year of teaching. </p><p> The participants were interviewed throughout their first year of teaching. The data was presented in case studies. These participants taught in urban, suburban, and rural schools that were either public or private. Some of the participants had earned a BA degree, some a MAT degree, and some were still completing their MAT degree. Three of the teachers were at the secondary level and two were at the elementary level. The data from these interviews helped clarify emerging themes from their experiences. </p><p> This study showed the relevance of student teaching assignments. The graduates whose student teaching assignments had more varied ability levels and grade levels had an easier time transitioning into a first year teacher. Other experiences demonstrated how a cooperating teacher affected the success of the student teacher and the ability to transition into a full time teacher. Many of the participants developed their own style of classroom management as they progressed through their first year of teaching. Some participants struggled with IEPs and had to learn from their co-workers the correct way to implement them. Overall though, substitute teaching experience was found to be the most beneficial tool in preparing university students to become classroom teachers.</p>

No description available.

<p> Teacher preparation programs are facing increased pressure to report on the outcomes of their graduates, including their job placement rates. Prior research on job placement for teachers establishes that a variety of factors are related to whether or not individuals apply for and receive jobs. This research study explored these factors through quantitative analysis of three cohorts of teacher preparation program completers within the institutions of the University of Maine system, using logistic regression to identify the individual and contextual characteristics that are most predictive of job application and hiring.</p><p> Of the factors studied, the most influential factors in job placement in public schools in the state were (1) in-state residency status, (2) preparation in a teacher shortage area, (3) completion of a post-baccalaureate preparation pathway, (4) receipt of financial assistance that requires completion of future teaching service, (5) institution attended, (6) GPA relative to other graduates, (7) year of graduation, and (8) age at the time of completing the program. However, these combined variables provide less than 20% of the potential predictability in job placement outcomes. This suggests that additional work is needed to identify the factors influencing beginning teacher placement. Job placement rates for preparation programs should be interpreted with caution, as at least some of the related factors are not within the control of preparation programs (e.g. year of graduation). Furthermore, the use of job placement rates to make high-stakes decisions may provide incentives to programs to implement policies that may not be ethical (such as preferential admission of younger applicants) or that may not be advisable for other reasons.</p>

This dissertation includes (a) Chapter 1, background and purpose—the importance and significance of the study; (b) Chapter 2, a review of the literature; (c) Chapter 3, methodology (research design, data collection and modes of analysis); (d) Chapter 4, presentation of the data; and (e) Chapter 5, conclusions and recommendations. Appendices include participant information, forms, tables and a bibliography. Teacher educators in public colleges and universities perform important work in an environment largely legislated by forces external to education. In the current environment of educational reform, the work of the education professoriate is influenced by the expectations and attributes of legislative mandates for standardization in curricular content and delivery, higher admission standards for prospective teachers, competency testing for certification candidates, and ongoing professional development for all certified teachers. Concurrently, changes in Massachusetts regulations for the certification of educational personnel affect teacher education programs from design to outcome-based assessment. What aspects of the Education Reform Act most strongly influence the public secondary teacher educator? What are the responses of the secondary teacher education community to this attempt at systemic reform? How does implementation of the Education Reform Act affect the work of secondary teacher educators? How has the legislation affected secondary teacher education programs in the Commonwealth? Structured interviews with secondary teacher educators focused on participants' views of and responses to the Education Reform Act of 1993 provide data from the cohort of professionals most immediately engaged in the implementation of the tenets of the Massachusetts legislation. Current Massachusetts legislation updates and interim implementation reports provide a context for participant responses. Analysis and discussion of participant responses in light of the current literature on reform and change in teacher education form the basis for the analytical sections of the qualitative study. This study elicited participants' views of the Commonwealth's legislative initiatives affecting teacher preparation, certification, and the work of the secondary teacher educator in the context of educational reform. Themes of communication, collaboration, accountability and status and relationships which emerged from interview data are discussed within the context of implementing the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993.

This dissertation describes and analyzes how participants in one gender-informed graduate-level seminar socialized each other through joint construction of the learning environment and the learning. The research was conducted in two phases. First an ethnographic approach was used for collecting data over the course of the year in a graduate-level women's history seminar. Using ethnographic methods, I worked out an analysis of the learning environment--in particular the expectations of the professor, the motivations of participants, subject matter, and organization of space and activities. The second phase of the research used sociolinguistic methodology to arrive at an analysis of how the participants co-constructed the learning in a gender-informed collaborative classroom. Reviews of research on gender and graduate-level teaching and learning, constructivist and social constructivist learning theory, and learning processes in gender-informed classrooms formed the theoretical framework for the dissertation. Particularly relevant were studies which examined gender-balancing processes and constructivist perspectives in graduate-level learning. The study contributes to our understanding of how participants in a gender-informed seminar socialized each other and jointly constructed meanings. When the professor provided gender-informed subject matter to men and women who were willing to learn, then men and women became more conscious of the workings of gender in their own lives. In addition, the social context in the classroom became more supportive across gender lines. Through discussions alone, consciousness can be raised, but it is through collaborative work and group dialogue on individual projects that new understandings are integrated and demonstrated in written work and in social behavior.

<p> I conducted this autoethnographic research study to explore how I as a freshman orientation instructor meandered into college teaching through writing, which I used to develop my pedagogical content knowledge. Focusing my research as college faculty development, I reached back in the past and also in the present to select particular experiences to portray as vignettes, thus creating a kaleidoscopic lens. This kaleidoscopic lens serves to provide insight into my perspective of how my teaching philosophy based on the use of writing prompts developed. By connecting the personal experiences that had established my teaching philosophy using writing prompts to the classroom culture of first year students in a northeastern Alabama public two-year community college, the scholarly significance will be perused through integrating the theoretical framework of Lee S. Shulman&rsquo;s (1986, 1987) pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) with additions of Otto and Everett&rsquo;s (2013) context knowledge and Zepke&rsquo;s (2013) threshold concepts. </p><p> I as a differently-abled instructor-researcher self-narratively depict how writing prompts supported my teaching experience as pedagogical content knowledge. Thus, my use of writing prompts as pedagogical content knowledge is purposefully intended for providing significant learning experience for my students, improving their readiness for writing college papers and also for communication skills as a potential employee and productive citizen. Over the course of spring and fall 2015 terms totaling four different seventy-five minute Orientation 101 courses, the data purposefully sampled from the students&rsquo; written responses to the prompts given and also from dyadic interviews with several peers ranging from active and retired faculty to acquaintances serve to support my own perspectives and experiences that determine use of writing prompts as effective pedagogical content knowledge.</p>

No description available.

<p> There is ongoing debate in the current teacher preparation landscape about what type of training best prepares teachers for the classroom. As the larger field seeks to improve issues of recruitment and retention, many teacher preparation programs are trying to figure out the best ways to support new teachers, particularly those teaching in urban areas where both academic results and teacher attrition rates have struggled. Fewer scholars have examined how to support graduate students of color studying to become teachers most effectively. In addition to building human capital through teacher training programs, social capital could influence the experience of new teachers. Positive, trusting relationships with a faculty advisor could influence the experience and success of graduate students. </p><p> This qualitative methods study, at an alternative certification program in New York City, seeks to understand better the graduate student / new teacher experience in an advisement model designed to support teachers pursuing their master&rsquo;s degree in education while teaching in a classroom full time. More specifically, through surveys and interviews of recent program alumni, this study seeks to understand better the experience of graduate students of color in their relationships with their academic advisors, and how relational trust is built.</p><p>

<p> This study analyzed the results of undergraduate and graduate teacher candidate scores on the Elementary Missouri Content Assessment at a private Midwestern University. The intent was to examine the possibility of a difference between pre-service teachers who satisfied coursework requirements through an undergraduate program or through a graduate program. This study focused on the content knowledge domain of teacher knowledge that had been the focus of teacher competency studies since Lee Shulman&rsquo;s research in 1986. This study used pre-service teacher Missouri Content Assessment scores, subtest scores, number of attempts to earn a passing score, number of years since a college math or science class was taken, cumulative grade point average, and grade point average in each content area in order to determine if any correlation existed between academic performance and performance on the Elementary Missouri Content Assessment. </p><p> The researcher anticipated that pre-service teachers with higher GPA would receive higher scores on the Missouri Content Assessment. The 12 hypotheses in this study tested the relationship of both undergraduate and graduate pre-service teacher academic performance and performance on the Missouri Content Assessment. The site of the study was a medium-sized Private Midwestern University. A random sample of 50 undergraduate and 35 graduate pre-service teachers were selected from a total population of 205 graduates, which included 169 undergraduate candidates and 36 graduate candidates. The study was quantitative utilizing the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient and a <i>z</i>-test for difference in means. The analysis of the 12 hypotheses revealed no statistically significant correlation between academic performance and the Missouri Content Assessment scores. The lack of a significant correlation suggests that further studies are conducted to determine what factors could be indicators that both the Researched University and future pre-service teachers enrolled at the Researched University use as predictors of readiness and success on the MoCA. Because the MoCA assessment has a limited implementation of four years, it may be beneficial to examine what changes the research university has made in course and program design to meet the requirements and then examine the MoCA scores after the changes.</p><p>