Clive Beck

Professors, and the Practicum: Involvement of University Faculty in Preservice Practicum Supervision

Preservice practicum supervision is often carried out by special supervisory staff rather than by tenured or tenure-track education faculty. Some researchers feel this creates an unfortunate separation between the campus program and the practicum and results in lost opportunities to strengthen the school-university partnership. Five years ago, in an elementary preservice cohort program, the authors adopted a policy of heavy involvement in practicum supervision by all members of their faculty team; the authors also devised ways of supporting the faculty in their supervision. Over the past 4 years, the authors studied the effects of applying this model; it was found to strengthen the school-university partnership, enhance both the practicum and the campus program, and help faculty grow in knowledge and understanding of schooling. However, the approach was time-consuming and presented some other challenges for faculty. If it is to be adopted widely in preservice education, stronger institutional support is needed.

From Cohort to Community in a Preservice Teacher Education Program.

Abstract It is often suggested that student teachers be placed in cohorts during their preservice program. In this paper we describe how we implemented a cohort model and examine the effects on our student teachers. We found there were many positive effects, such as a high level of participation in whole class and small group activities, greater awareness of the value of collaboration, and greater willingness to take risks in collegial relationships and in the practicum. However, the approach proved to be quite demanding for the faculty; strong institutional support will be needed if the model is to be widely implemented.

Priorities in Teacher Education : The 7 Key Elements of Pre-Service Preparation

1. Program Planning 2. Pupil Assessment 3. Classroom Organization and Community 4. Inclusive Education 5. Subject Content and Pedagogy 6. Professional Identity 7. A Vision for Teaching

The action research process as a means of helping student teachers understand and fulfil the complex role of the teacher

Abstract The Mid-Town elementary preservice cohort programme at OISE/UT has, for several years, had action research by student teachers as a major component. In this article, the authors outline the view of action research held by the faculty team and explain why they turned to action research as a strategy in teacher education. They detail how the action research requirement is implemented in the programme, and describe the effects of the action research process on the understandings, skills and behaviour of the preservice teachers. The findings suggest this is potentially a very valuable approach to teacher education, provided certain other conditions are fulfilled.

Fostering multiliteracies pedagogy through preservice teacher education

Teacher education for literacy teaching is often fairly narrow in focus. New approaches are needed that are sociocultural in orientation and take due account of the diversity of language forms, both traditional and contemporary, formal and informal, literary and non‐literary. We believe this need can be met by largely adopting a ‘multiliteracies’ approach as articulated by the New London Group. This research examined the ideas and practices of 10 literacy faculty in a large school of education and 22 first year literacy teachers from the same institution. It found that despite some important advances in a multiliteracies direction, many shortcomings remained. Part of the difficulty was lack of clarity about the nature and purpose of multiliteracies pedagogy. This paper has two main purposes: first, to attempt to clarify the nature and importance of a multiliteracies approach; and second, to report on the successes achieved and challenges encountered in moving in this direction in one school of education.

Becoming teacher educators: an innovative approach to teacher educator preparation

This paper describes an initiative, Becoming Teacher Educators (BTE), which is a group for doctoral students who want to become teacher educators. The group is composed of two professors and 12 doctoral students. The various activities in which the group has engaged over the past three years are described. This article brings to light a few key elements of the BTE group, namely, its strengths as a community, the importance of shared leadership, the opportunity to develop knowledge of teacher education, the improvement of research skills, the influence on identity, and improvement in practices as beginning teacher educators.

Preparation for the First Year of Teaching: Beginning Teachers' Views about Their Needs

In this study we asked beginning elementary teachers about their needs as first-year teachers and the adequacy of their preservice program in helping to meet them. The new teachers varied in satisfaction with their preparation but showed considerable consensus on their needs. They felt the study of both theory and practice should be conducted in depth and focused on certain key areas. The main areas mentioned included comprehensive planning for the whole year, how to set up the program, assessment and evaluation, and implementation of effective group work.

We Taught Them about Literacy but What Did They Learn? The Impact of a Preservice Teacher Education Program on the Practices of Beginning Teachers.

This article reports a study of literacy instruction in our own elementary preservice program. It examines the views and practices of both the preservice faculty who teach literacy and a sample of graduates of the program during their first three years of teaching. The new teachers reported learning many things from their preservice program, including the importance of engaging learners, strategies for developing an inclusive class community, the names of high-quality works of childrens literature, and a variety of general teaching strategies. However, there were gaps between what was taught and what the new teachers wanted to learn. The new teachers struggled with program planning, desired more direct instruction on developing a literacy program, and wanted closer links between theory and practice. The teacher educators tried to cover so much material that the new teachers were unable to develop a focused, coherent pedagogy. The authors describe how they are revising their courses in light of these findings, modifying their approach to preservice instruction, and giving priority to certain key aspects of teaching.

The Importance of the University Campus Program in Preservice Teacher Education: A Canadian Case Study.

The university campus component of preservice teacher education is often seen as overly theoretical, fragmented, and unconnected to practice. Indeed, some commentators maintain that a key step in the “reform” of teacher education is to reduce the time student teachers spend on campus. In response, teacher educators have made a number of suggestions for improving the campus program. Building in part on those suggestions, the authors modified the campus aspect of a preservice program. In this study, student teachers’ views were elicited on the redesigned campus program. Whereas the student teachers made several recommendations for improving the campus program, all said it had a major impact on their development as teachers. In particular, it helped them acquire broad goals for teaching, broad pedagogical approaches, specific skills, curriculum knowledge, and a sense of themselves as professionals. However, this impact was largely dependent on program structures and approaches that, to be viable, require significant institutional support.

A foot in many camps: literacy teacher educators acquiring knowledge across many realms and juggling multiple identities

This study involved 28 literacy/English teachers in four countries: Canada, the USA, the UK and Australia. The goal of the study was to examine their backgrounds, knowledge, research activities, identity and support within the university. The teacher educators had a range of classroom teaching experience which they drew on in many ways. Most went far beyond simply telling stories about their previous work. All were heavily influenced by their own childhood experiences, which continue to affect their current work. Many felt that they needed to hold dual identities, teacher and academic, because they were still heavily involved in schools through their research and in-service activities. Several felt that there was a hierarchy in their department with those most removed from schooling at the highest tier. Most saw themselves in the field of literacy not teacher education and gravitate towards literacy-focused conferences and journals rather than those in teacher education.