The on-going social and political climate, with polarizing stances on everything from issues of social justice to mandates for mask-wearing and vaccination, brings non-normative stressors into the lived experiences of students, families, and educators everywhere. These stressors are often magnified in rural communities and schools. Yet, in spite…

This article discusses a model, created through the collaboration of two professors at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, for using children's literature to inspire service-learning during an Early Childhood pre-student teacher field placement. It defines service-learning to promote active citizenship and civic engagement for young…

Physical education teacher education (PETE) programs require authentic, quality field experiences for their preservice teachers. Faculty often seek alternative experiences to public-school placements due to limited space, class size, location, and overwhelmed local schools. One opportunity in the surrounding community of many universities is the…

Project approach allows early childhood teachers to use both child-initiated and teacher-facilitated instructional methods. This article describes what we learned from a study focused on project approach professional development for early childhood teachers who later served as mentor teachers during a field experience for an introductory methods…

A large body of research literature suggests that quality formative assessment has the potential to promote positive outcomes for young children. This paper posits that early childhood educators learn how to use developmentally appropriate assessment practices to effectively assess young children and use these data to make decisions that matter…

Reflective practice is foundational in what preservice educators should know and be able to do as noted in professional preparation standards for Early Childhood Education (ECE) and Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education (EI/ECSE). Reflection aids preservice educators in connecting course content with field and clinical experiences…

A goal of university undergraduate early childhood teacher preparation programs is to create meaningful experiences that allow teacher candidates to learn theory and evidence-based best practices they will carry into their classrooms as professional educators. They should have direct interactions with young learners to apply coursework to the real…

When educational policies require pre-service teacher practicum mentors to continuously implement a mandated scripted reading curriculum, limits are placed on pre-service teachers observing only these reading instruction methods. Novice teachers, who are developing their reading pedagogy, need the opportunity to explore a variety of methods…

The primary goal of teacher education programs is to develop preservice teachers into quality future educators. Preparing these students of teaching for the realities of working with children in schools can be complex. Formal teacher training can offer detailed attention to the self-efficacy of candidates during coursework and early field…

Concerns about the lack of connection between university-based teacher education courses and clinical experiences have long been shared. Practice-based teacher education has been offered as one way to connect these two aspects of teacher education closer together. However, descriptions about how to implement practice-based teacher education in…

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…

This article is a reflection on the Dialogic Pedagogy Journal (DPJ) Special Issue on Supervision and Advisement. Altogether five articles made it through a rigorous double-blind peer review process and crossed the finishing line to become a part of this special issue. Supervision and advisement are areas of education where Dialogic Pedagogy…

The Texas A&M University System recently developed six quality standards for educator preparation programs, the Texas A&M Quality Standards for Educator Preparation, that are to be implemented and met by all system schools. These standards are: quality of selection of teacher candidates; quality of content knowledge and teaching methods;…

A Rural Field Experience, in which pre-service teachers are totally immersed in the rural school setting and rural life, has been successful in attracting and retaining mathematics and science teachers in rural schools. The week-long Rural Field Experience is having a lasting effect on recruiting and retaining teachers. Responses from teacher…

The global COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted normal face-to-face classes across institutions. This has significantly impacted methods courses where preservice teachers (PSTs) practice pedagogy in the field (e.g., in the PreK-12 classroom). In this paper, we describe efforts to adapt an assignment originally situated in a face-to-face school…