While new teachers are often ill-equipped to address and discuss issues of race and culture, especially with students of color (Milner & Laughter, 2014), teacher preparation programs can provide candidates with safe spaces to explore these concepts. This study presents findings from student enrollees in redesigned teacher education courses at…

This paper reports the impact of a collaborative professional experience model on pre-service secondary mathematics teachers' perspectives and practices within a learning community. Nine pre-service teachers made 12 school visits over one year to observe and co-teach problem-solving lessons in two Year 8 classes. They discussed the lesson with the…

The purpose of this session is to describe a research project that involved preservice teacher education candidates in a field experience incorporating individualized tutoring for at-risk elementary students. Specifically, do these struggling elementary readers improve their reading? The first and second graders (n = 190) were all given the…

Practical experiences have grown dramatically in teacher education programs, apparently from a general consensus of the rightness of such experiences as well as the vigorous criticisms of teacher education programs by practicing teachers. A review of research concerning practical experience in teacher education indicates that the knowledge and…

This paper describes the Leadership Enhancement and Development (LEAD) preparation program implemented in Gwinnett County School District, Georgia, and designed to prepare participants for assistant principalships in the school district. Those selected for the program completed year-long coursework and a 12-week internship. This report presents…

The primary responsibility of the communication internship is to provide the opportunity for students to apply classroom learning on the job with academic and the professional guidance. An examination of the internship programs at two universities (university "A" and "B") demonstrates how such programs can become ineffective.…

The supervision of interns in field settings has traditionally posed problems for university faculty members. While most professors would agree that supervision of interns is important, it is generally viewed as an add-on to an already full complement of responsibilities. The present study was designed to examine the effects of a faculty feedback…

Critics of Early Field Experience (EFE) for preservice teachers have cited a need for shifting focus away from logistical questions (e.g., quantity of time spent in the field, legal questions, administrative schedules) and toward promoting a critically meaningful educational experience for preservice teachers. This paper describes an EFE at…

Students in the five year Austin Teacher Program at Austin College (Texas) major in academic disciplines--English, history, mathematics, biology--not in education. Child psychology, educational psychology, and educational philosophy courses are taken through the departments of psychology and philosophy. The primary undergraduate exposure to the…

Research about student attitudes toward preservice teaching experience focused on two primary questions: (1) What do undergraduate education students expect from early field experiences? and (2) What underlying construct can be inferred from these expectations which may be useful in shaping future experiences? Two types of data were collected from…

The strengths and weaknesses of student teachers participating in field based practicums at the University of Lethbridge from 1972 through 1979 were studied to determine the effects of increasing the time spent in the field experience programs. The practicum component of the undergraduate teacher education program was gradually increased from…

Findings of a study that examined the effect of participation in Danforth Foundation-sponsored principal training programs on participants' perceptions of leadership and administrative behaviors are presented in this paper. The field-based program aims to increase minority representation in educational leadership. Interviews, on-site observation,…

The Rural Clinical Nurse Placement Center (RCNP) was begun in Chico, California, in 1975 to develop, implement, evaluate, and disseminate a model of a rural internship program in an effort to attract nurses to rural communities. Run by a director, clinical coordinator, full-time secretary, and half-time typist, the program places BS/RN degree…

The purpose of this study was to determine if preservice internship programs were more effective than a student teaching program in reducing beginning teacher anxiety and concern levels. Interns and student teachers completed an anxiety scale and a concerns questionnaire at the beginning and end of their field experience programs. The student…

In an effort to draw together a program response to needs of those preparing to teach in rural/small schools, a review of literature is provided, which concludes with an indepth look at a 1982 research project conducted on the topic. It investigates how important some 45 areas of college studies are to success in current teaching assignments of…