There is a heightened focus within teacher education to centralize clinical experiences and develop strong partnerships between schools and universities. University field supervisors fulfill a critical role within clinical experiences because they are uniquely situated in spaces where they can help preservice teachers and school-based partners…

In recent years, teacher education has been charged with reforming programs to better align curriculum, clinical practice, and accountability. The sense of urgency for reform has been heightened by competition from alternative routes to teaching that jump straight to practice, often criticized for foregoing essential knowledge and theory. This…

Elementary education faculty at this university embedded a Teacher Work Sample (TWS) performance-based assessment into the student teaching experience to assess candidates' ability to impact student learning as required by recent accreditation reforms. The authors conducted an internal evaluation of the TWS for the purposes of strengthening not…

This article is a presentation and discussion of a model, field-based graduate program in elementary education. (HMD)

Explores the connections that three preservice elementary teachers made between their experiences as learners of mathematics in masters-level university methods courses and their experiences as teachers of mathematics in the fieldwork classroom. Concludes that the goals of methods courses should include developing and nurturing particular habits…

Describes a study designed to identify the types and quantity of early clinical experiences available to elementary education majors. Findings indicate that 55 of the 174 institutions surveyed have revised their early clinical experiences within the past 5 years. (IAH)

Current efforts to reform special education have focused on the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education settings. The success of inclusion is contingent upon preparing general education teachers at the preservice level for inclusive classroom settings. This paper describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of an…

Presents the experiences of one student teacher who was part of the restructured preservice program at Queen's University of Kingston. He participated in an early field experience, where he was assigned to a school rather than a teacher and was able to witness how an entire school prepared for the beginning of a new school year. (SM)

In the 60's in response to the social studies curriculum reform movement two demands on the training of elementary school teachers were evident: (1) more instruction in the parent social sciences, and (2) more pointed attention to the development of inquiry processes in the various fields. In response, the University of Georgia initiated a double…

The American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) Alliance for Tomorrow's Teachers is a collaborative effort among the University of North Florida, Florida Community College at Jacksonville, the Clay and Duval County (Florida) school systems, and the Clay and Duval County teachers' unions. The goals of the program are to: (1) restructure the…

This article chronicles the efforts of one college faculty and their school partners to respond to the contemporary challenges faced by teacher education. It depicts the authors' journey through the planning and implementation of an innovative initial certification master's of arts in teaching (MAT) program in elementary education in the…

A 3-year collaborative project among Clay and Duval County (Florida) school districts, two professional teacher organizations, Florida Community College at Jacksonville, and the University of North Florida College of Education and Human Services sought to improve the preparation of urban teachers, increase student achievement, and decrease urban…