The benefits of field courses for biological science students are well established, but field courses also have limitations: they are generally too brief to allow significant research and they are staff-designed and led, limiting the development of student autonomy. In contrast, the value of student-organised field expeditions has been little…

The use of service-learning as a teaching methodology is in its infancy within Australian tertiary institutions. Parker et. al., (2009) noted that, until recently, community service-learning has been under-utilised within the Australian higher education system. Within teacher education programs, service-learning has been used primarily as a means…

The positioning of residential fieldwork early in students' higher education is an established way of attempting to build and engage them in a community of learning. In the study reported here, the benefits of such early residential fieldwork were investigated using Krausse and Coates's seven scales of engagement. These scales consider a number of…

The purpose of this study was to gain understanding into the experience of group cohesion for university students participating in an academic field experience. A mixed methods approach was used following a two-phase, sequential research design to help provide a more complete explanation of how group cohesion was impacted by the field experience.…

This paper addresses the relationship between teaching and research in a fieldwork context by seeking student views over 3 years across two institutions to assess the perceived value of blending staff research activity with student fieldwork. Student views were solicited using questionnaires. Despite the contrasting environments, locations and…

It is widely held among biology teachers that fieldwork is valuable, but little is heard about students' perception of fieldwork or about the reasons for their liking or disliking fieldwork. This paper uses data from students to explore the hypotheses (1) that biology students with a positive perception of fieldwork have a less positive perception…

The stewardship of schools is central to the renewal and preservation of that which is precious in our nation's schools. This study examined perceptions of future teachers as to the degree to which their teacher preparation program emphasized the idea of stewarding schools. With a theoretical foundation that initial teacher preparation provides…

The study investigates different models of personality and cognitive factors in teacher training courses at Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) and universities. We used Ego Identity (EI), Professional Identity (PI) of teachers, and Self Regulated Learning (SRL) as personality measures, and Metacognitive Knowledge (MAI), Field Experience Grades…

The purpose of this chapter is to advance the concept of pedagogical content knowledge in a manner that would better align it with the integrative type of knowledge needed by teachers at all three stages (preservice teachers, induction teachers, and cooperating teachers), allowing them to use model-based instruction (MBI) most effectively in…

The research in this paper explores the possibilities of challenging preservice teachers' mathematical beliefs through a specifically designed early field experience intended to encourage both reflective analysis and instructional skill acquisition. The subjects in this one-semester study were 25 preservice elementary teachers at a small, private,…

As part of an introductory sociology course students examined social problems from the three perspectives of common sense, journalism, and sociology. They explored these perspectives outside the classroom through various activities which included a questionnaire of their own common sense thoughts, interviews, and readings. (Author/DE)

Students' perceptions of their field placements rarely are taken into account in the literature on field practicum and supervision. This survey of master's program students at a southern university examines factors associated with student satisfaction with field agency, field instructor, and field learning. (Author/MH)

The University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy clinical program consists of one full-time semester equally divided between community and institutional externships conducted in teaching hospitals and with registered pharmacist preceptors, respectively. The questionnaire used to survey graduates is appended. (LBH)

The University Council for Educational Administration's internal evaluation of its National Level Internship Program was designed to perform two functions. First, it was intended to help the program improve itself as it went along. This involved use of intervention methods stressing the potential for the evaluation process itself to influence what…

A review of teacher-education-related events and trends in New York State and a review of research regarding the role of field experiences in the training of prospective teachers previews the presentation of a questionnaire designed to elicit attitudes of teacher educators toward the role of field experiences in teacher preparation programs. The…