Research indicates that partner placements--pairing two preservice teachers with a mentor teacher--provide a supportive and collaborative context for learning to teach. This qualitative study examines three partner placements in a 100-hour urban field practicum to understand how preservice teachers experience and perceive partner placements, and…

Creating the most effective and well-educated teachers possible has been always the clear focus of the Teacher Education Department at the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK). During the academic year of 1999-2000, a tripartite task force was created for the College of Education at UNK to identify areas in need of revision or elimination from…

This article examines the effectiveness of a 1-year full-time credential program in recruiting, preparing, and retaining elementary, secondary, and special education teachers for urban schools. The program was designed to restructure teacher education as a shared school-university responsibility and to reflect best teacher preparation practices…

The universal emphasis in mathematics education on teaching and learning for understanding can require substantial paradigmatic shifts for many elementary school teachers. Consequently, a pressing goal of teacher preparation programs should be the facilitation of these changes during program experiences. This longitudinal, mixed methods study…

Federal and state regulations mandating inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classes have made it essential to create pathways for pre-service teachers to develop skills to teach content to diverse groups of students. The study uses a framework suggested by the relationship between teacher attitude and teacher behavior…

When preservice teacher programs are failing to adequately prepare collegiate students towards becoming thriving teachers, what can be done? After many complaints were voiced from my student body, a survey was constructed, which revealed student satisfaction levels were lowest in the following areas: 1) The variety of opportunities to teach…

University researchers, teacher candidates, language and technology instructors, student learners, and families from diverse backgrounds partnered in an invitational teaching/learning experience--middle school student learners teaching their VIPs (very important persons) how to create stories and construct digital movies with reference to their…

This study addresses the question, "What is the impact of an international field experience on preservice teachers?" and corroborates many of the findings of a similar study by Willard-Holt [(2001). "The impact of a short-term international experience for preservice teachers." "Teaching and Teacher Education, 17,"…

The limitations and unique contributions of experiential learning across the learning-to-teach continuum (pretraining phase, preservice phase, inservice phase/on-the-job learning) were examined. Three vignettes are presented that describe specific examples of firsthand experience: student teaching, exploratory field experiences, and the field as a…

There continues to be a great deal of debate about the role that field experiences play in teacher development and about the relative contribution of various individual and institutional factors to the socialization process. Field experiences in teacher education entail a complex set of interactions among program features, settings, and people…

A model for assessing the readiness and potential of undergraduate social work students for field education is presented, and issues to consider in implementing such a model are identified, including faculty and university support of and student response to the professional gatekeeping process. One university's experience is discussed. (Author/MSE)

The research discussed in this manuscript was supported by a capacity building grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education as a "Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to use Technology Grant (PT3)". The problem was to determine the effect on teacher candidates of a field experience in which candidates used technology to support the teaching of a…

A collaborative summer program by the University of Washington medical school, a professional association, and regional and state agencies provides students with an early introduction to community medicine in rural and urban underserved areas. Students (n=74) have been extremely satisfied. Suggestions are made for identifying potential program…

This paper reports the findings of a year-long study of 11 preservice teachers' perceptions of the first year of a teacher preparation program. These students were interviewed individually at least four times, and reported that learning concrete teaching methods was one of the most valuable aspects of their preparation because these methods could…

A study determines the effect of a six-day wilderness experience on self-concept, knowledge of and attitude toward the environment of twelfth grade students (n=61). Results indicate that changes in self-concept and environmental knowledge can occur from short-term wilderness experiences. (56 references) (MCO)