This qualitative study aims to provide insight into why teacher candidates, interested in pursuing K-12 teaching, made the decision to leave their traditional teacher preparation programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers utilized sociocultural theory as the framework to ground the research. The study finds the educational disruption…

Research on preservice teacher learning has often focused on coursework and course related field experiences, and not as much on the learning that takes place during student teaching field experiences. Since preservice student teachers are engaged with children on a daily basis, attention to their own students' thinking should be viewed as a means…

The purpose of this article is to describe how preservice teachers are prepared to make on-the-spot instructional decisions at the University of Northern Iowa. On-the-spot instructional decision making, also known as "improvisational" or "interactive teaching", occurs in three distinct episodes: an initial assessment of…

Numerous studies suggest that field experiences focus student attention on short-term survival strategies; they do not provide a systematic investigation of alternative theories of learning and instruction. Students attend to management techniques but do not develop a more reflective approach to instruction. If this is so, students at different…

An innovative preservice teacher education program at the State University of New York, College at Fredonia, provides many highly structured field-based experiences which include students with disabilities; systematic training in specific, validated intervention strategies; direct training in peer collaboration skills; and emphasis on reflective…

The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) has developed a regional partnership program. This collaborative partnership has reshaped the university's long established field experience program. This reshaping was designed to bring the College of Education into a new and expanded relationship with the school districts, schools, and individual educators…

A study was conducted to determine the role level of cooperating teachers in decision making in teacher education field experiences and their attitudes about the role they wish to play. Information was gathered using an opinionnaire mailed to 175 cooperating teachers in elementary, secondary, and K-12 education levels involved in the 1976-77…