COOPERATING TEACHERS’ TRAINING, CHALLENGES, AND PERCEIVED READINESS TO HOST STUDENT TEACHERS

1 online resource (129 pages) : PDF

2020

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

The student teaching experience is one that is typically filled with a wide range of triumphs and challenges, and novice student teachers (STs) tend to rely heavily on their Cooperating Teachers (CTs) to help navigate the experience. CTs have a strong influence on the development of STs; however, far too often CTs are under-prepared to carry out the many duties required of them. Without adequate support and training for CTs, STs may not receive the level of support needed to properly equip them with the skills needed for the challenging first years of teaching. This study investigated the training and support provided to CTs, and examined the challenges CTs faced during the student teaching experience. This study also investigated two levels of training for CTs - those who participated in the standard training provided by the Educator Preparation Program (EPP) and those who completed additional training provided by the EPP through the Teacher Education Institute (TEI), a multi-day summer institute. A total of 361 CTs participated in this quantitative study and completed a survey about the training and support received from the EPP, as well as challenges they encountered while supervising STs. Results showed very few differences between TEI and non-TEI trained CTs; both groups had mostly positive experiences and were mostly satisfied with the training and support provided. CTs in both groups reported similar challenges related to preparation areas such as edTPA, having difficult conversations with STs, and providing feedback/coaching to them, suggesting that these areas may require additional support and training prior to and during the student teaching experience.

doctoral dissertations

Educational leadership

D.Ed.

Cooperating Teacher
Cooperating Teacher Training
Mentor Teacher
Preservice Teacher
Student Teacher
Student Teaching

Educational Leadership

Shore, Rebecca

Lambert, Richard
Hart, Walter
Jones, Jeanneine

Thesis (D.Ed.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2020.

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