A Student Teacher's View: Learning and Mentoring

The paper presents the case of one student teacher who engaged in semi-structured interviews and submitted reflective journal entries addressing pupil learning and collaboration with two cooperating teachers in science classrooms. The author conducted content analysis to discern themes from the research data. A new teacher induction model highlighting teacher support domain beliefs and phases of teacher development was used to interpret the emergent themes and to generate corresponding recommendations for cooperating teachers based on the student teacher’s views of pupil learning and mentoring. Introduction The goal of this qualitative study is to describe and examine the reflections of a student teacher regarding successful science instruction and interactions with cooperating teachers. The research questions are: a) What are the student teacher’s beliefs regarding impact on pupil learning? b) What are the student teacher’s views on being mentored by cooperating teachers? and c) How can an induction model for new teachers be applied for mentoring student teachers? These questions frame the analysis of emergent themes found in the “Findings & Recommendations” section of the paper. Specific responses for each of the three questions are presented in the “Summary” section. The paper is intended for cooperating teachers and teacher educators who supervise student teachers and collaborate with cooperating teachers to maximize student teacher effectiveness. Cooperating teachers who serve as mentors are primary agents in the education of student teachers (Anderson, 2007; Hoffman et al., 2015; Larkin, 2013). Teacher educators who work with cooperating teachers and student teachers may find this article helpful as they negotiate their supervisory roles and their evolving conceptions of teaching and learning (Williams, 2014). Additionally, student teachers may find this paper useful in facilitating their reflections on teaching and on their collaborations with cooperating teachers. Student teacher beliefs regarding their impact on pupil learning and the mentorship of cooperating teachers are promising areas for educational research (Clift & Brady, 2005; Palmer, 1998; Tobin, Tippins, & Gallard, 1994; Zeichner, 2005). Creating a positive impact on pupil learning is a desired outcome of science teacher preparation programs according to the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996) and the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation [CAEP]. The nature of the cooperating teacher-student teacher dyad as constructed from the perspectives of student teachers has the potential of advancing understanding of student teacher identity development (Izadinia, 2015; Weasmer & Woods, 2003). Methodology & Methods The study employs content analysis to construct meaning from the research text (Miles & Huberman, 1994). As Priest, Roberts, and Woods (2002) point out: “content analysis facilitates the production of core constructs from textual data through a systematic method of reduction and analysis” (p. 36). For this study, one science teacher candidate engaged in semi-structured interviews and reflective journal writing as well as the creation of teacher work samples during student teaching. The interview text, classroom observations, and student teacher documents served to triangulate results (Bogdan & Biklen, 1992). A student teacher volunteered to take part in the study. The student teacher’s actual name was not used to maintain confidentiality. The student teacher, Julie, was enrolled in a graduate-level initial science teacher certification program in upstate New York. Julie engaged in four hour-long audio recorded, semi-structured interviews during a student teaching semester. The semi-structured interview method provided an opportunity for a “personal, interactive, method of data collection” (Crano & Brewer, 2002, p. 223). An interview guide was used to structure the interview conversations yet allow time and opportunities for Julie to speak openly with an understanding that interviews would have no bearing on her grades or standing in the teacher education program. Julie reviewed a draft of this paper and confirmed that her views were represented accurately. Along with conducting audio-recorded interviews, the author served as Julie’s supervisor and conducted four classroom observations of her student teaching. He also served as Julie’s seminar instructor, science methods course instructor, and academic advisor. These roles (supervisor, instructor, advisor) facilitated open and ongoing communication (Tuettemann, 2003). It also downplayed the power differential between the author and Julie since the study was seen as an educational inquiry rather than a performance evaluation. The research text was coded according to impact on pupil learning and interactions with cooperating teachers. Themes were derived within each category through a constant comparative method to identify patterns in the data (Bogdan & Biklen, 1992). Themes were substantiated from direct quotes taken from the interview transcripts (Yerrick, Parke, & Nugent, 1997) and from the written journal entries. Next, themes were aligned with logistical, instructional, conceptual, psychological, or philosophical support domain beliefs for new teachers as proposed by Luft, Bang, and Roehrig (2007). These support domain beliefs can be summarized: logistical—identifying resources and school procedures, instructional—implementing pedagogy and classroom management, conceptual— understanding science content, psychological—accommodating emotional and empathetic traits, and philosophical—applying research-based best practices and underlying methodologies. Luft et al. suggested that mentors of beginning teachers analyze these teaching domains to identify new teacher needs from which to offer support and assistance. This study applies these support domains to identify Julie’s beliefs related to her student teaching in middle and high school science classrooms. New teacher development phase is interpreted from teacher support domain beliefs. Building on the work of Hall and Hord (2001), Luft et al. (2007) proposed that new teachers progress through a series of teacher efficacy phases situated on their conceptual focus beginning with teacher-centered as they address their own immediate needs. After acquiring initial content and management competency and familiarity with the educational milieu, teachers progress to an instruction-centered phase as they concentrate less on themselves and more on planning and enacting lessons. Learner-centered is the most advanced phase of new teacher development as pupil learning serves as the referent for curriculum, instruction, and assessment decision-making. Teacher development phase and associated support domain beliefs will serve as the basis of analysis and evolving recommendations from this study. Findings & Recommendations Findings are situated on student teacher views regarding Category 1: Impact on grade 712 pupil learning and Category 2: Student teacher – cooperating teacher interactions. Specific themes are constructed in each category. Interpretations following each theme describe the support domain beliefs and the phase of student teacher development (Luft et al., 2007). Recommendations for cooperating teachers are targeted to help student teachers advance from lower to higher levels of teacher phase development. Findings & Recommendations are sequenced in the following pattern: Category: Theme: Support Domain Belief: Phase of Teacher Development: Recommendations for Mentoring Student Teachers. Tables found below summarize findings for each category. Table 1 addresses Impact on grade 7-12 pupil learning, and Table 2 deals with Student teacher – cooperating teacher interactions. Category 1: Impact on grade 7-12 pupil learning