ERIC Number: ED444952
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 2000-Apr-24
Pages: 12
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Preparing Prospective Secondary Teachers To Be Classroom Problem Solvers: A Collaborative Model for Teacher Preparation.
Peters, William H.; Stuessy, Carol L.; Loving, Cathleen C.
A collaborative of secondary teachers and administrators, university faculty, and administrators formulated a four-phase, field-based teacher education program that included: providing for self-directed experiences with adolescents; establishing an understanding of teaching and schools in modern society; developing skills to meet the needs of society and students; and developing and demonstrating teaching skills. An integrated problem solving model was generated for designing six modules as a platform for situated cognition. The model provided preservice teachers with contextualized, school-based learning experiences around problems associated with the six identified problematic areas for beginning teachers. It used problem solving to integrate students' prior knowledge and university-based instruction with school-based experiences. Three data sources helped evaluate a pilot course in the third phase: student formative evaluations, course instructor and mentor teacher formative evaluations, and a summative evaluation meeting. Overall, instructors were satisfied with students' demonstrations of learning in keeping with specified learning goals. Instructors described learning experiences that required students to reflect on their own experiences with each topic area, embed them in the larger picture, and generate questions for use in interviews with mentors. The problem solving structure provided opportunities for students to acquire knowledge from their university classrooms, peers, and teachers. (SM)
Descriptors: College School Cooperation, Decision Making, Field Experience Programs, Higher Education, Inquiry, Partnerships in Education, Preservice Teacher Education, Prior Learning, Problem Solving, Program Development, Secondary Education, Secondary School Teachers, Student Teachers, Teaching Skills
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (New Orleans, LA, April 24-28, 2000).