Previous studies indicate that practicum experience is essential for pre-service teachers to develop understanding of effective teaching, professional identity, and culturally responsiveness. However, it is possible that first-year pre-service teachers are not ready to teach in a classroom with as many as 30 students which could present…

Universities typically use one-day-a-week practicum experiences for novice preservice teachers, but in this pilot program they were placed with 20 cooperating teachers in elementary classrooms for five consecutive weeks. This article explores the impact of extended and early practicum experiences. Findings suggest the cooperating teachers had…

Teachers leave the profession for reasons including lack of teacher preparation and inadequate mentorship. To better support candidates in the final stages of teacher preparation, a Pennsylvania state university partnership led a process to implement supports to enhance the mentoring process during teacher candidate's final field experience. This…