In response to increased accountability demands placed on teacher preparation programs across the United States, some programs are using standardized teacher performance assessments, such as edTPA. In our elementary teacher preparation program, a recent state mandate stipulated that teacher candidates had to successfully complete edTPA in order to…

The purpose of this study is to discover the experiences and supports that influenced the development of teaching effectiveness at different career stages of National University alumni who were identified as County Teachers of the Year in California. National University is the second largest private, nonprofit institution of higher learning in…

The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) has created the Next Generation of Educator Preparation Accreditation Standards. The new CAEP requirements will influence the admission standards and practices of all educator preparation providers moving to national accreditation. The research described in this article examined…

A common path to becoming a teacher educator in the U.S. entails moving from a classroom teacher, to a graduate student, and then to a university-based teacher educator. Many believe that a good teacher educator would also make a good teacher upon his or her return to the classroom. These assumptions are increasingly being called into question via…

In the context of rapidly changing classroom environments, it is crucial that teachers be able to make appropriate decisions. Those teachers who reflect on their practice, particularly while they are teaching (what Schon terms reflection-in-action), are best able to do so. It is the intent of this article to investigate the role of teacher…

Because there is limited research on effective early field experiences and, particularly, on the potential of laboratory experiences to expose teacher candidates to a diverse student population, this study evaluates one such placement. As part of the placement, the teacher candidate provided tutoring at an on-campus model alternative program for…

As is widely recognized in the teacher education field, it is a complex process for teacher candidates to become effective classroom teachers. With growing linguistic and cultural diversity in today's classrooms, as well as different social expectations for education, the teacher preparation process is becoming increasingly demanding and…

Teacher education in the United States has been the subject of persistent and abiding concerns. Teacher educators have struggled for years to connect theory and practice, to place student teachers in classrooms that reflect state-of-the-art practice, and to construct program coursework that illuminates research on effective teaching in ways that…