The Edutopia Poll
For decades, teacher-preparation programs have included mainly university-based courses with a period of student teaching at the end. Many educators have emerged from these programs feeling unprepared for the needs and demands they find in real classrooms. Sooner or later, many have left the profession. Now, a growing number of universities and alternative programs are creating new methods of teacher preparation to better link theory and practice, such as more extensive fieldwork and mentoring in diverse settings. How widespread is the change? How effective? Tell us about your experience.
How well did your preservice program prepare you for the classroom?
Very well. It may be impossible to foresee every challenge a teacher will encounter, but I had the experience and resources to respond to students' diverse needs and adapt to new demands.
18% (14 votes)
Fairly. I was somewhat prepared for the classroom, but I had a steep learning curve. I struggled to handle all the demands on me and meet my students' varied needs. The first couple of years could have gone more smoothly if I'd had better preparation.
45% (34 votes)
Poorly. What I studied in my preparation program had little relevance to the real demands of teaching. I felt unsuccessful as a teacher during my first year or two, and my students may have suffered as a result of my inexperience.
32% (24 votes)
None of the above. (Comment below.)
5% (4 votes)
Total votes: 76
Central Michigan University
Submitted by nbgrant (not verified) on December 7, 2007 - 09:56.
Central Michigan University - in the classrooms with students for all four years.
Freshman year = For one hour a week, first few weeks observing, then moving into doing the attendance and lunch money, handling student movement in and out of the classroom, working with individual students, correcting papers, giving spelling tests, etc. Learning about all the details that can throw you if you haven't practiced them. We were in a different classroom each week as part of the Ed 101 class, in which we discussed what we were doing and shared how the veteran teachers handled these details.
Sophomore year = working with small groups of students, preparing and teaching short project lessons, going to staff meetings, etc. In the classroom at least half a day a week, along with Ed 200 classes and reflective thinking.
By the end of this year, many of us had a better idea of what grades and/or subjects we wanted to teach and a bag full of classroom management techniques.
Junior year = 6 weeks half day in one classroom, doing lessons, teaming with mentor teacher along with the regular 300 level education methods courses.
Senior year = full semester all day in one classroom = student teaching with full responsibility, along with support from a mentor teacher.
This type of teacher training needs to happen for all teachers.
Radical social learning theory.
Submitted by I AM from Cincinnati (not verified) on December 5, 2007 - 13:06.
Here is a research idea...Let apply learning theory WITHIN teacher training programs. Universities model the learning environments they want created in schools and see what happens. Radical idea, but would it work?
Somethings I know; somethings I don't.
Teacher Preparation
Submitted by Sandra Sanchez (not verified) on December 4, 2007 - 00:45.
I personally went through the teacher preparation courses like all of you, come to find out that when you are acutally in the classroom, by yourself with 20 kids, its a whole different ball game. No one tells you how to deal with administration, rude parents, children who are defiant-all of that you learn on your own with hands-on experiences on a daily basis. I would of like to have taken a course where they set up real classroom/school scenarios and they prep you on how to deal with them. Honestly, besides learning all the theory from my university courses, I can say that I learned the most from being a substitute-in regards to dealing with students. Student teaching was great, yet at the same time, you were not on your own. I would recommend teachers to sub so that they can get a feel for what they will be coming into.
Librarian ... History ... Language Arts
Submitted by R Gaylor (not verified) on December 3, 2007 - 11:21.
The college I attended was abysmal in preparing teachers. Part of the reason was, as many have mentioned above, indifferent professors in the college of education. Part of the reason, and why I stuck around for an additional 100 credit hours or so at the bachelor's level and two masters degrees, was that too many hours were wasted on 'how to teach' classes ... and almost none in the actual content one should be able to teach.
If I had a magic wand and could transform education I think I would require one semester of pedagogy at the end of the sophomore year, and a year of actual teaching as a fifth year program tagged on to the end of the standard four years. Elementary and secondary teachers should be required to take all of the math courses required of a business major ... and math teachers at the secondary level shouldn't even be allowed into the classroom without the same course required of a math major. The same goes for the sciences ... because if we continue to do what we are currently doing kids of the communities non-elites are going to continue to be poorly educated ... and candidates for drop out.
To continue to have math and science adverse teachers in math and science is criminal. Even I, a librarian with teaching fields in history and the language arts, am much better prepared to teach math at the elementary level than almost all of our teachers at that level ... and THAT IS SAD!
Another thing we need to do is to weed out those who are coaches first and teachers second. As a former coach I am not anti-athletics ... but I do think that athletics is a fringe and not the be all and end all of education. I know of some mighty fine teachers who coach, but there seem to be way too many coaches who spend time in the classroom not because they want to teach but because that is what they have to do in order to coach.
And yes, I have been working in education since 1971, and I have more energy and do more things with kids than most of our teachers. I am disgusted with the people in my chosen profession for their lack of knowledge. I will say that if they had been well taught, maybe they could teach well.
Bitter. No. Angry at the inability to provide real learning? Yes. Guilty as charged.
G
Teacher Prep
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on December 2, 2007 - 13:54.
Alarmingly I have to say that as a mature student going through a career change process (communications and internet tech) to becoming a teacher has been thoroughly disappointing.
I have been the student of many disinterested and disillusioned college professors who, even when challenged by my dissent, have deferred to the "dumb it down strategies" rather than teach. The modelling of teaching I have seen here in Higher Education (University) is shamefully inadequate, the teacher preparation program I am in is woefully depleted of any "real" preparation, using syllabi that has been tirelessly used year after year that does nothing to prepare me for the real world.
I received all my education upto the age of 25 outside of the US and faced with the preposterous idea that my "qualifications" were not acceptable to the CCTC, not to be beaten, I went back to college in the CSU system as a freshman to earn a teaching degree here in the USA. I was a 4.0 GPA student, graduating with full honors and am in the throws of completing the California Credential program. What have I learned in this past 5 years?
I can tell you that I learned to jump through hoops, I learned that education is more to do with money than anything else, I learned that bureaucracy held more value than competency, I had it confirmed to me why America's education system is falling behind the rest of the world. I beg of you (the program makers) to rectify the failures of your program, to challenge your State Officials on the efficacy of the bloated programs of "nothingness" and do more to prepare teachers for the realities they face. Just how many lesson plans do you want me to write?
I am now teaching. As for my students I think they can be thankful that I have seen the world. That I have competed in different educational systems and proved beyond doubt my competency. They are guaranteed my passion and wealth of subject matter competency. They can be assured that I have filled the gaps that the system has failed to do in my preperation. I have "subbed" for 200 hours, I have consulted and spent time with veteran teachers, and I have made it my personal goal to be prepared as I can be.
All this due in part because I had quality teachers as I grew up who instilled in me the value of education and molded me into a lifelong learner.
NCLB or any other initiative you want to dream up is worthless until you get quality teachers in the classroom. I have witnessed new teachers in our classrooms who don't know the difference between their and there. Teachers who cannot spell the very words they are tasked to teach. In some extreme cases the kids are teaching the teachers.
It is time to take up the challenge of change - for no other reason that the kids we will teach deserve no less than comptent and effective classroom teachers. The credential program that I have experienced is doing very little to achieve this end. Doesn't that make you feel ashamed - it does me!
Teaching Preparation
Submitted by Laurel (not verified) on November 29, 2007 - 11:20.
Thirtyeight years ago, when I did my student teaching, I was very well versed in the academics of my field. I too had very well grounded professors for field experience in teaching. The only area I needed work in was budgetary in nature. No one ever discussed the practical development of ordering supplies etc. for the classroom. Fortunately, I had great mentors. Older, more experienced teachers never let me down. I listened,learned, and eventually shared my expertise with others.
teacher preparation courses
Submitted by VA (not verified) on November 29, 2007 - 09:58.
I first taught high school science. My teacher preparation courses other than a science methods course were pretty much worthless. What helped me most with teaching - I was a college lab instructor. Everything was structured for me. This gave me confidence, a stronger knowledge base, and lots of ready to use hands on activities. This lab instructor experience would probable not be useful in elementary school, but it was a life saver in high school. There is nothing like teaching to make you a better teacher.
Teacher Prep.
Submitted by Jim K. (not verified) on November 29, 2007 - 09:51.
I finished my degree and then determined that I wanted to teach. I was prepared through university course work and a semester's internship. Today teachers are given practicums each semester of their program, and they are given multiple teacher opportunities before student teaching or internship. So, many teachers get into the field, feel confounded by the ammount of gotcha games played on new teachers, even schools with good mentoring will still have gotcha people. Mentoring is another aspect that was not given to us oldsters.
The thing that would keep teachers in teaching is the one thing buerocracies hate. Teachers as private practioners of education. If the powers that be want teachers to leave the unions it seems that they want things to stay the way they are only with superintendants and principals with more power. That is a silly notion. Teachers come and go because of a lot of factors: Money. personal power and feelings of accomplishment are just a few of the issues.
I never felt a need for lots of money and as my family grew my longivity and graduate degrees started to increase my income. I have learned that power that is me is all that is needed. Power from outside of me is illusion. I have been lucky to have had a number of kids write me over the years to thank me for what I taught them. I have children of my own who have surprised and delighted me in that they think well of old teachers. Some of us are a little short with some kids, so we make enemies. Unwitting most of the time. Some of those kids grow to high status jobs. So be it.
Teacher prep
Submitted by Barbara Lipston (not verified) on November 29, 2007 - 07:40.
I was academically well prepared, but I did not learn anything helpful about interfacing with parents or administrators.
teacher preparation
Submitted by Kelly (not verified) on November 29, 2007 - 07:26.
I did not feel prepared with my program work but student teaching was literally baptism by fire. That's where I learned everything - how to lead a discussion, how much "face time" to give kids, when not to give homework, how to set up a fair rubric, when and if to call parents, how to talk to sixteen year olds, what disadvantage really means. My college program was old fashioned book learnin', not that there is anything wrong with that(I teach AP!)but it was pointless until we did it for real.
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