Understanding Variation in Teacher Education Programs: Features That Impact Teacher Learning

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Critiques of teacher preparation program abound (Koerner, 1963; Labaree, 2006; Levine, 2006; NCTQ, 2013). With little empirical evidence pointing toward a particular model, a problem of variation in the nature and impact of preparation programs prevails. A challenge for teacher preparation policy is understanding which program features are likely to improve teacher learning and performance. While this likely involves selection and screening, given the size and churn of the teacher workforce, enhancing candidates’ learning experiences within programs promises to have a greater impact. The three large-scale, multi-site, national and international studies in this symposium offer conceptually well-defined and complementary ways to examine and measure how learning experiences are organized to impact teacher learning in preparation programs.

Sub Unit

• Division K - Teaching and Teacher Education / Section 9: Teacher Education Program Design and Innovations

Chair

• Jennie A. Whitcomb, University of Colorado - Boulder

Papers

• Examining Opportunities to Learn in Practice: A Study of Teacher Education in Eight Countries - Karen M. Hammerness, American Museum of Natural History; Kirsti Klette, University of Oslo

• An Exploration of Novice Teachers’ Core Competencies: Impacts on Student Achievement and Effectiveness of Preparation - Kent Seidel, University of Colorado Denver; Jennie A. Whitcomb, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Variation in Teacher Education Opportunities to Learn and Mathematics Knowledge for Teaching - Maria Teresa Tatto, Michigan State University

Discussants

• Pamela L. Grossman, Stanford University

• Gerald K. LeTendre, The Pennsylvania State University