Implementing Practice-Based Teacher Training: Reinvigorating the Preparation of Special Educators

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Eight
  In Roundtable Session: Inclusive Teacher Education (Table 8)

Abstract

This study investigated special education teacher candidates’ perceptions of the training they received on teacher feedback through two university courses grounded in the practice-based teacher education (PBT) framework (Grossman, 2018). These courses included a carefully crafted sequence of readings, videos, and targeted practice opportunities. Data from surveys, focus group interviews, and performance evaluations showed that the candidates benefited from the representations, decompositions, and approximations of the feedback practice. Findings suggest short sequences of high-intensity PBT in which candidates observe, analyze, and enact high-leverage research-based practices (HLPs) can be effective. Given current special education teacher shortages and abbreviated pathways to certification, this study has critical implications for further research on short practice-based learning sequences focused on high-leverage practices in special education.

Authors

• Xiuwen Wu, National Louis University
  Presenting Author

• Kathleen Kotel, National Louis University
  Presenting Author

• Kate Zilla, National-Louis University
  Presenting Author

• Diane E. Salmon, National-Louis University
  Presenting Author