Exploring Student Teachers’ Emotional Needs: An (Insider) Action Research Study

• In Event: Learning From and Learning About Action Research: Preservice Teachers, Practicing Teachers, and Doctoral Students

Abstract

All learners have emotional needs. Unmet needs hinder progress towards learning. Student-teachers’ emotional needs must be addressed if they are to engage in the complex cognitive task of learning from their teaching. The purpose of this action research study was to investigate whether my typical field-instruction practice adequately served student-teachers’ emotional needs. Student-teachers (N=4) completed a weekly needs-based writing task, which I developed based on a broad application of Needs Theory. At the conclusion of the 16-week practicum, data collected during typical field instruction practices (typed transcripts of weekly conferences, observation field notes, and reflective writing tasks) were compared with non-typically collected data (needs-based writing task). Findings from a within-case and cross-case analysis catalyzed several changes to my typical practice.

Author

• Elizabeth Gayle Soslau, University of Delaware