Student Teachers in the Reflective Practice of Cooperating Teachers and the Connection to High Stakes Testing

Vince Laverickvlaverick12@gmail.comMarch 5, 2015OCTEO Conference

Why the topic?Informal conversations with

cooperating teachersAll but one said they were no

longer taking student teachers- 5 of 6

Problem?OTESCooperating teachers did not

want personal evaluation affected by student teacher.

So…Student teachers had to offer

some benefit to cooperating teachers beyond intrinsic.

Seems like a problem“The student teacher experience

has been identified as one of the most influential factors in preparing beginning teachers” (Hertzog & O’Rode, 2011).

Reflection Theory Used“...a meaning-making process that moves a

learner from one experience into the next with deeper understanding of its relationships with and connections to other experiences and ideas.”

“…a systematic, rigorous, disciplined way of thinking, with its roots in scientific inquiry.”

“…needs to happen in community, in interaction with others.”

“…requires attitudes that value the personal and intellectual growth of oneself and of others.” (Rodgers, 2002, p.845)

So, I thought of the Reflective Benefit

“Even with all of the benefits of and importance placed on reflection, there are still several barriers that teachers face when they try to reflect on their teaching. Teachers are often isolated, the only adult in a room with twenty or thirty or more children” (Morgret, n.d.)

Matches My ResearchCooperating teachers indicated

they reflect 1-3 times with other educators per day

Median time indicated was 2-5 minutes in total

However,…Qualitative data indicated:

◦All defined reflection as a personal activity “Reflection is looking back at your

lesson/unit and deciding what went well and what could use more work for improvement.”

“After a lesson reflection is an evaluation of what worked and what did not. What should be enhanced and what should be fixed.”

DisconnectLacks two items of community

and improving self/others Not enough time to effectively

reflect in K-12 classroom

Connection to Test ScoresCollaboration between educators

and time for reflection has shown a direct increase in test scores (Hargreaves & Shirley, 2012)

Student Teachers Fill the Void

Satisfies areas for reflection to occur with healthy student teacher/cooperating teacher relationship

Missing DataCurrently, no data on this area

with current PARCC test in OhioWill need to be addressed

◦Does a teacher’s test results go down when a student teacher is present?

SourcesHargreaves, A., & Shirley, D. (2012). The global

fourth way: The quest for educational excellence. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Hertzog, H.S. & O’Rode, N.O. (2011). Improving the quality of elementary mathematics student teaching: Using field support materials to develop reflective practice in student teachers. Teacher Education Quarterly,38(3), 89-111.

Morgret, K. (n.d.). Developing an online community for preservice and inservice teachers. Online Learning.

Rodgers, C. (2002). Defining reflection: Another look at John Dewey and reflective thinking. Teachers College Record, 104(4), 842-866.

Questions?