REFLECTIONS OF COOPERATING TEACHERS REGARDING STRATEGIES FOR ...

added that “I would like to jointly develop some long-range plans as well as daily-lessonplans with my student teacher.” In addition to joint lesson planning, Ms. Jesse commented onthe significance of sharing and developing instructional materials with the student teacher inthe following manner:I intend to share the materials that I have collected over the years, but I will also askthat she find alternate materials that can be used. Since our school has Internet access,I would like to introduce her to some sites that I have found helpful.Ms. White mentioned working cooperatively with the student teacher in a different manner.Ms. White asserted that she will be more cautious regarding allowing her student teacherto assume full teaching responsibilities so quickly. She emphasized the situation would bemore beneficial to her student teacher and the class if the student teacher was eased into assumingtotal instructional responsibilities. For example, Ms. White suggested that “teamteaching and one-on-one tutoring with students during class time would better prepare her forfull-time teaching responsibilities.”Communicating with the Student TeacherAnother area of enhancement, cited by all three of the cooperating teachers, was the areaof communicating with the student teacher. Ms. Jesse expressed concern over increasing formalcommunication when she stated:Another change I plan to make with my student teacher is to spend more time in supervisoryconferences, especially developmental conferences. I like the idea of outlininggeneral topics that would be discussed during developmental conferences, andI plan to design a worksheet using these topics to aid in this type of a conference. Iwould also like to spend more time in summary conferences, getting a feel for howmy student teacher evaluated herself as well as reviewing my evaluation of her.Ms. Dannon expressed the need for communication in a different way. In the followingquotation, Ms. Dannon verbalized her beliefs regarding communication with her studentteacher:I need to improve my method of providing feedback to the student teacher. I do notfeel that I provided enough constructive criticism because I did not want to damagethe student teacher’s self esteem. I wanted her to feel confident; therefore, I oftenheld back suggestions which may have made lessons more effective. I now realizethat the way to build confidence in student teachers is to help them teach effectively,and providing feedback (both positive and negative) is the only way that they cangrow professionally.Ms. White agreed with the notion of improving communication with the student teacher.In fact, she felt that “student teachers need to get constant feedback even from the students.”Ms. White elaborated on this position when she asserted that “just having my student teacherevaluated by me, my principal, and her college supervisor was not enough. To really understandthe scope of the teaching profession, she needs to understand the students’ viewpoint.”Structured ObservationsAll three cooperating teachers believed it would be advantageous to have the studentteachers formally observe other teachers. Ms. White fully agreed with the concept of establishingstructured observations and she pointed out, “more time needs to be spent on observationsof other teachers to allow the student teacher to see other ways of handling situations.”Part of the difficulty scheduling these observations was brought out by Ms. White in the followingstatement:

ConclusionThe significance of the function of the cooperating teacher is well documented in the literature.For example, Costa and Garmston (1987) suggested that cooperating teachers havethe opportunity to model appropriate behavior, pass on tools of the trade, and work with studentteachers in guiding their thinking about the teaching/learning experience as well as howto apply that information to future actions. The importance of the role of cooperating teachersin supervising student teachers, understanding the views of cooperating teachers is essential tofully comprehending the essence of the supervisory experience.The reflections of the three cooperating teachers in this study offer some suggestions topractitioners regarding the supervision of student teachers that are both practical and inagreement with the literature. The presentation of these suggestions offers practitioners someadvice for future supervisory experiences. Henry and Beasley (1996) made the point that themore cooperating teachers know about field experiences, the better the possibility of theirmaking sound judgments regarding the supervision of student teachers. Future qualitativeresearch that would incorporate the perceptions of a more comprehensive or diverse sample ofcooperating teachers would add to the findings of this study and is recommended to thoroughlyunderstand the lived experiences of these supervisors.It is interesting to note, all three cooperating teachers agreed that the professional opportunityto which they were exposed would be beneficial to them in future experiences withstudent teachers. This reaction offers some support regarding the on-going professional developmentof cooperating teachers in regard to the supervision of student teachers. The literatureis scarce regarding the benefits of the training and professional development of cooperatingteachers.Based on the significance of the role of the cooperating teacher in the student teachingexperience (Costa & Garmston, 1987; Nagel & Smith, 1997; Stanulis, 1994; Veal & Smith,1998), the implication of the importance of training cooperating teachers reported in thisstudy, and the lack of empirical evidence regarding the benefits of training cooperating teachers,future research regarding the effects of the training and on-going professional developmentof cooperating teachers on the supervisory experience of student teachers is highly recommended.In addition, quantitative research of this nature would comprise a usefulcomplement to this study.ReferencesBabkie, A.M. (1998). Twenty ways to work successfully with a student teacher. Intervention in School& Clinic, 34, 1-4.Collier, S. (1999). Characteristics of reflective thought during the student teaching experience. Journalof Teacher Education, 50(3), 173-180.Costa, A.L., & Garmston, R J. (1987). Student teaching: Developing images of a profession. Action inTeacher Education, 9 (Fall), 5-11.Delamont, S. (1992). Fieldwork in educational settings: Methods, pitfalls and perspectives. Bristol,PA: The Farmer Press.Grimmett, P. (1989). The nature of reflection and Schon’s conception in perspective. In P. Grimmett &G. Erickson (Eds.), Reflection in teacher education (pp. 5-16). New York: Teachers CollegePress.Golland, J.H. (1998). A lesson plan model for the supervision of student teaching. Education, 118(3),376-381.Gotliffe, A. (1994). What your student teacher wants you to know. Instructor, 104, 82-83.Graham, M. (1996). Guiding tomorrow’s teachers. Learning, 24(5), 36-38.Henry, M.A., & Beasley, W.W. (1996). Supervising student teachers the professional way (5th ed.).Terre Haute, IN: Sycamore Press.Ludwig, S. (1994). Nine secrets to success with your student teacher. Teaching PreK-8, 25(1), 102-103.

McMillan, J.H., & Schumacher, S. (1997). Research in education: A conceptual introduction (4thed.). New York, NY: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers, Inc.Morgan, B.M. (1999). Research-based instructional strategies: Preservice teachers’ observations ofinservice teachers’ use. National Forum of Teacher Education Journal, 9E(3), 1-15.Nagel, N.G., & Smith, C.R. (1997). Working with student teachers. Teaching for Excellence, 17(2), 1-2.Rose, S.W. (1995). How to build a better teacher. The Executive Educator, 17(9), 27-28.Stanulis, R.N. (1994). Fading to a whisper: One mentor’s story of sharing her wisdom without tellinganswers. Journal of Teacher Education, 45(1), 31-38.Thomas, J.A., & Montgomery, P. (1998). On becoming a good teacher: Reflective practice with regardto children’s voices. Journal of Teacher Education, 49(5), 372-380.Veal, M.L., & Rikard, L. (1998). Cooperating teachers’ perspectives on the student teaching triad.Journal of Teacher Education, 49(2), 108-119.Weaver, D., & Stanulis, R.N. (1996). Negotiating preparation and practice: Student teaching in themiddle. Journal of Teacher Education, 47(1), 27-35.