Items 68 - 74 - attending your classes and I am thankful for your work on my ...... education available through different methods of teacher preparation. ...... Some cooperating teachers initiate minimal interaction and act as a role model, ...... Naperville, IL: North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. ... Chicago: Fullan, M.
Student Teachers’ Perceptions of Cooperating Teachers as Teacher Educators: Development of Standards Based Scales
Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Romena M. Garrett Holbert, B.S., M.Ed. College of Education and Human Ecology
The Ohio State University 2010 Dissertation Committee: Eric M. Anderman, Advisor Belinda Gimbert Robert Hite
Copyright by Romena M. Garrett Holbert 2010
Abstract
Cooperating teachers play important roles in student teachers’ development as educators. The purpose of this study was to develop a measure that enables systematic investigation of the actions and interactions of cooperating teachers during student teaching. Three sets of educational standards lent focus to this work. The measures developed were based on the five Core Propositions of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, ATE Standards for Teacher Educators and the Performance Outcomes from the ATE Standards for Field Experiences in Teacher Education. The development of the measures occurred in a series of key phases. An initial pool of items based on each set of standards in education was developed for the instrument. Ten student teachers were then engaged in cognitive interviews which focused revisions to promote the clarity and suitability of the developing instrument. The revised items were then sent to panels of experts for feedback. The responding experts examined the items and provided feedback that included whether the items accurately represented the Standards intended. After revisions based on expert feedback, cognitive interviews were conducted with thirteen student teachers to determine whether the items were clear and suitable to student teachers after the revisions based on expert feedback. Student teachers participating in the cognitive interview process identified the items as
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clear and suitable for student teachers. Each panel of experts identified the items as clear and accurately representative of the Standards intended. After the second round of cognitive interviews, the revised instrument was distributed to teacher preparation programs. Respondents included 407 student teachers seeking initial teaching licensure through enrollment at one of the eleven participating Ohio Institutions of Higher Education. Each student teacher completed items relating to their cooperating teacher’s modeling of Core Propositions, enactment of ATE Standards for Teacher Educators, and helping the student teacher learn to demonstrate Performance Outcomes from ATE Standards for Field Experiences in Teacher Education. Student teachers also provided demographic data. Data relating to item development and revision were analyzed by examination for themes in responses from student teachers and experts in each set of Standards. A Principal Components Analysis (PCA) was used to identify the interpretable underlying structure existing among the variables. Six dimensions, which explained 67.349% of the variance, were identified. The identified dimensions were examined and each identified scale was named. Calculation of Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for identified scales was employed to identify the internal consistency of each of the newly developed scales. The scales identified were “Modeling of Quality Classroom Pedagogies with P-12 students” (α = .952) , “Use and promotion of reflection in learning environment accepting of the candidate” (α =.956 ), “Dedication to cooperating teaching through use of research, iii
collaborations, and professional development” (α =.960 ), “Promotion of candidate understanding of/effective action involving connections between key components or stakeholders in education” (α = .932 ) , “Modeling of collaboration with others relevant to p-12 student learning” (α =.834 ) and “Technology Orientation” (r = .620). Pearson- r correlations between each newly developed scale and two embedded adaptations of an existing measure of teacher efficacy were calculated to provide evidence of validity. In the first adaptation, the items were worded such that the measure reflected the responding teacher candidate’s perception of how his or her cooperating teacher would respond to each efficacy item. In the second adaptation, the items were worded such that the measure reflected the responding teacher candidate’s perception of his or her own teacher efficacy. At the p
