Date of Award
8-2003
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Abstract
Teacher preparation programs are being reviewed nationwide for their effectiveness. Questions such as "Are teacher candidates thoughtfully practicing good teaching?" and "What can be done to better support these candidates as they prepare to become teachers?" need to be studied. The loss of teachers after initial professional teaching experiences can often be attributed to poor preparation and lack of support of these professionals, which results in feelings of isolation and frustration. One model of teacher preparation, the Professional Development School (PDS) endeavors to create the potential for teacher candidates, called interns, to become immersed into the environment of an elementary school through multiple field experiences with one goal being to replace isolation with relationships. The question this study delves into is "What are the interns' perceptions of the effects of a Professional Development School model on teacher preparation?"
To address this question, various methods were employed including a review of relevant literature; interviews with the cohort of PDS interns, which were audio taped and transcribed; observations of the interns and related field notes; and artifacts were collected from the interns including electronic correspondences, written reflections, and field experience logs. The data were analyzed and interpreted in an on-going manner to discover patterns and themes, which provided insights into the experiences of these PDS interns. This investigation took place over a two-year period of time following three cohorts, which contained a total of seventeen interns.
This study found that relationships with students, cooperating teachers, and university faculty had a significant influence on the perceived success of the teacher preparation program. Interns also reported learning more from the time they spent in the field than they did through their coursework implicating the need for closer connections between the classroom and coursework. Learning to teach is a complex process which happens through experience, which the PDS model can offer. As both field work and coursework are essential in the preparation of quality teachers, when teacher candidates have opportunities to see education principles being applied, the impact of the learning will be stronger
Recommended Citation
Duffeild, Stacy K., "The perceptions of interns in a professional development school program" (2003). Theses and Dissertations. 7440.
https://commons.und.edu/theses/7440