A survey of selected elements of the student teaching program

The purpose of this study was to examine selected elements of the student teaching program as described by directors of student teaching in selected institutions of higher education accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The elements of the student teaching experience that were examined included site selection, the cooperating teacher, the university supervisor, the supervisory instrument, the student teaching experience, and the summative evaluation. A survey instrument for research was utilized in this study. A questionnaire was administered to randomly selected directors of student teaching. Findings from this study included: (1) Geographic convenience was one of the primary determinants of site selection. (2) Respondents in the study used traditional criteria when selecting and training cooperating teachers. (3) Evaluation of both the cooperating teachers and university supervisors was important to respondents in this study. (4) Few respondents used full-time faculty only to supervise student teachers. (5) The majority of the respondents used supervisory instruments not shown to increase student teaching effectiveness. (6) Institutional student teaching outcomes and teacher education program goals, research about supervision of student teaching, ease of administration of the instrument, and legislation were of greatest concern to respondents when developing a supervisory instrument. (7) Most respondents used traditional training methods to assist student teachers in understanding the student teaching program