The Field Experiences of Student Teachers and Effective Mathematics Teaching in Turkey
Vol
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Guney Haciomeroglu 0
0 Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University
Part of the Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons Recommended Citation
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Article 9
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The Field Experiences of Student Teachers and Effective Mathematics
Teaching in Turkey
Guney Haciomeroglu
Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University
Turkey
Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the cooperative
teachers’ supervision for effective mathematics teaching from the
perspective of elementary student teachers during their field
experiences. The participants were 259 senior elementary
education majors (189 female and 70 male) who were enrolled in
practicum courses at a Turkish university. Results of the study
revealed that cooperative teachers as a supervisor seemed to be
deficient for interacting with student teachers as well as assisting
them to develop critical point of views for teaching mathematics
effectively. The study suggests that faculty-school partnership
should be reconsidered for selection and professional
development of cooperating teachers.
Introduction
Field experience is often viewed as one of the most critical elements in teacher
education
(e.g., Darling-Hammond, 1998; Koerner 1992)
, and teacher educators recognize
the importance of field experiences in preparing student teachers for teaching. Most previous
studies examining field experience have concentrated on roles, experiences, views and
expectations of student teachers, university supervisors as well as cooperating teachers for
teaching and learning different subjects
(e.g., Fernandez & Erbilgin, 2009; Freidus, 2002)
.
Hiebert, Carpenter, Fennema, Fuson, Wearne, Murray, and Human (1997) argued that there
is a lack of preparation of student teachers to effectively teach to students to support their
understanding of mathematics. Research concerning mathematics student teachers’ field
experiences has received attention in various fields of mathematics education
(e.g., Arztz,
1999; Fernandez & Erbilgin, 2009; Frykhol, 1996; Goodell, 2000; Hudson, 2009; Ronfeldt &
Reinninger, 2012; Zeichner, 2002)
. Within this large body of research, it is surprising that
few studies focused on student teaching at the elementary level. Therefore, this study sought
to examine elementary student teachers’ perceptions regarding their cooperative teachers’
supervision for mathematics teaching.
Student Teaching and Supervision
Previous studies suggest that cooperating teachers who provide guided teaching
experience on a daily basis have strong influence on student teachers’ practice
(Cook, 2007;
Frykholm, 1996; LaBoskey & Richert, 2002; Smagorinsky, Sanford, & Konopak, 2006)
.
Koskela and Ganser (1995) found that cooperating teachers perceived their role as facilitators
of professional growth. Stanulis (1995) stated, “it is the classroom teacher who, because of
the close interaction during the practice of teaching, potentially exerts the greatest influence
on the development of a perspective teacher” (p. 331). Koerner, Rust and Baumgartner
(2002) added the finding that student teaching experience is influenced by the interactions
between student teachers, cooperating teachers, and university supervisors. Similarly, Putnam
and Borko (2000) argued that weekly meetings between university supervisors and student
teachers have an important role in balancing between providing guidance and supporting
student teachers’ construction of new practices.
Despite the important role of university supervisors in improving student teaching,
studies reported that university supervisors do not visit student teachers often enough or
provide continuing feedback to have an impact on student teachers and their cooperating
teachers
(Borko & Mayfield, 1995; Fryhkolm, 1996)
. In addition, it was observed that due to
cooperating teachers’ views and methods, many student teachers used traditional teaching
practices, which were not aligned with reform-based teaching methods taught in their teacher
education programs
(Britzman, 1991; Feiman-Nemser & Buchmann, 1985; Ronfeldt &
Grossman, 2008; Zeichner & Gore, 1990)
.
The quality of student teaching has significant and positive effects on teacher
outcomes (Ronfeldt & Reininger, 2012) because it is a cornerstone of teacher preparation,
which provides opportunities for student teachers to link theory and practice
(Boyd,
Grossman, Lankford, Loeb, & Wyckoff, 2009; Zeichner, 2002)
. Although classroom and
school settings, behavior management, student teacher responsibilities are important factors
affecting student teaching
(e.g., Frykholm, 1996; LaBoskey & Richert, 2002)
, Grande, Burns,
Schmidt, and Marable (2009) argued that more attention should be given to the discussion of
teachable moments, stereotypes, realties of urban schools, and students.
Boyd et al. (2009)
also suggested that teacher preparations directly related to teaching pract (...truncated)