Nancy Fichtman Dana

Diane Yendol-Hoppey

David T. Hoppey

Today, in many contexts the lack of attention to preparing the next generation of teacher educators as well as having a critical mass of faculty who understand the current teacher education research problem lingers. Although the NCATE Blue Ribbon Panel Report (2010), the recent advent of the CAEP standards, and the new AACTE Clinical Practice Commission Report (2017) challenge those responsible for teacher preparation to rethink the design as well as their work within clinical practice, there is much too little discussion about how to prepare the next generation of teacher educators to work differently. Just like Zeichner found almost 20 years ago, teacher education still too often remains “a tangential concern for most and the major concern of only a few” (Ziechner, 1999, p. 11). These concerns raise important questions for those who are currently responsible for pivoting, reinventing, and researching teacher preparation. This book offers insights from teacher education researchers that illustrate the ongoing benefits and persistent challenges of educating and preparing university and school-based teacher educators. This is an important step in understanding the complex roles, practices, and responsibilities associated with high quality teacher education that emphasizes clinical practice.

Preparing the Next Generation of Teacher Educators for Clinical Practice

For decades teacher education researchers, organizations, and policy makers have called for improving teacher education by creating clinically based preparation programs (e.g. CAEP, 2013; Goodlad, 1990; Holmes, 1986, 1995; National Association for Professional Development Schools, 2008; National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Educators, 2001, 2010; Zeichner, 1990). According to the NCATE Blue Ribbon Report (2010), this approach requires extensive opportunities for prospective teachers to connect and apply what they learn from school and university based teacher educators. Similar to preparing medical professionals, clinical practice in teacher education requires the complex and time intensive work of supporting teacher candidate ability to link theory, research, and practice as well as on-going inquiry into best pedagogical practices. Therefore, clinically intensive programs expect prospective teachers to blend practitioner and academic knowledge throughout their programs as "they learn by doing" (NCATE, 2010, p.ii). However, most of the literature to date on clinical practice has been conceptual and often relies on describing program design. The purpose of this book is move past description to study and understand what teacher education programs are learning from research about innovative clinical models of teacher education. Each book chapter highlights research about how programs are studying a variety of outcomes of clinical practice. After an introductory chapter that helps to define and situate clinical practice in teacher education, the book is organized into four sections: (1) Outcomes of New Roles, (2) Outcomes of New Practices, (3) Outcomes of New Coursework/Fieldwork Configurations, and (4) Outcomes of New Program Configurations. The book wraps up with a discussion that looks across the chapters to find common themes, share implications for teacher educators, and set the course for future research.

David T. Hoppey

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