1. WE NEED BETTER, NOT MORE! EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF DURATION AND QUALITY OF FIELD EXPERIENCE ON TEACHER PREPARATION Karina R. Clemmons Amanda L. Nolen University of Arkansas at Little Rock AERA 2014

2. Field Experiences Center of Teacher Preparation  The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) Blue Ribbon Panel (2010) calls for longer field experiences  Longer field experiences are costly for programs, students, and schools  Extending placements could be prohibitive to the recruitment and preparation of highly qualified teacher candidates

3. Predicting Teacher Preparedness Teacher Preparedness Length of Internship Internship Variety Quality of Placement/CT Preparation Program Characteristics

4. Method  Survey administered to all early-career teachers in the state of Arkansas from 2010-2013  Early-career included teachers in their first 5 years of teaching  1,149 completed surveys were returned as of May 2013

5. Survey Comprised of six sections  Characteristics of the teacher preparation program  Characteristics of field experiences  Preparation for the classroom  Mentoring and induction  Future plans  Preparedness for classroom teaching

6. Preparedness for Teaching  Based on Darling-Hammond, Chung, and Frelow (2002); and  Silvernail’s (1998) four factors of teacher preparedness  Promote student learning  Teach critical thinking  Understand learners  Develop instructional leadership

7. Predicting Teacher Preparedness Teacher Preparedness Length of Internship Internship Variety Quality of Placement/CT Preparation Program Characteristics p = 0.006 R 2 = 0.017 (1.7% of variance)

8. Predicting Teacher Preparedness Teacher Preparedness Length of Internship Internship Variety Quality of Placement/CT Preparation Program Characteristics p = 0.022 p = 0.002 R 2 = 0.05 (5% of variance)

9. Predicting Teacher Preparedness Teacher Preparedness Length of Internship Internship Variety Preparation Program Characteristics Quality of Placement/CT p = 0.228 p = 0.003p = 0.010 R 2 = 0.303 (30% of variance)

10. Predicting Teacher Preparedness Teacher Preparedness Length of Internship Internship Variety Quality of Placement/CT Preparation Program Characteristics p = 0.228 p = 0.007p = 0.027 p = 0.011 R 2 = 0.35 (35% of variance)

12. Implications for Programs  Programs must articulate clear vision of curriculum goals  Articulate the role the teachers plays in student learning  Align course content with field experiences to reinforce the connection of theory to practice

13. Implications for Field Placements  Choice of cooperating teacher is critical  Must be able to mentor and guide  Provide student teacher with freedom to try out strategies and techniques; connecting coursework and theory to practice

14. In Conclusion  Length of time in the field becomes secondary to…  Program cohesion  Emphasis on special populations  Alignment of course materials with field experiences  Quality cooperating teacher  We need ‘better’ not ‘more’ To download the full paper, SCAN: