- Year 2019
- NSF Noyce Award # 1557384
- First Name Stephen
- Last Name Farenga
- Institution Queens College, CUNY
- Role/Position Principal Investigator
- Workshop Category Capacity Building, Track 4: Noyce Research
- Workshop Disciplines Audience Biological
- Target Audience Project PIs / Co-PIs / Other Faculty/Staff, School and District Administrators
- Topics Mutually Beneficial Partnerships with High-Need Schools and Districts
- Session Length 30 minutes
- Additional Presenter(s)
Salvatore Garofalo, sgarofalo@qc.cuny.edu, Queens College, Co-PI;
Gopal Subramaniam, gopal.subramaniam@qc.cuny.edu, Queens College, Co-PI
Goals
To examine the benefits and disadvantages of a year-long clinically-rich residency program with a varied option for field placement.
Evidence
The preliminary investigation employed naturalistic observation as a non-experimental, qualitative research method. This study was designed to observe the environmental press and the subsequent related behaviors and other phenomena of interest that occurred during a varied option field placement model. Two types of analysis were used to gather data. The surface analysis involved coding and interpretation of overall behaviors of teacher candidates, mentor teachers, and students, while the deep analysis followed a case study approach of the experiences of the teacher candidates and the mentor teachers. In this study there was no manipulation of the environment or activities other than those manifested in the required feedback to teacher candidates during debriefing situations with mentor teachers.
Proposal
The purpose of this presentation is to examine the benefits and disadvantages of a year-long clinically-rich residency program with a varied option for field placement. While all candidates in the Queens College Science Education Program participate in a full year of student teaching (two semesters), the case study being presented involved two student teacher candidates where one teacher candidate selected to remain with one mentor teacher throughout the residency, and the other candidate selected to switch the mentor teacher at the halfway point for greater exposure during the residency program. The two candidates were female. The field placement site is considered a Title I, high needs school. The field supervisors for both candidates were two, full-time faculty members in the Science Education Program. Both field supervisors observed each of the candidates 16 times for a total of 32 observations throughout the course of the year. The field supervisors’ practices were also monitored once each semester by the program’s director and the grant’s outside evaluator. This preliminary investigation provided descriptive data and suggested hypotheses that may later be tested experimentally.The comparison of the candidates was the cooperating teacher. Candidate 1 remained with her cooperating teacher in the second semester of student teaching with the same class. Candidate 2 switched to a different cooperating teacher and different classes in the second semester. Each of the candidates taught within her field of licensure.
