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Co-Teaching as Transformative Practice in Early Childhood Clinical Settings: Reflections from Teacher Educators in Ohio

Abstract

In 2010, the Blue Ribbon Panel Report recommended clinical practice as the focus of teacher preparation. Co-teaching emerged as an intentional practice that encompasses a cycle of co-planning, co-assessment, and co- instruction to advance students’ learning in all classrooms. An emphasis on co-teach- ing shows promise for clinical settings as sites for transformative learning experiences for both in-service teachers, or teacher mentors, and pre-service teachers, or teacher candi- dates. Researchers at eight university cam- puses in Ohio involved 82 mentor teachers as participants in a mixed-method investigation of co-teaching as transformative practice in early childhood (P-3) clinical settings. Men- tor teachers from rural, suburban, and urban school districts and programs provided their insights about co-teaching and related strat- egies used to engage pre-service teachers, 69 transform pre-service and in-service participants’ knowledge base and skills, and provide benefits for their prekindergarten to third-grade students. Of the various co-teach- ing strategies used, participating mentor teachers deemed “Center/Station Teaching,” “Alternative Teaching,” and “Team Teaching” to be most transformational, followed by “One Teach, One Observe,” and “One Teach, One Assist.” Mentor teachers reported gain- ing transformative knowledge and insights through co-teaching in clinical settings and also reported instances in which they felt the pre-service teachers did, as well.

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