Empowering Music Student Teachers through Inquiry: Cooperating Teacher Views

Abstract

e g e r '. ii.. Student teaching often provides prospective music educators with a guided teaching experience USH :hey can refer to throughout their professional careers. In the words of one teacher, I ten think back to my student teaching experience for strategies in my current teaching and class-: -.om . I had a great cooperating teacher who enabled me to problem-solve on my own.As student teachers enter the classroom and assume music teacher responsibilities for the first time, they observe and collaborate with experienced cooperating teachers, who share their classrooms, students, and expertise. During this formative period, cooperating teachers guide their student teachers through experiences that will shape their teaching styles, their interactions with students, their current and future curricular choices, and how they think about their own teaching. As such, a cooperating teacher may be a significant professional mentor. This article is the second in a series on mentoring (see the MEJ Mentoring Series sidebar), a role that can make a tremendous difference in a person's decision to make a long-term commitment to teaching in any field, particularly music. Currently, student teaching is an important part of most music teacher education programs in the United States. For many prospective music teachers, it is their first and niianl shaped .. b hmost independent experience in the teacher role. The 7ie in cotaitr wstudent-teaching experience brings new situations, expectations, and demands, some of which may clash ers __-~ ao iu a ft g u uwith previously held ideas of what being a teacher entails. Researchers suggest that the student-teaching tie, an . .e.. etexperience has a lasting effect on the perspectives and practices of beginning music teachers.2Research also shows that schools often have implicit expectations for student teachers that reinforce the established norms and values of the school. Music student teachers' perspectives about their work seem to be significantly shaped by characteristics, practices, and structures of the schools where they teach, someers are often influential in fostering inquiry about public schools, teaching practices, and the effects of these practices on students. Initial QuestionsHow do cooperating teachers help student teachers become effective in the music classroom and sensitive to their effect on students? How do cooperating teachers encourage music student teachers to reflect on and question their daily teaching practice, to examine effects of school and classroom practices on students, and to experiment and try out new ideas and innovations in the classroom? What practices and unique understandings do experienced music teachers bring to the process? How do cooperating teachers guide inquiry and professional growth in music student teachers, and what is the experience like for the cooperating teachers themselves?Through observations of and interviews with cooperating teachers whom student teachers perceived as competent mentors, I identified a number of strategies that ...

Perceptions of Cooperating Music Teachers on Service Motives, Relationships, and Mentoring Strategies During Student Teaching

“…They also enjoyed working alongside student teachers, wanting them to have quality teaching experiences. Professional growth and development happen by learning new teaching strategies from student teachers (Gallo-Fox & Scantlebury, 2016; Ganser & Koskela, 1998; Russell & Russell, 2011; Veal & Rikard, 1998) and through reflection on their own practice as teachers and mentors (Clarke et al, 2014; Gallo-Fox & Scantlebury, 2016; Krueger, 2006; Paulson, 2014).…”

“…The desire for mutual learning is strong in such a dynamic, where power and decision making are shared. It also can help in establishing class expectations and boundaries of respect, when student teachers are introduced to school students as a co-teacher (Krueger, 2006). Cooperating teachers who might be described as Convenors of Relation (Clarke et al, 2014) focus on facilitating a deeper, more meaningful connection with student teachers.…”

“…Specifically, mentors encouraged novice teachers to explain their actions and decisions in detail so that they could understand how their unique situations and points of view may require alternative approaches. To develop daily reflective practice, Krueger (2006) emphasized the importance of cooperating teachers modeling it and encouraging their student teachers to engage in it. Clarke et al (2014) characterized these cooperating teachers as Supporters of Reflection , the idea that reflection reframes practice in view of past experience or new knowledge.…”

“…In their content analysis of studies in music teacher education, Silveira and Diaz (2014) discovered the two most frequently studied topics in student teaching focus on student teachers' perceptions about their experiences and the relationship between teacher education programs and K-12 schools. They did not note any special interest in the role and perceptions of cooperating teachers, a gap other music education scholars have identified (Draves, 2013;Krueger, 2006;MacLeod & Walter, 2011;Paulson, 2014;Rideout & Feldman, 2002;Zemek, 2008). This is ironic, given the status a cooperating teacher has as one of the most influential people in a preservice teacher's development (Clarke et al, 2014;Conway, 2002;Draves, 2013;Hoffman et al, 2015).…”

Cooperating Music Teachers’ Opinions Regarding the Importance of Selected Traits, Behaviors, and Skills as Predictors of Successful Student Teaching Experiences

“…Research concerning preservice music teacher education mostly indicates that the cooperating teacher is the most influential element of the student teaching triad to the development of the student teacher (D. Anderson, 2007;Brand, 1982;Krueger, 1997Krueger, , 2006Talvitie et al, 2000;Yee, 1969). In addition, novice teachers often identify their student teaching experience as the most influential and useful aspect of their undergraduate preparation (Clarke, 2001;Conway, 2002;Gray, 1999;Legette, 1997).…”