Teaching practice: University supervisors' experiences and perceptions of a cooperating physical education teacher education programme

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to examine university supervisors' experiences and perceptions of a cooperating physical education teacher education (COPET) programme while on teaching practice. Teaching practice is a central tenant to physical education teacher education preparation. The COPET programme was designed to support the triad members of student teachers, cooperating teachers and university supervisors during teaching practice. The programme was piloted with 30 student teachers, 26 cooperating teachers and 10 university supervisors during a two week teaching practice placement. Six university supervisors participated in a focus group to determine their experiences and perceptions of the programme. Findings indicated that the COPET programme provided a helpful and structured framework for the role of university supervisor. Future directions for the programme revolve around universities needing to consider ways of encouraging supervisors to work collaboratively with student teachers, cooperating teachers and other university supervisors to improve the teaching practice process.

Practicum in Physical Education Teacher Education

“…In particular, we want to draw attention to our findings showing the power struggles between the two groups, as well as the differentiated understandings the cooperating teachers and the teacher educators have of their roles related to practicum. In this regard, our study highlights many of the same challenges for cooperation as found in the Irish cooperating physical education teacher program (COPET) (Belton et al, 2010;Dunning et al, 2011;Meegan et al, 2013). Organizing the cooperation around shared workshops and documents appears to be a promising route to follow.…”

Support Offered at Registration for Open Distance Learning (ODL) Students: A Potential Good or a Mismanaged Evil?

“…The constant comparative analysis allows a researcher to format and transcribe the data into a readily identifiable, readable and structured format. This analysis uses systematic steps of identifying key points, followed by comparing these points with those of other focus group members in order to identify patterns (Meegan et al, 2013). This structure ensured that what was presented was an accurate reflection of the focus group participants' interviews.…”

Collaboration through knowledge sharing between cooperating teachers and university supervisors

“…Others have focused on the relationships between the triad composed of the student teacher and two trainers (Meegan, Dunning, Belton & Woods, 2013;Veal & Rickard, 1998) and their impacts (Kauffman, 1992). Some work focuses on the role of trainers and students teachers (Allen, Ambrosetti & Turner, 2013;Correa Molina, 2006;Campbell & Lott, 2010;Wong, 2011) and emphasizes the need for harmonization between the interventions of cooperating teachers and university supervisors (Couchara, 1997;Gervais & Desrosiers, 2005).…”