Alternative Approaches to Student Teacher Supervision

Brent Heidorn & Deb Bainer Jenkins Department of Health, Physical Education,

& Sport StudiesUniversity of West Georgia

Glenn WeaverDepartment of Physical Education

University of South Carolina

Background

• The importance of student teaching• The perils of student teaching

– Lack of training for cooperating teachers and supervisors (Meade, 1991)

– Differing views of effective pedagogy among supervisors (Rikard, 1990)

– Economic constraints (Bullough, Egan, & Nokes, 2002)

• Options for student teaching– Face-to-Face– Multiple Students in One Placement– Technology Enhanced Supervision

What Do Supervisors Do?University Supervisor

Number of Student

Teachers

Total Weeks

Number of Expected

Obs

Number of Obs

Total Obs & Travel

Time

Avg. Time for F2F

Supervision (min)

Avg. Time for

Supervision per Week

(min)

Total Supervision

Miles/per Week

1-Adjunct 7 15 42 30 2972 99.33 198.13 1323/88

2-Instructor 7 8 21 26 2834 109 354.25 403/50

3-Instructor 6 8 18 20 1597 79.85 199.63 487/61

4-Asst Prof 16 24 72 67 3845 57.39 160.21 1209/50

5-Professor 5 24 18 19 1194 120.29 62.84 670/30

Supervisors:•represent all academic ranks•generally complete the required number of observations•invest between 60 and 120 minutes in a single observation visit•spend 1-6 hours per week engaged in supervision•travel 30-88 miles each week to accomplish supervision

Multiple Students in One Placement:

• K-12 student teachers (n = 27; 22 udg; 5 grad)

• Single placements (n = 9)

• Multiple placements (n = 18)

– Groups of 2 (n = 12)

– Groups of 3 (n = 6)

• Levels – Elementary School (n = 19)

– Middle School (n = 6)

– High School (n = 2)

• Supervisors (US: n = 5; CT: n = 18)

Structure in Multiple Placements:Options

• Alternated classes– Rotated each hour all semester

• Alternated grade levels– K-2 vs. 3-5; switched levels as semester progressed

• Alternated roles– Lead and support; one week of full day

• Alternated content– Health vs. PE; switched at mid-semester

• Alternated teachers– Observed vs. Health vs. PE– ½ lesson each (shared time)

Cooperating Teachers: Advantages(n = 5)

• Teamwork• Time for students• Feedback from their peers• Experienced different teaching styles (pupils

and STs)• Realistic situation

Cooperating Teachers: Disadvantages

• Unequal student teacher workload• Fewer teaching experiences• Preferential treatment• Feedback to the observer• Limited teaching by cooperating teacher• Greater workload for the cooperating teacher

Cooperating Teachers: Satisfaction

• Very satisfied (n = 1); Satisfied (n = 4)• Preferred multiple placements (n = 3);

Preferred single placements (n = 2)• Gender mix• Multiple cooperating teachers at one site

– Multiple supervisors

Student Teachers: Advantages(n = 17)

• Student teachers expressed similar advantages as cooperating teachers

• In addition:– Comfortable content– One-on-one time with the CT – Carpooling

Student Teachers: Disadvantages

• Student teachers expressed similar disadvantages as cooperating teachers

• In addition:– Personality and relationship issues– Limited space and equipment– Distraction– Less feedback from cooperating teacher

No disadvantages (n = 4)

Student Teachers: Effectiveness

• Are you a better teacher now because you worked with other student teachers?– Yes (n = 9)

• More feedback, more confident, and more comfortable with a peer; more observations

– Maybe (n = 3)– No (n = 5)

• Too little time teaching

Student Teachers: Satisfaction

• Overall, how satisfied were you working in a situation with multiple student teachers?– Very satisfied (n = 9)– Satisfied (n = 6)– Dissatisfied (n = 2)

• Not a realistic situation; not enough teaching time

Lessons Learned:Multiple Students in One Placement

• Placing multiple student teachers in one placement WORKS

• Structure should be context-specific– Cooperating teachers need orientation

• Resources are conserved • Placements should be thoughtfully made• Student teachers need skills in observing and

providing feedback– Observation forms; Clinical teaching experiences

Technology Enhanced Supervision:Our Experience

• The plan – 4 face-to-face and 2 technology enhanced observations

• The potential– Saving resources – Building analytical and reflective skills in student teachers

• The procedure – Upload video; US observes and sends feedback

• The problems– Uploading time; tech support; student frustration; system

crashed

Does Using Technology Save Time?

University Supervisor

Avg.Time per Obs

(min)

Avg. Time for F2F Obs

(min)

Avg. Time for F2F

Supervision (min)

Avg. Time for TECHObs (min)

1- Adjunct 49.07 43.78 99.33 96.67

2-Instructor 88.08 88.08 109.00 --

3-Instructor 47.55 47.55 79.85 --

4-Asst Prof 34.55 34.55 57.39 --

5-Professor 68.37 67.71 120.29 74.00

Mean 57.52 56.33 93.17 85.33

Does Using Technology Save Money?University Supervisor

Cost per Supervision

minute(dollars)

Travel costs

(@.55/mile)

Total cost of F2F

Supervision Visit

(dollars)

Total cost of TECH

SupervisionVisit

(dollars)

Total Savings per Observation

Visit(dollars)

1-Adjunct .99 728 125.30 95.70 29.60

2-Instructor 1.12 222 130.61 -- --

3-Instructor .61 268 62.10 -- --

4-Asst Prof 2.75 665 167.74 -- --

5-Professor 7.11 368 784.63 526.14 258.49

Future Research

• How effective are various methods of supervision at developing effective teachers?

• How does the resource investment in supervision compare to teaching a class?

• What are more effective ways to use technology to build effective teachers?