COOPERATING TEACHERS’ TRAINING, CHALLENGES, AND PERCEIVED READINESS TO HOST STUDENT TEACHERS

The student teaching experience is one that is typically filled with a wide range of
triumphs and challenges, and novice student teachers (STs) tend to rely heavily on their
Cooperating Teachers (CTs) to help navigate the experience. CTs have a strong
influence on the development of STs; however, far too often CTs are under-prepared to
carry out the many duties required of them. Without adequate support and training for
CTs, STs may not receive the level of support needed to properly equip them with the
skills needed for the challenging first years of teaching. This study investigated the
training and support provided to CTs, and examined the challenges CTs faced during the
student teaching experience. This study also investigated two levels of training for CTs -
those who participated in the standard training provided by the Educator Preparation
Program (EPP) and those who completed additional training provided by the EPP through
the Teacher Education Institute (TEI), a multi-day summer institute. A total of 361 CTs
participated in this quantitative study and completed a survey about the training and
support received from the EPP, as well as challenges they encountered while supervising
STs. Results showed very few differences between TEI and non-TEI trained CTs; both
groups had mostly positive experiences and were mostly satisfied with the training and
support provided. CTs in both groups reported similar challenges related to preparation
areas such as edTPA, having difficult conversations with STs, and providing
feedback/coaching to them, suggesting that these areas may require additional support
and training prior to and during the student teaching experience.