American University – School of Education, Teaching, and Health
Teacher Education Student Semester Survey
2012 – 2013
(n = 20)
2013 – 2014
(n = 33)
Recommend
Cooperating
Teacher Do Not
Recommend
Cooperating
Teacher Undecided
Recommend
University
Supervisor
Do not
Recommend
University
Supervisor Undecided
80%
20%
0%
80%
5%
15%
89%
1%
9%
85%
15%
0%
Questions 1 and 2:
Would you recommend this cooperating teacher for future teacher candidates? Why
or why not?
Would you recommend this University Supervisor for future teacher candidates? Why
or why not?
Common Themes
Students recommended cooperating teachers who were 1) personable 2) helpful
with lesson planning 3) gave regular feedback and 4) allowed them some freedom
with their lesson plans. Students who were “undecided” about their cooperating
teachers noted personality differences. Students who did not recommend their
cooperating teachers stated that their cooperating teachers were 1) not personable
2) not helpful with lesson planning 2) gave no regular feedback and 3) had trouble
giving up control of the classroom.
Students recommended American University supervisors who were 1) organized 2)
easy to communicate with 3) prompt 4) who gave regular feedback and who were
5) confident with GoEd forms. Students also recognized their supervisors for helping
them become “better teachers.” In 2013, students who did not recommend their
supervisors cited that their supervisors were 1) not easy to communicate with and 2)
that their supervisors had difficulty filling out GoEd forms. In 2014, students who did
not recommend their supervisors cited that their supervisors were 1) late 2) very busy
or 3) had difficulty filling out GoEd forms.
Examples
Cooperating Teachers: Recommended
“Most definitely would recommend Mrs. Tucker to future teacher candidates. She is
very friendly and gives you the opportunity to teach her classes without
barriers/limitations. Gives sound advice and models what she says.”
“Absolutely! In my opinion, Jeanine Derr is one of the best teachers at Bethesda ES.
She is organized, knowledgeable, engaging, and highly effective. She is always
willing to help and offer advice. Jeanine is extremely inspiring and a fantastic role
model for future teachers.”
“Absolutely! She was very open to any questions I had. She was always willing to help
me but still allow me to teach the class. We would debrief after every class I taught,
telling me what went well, giving suggestions, and informing me of things I need to
improve. She also included me in all of her other teacher duties like meeting and
school activities. I believe I was exposed to almost all of the duties a teacher has.”
“Absolutely yes! I had such a great experience with Alison. She was very organized,
scheduled, very open communicator, and a fantastic teacher. She taught me so
much, specifically through her teaching style and amazing classroom management.
She is well respected at Green Acres and would be a great cooperating teacher for
any student teacher who wants to learn a lot.”
Cooperating Teachers: Not recommended
“Overall, no. The answer is two-fold, First, Carol is retiring. She will be substituting and
not be teaching full time. Secondly, Carol was very set in her methods. There was not
very much room for support or learning in her class. I wanted to receive feedback,
and there was not a comfortable way to ask for that. It was very clear that the new
methods that I wanted to try were not welcome in her class. It was frustrating that I
felt that my cooperating teacher did not want to guide me to learning. It seemed (at
most times) that I did not have anything to bring to the class and I was the only one
learning-- when in reality I think everyone could have learned a lot (teachers and
students).”
“I would not recommend this teacher. While she was very nice and she was very
flexible in allowing me access in her class, but I don't feel as if she was able to help
me become a better teacher.”
American University Supervisors: Recommended
“YES. x100 yes. Debbie was a wonderful supervisor. I felt very supported. I knew that I
could ask her for constructive criticism and she would deliver it in a way that would
actually be helpful. She was available both while I was being observed and outside
the classroom. I was lucky to have her as my supervisor and as a mentor in my life.”
“Yes, Susan was an amazing supervisor and I love her with all my heart. She cares
deeply about each and every single one of her students and will do everything
necessary to help them succeed. She was always on-time for the meetings and
formal observations, as well as providing timely, constructive feedback for me before
and after each lesson via email. She also checked in with me on a regular basis to
see how I was doing and repeated over and over again that she will always be there
for me no matter what. She always had a smile on her face when she walked into the
classroom and gave my cooperating teacher and I plenty of hugs, and the students
loved it whenever she came to visit. Student teaching was one of the most
challenging experiences of my life, but having her as a mentor made all the
difference in the world, and I will never forget what she did for me all these years.”
American University Supervisors: Undecided
I have mixed feelings about this supervisor. When she was present, she was extremely
engaging and helpful. She always gave good feedback and brought interesting
materials for me to read or use in the classroom. However, she was frequently late
and often left my lessons or our conferences to take phone calls. For example, she
was coming to observe a lesson I was teaching, and she did not come until halfway
through the lesson. At the point that she walked in, the class was doing group work,
so she missed the entire instructional part of the lesson. Overall, though, I enjoyed
working with her. She called and checked in with me via email frequently, and
always gave advice when I asked for it.
American University Supervisors: Not recommended
“No. I did not get effective feedback from the supervisor to help me improve my
teaching. Supervisor also does not use the same rubric for the goEd forms (she has
different definitions for each of the three categories than those given on the form).
Supervisor would talk about when she was teaching geometry, but I struggled getting
effective feedback about how to improve my teaching.” Question 3: Do you think the topics discussed in your methods classes informed your
practicum or student teaching experience? Why or why not?
Common Themes: Most students stated that their methods classes prepared them
well for their practicum and student teaching experience. Students expressed
confidence when it came to writing lesson plans, rubrics, and setting up their
classrooms. Interestingly, some students recommended switching the placements of
the methods classes. For example, some students wanted to complete all methods
classes before practicum and student teaching while other students wanted to have
more methods classes during practicum and student teaching.
“Riley's class really helped me understand how to set up centers. I started
implementing standards into my Readers Workshop period. His unit on Rubrics was
also very helpful. On many occasions I used several of the different types of rubrics
Riley taught us about to help me assess my students and help my students assess
themselves.”
“Absolutely. Before my Method's classes there was so much I didn't know! Having
them before student teaching helped me feel more informed when engaging
colleagues in discussions.”)
“Yes, the topics in my methods class related directly to my student teaching
experience. Lesson planning, differentiation, checks for understanding, objective
writing, etc. were all aspects of teaching I would not have understood if not for my
methods class. That being said, many topics I felt like I learned about too late and
would have been helpful to learn much earlier on.”
“Yes, they all informed my experience. As a graduate student I did not take all my
methods classes while I was in a field placement. This was the most frustrating part of
the program for me. I don't know how or if the graduate program could be
rearranged so that the methods courses coincide better with the placements, but it
would helpful if the teachers were more aware of the fact that not everyone was in a
placement when deciding on assignments (observations were often difficult to
arrange.”
Questions 4: What information should be added or edited in the Field Experience
Handbook?
Common Themes: Students believe the Field Experience Handbook should be
updated by including the following information or making it more clear: 1) include a
timeline of due dates 2) make hour requirements more clear (i.e. how to handle snow
dates) 3) include a comprehensive portfolio rubric and 4) create a separate
practicum and student teaching handbook
“I think the hours/days for student teachers needs to be clarified. If the policy is that
STs need 400 hours, why were we making up snow days beyond that set amount of
time? This is a grey area that could be better outlined.”
“I think a rough timeline for the experience should be added. Throughout the
program, especially in the Fall, my mentor, cooperating teacher, and I had very
different ideas about what I should be doing in the classroom at that time and/or we
really weren't sure what I should be doing. I understand everyone reaches
benchmarks at different rates but providing a rough guideline would have been
helpful.”
Questions 5: What recommendations do you have to the Professional Teaching
Portfolio?
Common Themes: Most students felt that the Professional Teaching Portfolio was
“easier than he/she thought it was going to be.” Several students, however,
recommended that a list of portfolio assignments and a grading rubric be distributed
earlier. Finally, many students also noted technical difficulties and recommended
several changes to the GoEd system. These included: 1) reformatting the image
uploading system so that images can upload vertically 2) increasing the image
capacity for smart board presentations and 3) adding an automatic message
clarifying the intention of the user if he/she is deleting documents.
“I did not do this but I feel that having an option to upload a smart board activity
would be beneficial. When finishing up my portfolio, I feel that trying to move entries
up and down were not cooperating. It took me longer than needed to move the
entries how and where I wanted them to be. In addition, I did not feel prepared until
the last couple weeks how to properly use the online portfolio. I felt that if more
training on the portfolio was provided, I would have felt more prepared in how to use
it earlier in the semester.”
“A button that says, "are you sure you would like to delete this" in case you
accidentally press an x.”
“I liked how the portfolio was laid out. I wish the instructional section had more
explanations of what the graders were looking for, but overall, it was easier than I
expected.”
“The images didn't load into the portfolio properly. e.g. my photo was right-side-up,
and after I uploaded it it somehow became rotated in the portfolio. When I asked
about it I was told not to worry about the photo format, but I don't know if I feel
comfortable using a portfolio in interviews that doesn't look professional.” Questions 6: What recommendations would you make to the Student Teaching
Seminar?
Common Themes: Students’ opinions about the Student Teaching Seminar were
divided. In 2013 and 2014, students, who on the whole enjoyed the class, would have
preferred more feedback, more discussion with each other, more time to work on
portfolio documents and resumes and less time on reflection documents. Finally,
several students mentioned a schedule change by suggesting that the time of the
class be moved from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
“Professor Jacobs was overall a great teacher. His feedback was helpful and raised
questions that guided my progress on the reflections and case study. My only
negative comment is that I did not receive comments on the majority of assignments
submitted.”
“Overall I thought it was very helpful especially some of the speakers we had. If I
could change anything it would maybe to have more discussion in class about our
experiences in the classroom. I also would maybe not have so many reflections in
addition to the case study. Maybe one or the other. I felt like I often was spending
time on those instead of preparing for my lesson in my classroom which I think is most
important during the student teaching experience.”
“The seminar could focus less on written reflections and more on discussion. However,
the practical portions of the seminar (meeting with administrators, resume writing,
etc.) were very useful.”
Questions 7: Please use this space to leave any other feedback about the teacher
education program.
Common Themes: Examples as follows.
“Overall, I am so happy with the education I received. I really appreciate all you guys
do to support us as students and people. I feel that I am able to think critically about
teaching practices and methods. I also feel that I am able to reflect deeply on my
practice. I owe both of these things to the classes I took here and the experiences I
had in practicum and student teaching. While some knowledge becomes "dated"
(best practices in teaching reading or what standards we use might change pretty
often), these two skills are timeless and enable me to be as good as I can be no
matter where or when I am teaching.” -Ariel Villano (Spring 2013)
“I have truly enjoyed my time at AU in the MAT program. I feel that I have gained
valuable knowledge that will help me as I pursue a career in teaching. Thank you! “
“I loved SETH. I had some of the most amazing professors, such as Julie Sara Boyd,
Susan Jaffe, Marilyn Goldhammer, Danielle Goldberg, and Debbie Kleinbord, who
were supportive, passionate, and knowledgeable and really made my experience at
AU. I enjoyed the SETH community that the professors and other students created. I
feel confident and prepared as I enter my next chapter. One of the only reasons I am
proud to graduate from AU is because I was a part of SETH.”
Question 8: What recommendations would you make to the GoEd data and
assessment system?
Common Themes: Students who wrote a comment for this section often
recommended a new form be created for students’ observations of their
cooperating teacher. In addition, one student wrote that he would like this form to
be confidential. Finally, several students wrote in that they would like to upload and
print documents from GoEd more easily.
“The lack of spell-check in the entry fields for the portfolio on GoEd makes the entries
difficult to revise. Additionally, when adding text from a word document to one of
these fields, the formatting, font and font size change unpredictably. It would also be
nice to have separate observation forms for our observations of other teachers than
those our supervisors use to observe us.”
“Create observation forms specifically for teacher candidates observing their CT or
other teachers in the building.”
“Make the students observations of cooperating teachers confidential. Although, I
did not agree with a great deal of the management strategies, expectations for
students or teaching style used by my first cooperating, all of which I noted in GoEd. I
emailed her to ask if I could come and congratulate the sixth grade class on finishing
their first year of secondary school and wish the good luck for next year, but I never
heard back from her and suspect it may be due to her seeing my evaluation in goed
(or may be not).”
“Have forms for easy printing access.”