Description/Abstract:
ABSTRACT
A CRITICAL INCIDENT INVESTIGATION OF POSITIVELY AND NEGATIVELY PERCEIVED COOPERATING TEACHER BEHAVIORS DURING THE PHYSICAL EDUCATION STUDENT TEACHING EXPERIENCE
John G. Helion
The student teaching experience remains to be considered the major facet of teacher preparation. The role of the cooperating teacher in this experience is of major importance. This study used the Critical Incident Technique to collect positively and negatively perceived behaviors from physical education student teachers about their cooperating teachers during their student teaching experience. The data were inductively analyzed. Analysis of received incidents resulted in division of the data into four major categories, fifteen subcategories and ninety-nine individual behaviors. Student teachers in this study, cited Nurturing Behaviors most often, followed by Mentoring Behaviors, Accepting Behaviors and Modeling Behaviors. The student teacher emerges as a person wanting acceptance, security, trust and confidence building from the cooperating teacher. They view most cooperating teacher mentoring behaviors positively as well as other teaching and management behaviors modeled by the cooperating teacher. Most negatively perceived behaviors were in the categories dealing with nurturing; trust and security development and confidence building. The cooperating teacher is shown to be in a position to have a definite effect upon the shaping of student teacher behaviors and beliefs with regard to the profession of teaching and the field of Physical Education.