Archived: The Educational System in the United States: Case Study Findings

part about it was they had me student teaching under two teachers, which
I didn’t particularly like. One of the teachers was very attentive, was very
hands-on, and was there to observe a lot. She taught anatomy, and I taught
some anatomy under her. The other teacher was a male, probably in his mid-
50s . . . . and he was the one you always heard you didn’t want to get. You
know, ‘Here’s the class. Enjoy it. Bye!’ And that was the last I saw of him.
So I relied on the lady. Her name was Ms. 
lllll
. She really helped me
a lot. So it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. (A male high school physics
teacher at East High who has taught for eight years)

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Some teachers reported being left alone with a class from the first day of student
teaching, while others were allowed to slowly ease into the routine. Teachers var-
ied in their opinions about this. Some, like the teacher above, preferred to have
the regular teacher observe and comment about their teaching. Others felt that
they learned by doing and benefited most from simply being left in charge.
Professional Development
Many changes are occurring in staff development practices throughout the coun-
try. Where teachers traditionally were expected to listen to experts or be trained
in new techniques during ‘‘sit and get’’ workshops, today the focus is on enabling
teachers to study and improve their own practice through such strategies as site-
based management, strategic planning (e.g., school improvement plans), on-the-job
learning, action research, study group, and joint planning (Sparks 1995).
Although these ideas feature prominently in the recent literature on school reform
(Darling-Hammond 1994; Little 1993; McLaughline & Talbert 1993a) and seem to
animate much of what is transpiring in professional development schools affiliated
with schools of education, most teachers interviewed for this project seemed to
be only peripherally aware of them. In their experience, opportunities to interact
with other teachers occurred during monthly faculty meetings, a regularly sched-
uled department meeting, or infrequent staff development workshops.
Some school districts were able to offer much more extensive opportunities to
teachers for their development. For example, Rockefeller Elementary, a wealthy
suburban school district, had an extensive budget for staff development and an
array of resources for teachers to acquire new knowledge and to learn new ap-
proaches and techniques. Courses dealing with computers, writing, learning, and
approaches to teaching were offered at the request of teachers themselves. At East
Middle School, most staff development workshops were ‘‘for teachers, who aren’t
computer literate,’’ but courses were also offered countywide in ‘‘the use of
manipulatives, graphing calculators, and geometry.’’ These courses were typically
offered one day a week for 2–3 hours after school for a period of eight weeks.
As mentioned earlier, some states have also initiated statewide efforts to foster
professional development and improve teaching by mandating that teachers earn
renewal credits in order to maintain their certification. For example, in 1 state
where Case Study interviews were conducted, teachers were required to earn 15
renewal credits every 5 years. They receive 5 credits for teaching full-time and
additional 10 credits could be earned through such traditional channels as univer-
sity coursework, summer school, and school and district workshops.

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