A colleague once dismissed my concern about preparing student teachers for the real-world pressures of test scores and state standards saying that his job was to teach students how a subject is supposed to be taught, not how it is presented in school textbooks, tests, or local guidelines. This "glaring disjuncture" (Goodlad 1991, p. 8) between what is taught in college education courses and day-to-day practices in the field leaves the aspiring teacher adrift in a sea of questions. Is successful learning determined through scientific, pedagogical decision making, as academic scholars assert? Or is learning dependent on what teachers call the art of human interaction? (See Kagan 1993.) What is the value of theory if it is not applicable to practice?
In urban settings in particular, another learning gap results from the dichotomy between the perspectives of teachers and students. Our nation's schools are growing more diverse culturally, linguistically, and economically, while aspiring teachers remain primarily white and middle class (Hyun and Marshall 1996; Cochran-Smith 1995; National Council for the Social Studies 1992). Therefore, new teachers need opportunities to observe, hypothesize, test, and reflect on ways to reach children whose cultural backgrounds differ from their own.
Professional Development Schools (PDSs) help bridge these gaps. At PDSs, teacher education faculty work hand-in-hand with teachers, principals, and superintendents in the school setting. University and school faculties build shared visions of good teaching that "intertwine the wisdom of theory and practice" (Holmes Group 1990, p. 48). The close relationships forged between college and school faculty give college professors a better understanding of the realities of teaching in today's schools (Metcalf-Turner and Fischetti 1996) and give schoolteachers a greater stake in preparing prospective teachers. Both faculties are better equipped to help novices understand when, how, and why theories are and are not reflected in daily practice.
Connecting Theory and Practice
As an elementary education professor working in an urban PDS in New Jersey, I have firsthand experience in helping student teachers apply concepts they are learning on campus to what occurs in the school setting. Most of the student teachers come from white, middle-class backgrounds, and our program offers them a range of opportunities to do field visits, junior placements, and senior internships in a poor urban setting.
Early in the semester, for example, two student teachers indicated that they were confused about the disparity between the theory of learning community that they studied (Putnam and Burke 1992) and its application in their classrooms. When they questioned the procedures their cooperating teachers were using to establish classroom rules and routines, I urged them to diplomatically raise their concerns with the teachers. As I predicted, the teachers explained that experience has shown that taking a relatively tough stance and setting rules at the beginning of the school year help establish the formal tone needed to foster a learning community. The practicing teachers and I thus were able to help students bridge the gap between theory and practice.
In addition, urban PDSs provide ongoing exposure to the practices and insights of educators who are experienced in working with children from diverse populations (Hyun and Marshall 1996). Through repeated encounters with cultures different from theirs, student teachers can begin to see beyond their own cultural walls and can seek out a range of activities that capitalize on the strengths of individual learners.
How does our PDS help break down cultural barriers? The supportive team spirit that permeates the school's educational approach encourages student teachers, professors, and participating teachers to talk together both formally and informally. The faculty adopt a visible, accessible, and active hands-on approach to working with students.
First Encounters Through Field Visits
Teacher preparation programs often include field visits to familiarize students with school settings and to allow students an opportunity to see the principles they are studying in action. Each semester, 50 of my new elementary education students accompany me on a field visit to Cooper's Poynt, an urban school in Camden, New Jersey. This school, with a largely African American and Latino population, serves prekindergartners through 8th graders.
As our school bus exits the highway and proceeds through narrow, potholed streets lined by run-down, iron-grilled, boarded-up rowhouses, the normally chatty groups fall silent. They file grimly across Cooper's Poynt's empty, paved yard through an entrance policed by a security guard. They begin to relax as they take their seats in the school's colorfully decorated library. There, the principal and the PDS liaison discuss the school's demographics, the decision-making process regarding the curriculum, and the approach to instruction. They also raise issues such as school uniforms, the school's active parent involvement, rewards offered to students for good attendance and grades, and steps that are taken to hold the neighborhood's drug dealers at bay. After this introduction, student teachers take the visitors on a tour and answer questions about their experiences at Cooper's Poynt. By the time the students climb back onto the bus, they are chatting exuberantly.
After their field visit, students complete observation forms and written reflections. Time and time again, feedback indicates that the visit has helped dispel stereotypes and myths about inner-city schools, students, and learning. "Cooper's Poynt Elementary School was not at all what I had expected," writes one participant. "It is a beautiful school with a lot of positive energy. The kids are very interested in what they are learning."
Students reflect on the appeal of the school's climate, which is in stark contrast to the neighborhood outside. "After driving through the neighborhood, I was amazed when I walked in the front door at Cooper's Poynt," writes one student. "The school truly is a safe haven for students to excel at learning." Reflections also show that students recognize how their own experiences differ from those of the students. "I realize that the environment from which the kids come does affect them, but it seems as though the teachers work extra hard to show that the kids are special," reflects one student. Another comments on the wall decorations. "There was one wall of cartoon characters, and they had brown faces. There were also sentences in Spanish and English in hallways around the school."
The students' comments subsequently serve as springboards for reflective discussion. When two students express concern about the school's emphasis on test scores, I explain that all schools—regardless of location and economics—face the reality that standardized tests are often used to determine school and district performance, allocate funds, and win public approval. I point out that the use of standardized tests is a pressure that they soon will need to deal with in their own instructional planning. Another discussion focuses on the many posters that crowd classroom walls, which one student finds a distraction. Other students disagree, and the group discusses the role that visuals and displays of student work play in reinforcing concepts, building self-esteem, and enhancing the instructional environment.
Extended Field Experiences
A second venue for university-school collaboration is the extended field experience prior to student teaching. In most non-PDS settings, students scatter to numerous sites and classrooms to observe, tutor, teach, and complete various tasks—often with little guidance from professors. In PDS settings, on the other hand, professors can work closely with a team of students at one site, which allows them more time to observe what is going on, connect theory to observations, point out cultural differences and possible accommodations, and conduct group meetings and discussions. And students are able to learn from one another. In our PDS, students meet for lunch on Wednesdays to share achievements and "potholes" on the road to success.
Teacher educators in PDS settings may be able to highlight classroom management techniques and point out how these strategies relate to textbook theories. Upon entering an elementary classroom, for example, I spot one of my college students squatting to speak to a child while the other is distributing lined paper. The buzz of activity intensifies, and students call out questions to any adult who will answer. The teacher presses her forefinger to her lip to signal quiet and raises her hand to remind them how to address questions to teachers. I explain to my college students that she is "cueing" her students on the behavior that is expected. As the noise escalates again, the teacher repeats her response, this time pointing to a written list of classroom rules and asking who can remember the class's first rule. For the student teachers, I point out how this reinforcement of behavior norms connects to what they have learned in their classroom management course about learning communities and working together toward common learning goals.
In another classroom, a college student is using pie pieces made from construction paper to teach fractions, following the problem-solving model that her college professor has demonstrated. Students work in small groups to figure out how to divide the pie equally among various numbers of pie lovers. The college student sees how this approach ties into the instructional concepts that she has learned from her college course.
Helping Students Over Rough Spots
The presence of an on-site PDS coordinator allows for ongoing consultation on students' progress and the ability to make changes in learning opportunities as warranted. When a student is distressed over a story read-aloud that has gone awry, for example, I consult with the classroom teacher and the PDS coordinator to find a way to help the student experience success. The teacher agrees to model the read-aloud process for the student teacher, showing how to use pauses, questions, and prompts to maintain interest among young children. At the college student's next read-aloud, the students stay fully engaged and on task—a few simple techniques have helped the aspiring teacher claim success and regain self-confidence.
In another classroom, a student laments her difficulty in helping a Spanish-speaking 3rd grader make plurals. I point out that differences in language structures between English and Spanish may help to explain the problem—a fact that has not occurred to her despite her familiarity with Spanish. As a result, she is able to restructure her tutoring to make appropriate accommodations.
Student Teaching Shows Rewards
When students choose the PDS for their student teaching internship, they receive an advanced level of master teacher tutelage and supervision. When questioned about their reasons for choosing the PDS for their teaching internship, most students mention both the school's support system and the fact that they want urban school experience. "It's nice to be able to come into the school in September feeling comfortable," says one student. "I also like the increased support system—often lacking in other non-PDS schools—that includes the teachers at Cooper's Poynt, our advisors, and the other student teachers. Finally, I would like to teach in an urban school, which makes Cooper's Poynt an ideal training ground." Others show how far they have closed the credibility gap about what it is like to teach in an urban setting. "I want to be a part of a school that is one of the 'good' ones. I want to tell people that students in Camden are as capable of learning as everyone else."
Now that they are teaching, student teachers must learn how to fold their students' realities, interests, and attitudes into their instructional and classroom management approaches to bridge the gap between their own experiences and those of their students. But the rewards of successfully doing so go well beyond the learning that takes place for the children. Real learning continues to occur for student teachers as well. "These children know more about life than I ever will," writes one. "There have been days when I have literally had to leave the classroom because the things they say to me knock me off my feet. Children on welfare, children who play on front porches of crack houses, and children who know all too well what violence really is. Until I was with them every day for five hours a day, I could not even imagine that these situations truly exist. Every day I am learning from these children just as much as, if not significantly more than, I am teaching them."
