"Oh God, She is Looking at Every Little Thing I am Doing!" Student Teachers' Constructions of the Observation Experience

Authors

  • Victoria B Fantozzi Manhattanville College

Keywords:

student teaching, university supervisor, cooperating teacher, mentor, cognitive development

Abstract

This qualitative study examines the variance in the ways that four student teachers made meaning of the experience of being observed by their cooperating teachers and university supervisors. Using Kegans (1994) theory of cognitive development, the study focuses on the differences in the ways the teacher candidates constructed the prospect of being observed, and the varied ways they received and interpreted feedback. The study found that for two of the participants feedback from a mentor was very important to their teaching identity; because of this observations were both significant and anxiety inducing. However the second two participants were able to remove their identities from feedback and thus felt observations were an opportunity to think about how to improve their teaching. The participants also differed in whether they expected the post observation conference to be a time to receive expert knowledge or to discuss solutions and best practice. 

Author Biography

Victoria B Fantozzi, Manhattanville College

Victoria Fantozzi is an assistant professor with a dual appointment in the departments of Early Childhood Education and Curriculum and Instruction at Manhattanville College. Her research interests include student teaching, teacher education, and developing literacies in preschool. 

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Published

2013-02-14

How to Cite

Fantozzi, V. B. (2013). "Oh God, She is Looking at Every Little Thing I am Doing!" Student Teachers’ Constructions of the Observation Experience. Current Issues in Education, 16(1). Retrieved from https://cie.asu.edu/ojs/index.php/cieatasu/article/view/1098

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 1 (2013)

Section

Articles

License

Authors retain copyright without restrictions. Unless otherwise indicated, from 2021 all articles are published under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA license. For more information visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/. Articles published prior to 2021 used a CC-BY-NC-SA license.