Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2023, EDU Teaching and Learning

This teacher inquiry study documents my personal journey as a teacher. The main research question was how have my teaching practices as an early childhood educator changed over time in relation to my changing understanding of learning, teaching, and drama in education? This study is a story of my growth and transformation as a teacher over ten years. I draw on my experiences as a kindergarten teacher in Korea, my work using dramatic inquiry with emergent bilingual children in the United States, and my experiences as a graduate student at Ohio State. Using teacher inquiry and narrative inquiry as my methodologies, I analyzed raw data, such as journals, fieldnotes, photographs, and video-and audio-recordings to create narratives of my teaching practice. I engaged in reflective dialogue with my past selves as a teacher in different times and places when I had used play and dramatic inquiry in my own classrooms. I also analyzed the teaching practice of my advisor using dramatic inquiry. My analysis was shared in a community of inquiry as part of my coursework at Ohio State. This reflective process allowed me to better understand my changing teaching practices in more depth and to confront feelings of discomfort that became pivotal moments of realization that I analyzed to show changes over time. I used Cultural Historical Activity Theory as my main theoretical framework for analysis. In addition, I used a framework created by Janet Emig. I analyzed the narratives to identify my changing hidden assumptions, beliefs, and theories of teaching, learning, and drama in education. My findings showed significant changes over a ten-year time frame. I used an innovative approach to construct, present, and analyze the narratives as data. I present and then analyze narratives of the practice of four past teacher-personae. Each persona represents a unique phase in my teaching journey. Collectively, they show change and reveal some of the complexity of my growth and transformati (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2020, Cross-Cultural, International Education

This thesis is a qualitative study that combines the methodologies of document analysis and case study to analyze the development of cultural competencies in teacher education students at an American Midwestern university. It take a unique approach in that it uses teacher education program documentation by means of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) professional standards documentation along with an analysis of the documents submitted by the university of the study in 2015 to analyze how the university planned for meeting the Diversity standard indicators. This document analysis used syllabi from key courses in the initial teacher education programs as set forth by the plans of the College of education and triangulated the data found in the NCATE professional standards, the accreditation report documentations and interviews with college personnel and instructors within the college. The interviewees provided key perspectives on the unit's plan and implementation thereof for meeting the standard proficiencies with their students, which helped to evaluate to what degree and in what ways each of the research questions of this study were accomplished during the NCATE reporting period. All documents were analyzed through the lens of the theoretical frameworks of Multicultural Education and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy to evaluate the impacts of the teacher education candidates required coursework and field experiences on developing and sharpening their skills in working with diverse populations. The results found subthemes related to initial licensure candidate development and they include: knowledge base development, cognitive skills development and community building and engagement. These themes were key for the unit's goals of diversity throughout the campus and their programs. It found the field experiences began long before students began their teaching practicums to reveal how assignments, discussions and classroom experienc (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2019, Curriculum and Instruction (Education)

Scholars have recommended a new practice-based vision of special education teacher preparation where high-leverage practices serve as the foundation to help bridge the existing research-to-practice gap in order to improve outcomes for learners with complex learning and behavioral needs. Using a qualitative case study design, this research explored special education teacher educators' perceptions of the need for and significance of high-leverage practices in the undergraduate coursework at a mid-size, Midwestern public university. Analysis of the data revealed that the participants were not aware of the high-leverage practices intended for all beginning special education teachers by name, however the content of these practices were being taught in their undergraduate courses. These findings are attributed to the presence of the CEC Standards for Professional Practice and the participants' perceptions of teaching and learning. Their perceptions were found to be influenced by: (a) the individual characteristics of the teacher educators, (b) the context of their work, (c) their focus on the success of teacher candidates, and (d) the instructional methods they used in their university classrooms. These findings have implications for teacher education as well as suggestions for future research.

Master of Education, Cleveland State University, 2014, College of Education and Human Services

The No Child Left Behind Act mandated every student be taught by a highly qualified teacher (HQT). Criteria to determine if teachers meet the HQT mandate fail to account for differences in grade levels, subject areas, and student demographics. This study posited that the relationship between measures of teacher quality and student achievement vary according to contextual factors. Fifth grade is unique in that it marks students' transition from upper elementary to middle school grade levels; thus, fifth grade may be classified as either an upper elementary grade or middle grade. This classification determines HQT requirements; specifically, classification affects the level of content knowledge teachers must demonstrate to satisfy the HQT mandate. Middle level teachers are specialists and required to demonstrate content knowledge (CK) in the subjects they teach. However, the relationship between teachers' level of content knowledge and fifth grade student science achievement is poorly understood. This study examined measures of teachers' qualifications as predictors of average student achievement. In addition, examination of gender and socioeconomic status (SES) explored how teacher qualifications differentially impact various student subgroups and impact achievement gaps. A multilevel analysis examined student gender and SES as level-1 predictors of science achievement; aggregated teacher characteristics at level-2 predicted changes in gender and SES achievement gaps. Findings revealed teacher qualifications that predicted fifth grade science achievement differed from qualifications that predict student achievement in other subject areas. Teachers' time spent at professional development and level of job enjoyment significantly predicted changes in student science achievement. The relationship between professional develop and achievement implicated the need for fifth grade teachers to possess content knowledge. The unanticipated finding of a strong corr (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2011, EDU Teaching and Learning

The goal of this qualitative research project is to analyze the narratives of a foreign language student teacher who decided to join a masters program to become a certified foreign language teacher in the American K-12 setting. The research focus of this study used Narrative Inquiry as applied to teacher education (Clandinin and Connelly, 1995, 2000) where researchers record the experiences of their participants to find the relevant narratives that contribute to the construction of the teacher identity of the individual. Narratives contribute to the construction of identity, which is defined as a series of reifying, significant, endorsable stories about a person (Sfard and Prusak, 2005) In nine months, the researcher performed as a student teacher supervisor, while collecting data from several sources, such as student teaching practicum observations, in classroom assignments, researcher and participant journals, informal conversations and semi-structured entrance and exit interviews. Although previous research revealed that individuals use their existing narratives to find a meaning of those new experiences they face, the additional narratives of language proficiency and foreign language culture added yet two more layers to the already complex narratives of good teaching, successful learning and assessment in the foreign language classroom. The process of identity transformation is greatly affected by how interns visualize their role as teachers and their knowledge of the foreign language. In addition, due to the different needs of each student teacher, as well as the beliefs and perceptions of the interns towards the teaching profession, student teachers usually build a personalized definition of identity that shares some common aspects from one teacher to the next, but will never be the same for two of them. At the same time, Sfard and Prusak (2005) support this notion when they define identities as a collection of narratives that are significant and relevant. In (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2022, EDU Teaching and Learning

I embarked upon this study with an interest in how one teacher educator supports pre-service teachers to recontextualize their literacy learning as they enacted the roles of both learner and future teacher in their education coursework. My research extends the current literature on modeling and feedback by examining the modeling and feedback given by one teacher educator to pre-service teachers across contexts and over time. I observe how pre-service teachers moved from literacy and pedagogical theories to practice as reflective practitioners during a literacy methods course with an embedded field placement, through the modeling and feedback of a skilled teacher educator. I drew upon ethnographic and discourse analytic methods to explore how pedagogical instructional interactions about literacy, in which pre-service teachers were sometimes the student and sometimes the teacher, informed how pre-service they understood what it meant to teach literacy. My findings indicate that professor modeling in multiple forms, coupled with an embedded fieldwork opportunity, allowed pre-service teachers to see teacher literacy instruction in action and immediately practice the learned strategies in their own teaching. In addition to professor modeling, I argue that pre-service teachers made shifts in their practice of teaching when they participated in an iterative lesson study cycle in which they were provided with professor feedback. Specifically, the pre-service teachers received feedback as learners and were then given the opportunity to apply that learning as they analyzed their literacy teaching and made changes to their language and instruction techniques as practicing teachers. I conclude that pre-service teachers recontextualized their learning and moved from the role of learner to the role of teacher through the support of a skilled teacher educator using modeling and feedback. Additionally, I argue that an embedded field placement in a literacy methods course ca (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2008, ED Physical Activities and Educational Services

The importance of supporting new career and technical education teachers has been emphasized as a component of any induction program designed to improve teacher excellence, teacher retention, and ultimately, student achievement. Limited research has been done recently in how best to prepare, mentor, and retain career and technical education teachers who enter the teaching profession through alternative-licensure programs such as Ohio's licensure program. The problem of insufficient information in the literature regarding alternative-licensed career and technical education teachers' perceptions of their preparation to teach as evidenced through university coursework and clinical experiences as well as perceptions of their mentoring programs and activities was the central focus of this descriptive, follow-up research study. Alternative-licensed career and technical education teachers were surveyed regarding their perceptions of the teacher licensure coursework taken between 1995 and 2006 at The Ohio State University. In addition, participants were surveyed concerning their perceptions of mentoring activities and programs in which they participated in the early stages of their teaching careers. As a part of the study, the employment status of the alternative-licensed teachers was also determined to see if those who obtained licensure were working in the field and planning to keep their teaching or education-related positions. Recommendations from the study included the need for mentors to be screened, assigned during the first year even to those teachers hired late, and well trained as to their role, expectations, listening ability, and willingness to give time to the new teacher. Secondly, mentors for alternative-licensed career and technical education teachers need to match with their mentees in content knowledge. Third is the need to avoid duplication of university coursework and mentoring content. Fourth, this study showed that two-thirds of all mentoring programs (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2004, Educational Theory and Practice

This research explored the status and features of reading clinics that serve elementary students in teacher education institutions in the state of Ohio. Survey results were collected from 42 colleges and universities. On-site visits were held at eight colleges and universities. Research questions for this study investigated four areas of clinical work. The questions were (1) what are the characteristics of readers attending reading clinics, (2) what research/theory(ies) inform instruction in the reading clinic, (3) how does the reading clinic fit within the mission of the college or university, (4) what are the typical activities that take place (for the director, tutor, and child) in the reading clinic, and (5) what are the factors that support/inhibit a successful reading clinic? Results from the survey data indicated that 26 out of 42 teacher education institutions in the state of Ohio currently offered training in a reading clinic setting to preservice and inservice teachers. Of the colleges and universities providing clinical training in reading instruction, 60% were held off-site and 40% were held on the college or university campus. On-site visitations yielded information about the nature of the reading clinics and the day-to-day operations taking place at those sites. In addition, visits provided the opportunity to clarify and expand upon information gathered in the reading clinic survey. Clear strengths of the program were the perceived connection of theory to practice for preservice and inservice teachers, providing service to the community through outreach programs, and providing remedial services for struggling readers. This study suggests that the experience gained in the reading clinic provides a unique opportunity for teachers to work with students in a supportive environment. Further, preservice and inservice teachers have the opportunity to use the theory learned in reading courses in real situations, thus strengthening the connections between theor (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2010, Educational Leadership

Utilizing action research and other ethnographic methods and appealing to critical and post-structural theories on subjectivity and education, this study focuses on a pre-service, pre-collegiate teacher education classroom, called "The Teacher Academy" in a mid-western high school. The central research question asks how are teacher subjects made and remade and how can we construct educational experiences for pre-service, pre-collegiate teacher education students that highlight and challenge what Michel Foucault (1977) has termed “disciplinary power,” or that which seeks to produce docile subjects. The data indicate that teacher subjectivities are produced through various discursive practices and that the curriculum and pedagogy of the Little Turtle High School (pseudonym) Teacher Academy is one that simultaneously reproduces available teacher subjectivities while encouraging students to analyze the complicated ways in which subjects come to think of and experience themselves and others as "teachers."The data in this study include student work, classroom observations, curriculum documents, teacher-researcher narratives, and interviews with student-participants as well as archival data from the first year of the Teacher Academy program. In addition, this inquiry pays special attention to the complicated relationship between gender and the production of teacher subjects in and around the Teacher Academy site and employs feminist research practices and theories.

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2023, Educational Leadership

This study examines the professional experiences of three teachers in a national network of urban, low-income serving, Catholic high schools. These teacher-participants were chosen to participate in this study because they engaged in experiential, community-based pedagogy within this national network and exemplified a commitment to social justice through their teaching practice. As detailed in Chapter One, such teaching practice resembles critical pedagogy and aligns with best practice in quality civic education. Therefore, by examining the experiences of critical educators, this study aimed to illuminate ways we can enhance civic learning for K-12 students by enhancing support for and removing the barriers to critical educators' distinct pedagogical practice. This is particularly important for Students of Color, who have faced historical exclusion from formal and informal modes of civic learning (Campbell, 2012; Lo, 2019). Critical theory (Freire, 1970/1993; Giroux, 2003; Horkheimer, 1972[1992]) and social reproduction theory (Bourdieu, 2016; Bowles & Gintis, 2016) were used to frame this study, which employed qualitative portraiture methodology (Lawrence-Lightfoot & Davis, 1997) to answer two key research questions. The first question— Why do teachers in this Network engage in experiential, community-based pedagogy? —drew attention to the internal and external factors impacting my participants' practice. This set up inquiry into the second key research question: How do these educators exhibit civic and/or critical consciousness about and through their work? Findings from this study revealed that both internal and external factors contributed to the choice teacher-participants made to engage in experiential, community-based pedagogy. Professional ecology, consisting of local school and corporate cultures, were particularly influential on these teachers. That ecology functioned in distinct ways at each study site to both aid and obstruct the critical teaching (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Education, Cleveland State University, 2020, College of Education and Human Services

In a qualitative narrative study of 11 urban teacher education faculty who teach courses that prepare teacher candidates for field immersions in metro-urban schools, I problematized “whiteness” by asking participants what it meant to them in the contexts of their work in contact zones were teacher candidates and K-12 students meet. The research was shaped as an abolitionist justice project (Tuck & Yang, 2018, p. 8) and considered how “whiteness” might be deconstructed and decentered in urban teacher education. Participants described whiteness as both fixed phenotype and historical and social construct which causes harm and which requires intervention. In scenarios where the harm of whiteness was mitigated for non-white K-12 students and teacher candidates, participants described themselves in supportive rather than authoritative educational roles. The study reflects upon what might constitute one or more forms of abolitionist praxis which might have the utility to dismantle systemic white supremacy as well as to cease and desist in the oppression of children.

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2020, Curriculum and Instruction: Special Education

As early childhood inclusion continues to grow, it is important to examine the quality of services that are provided for young children with disabilities. We need to especially investigate how early childhood general education teachers are involved in the special education process for their students in inclusive settings. This study describes the results of a statewide survey that explored general education preschool teachers' level of involvement in the steps of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process. The study results indicate that although general education preschool teachers (N=125) report that they involved in the IEP process most of the time and feel responsible for the steps in the IEP, several factors still exist which hinder preschool teachers' involvement in the IEP process. Most preschool teachers stated lack of time to collaborate with itinerant teachers, too many teaching responsibilities, and a lack of flexibility in scheduling IEP meetings as barriers to their participation in the IEP process. The implications that are considered for this study concern policy, practice, and future research.

PHD, Kent State University, 2020, College of the Arts / School of Music, Hugh A. Glauser

Music teacher education programs have remained largely unchanged since their development over a century ago, despite the evolving musical and pedagogical needs of preservice teachers and their future students. Scholars have advocated for a shift from traditional models of music teacher preparation to new conceptualizations of these programs that include democratic practices in their structure, curricular content, and modeled pedagogies. Therefore, the purpose of this multicase study was to examine democratic practices from the perspectives of undergraduate general music methods professors. Four participants from universities of varying size and location provided insights into the inclusion of these practices in their general music methods courses and music education degree programs. By investigating the experiences of general music education professors, my goal was to obtain a greater understanding of how democratic teaching practices are understood and implemented in music teacher education. Three research questions guided this study. First, how do four general music professors describe democratic practices in music teacher education? Second, how do these participants implement democratic practices in their undergraduate general music methods classes? Third, what challenges and opportunities do general music methods professors associate with these democratic practices? Data collection methods included directed journaling, artifact collection, interviews, and observations. An interpretive approach to analysis occurred alongside the collection of data, so that each stage of the data collection process could inform the next. A cross-case analysis revealed six characteristics of democratic practices—learner-centered, student agency, facilitator framework, mutual processes, teaching for social justice, and metacognition—and numerous considerations for implementation in general music methods environments. Though music education literature has provided broad (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2019, Biological Sciences

Although numerous studies have documented the benefits of using scientific practices in K-12 education, many in-service teachers continue to use traditional pedagogical practices. In order to address the underlying deficiencies in teacher pedagogical design capacity (PDC) for practices, we developed a lesson study (LS) based professional learning (PL) program, which we implemented at a low socio-economic status (SES) school district. Using classical content analysis and supplementary assessments, I investigated the impact this LS based PL program had on teacher PDC for scientific practices (particularly the practice of argumentation), student argumentation competency, and teacher self-efficacy. My results demonstrate that teacher PDC for the several scientific practices, particularly scientific modeling, argumentation, and communicating findings, increased due to our PL program. However, student argumentation competency and teacher self-efficacy remained stagnant, possibly due to the short timescale (1 year) of our intervention and the lack of support from upper-level administrators.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2019, Educational Studies

Enriching teacher-student relationships is timely considering the increase in school violence, the changing demographics in schools, and the fact that educational aims focused on high-stakes testing often ignore relationships. When applying philosophy to teacher-student relationships, we must ask both whose voices are missing from our current conversation and how we can apply their insights to improve education. While philosophers such as John Dewey, Paulo Freire, and Nel Noddings have all contributed to that conversation, William James's philosophy and pedagogy provide a unique perspective on teacher-student relationships that is largely absent within the field of philosophy of education. In this dissertation, I explore the relationship between the philosophy of James, his personality, and the productive relationships he had with students. I suggest that there is a link between his pragmatism, pluralism, and psychology, and the way he interacted with students. His philosophy can be evaluated from its actual effects in the world and by how it changes us as individuals. I suggest that the cash value, or impact in real life, of James's philosophy in the context of education, plays out in particular forms of relationships of openness, experimentation, curiosity about others, spontaneity, and communication.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2019, EDU Teaching and Learning

Educational technologies have become a component of many classrooms in the 21st century, but the use of technology by beginning teachers is a concern of both educators and researchers. A gap exists between the way in which preservice teachers are taught with technology in their courses and how teachers are expected to use technology for instructional purposes. For decades research has focused on methods of instructional practices that support and improve education for student achievement. Although many studies have been conducted relating to technology, project-based learning, and 21st century learning, limited research exists in a conceptual model to prepare preservice teachers on technology integration, project-based learning, and 21st century learning in a flipped classroom environment. While preparing to teach a course for teacher preparation, a conceptual model was designed for modeling technology integration, project-based learning, and 21st century learning in a flipped classroom environment. The resulting syllabus was constructed around a student-centered, blended learning environment while using the Universal Design of Learning and social emotional learning. The conceptual model for the research includes transformative teaching & learning and technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). This mixed-methods study examined how the nature of preservice teachers' use of technology is impacted in a preparation course in which the instructor modeled technology integration, project-based learning, and 21st century learning in a flipped classroom environment. Questions addressed in the study include: (a) How do preservice teachers engage in using technology, project-based learning, and 21st century learning during the teacher preparation course?; and (b) How do preservice teachers perceive their technological, pedagogical, content, knowledge (TPACK) self-efficacy after completing the teacher preparation course? Triangulation of findings from PT-TPACK s (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2017, EDU Policy and Leadership

In the school policy reform discourse and literature, “teacher teams” at the local school and building level have become a promising venue for implementing policy innovations and bringing them closer to the settings and practices they hope to reform. This study examined the implementation of two policies, one federal policy, Race to the Top (RttT), and one state policy, Midwestern State Improvement Process (pseudonym; MWIP), within a single teacher team. Both policies emphasized teacher collaboration and improved instruction, and converged on teachers at Cardinal High School at the same time. Utilizing naturalistic inquiry and ethnographic field work, the study documented the work of a teacher-based team working to make sense of and enact the requirements and expectations of mandated policies from within the practical and professional contingencies of their daily work. This intersection is the focus of the study and its findings. These implementations of policy encounter in this teacher team a world whose contingencies may be no less compelling than those of the proposed reforms. The study revealed social, organizational, and professional values in play at the teacher team level that policymakers may not have anticipated, as in how teachers rely on existing systems and professional relationships to make sense of their new implementation tasks at the teacher-team level.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2016, East Asian Languages and Literatures

This dissertation explores the construction and effects of the notion of “native speaker,” on teachers, mostly graduate teaching associates, in a Japanese language program at a large university in the American midwest. Specifically, it attempts to answer the following two research questions: (1) How do language teachers and students of Japanese in this program perceive native and nonnative language teachers? and (2) How does the iconic construct of “native speaker” affect the language teachers of Japanese in this study? Both quantitative and qualitative data have been collected from teachers and students of Japanese, and for the purpose of comparison, Chinese, using a triangulation approach that combines survey questionnaires (N=593) with interviews (10 hours of audio recordings) and observations (80 hours of video recordings). Major quantitative findings from the survey data collected from teachers and students of Japanese and Chinese are as follows: (1) language students, in comparison to their teachers, assumed native speakers to have more specific and idealized characteristics; (2) language students and teachers indicated that they preferred or expected their students to prefer native-speaking teachers of Japanese and Chinese than nonnative-speaking teachers; (3) native speakers of Chinese and Korean were found to have more specific and idealized characterization of “native speaker” and a stronger preference for native-speaking teachers; (4) native speakers of English who are ethnically Asian had a weaker tendency to prefer either native or nonnative-speaking teachers; (5) those who grew up speaking multiple languages had a stronger preference for nonnative-speaking teachers; (6) teacher participants expected their students to prefer both native- and nonnative-speaking teachers more than their students actually did; (7) learners of Japanese, in comparison to learners of Chinese, had a stronger preference for native-speaking teachers, and slightly lower prefe (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2014, EDU Teaching and Learning

In order for global education to be an integral aspect of K-12 curriculum and meet the needs of an increasingly interconnected world, teacher education programs must increase their commitment to provide teacher candidates with the skills of the global educator. Framed by work in critical global education and the spiritual paradigm, this research departs from existing literature by examining the role spiritual pedagogy has on the development of open-mindedness, empathy, and interconnectedness. This approach allows me to illustrate the complementary nature of critical global education and spiritual paradigm and how this pedagogical approach advances how social studies educators think about teaching from a globally minded perspective. Through the use of multiple interviews, class sessions from social studies methods for Middle Childhood Education, in-class reflective writing, and online discussions, this ethnographic study helps us understand the following: (1) spiritual pedagogy as transformative, most specifically to influence open-mindedness, empathy, and interconnectedness; (2) the significance of listening and dialogue in the classroom; (3) the identification of spiritual pedagogy as connected to social studies education and global education; and (4) shifting understanding in the role of and place for spirituality in education. These findings indicate the importance of integrating spiritual pedagogy in the teacher education classroom, highlighting its ability to lay the foundations for developing critical global educators. Spiritual pedagogy creates space for teacher candidates to develop as open-minded intellectuals and as educators who value a shared sense of purpose in an interconnected global community. Education that encourages the inner and intellectual work of spiritual pedagogy and develops habits of mind challenges teacher candidates to examine how they view the world and their place in, as well as responsibility to, the larger global society.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2006, Educational Theory and Practice

This study follows four secondary mathematics preservice teachers as they progress through three consecutive field experiences within a teacher preparation program of a large midwestern university. As part of a comprehensive support and assessment system designed to increase the level of reflection among the preservice teachers, each member of the cohort was expected to work closely with the assigned mentor teacher and university supervisor to set quarterly goals, construct weekly responses to structured and unstructured reflection prompts, and complete a reflective self-assessment of their teaching as outlined by twenty-three competencies. These four participants also attended weekly small group discussions facilitated by the university supervisor each quarter. The preservice teacher and university supervisor met before and after each scheduled teaching observation throughout the academic year to discuss the planning, structure, implementation, and implication of each observed lesson. The primary focus each separate case study traces the reflective development of each participant from their first exposure to classrooms through their student teaching experience. Through qualitative methods, the reflective thoughts and writings of each preservice teacher were examined to ascertain the critical features of their three separate field experiences that led to a more mature and integrated view of the work of teaching. Critical features that affect the depth of reflection reached by the participants were also identified. In a cross-case analysis, the researcher identifies four critical features of field experiences that can foster deeper and more interactive forms of reflection. These features include the relationship between preservice teacher and mentor teacher, the level of feedback received from the university supervisor, the amount of latitude given to the preservice teachers to explore their contemporary thinking, and the quality of the second field experience in the (open full item for complete abstract)