Room for Improvement? Mentor Teachers and the Evolution of Teacher Preservice Clinical Evaluations

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by McQueen

Teacher preparation relies heavily on clinical practice, yet there is concern that teacher candidates may not consistently receive high-quality mentoring during clinical placements. This study tests observational findings through an experimental assignment of teacher candidates to placement sites in two states. Candidates placed in higher-quality sites show larger improvements in performance during the clinical experience, as evaluated by field instructors. Results indicate that strengthening clinical placement procedures can enhance candidates’ teaching quality.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages38

Reading Time1 h 36 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Clinical placements and mentoring

Study design and causal evidence

Implications

American Educational Research Journal October 2022, Vol. 59, No. 5, pp. 1011–1048 DOI: 10.3102/00028312211066867 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions) 􀀂 2022 AERA. [https://journals.sagepub.com/home/aer](https://journals.sagepub.com/home/aer) Room for Improvement? Mentor Teachers and the Evolution of Teacher Preservice Clinical Evaluations Dan Goldhaber American Institutes for Research University of Washington Matt Ronfeldt University of Michigan James Cowan American Institutes for Research Trevor Gratz University of Washington Emanuele Bardelli Matt Truwit University of Michigan The clinical teaching experience is one of the most important components of teacher preparation. Prior observational research has found that more effective mentors and schools with better professional climates are associated with better preparation for teacher candidates. We test these findings using an experimental assignment of teacher candidates to placement sites in two states. Candidates who were randomly assigned to higher quality placement sites experienced larger improvements in performance over the course of the clinical experience, as evaluated by field instructors (a.k.a university instructors) . The findings suggest that improving clinical placement procedures can improve the teaching quality of candidates. KEYWORDS: clinical education, student teaching, teacher education/development, experimental research Introduction Teacher preparation has emerged as a high profile area of focus for reforms of policy and practice (American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education [AACTE], 2010) . The clinical practice that teacher candidates complete as a requirement for teaching in most states is seen as foundational to their development (AACTE, 2018, National Council for Accreditation Goldhaber et al. of Teacher Education, 2010); indeed, it has been identified as ‘‘a key component—even ‘the most important’ component—of preservice teacher preparation’’(Anderson & Stillman, 2013, p. 3) . Yet it is this aspect of teacher preparation that has been judged by some to be lacking, particularly with regards to ensuring that teacher candidates receive high quality mentoring during their clinical placements (also known as student teaching or internship placements; AACTE, 2010; National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, 2010) . The role of clinical placements is potentially profound as the guidance and evaluations provided by mentor teachers to teacher candidates is usually the first official counseling and feedback that teacher candidates receive in an authentic classroom setting.1 An emerging body of observational research documents associations between the quality of a candidate’s clinical placement, as measured by mentor effectiveness or school quality, and their future performance in the classroom (Goldhaber, Krieg, Theobald, 2020; Ronfeldt, 2015; Ronfeldt, Bardelli, et al. , 2020; Ronfeldt, Brockman, & Campbell, 2018; Ronfeldt, Matsko, et al. , 2018; Ronfeldt, Matsko, et al. , 2020) . DAN GOLDHABER is the Director of the Center for Education Data & Research (CEDR, ced[r.us](r.us)) at the University of Washington and the Director of the Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER, [caldercenter.org](caldercenter.org)) at the American Institutes for Research, 3876 Bridge Way North, Suite 201, Seattle, WA 98103, USA; [email:](email: dgoldhaber@air.org. His work focuses on issues of educational pro)[ dgoldhaber@air.org](email: dgoldhaber@air.org. His work focuses on issues of educational pro)[. His work focuses on issues of educational pro](email: dgoldhaber@air.org. His work focuses on issues of educational pro)ductivity and reform at the K–12 level, including the broad array of human capital policies that influence the composition, distribution, and quality of teachers in the workforce, and connections between students’ K

FAQs

What does the study examine about teacher preparation?

It examines whether the quality of mentors and clinical placements causally affects teacher candidates’ growth in measurable teaching skills.

How is the evidence tested in the paper?

The authors use an experimental assignment from a teacher education program randomized control trial, placing candidates into different quality placement sites.

What do the findings suggest about clinical placement procedures?

Improving clinical placement procedures can lead to larger performance gains and higher teaching quality for candidates during their clinical experience.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by McQueen