The Process of Supervision with Student Teacher Choice: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to give three student teachers the freedom to choose their supervisory model and to explain their experiences as the result of doing so. Student teachers majoring in agricultural education from the University of Tennessee did select different avenues of supervision. One selected clinical supervision, one selected contextual supervision, and one selected cooperative professional development (an option from the differentiated supervision model). Based on student teacher selections, adjustments had to be made by the supervisor during the student teaching semester to accommodate student teachers. On the basis of the findings of this study, the three student teachers must be highly confident and competent in their teaching abilities to correctly select their type of supervision. In addition, the three student teachers must have a clear understanding of supervision and the cycle of the supervisory process.