Acknowledging Potential in Preservice Teachers’ Collaborative Practices

When the research team began its qualitative exploration of what and how a cohort of preservice elementary/early childhood teachers’ in the University of California, Los Angeles' IMPACT Urban Teacher Residency Program learned, the 12-member team did not anticipate the degree to which preservice teachers would credit peers in their learning. On the urging of participants, the team began to systematically consider peer interactions. Curious about coherence in teacher education experiences, the team also attended to the program’s promotion of collaborative approaches. This article details ways that preservice teachers collaborated, inside the classroom and beyond, to support their learning and teaching. It also explores university features that supported collaboration including curricular inclusions, cohort models, student-centered seminars, mentor relationships, consistent modeling and feedback, and placement swaps. Findings suggest that peer relationships may be especially important to preservice teachers’ learning and also that university messages can reinforce the value and practices of collaboration.