A Pre-Service Teacher Training Model with Instructional Technology Graduate Students as Peer Coaches to Elementary Pre-Service Teachers

This paper describes a peer coaching collaboration between graduate students in a Master’s program in Instructional Technology and undergraduate pre-service teachers enrolled in an elementary mathematics methods course. Integrated as a major project in a graduate level K-12 technology integration course, the Instructional Technology students evaluated pre-service teachers’ instructional web sites designed and built as a technology integration project incorporated into their existing elementary mathematics methods course. Instructional Technology graduate students provided support, feedback, and suggested revisions for undergraduates’ instructional web sites, simulating work they might do in supporting practicing classroom teachers. Each student in each program was evaluated on the quality of his or her design and technology integration skills throughout the coaching experience. This paper includes a description of the development of the project, how it has evolved over time, benefits, and tips for getting started.