Training Teachers’ Perspectives of the Effectiveness of the “Academy-Class” Training Model on Trainees’ Professional Development

This study attempts to examine the effect of the new “Academy-Class” teacher training model on trainees’ professional development according to the training teachers’ perspectives. The participants were 60 training teachers who trained student teachers from the Arab sector from different departments (English, mathematics, science, and Arabic) who were in their third year of studies in the College of Sakhnin for Teacher Education in northern Israel. The training teachers who were chosen to participate in the “Academy-Class” program were from different teaching training schools. The research question was: What is the effect of the new “Academy-Class” model on the trainees’ professional development from the training teachers’ perspectives? In order to answer the research question, the researchers developed research tools involving a questionnaire and interviews to achieve the study purpose. A group of teacher education experts from the College validated these tools. The researchers also   measured reliability of the tools after testing them on a pilot group. The participants filled out the questionnaire and were interviewed before and after participating in the program. The study findings show an improvement in the attitudes of training teachers from the beginning of the program to its end in all aspects: reflective mentoring; approaches in teaching and learning; and the integration of preservice teachers into the education system and co-teaching.