Redefining Preparation Through Partnerships

Transcription

1 NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION REPORT 2014 Teacher Residecies: Redefiig Preparatio Through Parterships NEA Ceter for Great Public Schools Teacher Quality Departmet

2 NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION Presidet Deis Va Roekel Vice Presidet Lily Eskelse García Secretary-Treasurer Becky Prigle NEA Executive Director Joh C. Stocks NEA Ceter for Great Public Schools Bill Raabe, Seior Director Teacher Quality Departmet Segu Eubaks, Director The Natioal Educatio Associatio is the atio s largest professioal employee orgaizatio, represetig over 3 millio elemetary ad secodary teachers, higher educatio faculty, educatio support professioals, school admiistrators, retired teachers, ad studets preparig to become teachers. Published Jauary 2014 Copyright 2014 by the Natioal Educatio Associatio All Rights Reserved

3 Teacher Residecies: Redefiig Preparatio through Parterships A Nutter Coffma Richelle Patterso Ceter for Great Public Schools Bill Raabe, Seior Director Teacher Quality Departmet Segu Eubaks, Director

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5 Issues aroud teacher preparatio are percolatig across the educatio reform movemet. The U.S. Departmet of Educatio, teacher educatio accreditig orgaizatios, educatio o-profits, ad teachers uios have all proposed ways to redefie ad stregthe teacher preparatio ad hold programs more accoutable for the quality of ew teachers. The Natioal Educatio Associatio is committed to havig studets taught by fully traied ad prepared teachers because classroom teachers are oe of the most importat school-based factors ifluecig studet success. Teacher preparatio plays a critical role i esurig that teachers are prepared to lead ad impact studet learig from the first day they are resposible for studet learig. The best way to esure that every teacher is professio-ready from their first day as a teacherof-record is for preparatio programs to icorporate teacher residecies that go beyod what most cosider the capstoe studet teachig experiece. To examie this issue i depth ad explore the Associatio s potetial role i supportig, developig, ad implemetig teacher residecies, the NEA coveed a task force made up of teachers, local Associatio leaders, state Associatio leaders ad staff, the NEA Studet Program Chair, ad NEA Ceter for Great Public Schools Teacher Quality staff to delve ito the cocept of teacher residecies by addressig these guidig questios What is a teacher residecy? How might residecies work for all teacher cadidates? How would preparatio programs chage if residecies were required before teachers were assiged their ow classrooms? How would a residecy program for a bachelor s degree studet differ from oe for a master s degree studet? What role might curret teachers play i a residecy program? What should the role of the NEA ad its local ad state affiliates be i a residecy? This report uses the work of this task force to make recommedatios o how best to develop high-quality residecy programs that promote more comprehesive preparatio systems through the active egagemet of stakeholders. We hope this report is useful i geeratig ew thoughts ad ideas about teacher preparatio. Ad we hope our efforts i this regard move forward the visio of a great public school for every studet. Deis Va Roekel, Presidet Joh Stocks, Executive Director Teacher Residecies: Redefiig Preparatio through Parterships iii

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7 Table of Cotets Itroductio... vii Teacher Residecies: Redefiig Preparatio through Parterships... 1 What is a teacher residecy?... 1 Why is teacher preparatio receivig so much attetio?... 3 The NEA Residecy Task Force... 5 How might a teacher residecy be structured?... 7 What does professio-ready mea?... 8 What are characteristics/compoets of a teacher residecy? Recommedatios What are the NEA ad its affiliates already doig? Coclusio Works Cited The NEA Residecy Task Force Teacher Residecies: Redefiig Preparatio through Parterships v

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9 Itroductio The Natioal Educatio Associatio (NEA) has a log history of advocatig for quality teacher preparatio ad robust cliical preparatio. Over the years, it has embraced a variety of reforms to improve the teachig workforce. The NEA was a foudig member of the Natioal Coucil for the Accreditatio of Teacher Educatio (NCATE). Associatio leaders, members, ad staff have served o NCATE, Associatio of Teacher Educators (ATE), ad America Associatio of Colleges of Teacher Educatio (AACTE) boards, paels, ad committees to help bridge i-service realities with pre-service preparatio ad to idetify the competecies teachers should be able to demostrate before completig a cliical, school-based placemet (NEA Resolutio D ). I December, 2011, NEA Presidet Deis Va Roekel emphasized the critical role teacher preparatio plays i America s public schools i esurig that teachers are prepared to lead ad impact studet learig from the first day they are resposible for studet learig by participatig i a teacher residecy. Usig best practices from effective teachers ad feedback from a idepedet Commissio o Effective Teachers ad Teachig (CETT), NEA s Three-Poit Pla for Reform (Natioal Educatio Associatio 2011) ackowledges both the complexities of teachig as well as the importat role curret teachers have i makig sure begiig teachers have the ecessary kowledge ad skills to help both schools ad studets progress. The pla calls for two provisios: 1) Every teacher cadidate should have oe full year of residecy uder the supervisio of a Master Teacher before earig a full licese; ad 2) Every teacher cadidate should pass a rigorous classroombased performace assessmet at the ed of their cadidacy. Teacher Residecies: Redefiig Preparatio through Parterships vii

10 The NEA believes esurig that begiig teachers are ideed professio-ready requires participatio i a teacher residecy program. A teacher residecy program is the itegratio of coursework ad cliical experieces prior to becomig employed as a teacher-of-record. A residecy allows cadidates to prove that they are professio-ready by demostratig their subject matter ad pedagogical cotet kowledge through a classroom-based performace assessmet. A teacher residecy also requires a active partership amog teacher preparatio stakeholders who determie program operatios ad selectivity, ad collectively build the cadidates cliical experieces to esure a coherecy betwee theory ad practice. viii Teacher Residecies: Redefiig Preparatio through Parterships

11 Teacher Residecies: Redefiig Preparatio through Parterships What is a teacher residecy? The NEA believes that the best way to esure that every teacher is professio-ready from their first day as a teacher-of-record is for preparatio programs to icorporate teacher residecies (see Natioal Educatio Associatio 2013 for a discussio of this cocept). A teacher residecy goes beyod what most cosider a studet teachig experiece. A traditioal studet teachig capstoe experiece is ofte a semester (or less) of opportuities to teach ad lear with a accomplished, practicig teacher. A teacher residecy is a mutually beeficial partership betwee preparatio providers ad districts, oe i which the itegratio of cliical experieces ad coursework throughout the preparatio program is co-desiged to stregthe teacher preparatio ad improve schools ad learig i the parter districts. The NEA believes that cliical practice is essetial to provide prospective teachers with the experieces ecessary to eter the professio ad be prepared to teach (Natioal Educatio Associatio 2012). Cliical practice cosists of various teachig experieces meat to expose teacher cadidates to teachig realities (i.e., tutorig, school-based observatios, teachig, commuity-based experieces, ad simulatios). These experieces should be substative eough to esure that every teacher cadidate is prepared for the realities of the classroom they ecouter o their first day as the teachig professioal resposible for studet learig. Meetig this stadard of icreased-quality cliical experieces requires more tha simply expadig the amout of time teacher cadidates sped i a studet teachig experiece. Teacher Residecies: Redefiig Preparatio through Parterships 1

12 Before becomig a idepedet teacher i their ow classroom, cadidates must be able to prove they are professio-ready by demostratig their teachig kowledge ad skills o a classroom-based performace assessmet. Every teacher cadidate should be required to complete a residecy program that provides them the time ad opportuities to itegrate theory ad practice uder the guidace ad support of accomplished teachers who are active parters i program developmet. Urba Teacher Residecies A Urba Teacher Residecy (UTR) is a teacher preparatio model created i the early 2000s i Bosto ad Chicago specifically to meet the eeds of those particular urba districts. The UTR model builds o the kowledge ad value of higher educatio providers ad school districts, as it recruits ad prepares teachers to meet specific staffig eeds (subject ad locatio). UTR programs bled a full year of cliical experiece with academic coursework. The residets, who eter the program with a udergraduate degree, work alogside vetera teachers for a full school year as full participats i the school commuity. Residets typically receive a livig stiped (i.e., $10,000 to $30,000) ad pay little or o tuitio. I exchage for participatig i the program, residets commit to teachig i the sposorig district for at least three years. The coursework, typically take durig eveigs or weekeds, addresses the district s curricula as well as commuity ad school eeds ad cocers. Some teacher residets ear certificatio; others ear both certificatio ad a master s degree. May UTR models also iclude a iductio compoet i which ewly hired teachers participate i metorig ad professioal learig commuities (Berry ad Motgomery 2008, Soloma 2009, Urba Teachig Residecy Uited 2013). The cocept of a teacher residecy program is ot ew, ad the term residecy i teacher preparatio has bee defied i various ways. May have compared the preparatio of teachers to the preparatio of lawyers ad doctors (e.g., Dewey 1904, Shulma 1998) i that a appreticeship should be required before the professioal may ear a licese ad practice idepedetly. At its core, a teacher residecy is about the itegratio of coursework ad cliical experieces prior to becomig employed as a teacher-of-record. The NEA believes that some curret teacher residecy models (e.g., Urba Teacher Residecy Uited 2013) have laid importat groudwork for developig a ew residecy model that ot oly liks aspects of the Urba Teacher Residecy (UTR) approach with some of the iovative practices i more traditioal teacher preparatio programs, but also icludes the active participatio of all teacher preparatio stakeholders (see sidebar). This ew approach to teacher preparatio is a collective of P 16 stakeholders who are committed to addressig issues related to teacher preparedess. Through the collective egagemet of those ivested i improvig public schools ad those professioals dedicated to traiig teachers, the potetial exists to dramatically improve the preparedess of teacher cadidates to teach from day oe. Teacher preparatio experts have bee callig for more itegratio of teacher preparatio ad school improvemet efforts for decades (e.g., Goodlad 1990), ad the NEA 2 Teacher Residecies: Redefiig Preparatio through Parterships

13 believes that ow is the time to bridge the gap betwee these two cocepts. The NEA makes recommedatios throughout this report as to how best to develop a high-quality residecy program. However, the NEA also believes that local sites that choose to build ad implemet a teacher residecy program should ultimately decide how to idividualize the program for local cotexts ad stakeholders. Why is teacher preparatio receivig so much attetio? Sice passage of the 2001 No Child Left Behid Act, teacher quality has received uprecedeted policy attetio at local, state, ad federal levels. Federal programs such as Race to the Top ad the Teacher Icetive Fud have lauched atioal coversatios o the topic, ad ow more tha 36 states have revised state policy i a attempt to improve teacher quality. I the last two years aloe, several reports from diverse atioal stakeholders have offered ideas about improvig teacher preparatio that support the goals of advacig studet learig by buildig oto existig school improvemet efforts. The U.S Departmet of Educatio, teacher educatio accreditig orgaizatios, educatio oprofits, ad teachers uios have all proposed ways to redefie ad stregthe teacher preparatio ad hold programs more accoutable for the quality of ew teachers (U.S. Departmet of Educatio 2011, Natioal Coucil for the Accreditatio of Teachers 2010, Natioal Coucil o Teacher Quality 2013, Coucil of Chief State School Officers 2012, America Federatio of Teachers 2012, Natioal Educatio Associatio 2011, Coucil for the Accreditatio of Educator Preparatio 2013). Public schools are expected to provide studets with the kowledge ad skills ecessary to be college- ad career-ready by the time they graduate from high school. Studets deserve teachers who have demostrated that they are up to the task, ad those teachers deserve to be well prepared before takig o the rigors ad resposibilities of teachig. The educatio labor market has chaged over the last 30 years, but the fudametal challeges attractig, developig, retaiig, ad supportig high-quality educators remai the same. These challeges are especially relevat for high-eeds schools that have trouble attractig high-performig teachers ad for districts that ca t fid eough qualified idividuals i particular subject areas, especially special educatio, math, ad Eglish as a secod laguage. The urget eed to fill such teachig positios has persuaded educatio policy makers at both state ad federal levels to be more receptive to alteratives to traditioal four- ad five-year teacher preparatio programs. Passage of the 2001 No Child Left Behid Act led to school districts beig held accoutable for teacher quality for the first time. The federal law, which madated that every child be taught by a highly qualified teacher by the school year, raised the issue of Teacher Residecies: Redefiig Preparatio through Parterships 3

14 teacher quality i the atioal cosciousess ad brought about a huge paradigm shift i the thikig aroud teacher preparatio. Higher educatio istitutios were ow o loger the oly places where would-be teachers received traiig. New o-profit, for-profit, ad district-ru preparatio programs proliferated. School districts themselves, especially larger oes, became players i the teacher preparatio area as they bega articulatig their ow requiremets for what teachers should kow ad be able to do. Some bega questioig the wisdom of hirig iexperieced teachers whe teachers ad schools reputatios cetered largely o ew accoutability measures, such as madates to raise studet test scores. Views about the value, essetial compoets, ad rigor of teacher preparatio aboud i the literature (Cochra-Smith ad Fries 2001), but the lack of cosistetly reliable fidigs o the ature ad impact of teacher preparatio programs complicates a already valuelade debate about how to best prepare teachers (Glazerma et al. 2006, Walsh 2001, 2007). With little reliable data showig the relatioships betwee pre-service teacher preparatio, teacher quality, ad studet learig, policymakers have begu to questio the very purpose of teacher preparatio itself. This questioig is most evidet i the educatio-related polices beig proposed at state ad atioal levels. Prospective teachers eed school-based experieces before they are put i charge of their ow classrooms, ad most teacher preparatio programs do iclude studet teachig as the capstoe experiece for teacher cadidates. The legth or cotet of studet teachig, however, is ot equal across programs or states. Some, more traditioal programs add additioal cliical experieces to the studet teachig requiremet, whereby teacher cadidates sped several hours a week i college courses learig pedagogy ad several more observig or workig i classrooms at a local school or commuity ceter (Darlig- Hammod ad Brasford 2005). Research idicates that teachers do fid this kid of field work useful i their trasitio ito the teachig professio (Johso ad Birkelad 2008), but the evidece seems to stop there. To date, there are few research-based coclusios available about how studet learig is impacted by the legth of teacher cadidate cliical experieces. Yet, full-year UTRs are accumulatig evidece that the kids of learig experieces facilitated by such programs do positively impact both teacher ad studet learig (Urba Teacher Residecy Uited 2013). The NEA is icreasigly cocered about allowig teachers to simultaeously complete their teacher traiig while servig as the teacher-of-record. This practice is especially troublig because it is so ofte cocetrated i high-poverty ad high-eeds schools (Lakforth et al. 2002). The NEA is committed to havig all studets receive access to excellet, professio-ready teachers ad, toward that ed, the NEA believes that every teacher should be traied i a teacher residecy. 4 Teacher Residecies: Redefiig Preparatio through Parterships

15 The NEA Residecy Task Force The NEA s call for a oe-year residecy has led to extesive discussio amog members ad P 16 stakeholders about the role of cliical preparatio ad field experieces i light of icreased accoutability for studets ad their teachers. To examie these issues i depth ad explore the Associatio s potetial role i supportig, developig, ad implemetig teacher residecies, the NEA coveed a task force made up of teachers, local Associatio leaders, state Associatio leaders ad staff, the NEA Studet Program Chair, ad NEA Ceter for Great Public Schools Teacher Quality staff. The NEA Task Force also icluded represetatives from NCATE, ATE, AACTE, ad Urba Teacher Residecy Uited (see page 24 for a complete list of task force members). The NEA Task Force first met i May 2012 to delve ito the cocept of teacher residecies by addressig these guidig questios What is a teacher residecy? How might residecies work for all teacher cadidates? How would preparatio programs chage if residecies were required before teachers were assiged their ow classrooms? How would a residecy program for a bachelor s degree studet differ from oe for a master s degree studet? What role might curret teachers play i a residecy program? What should the role of the NEA ad its local ad state affiliates be i a residecy? Durig this meetig, the Task Force also plaed visits to six preparatio programs across the coutry. The sites were selected based o a program s work i cliical preparatio, recommedatios by key stakeholders, ad/or the program s egagemet i iovative cliical preparatio practice. A miimum of four Task Force members visited each site ad iterviewed program stakeholders teachers, teacher cadidates, pricipals, program faculty, metors, ad program leaders. The purpose of these coversatios was to better uderstad how the programs operated ad to idetify areas where NEA local ad state affiliates might best leverage their expertise to improve cliical preparatio. The site visits took place betwee May ad September The full Task Force recoveed i October 2012 to share iformatio o key practices ad fidigs, ad to develop iitial recommedatios for defiig ad supportig teacher residecies. Listed below are the Teacher Residecies: Redefiig Preparatio through Parterships 5

16 essetial teets the Task Force recommeded to assist teacher preparatio programs with trasitioig to substitutive ad meaigful residecy programs Teachers ad Teachig All teachers should be professio-ready from their first day of beig resposible for a classroom. Teacher cadidates should be required to demostrate the skills, kowledge, ad dispositios eeded for effective classroom practice. Every teacher cadidate, regardless of backgroud ad educatio preparatio, should participate i a residecy program before beig hired as teacher-of-record. Because cadidates work closely with accomplished teachers to itegrate theory ad practice, a residecy program provides a substative, meaigful experiece i a udergraduate, graduate, or certificatio-oly preparatio program. Guidig Priciples for Teacher Residecies Teacher residecies should be developed with the goal of ot oly preparig future teachers but also of servig as a mechaism to drive school reewal ad improve studet learig. Residecy programs should be developed by local parterships that brig together teacher preparatio providers, school districts, ad other stakeholders. Residecy parters should decide together what learig experieces how much time, the kids of resources, ad the quality of cliical experieces their teacher cadidates will eed to become professio-ready. Residecy parters should work together to esure that the followig sigature compoets are i place A selectio, traiig, ad feedback pla for cliical educators those schoolbased ad provider-based faculty that will be traiig teacher cadidates; A preparatio curriculum that coheretly itegrates all field experieces with coursework; 6 Teacher Residecies: Redefiig Preparatio through Parterships

17 Cliical experieces that provide ogoig opportuities for teacher cadidates to pla ad deliver lessos ad the aalyze ad reflect o their ow teachig practice with cliical educators ad peers; Frequet assessmet ad feedback so cadidates improve their skills; Coheret systems desiged to support improved studet learig; ad A requiremet that residecy cadidates demostrate their teachig kowledge ad skill by successfully completig a classroom-based performace assessmet before they are deemed professio-ready. Residecy parterships must develop data systems that support cotiuous improvemet ad accoutability for both cadidates ad programs, ad that also allow school districts ad preparatio faculty to exchage iformatio. How might a teacher residecy be structured? The Task Force s teacher residecy teets allow space for preparatio programs to maitai their sigature compoets regardless of pathway type ad certificate/degree awarded to successful completers (i.e., udergraduate/bachelor s or post-baccalaureate). Udergraduate/bachelor s-level residecy. I a udergraduate or bachelor s-level residecy program, teacher cadidates would ot oly lear their subject matter but also how to teach their subject. Cadidates would have multiple school- ad commuity-based experieces throughout their program, experieces that itegrate ad build upo the cotet ad pedagogy coursework required for their degree. Post-baccalaureate-level residecy. A post-baccalaureate teacher residecy program might iclude either a graduate or master s-level program or a certificatio-oly program. Upo etrace ito the residecy, cadidates would eed to demostrate a mastery of the subject matter they wat to teach. These cadidates would sped most of their residecy learig about cotet pedagogy ad participatig i cliical experieces. Urba Teacher Residecy programs, such as the Dever Teacher Residecy (see sidebar, page 12), are oe example of a post-baccalaureate residecy program. Regardless of the residecy pathway, all programs must demostrate that completers are professio-ready teachers. Cadidates must demostrate both subject matter ad pedagogical expertise through required certificatio assessmets ad a classroom-based performace assessmet. Teacher residecy programs must iclude these cadidate Teacher Residecies: Redefiig Preparatio through Parterships 7

18 requiremets as well as program-level expectatios of active parterships betwee preparatio programs, districts, ad stakeholders; program selectivity of cadidates; ad the developmet ad implemetatio of cliical experieces to provide a foudatio upo which to trai cadidates. What does professio-ready mea? I order to esure that teacher cadidates are professio-ready, the teacher residecy must esure that cadidates have mastered both subject ad pedagogy kowledge for their area of expertise ad demostrate their kowledge ad skills through the successful completio of a pre-service performace assessmet. Mastery of subject kowledge. All teacher cadidates must be able to demostrate that they have the subject cotet kowledge ecessary to teach the subject for which they will serve as teacher-of-record ad be certified. Ultimately, this should be doe through a assessmet of cotet kowledge. Most states curretly measure such kowledge through state-specific cotet assessmets or the Praxis II. Coutig the umber of courses ad/ or credits cadidates have had i a particular subject area does ot esure that they have a mastery of subject kowledge. Mastery of pedagogical cotet kowledge. All teacher cadidates must also be able to demostrate their pedagogical cotet kowledge i the subject area i which they will be certified. Possessig kowledge of a subject area meas both breakig that kowledge dow ito the smaller segmets ad uits eeded to istruct/guide studets i uderstadig the subject area as well as beig able to predict commo mistakes that studets may make i learig the subject. I additio, pedagogical cotet kowledge icludes teachers ability to maage their classrooms i ways that promote studet learig i the subject. Cadidates must lear these skills through school-based experieces ad coordiated, coheret coursework that allows for the itegratio of theory ad practice. Classroom-based performace assessmet. Pre-service, classroom-based performace assessmets provide opportuities for cadidates to demostrate the kowledge ad skills they have acquired durig their preparatio program s coursework ad cliical experieces. This icludes a demostratio of their ability to activate their kowledge of the subject area ad develop, implemet, ad reflect o their teachig ad their studets learig. P 12 studets eed teachig professioals who kow their cotet ad ca traslate it ito practices that promote studet learig ad success. Classroom-based performace assessmets provide the professio with a uiform assessmet mechaism that allows cadidates, regardless of preparatio pathway, to demostrate that they are ideed professio-ready before assumig full resposibility for the teachig ad learig of their studets. 8 Teacher Residecies: Redefiig Preparatio through Parterships

19 Examples of Pre-service Performace Assessmets edtpa edtpa (formerly kow as the Teacher Performace Assessmet) is a classroom-based, preservice performace assessmet process that was piloted i 26 states by umerous istitutios across the coutry ad became fully operatioal i September The edtpa process is built aroud three to five cotiuous days of subjectspecific classroom istructio delivered by a cadidate, typically at the ed of the studet teachig or itership experiece. By focusig o the act of teachig, edtpa complemets existig etry-level assessmets that focus o basic skills or subjectmatter kowledge. Several states have policies that will require all teacher cadidates to complete or pass edtpa as a coditio for licesure or program completio. I other states, colleges ad uiversities are volutarily optig to use edtpa to review ad adjust their preparatio programs. Orego Teacher Work Sample As part of the documetatio i their attaimet of required competecies ad effectiveess i fosterig studet learig, pre-service teachers i Orego are required to submit two samples of their work from their studet teachig experiece. Each work sample icludes a uit of istructio, evidece about pupil learig withi the uit, ad use of pupil data for future istructioal ad reportig plas. A work sample displays, amog other thigs, objectives, istructioal ad assessmet procedures, pupil performace data, ad iterpretatio of the success of a uit of istructio (Orego Associatio of Colleges for Teacher Educatio 2013). Praxis Performace Assessmet for Teachig (PPAT) Developmet of the Performace Assessmet for Teachig a exit-level, pre-service assessmet for teacher cadidates bega i early This assessmet is aliged to the ITASC Model Core Stadards ad the Commo Core State Stadards. This task-based, job-embedded assessmet uses evidece-cetered artifacts ad videos to show growth over time. The series of tasks is completed durig the cliical experiece ad has cotetspecific material embedded ito the evidece submitted by the cadidate. ETS will coduct a large-scale olie field test with teacher cadidates i Sprig The PPAT is scheduled to lauch i Fall Teacher Residecies: Redefiig Preparatio through Parterships 9

20 What are characteristics/compoets of a teacher residecy? While a teacher residecy program may occur as a baccalaureate or post-baccalaureate traiig program, it must iclude the followig elemets Active parterships betwee preparatio programs, districts, ad stakeholders; Program selectivity of cadidates; ad Academic coursework coordiated with the developmet ad implemetatio of cliical experieces. While some parameters of the residecy desiged to prepare the professio-ready educator may be shaped to fit local eeds, these three core compoets are the buildig blocks for a teacher residecy program. Active parterships betwee preparatio programs, districts, ad stakeholders. Authetic ad active parterships focused o the preparatio of teacher cadidates must be at the foudatio of every residecy. Teacher preparatio program providers, districts, ad practicig teachers must be co-ivetors, comig together to idetify ad develop rich ad relevat school-based learig experieces for teacher cadidates. Too ofte, relatioships betwee teacher preparatio programs ad districts have bee arrowly focused o obtaiig permissio for the provider to place teacher cadidates i the district s schools. This has ofte meat simply that faculty members reached out to frieds or acquaitaces i the district to fid placemets for teacher cadidates (Natioal Coucil o Teacher Quality 2011) without regard to quality. However, with icreasigly demadig school ad teacher accoutability measures ow i place across the coutry, some preparatio programs are fidig it harder to fid placemets for their teacher cadidates. The eed for parterships has ever bee greater because research ad experiece idicate that, whe teacher preparatio providers ad districts work together i truly mutually beeficial ways, cadidates have a more coheret preparatio experiece (Darlig-Hammod ad Brasford 2005) ad pre-k 12 studet achievemet rises (Clift ad Brady 2005). The NEA believes that all teacher preparatio programs should be egaged i authetic parterships with teachers ad districts where the parters co-costruct ad co-ow all aspects of the professio-ready educator experiece, icludig staffig, fudig, accoutability, ad program improvemet. I additio, parterships should cosider the followig questios 10 Teacher Residecies: Redefiig Preparatio through Parterships

21 What impact ad cotributio might parters make i improvig studet achievemet ad idividual schools? How might parters be ivolved i professioal learig at a school for practicig teachers? How might teacher cadidates assist i meetig a school s idetified school improvemet goals? The NEA believes that the power of active parterships ca better prepare teachers for their professioal work while also helpig schools improve. Program selectivity of cadidates. Parters i a residecy program must come to agreemet o the criteria that will be used to scree cadidates who apply for program admissio. While grade poit averages, essays, ad test scores might be a part of the selectio criteria, persoal qualities ad dispositios (i.e., perseverace ad leadership) should also be icluded for screeig selectio. Parters must ultimately decide what additioal qualities will eable cadidates to be professio-ready i their cotext at the ed of the preparatio program. Parters must thoughtfully cosider the relatioship betwee the cadidate selectio criteria (i.e., who is accepted), the legth of the program, ad how it is structured. Twi Cities Teacher Collaborative The Twi Cities Teacher Collaborative (TC2) i Miesota is a urba teacher residecy that recruits, selects, ad prepares teachers for sciece ad mathematics positios i Mieapolis Public Schools ad St. Paul Public Schools. TC2 s first cohort i 2013 completed a cliically based teacher preparatio program that itegrates cliical experiece ad master s coursework. TC2 is desiged to act as a icubator of teacher preparatio reform for the six private colleges egagig i the collaborative Augsburg College, Bethel Uiversity, Cocordia Uiversity, Hamlie Uiversity, St. Catherie Uiversity, ad Uiversity of St. Thomas as well as Mieapolis ad St. Paul Public Schools. These six private colleges ormally compete for teacher preparatio cadidates ad for placemets withi these two Historically, teacher preparatio programs have bee urba public school systems, but through private accused of ot beig selective eough, ad it has bee foudatio fudig they are workig together. suggested that studets accepted ito teacher preparatio programs have weaker academic credetials (Coat 1963, Hess et al. 2004). Some research has foud that teachers high verbal ability has a positive impact o studet learig (Ferguso ad Ladd 1996, Murae et al. 1991) ad other evidece suggests that o-academic variables ca impact teachers effectiveess (Hardig 2012). Both academic qualities ad o-academic variables are importat for cadidates to achieve the high stadard of professio-ready. Teacher Residecies: Redefiig Preparatio through Parterships 11

22 Dever Teacher Residecy The Dever Teacher Residecy (DTR) is a postbaccalaureate urba teacher residecy program housed withi Dever Public Schools (DPS). DTR combies a year-log itesive classroom-based practicum with a customized master s degree curriculum at the Uiversity of Dever. DTR teacher residets are specifically selected ad traied to work i DPS, either as elemetary teachers with a Eglish Laguage Learer or special educatio specializatio or as secodary mathematics teachers. To gai etry ito DTR, cadidates must ot oly submit a olie applicatio with Academic coursework coordiated with the developmet ad implemetatio of cliical experieces. Project maagemet theory recogizes that, i maagig a ew project, three variables cost, schedule, ad scope must be balaced i order to maitai the quality of the project (Newell ad Grashima 2003). Chagig the level of ivestmet i oe requires adjustig the others, or else the quality of the project is compromised. Residecy program parters must balace three fudametal factors as they develop ad implemet the cliical experieces that are to serve at the core of residecy teacher preparatio ad esure that cadidates complete their preparatio professio-ready: resources, time, ad scope ad quality of cliical experieces. recommedatios but also participate i a demostratio day, which icludes additioal screeig activities: iterview, teachig demostratio, Factor 1: Resources. All stakeholders are expected writte reflectio, data aalysis, group discussio, to cotribute both huma ad fiacial resources to ad a laguage or cotet scree. DTR ad DPS cadidate preparatio. This recommedatio might believe this i-depth selectio process esures be challegig for some teacher preparatio programs, especially at colleges ad uiversities with that admitted cadidates will be able to successfully complete the oe-year program ad move iteral reveue structures that make it difficult to o to become highly effective teachers i district revise or expad programmig. If resources are limited, fidig additioal fuds to expad or develop classrooms. more robust cliical experieces might be difficult. Cadidate tuitio, icreased state fudig to higher educatio istitutios, or restructurig the curret allocatio of moies are possible ways to fiace both cadidate experieces ad faculty remueratio. Parters should cosider the use of teacher professioal developmet moies, federal Title II fuds, ad other regularly issued district moies for teacher recruitmet ad retetio. Also, the fusig of some fuds across districts ad providers might result i uexpected fudig solutios. From the district perspective, providig additioal resources durig difficult fiacial times especially for a area that may ot be traditioally fuded such as teacher preparatio may be challegig. It s clear, however, that ivestig i teacher residecies is a log-term, cost-savig measure. As the NCATE Blue Ribbo Pael stated, Estimates of savigs to school districts of reducig teacher turover ad staff developmet costs suggest the overall cost effectiveess of this iitial ivestmet (Natioal Coucil for the Accreditatio of Teacher Educatio 2010). The bottom lie i balacig resources is that all parters must be ivested i the teacher residecy s resource base i order to reap the beefits of professio-ready teachers ad early-career support. 12 Teacher Residecies: Redefiig Preparatio through Parterships

23 Factor 2: Time. Curret research does ot tell us how much time it takes to prepare a professio-ready teacher, i part because it is so difficult to isolate the importat variables we wat to measure. Educatio reformers have recommeded various legths of time ragig from six weeks to oe year or more. Ad, ufortuately, the wide variace amog state policies caot provide appropriate guidace o the legth of time eeded to yield a professio-ready teacher. I surveys, teachers say their pre-service, schoolbased experieces were helpful i preparig them for the realities of the classroom (Levie 2006), but it s ot clear what specific experieces are most beeficial to their future studets learig (Natioal Research Coucil 2010). Grossma (2010) sums up the dilemma perfectly: The research suggests that the value of cliical experiece depeds at least as much o the quality of the experiece as the quatity. Give that there is o evidece-based aswer for the ideal legth of cliical experieces, the time cadidates sped i these experieces must be balaced with the eed for cadidates to lear how to be most effective. The less time a program requires for cliical experieces, the more rigorous, quality-rich, ad resource-itesive these experieces must be. Motclair State Uiversity Motclair State Uiversity i New Jersey has a log history of both preparig teachers ad workig with districts ad stakeholders to improve their programs. It established the Motclair State Uiversity Network for Educatioal Reewal durig the early 1990s Professioal Developmet School (PDS) movemet, ad the etwork is still workig to improve Motclair s teacher educatio programs ad beefit practicig teachers ad parter districts. Every district that jois the etwork pays dues, makes a commitmet to its missio ad goals, ad promises to give Motclair teacher cadidates priority i placemets. Teachers workig i member districts are give the chace to be traied as cliical faculty to work with teacher cadidates. Teachers also participate i a wide variety of professioal developmet ad techology workshops, cofereces, teacher study groups, ad actio research teams, ad they are eligible to receive small grats to work o specific short-term projects. School-based cliical faculty members serve o committees ad task forces at the uiversity that focus o the reewal ad developmet of teacher preparatio. The NEA believes that cadidate participatio i a oe-year residecy, with high-quality experieces throughout, will more likely esure that cadidates will be able to demostrate that they are professio-ready. We recogize that some cadidates may be able to demostrate these capabilities earlier ad some cadidates may require more time. The residecy partership stakeholders must decide how to balace such cosideratios withi their program desig. Factor 3: Scope ad quality of cliical experieces. High-quality cliical experieces are at the core of teacher residecy traiig. Not oly is the structure ad type of experieces importat to cadidate learig, but the ature of cadidates iteractios with cotet, pedagogy, ad accomplished teachers also impacts their ability to meet professio-ready stadards. The followig sigature compoets must be icorporated ito a teacher residecy program: Teacher Residecies: Redefiig Preparatio through Parterships 13

24 Easter Meoite Uiversity I Easter Meoite Uiversity s (EMU) four-year udergraduate teacher preparatio program, first-year studets who thik they wat to major i educatio sped time i structured activities at local schools, begiig with their very first semester at EMU. The Uiversity says that, of studets who participate i a school-based experiece durig their first semester, some 30% opt out of the teacher educatio major by the ed of the semester. At the ed of each cliical experiece, cadidates are evaluated by their P 12 practicum teacher. Competecy o practicum assessmets iforms cadidates admissio to studet teachig. I the last year of college, those who will be studet teachig full time at ay poit durig the school year sped the first two weeks prior to the begiig of that school year i their studet teachig placemets so they ca experiece the begiig of the school year. West Virgiia Uiversity West Virgiia Uiversity (WVU) offers a five-year Professioal Developmet School based teacher preparatio program. I the third year of study, cadidates are assiged to a specific school ad work as tutors for two hours a week. I the program s fourth year they observe, tutor, ad complete coursework at the same school for seve hours a week the first semester ad 12 hours a week the secod. I their fifth year, cadidates sped the first semester as full-time studet teachers; i their fial semester they work uder cotract with the school ad uiversity. These cotract hours allow cadidates to serve as substitute teachers, visit other schools, ad get more experiece i whatever areas they choose i differet kids of classrooms ad at differet grade levels. a) A selectio, traiig, ad feedback pla for cliical educators. Over the years, teacher preparatio program faculty ad staff have come up with differet ways to fid placemets for teacher cadidates: establishig relatioships with specific schools, obtaiig recommedatios from district offices, relyig o persoal relatioships with curretly practicig teachers, ad, sometimes, simply pleadig with district persoel. No matter how placemets are made, cooperatig ad directig teachers are rarely cosulted about program desig or implemetatio, ad typically are excluded from the fial decisio-makig process about teacher cadidates readiess. The NEA believes that cooperatig ad directig teachers must play a key role i developig future teachers, ad that those who wat to serve i this cliical role should udergo a rigorous selectio process, be prepared to work with a emergig teacher through professioal developmet opportuities, ad receive feedback o their work. Through the residecy partership, stakeholders must reach agreemet o qualificatios for cooperatig teachers, develop a traiig protocol, ad establish a ogoig process for reewal (ad dismissal) of such teachers i agreemet with school admiistrators. b) A curriculum that coheretly itegrates all field experieces with coursework. Residecy program parters should collaboratively develop the various school-based experieces eeded to prepare professio-ready teachers. Whether teacher cadidates might beefit from havig activities ad experieces based i a sigle school or across several schools would be determied as parters assess the capacity of surroudig school districts. The Natioal Research Coucil (2000) suggests that learig is amplified whe key ideas are 14 Teacher Residecies: Redefiig Preparatio through Parterships

25 reiforced across differet kids of experieces. Creatig cosistecy ad coherecy should be a cetral objective of ay residecy. Research suggests that coherece betwee academic coursework ad school-based experieces provides cadidates with opportuities to make coectios, ad has a greater impact o the iitial coceptios ad practices of prospective teachers tha [programs] that remai a collectio of relatively discoected courses (Darlig-Hammod ad Brasford 2005). c) Ogoig opportuities for teacher cadidates to teach, aalyze, ad reflect o their teachig ad studet learig with cliical educators ad peers as well as idepedetly, ad for them to observe accomplished teachig ad practices i differet classroom settigs. Learig the habits of mid ad practice for effective teachig must be at the heart of a residecy s cliical experieces. There is o sigle approach that will work for all; it s up to the parters i each program to determie how best to help cadidates itegrate practice with theory. At a miimum, pedagogical approaches must iclude stadards-based approaches prove to be effective i improvig studet learig i the subject area (Ball et al. 2008). Mid-Valley Cosortium for Teacher Educatio The Mid-Valley Cosortium for Teacher Educatio bega i the late 1980s as a coordiated way to recruit ad trai cliical faculty to work with teacher cadidates. Today, the Cosortium icludes four istitutios of higher educatio Bridgewater College, Easter Meoite Uiversity, James Madiso Uiversity, ad Mary Baldwi College ad seve local school divisios, all located i Virgiia s Sheadoah Valley. The Cosortium s goal is to develop a cadre of cliical faculty who are exemplary role models for effective teachig ad strog metors for their studet teachers. It aims to develop ad urture leadership abilities i cliical faculty ad improve the quality of field experieces for cadidates. Cosortium leaders poit to several factors i their success. First, the teacher preparatio programs coordiate field placemets across the six districts so the local school districts have a sigle poit of cotact. Secod, the programs all use the same observatio ad assessmet istrumet. Third, districts ad teacher preparatio istitutios make a fiacial ivestmet each year, which also meas they recommit to the process every year. To date, the Cosortium has traied over 1,000 cliical faculty members; about 700 are curretly active. All residecy experieces should be grouded i the appropriate professioal stadards (i.e., the Natioal Board for Professioal Teacher Stadards Five Core Propositios, the Specialized Professioal Associatio stadards, ad ITASC s Model Core Teachig Stadards). Professioal stadards describe a visio for accomplished teachig ad serve as a foudatio for cadidates experieces. d) Regular assessmets that use data to iform ad improve teachig performace. Cadidates must participate i comprehesive evaluatio processes that evaluate their teachig proficiecy over time ad esure that they are makig steady progress toward teachig stadards (e.g., ITASC, Natioal Board for Professioal Teacher Teacher Residecies: Redefiig Preparatio through Parterships 15

26 St. Cloud State Uiversity At Miesota s St. Cloud State Uiversity, teacher cadidates ad cooperatig teachers work together as co-teachers durig their studet teachig experiece. Teacher cadidates say they appreciate the chace to pla, teach, ad share reflectios with their experieced colleagues. Cooperatig teachers embrace this approach too ad say they like stayig coected to studets rather tha simply turig their classrooms over to teacher cadidates for exteded periods of time. Cadidate Assessmet at Dever Teacher Residecy Dever Teacher Residecy (DTR) has built a cadidate assessmet system aroud the Dever Public School teacher evaluatio framework LEAP. Cadidates are give mothly performace goals based o the specific LEAP idicators that DTR believes residets should be able to demostrate. Three times durig the program year, teacher residets participate i a formal 360-degree review of their ability to meet LEAP idicators, with the residet, lead teacher, site coordiator, ad field maager all sharig feedback. I additio, residets must maitai a 3.0 GPA i their Uiversity of Dever graduate coursework. This multiproged approach to assessmet allows DTR to provide the appropriate support ad guidace as residets move through the program ad esure that oly residets who have demostrated their ability to positively impact studet learig ad achievemet go o to become teachers of record i Dever Public Schools. Stadards Core Propositios). These accoutability/ assessmet systems should iclude pedagogies such as ogoig performace assessmets, case aalysis, ad aalyses of teachig through video or microteachig (Darlig-Hammod ad Brasford 2005). Creatig a residecy ad icorporatig the sigature residecy compoets ito teacher preparatio programs requires siftig ad shiftig what has historically occurred i may preparatio programs across the coutry. Although some curret programs ad providers may already be workig o pieces of these program-level cosideratios active parterships, program selectivity, robust cliical experieces, ad itegrated coursework ad practice few programs across the coutry appear to be effectively addressig all of these pieces i active cooperatio with other teacher preparatio stakeholders. 16 Teacher Residecies: Redefiig Preparatio through Parterships

27 Recommedatios Esurig high-quality istructio i our atio s classrooms requires the developmet of comprehesive preparatio systems that yield professio-ready teachers, regardless of backgroud ad experieces. Teacher residecy programs promote a more comprehesive preparatio system through the active egagemet of a variety of stakeholders preparatio programs, program approvers, classroom teachers, admiistrators, school districts, ad other state educatio agecies. Egagemet of these stakeholders promotes coordiated efforts to prepare professio-ready teachers ad improve schools. Residecy parterships shift preparatio from beig the sole resposibility of the preparatio program to the collective resposibility of programs, practicig teachers, schools, districts, ad states. The recommedatios provided below suggest some steps these various stakeholders ca take i order to be a active part i preparig professio-ready teachers durig a residecy program. Preparatio Program Role Work with associatios, school districts, ad recet graduates to idetify curret program stregths ad eeds with the goal of esurig that curret programs support the developmet of professio-ready teachers ad meet the eeds of the local school district parter(s). If curret program structures do ot support this work, the have the political will withi the program to work with other parters to make appropriate chages to programs. Provide faculty with the appropriate promotio ad teure award structures as well as release time to work with public school parters to review ad revise existig program requiremets to esure the preparatio of professio-ready teachers (e.g., program desig, cadidate selectio, ad cliical experieces). School District Role Collaborate with preparatio programs, local associatios, ad teachers to build agreemet ad uderstadig aroud the core values, compoets, structures, ad roles i preparig a professio-ready teacher i a residecy. Collaborate with preparatio programs to reallocate fudig ad provide eeded resources (e.g., staffig, fudig, ad data) to support cliical experieces for teacher cadidates participatig i a residecy. Review policies aroud studet teachig assigmets ad metor teacher selectio ad support. Teacher Residecies: Redefiig Preparatio through Parterships 17