Urban Teacher Residency United has released a new report titled Clinically Oriented Teacher Preparation. This report examines how preparation programs around the country are adopting core components of a residency model to innovate and improve teacher education through robust clinical experiences.
A brief overview:
Clinically Oriented Teacher Preparation (COTP) shares examples of innovative, clinically oriented teacher preparation practices happening around the country. Featuring Urban Teacher Residency United partners as well as other traditional and alternative route programs, the report describes how preparation programs are innovating the residency model components and placing practice at the center of how teachers are prepared. COTP illustrates how preparation providers are transitioning their approach to new teacher development that is more clinically rich and dynamic.
From interviews with 22 providers, COTP clearly shows that clinically oriented teacher education is not a “business as usual” approach and necessitates shifts that were described as disruptive and difficult.
Those shifts include:
- Rethinking the nature of the clinical experience by positioning teacher candidates as co-teachers; emphasizing candidate performance and accountability through competency-based assessments and the use of district- or state-aligned evaluation tools; increasing mentor selectivity; focusing on mentor development; and devising new, clinically-based roles to accommodate programmatic changes.
- Reimagining coursework, pedagogies, and pathways to program entry, including tighter theory-to-practice integration, using simulations and rehearsals, and designing unique routes to program entry that attract individuals into the profession who otherwise might not consider teaching as a career possibility.
- Underscoring the importance of authentic collaboration and partnership between and across schools, school districts, and institutes of higher education.
Further, COTP examines conditions for success, potential barriers, and offers policy recommendations. Change management in teacher education is not easy or automatic. The programs in COTP are at different stages of shifting toward a clinical approach to teacher education, with some just in their first year of implementation and enduring a steep learning curve. Across all programs, however, clear conditions made the shifts possible to ensure that beginning teachers are well prepared for the challenges of teaching and learning today.
You can learn more at: http://www.utrunited.org/research-reports/entry/clinically-oriented-teacher-preparation/
