Creating Coherence: Structures that Align Candidate’s Clinical Experiences and Coursework in Teacher Residencies

• In Event: Reconfiguring University-District Roles in Teacher Preparation: Residency Partnerships and Equitable Workforce Pathways

Abstract

Introduction:

The clinical experience component of teacher preparation programs offers candidates scaffolded opportunities to practice their knowledge and skills. Residencies provide candidates with a full year of clinical experience, where residents can experience the full breadth of a school year, from the first to last day of school, are integrated into the school community, and develop deep relationships with their colleagues and students.

Administering clinical experiences in traditional student teaching models inherently requires coordination and partnership between educator preparation programs (EPPs) and local education agencies (LEAs) for student teacher placements. However, the studied residency programs expanded EPP-LEA partnerships past coordination to deeper, strategic collaboration involving shared decision-making responsibilities across both entities in clinical instruction and alignment across coursework and clinical experience.

Methods:

This presentation draws on findings from seven case studies of effective residency programs in California and Texas. Data collection included interviews with program administrators, faculty, teacher candidates, program alumni, mentor/cooperating teachers, principals, and district administrators, as well as EPP, district and state-level document analysis.

Findings:

Practice-based pre-clinical and clinical alignment. For studied residency programs, clinical experience preparation begins prior to candidates’ placement within schools. When transitioning to year-long residencies, EPPs revised their pre-clinical coursework to focus on practice-based education, integrated no-harm opportunities for candidate practice, and aligned coursework with future clinical experiences. Some EPPs collaborated with and sought input from LEA partners during these pre-clinical coursework revisions.

Clinical faculty bridge EPPs and LEAs in clinical instruction and administration. Residency programs employed staff dedicated to fostering collaboration between IHEs and LEAs. These staff positions, such as LEA residency coordinators or site coordinators, play a crucial role in providing coherence for teacher candidates during their clinical experience. In some cases, these boundary spanners also served as clinical supervisors, offering another critical role in aligning clinical instruction for residents.

Shared structures for clinical progression and feedback. Even though year-long residencies are situated in LEA classrooms, the clinical experience is substantially shaped by EPPs. Though residents are considered co-teachers from the outset, residents, mentor teachers, and EPP clinical supervisors follow clinical progression guidelines that phase in residents’ instructional responsibilities throughout the full year. Both formal and informal feedback, often structured by preparation program frameworks, influence residents’ progression through co-teaching responsibilities and are provided by multiple individuals at both the EPP and LEA such as mentor teachers, clinical supervisors, and in some cases, other LEA staff such as school principals or district personnel.

Mentor teachers as clinical educators. In the studied residency programs, mentor teachers were acknowledged as clinical educators, highly involved in clinical co-teaching by monitoring candidates’ progression of responsibilities in the classroom and providing feedback and coaching. EPPs provided ongoing professional learning opportunities to develop mentor teacher capacity as clinical educators and create a learning community in which mentors could collaborate and learn from each other, another example of how residencies have blurred EPP-LEA boundaries.
The implementation of the year-long residency demonstrates strong collaboration and alignment across EPPs and LEAs, further disrupting the traditionally siloed approaches to clinical experience.

Authors

• Victoria Wang, Learning Policy Institute

• Julie Fitz, Learning Policy Institute

• Steven Wojcikiewicz, Learning Policy Institute

• Wesley Wei, Learning Policy Institute

• Cathy Yun, Learning Policy Institute

• Kimberlee Ralph, Learning Policy Institute

• Jennifer A. Bland, Learning Policy Institute