The First Week of School: Becoming Teachers in an Undergraduate Teacher Residency Program

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 8:00 am Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Posthumanism, Teachers, and Teacher Education (Table 6)

Abstract

Research indicates that graduates of undergraduate teacher residency programs better connect coursework to classroom practice and develop their teaching identity more quickly, which supports retention in the profession. Despite this, there is limited research on how residents prepare and begin to embody their teacher becoming during the first week of residency placement. Recognizing the importance of this initial period for long-term classroom success, the elementary education department implemented an assignment requiring pre-service teachers to observe a classroom during the first week of school. Analyzing data from interviews and assignment submissions through diffractive analysis with posthuman becoming theories revealed important becomings in understanding routines, material connections, and mental preparation, highlighting the need for improved first-week assignments in educator preparation programs.

Authors

• Gretchen S. Goode, University of Southern Mississippi

• Audra Classen, University of Southern Mississippi

• Sunny Wells, University of Southern Mississippi

• Donielle Stephens, University of Southern Mississippi

• Andrea Krell, University of Southern Mississippi