This is the second post in our series about the benefits of choosing a teacher residency.
With an understanding of the teacher preparation landscape from Part 1, in this post, we define the common components and indicators of effective teacher residencies.
Common Components of a Teacher Residency
Residencies vary in their requirements and components, but one trait is true for all: they require and provide ample classroom time so you understand what it takes to be an effective teacher.
A list of common components of a residency appeared in a recent report from Bellwether Education Partners:
- Residencies have a close-knit partnership between the residency operator and placement local education agency (LEA). The LEA may comprise either district or charter schools. In some cases, the residency operator and the LEA are one and the same.
- Residency operators control candidate recruitment and selection process and criteria.
- Teacher candidates in a residency program go through a lengthy (at least one year) clinical experience under the supervision of an effective mentor teacher. Over the course of the residency, teacher candidates gain increasing levels of responsibility in the classroom.
- Education course work is tightly linked to the teacher candidate’s teaching experience in the classroom.
- Teacher candidates receive support from the residency operator and LEA through coaching, mentoring, and induction.
- Teacher candidates commit, if hired, to working in their placement LEA for a predefined period of time after completing the residency program.
An Example of a Teacher Residency
According to the National Center for Teacher Residencies, one of the most important indicators of a successful residency program is the degree to which it is in service to urban and rural school districts and its students. That criteria are what informed the NYU Steinhardt Teacher Residency to build its model upon the ideas of partnership and community.
Visit the NYU Steinhardt Teacher Residency Program Experience page to learn more about:
- Community commitment: You serve in schools with high populations of marginalized and historically underrepresented students. The Teacher Residency forms deep partnerships with districts and charter networks to best provide schools with the talent they need and you with the context and capacity to teach in the local community. We select a diverse teaching cohort to reflect the diversity of local areas.
- Mentorship: You receive intensive and consistent classroom experience that is mentored throughout the length of the residency. You teach in the same school for the entire year while learning alongside highly effective classroom teacher mentors and gradually increasing your responsibilities. The Teacher Residency works to ensure that mentors are high-quality teachers and skilled coaches – essential factors supported by research on teacher internship placements (Calder, 2018).
- Content area guidance: You become an expert in your content area. The Teacher Residency’s eligibility requirements in content course work ensure that graduates become the most qualified subject-area teachers for each and every student.
- Inclusive and culturally responsive education: While becoming content area experts, you also learn to create culturally relevant and inclusive learning environments for all students, including those with disabilities and emergent bilinguals.
- Built-in supports: The Teacher Residency leverages a wraparound support model that provides you with guidance, feedback, knowledge in pedagogy, content expertise, and practical instruction techniques. This is augmented by a technology-enhanced learning model that allows you to connect with faculty and peers on a weekly basis. You also have access to school-based support through a residency director who is the liaison between your placement school and NYU Steinhardt.
- Paid residency: The program is anchored by a full-time paid teaching residency to help with your educational and living expenses. School partners make a significant investment in your preparation; in return, teacher residents make a commitment to their schools for a period of time after completing the program.
Did you miss the first post which examines how teacher residencies differ from other teacher preparation models? We looked at residencies as they compare to traditional models, which tend to exist at the undergraduate or graduate level at colleges or universities, and alternative routes, which are run by nonprofits, private companies, institutes of higher education, school districts, or some combination of partners.
Be on the lookout for our next and final post in the series that provides a checklist of what to look for in a high-quality residency model.
Want to learn more about the NYU Steinhardt Teacher Residency? Register for one of our Information Sessions to learn what you need to apply or to hear more about the resident experience.