Learning to teach during the pandemic
The NYU Teacher Residency faculty and staff are working closely with aspiring teachers and partner schools to provide them support and resources.
When you become a teacher, you contribute to the development of individual students and also to the greater community in which you teach. Today, the pandemic magnifies the difference you can make.
The Teacher Residency partners with school districts and charter organizations across the country that are dedicated to transforming how teachers teach. Many of these communities are historically underserved and face systemic inequities in education. COVID-19 has exacerbated inequities in these persistently under-resourced areas, underscoring the importance of our collective work.
Well-prepared teachers matter. You have an opportunity to build a deep understanding of what is required for our education system to better serve all students and communities.
While there are ongoing reports on the difficulties schools face because of COVID-19, inspiring stories of growth and resiliency are also being told. School systems, administrators, teachers, families, and, importantly, students are rising to the challenge to meet the new normal. We commit to doing the same to ensure teacher residents have what they need for a successful year.
Flexible online course work
NYU Steinhardt faculty designed the Teacher Residency using state-of-the-art technology to maximize collaboration and learning online. For the last four years, we’ve honed our model to better understand what practical online preparation looks like. We know how to balance rigor and flexibility in course work, enabling us to adapt as needed when circumstances change. This year will encompass a range of school configurations: hybrid, remote, synchronous, and asynchronous. All models will require continuous adjustments to the Teacher Residency: changes that our faculty are prepared for and ready to implement.
NYU Steinhardt faculty remain responsive to the dynamic skills needed to teach during this time. We revised various modules of the curriculum to include best practices for remote instruction, lessons for residents to practice teaching in distance-learning settings, and effective ways to virtually support the social-emotional needs of students and families. We also continue to work with our residents to support students through the trauma caused by COVID-19, including the loss of family members, economic instability, and the general strain of this time.
Building community with immersive preparation
As a resident, you are immersed into the daily roles and responsibilities of a teacher – whether that includes face-to-face instruction in a classroom, distance learning, or a hybrid of the two modalities. Community remains a central focus in our immersive model; this priority does not change during a pandemic when teaching may occur remotely. Now more than ever, we will help residents build relationships with, and connections to, their students and school communities.
Throughout the academic year, with our partner schools, we will continue to identify the most compelling ways residents gain the skills to become excellent teachers, regardless of their teaching modality. Residents will participate alongside their teacher mentor in a variety of experiences.
For example, as a resident, you may:
- Create content for synchronous and asynchronous lessons
- Support students who need more support, including those with individualized education plans (IEPs) and emergent bilinguals
- Lead or facilitate small breakout sessions and work with students who may have missed synchronous sessions for 1:1 or small group tutoring
- Connect with students and families and provide technical assistance
- Provide social-emotional support for students
- Learn to manage remote classrooms using various courseware and educational technology (e.g. Google Classroom)
Share your questions
Do you have questions about becoming a teacher during COVID-19? Sign up for one of our weekly virtual info sessions.