justice, there’s a commitment to equity and
access. There’s a commitment to the shifts in
common core standards and the leadership
that’s come out of those two departments
and then IMPACT teachers, really has
changed who we are, yet it hasn’t changed
the mission. It’s always been about trying to
instill a love of scientific inquiry but when
you look at ‘Teacher W’ and ‘Teacher X’ and
‘Teacher Y’ and ‘Teacher Z’ and the kind of
style that they bring to the classroom, it is so
inquiry based. It is sort of open-ended and it
gives kids a chance to really kind of experi-
ment and take chances and feel safe along
the way. There is a certain fearlessness that
the grads have. I don’t think we mentioned
it, but one teacher is an IMPACT teacher,
she’s now the chair of the math department.
Another is an IMPACT teacher, now the
chair of the science department. And these
guys are dreamers, they just kind of live out-
side the box…”
This fearlessness can be characterized by
a willingness to try to keep innovating with
an inquiry-based and critically ref lective
stance, as teachers work toward better meet-
ing their students’ learning needs. In this
process, pre-service center students, learn
from them, their assets and their challenges.
This humanization of who students are
comes from listening and noticing. Pre-ser-
vice teachers and their mentors collaborate
in a broader supportive community that has
various layers that often intersect, including
at the university and the partner field school
site. All of this works toward creating the
conditions that foster social justice.
Linda Darling Hammond (2010) notes
that one of the hallmarks of positive
teacher development is identified through
structured field experiences in residency
models. Urban Teacher Residency (UTR)
programs prepare novice teachers for ca-
reers in urban schools by integrating uni-
versity and f ield-based learning in new
ways. This model differs from traditional
coursework and student teaching because
the responsibility for teacher development
is shared by the university and partner
schools. The teacher residency program al-
lows for more time in the field that might
allow for a deepening of conceptualization
and enactment of social justice.
We have learned that a residency model
is not merely more time in the field. A
residency model requires a concerted ef-
fort to develop a partnership with schools
and school districts. The partnerships have
the potential to develop powerful learning
spaces that connect theory and practice in
ways that center students, inquiry and social
justice. It requires intentional and collabora-
tive work with the mentor teachers.
Following is an explanation of partner site
structures and program structures that sup-
port the partnership and the development of
cohesive learning spaces.
Partner Site Structures
• Part of School Community - Pre-service
teachers become a part of the school com-
munity, partly because they are often there
before the class starts with students. Many
of our partner schools have professional
development before the beginning of the
academic year and most of our pre-service
teachers attend. Some principals give them
an elevator key, a parking space and their
names are side-by-side with the mentor
teacher’s name in the classroom door. These
actions integrate the pre-service teacher into
the culture of the school.
• Professional Development and School
Community Interaction Opportunities -
Pre-service teachers participate in profes-
sional development opportunities during
the school year when it does not interfere
with courses. Most of the pre-service teach-
ers participate in the school community in
different ways. Some hold tutoring sessions
after school and during the school day, some
participate with on-site clubs or student sup-
ports. All of the pre-service teachers partici-
pate in parent conferences and general par-
ent meetings such as open house and back to
school night. These learning opportunities
further integrate the pre-service teachers
into the fabric of the school culture.
Program Structures
This work takes place under the certain
structures that have been developed over
two iterations of the grant.
• Partnerships - same schools over time
and meetings with partners. The partner-
ships are a foundation to teacher develop-
ment in a residency model. Because there is
so much time in the field, we trust and know
that both have value and can intersect in
many ways. We intentionally integrate class-
room pedagogy or field-based experiences in
most university assignments. We realized
that not all methods would be learned in
the university and that there was great value
in learning about different approaches and
innovations at school sites as well. This re-
quired communication and an aligned vision
of pedagogy. Most of the mentor teachers
stayed on for many years. Also, many of the
mentor teachers were alumni of UCLA-IM-
PACT and a congruent vision of practice.
Articulation with the partners took place
through quarterly partner meetings. We de-
veloped trust with each other and worked
on meaningful tasks that supported the de-
velopmental trajectory of a new teacher. We
focused on credentialing and working with
our partner mentors and principals. LAUSD
focused on induction and clearing their cre-
dential. The conversations were intentional
in handing off the students to new district
mentors. More recently, university faculty
have presented the resident experience to
district mentors to have greater alignment
and support during the transition.
• Summer Professional Development
and Partners in Practice - In order to create
the conditions for a shared learning space,
we start with a four-day-long summer pro-
fessional development, where all partners
are invited, specifically the mentor teach-
ers, preservice teachers, university faculty,
principals of participating schools, and all
other partners. This summer professional
development focuses on equity, access, in-
quiry and social justice, all with a critical
frame. The purpose is to also develop a pro-
fessional learning community. The summer
professional development continues through
monthly after school meeting spaces, called,
“Partners in Practice.” This is a shared space
that has undergone various iterations based
on the needs, focus and growth of the pro-
gram. Initially, it focused on best practices
where mentor teachers shared some of their
pedagogical approaches that were tied to a
unified framework for teaching. More re-
cently, the focus has been reciprocal learn-
ing partnerships and humanizing STEAM.
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