Some researchers have also suggested that
highly effective, actively engaged mentors can
improve student teaching experiences.21 All
teacher candidates in Tennessee must have a
clinical mentor. EPPs are able to create their
own processes for selecting mentors, but SBE
policy provides some guidelines on mentor
teacher requirements:
• Identify as a highly effective teacher, as
evidenced by a state-approved teacher
evaluation model
• Possess the appropriate license and endorsement in the area where they will be
supervising the candidate
Tennessee mentors also must receive release
time for counseling, observation, evaluation,
and other activities related to the clinical
experience that occur during the school day.21
Teaching Residencies
According to the National Center for Teacher
Residencies (NCTR), a nonprofit organization
committed to promoting and scaling effective
teaching residencies, teacher residency
programs pair a rigorous full-year classroom
apprenticeship with masters-level education
content, similar to a medical residency.22
Residents are placed with an effective teachermentor in a classroom, and they typically receive
stipends as they learn to teach. Candidates also
generally commit to teaching in their districts for
three or more years beyond the residency.23
In 2010, the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR)
launched the Ready2Teach initiative, a clinically
based approach to undergraduate teacher
preparation. All four-year TBR institutions are
15
Types of Clinical Practice
• Student Teaching: Planned semester
of at least 15 weeks that includes
full-day teaching and observation
activities
• Internship: Full school year of
clinical practice
• Job-embedded: Full school year following completion of a baccalaureate degree during which candidates
enter the teaching profession while
serving as a teacher of record
participating in the initiative. Ready2Teach
provides teacher candidates with a full year
of experience in a classroom setting. During
the yearlong clinical experience, also referred
to as a residency, teacher candidates are
paired with highly effective teachers as their
mentors. During the residency year, teacher
candidates are also expected to complete and
pass edTPA, a performance assessment. Apart
from participating TBR institutions, several other
EPPs incorporate their own residency models.
However, the definition of a residency varies
considerably among programs and is often
interchangeably used with the term student
internship.
Other yearlong residency programs in Tennessee
include the Memphis Teacher Residency (MTR),
the Nashville Teacher Residency (NTR), and
the Belmont Urban Teacher Residency
(BTR). NTR and BTR recently each
received a $500,000 grant from
NCTR as two of four programs
chosen from a pool of 16
national applicants.24 Both