Internship+Phases

As we unfold this year’s Bridges program to address the new regulations, we envision the following timeline:


 * ** Foundation for Teaching ** (September to October). Candidates will spend the month of September and the beginning of October observing and teaching in their sponsoring teacher’s classroom and in their larger school organization. They will also engage in observations in other districts, including urban settings. The goal is for candidates to build a **foundation for teaching** through experiences that introduce them to the roles and responsibilities of a teacher in a middle and high school.


 * ** Co-Teaching and Interactive Coaching (October to end of December) ** . Candidates will assume increasing instructional roles in two to three classes by the middle of October, depending on the needs of the sponsoring teacher and the candidate’s readiness to take on these responsibilities. We envision this to be a period of **co-teaching and interactive coaching** between the candidate and the mentor teacher. We want mentors to give candidates targeted feedback to improve their teaching in the classroom and we want candidates to use proven, effective teaching strategies in their lessons with students.


 * ** Student Teaching Phase ** (January to April). Beginning in January, candidates will move into the **student teaching phase** of the program. During this time frame, they will complete 100 hours in which they assume **full responsibility for their mentor teacher’s entire instructional day**. During these 100 hours, candidates are expected to teach all classes during the day and perform other duties including school meetings and family conferences. Mentor teachers will be available to give coaching and support. The state’s new teacher regulations say that the 100 hours does not have to consecutive so teachers and candidates will be able to devise their own schedules for meeting the requirements. A candidate might teach a full load for a week, take a week to reflect and prepare, and then teach another full week, and so on. Or, a candidate might teach a full load 2 days a week for several weeks in a row. Candidates will be evaluated on how successfully they address the Massachusetts Professional Standards for Teachers as well as the national standards set by the National Council for Teachers of English (for English candidates), the National Council for the Social Studies (for history candidates), the National Science Teachers Association (for science candidates), and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (for mathematics candidates). University supervisors will observe and co-evaluate candidate performance throughout this process.


 * ** Clinical Teaching ** (April to end of the school year in June). The final phase of the program is **clinical teaching** in which candidates have the opportunity to further demonstrate their learning and improve their skills and competencies as a teacher in the classroom. We envision that candidates will have full responsibility for 2 or 3 classes and conduct them with less day-to-day involvement and support by mentor teachers. The goal is for candidates to assemble all of what they have learned during the year into a sustained period of mostly independent teaching in the classroom. Mentor teachers will judge the levels of assistance and support needed by the candidates.

CR