Thursday, October 16, 2008

A Teacher Training Model That Makes Sense

Education Week reports on the Boston Teacher Residency program trains urban teachers by placing them with a master teacher in an urban classroom for a year. This way, there are less surprises when they take on their own classrooms a year later. 

The program makes sense in comparison to other models. In traditional teacher certification routes, students spend less time in the classroom, have little control over placement, and the cooperating teachers' teaching skills can be questionable. With Teach for America, to-be teachers spend less than a month in a classroom, teaching only about one lesson per day. 

Boston Teacher Residency's program sets future teachers up for success and attracts those who are serious about education and teaching in the long-term. However, does it lose candidates to TFA, whose teachers will receive a full salary during the first year of the program, unlike BTR participants who will only receive a stipend?