Strengthening the Clinical Orientation of Teacher Preparation Programs

SRI Authors: Sara Rutherford-Quach

Abstract

This paper describes five levers CSU campus-district partnerships used to make clinically oriented reforms to teacher preparation as part of the New Generation of Educators Initiative (NGEI): 1) identifying prioritized skills; 2) selecting or creating a rubric to assess candidate proficiency with prioritized skills; 3) integrating and expanding opportunities to practice prioritized skills; 4) reconceptualizing clinical roles, selection, and support; and, 5) defining and implementing processes to provide feedback on prioritized skills. This paper is one of a four-part series sharing lessons learned from NGEI, a multiyear effort to improve teacher preparation at 11 California State Universities teacher preparation programs (TPPs) in partnership with local public-school districts.