About the Program

College of Education and Human Development and public school partnership program for educational excellence

A student teacher uses flash cards to teach math.Western Michigan University's College of Education and Human Development is engaged in a teacher education program which requires a full semester internship under the mentorship of selected teachers in partnership schools and teacher educators from WMU. The program is a result of years of research and criticism, often from teachers themselves, that prior forms of intern teaching did not adequately involve interaction between the teachers in the schools and faculty from the University.

The internship is designed to prepare teachers not only for their roles as classroom teachers of children but also as professionals studying their own teaching practice, participating in site-based decision making and coordinating their work with teachers and other members of the school community. In time the goal is to have other social service providers and families of the children working together with teachers and interns in meeting the needs of children in schools. Obviously, these ambitious goals cannot be accomplished without close coordination across all of the parts of the program and across the faculty as well. In the intern teaching program both school and University faculty work closely together to support and assist interns as they progress through the semester.

Because of the interdependent nature of the coursework and experiences provided during the internship semester we are working with only a few school districts and schools with teachers who have committed themselves to the goals of the program.

In 1995 the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education cited this "cluster school" design as exemplary with the potential of contributing to school reform opportunities and to improvements in teacher education. We are not, therefore, placing interns in schools that are not part of the cluster site network. We believe our placement policy is essential to prepare new teachers for a future in teaching that is different in many ways from the schools we have known.

Excellence through collaboration

The College of Education and Human Development is dedicated to providing leadership and quality programs for advancing and merging the theory and practice of teaching. To this end, the College has established several new collaborative efforts with area public schools. The intern teaching program is designed to be a high quality experience for intern teachers as well as their mentor teachers and students. Participating schools and school districts serve as "cluster sites" where several interns are placed in one school with mentor teachers in order to work and learn together as reflective practitioners.

Figure 1.

Figure 1.

A reflective practitioner, as indicated in the shaded area of Figure 1, continually builds, examines and extends knowledge about learners, the content of schooling and the contexts in which teaching and learning occur while simultaneously renewing teaching practice. Such renewal requires contemplation about one's self and one's effect on the teaching and learning process.

The purposes of the intern teaching program are to improve the preparation of intern teachers, to offer professional development for the mentor teachers, to improve instruction for students in these schools and to assure the continuing professional development of college faculty. Through this program the university and the public schools are partners in the preparation of teachers.

These materials have been designed to introduce you to our intern teaching program, to describe the various "cluster site" arrangements and to explain the various roles of the people involved. Following are descriptions of the components of the program.

Cluster site

A school site serving diverse student populations in which a group of teacher candidates are placed to participate full-time in studying, practicing, and reflecting about the teaching profession under the guidance of cooperating teachers.

Teacher Candidate (TC)

As a teacher candidate, you will be able to apply your knowledge of educational theory and research in terms of human growth and development, the impact of urban poverty on teaching and learning, classroom organization and leadership, and the development and implementation of curricula that respond to the needs of your students. You will assume an increasing degree of responsibility in one of our classrooms under the supervision of a qualified cooperating teacher and clinical instructor. You are expected to ask questions to establish expectations, seek input, share concerns, prepare lessons, teach, co-teach with cooperating teacher, and self-reflect. This experience will allow you to further prepare yourself personally and professionally to assume your role as a practicing teacher.

Cooperating Teacher (CT)

A teacher who guides the practice of teacher candidates, provides guidance and feedback about lessons they prepare, observes and evaluates the teaching of the pre-intern and/or intern, and participates regularly in studying and reflection about their role with other cooperating teachers, clinical instructors, and coordinator of clinical experiences.

Mentor Coach (MC)

A tenured teacher at a cluster site who participates in intensive cooperating teacher preparation at the university and who coordinates and facilitates the work at the cluster site with cooperating teacher and with the clinical instructors. The mentor coach is the person who will assist you with your problems or concerns when the clinical instructor is not in the building.

Clinical Instructor (CI)

A university faculty member or part-time instructor who has overall responsibility for the coordination of a cluster site and who collaborates with the pre-intern coordinator, mentor coaches, mentors, and other school and university personnel.

School University Partnership Team (SUPT)

The mentor coaches from the school's and University's cluster coordinators meet regularly to study new and developing aspects of the intern teaching program and the role of the mentor, to solve problems as they arise and to plan for modifications and for new initiatives in education. This partnership between school and University staff offers a unique opportunity to both groups to work together and to improve the education of teachers.

Sites

The following school districts are currently participating as cluster sites in the intern teaching program:

  • Battle Creek metropolitan area
  • Berrien County (Southwest Campus elementary education students only)
  • Comstock 
  • Detroit metropolitan area
  • Galesburg-Augusta
  • Grand Rapids metropolitan area 
  • Kalamazoo
  • Mattawan
  • Paw Paw
  • Plainwell
  • Portage
  • Vicksburg

It has been our long-standing practice to avoid the placement of students in districts from which they have graduated or have some previously established or familial relationship.

Additionally, students with majors in the departments of Family and Consumer Sciences, Special Education and Literacy Studies, Human Performance and Health Education, Art, and Music are generally limited to placement within a 50-mile radius of Kalamazoo.