Teacher Internship Overview

 

Teacher Internship Overview

The Teacher Academy Program has an experiential component to it. Students are placed with an elementary or middle school CBSD teacher in the grade or content of their interest. 2-3 days throughout the 18-week course, students report to that teacher's classroom for observations, small group instruction, and full class teaching. During this time in the classroom, students are able to see their learning live in action, and they are able to directly apply their learning with real students.

While the scope and sequence of the internship varies based on the student and the teacher mentor, here is a highlight of what students can expect:

Observations and Connections. Students spend the early portions of their internship shadowing and observing. They learn by watching, but they also have the opportunity to be a role model and mentor for the students in their classroom, taking time to get to know them and learn about them as they shadow their teacher. Students are also expected to be active and engaged during this time, helping and assisting the teacher when called upon to do so.

1:1 Work. Students then progress to some 1:1 tutoring and enrichment with students where they apply their knowledge of learners, class community, high impact teaching and learning and feedback strategies.

Small Group Instruction. Students have the opportunity to run small group lessons within their classroom, which provides a smaller scale for them to apply their learning. During this time, students apply the lesson plan they have been developing in the instructional component of the class.

Team Teaching. The internship culminates with students team teaching (co-teaching) lessons they help develop with their teacher mentor. They lead warm-ups, model skills, develop closures and assessments, and provide individual and whole class feedback--all under the guidance of the mentor teacher in the room.

During the internship, students are expected to be professional and are held to the highest standards of the district. They provide the instructor at East with observational reports as proof of learning and attendance. Professionalism, responsibility, organization, leadership, and passion are the core character attributes of those students looking to be part of the Teacher Academy Program.