Educating for Equity: Alder Graduate School's Teacher Residency

Abstract

In this report, the authors present a case study of the Alder Teacher Residency that was guided by the overarching question "How do successful residencies do their work?" This case is part of a larger multiple-case study of five California teacher residency programs across four different institutions of higher education (IHEs), with each case study conducted with the goal of documenting the details of program infrastructure; program design; recruitment strategies; resident, mentor teacher, and graduate supports; partnership; leadership; and financial sustainability. By understanding the details of how these residencies developed and operated their programming, the authors are able to share insights that can inform the design and continuous improvement of residency programs across the country. For each program, they drew data from program documents as well as interviews and focus groups with a wide range of constituents, such as current residents, residency graduates, mentor teachers, clinical coaches, course instructors, hosting or hiring principals, residency program leaders, teacher preparation program administrators, and LEA administrators. Transcriptions have been coded iteratively, both with attention to categories derived from prior research and to themes that emerged in the case study data. In particular, the authors focused their analytical attention on the following areas: (1) How are residencies structured in terms of their organization, programming, and financing?; (2) What is the experience like for residents?; (3) What procedural and structural features support the residency to enable smooth operations and success?; and (4) What ongoing challenges do residencies face?