NYU Steinhardt Plans Online Teacher Residency Program
The New
York University Steinhardt School of
Culture, Education and Human Development plans to introduce
a residency-based online teacher
education program that students — teacher interns — can complete
virtually.
The
program, if approved by state representatives, will
combine online coursework with immersive on-site experiences as the
students
work toward a graduate degree.
The
program is targeting teacher residencies in
high-needs schools — those in which new teachers often report a
lack of
adequate preparation and high attrition rates.
Students
will be mentored by NYU faculty, who
will be able to use video technology to observe classroom instruction
at a
distance and work one on one with students to improve their teaching
skills.
The
students will be teacher interns who work
under the supervision of classroom teachers with the idea that they
will
gradually gain more responsibility in the classroom as they work
through the
program.
"Research
shows that the strongest way to prepare
effective teachers is through immersive experience in schools, but too
few
teachers are trained this way," said Dominic Brewer, the Gale and Ira
Drukier
Dean of NYU Steinhardt. "Our proposed program is the first significant
attempt
by a major research university to create a national model that departs
from the
traditional pathway of teacher education."
Content
of the courses will focus on teaching
bilingual learners, special education and literacy instruction. The program is being
organized so that
students can complete the course in one year.
NYU
Steinhardt will use a technology platform
provided by HotChalk.
It includes an online video observation and collaboration
tool created by tech startup Torsh.
The
online teacher education course is the fourth
online graduate degree program NYU Steinhardt has announced
this year. In
August, the college announced it would introduce degrees in speech
pathology,
counseling and guidance and occupational therapy in late 2016 or early
2017.
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.