Distance Learning

NYU Steinhardt Plans Online Teacher Residency Program

• By Michael Hart
• 12/16/15

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.