Woodrow wilson teaching fellowship: Bring student teaching into the 21st century

Traditional student teaching is out of date, especially in programs seeking to prepare teachers to serve the growing number of high-need school settings. This requires a new vision of clinical practice for teacher candidates. Universities and school districts are testing at least three approaches -- mentoring, year-long residencies, and coteaching -- all of which promise to improve the preparation of tomorrow's teachers. Other initiatives are under way across the nation -- but all such efforts, if truly thoughtful, have these three characteristics: They integrate coursework with clinical time; they last one full school year, and; they blur the line between a teacher candidate and a licensed teacher.