ABSTRACT

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education report culled the field for examples of promising clinical practices. Partnerships are considered an important lever in moving field towards models that incorporate clinical and collaborative forms of learning. To support the development of practice in partner schools, we try to structure the interplay of conceptual knowledge, contextual knowledge, and clinical experience within a collaborative culture, accompanied by close mentoring, by both University and school mentors. The guidelines for curriculum planning incorporate different dimensions of practice emphasized in the program. Much of the work that Master of Arts in Teachings does in the spring gets refined and channeled into their electronic teaching portfolio. The portfolio integrates video, photographs, and scanned samples of student work with examples of curriculum plans and assessments. Graduates who teach in our local district or close by have availed themselves of these opportunities, building a circle of community and support outward from the nurturing center of the program.