ABSTRACT
Through a discussion of theoretical principles, this chapter will present concepts that guide our implementation as well as our exploration of its effectiveness. It will establish connections between the University at Buffalo Teacher Residency (UBTR) Program and collaborative professionalism and explain how the coherence theory of change provides a frame for residency as a means of reform. Three conceptual frameworks support this project: a Deweyan understanding of experiential education offers the philosophical underpinnings of pedagogies in context; Hargreaves and O’Connor’s collaborative professionalism provides aspirational principles of practice; and the coherence theory of change is the basis for the conviction that UBTR can be a vehicle for progressive reform. While they interact in complex and recursive ways, essentially, (a) collaborative professionalism represents the project’s desired ambition, (b) experiential education vis-à-vis the residency is the means of achieving this aspiration, and (c) the coherence theory of change provides the theoretical rationale that warrants trust in this endeavor as a vehicle for transformation leading to systemic reform. By re-centering teacher education in schools and the communities they serve, the residency model creates powerful opportunities for experiential education wherein the directionality is toward equity and justice.
