Based on cutting-edge research, the UW College of Education’s Teacher Education Program coursework prepares students to successfully teach in high-needs elementary or secondary urban classrooms. UW programs are 4 quarters of intense coursework and fieldwork, followed by a year of work in actual classrooms, where teacher candidates connect to their practice and coursework. UW provides Martinez Fellows with two additional years of training and support following certification. Ranked in the top 12 of all Colleges of Education in the nation, the UW College of Education provides a solid foundation for future teachers.
Fieldwork Prepares Teacher Candidates for the Most Challenging Classrooms
Extensive fieldwork in high-need partner schools, all located in culturally diverse urban communities in Puget Sound, prepare University of Washington teacher candidates to teach in the most challenging classrooms. The hands-on application of curriculum in real school settings, under the guidance of experienced faculty, improves both teacher and school student learning. The secondary program places UW students inside upper-grade classrooms to interact with teachers and analyze what happens moment-to-moment in the chaos of a classroom. The UW students, steeped in best-practice concepts from campus, make careful classroom observations and then join UW faculty, teaching assistants and high-school staff in joint sessions to analyze experiences and co-plan real-life lessons.
Rich Experiences
Students are learning inside and outside of classrooms. To help UW students understand the complexities of their future students’ lives, the university launched the Alliance of Community Teachers. This program places teaching candidates in community-based organizations, such as arts centers, culturally oriented ethnic enters, or Boys and Girls clubs for 6 to 10 hours a week in their first quarter. The experience benefits the teachers in training, the students, and the communities themselves.
Comprehensive Continuum of Support Post-Graduation
UW has developed a program for supporting its graduates in their first years as beginning teachers. This program offers graduates an important opportunity to bring pressing problems from their classrooms back to the university for analysis and problem solving—and it provides university faculty with an opportunity to better understand the challenges its graduates face in their first years of teaching.
Network of High-Needs Partner Schools
The Ackerley Network Partnership consists of 26 highest-need area schools, a partnership that enables UW to provide professional development for local teachers and principals, engage liaison teachers to maintain a strong relationship between the school and college, and fund inquiry projects that allow teachers to explore learning initiatives directly aimed at improving student performance.
One Year to Certification
Residency certification for elementary teaching can be completed in one academic year. For secondary, students will be eligible for initial certification after 4 consecutive quarters, finishing student teaching in late March. (March is traditionally the beginning of hiring season; our students often work as long- or short-term substitute teachers in the spring.) Throughout their first year of teaching, students will have ongoing support and mentoring.
For more information about UW’s College of Education, visit: http://education.washington.edu.
Learn more about The Martinez Foundation’s scholarships and programs, and meet the scholarship recipients from UW. |
