The following quote from one of the partner
principals highlights reciprocity between
mentor and pre-service teacher.
“So the biggest one (impact to mentor
teachers) was this commitment to equity,
access and social justice. The mentor teach-
ers were really kind of learning from the
student teachers about this. We wanted to
do some of that work, but we got busy and a
lot of those teachers were insistent on mak-
ing sure that we continued to think about
and be more reflective about what our com-
munity is up against. And what some of
the challenges are that we might not ever
see that are existing at home and out in the
neighborhood. And so I think that piece,
the commitment to social justice, had an
impact on the mentor teachers.”
Secondary School Partner Principal
• Time in the field - Our pre-service can-
didates are in the field with K-12 students
for more than 900 hours during their resi-
dency. In addition to increased time in the
field, a residency should structure shared
learning opportunities for professional de-
28
Leadership
velopment and engagement with partners.
Time in the field begins after the summer
professional development, where pre-ser-
vice teachers and mentor teachers have the
opportunities to co-construct the first days
of school.
• Recruitment - We focus on recruiting
students who have experiences working
in urban schools and who strongly want to
address issues of social justice in education.
The applicant pool is diverse, which can be
a challenge in science and math. However,
UCLA-TEP’s focus on social justice was
foundational to its inception in 1995. Thus,
students applying to the IMPACT program
know that the focus is on social justice in
STEM fields.
• Cohort structure - We engage in a co-
hort model where 16 pre-service teachers
are in a cohort that is supported by a faculty
advisor. Most importantly, this structure de-
velops meaningful relationships among pre-
service teachers. They take the same courses
together and some of them are placed in the
same schools for their student teaching.
This embedded peer support also helps
develop a learning community among them-
selves. We strive to normalize the sharing of
experiences in the classroom through video,
student work and ref lecting on pedagogi-
cal moves. The cohort members have deep
conversations about diverse challenges, such
as how poverty and historical marginaliza-
tion, racism and power show up in schools
today. They speak to the historical imprint of
trauma, but also the assets and how students
and community heal. They discover the rich-
ness that is often ignored or overlooked by
public discourse and the media. Some of our
alumni remain connected past their time in
the program and continue to challenge each
other on pedagogy, critical self-reflection,
and keeping the core tenets of social justice,
inquiry, equity and access at the center.
• Role of the faculty advisor (Univer-
sity teaching faculty) - The faculty advisor
supports the pre-service candidates in the
cohort and has the opportunity to develop
meaningful relationships with the pre-ser-
vice teachers as they navigate through stu-
dent teaching and coursework. The faculty
advisor observes pre-service teachers in the
field, holds the seminar, and in some cases
also teaches content methods. The faculty
advisor is often the bridge between the field
and the university. Faculty advisors com-
municate with the field in person and with
weekly newsletters.
• Selection of mentor teachers (partner
teachers) - Teachers are successful teach-
ers as it pertains to pedagogy. They are ob-
served, interviewed and recommended by
their principal. They show a willingness to
develop relational trust with teacher can-
didates and are open, curious and flexible;
they invite critical reflection and inquiry and
engage in reciprocity by learning from their
pre-service teacher.
• Unified pedagogical language through
ICOR (IMPACT Classroom Observation
Rubric) - This framework for teaching was
developed by the university in collabora-
tion with measurement, content and teacher
educators to reflect a vision of teaching that
integrates equity, new standards, and social
justice. The dimensions include Content
Rigor, Content Discourse, Equitable Access
to Content and Classroom Ecology.