Strengthening Teacher Candidate Preparation Through Redesigned Mentor Teacher Training for the Clinical Experience
Keywords:
Teacher Preparation, Teacher Candidate Mentoring, Co-Teaching TrainingAbstract
The University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, strengthened our educator preparation program by adding a teacher residency pathway for teacher candidates to culminate their preparation in a one-year placement with an experienced mentor teacher. Our program supports undergraduate teacher candidates in a traditional university preparation experience as they earn a bachelor’s degree with embedded teaching licensure requirements. In the 2025-2026 academic year, UIW offered two clinical experience options: a one-semester clinical teaching experience and a one-year teaching residency. UIW received TEA approval to offer the enhanced residency for various certification areas; however, in the first year, residency was limited to elementary candidates.
A concurrent program priority was to improve the training and support of mentor teachers working with our resident and clinical teachers. Our development efforts grounded program design and mentor training in co-teaching and gradual assumption of teaching responsibilities, differentiated for each clinical experience. The signature components of our work were the added residency pathway and the redesigned mentor training.
This manuscript provides an overview of the redevelopment of our mentor teacher training for mentor and candidate teacher teams. With the addition of the teaching residency in our program, we have incorporated additional attention to the residency design, as that clinical experience offers expanded opportunities for mentor training through the full-year placement. Informed by current research, best practices in co-teaching, and findings from our mentor support site study, the redesigned training emphasizes collaborative practices and clearly defined co-teaching roles. Participant surveys and feedback provide important data for continued program improvement.
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References
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