Effective teacher prep depends on a high-quality clinical practice experience. There is an ever-growing variety of preparation models available to aspiring teachers. Yet to date, the field has not galvanized around a common vocabulary.
This paper addresses that issue by establishing definitions of the two key types of clinical practice experiences teacher candidates need and an outline of five common models prep programs use to provide them. The paper also describes an increasingly prevalent sixth model of preparation that denies candidates a high-quality clinical practice experience, despite often co-opting terms, such as "residency," from other models.
NCTQ released Defining Types of Clinical Practice in conjunction with the Clinical Practice Framework—detailing the six critical focus areas and actions for prep programs, districts and states—and the
Clinical Practice Framework Research Rationale, which provides comprehensive information about the research supporting the six focus areas.
