Characteristics for Teachers — The Residency Lab

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Quick reference guides and detailed documentation to support your work

Teacher Characteristics

Quick reference summary of all 10 characteristics with key indicators

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Teacher Characteristics (Detailed Handout)

Comprehensive guide with all indicators, examples, and implementation strategies

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1
Key Indicators (6)
- Mission, vision, theory of change, coursework and clinical practice make explicit commitments to equity and justice.
- Research based evidence is used to create short and long term goals.
- Evidence is regularly assessed and adjusted.
- Recruitment and retention targets for mentors and teachers reflect a commitment to diversity and include specific numbers.
- Issues of equity and justice are integrated in formal, consistent, and institutionalized ways and included in all residency policies and strategic plans.
- Research based affinity spaces are supported within program parameters.
2
Key Indicators (4)
- Residency teams include leaders and decision-makers from IHEs, LEAs, schools, collective bargaining entities, and local communities.
- Partnership agreements between or among all residency partners include a shared mission, vision and theory of change for the residency program.
- Staffing, roles, and responsibilities are delineated across the residency.
- Established norms for collaboration and decision-making are used to define and implement data-based residency goals and milestones that are revisited over time.
3
Key Indicators (7)
- Program costs include resources and personnel necessary for effective implementation.
- Incentives (i.e. resident, mentor stipends) are defined and tied to the value of the residency program, the LEA 3-5 year strategic plan, the mission, vision, theory of change, and long-term budget.
- Long-term budget projection is defined, including increasing cost savings to the LEA.
- Evidence of long-term commitment by all partners to contribute the necessary resources to operationalize the program.
- All available funding sources are examined and accessed.
- Revenue sources are diverse.
- Long term staffing and project management is institutionalized for program longevity i.e. there are systems in place for information to be stored and accessible to withstand staffing changes.
4
Key Indicators (4)
- Qualitative and quantitative data is systematically collected in real-time to make revisions to residency programs.
- There is a data-sharing agreement between partners.
- A program assessment and evaluation plan with multiple measures that are tied to the Characteristics and Evidence of an Effective Educator Residency Program are codified.
- Each aspect of the program, from finances and personnel to participants is data driven using established communication protocols.
5
Key Indicators (5)
- A recruitment strategy determined by the LEA, IHE and Bargaining Collective (if applicable) is data informed and systematized in order to target and prioritize a diverse pool of applicants.
- Recruitment includes a variety of candidate vetting processes and differentiated support for candidates including candidate awareness of the impact of identity and institutionalized racism on teaching and learning in local, state and broader contexts.
- Recruitment processes include a case management approach for candidates who reflect the students they will serve (e.g., testing support or waivers, flexible deadlines to apply).
- Resident recruitment and selection utilizes and lifts up the work of current residents, mentors, principals, and partners.
- Clinical practice site administrators prioritize residents in hiring processes.
6
Key Indicators (5)
- Residents co-teach alongside a mentor educator for no less than one full school year.
- Residents gradually take on additional teaching responsibilities throughout the school year and are welcomed into the fabric of the school as a co-teacher.
- The Resident has consistent opportunities to observe other mentors and debrief observations at the school site.
- Residents are coached, assessed and given regular feedback by mentors, teacher educators, and program staff.
- IHE coursework and other professional learning opportunities are designed or adjusted to support and align with clinical practice and procedures are in place to review clinical practice and coursework alignment at regular intervals.
7
Key Indicators (6)
- Coursework, clinical experiences and professional learning opportunities are aligned through a set of prioritized skills.
- A shared observation rubric/framework is used to assess residents on agreed-upon growth.
- Coursework and professional learning emphasize a curriculum in which social justice and examining injustice informs teaching practice.
- Residents regularly reflect on the growth and impact of their practice through performance benchmarks.
- Scope and sequence of coursework and professional opportunities allows residents to practice and receive feedback on skills before being applied and assessed.
- Professional learning for mentors and other partners is aligned with coursework content and strategies used by residents.
8
Key Indicators (6)
- Mentors have at least three years of teaching experience and a clear credential.
- Mentors have a record of successful teaching, growth mindset, receptiveness to feedback, and willingness to disrupt problematic and racist curriculum.
- In collaboration, the IHE and LEA mentor selection strategy screens and vets potential mentors using multiple measures (e.g., paper application, interview, model lesson and debrief session, colleague recommendation, etc.).
- Mentors receive specific training and ongoing professional development tied to resident learning and need.
- Mentors develop the resident’s abilities to self-assess and co-assess practice based on evidence, to set professional goals, and monitor progress.
- Mentors use knowledge of equity principles and culturally responsive pedagogy to support their resident to address issues of equity, bias, and access to standards-based curriculum.
9
Key Indicators (6)
- Recruitment or tactical outreach plan for potential clinical practice sites.
- Clinical practice school selection criteria and process is defined and prioritizes schools whose students reflect the LEA's and community's diversity.
- Some/all coursework and professional learning opportunities take place on site in clinical practice site classrooms.
- Integrated learning communities at each clinical practice site includes administrators, mentors, and residents.
- Mentors, residency graduates and residents examine ways in which site policies can perpetuate and mask inequities and discredit improvements made by students over time.
- Programs participate in regional communities of practice to share learning beyond their particular program.
10
Key Indicators (5)
- Formal induction support is provided to all graduates.
- Professional learning includes guaranteed and opt-in opportunities for graduates to continue to learn, grow and develop as leaders.
- Alumni are recruited as mentors once they meet criteria.
- Alumni are provided on-going post-induction professional opportunities and resources.
- Residency programs promote wellness and retention by incorporating programming (workshops, readings, etc) that focus on educator retention through personal development.

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Explore our resources and collections to see these characteristics in action through research, case studies, and practical tools.

Explore Collections Meet the Team

The Residency Lab

Explore Collections

VAPA and Proposition 28

AI in Education

Residency Foundations

Organizational Sustainability

Program Characteristics

For Teachers

For Counselors

Characteristics of an Effective Teacher Residency Program

Downloadable Resources

Teacher Characteristics

Teacher Characteristics (Detailed Handout)

Equitable Systems

Key Indicators (6)

Collaborative Partnership

Key Indicators (4)

Operational Sustainability

Key Indicators (7)

Use of Assorted Data Sources to Inform Ongoing Program Improvement

Key Indicators (4)

Effective Recruitment & Retention Processes

Key Indicators (5)

Yearlong Resident Clinical Practice

Key Indicators (5)

Coursework and Professional Learning

Key Indicators (6)

Culturally Responsive Mentorship

Key Indicators (6)

Integrated Learning Communities

Key Indicators (6)

Support Beyond Certification

Key Indicators (5)

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