Putting Theory Into Practice

By Ali Vandenburgh, Director of the Teaching Apprentice Program

SIX

In early December, I sat among a small audience of colleagues as our Teaching Apprentices and M.Ed. candidates presented qualitative research conducted as part of an on-campus graduate-level course called Classroom and School Inquiry.

The students explored such questions as how to make a studio space more conducive to collaboration and learning, how to establish workable and manageable systems for lesson and unit design, and how to balance collaborative work with independent practice to best promote student learning. The course is taught by faculty member Krysta Ibsen, who spent 2015 at Berwick as part of Lesley University’s Teaching Apprentice Program (TAP). The intention of this course, along with the other core and elective courses taught at Berwick and through Lesley, is to connect theory with practice. In other words, apprentices and M.Ed. candidates are working to apply their coursework to the dayto-day practice that is relevant and applicable to their chosen disciplines, grade levels, and educational settings.

“Being a part of this collaborative internship program provides a variety of opportunities to receive meaningful feedback about your teaching,” Ibsen says, recalling her own experience. “It was incredibly helpful to have support while planning units, teaching lessons, and grading assignments. Being in this program has encouraged me to continue to seek feedback and find ways to grow.”

Research has recently confirmed the benefits of a residency model of teacher education. While most teacher preparation programs include significant coursework with fewer hours in a classroom, a residency model views teacher candidates as apprentices who spend a full school year working alongside mentor teachers while simultaneously completing graduate coursework covering topics such as unit design, child/adolescent development, fostering equity and inclusion, and meeting the needs of diverse learners. The ability to apply theory and pedagogical strategies to a full-time daily practice with students in the classroom is invaluable. Apprentices work alongside veteran faculty for an entire academic year and are actively involved in planning curriculum and leading instruction. At the end of each semester, they engage in a “solo week” of teaching, for which they design and implement a unit within the course curriculum.

As Eloise Willemsen (TAP ’19) describes it, “Being in the classroom is the best teacher I had.”

As a result of a residency program’s combination of challenging coursework and on-the-ground daily practice, teachers enter the profession better prepared to meet the many demands of teaching, including building relationships with students, serving as an advisor, and contributing to the community beyond the classroom. Residency programs also have shown to result in higher teacher retention rates, and early research suggests better student learning outcomes.

Berwick’s collaboration with Lesley University began in 2014. Prior to that, the School partnered with the University of New England. The majority of graduates of our Teaching Apprentice Program are now employed by independent schools across the country. This year, Berwick has six faculty members who are graduates of TAP, and two of them, Cassie Warnick ’06 (TAP ’11) and Jessica Harley ’15 (TAP ’20), are Berwick alumni.

“After having gone through the program,” Warnick says, “I felt confident in my competence as a new teacher and comfortable asking for support and feedback from my peers and mentors, ultimately allowing me to build a reflective teaching practice.”

Some TAP graduates joined the faculty immediately after completing the program, while others taught elsewhere before returning to the Hilltop. Regardless, Berwick hired them with the confidence that they had the combination of content knowledge, pedagogical expertise, and classroom-based training necessary to make a positive impact on student learning and the professional community of Berwick.

For more information about the Teaching Apprentice Program and Berwick’s collaboration with Lesley University, visit https://www.berwickacademy. org/teaching-apprentice-program.

MAEVE CONNOLLY (TAP ’16)

My time as a TA at Berwick had a big impact on my approach to teaching. I had the opportunity to teach lessons, develop a curriculum, and participate in many other aspects of the community, such as coaching and advising. When I started my first teaching job the following year, I felt more confident leading my own classroom and participating in all aspects of an independent school community. My time at Berwick allowed me to dip my toes into the world of teaching at an independent school so that when I took my first teaching position, I could dive right in and feel more comfortable and confident. There are so many things that make Berwick such an outstanding school to be a part of, but for me, what stands out the most is how welcoming and supportive the community is.

JESSICA HARLEY (BA ’15, TAP ’20)

The TA program gave me a safe and supportive place to try things out. Until this program, I was never really given the opportunity to be in the classroom, preparing lesson plans and interacting with students. I could see what a teacher’s daily life was like while being mentored and supported by so many others on campus.

KRYSTA IBSEN (TAP ’15)

Working at Berwick inspired me to be a lifelong learner. When I first co-taught in the Lower School, I was amazed at the level of care each student received and how hard teachers worked to incorporate new practices in their classrooms. The faculty at Berwick are not only great teachers but are incredible colleagues. People are always willing to help each other, even when they have a million things going on in their own classrooms.

SARAH JEANNE SHIMER (TAP ’19)

The residency program at Berwick gave me the opportunity to be involved in many aspects of Berwick beyond just teaching in the classroom, such as coaching and residential life. As a result, during the job search, I was a stronger candidate because many schools were looking for faculty who could contribute to other parts of campus life.

My coursework for my Master’s in Education shaped my approach to teaching. It gave me a solid understanding of pedagogy, best practices, and adolescent development, which constantly informs my work with students, inside and outside the classroom.

My mentor teachers showed me all of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into teaching. They helped me develop skills for lesson planning, comment writing, and meeting the needs of students, skills that I draw on every day.

CASSIE WARNICK (BA ’06, TAP ’11)

Having an M.Ed proves invaluable in my career as a teacher. Through my graduate school experience, I took courses designed to help me learn the core aspects of teaching, such as effective approaches to unit and lesson planning, classroom management strategies, and ways to thoughtfully and responsively engage and motivate all students in the classroom setting. The Teaching Apprentice Program provided the opportunity to put all of that theory into practice in authentic and meaningful ways in the classroom with consistent guidance and feedback from highly skilled and effective mentor teachers.

ELOISE WILLEMSEN (TAP ’19)

I love the Teaching Apprentice Program because you get to be a part of the community completely. You are a part of classes, advisory, sports, events, and more. While graduate-level courses support building pedagogy and understanding educational theory, being in the classroom is the best teacher I had.