What Are the Expectations for Clinical Residency Placements

Reach Teachers College Bachelor’s in Global Education program concludes with the Clinical Year. One major component of this final year is a Clinical Residency Placement, which are designed to provide comprehensive, hands-on teaching experiences that prepare residents for successful classroom practice. The residency program consists of two stages: Clinical Residency I and Clinical Residency II, each focusing on building teaching skills, professional reflection, and collaboration with mentors.

Clinical Residency Placements: A Collaborative Guide

Year-long Clinical Residency Overview

Timeframe: total of 30 weeks (15 weeks per semester)

During Clinical Residency I, the resident completes a weekly clinical log to document the required 18 hours of clinical experiences, ensuring all program and state requirements are met. Additionally, the resident will complete a weekly coaching journal, to reflect on instructional practices and to receive feedback from the clinical supervisor or mentor to support professional growth. While the resident may observe and collaborate with other certified teachers, their assigned mentor will be the primary contact and will be responsible for reviewing and signing off on the Resident’s weekly logs and journals.

During Clinical Residency I, the Resident is expected to complete 50% (9 hours) of their Residency experiences engaged in teaching activities. The following table provides some key activities in which the Clinical Resident may engage to complete the required 18 hours each week:

Clinical Residency I: Suggested Activities & Times

Category	Activity	Weekly Time
Teaching	Facilitate whole or partial lessons using grade-level High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM). HQIM examples: Fundations, Wit & Wisdom, iREADY, Eureka²	5 hours
	Provide small group interventions to students who are experiencing learning challenges.	1 hour
	Facilitate differentiated, small group instruction during designated lessons.	2 hours
	Administer reliable assessments and use the data to inform instructional decisions.	1 hour
	TOTAL TEACHING	9 hours
Observing	Observe learning from evidence-based early literacy practices in K-3/1-3 classrooms	3 hours
	Use NIET ATR rubric to collect data that reflects weekly focus indicator/descriptor.	1 hour
	TOTAL OBSERVING	4 hours
Planning	Use HQIM to co-plan with the Mentor teacher. HQIM examples: Fundations, Wit & Wisdom, iREADY, Eureka²	2 hours
	Review student work to annotate HQIM plans that reflect differentiated instruction	2 hours
	Attend job-embedded professional learning, e.g. PLCs, cluster sessions, data meetings, grade level meetings, etc.	1 hours
	TOTAL PLANNING	5 hours
	TOTAL CLINICAL RESIDENCY I HOURS	18 hours

During Clinical Residency II, the Resident meets the same expectations from Clinical Residency I, with there being an increase to the time of required clinical experiences to 24 hours. Additionally, during Clinical Residency II, the Resident is expected to complete 75% (18 hours) of their Residency experiences engaged in teaching activities.The following table provides some key activities in which the Clinical Resident may engage to complete the required 24 hours each week:

Clinical Residency II: Suggested Activities & Times

Category	Activity	Weekly Time
Teaching	Facilitate whole lessons using grade-level High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM). HQIM examples: Fundations, Wit & Wisdom, iREADY, Eureka²	10 hours
	Provide small group interventions to students who are experiencing learning challenges.	3 hours
	Facilitate differentiated, small group instruction during designated lessons.	3 hours
	Administer reliable assessments and use the data to inform instructional decisions.	2 hour
	TOTAL TEACHING	18 hours
Observing	Observe and learning from evidence-based early literacy practices in K-3/1-3 classrooms	1 hour
	Use NIET ATR rubric to collect data that reflects weekly focus indicator/descriptor.	1 hour
	TOTAL OBSERVING	2 hours
Planning	Use HQIM to co-plan with the Mentor teacher. HQIM examples: Fundations, Wit & Wisdom, iREADY, Eureka²	1hours
	Review student work to annotate HQIM plans that reflect differentiated instruction	2 hours
	Attend job-embedded professional learning, e.g. PLCs, cluster sessions, data meetings, grade level meetings, etc.	1 hours
	TOTAL PLANNING	4 hours
	TOTAL CLINICAL RESIDENCY II HOURS	24 hours

Principal, Mentor and Resident Communication & Support

At Reach Teachers College, we are reflective practitioners. As a result, we reflect upon our work and diligently strive to refine our practices. Based on feedback from the Louisiana State Department of Education (LDOE) and in our preparation for two reviews conducted by the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE), we recognize the importance of enhancing communication and support provided to Clinical Site Principals and Clinical Site Mentors. The information below details expectations for the Mentor, Clinical Site Principal, and the Clinical Resident.

Mentor

Meets Arkansas and Louisiana Mentor requirements.
Supports the Clinical Resident with lesson planning in preparation for formal observations.
Complete specified portion of Weekly Coaching Journal.
Serves as a subject matter expert (SME) in grade-level and/or content area.
Assist Clinical Residents in scheduling weekly Clinical Residency activities that meet requirements for Clinical Residency hours.
Use the coaching journal to provide weekly oral and written feedback to Clinical Resident.
Attend Reach info/support sessions.
Communicate concerns to the Clinical Supervisor.

Clinical Site Principal

Ensures Clinical Residents have access to elementary classrooms, grades 1-5 (LA) or K-6 (AR).
Ensures Clinical Residents are assigned a qualified Mentor.
Conduct informal observations and provide feedback based on Clinical Residents weekly instructional activities.
Allows Clinical Residents to participate in before school or after school instructional activities.
Seeks support from school system designee regarding Clinical placements.
Attend Reach info/support sessions.
Communicate and concerns to Mentor and Reach Clinical Supervisor.

Clinical Resident

Complete weekly schedule that details Clinical Residency experiences. Weekly schedules should include observations of various classes to focus on teaching methods; classroom management and student engagement; planning and teaching lessons under Mentor’s supervision; using student work and lesson observations to reflect and participate in POP (pre- and post-conference with the clinical supervisor) Cycles, focused on implementation of High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM).

Complete weekly coaching journal after observations or teaching experiences.
Complete weekly clinical logs to document activities and required hours.