Study of Teacher Residency Programs

appendix H

DIRECTOR INTERVIEW

TEACHER RESIDENCY PROGRAM DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PROTOCOL

Per the policies and procedures required by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, Title I, Part E, Section 183, responses to this data collection will be used only for statistical purposes. The reports prepared for this study will summarize findings across the sample and will not associate responses with a specific district or individual. We will not provide information that identifies you or your district to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law. Any willful disclosure of such information for nonstatistical purposes, without the informed consent of the respondent, is a class E felony.

Thank you for agreeing to participate in the Teacher Residency Program (TRP) Director Interview. The in-depth information collected through this interview will provide the study with a better understanding of the structure of TRPs, and the instruction and support provided to their participants. Some of the questions may require additional follow-up. Before we proceed, I want to confirm that this is still a good time for you.

A0. Overview of Program Structure

1. TRPs may include a variety of different organizations as partners. Please tell me more about the organizational structure of your program. What are the organizations that are partners?

• Colleges or universities (institutes of higher education)?

• Nonprofit organizations?

• Local public school districts?

• Other organizations?

2. For each of the following program components or activities, please describe the responsibility of each partnering organization in implementing that aspect of the program. Does the organization have sole responsibility, primary responsibility (with other organizations playing a secondary role), equally shared responsibility with other organizations, or secondary responsibility (with another organization in the lead)?

Activity	Organization 1 _____________	Organization 2 _____________	Organization 3 _____________	Organization 4 _____________
General program administration
Recruiting/selecting participants
Designing coursework
Delivering coursework
Selecting mentors
Finding residency placements
Overseeing program coursework
Overseeing residency classroom experience
Providing feedback to residents on their teaching performance in the classroom
Helping students find teacher of record placements
Follow-up with TRP alumni to provide additional support
Follow-up with TRP alumni to assess compliance with program commitment agreements

A. Recruitment, Application, and Selection Process

1. [Intro for grantees: After you knew your grant funding,] What was your goal for the number of new participants in the 2010-2011 school year, by grade/school level and subject?

2. How did you do on each of these goals?

School/ Grade level	Subject	Goal #	Actual # Who Enrolled

3. How did you go about advertising/promoting your program and recruiting applicants?

• Program/college website?

• Online ads, social networking sites?

• Electronic media (TV/radio)?

• Newspaper, other print media?

• Targeted mailings/emails (to whom?)

• Other?

4. Were you seeking applicants with any particular demographic characteristics, or work or life experiences? (Meaning, easily measurable things, not intangibles like attitude) (Specify.)

5. Overall, was your applicant pool “larger than you had hoped for, about the size you hoped for, or smaller than you had hoped for”?

6. To what do you attribute your success (or lack of success, if applicable) in filling admission slots for various teaching/training positions? (Factors in your favor or against you?)

7. Was the overall quality of the applicants—in terms of the qualifications or characteristics you cared about—“higher than you had hoped for, about what you had hoped for, or lower than you had hoped for”?

Now let’s talk about the screening and admission process.

8. Does the selection process include a telephone interview of any kind?

• Who gets interviewed, everyone or just some applicants (on what basis are they selected for interviews)?

• Are interviews by telephone or in person or both?

• Are applicants told to prepare for the interview in any way? (How?)

• How long does it last?

• What is the nature of the interview (informal, semi-structured conversation, or a standard instrument or question set)?

• What are you looking for in the interview, how is their performance assessed?

9. Does the selection process include an in-person interview of any kind?

• Who gets interviewed, everyone or just some applicants (on what basis are they selected for interviews)?

• Are interviews by telephone or in person or both?

• Is each candidate interviewed alone or is it more of a group interview/discussion

• Are applicants told to prepare for the interview in any way? (How?)

• How long does it last?

• What is the nature of the interview (informal, semi-structured conversation, or a standard instrument or question set)?

• What are you looking for in the interview, how is their performance assessed?

10. Does the process involve any sample teaching or are participants required to develop a sample lesson plan?

• Who gets asked to do this, everyone or just some applicants (on what basis are they selected for this)?

• How many lessons do they teach (how many plans do they develop)?

• What type of lessons or plans do they work on (recent examples?)

• How long do the sample teaching sessions last?

• How much time do they have to prepare?

• Who are the “students” they are teaching?

• What are you looking for in these exercises? (Collect scoring sheets/rubrics, if applicable.)

10a) Does the process include collecting any information from applicants designed to measure their general aptitude or disposition for teaching?

• What specific items are collected?

• How is this information collected?

• Is the information used informally in the selection of participants, or to construct a formal measure or construct of aptitude for teaching?

• If a formal measure is used, what measure is it?

11. Does the application form itself, or another part of the selection process, require applicants to do any writing (e.g., short answers or essays)?

• How many questions/topics do they have to address?

• What are some recent examples?

• How much writing is expected?

• What are you looking for in their writing samples? (more value on what it says or quality of writing?)

12. Is there anything else that takes place as part of the screening and selection process that we haven’t already talked about? (Please describe.)

13. Finally, I’m going to list several factors that you may or may not consider when deciding which applicants to admit to your program. First, tell me if you do or do not consider it, then tell me whether it is “(1) very important, (2) moderately important, or (3) slightly or not important” to the admission decision.

Skip any they have said they don’t use	Considered?	Very important	Moderately important	Slightly or not important
Overall undergraduate GPA
GPA on some subset of undergraduate courses
Major/minor or types of courses taken as undergrad
Quality of undergraduate institution
Score on basic skills test (e.g., Praxis or a state test)
Performance in telephone interview
Performance in in-person interview
Performance in sample teaching
Program-developed measure of aptitude for teaching
Quality of sample lesson plan
Quality of writing
Content of writing
Type of work experience
Letters of reference or calls to references
Applicant personal/demographic characteristics, such as age, sex, race/ethnicity, non-English language skills
Availability of appropriate mentor
How accepting the applicant would fit with admission goals for different types of teachers
Anything else I haven’t listed? (specify)
Anything else I haven’t listed? (specify)
Anything else I haven’t listed? (specify)
Anything else I haven’t listed? (specify)
Anything else I haven’t listed? (specify)

A2. Structure of Program Activities

1. TRPs may be structured in a variety of ways, in terms of the activities participants engage in at different times. Please describe the experiences of the typical participant going through the program. What is the overall length of the program, from the time the student initially enters the program and begins taking coursework until the time the program requirements have been completed and the participant can begin a job as a teacher of record?

• Length of program for typical participant in calendar time?

• Length of program for typical participant in number of academic terms?

2. In the first academic term for a participant, describe the typical set of program activities.

• How many days per week and hours per day is a student taking courses?

• Are courses typically held on certain days of the week (and not others) for participants?

• How many days per week is a student in the residency classroom?

• Is this work full-time or part-time on these days?

• Does the residency take place on certain days of the week (and not others)?

• Are these patterns of coursework and residency consistent over the course of the academic term or do they shift during the term? If so, how do they shift?

3. In the second academic term for a participant, describe the typical set of program activities.

ASK THE SAME QUESTIONS AS FOR THE FIRST TERM.

REPEAT THE QUESTIONS FOR THE THIRD TERM AND SUBSEQUENT TERMS

4. Is there any specific course designed to allow students to reflect on their experiences and/or integrate what is happening in their residency with what they are learning in their coursework? If so, when does this course take place?

B. Coursework Toward Certification/Master’s (and Other Training Besides the Residency)

1. Prior to the start of coursework, is there any required formal orientation session or summer institute for newly accepted participants? If Yes...

• For all new participants or just some (which)?

• When does it take place (month)?

• How long does it last (in hours)?

• What’s the objective, what topics does it cover?

• Any fieldwork component [e.g., observing summer school] (describe)?

2. Where do participants attend courses (receive instruction) toward their certification/master’s degree? College campus, district office, school, other?

3. Let’s discuss the full set of courses that participants have to complete to receive their certification/master’s degree. We want to know how the coursework is spread out over time, and determine how much of the instruction in these courses focuses on certain subjects.

(This will require looking at schedules collected in advance or on site. Start by gaining an understanding of the amount of actual seat time—clock hours—involved in a standard course. Then figure out and fill in the shaded total row. Then start to fill in other rows. If requirements vary by teaching subject/level, collect range of hours.)

CLOCK HOURS OF INSTRUCTION BY TOPIC AND TIME FRAME	Before starting residency	While in residency	After residency but before becoming full-time TOR	After becoming full-time TOR	Total
Classroom management
Teaching methods/pedagogy (how to teach, in general or certain subjects)
Curriculum/content area(s) (what to teach)
Student assessment (how to measure knowledge and progress, e.g., via testing; not how to diagnose learning styles or disabilities)
Differentiated instruction, or use of data on student achievement to develop different instructional strategies for students at different levels
Child development
History or philosophy of education
Other (difference between total and sum of above)
Total

4. How are the coursework and residency aspects of the program designed to complement/reinforce one another? For example, to what extent do participants discuss/analyze their residency experiences with instructors/peers? To what extent do instructors tell participants what to do or watch for in their residencies? (Describe.)

5. Does this [college / program’s college partner] offer another master’s degree for new teachers – that is, a non-TRP masters?

• (If yes:) How does the coursework in this program differ from the other master’s degree program your college [partner] offers for new teachers? (Order, quantity, focus, instructors, etc.?)

• (If no:) How does the coursework in this program differ from your understanding of the coursework in a more standard or traditional master’s degree program for new teachers? (Order, quantity, focus, instructors, etc.?)

6. Besides coursework and residency (which we’ll discuss later), are there any other required instructional or training activities for participants to qualify for certification – e.g., workshops, professional development from district, a portfolio, an exam? (Describe.)

C. Mentors

1. What strategies do you use for identifying and recruiting mentors?

• Broad direct appeal to teachers (e.g., in certain grades/subjects) for self-nomination?

• Broad appeal to principals/others for nominations?

• Narrow direct appeal to specific individual teachers? Which, how identified?)

• Word of mouth?

• Other?

2. Is there a formal application form for potential mentors? If yes, can we have a copy?

3. Can you describe the mentor selection process – e.g., step by step?

4. What was your goal for total number of mentors in 2010-2011?

• Goal for new mentors, not previously involved with your program?

• How many people applied?

• How many new applicants were accepted?

5. Can you describe the training process for new mentors? When/how are they prepared for their duties?

• Topics covered?

• Length of time [days, hours/day]?

6. What, if anything, is done to re-prepare experienced/returning mentors?

7. How, if at all, do you assess mentors’ performance? (Formally/informally? Approaches/methods used? When, how often?)

8. Do you ask/expect mentors to commit to the program for any minimum length of time? (N / Y Minimum: )

D. Residency Schools and Placement

1. How are new residency host/placement schools identified and selected? What characteristics/factors matter? Do schools where mentors already work become residency placement schools, or do mentors have to move to certain predetermined placement schools, or do both processes happen? (How many new mentors had to change schools for this school year?)

2. Is there a goal of using the same residency host/placement schools (and possibly mentors) repeatedly, like incubator sites, that successive cohorts of residents move through?

3. How are residents assigned to the schools in which their residency will take place? (What factors/goals does the program consider? Do residents have any say/influence? Is it determined entirely by where an appropriate mentor happens to be teaching?)

4. How are residents matched to mentors? Are special efforts made to match residents with mentors with similar characteristics, such as age, gender, or race/ethnicity? Doe residents have any say/influence?

E. Residency Experience

1. What are the main rationales for the basic structure of the residency experience – its overall length, the number of mentors that residents work with, (and if applicable) differences between first and second assignments?

2. Is there a standard expectation for the process and timing by which residents should take on additional responsibilities in their residency year, moving from passive to more active role? Is it mostly consistently structured (if so, how)? Or is it more individually customized by each mentor and resident? How is it determined when residents are ready to take on more new roles?

3. If we went out and observed some typical residents for a week early in the first semester, what would we likely see them doing, how would they be dividing their time? What about close to the end of their first semester or start of the second? And what about at the end of their second semester?

4. Are mentors required (or encouraged) to provide formal feedback to their residents (e.g. , something structured/scheduled, possibly involving evaluation forms) on lesson/unit plans, or teaching? Please describe nature, amount, timing/frequency.

4a) Is the performance of residents assessed using informal methods or some sort of formal rubric? If a more formal rubric is used, please indicate what the rubric is and describe whether and how it is used to provide constructive feedback to residents to help them improve their performance.

5. Are residents required (or encouraged) to observe any teachers other than their mentors, or to do any other sort of fieldwork? Please describe nature, amount, timing/frequency.

6. Are residents required (or encouraged) to attend seminars (for example, non-graded lectures by excellent teachers) or other meetings (for example, small group meetings with peers to plan collaboratively, feedback sessions with program staff who have conducted observations?)?

7. Are residents observed in action by program or district staff during their residency? Please describe nature, purpose, amount, timing/frequency, who does it. Do these observers provide feedback directly to the resident and/or to program staff?

F. Participants as Teachers of Record

1. How do (will) participants obtain teaching assignments for their first year as a full-time teacher of record? (Roles/responsibilities of program/district/school staff versus participants themselves? What factors/goals does the program consider? [School characteristics? Participant clustering?])

2. What are the consequences for participants of not completing their commitment to the program in terms of the number of years they are required to teach in the district? Are former residents who fail to complete this commitment required to pay back some or all of the stipend they received while they were a resident? If so, how is the amount to be paid back determined?

G. Program Implementation (for grantees only)

1. How does the program as implemented thus far compare with the plan described in the grant application? What are the most noteworthy differences? (E.g., changes in processes, program size, structure, substance/content.)

• What accounts for the differences? (Simple change of plans or challenges such as changing circumstances/resources?)

2. What challenges, if any, have you faced thus far in implementation, even if they did not lead to any program changes?

H. Looking Ahead

1. How, if at all, do you anticipate this program changing in the next one to two years? What’s the rationale for these changes, or what might force changes if not desired?

2. What challenges, if any, do you foresee having to deal with over the next one to two year? [Areas to prompt for: recruitment/application, coursework/training/instructors, residency placement/mentors, post-residency placements. For each mentioned, ask, “Is that a major or minor challenge?”]

18