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What Are the Expectations for Clinical Residency Placements

Reach Teachers College residency placement expectations - Clinical Year (Bachelor of Arts General Education only)

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 is 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 per week, 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 1:  Sample 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 per week. 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 2: Sample 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 learn 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 2 HOURS

24 hours

Clinical Residency II: Suggested Activities & Times

Louisiana Semester 1 and Semester 2 - Louisiana specifies that all residents seeking a licensure in elementary education must spend 80% of both semester 1 and semester 2 onsite engaged in residency activities, such as teaching, lesson planning, and classroom observation, as outlined in  Bulletin 996. Residents assume before- and after-school responsibilities of the Mentor Teacher (provided they are not already engaged in their own responsibilities) while continuing to attend courses and seminars conducted by Reach university. Candidates should also participate in school opening and closing activities and professional development with the Mentor Teacher. Residency activities begin at the start of the host school school year, not at the start of the Reach University semester. This means that a teacher candidate will be engaged in residency activities prior to the start of residency coursework.  Beginning in Spring of 2026, for Louisiana CR1, candidates are expected to participate in at least 24 hours per week, or 4 full days, engaging in clinical activities; and for Louisiana CR2, 28 hours per week engaging in clinical activities.

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. 
  • Allows Clinical Residents to participate in school opening and closing professional development and activities with mentor teacher. 
  • Seeks support from school system designee regarding Clinical placements. 
  • Attend Reach info/support sessions. 
  • Communicate any concerns to Mentor and Reach Clinical Supervisor.
School System Designee
  • Assists with Clinical placements.
  • Ensure Mentors are credentialed/highly effective and receive any policy-based compensation.
  • Ensure residents receive any policy-based compensation.