Our corps members
Corps and Alumni
Training
Two out of three principals who work with corps members report that Teach For America's training is better than that of other beginning teachers
Our training is designed to give corps members the foundational knowledge and skills they need to become highly effective teachers.
The summer training institute
Each incoming corps member attends a rigorous five-week summer training institute in one of eight locations. Through opportunities for practice, observation, coaching, and study — as well as careful planning and thoughtful reflection — corps members develop the foundational knowledge, skills, and mindsets needed to be highly effective beginning teachers.
Corps members typically describe the summer training institute as intense, challenging and rewarding. In the mornings and early afternoons, corps members teach in a district summer school program, under the close supervision of veteran educators from the hosting school district and Teach For America instructional staff. In the late afternoons and evenings, corps members participate in interactive courses and clinics to further develop content knowledge for their fall placements and build and arsenal of skills and best practices by observing and working alongside staff members and other veteran teachers.
Components of the summer training institute
| Teaching | Observations and feedback |
Rehearsal sessions | Lesson planning clinics | Curriculum sessions | Reflection sessions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Teaching
Corps members teach summer school students for approximately two hours each day, under the supervision of experienced teachers. For the first hour, most corps members work directly with four to five students to build skills in math and literacy, providing each teacher experience facilitating group work. For the second hour, corps members lead a full class lesson, an experience that builds the teacher's skills in delivering lessons and managing a classroom. |
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Elements of Institute coursework
At the core of this approach are six important strands of content:
| Teaching As Leadership | Focuses on the overarching approach of successful teachers in low-income communities |
|---|---|
| Instructional Planning and Delivery | Presents a goal-oriented, standards-based approach to instruction, including diagnosing and assessing students, lesson planning and instructional delivery |
| Classroom Management and Culture | Teaches how to build a culture of achievement to maximize student learning |
| Diversity, Community and Achievement | Examines diversity-related issues new teachers may encounter |
| Learning Theory | Focuses on learner-driven instructional planning |
| Literacy Development | Explores elementary and secondary methods for teaching literacy |
