Preparing Teachers in Math and Science
Inspired by the belief that all California students have the right to receive a high-quality education and all California teachers have the right to be prepared to teach at the highest level every day, the New Generation of Educators Initiative (NGEI) sought to ensure that graduates of California State University (CSU) teacher preparation programs enter the classroom truly ready for the joys and demands of teaching. Through this and other initiatives, the CSU is leading the way in advancing the new Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards. As the largest preparer of teachers in the state, the CSU also has an unparalleled ability to bring innovation to scale.
The initiative spanned 2014 to 2019. With active support from the CSU Chancellor’s Office, eleven CSU campuses were involved in deep partnerships with local school districts to prepare teacher candidates to enter the classroom with the knowledge and abilities needed to effectively instruct students. This included helping candidates develop a set of prioritized skills identified as important in the context of each local school district. Candidates gained these skills through a program of study at the CSU that was integrated with practical experience instructing in district classrooms – and received coordinated, continual feedback from mentor teachers and CSU supervisors. The use of data to drive improvement in the skills of individual candidates and to enhance the design of their teacher preparation programs was another hallmark of this initiative.
Participating CSU Campuses
Bakersfield, Channel Islands, Chico, Dominguez Hills, Fresno, Fullerton, Long Beach, Monterey, Sacramento, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and Stanislaus
Teacher Residencies
Through the NGEI, many of the participating CSU teacher preparation programs built teacher residency pathways that provide teacher candidates with a full year of rigorous preparation, including ongoing feedback from an effective mentor teacher in a local district classroom. Residencies are considered to be an effective model for training diverse teacher candidates who are more likely to stay in the profession because they enter the classroom feeling well-prepared.
To complement its investments in these CSU programs, and to provide high-quality clinical experiences for candidates from low-income communities and communities of color, the Foundation awarded a grant to the CSU Chancellor’s Office to provide more than 300 scholarships of up to $10,000 each. Funds supported residency-year preparation for candidates with financial need who intend to teach for at least two years in a high-need school. The scholarships enabled future teachers across the state to choose high-quality residency pathways that they might not otherwise have been able to afford. Read stories of impact from scholarship recipients.
Evaluation and Learning
An evaluation of the New Generation of Educators Initiative, conducted jointly by WestEd and SRI International, documented the key changes that occurred across CSU teacher preparation programs as a result of the initiative and highlighted opportunities for continued work.
CSU faculty shared reflections and resources from the initiative in a report titled, “New Generation of Educators Initiative: Transforming teacher preparation.”
Foundation staff documented their observations and learning as the initiative concluded. View these reflections.
Related Resources
