A Study On The Clinical Practice Model Of American Teacher Training

Currently, more and more countries profoundly recognize that the quality of pre-service teachers is related to the development of their future education. Thus, how to prepare high quality teachers becomes the key point of teacher education in all these countries. For a long time, the separation of theories from practice is the main drawback existed in the preparation of teachers, which hinders the professional development of pre-service teachers. The reform of teacher preparation model,however, will be the key to thoroughly solve such problem. The U.S. recently promotes and implements a Clinically-based Practice Model for Teacher Preparation,and gains significant effects. Researches carried out on the practice model would offer certain reference significance to the reform and development of teacher preparation in our country.This thesis is going to adopt documentary method and historical approach to carry out analysis on the clinical practice model of American teacher preparation, and at the same time, employs comparison method to compare such practice model with professional development school, urban teacher residency and traditional university-based teacher preparation model, and then applies case study method to the specific operation process of clinically-based practice model for teacher preparation.Clinically-based Practice Model for Teacher Preparation perfects and reforms the American teacher preparation model. It is based on that teaching is a clinical practice profession, uses the training mode in medical education for reference, and claims that the teacher preparation shall be totally on the basis of clinical experience. Therefore,under the instruction of professional clinical mentors, the teaching practice ability of teacher candidates would be improved and positive effects would be generated on the learning of students.Because the clinical teacher preparation program of Richard W. Riley College of Education in Winthrop University is not only the flagship in the teacher preparation program in South Carolina, but also a successful story in current clinically-based practice model, the program would be taken as a case study. The college of education has built up solid partnership with nine school districts; the design of Education Core Curriculum is critical to the implementation of clinically-based practice model, and it includes laboratory experience curriculum and school embedded practice curriculum;what’s more, it will be integrated with theoretical courses in university so as to make the clinical experience run through the whole process of teacher preparation.The Clinically-based Practice Model for Teacher Preparation is equipped with more specific and fundamental practice targets, wide and sound partnership,curriculum that embody coherence and uniformity, and the professional learning community that promotes cooperation and professional development. In the implementation process of the practice model, there comes with issues such as insufficient capital investment and lacking of professional clinical mentors. In order to train efficient teachers in 21 st century, the United States Federal Government and social organization groups are required to offer much more policy supports and fund guarantee to the Clinically-based Practice Model for Teacher Preparation.