Chapter 7: Clinical Experiences for Secondary Mathematics Teacher Candidates

Clinical Experiences is the third driver identified by the Mathematics Teacher Educators Partnership (MTE-Partnership) as part of its theory of improvement described at the beginning of this book. This chapter provides a background for the development of the Clinical Experience Research Action Cluster (RAC), which initially began as a working group. The first section of the chapter reviews research and recommendations related to clinical experiences for secondary mathematics teacher candidates. These fall into three categories: mentor teachers and mentoring; internships and student teaching; and institutional partnerships or infrastructures that simultaneously support interns and their mentors. The next section of the chapter gives an overview of internship practices at universities and colleges. The final section of the chapter describes the MTE-Partnership’s strategy for improving teacher candidates’ clinical experiences at its institutions.