Chapter 3: Sun Devils, Bobcats in the Valley of the Sun, and the Phoenix Suns

Arizona State University’s (ASU) teacher preparation model, iTeachAZ, has emerged as an innovative, research-based, collaborative model based on goals directed at the establishment of identifiable teaching behaviors, alignment between program design and assessment, and fidelity of implementation. Launched in the fall semester of 2011, students graduating from iTeachAZ sites complete exit surveys at the end of the program, and consistently share that they are confident in their ability to use and analyze data to improve student achievement, they pass state examinations, and they believe that the iTeachAZ program prepared them to be effective teachers. Principals who hire iTeachAZ graduates state they are more like second-year teachers than first-year teachers, and confirm their high level of knowledge, ability, and effectiveness. Many iTeachAZ Teacher Candidates sign Letters of Intent before they even graduate, and administrators seek ASU graduates when staffing new positions. There are four aspects of the iTeachAZ program that make it especially effective: (a) increased content knowledge before admission to Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, (b) a senior year residency, (c) a full time site coordinator who teaches and supervises students at the iTeachAZ site, and (d) mentor teachers trained in coaching and evaluation.