Chapter 24: Changing the PDS Routine: A Philosophy Altering Experience

Many professional development schools (PDSs) offer teacher candidates something above and beyond typical experiences, such as internships at urban locations and in special education programs. However, when the choice of schools is located in a Midwestern, mostly rural area, sites are often similar in nature to each other and may mirror those in which many preservice teachers may have grown up. For this reason, interns in our professional development school program were given the opportunity to examine a different kind of school—one in a juvenile justice program. This chapter puts forth the need for PDSs to reflect on the “philosophy changing” experiences of the interns in this study and the conclusion that simple placements in PDSs may not always be enough.