Since replacing its traditional, four-year education major with five years of preparation nearly ten years ago, Trinity s program integrates more arts and sciences courses with educational course work to ensure solid disciplinary grounding and attention to content pedagogy. Students receive a bachelor s degree in their academic discipline before completing a Master of Arts in Teaching. The program also adds a full-year teaching internship for student teachers, which takes place in professional development schools where expert, veteran teachers join with university faculty to provide a supportive, realistic initial teaching experience. Teachers who serve as mentors to student teachers receive an extra planning period each day to work with the beginners and to collaborate with college faculty in designing new curriculum and restructuring school practices. Outcomes of Trinity s program have been impressive.
Candidates rate the program extremely highly, as do employers.
As a group, they are extraordinarily successful, winning numerous awards for their teaching from their very first years in the classroom. In terms of recruiting, training, and renewing teachers, Trinity is one of the most impressive efforts in the nation, observed Ernest Boyer, the late president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.