The Internship Program

A key component of all teacher preparation programs is clinical experiences, which involve the time a candidate spends in real-world classroom and educational settings. OPL is committed to providing diverse placements and experiences for candidates in P-12 schools. All internship candidates have a variety of field and placement experiences to ensure they have opportunities to work with P-12 students from varied backgrounds, socioeconomic statuses, ethnic/racial groups, English language proficiencies, as well as students with exceptionalities. 

Clinical experiences provided by the internship pathway include Field Experiences and the Internship Clinical Practice:

Field Experiences

Field Experiences are clinical experiences that candidates participate in prior to their internship. Most candidates/pre-interns complete at least one field experience during the semester prior to their year-long internship. Many candidates complete multiple field experiences prior to their internship. During field experience placements, pre-interns are expected to tutor; work with small groups; conduct purposeful observations; teach lessons; monitor student performance; and assist with planning, materials development, and assessments. The experiences and skills introduced in field experiences serve as foundational knowledge to inform the internship clinical practice. 

Internship Clinical Practice

The internship clinical practice consists of a full academic year. During this academic year, candidates are placed with a highly qualified mentor teacher in the classroom setting. 

The internship structure is based upon a co-teaching model where interns and mentors collaboratively plan and implement instruction and assess for student learning. Initially, the mentor assumes the leadership role in each of these areas and, within a flexible gradual release structure, shifts the major responsibility to the intern toward the end of the second semester. Both are expected to be actively engaged in day-to-day planning, instruction, and assessment throughout the year.

During the internship clinical practice, candidates will have direct teaching experience with a variety of student populations, including students with diverse learning needs and from diverse backgrounds in at least two (2) settings during the year-long professional internship.

In addition to the support provided by the mentor teacher, a UTK supervisor also maintains close contact with both mentor and intern to enhance the professional development of the teacher candidate. 

Job Embedded Clinical Practice 

The Internship program and the Job-Embedded Practitioner (JEP) program are two distinct, TN approved programs to become a TN licensed teacher. While Internship and JEP share many common expectations (course work, artifacts, State assessments), they are two separate programs.

About the Internship Year

The internship year is defined by the school calendar of the partnership school system and not that of the University calendar. Interns are subject to the same vacation periods, holidays, and required in-service days as their mentor teachers. Interns are not allowed to end their placement school duties earlier than required without the permission of the Associate Dean for Professional Licensure, Dr. David Cihak; the UT supervisors; and the principal of the school of placement. The number of hours interns spend weekly in their school assignment will be determined by the University program to which they are assigned in conjunction with the placement schools. Weekly schedules will be divided between school-based experiences and University coursework.

Length and Structure of Internship

State guidelines specify that interns must spend the entire school year in the school setting with a minimum of 100 days in direct-teaching activities. The exact structure of the internship experience is co-determined by the school administrator, the mentor teacher, and the UTK supervisor. While the exact structure of the internship will vary based on the skills, dispositions, and readiness of the intern, all internships will include co-planning, side-by-side teaching, and the gradual release of all aspects of instructional responsibilities from the mentor teacher to the intern. This gradual release will also consider external factors, such as completion of the edTPA and school/district calendars.

Expectations of Interns during the Internship Year

Attendance

Interns are not excused from their school placements because of conflicting responsibilities. Absences from internship placements are acceptable only in cases of personal illness or death in the immediate family. If an intern has primary responsibility for one or more classes and must be absent, written lesson plans must be provided in advance to the mentor. 

Because the intern is to be viewed as a first-year teacher with appropriate responsibilities and duties, they are eligible for ten sick leave days. Interns are also eligible for two personal leave days. The intern must request these personal leave days in accordance with procedures used in their school of placement. Professionalism dictates a strict adherence to sick-leave policies. As interns are not paid employees, sick-leave days are not cumulative and may not be transferred to subsequent years of employment.

Any planned absences relating to job search, interviews, edTPA, or university coursework must be approved by the mentor teacher and follow proper protocol regarding filing for these events.

Excessive days missed could result in the following: 

1. Days must be made up after the end of the school year in an appropriate school setting. 

2. Corrective action ranging from ProCADs to removal from the internship. 

Substitute Teaching

Interns may serve as substitute teachers under the following circumstances. Items with an asterisk* may be waived with approval from the intern's UTK faculty supervisor:

1)     The intern must be in good academic and dispositional standing. 

2)     The mentoring teacher, the UTK supervisor, and the school administrator (or designee) must have previously agreed that the intern is professionally competent relative to the expectations of a substitute teacher and is ready to assume the requisite responsibilities.

3)     The intern can begin subbing after the 12th week of internship.*

4)     The intern can only substitute in the mentoring teacher’s classroom.*

5)     The intern can only substitute for 10 total days during the school year.*

6)     The intern must take responsibility for following all school and district policies and procedures regarding substitute teaching. 

7)     The intern must obtain the appropriate district and school credentials to serve as a substitute teacher. 

8)     The intern needs to identify their role as a substitute when serving as the substitute teacher.

Interns may NOT serve as substitute teachers under the following circumstances:

1)     The intern is not acclimated to the school and has not been briefed about school policies and routines.

2)     The intern is used as a general or “freelance” substitute anywhere in the building anytime the need arises.*

Any questions about these stipulations or other situations related to interns as substitutes should be directed to the Office of School-Based Experiences.

Internship Placement

An agreement must be developed between the BGSE and a school system before an intern may be placed in a school in that system. Interns will not be placed in schools solely as a matter of personal convenience.

School and District Policies

Interns must follow school and district policies as they apply to regularly employed staff. These include arrival and departure times, parking, smoking and vaping regulations (no smoking, vaping, or possession of tobacco/nicotine products on any school campus), dress code, use of school-owned equipment and supplies, and similar policies.  

Interns are to attend school-related functions that mentoring teachers are expected to attend:  faculty meetings, PTA meetings, parent-teacher conferences, IEP meetings, and similar activities. UTK class schedules may interfere with some afternoon school activities. Interns should discuss any conflicts with all applicable parties (their mentor, their UTK Supervisor, UTK Faculty, their school principal, if appropriate). 

State Standards and School Curriculum

Standards outline what students should learn in a given subject and grade level; curriculum outlines how students should be taught. Standards are defined and approved for each subject and grade level by the State Board of Education. Depending on districts, schools, grade level, and subject areas, defined curriculum may or may not be provided. 

An intern accepts the responsibility to teach the required standards as approved by the Tennessee State Board of Education. If a curriculum has been approved or adopted by the school/district to which they are assigned, interns accept responsibility to teach the approved curriculum.

Professional Learning and Parent Contact Hours

Teachers are required to participate in professional development (also known as in-service trainings) as well as out-of-contract parent contact hours—after-school parent meetings, parent-teacher conference nights, and school open-house/family engagement evenings. Interns must fulfill their school district’s professional development requirements as well as their parent contact hour requirements. 

Interns achieving Google Certified Educator Level 1 (required for UTK program completion) will meet professional development requirements, if completed during the internship year. 

Interns can meet the parent contact hours requirement by attending parent-teacher conference nights and/or school open-house events along with their mentor. 

More details on these requirements can be found at the following website:

https://www.tn.gov/education/lea-operations/inservice-guidelines.html

Liability Insurance

All interns are required to carry professional liability insurance as a pre-condition to interning in the school of placement.  Failure to provide evidence of coverage will result in removal from the internship. 

Background Check

Based on state policy, all interns are required to complete a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) criminal background check as a pre-condition for admission to the Bailey Graduate School of Education Teacher Preparation program. TBI provides the UTK Associate Dean with clearances for each prospective intern. A list of interns cleared to begin their field experience and internship is provided to each school system.

Drug Screening

All interns placed in school districts where drug screening is required shall complete this security clearance before being allowed to begin their internship. The specific requirements for this process are available at https://osbe.utk.edu.

P-12 Student Behavior

Interns are accountable for P-12 student behavior when conducting any educational activity, especially when the mentoring teacher is not present. Interns have the same status as mentoring teachers in pupil management. Interns must assume liability for their actions during instructional activities. Interns may not participate in any crisis intervention involving restraints.

Corporal Punishment

UTK interns may neither administer corporal punishment to students nor serve as witness to its administration.

Searching Students

UTK interns may not initiate or carry out searches of students, students’ property, or students’ lockers.  

Transportation 

Interns must not transport students in their own personal vehicles either before, during, or after school.

Child Protection and Suspected Child Abuse

Everyone in Tennessee is a mandatory reporter of child abuse and neglect, as specified by Tennessee Code:

Tennessee Code Annotated 37-1-403(a)(1) Any person who has knowledge of or is called upon to render aid to any child who is suffering from or has sustained any wound, injury, disability, or physical or mental condition shall report such harm immediately if the harm is of such a nature as to reasonably indicate that it has been caused by brutality, abuse, or neglect or that, on the basis of available information, reasonably appears to have been caused by brutality, abuse or neglect. 

Tennessee Code Annotated 37-1-403(i)(1) Any school official, personnel, employee, or member of the board of education who is aware of a report or investigation of employee misconduct on the part of any employee of the school system that in any way involves known or alleged child abuse, including, but not limited to, child physical or sexual abuse or neglect, shall immediately upon knowledge of such information notify the department of children's services or anyone listed in subdivision (a)(2) of the abuse or alleged abuse.

Confidentiality of Information

Each intern assumes the professional propriety necessary for keeping confidential information that is given in confidence by students, teachers, administrators, and mentoring professors in accordance with Tennessee statute T.C.A. § 49-5-1003 and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 USC § 1232(G), (FERPA). This includes information derived from student performance, personnel records, or faculty meetings.

Professional Conduct

Interns must maintain professional and ethical conduct as outlined in UTK’s ProCADs and the Tennessee Code of Ethics (see earlier ProCADs section).

Social Behavior

An intern must assume the role of the teacher in the community concerning socially acceptable behavior. Interns will establish and maintain professional relationships with all relevant members of the school and the school community. Social behavior expectations and requirements of interns also apply to interns’ social media accounts.

Dress Code

Please read carefully. The most common complaint that UTK receives regarding our interns is about how they choose to dress in the school setting.

At an absolute minimum, interns must follow the dress code that P-12 students in their host school must follow—for example, no sleeveless tops, leggings, or exposed undergarments. 

In addition, interns should dress professionally. For example, while students may be allowed to wear sweatpants, sweatpants are not considered professional dress; therefore, interns should not wear them. 

When in doubt about appropriate attire for the teaching profession, interns should seek guidance from their mentor teacher and their UTK supervisor.

UTK provides support for the professional dress of our teacher candidates. Examples include the following:

1)     Smokey’s Closet provides free, gently used professional clothing for students.

Asking for Professional Recommendations

As professionals, interns need to be mindful of professional courtesies. Each intern has the responsibility to ask permission of those requested to complete recommendations concerning future employment.

Transportation and Housing of Interns

Interns are responsible for their own transportation and housing. For information on UTK housing, contact the Director of Residence Halls. 

Expectations of Mentor Teachers During the Internship Year

The role of the mentoring teacher is critical to a successful internship. The decision-making process for mentor selection occurs between districts, building level administrators, and BGSE. Mentoring includes sharing, modeling, coaching, and encouraging the intern’s professional growth and development in the context of daily classroom life. Most importantly, collaborative mentors work side-by-side with their interns to assure their learning and that of their students. Mentoring teachers participate in training regarding responsibilities and expectations.

 UTK faculty and our partnering mentor teachers and administrators collaboratively identified the following indicators that we collectively believe to be paramount characteristics of quality mentoring:

1)     Engaging in balanced, reflective conversations about instructional practices, efficacy, and intentionality

2)     Incorporating practice into coaching sessions using precise feedback and modeling

3)     Providing actionable feedback on instructional planning with clear next steps

4)     Utilizing observational data and student work to focus feedback

5)     Setting goals, providing resources, and giving feedback

6)     Sharing authority and responsibility

7)     Assessing intern skills and co-created goals with the intern and holding the intern accountable to goals

8)     Developing intern understanding of content pedagogy

Responsibilities of the Mentoring Teacher

UTK asks that our mentor teachers complete a ProCADs assessment of their interns at the end of each semester. If a mentor teacher hosts an intern for a shorter length of time, the mentor might also be asked to complete a ProCADs assessment for the intern. These assessments provide UTK with valuable information regarding the professional competencies, attitudes, and dispositions of our interns. 

Should a mentor teacher have a concern about the professional competencies, attitudes, or dispositions of an intern, the mentor should contact the UTK supervisor to discuss these concerns. UTK’s Office of School Based Experiences may also be contacted to discuss concerns. Each concern will be addressed on a case-by-case basis. 

UTK also asks that our mentor teachers take the time to evaluate the performance of our UTK supervisors. Surveys will be sent to mentor teachers at the end of each semester, and any input received regarding UTK supervisors will be used to continually improve the quality of our teacher preparation program. 

Expectations of UTK Supervisors during the Internship Year

The UTK supervisor is the crucial liaison between the preparation the intern receives at UTK and the practical experiences of the internship. The major responsibility of the UTK supervisor is to facilitate the professional development of the intern in close collaboration with the mentor teacher and with school administrators, the Office of School Based Experiences, and additional UTK faculty as appropriate.

Responsibilities of the UTK Supervisor

The UTK supervisor is required to:

●       Communicate with interns weekly.

●       Include mentor teachers in communications with the interns whenever possible.

●       Observe and evaluate interns at least 4 times a semester. The UTK Supervisor must

○       Use the TEAM observation model with fidelity. 

○       Provide observation feedback via HAL within 5 school days. 

○       Include the classroom mentor on observation feedback provided via HAL.

○       Provide meaningful, actionable feedback to the intern. 

○       Allow enough time between observations for improvement to reasonably occur.

●       Model professional competencies, attitudes, and dispositions (ProCADs).

●       Evaluate the intern’s ProCADs at the end of each semester. 

UTK supervisors may have additional requirements, based on program/licensure area.

Job Embedded Clinical Practice 

The Internship program and the Job-Embedded Practitioner (JEP) program are two distinct, TN approved programs to become a TN licensed teacher. While Internship and JEP share many common expectations (course work, artifacts, State assessments), they are two separate programs.