Internship

The professional teaching year is the culminating experience for UMBC teacher candidates. Candidates are engaged in an extensive internship experience and related professional education courses. Most UMBC teacher candidates arrive at their internship with multiple field experiences in diverse settings, many of which require them to interact with P-12 students and plan and conduct lessons.

UMBC designs the internships to provide the intern with a rich, practical teacher professional development experience, with multiple opportunities for support and feedback.  The intended objectives of the internship are for the interns to put into practice what they have learned/are learning in their university courses while making positive contributions to the operation of the school.  Each intern has a support team consisting of a Mentor Teacher, a university-assigned Supervisor and the Program Director.  An array of faculty and administrators from the school and the university are also part of the intern’s support team.

The internship covers two semesters, with Phase I occurring in the fall/spring semester and Phase II in the spring/fall. Ideally, this experience takes place in a Professional Development School (PDS). As previously stated, a PDS is a collaboratively planned and implemented partnership between an institute for higher learning and a local education agency. The PDS offers academic and clinical preparation of interns, as well as the continuous professional development of school-based and university faculty.

Phase I:  The internship experience begins the week teachers return to schools in August.  Interns are oriented to their school and classroom where they receive clear guidelines and expectations of their eventual primary teaching role.  Interns complete a minimum of 25 full days in their schools during this phase and will teach a minimum of three lessons. The Phase I experience is linked with specific program courses.

Phase II:  Interns return to school full-time, typically working with the same mentor(s) as in Phase I.  Interns must follow the local school system’s (LSS) specified start date for when classes resume after winter break and must take the Spring Break for the school system in which they are assigned, not the UMBC Spring Break. Interns complete a minimum of 75 full days in their schools and assume progressive responsibility for providing instruction and should provide full instruction for a period of at least six weeks. There will be a mandatory internship seminar* that meets on specific days.

Note:  Phase II of the internship experience is a full-time commitment.  Interns are required to follow a full-time teacher’s schedule at their schools which includes, but is not limited to, commitments after school, professional development days, and, if permitted, parent-teacher conferences.