As the College continues to move teacher education programs toward the PDS model, the TOSA/Teaching Fellow program aims to meet the needs of partner districts and the University by releasing up to six P-12 faculty from their classroom duties for one to two years. Preference is given to those districts that are PDS partner sites with the College. In addition to mentoring their replacement Teaching Fellows, TOSAs will assume a half-time University role, aligning with the PDS Standards provided by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), which clearly indicates the need for master practitioners to play a larger role in pre-service teacher education.
Each TOSA will be paired with a University professor and welcomed as an adjunct faculty member in one of the College departments. The TOSA, as a Master Teacher, will assume responsibility for the equivalent of 12 credits per academic year. Three of these credits will focus on PDS development in collaboration with an MSU faculty liaison. The remaining credits will include teaching courses in the College and/or supervising student teachers. TOSAs will work with their districts to create activities to meet individual needs for the remaining 50% of the appointment. Ideas may include development of new teacher induction programs, curriculum development or grad rule assessment.
The Teaching Fellow Program allows teachers newly licensed in Minnesota, upon application and admission to an MSU graduate program, to be hired by the University as full-time graduate assistants. Teaching Fellows are expected to register for six graduate credits per semester. However, their graduate assistantship is to assume the full responsibilities of a classroom teacher for one year in one of the participating school districts. In addition to a graduate assistant stipend (roughly 2/3 that of a first year teacher), Teaching Fellows receive free graduate tuition (up to 9 credits per semester) and have opportunities for numerous professional development activities and the advantage of one-on-one mentoring from a master teacher throughout the year.
For more information on the TOSA/Teaching Fellow Program, please contact Ginger Zierdt.
