Faculty participating in The Reading League’s EPP community of practice have noted that a major challenge is providing pre-service teachers with practicums in classrooms that feature practices aligned to the science of reading.
Some EPP faculty and deans have solved this issue by offering professional development cohorts on the science of reading, in which both EPP faculty and partner school teachers build their knowledge together. Sometimes, resources such as grants or initiatives from a state education agency or partnerships with organizations such as the CEEDAR Center are used to support field placement efforts. EPPs have also partnered with local community organizations and after-school programs to establish tutorial practicums to gain greater control and assurance that pre-service teachers will use the evidence-aligned instruction they’ve learned.
Dr. Katie Pace-Miles and Andrew Fletcher developed another replicable solution. They designed a tutoring model that has been supporting the needs of New York City’s youth while also allowing pre-service teachers authentic, paid experience using evidence-aligned materials.
