PSU partners with Tigard-Tualatin School District on innovative summer practicum for special education teacher candidates

With special education facing a nationwide teacher shortage and elementary and middle school students across Oregon falling behind in reading and math, the need for well-prepared teachers has never been greater. In response to these challenges, Portland State University’s (PSU) College of Education — in partnership with Metzger Elementary and the Tigard-Tualatin School District (TTSD) — expanded their practicum course for special education teacher candidates this summer. This updated program was designed to address students' educational needs while providing aspiring teachers with hands-on experience in a real-world setting.

The practicum was developed in conjunction with Diverse Inclusive Collaborative Educators (DICE PLUSS) — an initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The five-year grant, now in its third year, focuses on preparing diverse special education teachers to support multilingual learners and students with disabilities through evidence-based literacy instruction and interventions — and to work with at-risk students in inclusive and culturally responsive environments. The funding provides scholarships for teacher candidates and supports professional development through clinical practicum experiences.

Each year, the grant team continues to scale efforts around supporting English learners and strengthening teacher preparation for all special educators. “What we've learned from our first group of DICE PLUSS candidates is that the richness of the opportunity to practice really closely with faculty and get a lot of high quality feedback was such a valuable experience,” said Amanda Sanford, PSU special education professor and co-director of the DICE PLUSS grant. 

Addressing the Challenges

To provide more in-depth teaching experience, this summer’s practicum expanded from four weeks to eight and incorporated a new intensive tutoring component. It also grew to include all PSU initial licensure special education teacher candidates alongside those funded by DICE PLUSS.

In total, 52 PSU teacher candidates and 94 elementary school students participated. The student groups included 21 multilingual learners, 27 students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and 30 students in two-way English-Spanish immersion classrooms.

“We wanted to create a structured experience where we could help teacher candidates build a robust skill set around delivering academic instruction. Now when our candidates are working with students with more intensive needs, they have that background and can be intentional about what they choose to focus on with those kiddos,” said Shaheen Munir-McHill, associate professor of practice and Special Education K-12 program coordinator at PSU.

The practicum kicked off with two weeks of training led by PSU faculty and TTSD staff at Metzger Elementary. In training, they reviewed and rehearsed lesson plans and learned how to collect student data and assess progress. After training, teacher candidates spent two weeks working in a Kinder Jump Start classroom or tutoring small groups of elementary school students in literacy and math.

In the second half of the practicum, teacher candidates began connecting with their school year placement — meeting their cooperating teachers and acclimating to the schools where they will student teach this fall.

Jessica Swindle, principal at Metzger Elementary, emphasized the importance of the collaboration with PSU. “The extended practicum experience this summer gave candidates the opportunity to learn best instructional and behavior support practices to maximize learning and foster a strong sense of belonging for every child,” she said. “We saw incredible growth in the candidates in such a short time, and the Metzger students benefited immensely.” 

A Practical Learning Experience

For the teacher candidates, the practicum provided a pivotal opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world teaching.

Jonathan Fleming, a participating undergraduate senior, described the experience as a "sink or swim" moment. "It took a few days for me to find my legs,” he said. “You learn about theories and best practices, but it’s different when you’re actually in front of kids. By the second week, I started to find my niche and understand how to work with my particular students."

Daily prep time, group debrief sessions, repetition, collaboration and feedback from peers and mentors were all integral ingredients in the practicum. Graduate student Ben Jacobson shared that he was initially nervous about faculty and staff observing him. But their feedback proved incredibly valuable. “I loved getting advice and then incorporating it the very next day,” he said.

For teacher candidate Amanda Struver, who has worked in Portland Public Schools for several years as a paraeducator and a registered behavior technician, it was an overwhelmingly positive experience. “A lot of times in classified (non-licensed) positions, you're supporting academics. But there isn't that time to really study the curriculum and then have professionals give you feedback before you start working with students,” she said. “It was a real privilege.”

Real Impact in Local Schools

The expanded practicum was also made possible by Early Literacy Success funding from Oregon Department of Education, that allowed Metzger to provide staffing support, including teachers and learning specialists.

“We really are fortunate because their teachers are absolutely outstanding,” said Julie Esparza Brown, PSU special education professor and co-director of the DICE PLUSS grant. “They provide a really excellent model for our teacher candidates of high-quality instruction, both in terms of language and academic content and just a really caring learning environment. But they also provide an opportunity to practice.”

The impact of the practicum was felt not only by the teacher candidates but also by the students they worked with. Teacher candidate Zoie Dalton-Smith was amazed to see students’ confidence rise so quickly. "One of my students might not have improved in assessment scores, but he’s going home with confidence that he’s a good reader, a good student and smart," she said.

DICE PLUSS scholarship recipient Cubby Knowlton, who worked with incoming kindergarteners during the practicum, noticed a change in her students too. "It’s been really interesting to see their growth in such a short time. Especially in phonics. I didn’t realize how important the [phonics] instruction was until I saw how quickly they were grabbing onto it," she said.

Looking Forward

Teacher candidates in the practicum exceeded expectations. “They really stepped up,” Sanford said. “They've done an amazing job. And the positive energy and interactions we've had on a daily basis have just been so exciting.”

Faculty and staff agree that this has been a deep and rich experience for everyone involved. “At Metzger we’ve had the benefit of learning from our colleagues at PSU as we work to ensure the highest quality instruction for our multilingual learners and students with individualized needs,” Swindle said.

PSU’s College of Education remains committed to providing special education teacher candidates with the skills and experiences necessary to meet the diverse needs of students across Oregon. “This is what schools of education should be doing, partnering with districts, to create a pipeline of skilled special education teachers," Esparza Brown said. “So it's a great partnership in that they [TTSD] know what kind of training the teachers they want to recruit from our program are getting. They hire a lot of our students and that's what we want.”

Munir-McHill echoed this sentiment. “We’re excited about the future of this program,” she said “Our goal is to continue scaling up this effort, ensuring that every teacher candidate graduates with the skills to support all learners, particularly those who are often underserved in our schools.”

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This project is supported by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of English Language Acquisition (Award Number Grant # T365Z210158). Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of the U.S. Department of Education.