The Teaching Internship. Practical Preparation for a Licensed Profession.

This report presents proposed standards for teaching internship programs. The internship standards are intended to be embedded in a state's teacher licensing system. The year-long (paid) internship is simultaneously the last year of formal teacher preparation, the first year of (supervised) teaching, and one requirement for the unrestricted teaching license. An intern would have to satisfactorily complete the internship before taking the final examination to receive a teaching license. The report is intended to provide guidance to teaching standards boards as well as colleges of education, school districts, and others concerned with improving the practical preparation of teachers. The discussion is presented in four sections: (1) "The Case for a Supervised Teaching Internship"; (2) "Internships in the Licensed Professions"; (3) "Standards for an Internship Program"; and (4) "Implementing the Internship: The Value of Clinical Schools." The appendices provide examples of evaluation forms; an extract from "Minnesota's Vision for Teacher Education: Stronger Standards, New Partnerships"; the Code of Ethics for Minnesota Teachers; and detailed descriptions of internship programs in four licensed professions--engineering, psychology, architecture, and medicine. A bibliography completes the volume. (JD)