Navigating Improvement Science within a University-Based Teacher Residency Program

As the evaluators for a rural teaching residency program that involves university-district partnerships, we used improvement science to support data-driven decision making at the program level. In our evaluation, which involves substantial engagement as part of a Networked Improvement Community with all partners, we seek out and convey the lived experiences of program students and graduates, most of whom are ethnically underrepresented in the teaching field, considered nontraditional students, and who were recruited through Grow Your Own approaches. Through the improvement science approach, the stories of individuals who have matriculated through the program are paramount to program refinement and improvement; however, the ability to attend and adapt programmatic aspects to the unique needs of residents and graduates is often constrained by systemic and capacity-related issues. University systems often are not flexible or adaptable enough to fully meet needs of non-traditional students who may need more supports related to technology, financial aspects related to tuition and stipends provided (including timely distributions of funding), and modifications to established curriculum to build on strengths (efficacy, classroom management) and address concerns/needs (content area, juggling multiple responsibilities). In addition, university faculty often have multiple responsibilities that include teaching, research, and service that make it less tenable to provide optimal school-based modeling, mentoring, and collaboration. The sustained engagement of evaluators alongside university and school district partners has deepened our understanding of program implementation and impacts and has allowed evaluators to recognize and appreciate the challenges and barriers involved in program implementation that can impact outcomes.