EdLab Podcast: Pathways to Become a Teacher

Transcript

Edited for clarity.

Audrey Breen: Welcome to EdLab, a podcast of the University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development. 

Some of us have known all along what we've wanted to do when we grow up. Others of us have seen some serious twists and turns, as we've meandered down our own career path. But how does that work if you want to become a teacher?

So, what is it like if you know from the beginning you want to become a teacher? What happens if you're well into your career, only then to discover that teaching is for you? And what do those questions have to do with finding creative solutions to the current situation of teacher shortages? Today we will learn how folks in all stages of life make their way here in pursuit of one day leading a classroom of their own.

EdLab is a podcast of the University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development, where we talk to the people behind the school's transformative research, innovative teaching, and thriving partnerships. In each episode, we aim to help demystify some of the big questions being asked in education, policy, health and human services. 

I'm your host, Audrey Breen.

Today, I'm looking so forward to introducing you to Jillian McGraw, director of our teacher education program. Jillian not only works with all kinds of students here at UVA who are studying to become teachers, she's also working with colleagues and local partners to create and launch innovative programs that are designed to combat the current teacher shortages. 

Jillian, thank you so much for being here.

Jillian McGraw: Thank you so much for having me.

Breen: Let me first—I'm doing a pre-first question first question—Before we talk about how you got here, what your journey was, which is the typical question we start our podcast with, I would love for you to just share a little bit about what your role is as director of teacher education here at the school and kind of just what it is you do in that role.

McGraw: Sure. And I'll start by saying I love my job. I was asked the other day, “Do you still love your job?” And I said, “Yes, absolutely I do.” Because I get to oversee so many programs that involve students. I work with undergraduate students, graduate students, students here on Grounds, students who are online. And I'm really working with anyone who is getting a teaching license.

Breen: Got it.

McGraw: When I work with them, it's everything from that moment they think, “I might want to be a teacher. What do I do?” all the way through the time they get licensed and graduate. And even when they're an alum and they're out mentoring students of ours or other new teachers, or even if they're moving to another state.

You know, I've heard from alumni who've been out 30, 40 years who are asking for paperwork. And it's so great to connect. So really, that whole lifecycle of being a teacher education student and then a teacher is where I sit.

Breen: That's very cool. That's very cool. Well, let's talk a little bit about your own journey, which I know was, you know, not as straight a path as some which I'm learning in these podcasts. Most of us have not had that experience of knowing what we want to do and just becoming that thing. So how did you end up in this role?

McGraw: It's so true. I think especially in teaching, I hear very often people did not know they wanted to be teachers and then just fell into it. That was me. 

So, I went to college for something very different. I worked a lot of different jobs, none of which had anything to do with education. And as a senior, I still didn't know what I wanted to do. I think that is also very common. 

So, I was on Craigslist looking at jobs, and I saw there was an open house at GW for a teacher ed program. So, I went from Georgetown all the way down to Foggy Bottom and sat in. And then the next week I had enrolled myself in a program. And so, I really did fall into it. It was quite a shock for me, I think for my parents. Yeah, not something I'd planned. But really the right place for me to be. 

So, I taught in Fairfax County for five years. And then I decided I wanted to take a year off so that I could do some more graduate coursework. I really wanted to sort of level up my skills, as they say. And then came to Charlottesville for a year, fully intending to move back after a year. Like I was on a one-year leave. That was ten years ago. I'm still here. I think that happens here a lot in Charlottesville, too.

Breen: I think that's right. Yes.

McGraw: I, I just fell in love with working with pre-service teachers. I had mentored new teachers in Fairfax. But working with teachers who are really developing their identity as a teacher and thinking about what they want their classroom to look like was so inspiring. I couldn't see myself leaving.

Breen: Let's talk a little bit about the pathways to become a teacher. What does the pathway look like for those kinds of students who really have an understanding that that's the career they want to do?

McGraw:  There are a lot of pathways for the students in Virginia. It's actually quite exciting. About six years ago, they passed legislation that allowed teacher education majors to come back. And previously it was difficult to get certified as an undergraduate student. But now you can go to college, you can get a major in teacher education, and you can graduate with a teaching license.

So, it's great. Twenty-one, 22 again, you're in a classroom and you are super well prepared. We have a lot of options straight out of high school in the state. 

But there are also pathways for students who maybe do a year or two of college and then decide that they want to be a teacher. And UVA is one of those programs. We say it's a transfer program because you can do a year or two of school here at UVA or at a community college or another institution and then join our major. And that's pretty common, as well. So, wherever you are, whether it's high school or college and you want to get started, you can join a program and major in teacher ed. 

I think for those students figuring out, you know, how do I get those experiences to help me decide what grade level I teach? Yes, what content I want to teach. I will mention I started in a Spanish education program. My first semester I observed Spanish classrooms and immediately knew it was not for me. So, I wish I had spent a little more time sort of observing in schools.

Breen: Interesting.

McGraw: Maybe do volunteer work, tutoring. I think there are a lot of ways to think about how you want to decide or think about and decide how you want to teach and pursue that.

Breen: So, let's talk about the career switchers. What are the options for those folks?

McGraw: There are a lot of options for them as well. I think Virginia has done a great job of opening up different pathways over the last couple of years. 

So, I typically categorize these post-baccalaureate options into two groups, the first being a pretty traditional route, which is what I did. I realized I had no idea what I was doing, and so I needed to go to school to learn how to become a teacher before I set foot in a classroom.

And so, I did a master's program. And that is what many schools, including ours, offer, where you can say, I'm going to go to the university. I'm going to do a full-time teacher ed program. I'll have internship experiences. I'll have my classes so that I can apply that learning to my internships. And then you graduate with your master's degree in a teaching license.

It's a great option for people who want to go that route.

Breen: Yeah.

McGraw: The great thing is, if you are someone who wants a more flexible program, needs a more flexible program, you can start working and then do your coursework part time. A lot of people do this as teaching assistants or in other educational support roles. Some people start as teachers, and they get a provisional teaching license and sort of learn as they go.

Breen: Yeah. 

McGraw: And I think there are people for whom that's a good fit because they bring experience that makes them ready for that.

Breen: Got it.

McGraw: But there are a lot of different ways to do that. And with that model, you are taking your coursework while working in schools. So, you really are applying what you're learning right away with your students. And then a couple of years in, you are able to get your full teaching license, sometimes with a master's degree, sometimes with a certificate, just depending on how you've approached it.

But I always say reach out because there are so many pathways now that just getting in touch with an advisor, like we have on our team, they can help you think about what's the right fit for you.

Breen: That's very cool. I know both in our undergraduate and our master's programs, our students are spending a lot of time in classrooms. Can you talk a little bit about what those experiences are for those students?

McGraw: Of course, clinical experiences are just the biggest part of our program. And as you said, they really spend so much time out in schools. I think they're often they're more than they are with us here on Grounds. And that is because the best learning happens in the classroom. We can talk about theory. But we want them in with students and with a mentor who's guiding them as they learn to apply their skills.

So, we start our students with practicum experiences where they're observing, assisting, working one on one with students. And then as the semester goes on, they work with small groups, and then they get to teach that big, whole-group lesson. And it's very exciting for them to take on more responsibility. 

We have placements where they do literacy intervention. We know that reading is so foundational and so important for all of our students. And so, everyone does a reading practicum. 

And then in their final year, whether it's their fourth year here at UVA or their full-time year with the master's program, they are in an internship all year. So, they're working in a mentor teacher’s classroom. They're very quickly going from doing that little bit of running a morning meeting or teaching a small group lesson.

By the end of the year, they are running the show. It is their classroom, their mentor’s there to support them, co-teach with them. But they're responsible for all of the planning and implementation of instruction to manage the classroom. 

And it really helps prepare you for the end of the year when you are then applying for your own teaching job in your own classroom. You want to be ready on day one. So, we do spend a lot of time with the students in schools.

Breen: You mentioned mentor teachers. One of the things we talk often about and on the podcast are our partners. And I'm wondering if you could just share a little bit about what those partnerships mean for the teacher ed program, for our students, and just who they are and how great they are.

McGraw: They're super great. They really are just the biggest part of our program. And the way that clinical experiences are the biggest part, the mentors are the biggest, biggest part of that because our teachers are in their classrooms. Our mentors are all experienced teachers. They have been working with our students for years. They have been teaching for a long time, many of them, and they've been mentoring new teachers.

They also are sometimes our alumni. So, they're people who went through a program and are now working with our next class, which is really cool to see. 

But they give up a lot of their time on top of what is already a very difficult job. And they dedicate that time to guiding and supporting our pre-service teachers. They model how to do things and then they guide the pre-service teacher in being able to implement that instruction, as well. They help them plan their own lessons. They help them reflect on their lessons. And so, all of this is on top of their regular teaching.

Breen: It's incredible.

McGraw: Really is.

Breen: In Virginia and across the country, there have been lots of conversations around needing more teachers. We are one piece of a much larger state network who are working together, I think. What's happening with you, what are some of the ideas you all are generating?

McGraw: It's true. We really are a collaborative state in a way that I don't know. Every state is, even the way that we were working together across the state ten years ago looks different from how we're working together now. We are constantly talking to other deans and directors and teacher ed faculty to think about what we can do to address some of these challenges.

One thing we're finding is that the teacher shortage is very unevenly distributed.

Breen: Interesting.

McGraw: Certain areas of the state, and nationally, have more shortages than others. The schools that need teachers the most tend to be Title One schools, schools that are serving populations of students that really benefit the most from having high quality teachers. And so, it comes back to partnerships in your local partnerships and thinking about what the schools need, and then how we can come together to meet that need.

I can give an example.

Breen: Yeah, I would love to hear it. That’s very cool.

McGraw: So we have a couple of grow-your-own partnerships. One that I'll talk about is with Albemarle County, one of our local partners. The program is called Teacher Opportunities and Provisional Supports, or TOPS. And this is a program that we put together collectively because they recognize that they have a lot of very, very talented teaching assistants.

And at the same time, they had a shortage of special education teachers. And there's so much talent in their staff that we wanted to think about how we could create a pathway for those teaching assistants, if they were interested, to become special education teachers and transition seamlessly. And so, we worked to create this TOPS program. The principals and school staff identify the teaching assistants who are going to make great teacher candidates.

They come and join our program, and they do our program online and part time. During that time, they are transitioning from teaching assistant to teacher. So, they're taking on that role as teacher once they feel ready for it. 

Breen: Right. 

McGraw: The great thing about the partnership is that we have been trying to find the right recipe for coaching, because I think often, we have this misconception—I know I did—that being a teaching assistant means it's going to be a really easy transition to become a teacher.

Breen: Right. You're already in the classroom. You can see the sort of operation and how it works.

McGraw: Yep. And you definitely have all that background. But it is a very different role, having your own classroom. And so having someone who can help navigate that transition seemed really important to us. We have tried a couple of different ways to structure that mentoring and coaching. Some worked really well. Some needed improvement. As most innovations do. And so yeah, that kind of partnership work, we would not have been able to do if we weren't constantly talking with the division to see what's working, what's not working, what can we adjust, what can we offer.

And so, we've just been very excited with where the program is gone. We've expanded it to include English as a second language this year. So, it's great to be able to meet the needs together.

Breen: Yeah. That's awesome. I typically finish the podcast with one last question, which is about, what you would hope to know ten years from now. So, you've been here for ten. Let's assume you'll be here for another ten. Let's say we're back here in a decade. What do you hope you see then that you don't know or don't see?

McGraw: It is a really interesting question. I think for me, I would love to see or know how we get to a point where we are putting real support behind teachers in the way that we say we should be. During the pandemic, it really felt like there was an excitement and enthusiasm for teachers. Everyone had their kids at home.

Breen: Yes.

McGraw: That was when everyone recognized being a teacher.

Breen: I remember that.

McGraw: And that support has been, I'd say, a little uneven lately. 

Breen: Yeah. 

McGraw: And that's, you know, at the state level or national level, it's important that we are continuing to support teachers with how we present the profession, how we talk about the specialization that you need to be a teacher. It's not just knowing your subject. It's having specialized knowledge and skills.

Breen: Yeah.

McGraw: And then putting the supports in place to back that up. So, making sure that teacher preparation pathways are affordable, that the affordable pathways are high quality so that we're not compromising the quality of the preparation. 

Breen: Yeah. 

McGraw: That the working conditions for teachers are conditions that will allow them to stay in the profession and to be able to deliver good instruction. And I don't think we figured out that recipe yet. 

Breen: Yeah. 

McGraw: I think it's going to take a lot of work, a lot of partnership.

Breen: Yes.

McGraw: And it's at all levels, you know, local, nationally state.

Breen: Yeah.

McGraw: So, I think that's what I would love to see us continue to work on, is figuring out how do we make the profession really accessible to people but still maintain that quality and then put those supports that need to be in place so that teachers can be really successful?

Breen: Yeah. Well, Jillian, if there's not anything else at the moment for us to talk about, please come back and keep us posted on, you know, if there are more of these super cool programs that you're doing, we would love to hear about them and share the good, good work that is happening in the teacher ed program.

But in the meantime, thank you for being here.

McGraw: Thank you so much for having me. I would love to come back and talk any time.

Breen: Awesome. It was great to have you.