The Experience of Being a Teacher in Residence

Abstract

This article represents an attempt to examine the effects of a staff development program on the professional lives of four elementary teachers who participated in it. The program under study is the Teacher in Residence (TIR) partnership at the University of Alabama, which brings experienced elementary teachers to the college of education for 2-year terms, during which the teachers function as adjunct faculty. Four TIRs were interviewed for this article: two who are currently serving their residencies at the university and two who completed theirs and have returned to their elementary classrooms. Their stories suggest that the TIR program is not a chance for experienced teachers to learn radically new things but a chance to clarify what they have always known and believed about their craft. It also appears to be an opportunity for teachers to redefine themselves as competent adults and knowledgeable professionals. Residency at the university was not a stepping-stone to an administrative position or a career in higher education but a recommitment to the role of career teacher. We draw implications for school-university partnerships aimed at enhancing teachers’ professional lives.