Residency Seminar II: Professional Practice

Residency II is a practice-based professional learning seminar and Professional Learning Community (PLC) designed for teacher candidates as they transition from foundational preparation to independent, reflective practice. Rather than repeating the lesson planning and reflection activities completed during the fall semester, candidates use their own classrooms as laboratories for addressing authentic instructional challenges, gathering and analyzing student voice, implementing targeted supports, collaborating with colleagues, and evaluating the impact of instructional decisions. 

The course continues to support the MCPS Student Learning Objective (SLO) requirement. While the SLO serves as an important source of evidence and a professional context for course learning, assignments intentionally extend beyond the SLO to develop broader competencies in instructional decision-making, differentiation, student engagement, collaboration, and ongoing professional growth. 

Residency II content may be adapted throughout the semester to address participants' immediate classroom challenges and emerging professional needs. Reflective practice remains a central expectation of the course. Candidates analyze evidence, evaluate the effectiveness of instructional decisions, identify key learning and insights, and determine how those insights will inform future practices.