Round Peg, Square Hole: Trying to Bridge PDS Models and Nontraditional Teacher Education

Overview & Synopsis

The dominant PDS models described in research literature are all based upon the pairing of traditional, college-based teacher education programs with traditional public schools. Though these PDS models have proven very successful in such contexts, there is significant question as to whether they can be successful when comprised of nontraditional teacher education programs and nontraditional schools. With greater numbers of future teachers seeking alternative means to licensure, it behooves PDS advocates and researchers to explore the fit between alternative teacher education programs and PDS models and, when there is not a good fit, to try to create hybrid PDS models for a new educational landscape. This study chronicles how one university attempted to match its nontraditional teacher education program first to the dominant PDS models and, when that failed, to a hybrid PDS model. The resulting PDS hybrid itself begs the following question: at what point does a hybrid PDS become a paradox?