Teaching is a special and significant profession (Author, 2011).As it is in recognized professions (AFT, 2012), such as medicine, the education of teachers must be based on scientific knowledge and practice in the workplace (AACTE, 2010; Darling-Hammond, 1999, 2006; Darling-Hammond & Lieberman, 2012). The implemented model, University within School (UwS), suggests that teachers should be educated through partnership between universities and schools. College of education faculty should have offices in partner schools, experienced teachers in partner schools teach teacher education courses as adjunct faculty, and education courses are taught in partner schools. In a four-year program, the first two years of teacher education are university-based, and the second half is K-12-based. When teacher candidates reach the third year, in the first semester, they are placed in one of the partner schools as a full-time teacher assistant. The next semester, they continue working as a teacher assistant in a different partner school located in a different socio-economic neighborhood. When the candidates reach the fourth year, they begin their yearlong student teaching, which will be completed in two different partner schools. The work of teacher assistants and student teachers start and end by the calendar of K-12 schools, not by the calendar of universities. A full implementation of the model requires four years (Author, 2013). This model was implemented through a partnership between MEF University-College of Education and K-12 schools in İstanbul, Turkey since 2014-2015 teaching year. The six main goals of the model are as follows: (1) To educate knowledgeable, skillful, and virtuous teachers able to teach all students, regardless of how diverse they are. (2) To provide professional development for K-12 teachers through graduate studies, in-service education, co-teaching and joint research projects. (3) To provide professional development for college faculty through teaching and co-teaching in K-12 classes, doing research on local educational problems and participation in other K-12 school activities. (4) To facilitate the collaboration of college faculty, school teachers, and teacher candidates to conduct research studies on local educational problems and develop solutions. (5) To improve K-12 student achievement in K-12 partner schools. (6) To create a signature model of teacher education, which can inspire teacher education programs in Turkey and around the world.

This model has a unique implementation opportunity and the model, first of all, was implemented in a public middle school located in a disadvantaged neighborhood in the town of Sarıyer in İstanbul.  Four faculty members from the Department of Mathematics Education in MEF University were appointed as adjunct math teacher to teach mathematics lessons to 5th grade students who were in the first year of a four-year middle school. In the 5^th grade there is a total of five hours math class every week, which is taught in three days. The purpose of this research is to evaluate this unique new teacher education model, UwS in light of its six main goals. The primary significance of this study is that there is no study, which focuses on a novice model for teacher education in Turkey. Therefore, this study may be the first, which we believe contributes to the literature in terms of teacher education programs, inquiry of what being a good teacher is and what kind of knowledge, skills or dispositions the teacher candidates should have. 5th grade students’, academicians’, some administrative stakeholders’ and tutors’ perceptions about the model were investigated. This unique case will shed light on a new perspective of comparative studies on teacher education models.

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