Marshall, MN 56258
Professional Education - Licensure Programs
2002-2003 Annual Progress Report
June 10, 2003
The Vision:
The SSU Professional Education Unit is a community of
learners dedicated to the continuous development of quality practice,
personal/professional growth, and leadership.
The Mission:
The
mission of Professional Education at SSU is to create communities of practice
where each learner is an active participant in the development of learning,
teaching, and leadership processes by engagement in inquiry, critical
reflection, and study of educational theory, research, and practice in pursuit
of excellence.
Approved Fall 2001
A great deal of
progress to advance a system of continuous review and development in Communities of Practice for learning,
teaching, and leadership at Southwest State University was accomplished during
the 2002-2003 academic year. With the
decision to delay the initial National Council for Accreditation of Teacher
Education (NCATE) visit, Education Department members focused on reviewing and
developing licensure programs that will be evaluated by the Minnesota Board of
Teaching (BOT) in November 2003. This
report describes the following accomplishments:
1. Developed and received BOT approval of a
Master of Science in Special Education Licensure (Early Childhood Special
Education, Emotional Behavioral Disabilities, Developmental Disabilities, and
Learning Disabilities)
2. Advanced activities and projects in the
Professional Development School
3. Developed a syllabus template for
education courses
4. Organized and initiated the Teacher
Education Advisory Committee
5. Organized and implemented the Campus
Liaison Program
6. Adopted dispositions standards aligned to
the Standards of Effective Practice
7. Initiated a formal growth plan for
candidates
8. Drafted a governance document
9. Drafted a five year strategic plan for
teacher education
10. Initiated redesign of the Field
Experience Program
11. Revised the Prestudent Teaching
Experience
12. Initiated the Communities of Practice Investigate and Document Student Learning
project involving Examining Student Work
Protocols
13. Adopted LiveText for supporting the Assessment System
14. Enhanced the Education Department and
Program web pages
Master of Science in Special
Education
The 33-credit
Master of Science degree in Special Education seeks to prepare teachers to
provide effective and appropriate education for children and youth with special
needs. Licensure in four specialties
was approved by the Minnesota Board of Teaching (BOT) in fall 2002:
Development Disabilities
Early Childhood
Emotional Behavioral Disorders
Learning Disabilities
The core classes
were initiated spring semester 2001 and can be taken for either undergraduate
or graduate credit. These courses are offered with a balance of on-campus class
time and on-line Internet time using WebCT software. The on-line portion offers learning modules, journal/research
links, on-line discussion groups, and real time chats. Delivery methods have included summer
sessions, weeknights, and weekends held on campus.
The specialty
and research classes are offered for graduate credit only. The core and research classes are offered
within a one-year rotation and the specialty/research courses within a two-year
rotation. A full degree program can be
completed in two academic years.
Advances in the Professional
Development School
Two new projects
were added to the Southwest State University - Yellow Medicine East School
District Professional Development School this year: (1) Intern Seminars
integrated with training for new teacher and (2) Circles of Dialogue. The seminars on a variety of topics (e.g.
Dimensions of Learning, Cooperative Learning, and Reading Recovery) provided
opportunities for interns to interact with beginning teachers so as to learn
more ways of integrating theory and practice.
The Circles of
Dialogue involved all student teachers and interns in the School District
learning more about and working on the portfolio process that documents their
effectiveness as learners, teachers and leaders. The Circles resulted in productive dialogue about professional
development and the standards of the profession. Mentor teachers and University faculty assisted in reviewing the
portfolios near the end of each semester.
Additional
progress toward creating an integrated professional fourth year curriculum
taught in Granite Falls is planned for fall 2003. It represents the first year that interns accepted into the
program will be taking the common courses intended for the internship as
spelled out in the internship brochure.
Plans are underway to develop a team of internship faculty and the
integrated curriculum during summer 2003.
Processes and Products
2002-2003
A syllabus template was created to
provide support for the development and revision of syllabi to assure that the
standards of teacher education are included in education courses. The process of integrating the template is
intended to be gradual, but many courses have been revised using the syllabus
template.
Membership on the Teacher Education Advisory Committee (TEAC) is composed of representatives from stakeholder groups. The purpose of the Committee is to advise SSU on teacher education program and policy issues related to future directions for teacher education, recruitment and retention of high quality teacher candidates, and strategies for delivery of programs and services. TEAC was created in the fall 2002 and the first meeting was held on March 24, 2003. Initial discussions included recommendations on three questions:
- What should highly qualified teachers know, believe, and be able to do?
- How can these things be measured?
- How can SSU provide the education to accomplish these expectations?
The Campus Liaison Program includes
representatives of arts and science faculty and support service personnel who
have connections to teacher education at SSU.
Education Department faculty members are partnered with faculty and
staff in specific areas. The purposes
of the Campus Liaison Program are to:
1. Foster regular communication about
teacher education on campus
2. Gather and give feedback on teacher
education programs and policies
3. Support the development of pre-service
and in-service teacher education
Liaison partners
seek each other out for dialogue on a regular basis and try to attend each
other’s department meetings occasionally.
A meeting of the liaison program occurs at least once each semester for
the whole group. A responsibility of
all liaison partners is to communicate information about the activities of the
other department, program, or unit to their own respective department, program,
or unit. The Liaison Program met for
the first time on November 21, 2002 and again on March 19, 2003. In addition, representatives of the Arts and
Science Faculty met with the Education Department Faculty on April 23,
2003.
Dispositions are defined at SSU as “patterns of
behaviors and actions that occur frequently and in the absence of coercion, and
constitute ‘habits of mind and heart.’
They are intentional and directed toward particular people and
situations in order to achieve goals.
Some dispositions are desirable and others are undesirable.” Dispositions related to the ten Minnesota
Standards of Effective Practice were adopted in April 2003. The next plan is to develop a systematic
process for assessing them. A beginning
step was taken when a formal growth plan
for candidates was adopted in May 2003.
The Governance of Professional Education
document defines the Professional Education Unit, Professional Education
Faculty, and the Arts and Science Faculty.
It describes how professional education is organized for continuous
review and development at SSU and the professional and strategic goals for
teacher education. The document is
currently under review by internal stakeholders with an early fall 2003 date
targeted for adoption. A five year Strategic Plan with the strategic goals
and action plan was drafted by the Strategic Advancement for Learning and
Teaching (SALT) Team during the 2002-2003 academic year. It is also under internal review with an
anticipated early fall 2003 adoption.
Based upon
feedback from cooperating schools personnel, classroom and university
supervisors; wisdom of practice; and national and state research and standards,
the Field Experience Program Redesign
Team initiated changes to extend the length of time for student teaching in
a setting, to create more consistency
across all teacher education licensure areas, and to develop a more efficient
placement process. To continue to
assure that candidates experience a variety of levels and settings the entire
Field Experience Program is being reviewed.
Changes are being made in stages.
The first change was to the description for the Prestudent Teaching Experience (PSTE). To ensure that elementary, secondary, and K-12 candidates have
experience with students with special needs, a focus on students with
exceptionalities was added.
Inconsistencies in length of time for different licensure areas were
eliminated. All PSTE candidates are now
required to complete ten days in this experience.
In the fall of
2002 SSU was invited to submit a proposal to the Minnesota State Colleges and
Universities (MnSCU) System Office to “develop a performance effectiveness and
accountability plan for teacher preparation delivery,” one of the goals in the
System’s Teacher Education Work Plan.
The proposal submitted was to “develop a set of measurable quality
indicators, including something that addresses the impact teacher education
graduates have on P-12 student achievement.” It also further developed an
action research model across the four-year program of study. Action research projects have been a part of
the Early Childhood and Elementary Education programs since the early
1990s. Because of budget issues, the
proposal was not funded. The Education
Department faculty at SSU realized the value of the project and initiated parts
of the Communities of Practice Investigate and Document Student Learning
project involving Examining Student Work Protocols. SSU arts and science and clinical faculty were invited to
participate with the Education Department faculty in learning the protocols
from two area P-12 best practice teachers, who are trained in the protocols. The first training occurred on April 7, 2003
with a follow up on May 27, 2003. The
first training involved learning two protocols. The second involved learning a third protocol and examining
samples of work found in portfolios of spring semester student teachers. The protocols will be integrated into
education courses and field experiences.
A team of five faculty agreed to form a group (Investigative Colleagues)
to use the Annenberg Protocol for continuing to examine candidate work next fall. The MnSCU proposal also included a technology
component for monitoring and assessing what candidates learn from examining the
work of their students. To assist with
this goal, LiveText was adopted for use beginning with freshman/first year
and sophomore/second year courses and field experiences in the fall 2003. LiveText
will also be piloted in the graduate programs and other selected courses and
field experiences this fall.
With assistance
from the Freshman Mentor Program (sponsored by the Office of the Provost), the Education Department website was
developed and continues to be developed.
There is a goal to gradually develop the website to include
documentation for accreditation purposes as well as broad based student support
materials.
Major
Events
September 9,
2002 – New Student Welcome Celebration
December 19,
2002 – Undergraduate Candidates Present
Portfolios
and Action Research Project Results
March 24, 2003 –
LiveText Demonstration
Presenter:
Richard Laramy
Area
Universities Invited
April 7, 2003 –
Examining Student Work Protocols Workshop
May 27, 2003 Presenters: Deb Hoyme and Marsha
Gabrielson
May 7, 2003 –
Voices with Vision Conference
Keynote
Speaker: Heidi Louwagie,
SSU
Graduate and Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year
Graduate
Candidates Present Action Research Project Results
May 8, 2003 –
Undergraduate Candidates Present
Portfolios and Action Research Project
Results
May 28-29, 2003
– Distance Learning in Early Childhood Education
Presenter:
Chip Donahue