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Conceptual Framework
The Civic Mission - Sacred Trust: The Moral Purpose of Teacher Education
The
University of Evansville’s Core Purpose, "Provide life-transforming educational
experiences that prepare students to engage the world as informed, ethical, and
productive citizens” provides a robust foundation for preparing teachers for
contemporary classrooms. The extension of the Core Purpose into teacher
preparation links the University’s moral purpose with the moral purpose of
preparing exemplary teachers for the nation’s children. We believe that teaching
is a moral act - In a personal sense, it is a moral act because expert teachers
make a positive difference in children’s lives, helping them have life
transforming experiences that build skills and knowledge and help young people
gain/have lives of joy and productivity; furthermore, it is moral because
effective education helps children become good people, living a life of value
and caring. In a global sense, it is a moral act because expert teachers help
young people make a difference in the world by contributing to the worth and
improvement of the human condition and society as a whole.
People who
make a positive difference must be informed, acting from a base of knowledge and
skills; they must be productive, putting knowledge into action; and they must be
ethical, helping others and contributing to the social and cultural good. For
that reason, the continuum of the University of Evansville’s mission proceeds
from campus classrooms directly into the nation’s public and private schools.
The School of Education Conceptual
Framework is grounded in sound, current research and knowledge about learning
and best educational practice, and fueled by passionate beliefs about the
University’s civic mission and sacred trust - the civic mission of preparing
resilient, expert teachers, and the sacred trust of the nation’s children.
These two dimensions, purpose and trust,
fuel the core of the moral purpose for the University of Evansville SOE: The
first dimension takes the form of providing robust preparation for becoming a
teacher, standing firmly on the pillars of skills, knowledge, and dispositions;
the second dimension extends the purpose to the lives of the nation’s children
and the legacy we wish, as teachers, to leave. The more effectively the UE SOE
prepares exemplary teachers, the greater the impact on the future of the nation
through its children.
Robust
Preparation
The programs leading to initial licensure are guided by the Interstate New
Teachers Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) Principles; these
principles, and the skills, knowledge, and dispositions imbedded within them,
provide a map for the development of new teachers. Each of the principles is
mentioned below and includes a brief description of the programmatic and
systematic elements that are integral to the University of Evansville School of
Education programs.
INTASC
Principle One: The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of
inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches and can
create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful
for students. That is, we know that in order to teach a subject, one must know
the subject well; therefore, we emphasize content and disciplinary knowledge for
all teachers, working closely with faculty members from across the University
campus and professional educators in local schools. Thus, teacher education
candidates become among the best informed, with respect to both content
knowledge and pedagogical knowledge.
INTASC
Principle Two: The teacher understands how children learn and develop,
and can provide learning opportunities that support their intellectual, social
and personal development. At the University of Evansville, this principle is
addressed in two ways: first, the core set of courses stresses the developmental
nature of human growth and the knowledge base that informs what teachers should
know in order to be effective. Second, the rich and varied ways teacher
education students and candidates interact with children and expert teachers
throughout their programs provide a psychologically inductive process that is
guided by experts; that is, through guidance and professional interactions,
students observe and experience classrooms and students where the developmental
characteristics are in plentiful evidence.
INTASC
Principle Three: The teacher understands how students differ in their
approaches to learning and creates instructional opportunities that are
adapted to diverse learners. This principle is based on an ethical dynamic that
maintains productive and effective teachers work to help all children succeed.
The principle is addressed in a number of ways. First, the rich diversity of our
culture is emphasized in nearly every course or experience a student has at the
University. Second, each course contains specific activities and required tasks
that help students not only learn about the various elements of a diverse,
pluralistic culture, but also ones that must be designed to address the learning
needs of all children, regardless of culture or condition. All students are also
required to complete a course that specifically addresses the use of
instructional methods, both technological and non-technological, to address the
needs of learners as they progress through and succeed in the general education
curriculum. Finally, candidates are encouraged to pursue or engage in
international travel experiences that deepen knowledge and inspire tolerance.
INTASC
Principle Four: The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional
strategies to encourage students' development of critical thinking, problem
solving, and performance skills. The programs in the School of Education are, by
design, strongly oriented toward skill development; we firmly believe that a
significant part of the moral responsibility for new teachers and the school
districts who hire them resides in the degree to which our graduates have
developed a strong set of beginning instructional and managerial skills. Thus,
both coursework and field experiences play critical roles in how skills develop;
faculty and cooperating teachers are committed to helping candidates build an
effective set of research-based strategies that help all students succeed.
INTASC
Principle Five: The teacher uses an understanding of individual and group
motivation and behavior to create a learning environment that encourages
positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.
All programs in the School of Education reflect, as part of its civic mission
and sacred trust, the desire to have a positive impact on the lives of children
and families. The skills-oriented courses and fieldwork rely heavily on current
and historical research that supports the idea that effective, ethically sound
teachers are essential to helping children become thoughtful, compassionate, and
lifelong learners. In an even larger sense, an ideal classroom should reflect an
ideal social, pluralistic culture within which students, as citizens, are
learning and contributing to the larger good – an environment within which
expert teachers play the central role.
INTASC
Principle Six: The teacher uses knowledge of effective verbal, nonverbal, and
media communication techniques to foster active inquiry, collaboration,
and supportive interaction in the classroom. All School of Education programs
strongly emphasize the need for effective communication; indeed, communications
skills, including verbal, written, and technology-driven skills, are taught and
stressed throughout all students’ experiences – in courses and field work.
Candidates must demonstrate communication skills that are beyond simply adequate
– they must be exceptionally skilled and productive in order to meet the
communication demands of their school communities.
INTASC
Principle Seven: The teacher plans instruction based upon knowledge of
subject matter, students, the community, and curriculum goals. Planning, when
seen through a wide lens, means more than simply planning a lesson; it means
having a deep sense of students’ needs and abilities, students’ culture and
background, and of course, it means having a deep-rooted disciplinary knowledge.
All University of Evansville programs stress not only the physical act of
planning, but also the development of the types of knowledge, skills, and
dispositions necessary to create and deliver instructional and managerial plans
that meet the needs of all students. Students begin learning effective planning
skills early in their collegiate careers and have ample opportunities to
observe, deliver, assess, and reflect on the effectiveness of these skills in
field settings.
INTASC
Principle Eight: The teacher understands and uses formal and informal
assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous intellectual,
social, and physical development of the learner. Assessment and using assessment
data fruitfully and effectively is perhaps the most important tool in any
productive teacher’s repertoire of skills. Indeed, the pressure on contemporary
classroom teachers, materializing from either external pressures or the response
to a moral purpose, is great. All teacher preparation programs at the University
of Evansville are committed to developing and incorporating a wide variety of
assessment skills and tools into both coursework and field experiences.
INTASC
Principle Nine: The teacher is a reflective practitioner who continually
evaluates the effects of his/her choices and actions on others (students,
parents, and other professionals in the learning community) and who actively
seeks out opportunities to grow professionally. Reflection, and the professional
efficacy that must accompany it, are practiced throughout all four years of
candidates’ experiences. In addition, we believe that effective reflection is a
skill that can be taught and learned; therefore, students engage in a variety of
reflections beginning during their first year in education and continuing
throughout the entire program span.
INTASC
Principle Ten: The teacher fosters relationships with school colleagues,
parents, and agencies in the larger community to support students' learning and
well-being. The School of Education supports and believes in fostering
relationships, and both candidates and faculty members place these beliefs into
practice. That is, faculty and candidates enjoy professional relationships not
only among themselves, but also in the larger educational community and are
actively involved in a number of educational and community efforts and
organizations.
In addition to the INTASC Principles, the School of Education believes that
professional preparation of teachers includes an emphasis on professional
attributes; that is, throughout a candidate’s program, faculty and cooperating
educators and teachers stress the importance of professional attitudes, beliefs,
and dispositions. These attributes are undeniably part of building the
professional culture and improving the status of the profession as a whole.
The research that informs and fuels these rigorous programs is largely based on
the work of scholars whose research, both recent and historical, suggests that
the preparation of excellent teachers is a prerequisite for school reform and
improvement (National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, 1996). In
addition, the work of John Goodlad, Linda Darling-Hammond, Michael Fullan,
Robert Marzano, and many other scholars informs programs and structures. A
central aspect of the research supporting University of Evansville teacher
preparation programs is also imbedded in the nature of contemporary classrooms;
that is, the vast majority of students in classrooms reflect the culture’s rich
and growing pluralistic diversity, and as such, programs have been designed to
help candidates meet the needs of all students, regardless of culture or
conditions. Therefore, research in the areas of special needs, English as a New
Language, adaptive technology, and universal design for learning informs not
only special education, but general education as well.
The
Nation’s Children and Our Legacy
The legacy we wish to leave is uncomplicated: we want all students of our
candidates to be successful learners, leading lives of joy, compassion, and
productivity, contributing gladly and knowingly to the greater good of all
people. Although as uncomplicated as it is in statement, it is extremely complex
and difficult in execution. However difficult and challenging, the University of
Evansville School of Education is committed to both adhering to the University’s
mission, and to our responsibility to prepare effective, resilient teachers who
are well-informed, productive, and ethical. In order to accomplish this
formidable task, the School of Education will adhere to standards of excellence
and quality with respect to student admissions, faculty and staff quality, and a
deep and unwavering allegiance to our school partners. Our work is perhaps the
most important in our culture.
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