CONCORD UNIVERSITY THE PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION UNIT CONEPTUAL FRAMEWORK THE 21ST CENTURY PROFESSIONAL

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1 CONCORD UNIVERSITY THE PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION UNIT CONEPTUAL FRAMEWORK THE 21ST CENTURY PROFESSIONAL Introduction Across the United States, teacher educators, policy makers, school leaders, and other constituents have been engaged in discussions about what teachers need to learn and experience before they enter the profession. The Professional Education Unit (PEU) at Concord University has also been engaged in this discussion with our own stakeholders as we have developed the shared vision of the teacher as the 21st Century Professional. Following the publication of the article, Constructing 21st Century Teacher Education, the PEU began to examine Concord s teacher preparation program following Darling-Hammond s (2006) presentation of three critical components necessary to advance teacher education into the 21st century 1) coherence and integration among courses and between course work and clinical work in schools; 2) extensive, well-supervised clinical experience linked to course work using pedagogies that link theory and practice; and 3) closer, proactive relationships with schools. At the same time, the State of West Virginia introduced a new set of professional teaching standards that were to be integrated into all teacher education coursework and to be used for the assessment of teacher candidate practice and professional development. These professional teaching standards provide the expectation that every West Virginia teacher will demonstrate expertise in five broad areas that are the basis for what teachers must know and be able to do related to-- Curriculum and Planning; The Learner and the Learning Environment; Teaching; Professional responsibilities for self-renewal; and Professional responsibilities for school and community. Additionally, the PEU reflects the educational goals of the University. The educational programs of Concord University are designed to foster skills, knowledge, and attitudes applicable across a wide range of academic fields and professional careers in a culturally diverse, perpetually evolving global community. The mission of Concord University is to provide quality liberal arts based education, to foster scholarly activities, and to serve the regional community. The ideals articulated in the Unit s Conceptual Framework are consistent with the values promoted by the University. Furthermore, the mission of the PEU is to prepare educators who are competent, intentional, reflective, culturally responsive, leading, and empathic 21st Century Professionals. The PEU strives to provide all teacher candidates at the initial and advanced level with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to become effective teachers/leaders by offering the highest quality instruction and programs.

2 The advanced program strives to further develop and enhance the knowledge base of the practicing professional. As candidates progress through the graduate curriculum, the improvement, refinement, and practice of professional knowledge bases, skills, and dispositions are enhanced and refined. The Professional Education Unit encapsulates both the mission of Concord University, and the broader mission of a liberal arts institution, forging the 21st Century Professional educator through an intense core curriculum and practical hands-on opportunities, including purposeful, multiple, and meaningful field experiences. Both the undergraduate and graduate programs provide candidates with a core knowledge base to learn and serve within the specific contexts found within the southern Appalachian region, as well as the larger global community. The graduate program at Concord University further defines, hones, and immerses its students in best practices, research/inquiry, and professional skills and knowledge. In developing the 21st Century Professional, the Professional Education Unit has modeled collaboration, professionalism, critical thinking, and collegiality, while fostering the same traits within its candidates as it unites with public schools, professional organizations, government entities, and other programs within the University. Within this culture of collegiality, the emphasis has been on professional support, and the encouragement of risk taking, inquiry and democratic norms, where teachers are invigorated, and supported, to make professional decisions about pedagogy and policy (Danielson, 2006). The 21st Century Professionals skills, knowledge, dispositions, and practice extend beyond their classroom. Historical Background Concord College became Concord University after a long, distinguished history of preparing professional educators had already been established. Chartered in 1872 as a Normal School, Concord s mission was to prepare teachers for service in the public schools. In 1931 it became Concord State Teachers College, continuing its legacy of preparing teachers. The name changed soon after, in 1943, to Concord College, as the school took on the mission of a liberal arts institution, while still maintaining a strong and important role in the preparation of teachers. As part of the mission to serve southern West Virginia, Concord sought, and was granted, approval for a full graduate program in August, In 2004 Concord College became Concord University, as it developed a program for practicing professionals in the area. The program has grown to encompass initial certification in teacher preparation and training in other professional venues. The preparation of teachers continues to play a significant role at Concord University as approximately twenty-five percent of the students who graduate each year earn degrees in education. This history of commitment to teacher education combined with a current mission statement that emphasizes high quality instruction creates a context of high expectations for the teacher education program at Concord University

3 The Professional Education Unit has long recognized the need for transformative changes in the teacher education program to ensure that future are prepared to teach and lead our children, schools, families and communities into this new century. During the 1990s, the PEU began an extensive effort at program articulation and development. This effort included faculty, students, administration, and public school professionals who came together in a spirit of collaboration to read, discuss, and write about their vision of the ideal teacher education program for Concord University. This collaboration led to the articulation of The Informed and Thoughtful Decision-Maker (ITD-M) conceptual framework. The ITD-M concept established a common language that faculty, students, and public school professionals used when considering program design and the complexities of teaching. The ITD-M concept provided the framework for curricular and instructional development of the teacher education program at Concord University. Now, well into the 21st century, the Conceptual Framework of the Professional Education Unit incorporates a shared view of how to best prepare our graduates to be the 21st Century Professional. The Conceptual Framework and Knowledge Base The Conceptual Framework is the result of collaborative efforts involving, the PEU, arts and sciences faculty, administrators, public school practitioners, community members, and teacher candidates. It is a reflection of the PEU s endeavor to construct a teacher education program for the 21st century, to integrate state and national standards, and to meet the demands of a diverse, global society. The 21st Century Professional reflects not only our commitment to our previous conceptual framework, but it also directs our ongoing vision of educating future teachers as we engage in meaningful and effective professional learning communities. As an integrative whole, the framework is comprised of the parts of the Learning CIRCLE. The Learning CIRCLE is a continuum of learning that starts and ends with a concept of life-long learning and shared knowledge. The CIRCLE encompasses a professional learning community and is a continuous process of shared learning among candidates, university faculty, P-12 faculty and students. The Learning CIRCLE transforms candidates into the 21st Century Professional by ensuring that they are Competent, Intentional, Reflective, Culturally-Responsive, Leading, and Empathetic. Competent In his research, Marzano (2003) supports the belief that effective, competent teachers influence student achievement more than any other factors in the school The PEU acknowledges this belief, furthermore asserting that competent teachers have a strong content knowledge base. In addition to this strong content knowledge, competent teachers display appropriate pedagogical content knowledge that allows them to meet the diverse learning needs of their students (Bransford, Darling- Hammond, & LePage, 2005; Delpit, 1995). Teacher candidates therefore must be engaged in gaining competence in their content, in professional pedagogy and in the integration of content and pedagogy to achieve student success.. Competent teachers must draw from a knowledge base that includes strong content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, instructional design, knowledge of effective assessment, multicultural education, and technology. The role of the PEU is to provide opportunities for candidates to build and evaluate knowledge that equips them to be competent professionals in a diverse and global society (Banks, 2008). To accomplish this, the PEU encourages candidates to master content appropriate to their discipline, to consider diverse perspectives, to participate in engaged learning, to reflect upon their actions and to make decisions based on research and best practice.

4 Intentional To be intentional is to act purposefully, with a goal in mind and a plan for accomplishing it. Intentional teaching means teachers act with specific outcomes or goals in mind for children s development and learning. Intentional teaching originates from careful thought and informed decision-making. Thus an intentional teacher aims at clearly defined learning objectives for children, employs instructional strategies likely to help children achieve the objectives, and continually assesses progress and adjusts the strategies based on that assessment. Characteristics of intentional teaching include: high expectations, planning and management, learning-oriented classrooms, engaging activities, thoughtful questioning, and feedback. (Epstein, 2007) Slavin (2000) stated, While there is no formula for good teaching, the one attribute that seems to be characteristic of outstanding teachers is intentionality, doing things on purpose (p. 7). Slavin (2000) suggests five questions that teachers should consider as they plan, teach, reflect on and revise their practices: 1. What am I trying to accomplish? 2. What are my students relevant experiences and needs? 3. What approaches and materials are available to help me challenge every student? 4. How will I know whether and when to change my strategy or modify my instruction? 5. What information will I accept as evidence that my students and I are experiencing success? Throughout the program, the PEU engages candidates in discussions centered on these five questions as they are guided to be intentional teachers and the 21st Century Professional. Reflective The PEU draws from the scholarship on reflective practice by Dewey (1933) and Schon (1983). The PEU believes that the 21st Century Professional is an educator who can reflect-in-action and reflect-on-action. According to research-based principles of reflective practice, learning does not occur through the direct transmission of knowledge from teacher to student. Instead, instruction provides students in all fields with multiple opportunities to articulate their own ideas, experiment with these ideas, and construct new ideas. The PEU believes reflective educators consider the experiences in which they are engaged, and then evaluate these experiences by constantly refining and improving their teaching skills. The reflective educator reflects and revises practice based on careful analysis and self-examination, and upon a commitment to continued professional growth. Culturally Responsive The PEU has a commitment to help candidates value diversity, acquire cultural knowledge, and adapt to diversity and the cultural contexts of the communities they serve. In addition to the content and pedagogical competence of the candidates, there is a need to develop cultural competence in order to effectively teach students with backgrounds different from their own (Banks, et.al., 2006, p.237). The teacher education program is responsible for preparing the 21st Century Professional to see culture, and to develop cultural lenses (Delpit, 1995) into students home culture as a prerequisite for culturally responsive teaching (Ladson-Billing, 1994). Villegas and Lucas (2002) encourage teacher educators to examine their programs critically and systematically interweave six salient characteristics throughout the coursework, learning experiences, and fieldwork of prospective teachers to better prepare culturally responsive teachers to work successfully in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms. The six characteristics are: sociocultural consciousness; an affirming attitude toward students from culturally diverse backgrounds; commitment and skills to act as agents of change; constructivist views of learning;

5 learning about students experiences, home and community cultures; and culturally responsive teaching strategies. Teachers who have learned culturally responsive pedagogy are more confident and believe they are effective in their instruction of diverse children (Pang & Sablan, 1998). Leading Danielson (2006) defines teacher leadership as skills demonstrated by teachers who continue to teach but who influence practices of other teachers and activities in other classrooms teacher leaders don t gain their authority through an assigned role or position; rather, they earn it through their work with both their students and their colleagues. According to Katzenmeyer and Moller (2001), teachers who are leaders, can influence school reform efforts, and have unlimited potential in making a difference in the pace and depth of school change. The PEU expects our candidates to assume leadership roles in a variety of educational and societal settings. To prepare our candidates for these leadership roles, we aim to equip them with the essential knowledge, skills and dispositions which are required to undertake transformation and innovation in the education of students. Additionally, we encourage our candidates to contribute to the professional development of their colleagues and to engage in collaboration by working effectively and cooperatively in professional organizations and professional learning communities. Empathetic The empathetic or caring teacher creates an environment of respect and rapport which impacts both the interactions between the teacher and the students, and the interactions between students (Danielson, 1996). Research shows that teachers who are empathetic and can demonstrate their caring have a greater capacity to increase student achievement (Costa & Garmston, 2002). An empathic disposition has been seen as a desirable trait for teachers in school settings. Researchers have noted that students who have caring relationships with their teachers are more motivated and perform better academically than students who do not (Gay, 2000.). Researchers who have explored teachers who are effective with diverse students (e.g., Ladson-Billings, 1994) or in urban settings (e.g., Gordon, 1999) have identified empathy as a component of teachers' success. The PEU attempts to instill the disposition of empathy into each of our candidates. Candidate Proficiencies Knowledge, Skills and Dispositions 21st Century Professionals construct knowledge and skills that will serve as the core of their practice. 21st Century Professionals understand the role of content, research, theory and practice as the building blocks of knowledge and skills. Coursework in general education, content studies, professional studies, and field and clinical experiences lay the foundation for effective practice. The PEU has outlined specific knowledge and skills of the 21st Century Professional: 1. Competent a. Candidates know the content they teach. b. Candidates know effective instructional pedagogy. c. Candidates are strong in pedagogical content knowledge. 2. Intentional a. Candidates can plan effective instruction. b. Candiates create environments that support learning. c. Candidates facilitate learning using a variety of instructional strategies, materials and technologies. d. Candidates plan for and accommodate learning experiences for individual differences e. Candidates understand and use multiple methods of assessment.

6 3. Reflective a. Candidates analyze student learning. b. Candidates analyze their teaching. c. Candidates grow and develop professionally. 4. Culturally Responsive. a. Candidates embrace diversity in the school, the community, and the world. b. Candidates plan for and accommodate learning experiences for diverse cultures and for second language acquisition. c. Candidates know how to build instruction upon learners experiences and cultures, and upon family and community resources. 5. Leading a. Candidates lead in their classrooms. b. Candidates demonstrate leadership in the school. c. Candidates lead the teaching profession. d. Candidates advocate for schools and students. e. Candidates demonstrate high ethical standards. 6. Empathetic. a. Candidates provide a positive environment. b. Candidates establish nurturing relationships with their students. Candidate Dispositions 21st Century Professionals develop dispositions that complement their knowledge and skills, and lead to their successful practice and professional development. The PEU is firmly committed to developing the knowledge, skills, and dispositions in undergraduate and graduate candidates that will enable them to be effective 21st century professionals. To be effective in today s schools, the PEU believes that educators must be competent, intentional, reflective, culturally-responsive, leading, and empathetic. The PEU is convinced of its responsibility to ensure that candidates completing the undergraduate and graduate programs adhere to the following professional dispositions that are assessed repeatedly as the candidate progresses through the program. Collaboration candidates works together with others to improve the overall learning of students. Honesty and Integrity candidates demonstrate ethical standards. Respect candidates respect cultural and individual differences by providing equitable learning opportunities for all. Values learning candidates demonstrate a respect for and seriousness of intent to acquire knowledge and possesses a high expectations for all learners Emotional maturity candidates demonstrate situationally-appropriate behavior. Responsibility candidates demonstrates professionalism, and are accountable and reliable. Commitment to Diversity The PEU is committed to preparing candidates who support learning for all students. The PEU has established a set of core beliefs that are integrated across the curriculum, field experiences and clinical practice, and assessments and evaluations. The Conceptual Framework also supports diversity through the concept of being culturally responsive. The diversity dispositions attained by all candidates are: Candidates believe that all students can learn.

7 Candidates make informed and thoughtful decisions to effectively educate all students including those from diverse backgrounds and with varying cognitive abilities. Candidates possess knowledge, skills, and dispositions to enhance learning for a diverse student population. Candidates interact with diverse populations. Commitment to Technology The PEU is committed to preparing 21st Century Professionals who are able to use educational technology to help all students learn. National (ISTE/NETS-T and INTASC) and State (WVPTS) standards guide candidates use of technology in initial and advanced programs. Educational technologies are integrated throughout the PEU s curriculum, instruction, field and clinical experiences, and assessments and evaluations. All candidates at both the initial and advanced preparation programs complete a course (EDUC 301 and EDUC 530) devoted to the use of educational technologies in the classroom. Candidates in both the initial and advanced preparation programs demonstrate the use of technology to support instruction in a variety of ways. Candidates complete course assignments, course presentations, and plan lessons that demonstrate their knowledge and skills in using technology to support student learning of content. Candidates have adequate access to technology labs across the campus and in a dedicated computer lab in within the PEU. The course management system, Blackboard Learning System, is used by both faculty and candidates for discussion boards and the electronic submission of documents. LiveText is used as an electronic tool within the PEU s assessment system. As technologies advance, the PEU is committed to exploring ways to bring these to our candidates and to share them within our various professional learning communities. Candidate Assessment and Evaluation Undergraduate teacher candidates are regularly assessed and given feedback on their knowledge, skills and dispositions through extensive and varied methods aimed at modeling the types of assessments they in turn may use as future teachers. These methods include self-assessments, portfolios, performance assessments, grade point averages (GPA), and nationally standardized tests. These evaluations assess the six components of the Conceptual Framework and inform the teacher candidates and faculty members as to the teacher candidate s progress toward becoming the 21st Century Professional. There are four uniform and formal assessment points in the undergraduate teacher education program. Three of these points occur upon application for admission to specific stages of the program entrance into Concord University, entrance into the teacher education program, and entrance into student teaching. The final assessment occurs just prior to graduation from the program. In addition to the four uniform and formal assessment points, continual evaluation of undergraduate teacher candidates occurs as they progress through their courses. These assessments occur through formal and informal feedback from Concord faculty, interviews, peer evaluations, rubrics, cooperating teachers, principals in the public schools, and self-assessment. Formal feedback also occurs in the form of faculty-developed objective tests, essay tests, and performance assessment. As members of a team, teacher candidates evaluate their own student teaching performance. Undergraduate teacher candidates also maintain a journal throughout their field and clinical experience in which they record their observations, experiences, and decisions. Most importantly, they reflect upon those observations, experiences, and decisions. The undergraduate teacher candidate s reflections upon their performances are crucial in the process of becoming the 21st

8 Century Professional. Their reflections encourage them to deliberate upon being competent, intentional, reflective, culturally responsive, leading, and empathetic. Assessment and evaluation for the graduate program also consists of a combination of objective standards and the professional judgment of the graduate faculty. Entrance into the program includes the following: graduation from a regionally accredited institution, appropriate professional licensure, appropriate GRE scores, and letters of recommendation from their professional experiences. Continuing assessment occurs at several points. The first is appropriate and professional completion of graduate courses, progressive examination of GPA, along with examination and interview by the Graduate Council of students not making satisfactory progress in the program. A third assessment point is EDUC/EDEL/RDNG 560 which is a semester long capstone course for the graduate student. At this stage the graduate student is expected to identify practical research topics, plan an action research agenda, implement the research proposal, and evaluate the effectiveness of the implement. The final point of assessment is the successful completion of the Praxis II (program applicable) and the appropriate GPA. Banks, J. (2008). An introduction to multicultural education (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education. Brandsford, J., Darling-Hammond, L., & LePage, P. (2005). Introduction. In L. Darling- Hammond & J. Brandsford, Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teacher should learn and be able to do (pp. 1-39). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Costa, A. & Garmston, R. (2002). Cognitive coaching: a foundation for renaissance schools. Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon. Danielson, C. (1996). Enhancing professional practice: A framework for teaching. Alexandria,VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Delpit, L. (1995). Other people s children: Cultural conflict in the classroom. New York: The New Press. Dewey, J. (1933). How we think: A restatement of the relation of reflective teaching. Boston: Heath and Company. Epstein, A. S. (2007). The intentional teacher: Choosing the best strategies for young children s learning. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children. Katzenmeyer, M. & Moller, G. (2001). Awakening the sleeping giant: Helping teachers develop as leaders. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Marzano, R.J. (2003). What works in schools: Translating research into action. Alexandria, VA: Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development. Pang, V.O., & Sablan, V.A. (1998). Teacher efficacy: How do teachers feel about their abilities to teach African American students? In M.E. Dilworth (Eds.), Being responsive to cultural differences how teachers learn (pp ). Thousand Oaks: CA: Corwin-Press. Schon, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner. New York: Basic Books. Slavin, R. (2000). Educational psychology: Theory and practice. ( 6th ed.) Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Allyn and Bacon.

9 Villegas, A. M.. & Lucas, T. (2002). Educating culturally responsive teachers: A coherent approach. Albany: State University of New York Press