READING AND WRITING (P-12) MED Relationship of the Program with the Unit s Conceptual Framework

Transcription

1 READING AND WRITING (P-12) MED Relationship of the Program with the Unit s Conceptual Framework The M.Ed. in Education is designed with ideas to action at its core. It provides multiple experiences for candidates to learn in collaboration with classroom teachers, administrators, students, and local and professional communities. A significant illustration of this commitment to ideas to action is that candidates complete a coaching experience and a literacy research project in early program courses and complete two supervised practicum classes one to demonstrate competency as a reading specialist, and the other to demonstrate skills as a literacy coach. Candidates are expected to see their teaching roles as encompassing more than academic instruction and are challenged to view teaching as a practice nested within professional, school, and local communities. Further, they are encouraged to think of teaching and learning as processes through which social justice can be actualized. This approach begins early in the program with EDAP 642 Literacy Learning and Cultural Differences, a required course in which candidates are expected to participate as members of a community of learners focused on equity issues, and continues through their final courses where they work with diverse struggling readers within a community project and work with colleagues in their own school settings. Throughout their programs, candidates continuously develop more complex perspectives of social justice in action as they gain opportunities and experiences, particularly those related to teaching in the area of literacy. Candidates link these perspectives directly to their teaching within the contexts of classrooms, schools and communities. Conceptual Framework Constructs Constructs as Learned and Applied Constructs Reflected in Candidates Unit Dispositions Reflected in Candidates Inquiry Action Advocacy Research Practice Service Critical Thinkers Problem Solvers Professional Leaders inform practice through inquiry and reflection improve practice through information, knowledge, and understanding affirm principles of social justice and equity and a commitment to making a positive difference Lee S. Shulman, 2006 winner of the Grawemeyer Award in Education and President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, has described teaching and learning how to teach as processes of learning, knowing, and understanding. Integral to these experiences is the attainment not only of pedagogical and content knowledge, but also an awareness of teaching s moral obligations that is, service to both society and community (Shulman, 2006). In his official Grawemeyer address, he stated that, in professions like teaching (as in medicine, nursing, law, divinity, or engineering), mere comprehension is not enough. One must also learn how to apply knowledge and skills through ethical, responsible practice and public performance in short, one must learn how to act in the world. It is through such habitual activities that professional identity, integrity, commitment, and character are formed. Knowing the ends, purposes, values, and philosophical and historical foundations of the discipline are

2 inherent to understanding that teaching occurs at the crossroads of complex disciplines interacting with diverse and complex learners. The College and Department are dedicated to preparing candidates who are critical thinkers, problem solvers, and professional leaders. The connection between the Reading Education M.Ed./Rank I Advanced program and elements of the conceptual framework (see chart, above) is described below. Conceptual Framework Construct 1: Inquiry In the Reading Education M.Ed./Rank I Advanced program candidates will engage in inquiry to further develop their knowledge base. This inquiry allows them to further develop their knowledge, skill, and dispositions in literacy teaching and coaching; expand their repertoire of planning, teaching, and assessment strategies that typify best literacy practice; expand their knowledge and understanding about local school initiatives and state mandates, including the ways in which school contexts influence literacy curriculum decisions; more fully understand the effects of school reform, school-based change initiatives, and best practice on teaching and learning; identify the knowledge and skill needed to be a reading specialist/literacy coach; commit to a process of discovering what knowledge is of enduring importance, why it is important, and how it can be acquired or constructed; collect data about their students learning and their teaching practice, and reflect on their own practice through journal writing, reflection of lessons and observations and continued professional development. Collect data on school-wide literacy improvement and their role in that development, and reflect on their own literacy leadership practice through journal writing, reflection of observations and continued professional development. Construct 1 as Learned and Applied: Research As candidates extend their understanding of best practices, they review valid and reliable research studies and initiate their own research, with the expectation that they will begin contributing knowledge to the profession. Candidates will identify appropriate research sources; critically read and analyze research results; infer implications from findings for future planning; develop knowledge and skill in conducting action research; articulate a research base for making literacy decisions; conduct literature searches, formalize inquiries, and reflect the high caliber and quality of work expected in other professional, graduate programs.

3 Construct 1 as Reflected in Candidates: Critical Thinkers M.Ed. in Reading program candidates will be expected to demonstrate critical thinking in their coursework and practice by using what they have learned to form plans for further inquiry and growth. Candidates will analyze student learning and/or teacher professional development in order to identify strengths and areas for professional growth with respect to their teaching and/or coaching; monitor their teaching/coaching, adjusting objectives and activities as necessary; reflect on methods of instruction for the purpose of personal and professional growth; engage in learner-centered planning; differentiate lessons, developing strategies and resources to acknowledge the worth, value, and needs of diverse student populations in classrooms; demonstrate skill in pedagogy and in creating supportive learning environments that sustain social support for students academic learning; demonstrate skill in using new technologies and in planning ways to integrate technologies into learning situations. construct and present a satisfactory mid-point and exit portfolio showing and explaining evidence of meeting the International Reading Association Standards for Reading Professionals and Kentucky Experienced Teacher Standards. Conceptual Framework Construct 2: Action Reading Education M.Ed./Rank I Advanced program candidates are engaged in taking the ideas from coursework and readings into action in every class. Samples of activities and assignments which help our candidates make the curriculum real follow. Candidates must develop an awareness of and become more knowledgeable about teaching within a culturally diverse and democratic society, of curricular and instructional materials which account for students ethnicity, culture, social class, gender, language, multiple intelligences and differences in learning style, and special needs; design and implement instructional strategies appropriate for teaching in a culturally diverse and democratic society; assume a leadership role in their school, district, or professional organization; design and implement an literacy research project to improve student performance and/or teacher knowledge; pursue in-depth study of literacy teaching and coaching and demonstrate application in practice; explore and practice the applications and implications of new technologies and literacy technology applications for personal and educational use. Construct 2 as Learned and Applied: Practice Candidates put into practice in their classrooms the ideas they have encountered during their courses. Specifically, they are expected to demonstrate the following: the ability to design and implement instruction appropriate for teaching within a culturally diverse and democratic society;

4 a depth and breadth of content knowledge that reflects current constructs and improves their ability to teach diverse students; the ability to design and implement strategies that create a learning environment that supports students academic success; the ability to design, implement, and analyze appropriate assessment plans; the ability to collaborate with colleagues, parents, and others to improve student learning; the ability to use new technologies in planning and in engaging students in learning. Construct 2 as Reflected in Candidates: Problem Solvers Candidates are asked to adopt a problem-solving perspective with respect to their practice through most required courses in the program. For example, in EDAP 614 candidates develop a literacy research project that focuses on examining a problem with struggling readers. In EDAP 618, candidates work with students in a community agency setting to assess reading competencies and plan instruction to address learning gaps. These program experiences and others enable the candidates to demonstrate their ability to: identify a problem within their teaching and/or coaching context; gather data to address the identified problem; analyze data and interpret results; infer implications from findings for future literacy practice and further research. Conceptual Framework Construct 3: Advocacy Candidates are challenged to use their knowledge and skills to improve the lives of students, parents, and community members. They are prepared to: engage in informed discussion and debate on issues of concern to the profession; take informed stands on issues of concern to the profession; collaborate with community organizations, school personnel, resource staff, and parents to improve educational opportunities for students; consider and evaluate issues of race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, class, language ability, special needs and exceptionalities as well as different learning styles and multiple intelligences as they impact public schools and student learning; and respond constructively to socio-cultural differences and to sociopolitical contexts in urban and rural settings, with the goal of ably serving diverse learners in culturally and linguistically responsive ways. Construct 3 as Learned and Applied: Service The CEHD Reading Education M.Ed./Rank 1 program includes a systematic programmatic commitment to engaging candidates in community-based service. Currently, in specific courses, candidates have the opportunity to: work with individual students and groups of students in a variety of field-based experiences designed to help candidates learn to teach children with reading difficulties; work directly with students in a reading practicum scheduled at a neighborhood faithbased organization/church;

5 work directly with teachers in coaching assignments in schools. Construct 3 as Reflected in Candidates: Professional Leaders Reading Education M.Ed./Rank 1 candidates are expected to be visible leaders within their school communities or professional organizations and to assume appropriate and available leadership roles. Candidates demonstrate their ability to: contribute to the profession through literacy research projects which they produce as journal articles or conference presentations; assist colleagues in planning and implementing appropriate instructional strategies; initiate and develop literacy projects within their schools and/or professional organizations; undertake school-wide literacy planning write and speak effectively.