Summary of the Case Siena Heights University Teacher Education Program 1 The Summary of the Case is written by the auditors and approved by program faculty. The Summary reflects the auditors understanding of the case the faculty members are making for accreditation. Authorship and approval of the Inquiry Brief: The Inquiry Brief was written by Kelly Cichy and Sally Rae. The Inquiry Brief was approved by the full-time teacher education faculty on July 24, 2012. Introduction: Siena Heights University, located in Adrian, MI, was founded in 1919 as a Catholic liberal arts college focusing on teacher preparation. It is now a university sponsored by the Adrian Dominican Sisters and offers associate s, bachelor s, master s, and specialist s degrees. The university is a member of the North Central Association s Higher Learning Commission and the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities. In addition to the Adrian Campus, there are seven satellite campuses throughout Michigan, serving 2408 graduate and undergraduate students during the 2010-2011 academic year. Teacher education is only offered at the Adrian Campus. Originally called St. Joseph College, it was renamed in 1939 after St. Catherine of Siena, and her philosophy is reflected in the Siena Heights University mission statement: to assist people to become more competent, purposeful, and ethical, through a teaching and learning environment which respects the dignity of all. In 1998, the institution changed the name from Siena Heights College to Siena Heights University, and remains dedicated to the promotion of teaching and learning based on a liberal arts curriculum. Due to its small size, the hallmark of the university is collaboration and communication between faculty, students, and faculty and students. In addition, the program is structured around the seven standards of the Professional Standards for Michigan Teachers. The undergraduate teacher education program (and post-baccalaureate earning initial certification) is part of the Division of Visual and Performing Arts and Education in the College of Arts and Sciences. The graduate program for those seeking additional endorsements to be added to current certification is part of the Graduate College. The teacher education program functions as a single unit. Certification is offered ranging from early childhood through adolescent education at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Coursework at the undergraduate and graduate levels is often the same; however, graduate students complete work beyond that required of undergraduates. The Siena Heights University Teacher Education Program includes both an undergraduate and graduate division with multiple program options. Initial certification is offered in 13 areas visual art education, biology, chemistry, early childhood education, elementary education, English, integrated science, language arts, math, social studies, Spanish, and special education and endorsements in 8 areas early childhood education, elementary education, middle level education, reading specialist (K-12), secondary education in a certifiable major, special education, and teaching English to
speakers of other languages. In the past three academic years, enrollment in initial certification programs has been 98, 93, and 106; while enrollment in additional endorsement programs has been 123, 170, and 147. Around 21% of the students are male, while about 79% are female; with around 70% Caucasian, 10% African American, 5% Hispanic, and most of the remainder Native American or Asian/Pacific Islander. There are six full-time and 17 part-time faculty members in the Teacher Education Program. Table 1 Siena Heights University Teacher Education Program Options Option Name (usually these will be licensure areas) Level Number of completers in previous academic year (2010-2011) Number of students enrolled in current academic year (Fall 2011) BIOLOGY (SECONDARY) UG 1 5 CHEMISTRY (SECONDARY) UG 0 0 CHILD DEVELOPMENT (ELEMENTARY) UG 2 28 ENGLISH UG 6 11 ELEMENTARY COMPREHENSIVE 0 27 HISTORY UG 1 1 INTEGRATED SCIENCE (ELEMENTARY) UG 0 7 LANGUAGE ARTS (ELEMENTARY) UG 6 11 MATHEMATICS UG 4 17 PLANNED ELEMENTARY UG 12 36 SOCIAL STUDIES UG 4 8 SPANISH UG 3 32 SPECIAL EDUCATION (LD) K-12 UG 7 6 SPECIAL EDUCATION (CI) K-12 UG 0 3 VISUAL ARTS K-12 UG 1 ADDITIONAL ENDORSEMENTS See ** below SPECIAL EDUCATION (LD) GRAD 1 SPECIAL EDUCATION (CI) GRAD 0 EARLY CHILDHOOD GRAD 7 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION GRAD 1 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION W/ K-12 READING GRAD 2 MIDDLE LEVEL EDUCATION GRAD 0 SECONDARY EDUCATION GRAD 3
SECONDARY EDUCATION W/ K-12 READING GRAD 1 ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE GRAD 0 ADMIN CERT W/SCHOOL PRINCIPAL M.A. GRAD 0 CENTRAL OFFICE Ed.S GRAD 6 Program claims: The program makes four claims based on TEAC principles. 1. Siena Heights University Teacher Education Program graduates are competent in the subject matter they are certified to teach. 2. Siena Heights University Teacher Education Program graduates demonstrate the ability to apply principles of best practices (developmentally-based teaching methodologies that have proven over time, research, and experience to enhance student learning by developing thinking and problem-solving skills through integration and active learning), including the incorporation of technology, to instruction, assessment, and management in prek-12 classrooms. 3. Siena Heights University Teacher Education Program graduates demonstrate an understanding of various teaching/learning styles (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic) and the diverse sociocultural factors (English language learners, racial and ethnic diversity, and socioeconomic levels) that influence the teaching/learning process enabling them to address the educational needs of prek-12 students, including those with special needs. 4. Siena Heights University Teacher Education Program graduates exhibit the personal integrity, professionalism, and ethical behavior essential to the role of teacher and reflective practitioner, with an awareness of the social and emotional aspects of teaching and learning. The teacher education program presents the juxtaposition of its claims to the TEAC Quality Principles and cross-cutting themes in the following way: TEAC requirements Siena Heights Claims QP1.1 subject matter knowledge Claim 1 QP1.2 pedagogical knowledge Claims 2 & 3 QP1.3 caring and effective teaching skills Claims 4 QP1.4.1 learning how to learn Claims 4 QP1.4.2 multicultural perspectives Claims 3 QP1.4.3 technology Claim 2 Evidence supporting the claims: The program puts forward five lines of evidence to demonstrate that candidates meet the claims. These measures differ between the preservice program option leading to licensure and the professional certification programs for candidates who are already licensed. The three underlined measures are appropriate for both program options. 1. Overall GPAs (Claim 1) no lower than a C is required for admission and continuance in the initial certification program. No grade lower than a B is
accepted in core courses or a C for elective courses for additional endorsement (graduate students). 2. Michigan Test Teacher Certification (MTTC) Scores (Claim 1) all students seeking licensure must pass these tests with scores set by Michigan. 3. Electronic Portfolios (Claim 1, 2, 3, & 4) all students must demonstrate mastery of Teacher Education Program Learning Outcomes through the portfolio. Undergraduate portfolios are evaluated in the EDU 495 (Directed Teaching Seminar) course. Graduate portfolios are evaluated initially in the TED 601 introductory course and finally in the TED 678/690 reflective teaching practicum. Validity and reliability are established by continued use of the portfolios and associated scoring rubrics over time with all students. 4. Cooperating teacher and university supervisor evaluations (Claims 2, 3, & 4) students must meet acceptable ratings on the cooperating teacher evaluations and the university supervisor evaluations of a 2.5 of 4 and 3 of 5, respectively on specific Teacher Education Program Learning Outcomes for each claim. 5. Comprehensive interviews (Claims 2, 3, & 4) all undergraduate students must demonstrate mastery of the Teacher Education Program Learning Outcomes in the interview, earning a minimum of 3 on a 5-point scale to pass. Internal audit: The audit was conducted by Dr. Eleanor L. Wollett. The audit was designed to center around students, the reason for the existence of the Siena Heights University. Dr. Wollet discovered that curriculum follows a specific process that is followed meticulously. Faculty members are hired according to specific policies. In addition, facilities provided for instruction and support services for students are equal across the campus. The audit itself was conducted by looking at every 8 th student graduating from the program in during the 2010-2011 academic year (N=16 for undergraduates and N=18 for graduate students) and in looking at coursework, the 8 th education course the student took. Undergraduate files were examined, using a checklist, to determine if: 1. Admission requirements were met, 2. A letter of acceptance for candidacy was present, 3. The full application for acceptance was present, 4. A letter of full acceptance into the program was present, 5. Coursework was completed with an overall GPA of 2.75, 6. The instructor for courses examined was qualified to teach it, 7. There was evidence the grade received was warranted, 8. The requirements for student teaching were completed, and 9. The student was certified to teach by the State of Michigan. Graduate files were examined to determine if: 1. The application documents were present, 2. The graduate director reviewed the file and accepted/rejected the applicant, 3. The director registered the student for their first classes, 4. Instructors were highly qualified to teach courses, 5. Course grades were warranted by evidence in the file, 6. The student took the Michigan State Test required for the teaching area, 7. Records of student teaching (if required) are in the file, & 8. The student completed the degree, graduated, and became certified in the proper timeframe. Dr. Wollett concluded that the program was functioning as described and students offered appropriate services. She also concluded that a move to digital recordkeeping would facilitate future audits and record keeping.
Plans for program improvement: The program noted some areas in need of improvement: 1. Improving relatively low pass rates on the MTTC by language arts students. Dr. Wollett will head up this work as an in house initiative. 2. Analyzing directed teaching final evaluations, it was determined that secondary classroom management is a concern. 3. A concern for collection of data and storage of the same. Improvements already made include: modification of the online personal profile to more accurately identify numbers of students and courses of study, portfolios done as web pages to facilitate storage, hiring of an Institutional Researcher, and replacing old university records with Cognos. Improvements slated for the future include: focus on institutional research to maintain more accurate numbers, digitize student files for better storage and record keeping, document interventions with struggling students more carefully, enhance inter-rater reliability on grading/scoring rubrics, develop a dispositions (soft skills) rubric, develop better content area course rubrics, integrate teacher education learning outcomes more fully into portfolios, and examine other data that has been collected for its utility in future program review (including Michigan required exit interview data). Statement regarding commitment and capacity: The faculty concluded that Siena Heights University is committed to the teacher education program and that there is sufficient capacity to offer a quality program. 1 Undergraduate and graduate program options: Initial certification is offered in 13 areas visual art education, biology, chemistry, early childhood education, elementary education, English, integrated science, language arts, math, social studies, Spanish, and special education. Graduate program options: endorsements in 8 areas early childhood education, elementary education, middle level education, reading specialist (K-12), secondary education in a certifiable major, special education, and teaching English to speakers of other languages. The state of Michigan, at its discretion, offers teaching licenses to program completers in these the option areas.