Summary of the Case Lees-McRae College 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 are making for accreditation. Authorship and approval of the Inquiry Brief: The Inquiry Brief was written by Danielle Madrazo, Lynn Swann, and Robin Buchanan and was approved by the Teacher Education faculty on November 30, 2012. Introduction: Lees-McRae College is a private, coeducational college with approximately 850 undergraduate students from more than 20 states and countries. Located in Banner Elk, North Carolina, the college boasts the highest elevation east of the Mississippi River (over 3,700 ft. above sea level). Historically linked to the Presbyterian Church since its first inception as a secondary school in the early 1900s, Lees-McRae College was instituted as a junior college in 1937 and as a four-year college in 1990. In 2012-13, the college has 46 full-time faculty members and an average class size of approximately 16 students. Overall, the college offers 22 major programs of study and several minor programs focused on values-based education in an ecumenical environment. Lees-McRae College s Teacher Education Program is located in the college s Division of Education. It provides pathways to initial teaching certification in K-6 Elementary Education, K-12 Health and Physical Education, and K-12 Theatre Arts Education. Begun in 1990, the college eliminated its secondary education options by the turn of the century to focus entirely on its K-6 and K-12 education options. Since 2000, the college has expanded these options to include offerings at three additional off-campus sites in Dobson, NC (Surry Community College), Morganton, NC (Western Piedmont Community College), and Spruce Pine, NC (Mayland Community College). Lees- McRae College seeks accreditation by TEAC for its options in K-6 Elementary Education and K-12 Health and Physical Education, because the option in K-12 Theater Arts Education is already accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theater (NAST). In addition, Lees-McRae is seeking state approval for an option in Birth - K certification, but this option is not being considered in this Inquiry Brief Proposal. The Lees-McRae Teacher Education Program focuses on a Reflective Practitioner model aligned with the current North Carolina standards for teaching: Teacher as Leader (leading in classroom, school, community, and profession) Teacher as Climate-Setter (sustaining respectful and collaborative environments) Teacher as Scholar (knowing their subject content) Teacher as Facilitator (utilizing effective instructional and assessment strategies) Teacher as Critical Analyst (reflecting on their own practice and student learning)
The curriculum of Lees-McRae College s Teacher Education Program is aligned across its main campus and its three extended campuses in four ways: 1) common program of courses during the junior and senior years, 2) the use of common textbooks for the same courses, 3) the use of common learning outcomes for courses, and 4) the use of common assignments in specific courses. Altogether, Lees-McRae College Teacher Education Program consists of 7 full-time and 9 part-time faculty members. The program graduated 60 elementary education students, 3 health/physical education students, and 3 theater education students in 2012. Current enrollment in the program and the numbers of recent program completers can be found in Table 1. Program claims: Table 1 Lees-McRae College Elementary Education Program Options Option Name Level Number of program completers in 2012 Number of students enrolled in 2012-13 K-6 Elementary Education UG 60 78 K-12 Health and Physical Education UG 3 7 K-12 Theater Education UG 3 9 Total 66 94 The Teacher Education program at Lees-McRae College makes the following claims about its program completers: Claim 1 Candidates are Competent in their Subject Area/Content Claim 2 Candidates are Qualified in Pedagogy Claim 3 Candidates are Caring Professionals Evidence supporting the claims: The faculty identifies six types of evidence support their claims. In terms of validity, the faculty states that all locally-developed assessments are aligned with state standards and forms and have been reviewed both by content area and education faculty at the College. In addition, Lees-McRae College participated in the first pilot evaluation of teacher education outcomes conducted by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) and therefore claims validity of their aligned assessments. The faculty further states that the Praxis I and Praxis II tests are nationally normed.
In terms of reliability, the faculty participated in recent state trainings for use of the state s required rubrics, and it has also conducted trainings for its education faculty members to develop inter-rater reliability on some of the locally-developed assessment rubrics. Admissions documentation (Claim 1): Entry into the Teacher Education Program requires: 1. Cumulative GPA (2.5 or higher required). Means of students GPAs in the study years range from 3.75 to 3.86. 2. Praxis I passing score 3. Application essay 4. Two letters of recommendation North Carolina Teacher Certification Exams - Praxis II (Claims 1 & 2): In 2011 and 2012, 100% of the program s students passed the Praxis II exam, which is required for certification in North Carolina. The faculty has set a pass rate of 95% of its students as a marker for quality in its program. Portfolios (Final Projects) (Claims 1 & 2): Projects in each candidate s portfolio are scored by individual faculty using separate rubrics common across all campuses for content depth, mechanics, presentation, and style. Each of the projects represents the program s way of assuring that students meet the requirements specified by the state for certification. Candidates must score proficient or higher on each of the following assignments. In 2012, 100% of the program completers have scored at the proficient level or higher. 1. Depth of Content Paper (DCP): A 10-page paper developed to meet the state requirement for subject matter knowledge. The paper must analyze one of the four core subjects using appropriate source material, and demonstrate solid working knowledge of word processing applications, use of research resources, and proper application of APA style. 2. Integrated Thematic Unit (ITU): A unit plan developed to meet state requirement for instructional planning to cover a span of 2-5 weeks demonstrating formative and summative assessment, utilizing technology and 21 st Century practice, demonstrating awareness, cultural sensitivity, and accommodations for diverse students, and analyzing and reflecting on the experience with emphasis on the effectiveness of the unit for the students. Units for Health and PE are appropriate to that subject matter. The ITU project is completed during the semester prior to the student teaching semester in fulfillment of all requirements for the Education Methods courses. 3. Impact on Student Learning Project (ISLP): A report designed to meet the state requirement to demonstrate a positive impact on
student learning during student teaching. The report features an analysis of assessment(s) utilized in a unit taught by the student teacher according to state standards. Field Experience, Internship, and Student-Teaching Evaluations (Claims 2 & 3) Clinical faculty evaluate classroom performance on a pass/fail basis using an observation instrument based on criteria found in the state s required form entitled North Carolina Certification for Teaching Capacity. The observation form used by the clinical faculty, entitled the Teacher Candidate Observation Form, scores candidates on the same levels (Emerging, Developing, Proficient, and Accomplished) as those used by the state on its form entitled Final Exit Criteria, which is aligned with the official Certification for Teaching Capacity. The Certification for Teaching Capacity utilizes a met/not met scoring. The faculty s standard for the assessment is that every category on a candidate s Certification of Teaching Capacity form must be checked met to achieve recommendation for certification. In 2011 and 2012, 100% of program completers met this standard for certification in the State of North Carolina. Coursework and Dispositions (Claims 1 & 3) Candidates must maintain a 2.5 cumulative GPA plus C or better course grades in education courses in order to be recommended for certification. Means of student GPAs in the study years ranged from 3.76 to 3.87. In addition, the program utilizes a Dispositions Rubric based on the five state standards for teachers (teacher as leader, climate-setter, scholar, facilitator, and analyst) to evaluate candidates dispositions on an on-going, formative basis. The rubric is completed by each instructor of each course throughout a student s time in the program, creating an emerging composite rating over time for each candidate on each of the categories in the rubric. For each dimension on the rubric, candidates professional dispositions are rated on one of four levels (emerging, developing, proficient, or accomplished), and candidates must show growth toward proficient in order to enter student teaching. Internal audit: The three members of the faculty s TEAC Audit Committee conducted an internal audit in March 2012, randomly selecting six students who graduated in December 2010 or May 2011. The audit committee probed 10 targets distributed among three areas: Quality of Student Learning, Quality of Faculty, and Quality of the Program. The audit committee found the quality control system to be working both effectively and efficiently, although it also found ways in which to improve it in the coming years. For the purposes of parity analysis, the committee relied on documents prepared in prior studies and strategic plans and found no variation from the previous data, indicating program parity with the institution.
Plans for program improvement Although many positive changes have already taken place recently (the first alumni of the new program graduated in 2012), the faculty plan to strengthen their data collection and analysis in the coming years. In particular, they hope to develop an effective method of gathering data from recent alumni who have entered the teaching profession. They also plan to revise their student teaching evaluation forms as well as strengthen their relationships with cooperating teachers and personnel in partnership schools. Finally, the program s instructional technology needs further updating. In addition, the internal audit revealed three potential improvements: 1) in some cases documents were missing from students files, 2) the forms used by the program must now reflect the new program requirements in all cases, and 3) there is a need to update the program s Curriculum Lab. Statement regarding commitment and capacity: The faculty concluded that Lees-McRae College is committed to its Teacher Education Program and that there is sufficient capacity to offer a quality program. 1 Program options include elementary education, health and physical education, and theater education. The state of North Carolina, at its discretion, offers teaching licenses to program completers in these the option areas.