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Are schools of education missing from the teacher quality movement?
YES
Sharon Robinson
We can do more in this partnership
At the federal level, we are seeking to secure targeted funding to encourage other states to get busy with similar projects. We are chasing the opportunity to learn and reflect on how well we are producing the educational professionals who can actually make a difference in real schools, serving all students.
In every policy statement we make, we point out the problems of out-of-field teaching—when districts assign teachers to teach subjects that do not match their training or education—and the maldistribution of teachers according to their experience. Poor and the minority students are most adversely affected by these inequitable practices. We have no decision-making responsibility over these practices, but we have made it our business to vehemently urge their elimination.
Under Title II of the Higher Education Act, the Department of Education awards Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants to states and institutions acting in partnership with school districts and others to create innovative approaches to recruitment. We have had to fight hard for funding in every budget cycle, yet these grants have been very productive. The American Institutes for Research and SRI International conducted an evaluation of the first set of 25 partnership grants awarded in 1998. Their key findings were:
■ The activities most frequently supported by the grants were collaboration efforts to implement the professional development school model—teachers working with higher education faculty at the school site to improve instructional practices of interns and to contribute to the school’s instructional improvement plans, and colleges working with school districts to design teacher training programs tailored to meet the district’s needs. This model strengthens the clinical development of all educational professionals.
■ Partnership efforts were influenced by the No Child Left Behind Act, as they supported activities designed to strengthen instructional effectiveness and help teachers meet the requirements for becoming “highly qualified.”
■ Grants also supported the engagement of arts and sciences faculty to improve both content and pedagogical rigor.
Members of the Association of American Colleges of Teacher Education are actively engaged in supporting efforts such as these. Our objective is to promote the best interests of students, who will be served by the graduates of our programs.
Sharon Robinson is president and CEO of the Association of American Colleges of Teacher Education.
NO
Marcia Reback
They’re in the trenches with teachers
Think of what a teacher has to be: grounded in content; nurturing to the students; engaging, motivating and responsive in the classroom; and knowledgeable about learning modalities, child development and how to teach reading through content.
Besides knowing content, all teachers must know how to educate special education students, how to use data for student and school improvement, how to stay on top of all licensing requirements, and how to meet the ever-changing demands of the federal government, state departments of education and school districts.
Colleges and universities have to be all things to all people. They must meet the requirements of the professional standards for national and state accreditation. They must educate students to pass state tests and help teachers with in-service training. And they must prepare novice teachers for a demanding world in which they will be expected to hit the ground running.
But the job of higher education does not end there. A novice teacher grows into an accomplished pro largely due to higher education’s work in professional development. This can be seen in the Holmes Partnership Professional Development Academies, where teachers are clinical faculty, working with pre-service teachers in developing best practice. It is a win-win arrangement. We see this in schools of education that design and offer customized programs for school districts. An example in my own backyard is Rhode Island College, which offers customized courses for teachers of English language learners. And the University of Rhode Island, in partnership with my union, offers graduate credits for courses that we teach using the AFT’s research-based Educational Research & Development (ER&D) offerings on teaching beginning reading, reading comprehension and three levels of math. This partnership is leading to the creation of a master’s program in Curriculum and Instruction. We also have a partnership with Johnson and Wales University that allows our members to take courses through its graduate program in teaching math and classroom management.
So, is higher education missing from the teacher quality movement? No, it is, against all odds, meeting the challenge to produce the kinds of new and veteran teachers we all hope to have for our students.
Marcia Reback is president of the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals, and also is an AFT vice president.
