The Teacher Preparation World Cafe’ September 26, 2008 Statewide Meeting Results and Recommendations

1. The Teacher Preparation World Cafe’September 26, 2008 Statewide MeetingResults and Recommendations New York Higher Education Support Center Task Force on Quality Inclusive Schooling

2. World Café Questions: • In what ways can we successfully capitalize on and or promote the commitment to inclusive education at our institutions? • In what ways can we help ensure that the needs of all learners are addressed as we prepare teachers? • In what ways can we help ensure that the needs of all learners are addressed in (through) the quality (children) of field placements for our pre-service teachers? • What success have you experienced in the schools with whom you partner in ensuring that the needs of all learners are addressed? • What success have you experienced in your student field placements in ensuring that the needs of all learners are addressed?What success have you experienced at your institution with regard to the promotion, teaching, and learning of inclusive practice? • How can the TF affect the accreditation process to strengthen the teachers of inclusion at institutions of higher education? • What questions should be asking about helping to ensure that all children learn well from the teachers we prepare?

3. How do we run the place? What do we teach?How do we teach it?

4. How do we run the place? • “Inclusion” in the mission • Modeling “inclusion” with students with needs on campus • Professional teaching standards in place: ability to teach all learners • Identify/collaborate with effective inclusive ed faculty/teachers • Administrative support for “inclusion” • Strong, viable partnerships • Combine/integrate disciplines • Collaboration/co-teaching • Incorporate cooperating teachers in programs

5. What do we teach? • Begin with severe disabilities • Collaboration • Thinking and problem solving • Review and participate with actual IEPs • Case studies • “Schools-A-Tune” • Content standards • Planning for Differentiated Instruction

6. How do we teach it? • Ensure rich field experiences inclusive match with good, honest mentors observe through video connect/involve cooperating teachers action research • Monitor and assess outcomes research based strategies measure the impact on K-12 learners demonstrated effectiveness in first years of in-service teaching

7. How do we teach it? • Working together as professionals • Collaborating with parents and families • Demand differentiated lesson plans • Encourage self-advocacy • PBIS

8. What questions should be asking about helping to ensure that all children learn well from the teachers we prepare? Who is doing the evaluating? What do we expect in the field to demonstrate competency? How well are candidates prepared in content standards? Why do we still utilize the categorical perspective for SWD? Are we collecting meaningful data or doing what accreditation tells us to do? How are we helping schools to focus on inclusion?

9. Recommendations • Make inclusion a requirement of the accreditation diversity standard. • Compare and contrast indicators of inclusion across NCATE, TEAC, Middle States, NYSED. • Measure growth, measure outcomes, measure competencies, measure content standards, measure first years out. • Demand differentiated instruction, written and practiced. • Find/build/ensure inclusive field experiences, involve cooperating teachers more completely. • Reflect actual circumstances in curricula.