Teacher Quality Enhancement Partnership (TQE-P)

1. Teacher Quality Enhancement Partnership (TQE-P) What is TQE-P? The Columbus, Ohio Higher Education Partnership received a Teacher Quality Enhancement grant from the U.S. Office of Education to deliver specialized urban teacher preparation. • Our 5 higher education partners are; • Columbus State Community College • The Ohio State University • Otterbein College • Capital University • Ohio Dominican University

2. What is the primary goal of TQE-P? The overarching goal of TQE-P is to create and implement specialized, improved teacher preparation and targeted professional development, with a focus on math and science at the middle school level, in order to increase student achievement. Bottom Line: Increase Urban Student Achievement

3. Three Objectives of the Grant Objective 1: Pre-service Education: Identify, recruit, and train novices for middle school math and science. Objective 2: Urban Teacher Education Mentoring: Provide ongoing and meaningful mentoring in years 2 – 5 of teaching. Objective 3: Urban In-service Teacher Education Content and Pedagogy: Improve current teachers’ capacity to deliver a standards- based curriculum in math/science to all students.

4. Culturally Relevant Pedagogy “Culturally relevant teaching that empowers students intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills, and attitudes.” ----Gloria Ladson-Billings, The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children, pp. 17-18. Students should receive the consistent message that they are expected to attain high standards in their school work. This message must be delivered by parents, teachers, guidance counselors, administrators, and other school personnel. Teachers must help students recognize, understand, and critique current social inequities, a practice through which people are incited to acquire a particular “moral character” and affect change. Academic Success People from different cultures learn in different ways. To maximize learning opportunities, teachers should gain knowledge of the cultures represented in their classrooms and adapt lessons to reflect ways of communicating and learning that are familiar to the students. Content Cultural Competence Critical Consciousness Content, or curriculum, is established by state education departments and local school districts and often includes: academic content standards for a given discipline, performance measures, and learning and assessment materials. February 27, 2006

5. Self-Study: A Model for Pre-service and In-service Teachers This presentation describes a self-study model that is serving as the conceptual foundation for both peer coaching and field experiences.

6. What is Self-Study ? “Study of the self and study by the self.” (Samaras & Freese, 2006)

7. Roots of Self-Study Psychology • Study of the self Individualized Learning • Independent, self-paced instruction Institutional/Program Evaluation • Alignment between mission and program/policies

8. Action research focuses on what a teacher does. Self-study focuses on who the teacher is. Difference between Action Research and Self-Study

9. Self-Study Researchers • Focus on personal as well as professional growth • Use personal history to understand current actions (biography, autobiography, narrative) • Examine their beliefs and actions in order to determine whether there is a “disconnect” between the two • Are willing to be open about their weaknesses, fears, prejudices, etc. • Collaborate with others throughout the self-study process

10. Self-Study: Resolving “Living Contradictions” (Whitehead, 1989) You may want to close the gap between your teaching philosophy and your teaching practices. Example: I believe that all children can learn, yet I seem to have given up on Joe because of his inattentiveness and lack of motivation.

11. Levels of Reflection(Hatton and Smith,1994) • Description: Summarize what happened • Descriptive Reflection: Describe and provide some reason or justification • Dialogic Reflection: Step back and come up with alternative explanations • Critical Reflection: Demonstrate an awareness of how actions and events are embedded in broader historical, political, social contexts

12. The Urban Field Experience:Preparation The Role of the Field Director • Knowledge of urban education environments • Experience as an urban teacher • Experience supervising in urban settings • Knowledge of local urban districts • Part of the TQE-P team • Understanding of goals, roles and responsibilities • Direct connection to mentor teachers

13. The Urban Field Experience:Frustrations • District placement issues • Inability to contact schools directly • Heavy competition • Mentor preparation • Time lag from request to placement • Communication problems • Field issues • Problems with mentor teachers • Problems with field placement students

14. The Urban Field Experience:Wish List • Direct communication between field directors and mentor teachers • Enough lead time for orientation • Mentor Teachers • University Students • Classroom Students • Regular feedback from mentor teachers, university supervisors and university students

15. TQE-P Mentor Program The objective of the mentoring program is to provide ongoing and meaningful mentoring to apprentice math and science middle school teachers (in years 2-5). These mentors also work with pre-service candidates. Image source: www.seton.net

16. TQE-P Mentors TQE-P Mentors are individuals who have demonstrated excellence in teaching math and science in urban middle school classrooms

17. TQEP Mentor Training Timeline

18. TQEP Mentor Training Timeline SEPTEMBER 3rd Week Review Applications of Prospective Teachers 4th Week Notify the teachers who have been selected 5th Week “The Role of a Mentor Teacher” Mentors Only OCTOBER 2nd Week Developmental Stages in Teaching Mentors Only 4th Week Coaching (observation, conferencing, and feedback) Personal Effectiveness, and Leadership Mentors Only NOVEMBER 4th Week Happy Thanksgiving! 5th Week Personality Profile, Working Styles, and Communication Styles Mentors and Mentees

19. TQE-P Mentor Training Timeline

20. TQE-P Mentor Training Timeline DECEMBER 2nd Week Effective Classroom Instruction and Practices Mentor Teachers to Present to the Mentees JANUARY 2nd Week Framework for Understanding Poverty and Culturally Responsive Teaching Mentors and Mentees 4th Week Adolescent Development Mentors and Mentees FEBRUARY 2nd Week Brain Based Learning and Differentiated Instruction Mentors and Mentees MARCH 2ND Week Classroom Management Mentors and Mentees MAY 2nd Week Stress Management for Teachers Mentors and Mentees

21. Mentoring Commitments • Discuss teaching with mentee once a week and complete log sheet. • Plan with mentee once a month. • Observe mentee once every nine weeks, via videotape or in-class visit. • Be observed by your mentee once every nine weeks, via videotape or in-class visit.

22. TQE-P Weekly Mentee Log

23. TQE-P Weekly Mentee Log

24. TQE-P Weekly Mentee Log

25. TQE-P Pre-Service Candidates Introduction to Urban Education

26. Understanding the Young Adolescent • Note physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and moral developmental characteristics (and individual as well as group variations) • Test knowledge of adolescent culture (what is “cool” in one era is either “uncool” or simply nonexistent in another)

27. Developing Cultural Competence • Learn about cultural, ethnic, socioeconomic, and religious orientations • Participate in cultural immersion experiences that are outside of familiar territory (community-based field setting)

28. Developing Cultural Competence Develop a deeper understanding of context through community mapping Develop a deeper understanding of context through community mapping exercise exercise Develop a deeper understanding of context through community mapping

29. Understanding the Profession • Observe classroom routines • Assist a TQE mentor teacher by taking over some non-teaching duties, tutoring individual students or working with small groups • Look for specific examples of STAR teacher characteristics

30. Next Steps:Moving into Teacher Ed Programs • Program entry requirements at HEPs • Funding • Grant $$ • Additional sources of funding • Continuation of TQE-P focus • Urban preparation • Trained mentors • Field placements

31. Next Steps: Challenges • Traditional program formats • Non-traditional student population pool • Daytime only =mostly traditional students • Delivery options • Web-based/hybrid courses • Off-campus classes • Field experience options • Sites • Scheduling