Part 1 Through Clinical Practice: A National Strategy to Prepare Effective Teachers, often referred to as the Blue Ribbon Report, is a call for reform in teacher preparation. Prepared in 2010, this document presents ten design principles aimed at enhancing the field through clinically based preparation. These principles include: focus on student learning, dynamic integration of clinical preparation, use of pre-service teacher data for judging a candidate’s progress, preparing teachers as experts in content, learning in an interactive professional community, rigorous selection of coaches and clinical educators, intensive embedded clinical school experiences, technology application, a powerful R&D agenda and systematic gathering and use of data, and strategic partnerships among stakeholders. An examination of the challenges currently existing in teacher preparation programs is included, as well as a call to action and encouragement for all stakeholders to “transform teacher education through clinical practice”. The Clinical Preparation of Teachers: A Policy Brief is a similar document prepared in 2010 by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. Beginning with a brief history of teacher education and recent changes, the emphasis then moves to the importance of clinical practice in preparing successful educators. It points to the parallels of preparing professionals in other professions to preparing expert teachers, including the centrality of clients (students), requisite specialized knowledge and skills, and the use of evidence and judgment to determine the best course of treatment. Of particular importance are clinical placements, clinical teachers, coordinating faculty, and school-based clinical curriculum which links theory to practice. Potential models of clinically based preparation programs are outlined, with recommendations for states. Surprisingly, not all states require clinical experiences. Federal requirements and regulations are set forth, as well as recommendations for providers of teacher preparation. My favorite quote from this brief is “It is now recognized that good teaching is not merely a matter of personal style, individual commitment, or a fondness for children.” It’s a continued misconception among some teacher candidates that this is enough. The AACTE points out that it is a much more complex and skill based process. Rethinking the Connections Between Campus Courses and Field Experiences in College and University Based Teacher Education by Ken Zeichner is an article in the Journal of Teacher Education, also published in 2010. It too stressed the importance of not just academically based knowledge in teacher preparation programs, but calls for creation of “hybrid spaces” which create a balance of university course work and practical field experience. A disconnect has existed between these two in the past, and Zeichner examines the effectiveness of linking these for greater effectiveness. Of particular note included in this article is the lack of compensation and support for collaborating teachers who do their own full time work with students while being asked to offer support and structure for the novice teacher they mentor, while not placing an equal importance on the skills and ideas of the classroom experience when compared to the university based program. Zeichner calls for a “third space” which decreases the hegemony of the traditional system and allows for a greater balance between these entities. “Third spaces bring practitioner and academic knowledge together in less hierarchical ways to create new learning opportunities for prospective teachers.” (Zeichner, 2010, p. 92). I believe the USF Education program aligns closely with these ideas, including bringing P-12 teachers and their knowledge into campus courses and field experiences, incorporating representations of teachers’ practices in campus courses, incorporating knowledge from communities into preservice teacher education, and creating coherency of dedicated professionals to facilitate this process. Constructing 21st-Century Teacher Education by Linda Darling-Hammond is an older article, published in the Journal of Teacher Education in 2006, but one of great relevance. It continues the theme of revising traditional models of teacher preparation, by integrating more field-based experiences in preparing effective student teachers. Darling-Hammond stresses the complex nature of effective teaching, which is often underrepresented by outsiders. Preparing teacher for a changing world involves three pillars. These are knowledge of learners and their development in social contexts, knowledge of subject matter and curriculum goals, and knowledge of teaching. Problematizing Clinical Education: What is our future? is a well written and comprehensive article by Dr. Dennis, Dr. West-Burns, and four other professors at the University of South Florida which focuses on the existing challenges of teacher preparation problems, and solutions for improvement. Like the previous writings, it calls for a great emphasis on quality clinical experiences in order to adequately prepare novice teachers to become effective practitioners. This includes strengthening the relationships between the professional development school and the public school district. Of particular importance in this article is the detailed outline of four models of teacher preparation and the implications of each for pre-service teachers, supervisors, and faculty. These are: clinically-impoverished, clinically-accompanied, clinically-rich, and clinically-centered. Part 2 My background as a teacher is a study in contrast with these readings and recommendations. Although I did have two semesters of clinical field experience, there was little connection between what was taught at the university and my experiences in the classroom. Having earned my teaching degree so many years ago, it’s not surprising that many changes have occurred since I went to the university, most for the better. The emphasis on connecting these experiences benefits my interns, in a way that I was not able to enjoy. I find my more traditional background a solid basis for teaching academic skills, and my own creativity and quest for knowledge a complement to enhancing this in a more refined and current fashion, integrating research based practices for greater effectiveness. I enjoy being a more present and involved supervisor to my interns than the one I had during my own internship.
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1/11/2016 10:41:23 am
Using the models on clinical preparation, how would you characterize your preparation?
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