University/Public School Interface:

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University/Public School Interface

• Cluster-Driven Professional Development Schools
  (PDSs) Model for Transformational Teacher
  Education
• By Seth Agbo
• School of Education
• Pacific University
• Forest Grove, OR.

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The Culture of the University

• Preservation of academic culture and resistance
  to change
• Elite institutionpursuit of theoretical
  rationality
• Empiricist tradition--Detachment of subject from
  object.
• Disregard of practice in favor of theory.

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Cultural Impact on Teacher Education

• Focus on theoretical academic preparation
• Ideological struggles between competing virtues
  of University and public schools.
• Societal idea of a distinct definition of the
  good teachernarrowly construed teaching skills
  to which teachers must strive to achieve.
• Pre-service teachers face hurdles in teaching
  because of deficiency in preparation in content
  of academic area.
• General perspective--pre-service teachers do
  better with watered-down lower academic standards.

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Teacher Training vs. Teacher Education

• TrainingGrounding in content knowledge,
  instruction in education theories and process of
  imparting knowledge, distinct from the myriad of
  things teachers do from day-to-day basis.
• Educationbuilding of a professional community of
  learners and empowering relations.

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Professional Development Schools (PDSs).

• An integrated professional development and school
  reform process.
• Concurrent process of pre-service teacher
  education, veteran teacher development and school
  improvement.
• The activities required at all levels to cope
  with learning and teaching, from the public
  school to the school of education classroom.
• Emphasis on collaborationvia shared
  decision-making within schools and between
  schools and universities, and collaborative
  research among teachers, students and teacher
  educators.

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Cluster-Driven PDS Model
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The Education Clusters

• Integration of two or more courses into learning
  communities to enable students to develop
  cross-disciplinary approaches to teaching.
• University faculty members come together to
  coordinate educational courses centered on a
  pedagogical theme, e.g. Social Studies and
  Literacy in a School Context.

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Learning Community

• Linking together any two or more of existing
  courses for a cohort of students so that they
  have opportunities for deeper understanding and
  integration of the material they are learning and
  more interaction with one another and their
  teachers.

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Cluster as a Type 2 Field Experience is an

• Interdisciplinary learning community that will
  enable teacher education students to reflect on
  implementing cross-disciplinary approaches for
  teaching.

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Cluster Enrollment

• About 20 students enroll in all courses
  simultaneously
• Enrolling in cluster blocks out students
  schedule for them to commit to cluster particular
  days of week
• Participation in campus-based classes first half
  of semester and field-based study for remainder.

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Organization of the cluster

• College and public school faculty come together
  to coordinate a number of courses centering on a
  themee.g., literature based instruction of
  elementary social studies content.

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PDS Cluster-driven Model
PDS Site Staff
PDS Site Students in the Classroom
Cluster Field Experience
University students
University Faculty
Pedagogical theories
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PURPOSE OF CLUSTERS

• For students to become architects of their own
  professional development.
• For students to become aware of those aspects of
  institutional life, school practice and
  interpersonal relations that are likely to enable
  or inhibit their development as professionals.
• To help beginning teachers to become aware of
  the conceptions they hold of themselves as
  teachers.

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PURPOSE OF CLUSTERS (cont.)

• For students to develop frameworks for thinking
  contextually and reflectively about their
  development.
• For students to become aware of and utilize
  school resources that will enable and enhance
  their development.

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Professional Development School (PDS) Model
PDS Site Staff
PDS Site Students in the Classroom
Cluster Field Experience
PDS on-site facilitator
University Students
University Faculty
Ed. Theories Pedagogical Methods
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PDS Overarching Goals

• The PDS model will
• contribute to the improvement of pre-service and
  novice teachers.
• contribute to the on-going professional growth of
  veteran teachers.
• ongoing exchange of pedagogical knowledge and
  skills.
• help public school administrators and teachers,
  college administrators and professors, and
  cluster students to share knowledge, plan as a
  team and reflect collectively.

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DYNAMICS OF THE PDS

• The School/College partnership is collaborative.

• PDS Site staff and university faculty jointly
  develop operating policies procedures e.g.,
  develop field experience guide, design field
  experience application, develop field experience
  assessment rubric, design cluster brochure, etc.
• Public school staff are guest teachers in cluster
  classes

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DYNAMICS OF THE PDS (cont.)

• University faculty lead instructional activities
  in public school classrooms.
• Public school staff and university faculty share
  texts/syllabi, etc.

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DYNAMICS OF THE PDS (cont.)

• Continued Collaboration

• PDS staff and college faculty must continue to
  meet regularly for planning and improving ongoing
  work
• Any new initiatives being planned must be
  developed jointly between the school and the
  college

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Transformational Learning Model

• Transformational Learning--New frames of teacher
  learning that professionalize and enhance the
  learning of pre-service teachers, veteran
  teachers and teacher educators
• Learning by teaching
• Learning by doing
• Learning by collaborating

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Transformational Learning

• University students, Public school staff, and
  University faculty will each acquire additional
  knowledge and new understandings of pedagogy.
• Cluster students and public school teachers
  collaborate to enhance pupil learning and improve
  teaching practices of students, teachers and
  college faculty.

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The PDS

• Provides learning opportunities for college
  faculty, and public school teachers as well as
  pre-service teachers.

• Veteran teachers and college faculty find
  themselves learning about knowledge and its
  application and also about both the theory and
  practice of teaching

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Implications for Schools of Education

• Reallocation of existing resources and new
  resources are obtained e.g.,
• University supports priority hiring of PDS site
  staff as adjunct faculty
• Costs for transportation to PDS sites are paid by
  university.

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Policies

• Policies that require students to participate in
  teacher education learning communities/clusters.
• Policies that enable cohort groups of students to
  be established.
• Policies that recognize participation of area
  public school staff as valuable in-service
  professional development partners in teacher
  education and encourage further their involvement
  in PDS initiatives.

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Policies (cont.)

• Policies that support university faculty teaching
  field-based courses
• Flexibility within systems geared toward
  traditional teacher preparation

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Learning Communities/PDS Work and Scholarship

• Learning communities are participatory action
  research from which data can be obtained as new
  knowledge capable of being disseminated through
  publication.

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Survey of a Public School Cluster Mentor
Teachers--Spring 1999

• 21 surveys distributed, 15 responses.
• Y Yes
• N No
• S Sometimes
• All responses included significant comments

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Q1. Do you enjoy mentoring Cluster students?

• Results
• Y 10
• N 1
• S 4

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Comments to Q1

• See as a resource
• enjoy reflecting on what were doing personally
  and as district
• do not take cluster students if have student
  teacher
• enjoy modeling as master teacher
• opportunities to revisit a program experienced as
  undergrad

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Comments to Q1 (cont.)

• Dont enjoy extra workload without monetary
  compensation
• some students well prepared and enjoyable to work
  with others not
• sometimes overwhelming with our regular load

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Q.2. Do your students enjoy working with Cluster
students?

• Results
• Y 14
• N 0
• S 1

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Comments to Q.2.

• Enjoy extra individualized attention and
  assistance
• love a new face
• provides another adult role model
• enables different instructional approaches
• keeps fresh ideas
• can be confusing if too many styles or different
  sets of instruction are given

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Q.3. How does mentoring a cluster student benefit
you as a teacher?

• Responses
• forces articulation of district policies,
  standards of behavior, etc.
• provides opportunity to self-reflect on
  instructional and assessment methods being
  employed
• instigates feelings of pride helping mold future
  teachers
• keeps flexible and open to change

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More Responses for Q.3.

• Retains awareness of education issues and methods
• spurs new ideas two heads are better than one
• makes classroom more efficient extra pair of
  hands
• promotes seeing PHCS students from diverse
  viewpoints
• assists with preparation and organization of
  materials

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Q.4. How do cluster students benefit your
students?

• Responses
• provides 11 and small group instructional
  support
• enables children to be listened to while reading
• provides another role model
• helps to increase student skill level
• brings new ideas into classroom
• exposes different perspectives and talents
• not sure

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Additional comments generated

• Program allows Cluster students to develop
  realistic commitment to work ethic required of
  real teachers