The University of Northern Iowa College of Education - Fall 2007 - (Page 4) UNI College of Education Excellence in Teacher College News Education Key changes from the current field experiences include increased faculty supervision, longer field placements, and increased professional development opportunities for cooperating teachers. A steering committee will guide the implementation process and be organized around the five NCATE (National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, 2001) standards for Professional Development Schools. These are (1) Learning Community; (2) Accountability and Quality Assurance; (3) Collaboration; (4) Diversity and Equity; (5) Structures, Resources, and Roles. Implementing a Professional Development School (PDS) Model: A Proposed Pilot Study for UNI Field Experiences A pilot study to create a multi-site professional development school will expand UNI’s field experiences for undergraduate students and strengthen the College’s partnership with local school districts. The Professional Development School (PDS) concept partners a college of education with local schools in activities far beyond the student teacher/cooperating teacher concept. Benefits of the PDS model include better-prepared teachers, increased student achievement and professional development opportunities, and increased retention of PDS graduates in the teaching profession. The pilot study scheduled to begin fall semester will involve approximately four faculty supervisors, 3 cohorts of 60-90 UNI teacher education candidates at Levels I, II, and III, and four host schools in the Cedar Falls and Waterloo school districts. Community partnership enhances literacy opportunities for children Because Bonnie Hoewing, instructor in the UNI Reading Clinic, believed teaching and learning was a community effort, pre-service teachers in a Reading Clinic course are partnering with the Cedar Falls Library to take reading opportunities to day care centers. “The more opportunities we can provide at the university level to help prospective teachers implement the skills and knowledge they have gained through coursework, the better prepared they will be to meet the daily needs of the children they will encounter in their classrooms,” Hoewing stated. Over the past four semesters, undergraduate students who are completing a minor in literacy have volunteered to read and teach literacy lessons with area pre-school children as part of the library’s Traveling Tales program. A library staff member visits the university classes each semester to share library materials and review policies and procedures for the project. UNI Reading Clinic students then choose a day care site to visit monthly during the semester. The UNI students choose appropriate materials for the children at the day care center, plan and implement the literacy lessons, and visit the Cedar Falls Public Library to transport books and materials to the day care centers for use by the day care providers. “Students have been able to utilize theory and knowledge learned through coursework and positively impact the lives of area children,” said Hoewing. 4 Fall 2007
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.