Teacher Standards and Practices Commission
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February 9-11, 2011 |
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ITEM: |
REPORT ON NCATE BLUE RIBBON TASK FORCE |
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ACTION: |
INFORMATION ITEM |
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INFORMATION: |
On November 16, 2010, a national expert panel sponsored
by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE)
called for teacher education to be “turned upside down” by revamping programs
to prioritize clinical practice and partnerships with school districts. |
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The panel proposed sweeping
changes to pave the way for more effective training that better addresses
student needs and shifts accountability closer to the classroom.
The panel, comprising
national education leaders, policymakers, education school deans, and vocal
critics of teacher preparation set out a new direction for how preparation
programs deliver, monitor, evaluate, oversee, and staff clinically based
preparation to incubate a whole new form of teacher education. Its report “Transforming Teacher Education
through Clinical Practice: A National
Strategy to Prepare Effective Teachers” offered recommendations focused on
strengthening candidate selection and placement; revamping curricula,
incentives, and staffing; strengthening partnerships; and expanding the
knowledge base. At the briefing, NCATE
announced several states that have agreed to implement this new agenda: Oregon, Ohio, Maryland, Louisiana, Colorado,
Tennessee, California and New York.
NCATE is considering creating
two task forces: one to develop
selection criteria for clinical faculty and clinical teachers and another on
assessment and the uses of data in the clinical practice in the preparation
programs to support innovation and accountability for teacher candidates and
teacher preparation program performance.
Alliance partner states have
agreed to work toward the following goals:
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Collaborative
partnerships among schools, districts, and preparation programs.
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Continuing
assessment of performance
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Stronger state
policies to prepare teachers who meet school needs.
Oregon has formed an
“alliance” workgroup consisting of representatives of the Oregon NCATE
institutions, TSPC and the Chancellor’s Office. This workgroup is reviewing the goals and
recommendations from the report “Transforming Teacher Education through Clinical
Practice” and determining what course of action is recommended for Oregon. One early step was to use a “Delphi” method
to survey institutions on the goals based on the ten guiding principles listed
in the report.
NCATE is creating an
environmental scan instrument to be used by states to self assess their
readiness to meet the goals of the alliance.
NCATE has been establishing
meetings between the partner states to establish common goals nationally. A state partners meeting is scheduled as part
of the client conference sponsored by NCATE in May 2011.
The full report can be found
at this web site: http://www.ncate.org/Public/ResearchReports/NCATEInitiatives/BlueRibbonPanel/tabid/715/Default.aspx