[CAPS INDICATE PROGRAMS WHERE I DON’T YET HAVE ANYTHING TO LINK]
Standard 1
Candidate Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions
Eastern Michigan University prepares teacher candidates who demonstrate proficiency in the knowledge, skills, and dispositions identified in 22 Teacher Preparation Benchmarks or Outcomes. These program outcomes have served as a guiding framework for faculty as they evaluate and modify courses to insure that course assignments and assessments measure student proficiency on each outcome.
Development of EMU Program Evaluation and Student Assessments began in the Department of Teacher Education. The Department of Teacher Education houses faculty in Curriculum and Instruction, Early Childhood Education, Educational Psychology, Educational Media and Technology, Reading, and Social Foundations of Education. Faculty have collaborated across program areas to insure that multiple courses address important outcomes and that faculty have knowledge of one another's course contents and assessments.
Students are assessed at key points in the program: 1) entering the program 2) in six core course assessments and related field experiences and 3) completing the program. Multiple Forms of assessment are used to determine the proficiency of teacher candidates in the EMU Teacher Preparation Program. Both standardized tests and performance-based assessments are used. Students are assessed on all teacher education outcomes at multiple points throughout their program. The following descriptions provide an overview of the key assessments used in the EMU Teacher Preparation Program.
In order to enter the program candidates must pass the Michigan Test of Basic Skills. This criterion-referenced assessment is composed of three subtests in the areas of reading, mathematics, and writing skills. There are approximately 85 multiple-choice questions and the writing subtest requires a writing sample. To pass the Basic Skills test, a student must pass each subtest. Each student's performance is evaluated against an established standard set by the Michigan State Board of Education. In addition, students must have a GPA of 2.5, and a C or higher in the following courses that have been completed at the time of application for admission: ENGL 121 English Composition, CTAS 121/124 Fundamentals of Speech/Fundamentals of Speech, MATH 108 Mathematics for Elementary Teachers I and MATH 109 Mathematics for Elementary Teachers II, PSY 101 General Psychology, PHY 100 Science for Elementary Teachers, CHEM 101 Science for Elementary Teachers, GESC 202 Science for Elementary Teachers, EDPS 322 Human Development and Learning and SPGN 251 Education of Students with Exceptionalities.
In all core EMU Teacher Preparation courses multiple forms of both formative and summative assessments are used to evaluate the 22 program outcomes. To monitor students' progress throughout their program, faculty who teach core teacher preparation courses have developed one or two comprehensive assessments per course (along with a set of rubrics for scoring and assessment) aimed at measuring students' abilities to synthesize and apply their knowledge and skills related the 22 outcomes. All faculty and lecturers must use these core assessments in their classes. In a few instances programs do not require all of the core courses. These occur in Special Education, Physical Education, and Business and Technology Education.
Assessments and rubrics in all courses have been aligned with the Program Outcomes and diverse forms of assessment are used to measure student achievement of the same outcomes. These have been designed with assistance from assessment specialists among the faculty, an advisory board composed of public school professionals, and other faculty representing the various disciplinary subjects. Assessments are described below.
Developing and implementing multiple complex assessments in a program as large and complex as that at Eastern Michigan University has been challenging. In particular, it was necessary to develop course assessments that could be 1) effectively implemented by faculty or part-time instructors 2) effectively communicated to those teaching both on and off campus 3) appropriate for a complex student population including part and full-time students, undergraduates and post-baccalaureate certification students. The logistics of developing and communicating across a program with students numbering in the thousands required years of instrument development and pilot activities before formalized data gathering began. We believe this was a wise investment of time and energy, both in order to maximize the consistency across assessments and to promote change in institutional culture from individual professors with complete autonomy to shared standards and assessments. While the process has been challenging and occasionally frustrating, it has also offered opportunities for substantive conversation around curriculum than often accompanied other types of curricular change.
One area of challenge is the fact that not all initial teacher preparation programs take identical course sequences. All elementary education students and the large majority of secondary education students complete the program assessments as described. Special Education students complete four areas of alternative assessment as indicated. Programs in Business and Technology, Physical Education, and Music Education also have areas of alternative assessment as indicated.
The following timeline provides a brief description of faculty activities leading to the development of core course assessments.
Faculty have been engaged in seven types of activities:
1) Selecting and finalizing EMU Teacher Preparation Outcomes.
2) Aligning outcomes with course assessments.
3) Identifying and evaluating important dispositions.
4) Pilot testing all program assessments and revising the assessments.
5) Creating and pilot testing assessments that require teacher candidates to measure their effect on student achievement in the classroom.
6) Meeting with the Advisory Board, lecturers, and faculty representing other disciplines to provide assistance and feedback on program development.
7) Establishing shared expectations regarding what is valued in a candidate's response to an assessment.
Assessment s have been developed and piloted over a four-year period. The calendar also includes development of the culminating assessments. The calendar parallels work on a five-year federally funded Teacher Quality (TQ) Grant investigating the use of teacher work samples. Our work in the TQ grant allowed us to identify potential problems in the original work-sample design and challenges in bringing it to our scale. The TQ calendar paralleled that of the course evaluations, coming together in Winter 2002 with the development of the new student teaching unit requirement, an adaptation of the TQ work sample process. [THIS PROBABLY SHOULD BE A LINK INSTEAD OF AN INSERTION.]
Fall, 1999
* Faculty program areas in the Department of Teacher Education develop assessments and rubrics aligned with EMU Teacher Preparation outcomes.
* Groups meet with 1-2 lecturers to explain assessments to be piloted Winter, 2000. This process is designed to see if assessments are clear to those who were not part of the initial development.
Winter, 2000
* All faculty and selected lecturers pilot test the assessments.
* Outcomes are checked against new NCATE Standards.
* Teacher Education Advisory Board (superintendents, curriculum specialists, teacher educators and teachers) are invited to examine and provide feedback on EMU teacher preparation outcomes and assessments.
* Department head and EDPS faculty collect exemplary, average, and below average examples of student work across all courses.
* Faculty reexamine outcomes to determine which courses should take the major responsibility for assessing them, share assessment problems, and gather feedback from lecturers.
Spring, 2000
Assessment faculty review feedback, NCATE and ACEI Standards, and revise list of outcomes
Fall, 2000
* Revise and repeat assessments, including all lecturers.
* Faculty approves revised list of outcomes.
* Begin discussions with the Special Education Department; the Department of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance; and Director of Student Teaching regarding integration across the College.
* Examine "dispositions assessment" created by secondary content methods professors.
* Begin discussing how to identify and measure dispositions at Teacher Education faculty meeting.
* Writing task Force examines the effectiveness of Basic Skills Test versus PPST.
* Field coordinators and program coordinators examine FETE (Field Experience) course outcomes.
* Begin to develop process assessments and rubrics for field experience courses, FETE 301/2 Field Experience II: Elementary/Field Experience II: Secondary, FETE 401/2 Field Experience III: Elementary/Field Experience III: Secondary.
* Begin to discuss teacher work sample to demonstrate student learning in student teaching.
Winter, 2001
* Individual program areas revise assessments for each course.
* Teacher Education Advisory Board identifies important dispositions for entry level teachers.
* Course release time is provided for a faculty member to conduct literature reviews on the evaluation of dispositions.
* Disposition Task Force develops dispositions evaluation form for use in designated classes (based upon the form developed by secondary content methods faculty).
* Plan portfolio notebook for entering students which includes description of the Teacher Education Program, outcomes, major assessments, and use of the portfolio.
* Coordinate outcomes and assessments in EDPS 340: Introduction to Assessment and Evaluation for Elementary Students and EDPS 341: Assessment of the Young Child (Early Childhood Ed. Program).
* Final draft of dispositions evaluation forms (red flag form, faculty form, cooperating teacher form) are created.
* Feedback on form provided by faculty at April faculty meeting. Feedback from the University lawyer provided.
* Pilot-test Renaissance Teacher Work Sample to document impact of teacher candidates' instruction on K-12 student learning.
Spring/Summer, 2001
* Review FETE 301 Field Experience assignments, revise pre-assessment assignment, develop FETE 401 rubric.
* Create draft of entering student information packet and portfolio about program outcomes, assessments, dispositions.
* Develop information packets for lecturers concerning the evaluation of dispositions.
Fall, 2001
* Faculty pilot test the dispositions assessment in CURR 304/305 Curriculum and Methods: Elementary/Curriculum and Methods: Secondary and RDNG 314/311 Teaching Reading in the Elementary School/Teaching Reading in the Secondary School.
* The Basic Programs Committee reviews the dispositions form.
* Pilot test FETE 401 rubrics and CURR 304/305 changes in assignments.
* Revise student teaching form to align with standards and outcomes.
* Pilot test LITR 207 Introduction to Children’s Literature assessment.
Winter, 2002
* Revise disposition evaluation forms for students that are consistent with EMU outcomes.
* Disseminate work on disposition evaluation forms to other departments.
* Meet with LITR faculty to discuss assessment pilot.
* Examine revised FETE 201 for assessment options.
Design new student teaching unit that demonstrates knowledge of planning and teacher candidate's ability to impact learning though use of pre/post measures.
Revise student teaching evaluation form to align with outcomes.
Spring/Summer, 2002
* Designate an assessment coordinator for each core course.
* Collect 3 work samples (one exemplary, one satisfactory, and one unsatisfactory sample) from each faculty member and lecturer who teaches each core course.
* Conduct work sample evaluation meetings between assessment coordinators and faculty who teach the core courses, determine strengths and weaknesses of student work samples and make recommendations for revision of course content, assignments, and assessments.
Other departments (Special Education, HPERD, etc.) work on alternative assessments for students who do not take core courses.
Create CPED2S booklet for students and faculty describing the assessment system.
Meet with student teaching supervisors first implementing new student teaching unit assignments, including modified work sample. Prepare examples of assessments and directions.
Fall, 2002
Disseminate CPED2S booklet to maximum number of students in teacher preparation programs. Begin regular dissemination in SPGN 251 (pre-admission course) in Winter term.
First 125 student teachers complete modified student teaching unit and journal assignments.
All student teachers are evaluated using revised evaluation forms.
Analyze pilot data from disposition forms
Winter, 2003
Random sample of each core assessment submits student data for analysis.
All student teachers complete revised unit/journal assignments including assessment of student learning.
Course Assessments. Copies of the assessment and grading rubric used for each course are linked below. The core performance assessments described below are sequenced according to the chronological phases of the program.[FOR EACH OF THESE WE’LL NEED LINKS TO THE ASSESSMENTS THEMSELVES AND PROBABLY TO SAMPLES AT VARYING LEVELS.]
1. EDPS 322 Human Development and Learning. Students complete a Group Diversity Project. In this project students work together to investigate the impact of six variables (including gender, race, and language differences) on development and classroom learning. In addition, a final exam is used to measure student knowledge of human development and learning along with application of these ideas in the classroom.
Grading Criteria
The rubric is based upon the Teacher Education Standards and Benchmarks (Outcomes). In addition a final exam is used to measure important outcomes related to concepts in child development. Students must receive a C or better to pass the course.
Results for WI 2003 sample indicate
SAMPLES
Alternative Assessments:
SPECIAL EDUCATION (Inclusive planning around gender, race, culture, sexual orientation, etc.)
2. FETE 201 Field Experience I. Students complete a cultural autobiography. They are evaluated on their ability to analyze personal life experiences using course concepts and field experiences and to apply new insights to classroom practice.
The rubric is based upon Teacher Education Standards and Benchmarks (Outcomes). Students must receive an average score of 3 or better to pass the course.
Alternative Assessments:
Special Education [LINK TO CEC SECTION]
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
MUSIC EDUCATION
3. SPGN 251 Education of Students with Exceptionalities. Students must demonstrate proficiency in course concepts through passing scheduled exams and lesson design/adaptation activity.
Students must receive an average grade of C or higher to pass the course.
4. SOFD 328 Schools in a Multicultural Society. Students complete an analytic writing project scored both for content and written communication skills. The overall objective for the assessment is for students to demonstrate proficiency in analyzing the purposes of schools in a democratic society and articulate a position on ethical issues presented to teachers in the society.
Grading Criteria
The grading rubric is based upon the EMU Preparation Education Standards and Benchmarks (Outcomes). Students must receive a C on both content quality and technical accuracy of written communication to pass the course.
Results for WI 2003 sample indicate
SAMPLES
5. CURR 304 or 305 Curriculum and Methods: Elementary/Secondary. Students complete a reflective lesson design, a curriculum unit, and three planning/reflection questions. The following are components of the unit: Rationale; classroom composition; content analysis; unit content standards with outcomes/objectives; unit pre-assessment; lesson plans based upon direct, cooperative, and inductive teaching methods with adaptations for diverse learners; culminating authentic experience; other assessment methods; family and community involvement activities; and a bibliography with use of technology.
Grading Criteria
Units and lessons are scored using grading rubrics with specific criteria based upon the EMU Teacher Education Standards and Benchmarks (Outcomes). Students must receive a C or better on the unit to pass the course. The Evaluation of Professional Behaviors is rated on a 5-point scale and in this course is used only for feedback.
Results for WI 2003 sample indicate
SAMPLES
Alternative Assessments:
BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
MUSIC EDUCATION
6. EDPS 340 Introduction to Assessment and Evaluation. Students complete a Classroom Assessment Plan (CAP). The assessment consists of four parts: Introduction to unit assessment plan, unit teacher-made test, unit authentic performance assessment, and a self-reflection on the entire CAP. Students also analyze assessment data as a required component of EDPS 340.
Grading Criteria
The CAP is scored using grading rubrics with specific criteria based upon the EMU Teacher Education Standards and Benchmarks (Outcomes). Students must receive a C or better on the unit to pass the course.
Results for WI 2003 sample indicate
SAMPLES
Alternative Assessments:
SPECIAL EDUCATION
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
MUSIC EDUCATION
7. FETE 301/2 Field Experience II. Students create a variety of reflections regarding student/teacher interactions.
Grading Criteria
Students must successfully complete 3 graded assignments to pass the course.
Results for WI 2003 sample indicate
Reflections are evaluated using a rubric with specific criteria based upon the EMU Teacher Education Standards and Benchmarks (Outcomes).
Alternative Assessments:
Physical Education
Business and Technology Education
MUSIC EDUCATION
8. EDMT 330 Instructional Applications of Media and Technology. Students demonstrate their ability to used educational media and technology to enhance student learning and personal and professional productivity. Each student creates an electronic portfolio. The portfolio incorporates various exhibits that document the students' abilities to create technological products that display their knowledge and use of educational media and technology. Within the portfolio they must incorporate self-reflections on how they have met the state proficiencies for entry-level teachers through their exhibit.
Grading Criteria
The evaluation rubric is based upon both the Michigan Seventh Standard for Entry Level Teachers and the EMU Teacher Education Standards and Benchmarks (Outcomes).
Students must achieve at least basic competency (Level 2) in all seven areas of the rubrics in order to receive the minimum requirement of a C in the course.
Results for WI 2003 sample indicate
SAMPLES
Alternative Assessments:
SPECIAL EDUCATION
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION
9. Reading Course
RDNG 310/311: Literacy Across the Curriculum in the Intermediate Grades OR Teaching Reading in Secondary School and FETE 401/2: Field Experience III. Students complete an expository lesson plan. Students are required to teach portions of the expository lesson plan created in RDNG 310/311 in a school setting during FETE 401/402 and then reflect upon the strengths and weaknesses of their plan, the quality of their instruction, and the level of student learning. The Evaluation of Professional Behaviors also is completed in RDNG 310. In FETE 401/2, students teach an individual student for ten sessions and reflect on the student's learning.
Grading Criteria
The rubric for the lesson plan is based upon the EMU Teacher Education Standards and Benchmarks (Outcomes). Parallel rubrics are used to score the expository lesson in RDNG 310 and RDNG 311 and the Teaching a Child activity in FETE 401. Students must achieve at least level-three proficiency in all areas in order to receive the minimum grade of C in the course. Students must receive a C to pass the course. The Evaluation of Professional Behaviors is used as a recommendation for student teaching. Students with any scores in the lowest column must meet with the Director of Student Teaching for a professional development plan.
Results for WI 2003 sample indicate
SAMPLES
10. Eastern Michigan University for Teacher Preparation Evaluation of Professional Behaviors
During Courses: The Evaluation of Professional Behaviors Form measures dispositional attitudes, values, habits of mind and behaviors that are central to the teacher candidate's successful work with students, families, and communities. Two important areas are assessed: general dispositions (which include a broad array of indicators), and communication skills.
As indicated above, these forms are used in CURR 304/305: Elementary/Secondary Curriculum & Methods and RDNG 310: Literacy Across the Curriculum in the Elementary Grades. They also are completed by content methods faculty who teach secondary methods courses such as “Teaching Mathematics in the Secondary School.” At the beginning of each course, instructors review the forms with students and explain that students will be assessed using the criteria described in the forms. At the end of the course, students and instructors complete the forms and students compare their self-assessment with the faculty evaluation. The evaluation form filled out in RDNG 310 or the secondary content methods class is used as a recommendation form for student teaching and is submitted directly to the student teaching office.
Grading Criteria
In CURR 304 and RDNG 310 students are assessed on a 5-point Likert scale. Students with one or more items in the lowest categories are not approved for student teaching without a review by the Director of Student Teaching. In most cases a professional development plan is required.
Results of FA2002 sample indicate
During Field Experiences: The FETE 301 and 401 cooperating teachers complete FETE Field Observation Forms that include disposition criteria. Students must receive a successful evaluation to pass the courses.
Student Teaching. The cooperating teacher and university supervisor complete recommendation forms assessing both teaching performance and professional dispositions. Teaching effectiveness, communication skills, and professional dispositions must all be deemed satisfactory in order to pass student teaching.
Students are required to successfully develop a unit of instruction according to specific criteria, teach the unit, and demonstrate successful student learning as a result of instruction. Students must reflect on their processes of unit development in a student teaching journal. In addition, the cooperating teacher and the university field supervisor use a comprehensive evaluation form to evaluate the teacher candidates.
Grading Criteria
The criteria for unit evaluation are based upon the EMU Teacher Education Standards and Benchmarks (Outcomes). The student teacher must pass the criteria to pass student teaching.
Students must successfully complete the Student Teaching Unit and Journal. In addition, teaching effectiveness, communication skills, and professional dispositions must all be deemed satisfactory by both the cooperating teacher and the university field supervisor in order to pass student teaching.
Results of the Fall 2002 sample indicate
SAMPLES
In addition, students must be graded satisfactorily on the student teaching evaluation forms.
Results of the Fall 2002 sample indicate
Michigan Tests for Teacher Certification. In Michigan, one is not eligible to be recommended for licensure as a teacher by an institution until one has (a) completed all the institutional requirements and (b) taken and passed all the relevant state certification tests. Students in elementary education must take the Michigan Elementary Competency Test. This is a criterion-referenced, objective-based, multiple-choice test designed to measure a candidate's knowledge and skills regarding content taught in elementary grades. The passing score for each test is established by the Michigan State Board of Education. If students wish to teach at the middle level [grades 6-8] in their major or minor, they must take additional subject tests in the major and minor content area(s). Secondary education students must take and pass content tests in their major and minor.
Results:
Advanced Programs
Assessment programs for graduate programs are degree-specific and are in varying stages of development. Assessment profiles are tied to relevant state and national standards. All graduate programs have required entry, midpoint, and exit requirements as indicated in the Eastern Michigan University graduate catalog.
[CAPS INDICATE PROGRAMS WHERE I DON’T YET HAVE ANYTHING TO LINK]
Elementary Education
Middle Level Education
Secondary Education
Common Learnings in Curriculum K-12
Assessment System and Unit Evaluation
The unit has an assessment system that collects and analyzes data on applicant qualifications, candidate and graduate performance, and unit operations to evaluate and improve the unit and its programs.
#36
The EMU College of Education began, during the 2002-2003 academic year, the development and implementation of a management system that will coordinate the collection and dissemination of data important to the administration of the college. Throughout 2002-2003 a series of meetings were held that led to implementation of a web-based warehousing of college of education data. EMU College of Education data are being transferred from COE personal computers to a web-based data warehousing system that is supported by the EMU office of Institutional Research and Management.
After a series of meetings during the 2002-2003 year a decision was made to work with Institutional Research and Information Management to develop a utilitarian college of education information, assessment, evaluation system that would be supported by the institutional resources within EMU. The data warehouse will deal with data important to EMU institutional decision making, but will also be customized to deal with information/data critical to the college.
Specific data needs within the college will be determined by reviewing the college’s accreditation requirements, involving faculty in establishing student outcome requirements, and establishing administrative decision making parameters. As of Winter 2003 a data dictionary was being developed to determine baseline needs and requirements.
An Enterprise database will be the hub into which data will be collected for the college of education. A data mart will be developed at the institutional level based upon what information the college needs for accreditation, evaluation of student learning, and administrative decision making.
The feedback loop will be to the end user. In most cases the end user will be an individual—clerical staff, faculty, student, administrator—who will receive information from the data warehouse system.
A COE Assessment Advisory committee was organized during the 2002-2003 academic year and began meeting on a regularly scheduled basis Winter semester 2003. This advisory group provides guidance on issues ranging from system development to curriculum evaluation. The Assessment Advisory committee, as well as coordinating assessment within the college, is organized through the Office of Academic Services by the Associate Dean.
The college has developed a general structure to handle input and general data needs. The Coordinator of Data Information works with clerical staff identified within departments or offices to input data specific to the college, department, or program.
Decisions about fields, data input, dissemination, access, areas of assessment focus, etc., will be determined by the dean of the college. Programs and departments will be able to selectively choose specific data for input and feedback. The Associate Dean will have oversight of the Office of Data Information and be responsible for its operation.
# 37 Assessment System for Advanced Programs
What is true for the overall development of an assessment system for the undergraduate program is true for advanced programs (see response to question #36). The EMU College of Education began the development and implementation of a data management system that will coordinate the collection, coordination, and dissemination of data important to the administration and organization of the college.
College of Education data are being transferred from COE personal computers to a web-based data warehousing system that is administered by the EMU office of Institutional Research. A full time professional/technical staff member was reassigned from existing resources to serve as the Coordinator of Data Management for the COE beginning Fall semester 2003. The data warehouse will be a repository for student assessment and administrative outcomes. Data will be collected and collated as part of the ongoing effort to coordinate information and student learning outcomes across the college.
The data information system at the advanced level is designed around specific program and faculty needs. Because of the focus on terminal evaluations each program develops, reports, and receives feedback on its own set of student learning criteria. Some college of education data, however, are standardized, collected and disseminated for all advanced level programs in the college.
#38 Describe how the unit is implementing its assessment system and providing regular comprehensive data on program quality.
A data dictionary was compiled in an effort to determine a baseline for college and student data collection for decision making. This was an effort to gain understanding about what the college already utilized for informing itself about students, student progress, the college, and EMU. Following are the primary instruments utilized by the college:
These data are utilized by the college of education to compare EMU student success to other colleges and universities, within and external to, Michigan. For example, the MTTC pass rates are reviewed on a regular basis to inform programs of their success rates for students who have taken content courses within their respective programs. EMU maintains a high 16-administration pass rates (at/or above 95%) in nine subject fields:
| n | College | ||
| Technology and Design | 100% | 7 | Technology |
| Speech and Language Impaired | 98% | 42 | Education |
| Early Childhood Education | 97% | 387 | Education |
| Health Education | 97% | 94 | Education |
| Learning Disabled | 96% | 94 | Education |
| English | 95% | 547 | Arts and Sciences |
| Art Education | 95% | 136 | Arts and Sciences |
| Secondary Mathematics | 95% | 32 | Arts and Sciences |
| Economics | 95% | 18 | Arts and Sciences |
EMU has relatively low 16-administration pass rates (at/below 75%) in twelve subject fields:
| n | College | ||
| Psychology | 75% | 153 | Arts and Sciences |
| Mathematics | 74% | 349 | Arts and Sciences |
| Geology/Earth Science | 71% | 135 | Arts and Sciences |
| Political Science | 69% | 126 | Arts and Sciences |
| Chemistry | 69% | 93 | Arts and Sciences |
| Biology | 64% | 182 | Arts and Sciences |
| Physics | 63% | 30 | Arts and Sciences |
| History | 62% | 510 | Arts and Sciences |
| Visually Impaired | 57% | 28 | Education |
| Geography | 56% | 105 | Arts and Sciences |
| German | 55% | 18 | Arts and Sciences |
| Sociology | 53% | 55 | Arts and Sciences |
EMU’s collective pass rate, all subject fields, most recent 16 administrations, is approximately 84.53%, more than two percentage points above the statewide collective pass rate. Programs are fully aware of pass rates and issues of course and MTTC coordination have been, are, and will continue to be topics of concern as the college seeks to improve articulation between content and the test.
#39 Data collection, analysis, and evaluation for advanced programs
At the advanced level there is no coordinated effort to gather data, as a common data set, within the college. The effort to identify this common data set with specific fields of interest to the college will begin Fall 2003. All of the institutional data gathered about advanced level students is made available to the college administration. Information related to credit hour production, admission rates, conversion rates, faculty load, graduation rates, etc., are disseminated on a regular basis.
The college administrative team is very familiar with institutional data related to the fiscal operation of the college. The review of these data by the administration has a direct bearing on advanced programs because of the increased costs associated with graduate level programs.
A full time professional/technical staff member was reassigned from existing resources to serve as the Coordinator of Data Information for the COE beginning Fall semester 2003.
#40 Use data for Program Improvement
The initial program unit at Eastern Michigan University is developing an assessment system that will provide comprehensive data pertinent to teacher preparation. Assessment of student learning is an evident component of the teacher preparation program. Within the Teacher Preparation Programs: An Introduction manual that is given to every teacher education student it is stated that, “Grades in general education courses, scores on state tests, field experience assessments and student teaching evaluations are among the many assessments throughout your preparation.” The system itself focuses on gathering data in two general areas:
1. cognitive assessments
2. assessments of professional dispositions (dealing with attitudes, values, and habits-of-mind).
Currently, elementary and secondary education students are required to take a core of cognitive assessments. Evaluation is done by instructors and provides the expectation that students demonstrate progress toward developing the knowledge and skill necessary to be a successful teacher. Students complete portfolios on core cognitive knowledge. Courses that represent this knowledge at EMU include:
EDPS 322 Human Development and Learning
SOFD 328 Schools in a Multicultrual Society
CURR 304/305 Curriculum and Methods
EDPS 340 Introduction to Assessment and Evaluation
EDMT 330 Instructional Applications of Media and Technology
RDNG 311, 310 (and if previously completed) 314.
FETE Courses Field Experiences in Teacher Education
Student Teaching
Evaluation of progress by students in the preparation program is based upon successful completion of demonstrated professional dispositions and skills. Assessment portfolios are collected and reviewed randomly at various stages of the program in order to make judgments about how well students progress.
The College of Education has committed to identifying teacher skills, behaviors, and attitudes that will reinforce
1. accountability for the impact of teacher candidates on P-12 student learning,
2. teacher performance in key areas to show an increase in a teacher's ability to facilitate the learning of all students.
Eastern Michigan University is also a member of the Renaissance Partnership, a group of universities actively seeking measures to evaluate candidate performance. Members of the partnership have worked together to make student teacher preparation a measurable process as well as a curriculum outcome.
Institutions involved in the project have, to varying degrees, taken on tasks to advance project goals. At Eastern Michigan University there has been a focus upon the development of teacher dispositions. Teacher dispositions enable a teacher candidate to demonstrate teaching performance directly related to affective behaviors that have direct bearing on teacher success. With support of a grant, measurement of teacher dispositions was incorporated into the student teaching experience for (number of students) over a three year period. These dispositions are:
1. Adherence to professional ethics
2. Collaboration
3. Commitment to diversity
4. Commitment to teaching
5. Emotional maturity
6. Initiative
7. Responsibility
8. Responsiveness to professional feedback
9. Self-reflection
10. Student focus
The goal at Eastern Michigan University is to incorporate the work of the Renaissance Group into an evaluation system that addresses all of the design features sought by a college of education to improve student success for a prospective teacher. Specifically, the EMU College of Education is in the development of a data management system that will assess outcomes and dispositions. (See pages 9-31 in the Teacher Preparation Programs: An Introduction for a complete description of the assessment process utilized in tracking student progress.)
#41. Use data for program improvement—Advanced Programs
At the advanced level assessment is more student centered and program specific. That is, portfolios, master’s theses, professional competencies, and standards specific to a discipline are developed, implemented, and evaluated by faculty to meet program requirements. Therefore, multiple assessments are utilized by advanced programs to meet national, state, and program standards.
For example Leadership & Counseling, an all graduate program within the college, offers six programs: Master of Arts Degree in School Counseling, Community Counseling, College Counseling, Educational Leadership, Specialist in Arts in Educational Leadership and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership. All of the Master’s degree programs (counseling and leadership) require a portfolio to be presented to the faculty upon graduation. Both the Sp.A. and Doctoral programs require a terminal paper. The Sp.A. degree has an applied research requirement and the doctoral degree requires a dissertation.
Because the advanced programs are smaller and more student centered student assessment is closer to the faculty and driven by the unique features of a field and the curriculum related to that content area. The smaller numbers of students and more intimate student/faculty ratio means evaluation is more faculty specific, more individualized, and more concentrated in a terminal event, product, or paper. Portfoios, theses, dissertations, and field experiences dominate as the tools utilized for measuring and assessing a student’s grasp of material.
In Teacher Education the most commonly used student assessment is a thesis/final project. Of the eleven MA programs housed in this department eight utilize this assessment/evaluation as a culminating experience. The other MA programs in teacher education utilize a comprehensive exam, portfolio, and a supervised internship respectively to determine a student’s understanding, mastery of content, and applied learning.
The examples cited are representative of the 26 M.A. programs within the college of education. Generally, the advanced programs within the college utilize the more traditional terminal instruments for determining a student’s level of mastery.
Because of the nature of programs at the advanced level, program improvement is an extension of student success, faculty involvement, and attention to advances in the profession. The doctoral program in educational leadership has a direct bearing on the M.A. program in educational leadership because of the ongoing attention to best practice and continuous tinkering with course content and curriculum improvement. Program improvement isn’t just an extension of evaluation, but being close to the student, to the field, and to other faculty.
#42 Field Experiences
Students in the Elementary and Secondary Initial Teacher Preparation Program, who enrolled in a post-secondary program before Fall 1998, must complete a minimum of 100 hours of pre-student teaching. A minimum of 50 of these hours must be obtained in an age-appropriate classroom environment at the elementary or secondary level and at least one experience must be in a multicultural setting. The additional 50 hours may come from a variety of professionally related experiences working with children at an age-appropriate level.
Students in the Elementary and Secondary Initial Teacher Preparation Program, who enrolled in a post-secondary program after Fall 1998, take three courses that provide lab experiences in which they develop the skills and concepts taught in the methods courses they are currently taking. These courses account for 60 of the 100 hours required for pre-student teaching. Students begin the sequence with FETE 201 (5 hours of pre-student teaching), a community-based experience in the Detroit-EMU Comer Project schools. Students take FETE 301/302 in conjunction with CURR 304/305 and EDPS 340 and FETE 401/402 with RDNG 310/311. During the FETE 301/302, students teach a student, observe and analyze the learning environment, and pre-assess and teach one whole-class lesson, completing 25 hours of pre-student teaching. During FETE 401/402, students teach a student with emphasis on reading comprehension, assess a student’s reading, and teach reading lessons, completing 30 hours of pre-student teaching. The additional 40 hours may come from a variety of professionally related experiences working with children at an age-appropriate level.
Students in Business Education and Technology Education do not take FETE 302 but complete field experiences attached to their curriculum methods courses. Students in Music Education, Physical Education, and Special Education do not take the FETE courses but complete field experiences attached to coursework within their individual programs.
EMU Teacher Education has established partnerships with over 100 C-SIP schools with a focus on districts within driving distance of the campus. School participation was solicited through contact with principals and presentations to faculty and staff. In addition to the C-SIP schools, TE has three consociate schools (Farmington High School, East Middle School, and Estabrook Elementary School). TE faculty is active in the consociate school program through teaching undergraduate courses onsite and placing pre-service teachers in the classrooms. As a member of the Renaissance Partnership for Improvement of Teacher Quality, TE has partnerships with 40 teachers in Ypsilanti and Willow Run School Districts. Teachers in this program receive mentor training and attend workshops with the preservice teachers placed in their classrooms. The focus of the Teacher Quality Grants is on analyzing student learning resulting from classroom assessments.
The Teacher Education Advisory Board reviewed the FETE assignments at the beginning of the FETE program. The FETE courses are continually being reshaped by the input from cooperating teachers, principals, students, facilitators, and TE faculty.
Additional information about field experiences at the initial level is included in the department/program statements below.
BUSINESS EDUCATION, TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Programs in Teacher Education
#44 Student Teaching – Teacher Education
The student teaching program is designed to be both an integrative and capstone experience in the comprehensive program for the professional development of prospective teachers. Student teaching allows the prospective teacher an opportunity to test methods and theories of teaching, to develop effective strategies for teaching and learning, to identify teaching strengths and weaknesses, and to develop a teaching personal style. The student teacher’s ability to make sound professional decisions is based on their ability to reflect on professional courses and apply educational principles and techniques within the framework of field internships.
Student teaching is usually acknowledged as the most outstanding and meaningful experience of the entire teacher preparation program. Student teaching experiences are arranged through cooperative agreements between Eastern Michigan University and surrounding school districts and agencies. The cooperating teacher is a teacher considered to be a master teacher in a classroom setting. The university supervisor is a certified teacher/administrator/faculty member who serves as the liaison between the University and the student teacher; the university supervisor assesses the student teacher, both formatively and summatively and recommends the student teacher for initial certification.
The University has specific criteria by which it selects cooperating teachers. These criteria are: a minimum of three years of teaching experience, a master’s degree, a recommendation from the building principal or department head, and demonstrated success in teaching children and youth. The content provided in both pedagogy and subject matter classes gives a basis for the vital fusion of theory into practice. Students enrolled in the student teaching program have: a minimum grade point average at Eastern Michigan University of 2.50 as well as a minimum grade point average of 2.50 in major/or minor classes (elementary) and have passed the Michigan Basic Skills test.
At the initial level, each prospective teacher has at least one full semester of full-time student teaching. K-12 students divide the time between elementary and secondary settings. Students earning multiple credentials simultaneously (e.g. early children and elementary, special education and elementary) are required to enroll in additional semester-long teaching experiences in their specific areas.
The student teaching experience has become increasingly structured in terms of expected activities, evaluation, seminars, portfolio development/submission/review, etc. Please refer to the Student Teaching Handbook for materials that explain student teaching expectations. All student teachers are observed by their university supervisor a minimum of four times. Student teachers attend a minimum of four seminars conducted by their university supervisors, an all-day professional development workshop, and either a portfolio presentation or exhibit. Student teachers are part of a learning community during student teaching and attend faculty meetings, department meetings, meetings for team teaching, parent conferences, professional development workshops, etc. Beginning in the Fall of 2002, a pilot group of student teachers (108) began developing and teaching a unit which emphasizes student learning outcomes. For this project students design and implement a pretest, posttest, and an analysis of student learning. Beginning Winter, 2003, all student teachers will be engaged in this activity. This project helps student teachers focus on student learning outcomes in an applied setting
University supervisors are accomplished school professionals; they are selected based on their credentials, teaching and administrative experience in a school setting, and their ability to coach/mentor beginning teachers. They are teacher educators who demonstrate skills, knowledge, and mentoring; they are evaluated annually and reviewed completely every three years (full time). University supervisors are afforded professional development activities three times each semester and communication between the university and the university supervisors is augmented electronically.
The Department of Special Education has exceptional student teaching placements staffed by experienced and highly effective cooperating teachers. The ongoing relationship between the Department of Special Education and local school districts provide department students with unique and exceptional opportunities to develop and refine their professional skills. Full-time Department faculty determine student teaching placements which further insures appropriate and high-quality student teaching experiences. Student teaching experiences are continually monitored by full-time department faculty. If it becomes necessary to utilize Adjunct Lecturers as student teaching supervisors, the department has access to highly qualified and experienced special educators, who hold advanced degrees and are appropriately endorsed, ensuring that the program quality is not compromised.
Ultimately, department students demonstrate mastery of knowledge and skills delineated in the 2001 CEC Professional Standards during their culminating student teaching experience. The success of students preparing to be special education teachers is measured through the application and integration of the knowledge and skills gained throughout the student’s program of study.
Special Education majors enroll in SPGN 491, student teaching seminar, during their student teaching experience. The seminar meets weekly across the semester.
Student teaching is considered to be the culminating experience in the student’s professional year and their undergraduate professional preparation. Physical Education majors conduct student teaching in both elementary and secondary placements over a period of 16 weeks, and upon successful completion are recommended to receive the State of Michigan’s secondary provisional certificate with a K-12 endorsement in physical education.
The student teaching experience is completed at established student teaching sites throughout Southeast Michigan. The school districts serve as co-participants in the program by providing facilities and cooperating teachers. Many of the cooperating teachers serve as members of the Physical Education Community Advisory Board. Some opportunities exist for student teaching in overseas placements.
A student teaching site is a school district that has become a co-participant in the
Eastern Michigan University certification process through a shared responsibility toward helping students meet designated competencies at schools within the district. Students are assigned to teaching sites by the EMU Physical Education Coordinator of Student Teaching. Students may request placements but the final decision rests with the coordinator of the physical education program and coordinator of student teaching based on the students’ expertise and the school district’s needs.
Competencies to be met and assessed through experiences at these schools are described in the Student Teaching Handbook. Student teaching competencies are sequenced in order to develop skills essential to the professional educator. Supervision of student teachers is conducted by full-time tenure track faculty who have expertise in physical education methodology. Students take PHED 494 Senior Seminar in conjunction with student teaching.
Additional information about student teaching at the initial level is included in the department/program statements below.
Art Education
Music Education
Business Education, Technology Education
Physical Education
Programs in Special Education
Programs in Teacher Education
#46
Elementary and secondary education students complete several cognitive assessments during their program. Students in EDPS 322 (Human Development and Learning) demonstrate their ability to work and plan effectively in a group, complete a group diversity project examining the role of six variables in development and learning. This assessment demonstrates that students both understand that the ways of learning and development vary across individuals and that students can plan appropriate learning goals and experiences. Students majoring in Special Education are enrolled in EDPS 325 instead of EDPS 322. EDPS 325 covers the complete developmental continuum (birth to death) which is appropriate for professional preparation in special education.
Students in SOFD 328 (Schools in a Multicultural Society) complete analytic writing assignments which analyze the purposes of schools in a democratic society and articulate their position on ethical issues presented to teachers in our society. Students in CURR 304/305 (Curriculum and Methods) prepare a teaching unit and write reflections on their unit using three planning questions. Units must contain: rationale, classroom composition, content analysis/content standards, outcomes/objectives, unit pre-assessment, lesson plans including differentiation and the use of technology, other assessment plans including an analysis of student learning, family and community involvement, culminating expereince, and bibliography and resources. Students in EDPS 340 (Introduction of Assessment and Evalution) prepare an assessment plan which demonstrates their master of assessment techniques appropriate to a specific topic and grade level. This plan includes authentic/performance assessment. Students must analyze data in order to make judgments about student learning.
Students majoring in special education do not enroll in EDPS 340 and instead enroll in SPGN 390, Assessment and Evaluation in Special Education. Similarly, students majoring in Early Childhood Education enroll in EDPS 341 in place of EDPS 340. Students majoring in Special Education do not enroll in FETE and instead participate in structured pre-clinical experiences within introducing department core and program area-specific courses.
Students in EDMT 330 (Instructional Applications of Media and Technology) create an electronic portfolio based on the Seventh Standard for Entry Level Michigan Teachers. The portfolio demonstrates the student’s ability to use educational media and technology to enhance student learning and to use educational media and technology to enhance personal and professional productivity. Students in RDNG courses (311, 300, 310) demonstrate a variety of literacy activities appropriate to grade level; they also demonstrate how to adapt instruction to the needs of individual learners. FETE courses (Field Experiences in Teacher Education) enable students to put theory into practice. The “analysis of student learning” activities are assessments in the 300 and 400 level FETE courses. These enable students to demonstrate their ability to plan instruction based on the analysis of individual student learning. FETE courses also provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their professional dispositions.
Teaching is more than knowing the content or being able to plan effective lessons. In addition to these vital skills and knowledge, teachers must also have the attitudes, values, and habits-of-mind that will allow them to be successful caring professionals. These dispositions include:
1. Adherence to professional ethics
2. Collaboration
3. Commitment to diversity
4. Commitment to teaching
5. Emotional maturity
6. Initiative
7. Responsibility
8. Responsiveness to professional feedback
9. Self-reflection
10. Student focus
These dispositions are assessed three ways: observation from professors, observations during FETE, and observations from the cooperating teacher and university supervisor during student teaching.
The most important performance assessment in the program is Student Teaching. Shared assessments for student teaching include a reflective journal, the assessment/employment portfolio, the student teaching evaluation by the cooperating teacher and university supervisor, and the student teaching unit. Student teachers teach and assess a unit of instruction; they are required to demonstrate that when they teach, students learn. Student teachers also demonstrate their professional dispositions and communication skills in real-world situations.
Additional information about assessment at the initial level is included in the department/program statements below.
Art Education
Music Education
Business Education, Technology Education
Physical Education
Programs in Special Education
Programs in Teacher Education