Conceptual Framework

Eastern Michigan University advanced professional education programs develop leaders who demonstrate inquiry, advocacy, and leadership in education for a diverse and democratic society. Additionally, advanced programs in curriculum and instruction seek to develop individuals who effectively enhance student learning and demonstrate knowledge, skills, abilities, and commitments reflecting the following propositions:

I. Teachers are committed to and are advocates for students and their learning.

II. Teachers value diversity and work to address practices, policies, and instances of

discrimination and inequality in their classrooms and schools.

III. Teachers know the subjects they teach and can choose from a variety of strategies to best teach those subjects to students.

IV. Teachers are responsible for managing, monitoring, and assessing student learning.

V. Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience.

VI. Teachers are active members of diverse learning communities

VII. Teachers identify and incorporate the expertise and support of other educators, administrators, family and community members to best meet the needs of their students. Professional educators should be able to extend beyond the classroom and assume responsibility for connecting to students’ families and other professionals, developing the school as a learning organization, and using community resources to foster the education and welfare of students.

We believe that teachers’ professional development is a dynamic process extending from initial preparation over the course of an entire career. Professional teachers are responsible for planning and pursuing their ongoing learning, for reflecting with colleagues on their practice, and for contributing to the profession’s knowledge base. We are responsible to and invest in our students in order to foster their growth as professionals, to remain well-connected to the schools and their communities that we serve, and to support those policies, resources, and organizational structures that guarantee continuous opportunity for teacher learning.