Standard 4.A
Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of Curriculum and
Experiences
Target: Curriculum, field experiences, and clinical practice help candidates to demonstrate knowledge, skills, and dispositions related to diversity. They are based on well-developed knowledge bases for, and conceptualizations of diversity and inclusion so that candidates can apply them effectively in schools. Candidates learn to contextualize teaching and to draw upon representations from the students' own experiences and knowledge. They learn how to challenge students toward cognitive complexity and engage all students, including students with exceptionalities, through instructional conversation. Candidates and faculty review assessment data that provide information about candidate's ability to work with all students and develop a plan for improving their practice in this area.
Requirements related to diversity. At the initial level, topics related to diversity permeate the curriculum, with special attention given in several courses required of most or all candidates. To give some examples, most general education candidates take EDPS 322. This course includes a group diversity project in which candidates investigate the impact of six variables (e.g., gender, race, language) on development and classroom learning. SPGN 251 is entirely about working with students with disabilities. The writing project in SOFD 328 expects each candidate to include diversity in analyzing the purposes of schools. (The title of SOFD 328, "Schools in a Multicultural Society," identifies the degree of emphasis that is placed on diversity topics in this required course.) The curriculum unit and other activities in CURR 304/CURR 305, taken by most candidates, require that students address issues of diversity.
FETE 201, required of most candidates at the initial level, occurs in a multicultural setting. Candidates are urged to include multicultural settings in taking those of FETE 301, FETE 302, FETE 401, and FETE 402 that are required of them. The approved list of sites for student teaching includes only locations that represent appreciable diversity.
At the advanced level, programs approach diversity in a variety of ways. For example, the master’s program in early childhood education requires a choice of either SOFD 550 Philosophy, Ethics and Teaching or SOFD 580 Sociology of Education. In addition, candidates are required to take CURR 610 (now ECE 610) Family, School and Community Partnerships in Early Childhood Education. The second required course that strongly addresses diversity is CURR 641 (now ECE 641 ) Developmental Assessment of the Young Child: Theory and Practice.
The curriculum and instruction (elementary, middle grades, secondary, common learnings in curriculum (K-12)) master’s degrees are infused with learning experiences regarding diversity. Issues of class, race, gender, ethnicity, geographical origin, religious preferences, and language are embraced and celebrated as strengths both within the classroom and within the community.
The master’s program in educational media/technology actively recruits and promotes a diverse faculty to not only serve as role models, but more importantly to assist in developing teachers with the knowledge and skill to address the unique needs of a diverse student population. In the master’s program in reading, required courses include RDNG 655 The Integrated Literacy Curriculum; RDNG 656 Language Development, Literacy and the Young Child; and RDNG 686 Practicum: Designing Literacy Intervention Programs, all of which have a major diversity component. See also the institution’s response to IRA standards 1.2, 1.4, 1.7, 3.1, 3.2, 3.4, and 12.2
Special education programs deal extensively with diverse learners, especially those with disabilities. Art programs are centered around Discipline-Based Art Education in which aesthetics offers a fertile context for understanding and appreciation of multiculturalism.
Knowledge bases for diversity and inclusion. The knowledge base for the initial program level reflects our substantial institutional commitment to diversity and inclusion. See Exhibit CF-12, section on "diverse and democratic society." Similarly, at the advanced level, the knowledge bases reflect our commitment to these topics. See Exhibit CF-13, section 5 on "diverse and democratic society." For both the initial and advanced levels, see Exhibit CF-14, section on "diverse and democratic society," for the sources that we have used to conceptualize our position on the importance of "diversity" and "a democratic society."
Contextualize teaching; engage all students. At the initial level, our standards/benchmarks include Section V-"Educators for a diverse and democratic society celebrate diversity in schools and communities. They prepare students for active participation in democracy through nurturing critical thinking, creative thinking, and problem solving with communities." In particular, item V-S requires our candidates to "adapt instruction and assessments to meet the diverse needs of learners (e.g., backgrounds, experiences, learning styles, developmental levels, etc.)." Item V-T requires our candidates to "create opportunities to encourage (P-12) students to value and respect diversity." In SPGN 251, the lesson design/adaptation activity requires students to prepare a lesson plan and then provide modifications that will make the lesson appropriate for a student with specific disabilities. The reflective lesson design project of CURR 304 and CURR 305, required of most candidates, calls for the student to show how the lesson is to be adapted for students representing various kinds of diversity. The curriculum unit of CURR 304 and CURR 305 must include a demonstration of how instruction is to be modified to reflect diversity in the class. The classroom assessment plan of EDPS 340, required of most candidates and the reading lesson plan of RDNG 310 and RDNG 311 both require a demonstration of appropriate adaptation. The reflections assignment of FETE 301 and FETE 302, required of most candidates, requires thought on how instruction was or should have been appropriately adapted in a classroom that was observed.
The FETE observation forms, the review of the student teaching unit, and the recommendation forms of the cooperating teacher and university supervisor all call for professionals to assess the degree to which the candidate has modified instruction and the nature of the modification, all such as to the needs of students of diverse backgrounds and abilities.
At the advanced level, most candidates are experienced teachers (and are often experienced in other professional roles). As a result, it is not difficult to contextualize teaching. Programs focus on structuring experiences such that candidates engage in exemplary professional practice and exhibit dispositions that show leadership and initiative. Candidates at the advanced level learn to engage all students, including those with disabilities, by their knowledge and use of technology, their abilities to communicate and relate, by their knowledge of diversity and cultural context, by valuing diversity, and by respect for children and adults from all backgrounds.
Assessment data. Some of the available assessment data related to diversity at the initial level may be found in Exhibit 2.3.A (Group Diversity Project), Exhibit 2.3.E (Student Teaching Unit), Exhibit 2.3.U (Lesson Design/Adaptation Activity), and others. Exhibit 2.3.F (items 37 and 38) provides information on program completers' self-assessments on diversity-related topics at the time of program completion. Exhibit 2.3.G (item 15) provides information on first year teachers self-assessments on how well they were prepared to work with diversity in the classroom. Exhibit 2.3.H (item 15) provides information from the supervisors of first year teachers as to how they were performing in dealing with diversity. These data will continue to be gathered and reviewed on an annual basis.
At the advanced level, some of the available assessment data related to diversity may be found in Exhibit 2.3.W, item 7 in particular, and Exhibit 2.3.X, item 7 in particular. These items show the perceptions of recent advanced program completers and their supervisors as to how well the program completer has mastered matters related to diversity. The data cover recent completers of most advanced programs. Exhibit 2.3.Y and Exhibit 2.3.Z provide generally comparable information about recent completers of educational leadership programs.