Where English Student Teachers SUCCEED And High School Students LEARN Strengthening Teaching and Lea

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Where English Student Teachers SUCCEED And High
School Students LEARNStrengthening Teaching
and Learningin an Urban School Partnership

• NCTE Conference 2006
• November 17, 2006

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Panelists

• Dorothy Clark, Asst. Professor, CSUN English
  Dept.
• Lynne Culp, NAHS Cooperating Teacher
• Sandra DaLie, NAHS Facilitator
• Bonnie Ericson, CSUN Facilitator,
• Dept. of Secondary Education
• Athena Milis, NAHS AMC Academy Facilitator
• Laura Rodriguez, NAHS Teacher
• Christina Saidy, Former Teacher-in-Residence,
• CSUN English Department

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Presentation Overview Bringing Institutions
Together

• School Site-based Coordination
• University Facilitation
• Early Field Observations in English Classrooms
• Student Teacher Placements/Cooperating Teachers
• Collaborative Classroom Projects at CSUN and NAHS

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Desired Outcomeof Our Presentation
INCREASED STUDENT SUCCESS
University Teacher Preparation
High School Partnership
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Northridge Academy High School

• Partnership effort between LAUSD (public
  institution) and CSUN (state university)
• Opened in Fall 2004
• Current enrollment 960 roughly ¼ enrollment of
  most LAUSD high schools.

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Who are our students?

• Ethnic Representation
• 55.1 Hispanic
• 23.3 White
• 7.5 Black
• 8.3 Filipino
• 5 Asian
• 3 AI/Alsk
• .1 PI

• LEP
• 107 (mostly Spanish)
• approximately 11
• 15 Reclassified
• Gifted 152
• Title I whole school
• Lunch Program 455
• Special Ed 140 (14.5)

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Our Teachers

• Teaching Experience
• Permanent 24
• Probationary 1 (first year teacher) 9
• Probationary 2 (second year teacher) 7
• Interns 2

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Four NAHS Academies (Small Learning Communities)

• 9TH Grade Bridge and Exploration Academy
• Arts, Media, and Communication
• Health and Human Development
• Leadership and Learning
• Designed to parallel CSUN colleges

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NAHS is building a culture of. . . .

• high expectations
• academic rigor
• relevant curriculum

• positive relationships
• parents/community connections
• collaboration with CSUN!

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Learning Conversation Principles

• Listen to understand rather than respond.
• Assume and exhibit good will.
• Wonder in front of each other.
• Open your mind to new learning.
• Invite and embrace differences.

The Culture of Northridge Academy High School
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About CSUN

• diverse university community
• 33,000 students
• more than 4,000 faculty and staff
• 356-acre campus in the heart of Los Angeles' San
  Fernando Valley.

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CSUN English Department
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The English Subject Matter Option for the
Single-Subject Matter Credential in English

• Designed for prospective secondary English
  teachers and a state-approved subject matter
  program.
• Students receive a B.A. in English and
  single-subject competency by completing the
  approved coursework and exit interview.
• 2005 program revisions include early field
  experience.

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The English 406/429 Early Field Experience

• What, Why, and How
• Early Field Experience is a requirement of the
  CCTC for all Single-Subject programs
• CSUNs English Single-Subject Early Field
  Experience is split between two courses an
  advanced writing class and an adolescent
  literature class
• Placement is handled through the School of
  Education
• Student Reflections
• What's next

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CSUN Department of Secondary Education
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Who We Are and What We Do

• 16 full-time faculty
• 50 part-time faculty and supervisors
• 4 single subject credential program pathways
• In 2005-6,
• 800 single subject credentials in all subjects
• 130 in English alone.
• Each semester, about 60 student teachers enrolled
  in one of the student teaching experiences.

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Teachers for a New Era

• CSUN is one of 4 original and 11 total sites.
• Purpose of this large grant program funded by
  Carnegie and other major foundations is to reform
  teacher preparation
• Three key principles
• Inclusion of Arts and Sciences
• Evidence-based
• Clinical Practice

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What the CSUN Facilitator Does

• Chair university-wide faculty committee.
• Oversee NAHS-CSUN student interactions.
• Coordinate with NAHS Facilitator to plan
  cooperative/student teacher orientation
  meetings,
• Participate in cooperating/student teacher
  meetings
• Assist in coordinating student teacher placement
• Head evidence collection, in collaboration w/
  others.
• Work with University supervisors supporting
  student teachers at NAHS

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What the NAHS Facilitator Does

• Ensure there are no surprises.
• Organize the placement of classroom observers.
• Oversee the placement of student teachers.
• Make sure STs are a part of our learning
  community.
• Assist in organizing meetings to support the
  growth of student teachers and cooperating
  teachers.
• Facilitate communication on site and with CSUN.

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The Student Teacher ExperienceAudience
Participation!

• Option A Recall when you yourself were a student
  teacher
• or
• Option B As a cooperating teacher or university
  support person
• Think about. . .

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Your Most Challengingor Most WonderfulStudent
Teaching ExperienceEVER!
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With a partner seated near you,

• Talk about your experience.
• Tell how you felt about it then.
• Tell what you make of it now.

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The Role of the Cooperating Teacher

• developing professionalism
• preparing a portfolio
• opportunities for reflection and understanding
• growth is mutual

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Through the Eyes of the Student Teacher
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How do we know its working? 2005-6 Surveys

• Student teachers felt a strong sense of community
  at NAHS and established highly effective working
  relationships with their cooperating teachers.
• The NAHS coordinator/CSUN liaison activities
  resulted in clearer program understandings and
  expectations ongoing, accessible communication
  and support for both cooperating and student
  teachers -- who both proposed additional
  sessions.
• There were some differences between cooperating
  teachers and student teachers perceptions of
  student teachers preparation for student
  teaching in subject knowledge, pedagogy, and
  assessment.

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School-University PartnershipsAudience
Participation!

• What are some positive school-university
  partnerships youve experienced, and what
  features contributed to their success?

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NAHS-CSUN Students Working Together

• As mentors
• As peers
• As learners

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English 429/English 10 Collaboration

• CSUN-NAHS students read and discuss The Day They
  Came to Arrest the Book by Nat Hentoff in person
  and online.
• Four in-person meetings
• -Getting to know you reading habits interviews
  (CSUN)
• -Socratic discussion The Day They Came to Arrest
  the Book (NAHS)
• -Group project planning (NAHS)
• -Culmination collaborative group projects on
  censorship (NAHS)
• Ongoing online discussion

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Online Discussion
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English 429/English 10 Collaboration

• CSUN-NAHS students read and discuss The Day They
  Came to Arrest the Book by Nat Hentoff in person
  and online.
• Four in-person meetings
• -Getting to know you reading habits interviews
  (CSUN)
• -Socratic discussion The Day They Came to Arrest
  the Book (NAHS)
• -Group project planning (NAHS)
• -Culmination collaborative group projects on
  censorship (NAHS)
• Ongoing online discussion

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Collaborators
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Working Together Brought us Closer
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English 406/English 10Collaboration Overview

• CSUN students help NAHS students revise their
  writing.
• Two in-person meetings
• -getting to know you
• business letter revision (CSUN)
• -culminating celebration and reflection (NAHS)
• Weekly online revision suggestions and response

• Thank you to my CSUN writing buddy I can tell
  that you care about my writing very much. I just
  want to thank you for giving me constructive
  criticism. I really try to correct all of the
  suggestions that you make. I again want to thank
  you for helping me to become a great writer.

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Class Compositions

• English 10 23 students
• Average Age 15
• Special Designations
• IEP 7 students
• ELL 5 students
• Gifted 2 students
• Ethnicity
• 15 Hispanic
• 4 Caucasian
• 2 African-American
• 2 Asian
• Standardized Test Results
• Writing Range Grades 4-11
• Reading Range Grades 4-11

• English 406 28 students
• Age Range from 22-60
• 16 Seniors
• 9 Juniors
• 2 post-BA
• 1 graduate student
• Study focus
• 5 Liberal Studies (pre-elementary)
• 1 Linguistic focus
• 1 Deaf Studies
• 1 Theater focus
• 1 Graduate in Rhetoric/Composition MA program
• 3 (currently in classroom)
• Two International Students Diverse ethnicities
• Several students have had previous careers.

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Im not good enough
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Positive Initial Encounter
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Troubleshooting
Why oh why havent I heard from my C-SUN
buddy With out help what am I A cave man with
sticks playing with fire So help me so I can
evolve and be a man with power and brains. So
please help me Corey

• Technology/Blogging Issues
• Hesitation in Posting
• Josh and Nicky
• E-mail discussions lead to unexpected results
• Initial worries turn into gifts

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Implementation

• NAHS
• House calls
• In-class discussions
• E-mail correspondence
• Computer lab time
• Homework
• Grades

• CSUN
• Review of pedagogical approaches The Skinless
  Writer
• Reflective journal entries
• E-mail communications
• In-class discussions

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CSUN Buddy Feedback
I have equally enjoyed having a NAHS buddy! What
I REALLY liked about this entry, besides its
wonderful contentand I am glad that you are
enjoying my honest commentariesis its lack of
structural or mechanical error. It is
well-written, clear, concise, and to the point.
If you find you are one of those students who has
a hard time coming up with things to write about,
you should consider trying a list (even before
writing blogs) which will help you to get a good
idea of what it is you wish to express. Also, you
can refer to it constantly and if you forget
something (which happens to me all the time in
this process) it will be right there. Even in
college a lot of students cant stand the
pre-writing process. They want to get the paper
done and over with as soon as possible! But I
have always focused my attention first on making
an informal outline, or a diagram like a
bubble-chart, etc.. Even though it may SEEM to
make the process a LONGER one, it actually works
to do the exact opposite. My outlines serve as a
mapthey guide me throughout my paper, remind me
of the points I want to make, and are much easier
to work with than the paper in organizing topics
for clarity, coherence, unity, and impact on the
reader.
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Josh and Nicky
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CSUN Student Reflections

• Terror, Joy, Frustration, Appreciation
• "The day we were told that we were gong to have a
  high school buddy, I was completely terrified."
• "This has been a wonderful experience, despite
  the minor technical glitches. Though my student
  and I are unable to regularly post each week, I
  found this experience to be priceless. This is a
  wonderful opportunity for us--the college
  students studying to be teachers--and for the
  students of NAHS. I am sure that they are even
  able to identify more closely with the college
  experience. I hope I am able to help my student
  to become excited about attending college, not
  frustrated or frightened."
• "Having a buddy also encouraged me not to be
  afraid of high school students. I was always
  afraid that the high school students were
  'terrors,' but my buddy has taught me that they
  are just human beings who are looking for
  guidance. It turns out, this experiment does not
  only impact our high school buddies, but I too am
  learning from my buddy."

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Next Steps

• Develop response protocol for CSUN peers
• Develop a way for NAHS students to directly
  respond to CSUN students
• Schedule more in-person meetings between classes
• Troubleshoot technology issues on both sides.
• CSUN students formal response/reflection
• CSUN reflective journal as part of early field
  experience

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Your Questions?
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And we wish you aWONDERFUL and
PRODUCTIVEConvention!