Educating Effective Teachers Through the Liberal Arts

1
Educating Effective Teachers Through the Liberal
Arts

• Middle Grades Education Licensure
• At the
• University of North Carolina at Asheville
• 2005

2
The Conceptual Framework

• Candidates seeking licensure at the University
  of North Carolina at Asheville (UNCA) receive a
  rigorous, balanced education. Three tenets guide
  the program and make up the conceptual framework.
  The first tenet of the education program at UNCA
  is knowledge. The second is pedagogy and the
  third is reflection.

3
Knowledge

• I have a degree in Art History. I want to be a
  middle school social studies/language arts
  teacher. I believe that integrating art and
  social studies will make my classroom come
  alive.
• (Jenn, middle grade social studies/language arts)

UNCA focuses on integrating a liberal arts
education with specific content in two
areas. Middle Grade candidates receive content,
pedagogy, and dispositions instruction
highlighting field experiences, technology
integration, and assessment skills Including
action research. All candidates receive a degree
in a field of their choice.
4
Pedagogy

• My research project is on testing the
  effectiveness of hands-on activities with 7th
  grade math students.
• (Britt, middle grade math/social studies).

Faculty model best practices. Candidates work in
a variety of settings to learn how
to differentiate instruction. Field
experiences prepare candidates for many types of
learners. All candidates participate in a
12-week student teaching experience and conduct
an action research project that focuses on
student impact of a chosen best practice.
5
Reflections

• It was another great day at Asheville Middle
  School. We are learning so much. Today we watched
  the guidance counselor diffuse the anger of a
  child.
• (Stephanie, middle grade math and social
  studies, AMS field experience.)

Candidates participate in reflective exercises
throughout their coursework individually and as a
group. Top Lessons learned from the five week
middle grade field experience at AMS Left
Middle Grade licensure candidates reflect on a
best practice presentation.
6
Field Experiences

• I think the field experiences are the best part
  of our educational experience. (Laura, middle
  grade social studies and language arts)

Candidates work with a variety of children in a
variety of settings throughout their licensure
experience. Shown above, Rob Works with Carla on
a technology-based Project. Left, Heather leads
an inquiry- based discussion with gifted students.
7
Diversity

• This type of experience is so good for my
  students because they get to practice their
  language skills one on one. (Judy, ESL teacher
  about working with UNCA students)

Middle grade licensure candidates observe ESL
children during the curriculum methods course.
They tutor at-risk children in their reading
course, and their lesson plans must show ways
they are differentiating instruction.
8
Technology

• Last week, ___ took their technology portfolio
  with them to a job interview and the principal
  said, oh you must be from UNCA, she got the
  job because of what she had to share.
• (student teachers talking during the student
• teaching seminar.)

Candidates begin their educational program by
taking a technology course to teach them
technology skills for classroom teachers and they
set up a web page. Throughout the program
candidates participate in activities that are
recorded on a technology standards page.
Technology is viewed as a tool for working with
children as well as a tool for publishing.
9
She really enjoyed working on the computer. She
knew more about some things than I did. (Tina,
freshman, working with ESL student on a service
component of the freshman course What is
Teaching?)
10
Professionalism

• Our student teachers indicate that they believe
  they are very professional and that the faculty
  at UNCA model professionalism.
• (Mark, department head, reporting on the student
  teaching exit interviews during the faculty
  meeting.)

Professionalism is one of the primary goals of
the middle grade licensure program. Every
semester, candidates are briefed by the field
placement coordinator about professionalism in
the schools.
11
Collaboration
What I like about this project is that it is a
no-fault relationship. If we need to adjust we
do. (Tisa, gifted teacher, as we reflected on
the progress of The Noonday Project, when we had
to rearrange one of the activities.)
Left Pre-service teacher, Vicki gifted
coordinator Jo math and science professors,
Nancy and Judy implemented The Noonday Project
with Gifted 8th grade geometry students at
Asheville Middle School. Right Jo, Tisa, gifted
teacher, Vicki and Heather, pre-service teachers
brainstorm the effectiveness of the mornings
activities.
12
Families
My grant is about creating an After school
program for students and their parents to help
them develop their math skills. (Aja, middle
grade math and science) I interviewed parents
and found that they really want teachers to
communicate with them. (Laura, science and
language arts)

• Candidates have opportunities to work with
  families during service projects sponsored by the
  education department. They also write grants to
  include families in planning. Special sessions on
  parent interviews and interviewing parents and
  teachers about working with families prepares
  candidates for considering the value of the
  safety nets that make up communities.

13
Assessment

• I conducted my study on the affects of using
  technology in the classroom. I was surprised at
  how well the students who did not have access to
  technology at home did on the technology
  projects.
• (Jared, Secondary social studies)
• My study looked at the impact using learning
  styles had to do on my students retention and
  attitude during mathematics. In my presentation
  you can see the improvement in my students
  scores when I used learning styles strategies.
• (Christi, Secondary mathematics)

While candidates learn a variety of ways to
assess learners in the education courses, one of
the culminating projects is an action research
project in which candidates actually test the
impact they are having on student learning during
the student teaching semester.
14
Overall Preparation

• You can send me people you have worked with any
  time.
• (A principal who hired Kendra as a middle school
  language arts teacher.)

It is our goal to prepare candidates who have a
broad knowledgeable, are current in pedagogy, and
are reflective leaders for the 21st century.