COE Office of Assessment and Accreditation Department of Elementary and Middle Grades Education COE Office of Teacher Education College of Education East Carolina University Pirate CODE: Continuum of Developing Expertise for Novice Teaching At the 2011 ECU Assessment Day, the College of Education presented its vision for Using Assessments for Accreditation as Occasions for Program Improvement. Of the 13 initiatives related to five program markers, five are uniting – with the inclusion of other activities – to form the foundation of ECU’s new proposal for NCATE accreditation, its Transformation Initiative. ECU will be one of only 25 schools of education nationwide to pursue this innovative accreditation pathway. Our ability to pursue this research-based accreditation pathway is built upon solid programs and continuing accreditation based on the six NCATE standards. The COE’s commitment to developing professional expertise utilizing data driven integrated assessment system is at the heart of our approach. By strategically and systematically focusing on pk-12 teaching, ECU’s COE will continue to lead the nation in innovative use of assessment in preparing higher quality educator candidates. The NCATE Unit at ECU includes all professional education preparation programs, undergraduate and graduate, that prepare educators for work in PK-12 classrooms. The model engages teacher candidates in mentored observations of pre-selected classroom video snippets. Selected videos and use of a guided observation protocol are designed to guide students in identifying and articulating what they know and are able to do in the classroom. These videos allow preservice teachers to see “real life” models of targeted instructional strategies. Having access to examples and non-examples of the strategies allows university faculty to lead in-depth discussions of instructional decision making and implementation. Video Grand Rounds ISLES – Instructional Strategy Lessons for Educators Series – are modules developed as part of the Teacher Quality Partnership Grant at ECU. The modules lead candidates in three programs – elementary education, middle grades education, and special education – through a series of 10 research-based instructional strategies and their use from declarative to procedural to conditional knowledge. ISLES 1, introduces the strategies. ISLES 2, includes them in planning. ISLES 3, has candidates implement them, and includes the video of a lesson utilizing an ISLES strategy. ISLES Instructional Strategies ISD Modules are being developed in Middle Grades Education to prepare candidates for the summative completion of the edTPA portfolio. The ISD modules will systematically lead candidates through the requisite skills and activities needed to integrate content and pedagogical knowledge throughout the program and to assess candidates formatively. Once developed, the modules will serve as a model for implementation in other program areas. ISD Modules The Co-teaching initiative is patterned after Marilyn Friend’s Co-teaching research and the Academy for Co-Teaching and Collaboration at St. Cloud State University. As increased pressures on public school teachers make clinical internship placements more challenging to find, the Co- Teaching model may alleviate the need for a 1:1 intern to clinical teacher ratio and bring richer opportunities for practice to our teacher candidates. The success of the spring 2012 pilot – with one clinical teacher supervising two interns in Pitt County - is leading to further research and model expansion. Co- teaching As teacher education program reform curricula and implement more valid and reliable assessments, the Senior Year internship – what was student teaching – is changing rapidly. The role of clinical teachers, university supervisors, and faculty during this capstone experience must evolve to provide appropriate support and guidance to teacher education candidates. Critical is the selection and on-going training of clinical teachers and university supervisors who serve in these important roles. The introduction of Instructional Coaches in the supervision model is being explored. Clinical Supervision Over 25 states and 180 teacher preparation programs are engaged in the Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA), an instrument developed at Stanford University, supported by AACTE and NCATE, and aligned with state and national standards. By spring 2013, 14 of the 17 teacher education programs at ECU will be engaged in the edTPA. With the edTPA, a valid and reliable assessment in place, institutions may conduct systematic analysis of teacher candidate performance through different program pathways and determine the predictive validity of the instrument in regards to impact on PK-12 student achievement. edTPA Portfolio While the Pirate CODE will begin in the Department of Elementary and Middle Grades Education, it’s elements are already making in-roads to other undergraduate teacher education programs at ECU. The goal of the Pirate CODE, is to develop a model that can be utilized across programs and institutions to prepare effective novice educators. Pirate CODE components span the teacher preparation curriculum providing a scaffolded continuum of developing professional expertise: