Etta Hollins & Jamy Stillman Rossier School of Education University of Southern California PACT Implementation Conference November 13-14, 2008

 The persistent underperformance of students in K-12 schools and the shortage of highly skilled professionals in certain areas call attention to the need for re-examining initial teacher certification programs, new teacher induction programs, and inservice teacher professional development.  Authors in the report of the AERA panel on teacher education, Studying Teacher Education, pointed out that there are few studies that provide thick descriptions of teacher preparation programs. The majority of studies in teacher education describe a single course or field experience in isolation from the program context.

 As presently conceptualized, this study will address three aspects of the teacher preparation program: ◦ The experiences that support candidates in learning to contextualize teaching practices for diverse and underserved students. ◦ The theoretical perspective on learning that provides the framework for the design of courses and field experiences in the program. ◦ The internal and external problems of practice associated with teaching and learning to teach addressed in the teacher preparation program.

 What sequence of learning experiences are used to enable candidates to contextualize their professional practice to facilitate learning for different groups of students in a variety of school and classroom settings?  What is the evidence that candidates are able to contextualize their professional practice for different groups of students in a variety of school and classroom settings?  What interventions are employed when candidates are unable to contextualize their professional practice for different groups of students in a variety of settings?

 What theoretical perspective on learning serves as a framework for the courses and field experiences in your program?  What assignments or experiences in courses and field experiences provide evidence of the adopted theoretical perspective on learning?  How are assignments or experiences linked across courses and field experiences to provide program coherence?

 Internal—There are many internal problems of practice in preservice teacher preparation including the demographic discrepancy in the teacher candidate pool and the students they are being prepared to teach, the academic preparation and background experiences of faculty in preservice teacher preparation, coherence within the teacher preparation program, etc.  What internal problems of practice have the faculty in your program identified that conflict with candidates’ learning to contextualize practice for diverse students and how are they being addressed?

 There are many external problems of practice that influence the quality of the teacher preparation program and that influence new teacher socialization into the profession.  What external problems of practice have faculty in your teacher preparation program identified that conflict with candidates’ learning to contextualize practice for diverse students and how are they being addressed?

 Analysis of video segments and other data collected for PACT.  Existing program documents, reports, and course syllabi.  Observations and interviews with candidates during student teaching.  K-12 student work samples collected during student teaching.  Interviews with student teaching supervisors.

 The initial research design will be reviewed and revised by collaborators.  Individual collaborators will be responsible for collecting data in their local teacher preparation program and for the local IRB approval for the study.

 Initiate a conversation about the infrastructure of teacher preparation programs that goes beyond state and NCATE mandated assessments and data collection, and surface organization of courses and field experiences.  Provide thick descriptions of critical aspects of the infrastructure of teacher preparation programs that can serve as exemplars for rethinking and redesigning program practices to better prepare teachers for facilitating learning for underserved students.

 March 2009 –Collaborators meet to refine research design and establish benchmarks for conducting the study.  September 2009—begin data collection.

 How problems of practice are addressed in the re-designed program at Rossier School of Education ◦ Identified and responded to program-wide and course-specific problems of practice  Program-wide problem of practice: Many teacher preparation programs do not draw on the literature about teacher learning in their program design  Program-wide response: Came to consensus on a conceptual model of teacher learning to serve as foundation for program development

◦ Course-specific problems of practice: Understanding the Social Context for Urban Schools  Many candidates enter teacher education programs having had little contact with those from cultural and experiential backgrounds different from their own and with little knowledge of urban communities.  Many candidates enter teacher preparation programs with stereotypical views of students from diverse and low income backgrounds and of the schools they attend.  Many candidates leave their teacher preparation programs with little knowledge of how to build relationships with the students they teach or their parents, or how to build a supportive learning community.