Students Role in National Development Essay Example

the faculty members in the Education Department and several teachers and principals in the local public and private schools. These initial consultative efforts evolved into a regular advisory group which is now known as the Teacher Education Advisory Committee (TEAC).

Membership in this group includes all of the faculty members in the Department of Education, faculty members from all of the content area departments that offer certification, four teachers from the local public schools, four principals from local public and private schools, two teacher education candidates, and a representative from the Regional Office of Education. The Conceptual Framework is brought to this group on at least an annual basis, discussion is held, and revisions are incorporated as necessary. Vision and Mission of the Unit

As the framework was developed, the unit and its partners were influenced by the work of Arthur Holmes (1987) and his vision of how one’s Christian faith and learning can be integrated. Holmes (1987) maintains that the integration of one’s Christian faith and learning can be approached in four overlapping ways: (1) attitudinally, (2) ethically, (3) foundationally, and (4) as a worldview. All of these concepts play important roles in classroom discussions about the centrality of the Christian faith in forming the basis of2 the unit’s conceptual framework and its translation to practice.

This vision of integrating faith, learning and life service is consistent with the charge Paul gave to the church at Corinth, “Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (I Cor. 10:31). As such, the mission of the unit is to prepare candidates through all of its approved programs who are agents

of change, are able to ensure the learning of all of their students and, concurrently, to work effectively for positive change in their schools and communities. What does it mean to be an agent of change in schools today?

In order for educators to create a significant difference in the lives of their students, their schools, and their communities, the unit believes that these educators must be able to make responsible decisions that are based on a substantial liberal arts and professional knowledge base and reflect a strong commitment to their profession. Additionally, Christian teachers who seek to be agents of change cannot be content with merely replicating traditional practice but must accept the ethical responsibility to become, themselves, students of teaching and learning and effective models who demonstrate moral and professional behaviors.

Finally, Christian teachers who seek to be agents of change are students of teaching and learning who continually seek and apply new insights, methods, and understandings of content and pedagogy in order to be a champion for social justice and to ensure that all students, regardless of any differences, are truly educated (Darling-Hammond, 1997). The Department of Education in consultation with its partners envisions a commitment to educational reform that is both consistent with Wheaton College’s historical and spiritual foundations and addresses the challenges of contemporary American education.

Over the years, the unit and its partners have interpreted the conceptual framework to encompass three central themes as it works to further articulate its mission to prepare teachers as agents of change in the schools: (1) teaching for social justice, (2) making informed decisions, and (3) acting responsibly. These three

central themes are the unit’s primary purposes and their supporting research forms the philosophical basis for the conceptual framework.

Teaching for Social Justice “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with our God? Micah 6:8 Teaching for social justice recognizes the relationship between individual identity and the learning process (Darling-Hammond, French, & Garcia-Lopez, 2002). Each student engages in the task of learning according to his or her ability to connect this process to prior experiences, capacities, interests and ambitions. As the unit works to prepare teachers who can teach for social justice, a number of significant influences are addressed. One of these influences is the student’s race and ethnicity.

Researchers (Banks, 1999; Greene, 1988; 1995; Kozol, 1991; 2000; Nieto, 2000) have shown that this factor can affect how students learn and that teachers must be sensitive to a student’s background when planning lessons and assessments. Other factors include gender (Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberg & Tarule, 1986; Gilligan, 1982; Greene, 1988; Katz, Noddings & Strike, 1999; Orenstein, 1994; Sadker & Sadker, 1994), class (Friere, 1973;3 1974; 1994; Kozol, 1991) and family (Brofenbenner, 1979; McAdoo, 1993; Vygotsky, 1978).

All of these issues are discussed in classes beginning with the candidate’s first education classes and are continued throughout the program. Practicum experiences are also designed to ensure that all candidates have experiences with students from varying backgrounds. Students also approach educational tasks through diverse learning styles and intelligences. Researchers (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997; Dunn & Griggs, 1995; Gardner, 1985; 2000; Lazear, 1991) have demonstrated that teachers must take hese styles into account. Additionally, researchers

have shown that students function at various developmental levels of intellectual and moral reasoning (Canella, 1997; Erickson, 1987; Gilligan, 1982; Kohlberg, 1984; Piaget, 1995). Finally, students may also require modifications in instructional methods, materials and environment because of physical, emotional, perceptual or intellectual exceptionalities (Dunn, Dunn & Perrin, 1994).

This valuable but challenging diversity within and among students creates various learning needs that teachers must address. In recognizing and meeting these individual needs, educators seek to establish just relationships by their commitment to promoting every individual student’s development. Again, all of these individual differences and the worth of each and every student are addressed in classes and practicum assignments.

The unit also believes that teachers who are informed about issues regarding social justice must first be made aware of the injustices that occurred in the past as a result of the pervading social milieu, one that supported segregation, inequitable treatment of women, and other marginalizing practices. The importance of this concept has been and continues to be supported by a variety of educational researchers (Greene, 1988; Gutek, 1995; Herrell & Jordan, 2004; Hoffman, 2000; Katz, Noddings, & Strike, 1999; Kliebard, 1986; Noddings, 2002; Nucci, 2001; Spring, 1994; 2000).

As teacher candidates become aware of past assumptions and behaviors that have contributed to present conflicts, candidates can then attempt to understand current issues affecting social injustice and make informed decisions concerning their own pedagogical practices. As such, the unit has instituted a first course in education that addresses both the historical foundations of education and the influences of a multicultural society on the practice of education. Social justice, however, cannot exist apart from

community.

In order to establish a model of social justice within their classrooms, teachers who act as agents of change take this knowledge of individuals to create a safe and inviting learning environment, a critical component that has been supported by many (Ayers, 1995; Friere, 1974; Giroux, 1993; Kozol, 1991; Noddings, 1992; Rorty, 1997). Palmer (1993; 1998) has pointed out that creating a community of learners requires that educators enable their students to see themselves as offering each other mutual encouragement and accountability.

Initially, researchers point out that this community is promoted through educators creating an atmosphere of safety and belonging within the class (Glasser, 1990; Maslow, 1968; 1970; Sergiovanni, 1994). A commitment to social justice also requires educators to plan for enough individualization so students can enter into the content at various skill levels (Banks, 1999; Shor, 1992; Slattery, 1995) and to create space for all students to develop a4 sense of voice and a feeling of inclusion (Delpit, 1995; Ladson-Billings, 1994; Palmer, 1993).

Establishing trust within a community requires that teachers assist their students in acquiring the skills to explore and understand varying perspectives (Howard, 1999; Nieto, 2000; Takaki, 1987). A socially just learning community enables every learner to establish high individual goals and then offers the opportunity to achieve them (Greene, 1988; 1995). Developing this sense of community is particularly stressed in the candidates’ methods and later practicum experiences.

Finally, teaching for social justice extends beyond one’s individual classroom. An agent of change is aware of current inequitable access to quality education (Ayers, Klonsky & Lyon, 2000; Giroux, 1993; Goodlad, 1984; Greene, 1988; 1995; Kozol, 1991; 2000; McNeil,

1986; Noddings, 2002; Nucci, 2001; Oakes, 1999; Ogbu, 1992; West, 1990) and recognizes the inter-relatedness of educational opportunity and society at large (Ayers, Hunt & Quinn, 1998; Freire, 1973).

A Christian educator who serves as an agent of change seeks effective means for removing or modifying present structures that deny or limit students from reaching their potential through curricular, pedagogical, and political action (Banks, 1999; Ladson-Billings, 1994; Nieto, 2000). This issue is again particularly stressed during the candidates’ student teaching experience and discussed in the senior seminars. Goals/outcomes related to teaching for social justice.

The issue of teaching for social justice has generated significant discussion in recent TEAC meetings as the partners discussed changes in their schools. Based on these discussions, the unit has delineated three broad goals related to social justice. These broad goals are further interpreted in highly specified outcomes incorporated into each class/experience; and measurements in the form of key assessments related to standards promulgated by ISBE, NCATE, and national specialty organizations ensure that all of the candidates are learning to teach for social justice.

The goals are also measured by the unit’s capacity to meet several of the unit standards as promulgated by NCATE and ISBE. The first broad goal is to ensure that candidates learn to work effectively with all children and their families regardless of race, creed, religion, national origin, sexual preference, disabling condition, or capabilities. This broad goal is measured by numerous indicators on the field experience evaluation forms, examinations in several classes, several papers prepared in classes common to all certification candidates, and the candidates’ portfolios.

The second broad goal is to ensure

that diversity is respected and that candidates have the opportunity to work in diverse environments and with diverse colleagues and teachers. This goal is measured primarily by evaluations of candidates in their practicum experiences and by the unit’s capacity to meet Standards 3 and 4 of the NCATE Unit Standards. Outcomes include cooperating teachers’ and college supervisors’ evaluations of candidate performance, cooperating districts’ diversity indicators, and College data regarding diversity among students and faculty.

The third broad goal is to ensure that candidates understand current social justice issues in education and understand their obligation to work for positive change. This goal is measured primarily by an action research paper completed by each candidate during the student teaching experience. This paper is also included in each candidate’s final portfolio. 5 Making Informed Decisions “It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way. ”

Teachers are required to make numerous daily decisions in designing instruction, interacting with students, and assessing their own performance. As a culture that has been accused of being myopic during the twentieth century regarding its focus on the present, educators in the twenty-first century need a thorough understanding of the past to accurately comprehend the world around them.

By recognizing that educational policies are never created in a vacuum, candidates who know that educational theories are often roducts of larger philosophical paradigms can make informed decisions regarding their own future practice (Coulter & Wiens, 2002; Gutek, 1995; Kliebard, 1986; Spring, 1994; 2000). As such, candidates at Wheaton College study carefully the historical contexts of various educational theories and philosophies and are expected

to articulate how this past work will influence them as agents of change in the future.

In addition to gaining an awareness of historical precedents, researchers have clearly shown that educators who acquire a broad understanding of childhood and adolescent domains of development are able to make informed choices regarding pedagogical practices and age-appropriate curricular materials (Atwell, 1998; Cambourne, 1988; Elkind, 1994; Crikson, 1987; Kohlberg, 1984; Piaget, 1995; Pipher, 1994; Vygotsky, 1978).

Competent decision-making includes the ability to offer a balance of individualized, collaborative small group and whole class instruction when appropriate for pre-school, elementary, middle and senior high school students (Johnson, Johnson & Holubec, 1991).

Teacher candidates who seek to be agents of change also need to understand various theories of learning (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968; Ausubel, 1963; Bandura, 1986; Bruner, 1966; Skinner, 1953) and how these might be applied in diverse classroom settings in order to shape curriculum and establish instructional practices that are learner-focused, experiential, and cognitively challenging (Zemelman, Daniels & Hyde, 1998).

These critical aspects of developing the ability to make informed, research-based decisions are addressed early in the candidates’ programs and are continually stressed throughout later methodological classes and practicum experiences. Inherent in educational decision-making is the difficult process of providing for larger conceptual understandings of each discipline while at the same time offering the specific content and procedural knowledge necessary to apply such understandings in everyday experiences (Gardner, 1999; Jackson, 1986; Lyons, 2002; Palmer, 1993; 1998).

In order to ensure that certification candidates at Wheaton College have sufficient content knowledge, all candidates for content-specific certification complete full majors in their subjects and elementary education

majors complete a rigorous concentration in one subject area and a series of experiences in all the subjects they will teach. Another of the more significant demands of educational decision-making is the need to balance individually differentiated instruction that addresses the needs and6 abilities of all students with uniformly high expectations (Garber, 1996; Hansen, 2001).

To meet this challenge, educators must develop an awareness of content area goals and benchmarks and the role they play in guiding curricular objectives. All candidates for certification at Wheaton College become familiar with the Illinois Learning Goals for K- 12 students and demonstrate their understanding of these goals through their integration into all lessons. Candidates in their lessons also show that they can make adaptations that address individual learning needs and special situations.

Educators must also be able to demonstrate competence through meeting both professional and content-area standards as promulgated by the Illinois State Board of Education, the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium, and the national specialty organizations that are a part of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (Council of Chief State School Officers, 1992; ISBE, 2002; National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education, 2000).

Specifically, all candidates demonstrate through their successful completion of key assessments that they have met all of the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards, the Illinois Core Language Arts Standards, the Illinois Core Technology Standards, and their specific subject matter standards as delineated either by the State of Illinois and/or the national Specialty Professional Associations.

The progress of all candidates in meeting these standards is tracked through individualized electronic records. A candidate can only complete

the program when his/her record indicates that he/she has successfully demonstrated at least minimum competency appropriate for a beginning teacher in each of the standards.