Session Descriptions
Three Tools for Goal-Setting and Follow-Through in a PDS
Ellen Ballock, Towson University
This presentation will offer three tools that steering committees can use in conjunction with the NCATE PDS standards or other assessment tools to collaboratively assess their current PDS work, set concrete goals for the future, develop an action plan for meeting those goals, and monitoring progress toward the goals.
Strategies for Setting Up Mentors and Interns for a Successful PDS Experience
Kristen DeWitt, Penn State
Implementing a successful PDS experience for both mentors and interns takes a commitment fostering relationships. The presenters will share what both parties believe are essential strategies for success, the "Dozen Do's." Attendees will share experiences and discuss ways to empower mentors and interns.
A Pilot Program: Creating a New PDS to Benefit All Stakeholders
Michael N. Cosenza, California Lutheran University
A university-school partnership in suburban southern California began as a pilot program without any formal commitments, partnership agreements, or memos of understanding. Instead, through the yearlong pilot and a handshake, the parties embarked on a journey to create a high-quality PDS. During this year, programs, procedures, and eventually a memo of understanding were developed collaboratively to ensure that the needs of all stakeholders were being met.
This presentation will share the procedures that this partnership implemented to develop a successful PDS. The principal of the PDS will share the strategies used during the pilot program that incorporated an inclusive and dynamic steering committee and active roles for veteran teachers. The university PDS coordinator will explain how methods courses taught at the PDS have become integrated into the culture of the school.
Does Hosting Pre-service Teachers Affect In-service Teachers?
Jenny L. Santilli, South Harrison High School / West Virginia University
A vital component of novice-teacher development is placement in public schools. The effects of hosting pre-service teachers on in-service teachers were studied at seven professional development schools in Harrison County, West Virginia. Emerging themes included professional development, resiliency, student benefits, and the least-valued aspects of the hosting process.
Realizing/Nurturing P–16 Partnership Focused on Simultaneous Renewal: Programs That Work
Dan Lowry, University of Missouri Partnership for Educational Renewal
The University of Missouri Partnership for Educational Renewal (MPER) was initiated in 1994. Over the years the partnership has grown to include twenty-two partner P–12 districts (representing more than 191,000 K–12 students), the University of Missouri College of Education, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and two community colleges. Geographically, the partnership reaches from the west side of Missouri to the east, a distance of more than 250 miles.
With a dual emphasis on professional development and improving student achievement, the programs developed over the last fifteen years have gained both national and international attention. These programs were developed by the MPER Operations Council and approved by the MPER Governing Board. Due to these programs that refocused on achieving the objective of simultaneous renewal, other school districts have shown a great deal of interest in becoming members of MPER.
Tearing Down to Build Up: Two Schools Reflect upon Conducting a Self-Study to Move Their Schools Forward
Stacy Leftwich, Rowan University
Carol Sharp, Rowan University
A College of Education dean, two PDS liaisons, and two site coordinators will discuss the importance of conducting a self-study, the process, and the implications. The presenters will discuss the challenges of organizing and writing a self-study, and how the completion of a self-study required schools to move beyond surface-level work toward more accountability and professional growth through the PDS standards.
Writing for Digital Publication: E-books as an Educational Technology to Support Children's Writing Practice
Laura Strong, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Hsinyu Chen, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
This presentation will discuss the functions and applications of electronic books (e-books) and examine how children in professional development schools enhance writing practice by creating e-books. The presenters will also discuss a variety of practical instructions for guiding students in creating and publishing e-books online.
Funding Professional Development Schools: Ten Years and Still Alive
Martha Mobley, Kean University
Financial resources matter in the initiation and continuation of PDS's, particularly in these extraordinary times of limited state support and increased public demand for P–12 achievement. Reallocation of existing resources seems the most likely means of paying for eighteen PDS's at one public metropolitan university that prepares the greatest number of teacher candidates in the state.
In the Beginning: Piloting a University-School Partnership
Donna R. Sanderson, West Chester University
This presentation will focus on an innovative project that met the needs of the Upper Darby Kindergarten Center and West Chester University's Department of Elementary Education. Early field placement students spent nearly fifty hours observing, teaching, and providing intensive, small-group literacy instruction. This was a win-win partnership for all parties involved!
Growing Preservice Teachers within the Brick and Mortar of Our Public Schools
Andrea Malmont, Shippensburg University
An elementary school with a population of a little more than 400 students in a rural area has big plans to partner with Shippensburg University to begin its first-ever professional development school. For the past five years, preservice teachers have walked through the hallways of the school in an attempt to develop a stronger understanding of the rural/suburban setting, in various assignments that provide only a glimpse of what could serve as an incubator for learning and the PDS model. As the school enters into the next stages of a hybrid-type course, college students will spend half of the semester in various capacities within the brick and mortar of the school building to increase the potential of our teacher candidates and pedagogy.
Results, Best Practices, and Next Steps in a School-University Partnership
Portia M. Downey, Northern Illinois University
David Walker, Northern Illinois University
Sharon Smaldino, Northern Illinois University
Using a school-university partnership between Northern Illinois University, Rock Valley College, and Rockford Public School District 205, Project REAL initiated a professional development school intervention model as a mechanism for improving preK–12 student achievement and enhancing the preparation of teachers. Five years of results, best practices, lessons learned, and next steps will be discussed.
In Sight: A Yearlong Study of the Promise of Professional Development Schools
Virginia Johnson Goulding, Saint Joseph's University
This presentation will describe findings from a yearlong study of teacher education programs and professional development schools. Programs and professional development schools in numerous states, using various approaches, were visited to learn about their features, challenges, and impacts on new teachers. Implications from the findings will be discussed.
The Art of Teaching Math and Science
Lillian (Sharon) Leathers, William Paterson University
William Paterson University's professional development schools, with the support of federally funded grants, provide opportunities to engage teacher education candidates and in-service teachers in best practices. This presentation will share how grant activities support the development and application of content expertise in math and the sciences.
Sustaining a School District–University Collaborative: Supporting Mentors through a Clinical Faculty Liaison
Kathleen Sillman, Bellefonte Area School District / Penn State
Jim Nolan, Penn State
In 2001 a collaborative was formed between a university and a school district. The university had previously established a professional development school with another district, but it was serving less than 20 percent of the teacher education candidates. Based on this need and the existing PDS as a model, providing better field experiences for all of the university's teacher candidates emerged and resulted in this particular school district–university collaborative. This presentation will provide the contextual backdrop for the collaborative's development, including key events that occurred between district and university personnel. I will also focus on how my position evolved from teacher to clinical faculty liaison. After completing a doctoral program, I remained in the district with the responsibility of supervising preservice teachers in elementary classrooms within my district. This enabled me to discuss the possibilities of a partnership with mentor teachers as we began to see the benefits of consistency in the supervisory role and a yearlong placement. These and other benefits that have developed will be explored. Last, the challenges and issues of sustainability will be addressed to help participants consider the feasibility of this type of collaborative within their particular settings.
Culturally Relevant Practices: Using Hip-hop for Teaching and Learning
Brenda Wilson, West Virginia State University
Tenna Gray, Kanawha County Schools
Kathy Kress, Kanawha County Schools
This presentation will describe a pilot project undertaken to improve student achievement using rap music. The project was inspired by Gloria Merriex, the Florida teacher who successfully taught math using hip-hop rhythms. The presenters will share rap songs created by teachers and students to assist in learning.
Cultivating the Role of PDS Principals as Head Learners in Their Schools through Inquiry
Nancy F. Dana, University of Florida
Donnan Stoicovy, State College Area School District
The subject of this presentation will be "principals as inquirers" in the PDS! The participants in this session will explore nine areas ripe for PDS principals' engagement in inquiry, as well as multiple examples of inquiries completed by PDS administrators that have led to meaningful school improvement and contributed to the mission of PDS work.
Cost-Effective Solutions to School System Professional Development Needs through University Collaborative Partnerships
Elizabeth K. Neville, Towson University
This session will focus on school system–university partnerships that use collaborative planning to cost-effectively meet the professional development needs of teachers in professional development schools. Two professional development models will be shared, in addition to information on logistical supports and how to save money for school systems and generate revenue for universities.
Digging Deeper: Using Video Analysis to Unearth the Intricacies of Novice Teacher Reflection and Supervision
Becci Burns, Penn State, and Deana Washell, State College Area School District
Reflection, although powerful, is difficult for novice teachers. Video provides a performance artifact as evidence and exists as a conversation catalyst. Likewise, the decision-making during a supervisor/novice teacher conference is quite opaque. This presentation shows examples of how an analysis tool can be used to enhance reflective and supervisory practices.
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