Developing an American College of Education
By Nancy Salvato (01/23/06)
An Interview with G. Reid Lyon, Part V.
Colleges of education are not accountable for what their graduates know
Q. You are quoted as saying, “You know, if there was any piece of legislation that I
could pass, it would be to blow up colleges of education.” How will your college prepare teachers so that they can meet the individual needs of their students? How are concepts like “differentiation of instruction” and “multiple intelligences” misunderstood by the time they are implemented in the classroom because I think they’re like the junk science of education.
A. Correct. My comment was born out of frustration given the level of evidence we have about what works and how kids learn and the distance between that knowledge and what our teachers are provided in their teacher education programs. You only have to look at the billions of dollars that states and districts are spending on professional development for teachers already teaching to understand the gravity of this situation. Why in the world would schools have to re-teach concepts to teachers that they should already know? And it is the case that higher education, and teacher education has a very hard time changing no matter what the circumstances. There are many reasons for this, but a critical one is that colleges of education are not accountable for what their graduates know and how that knowledge affects students in their graduate’s classrooms. Colleges of education are process driven, not outcome driven – the faculty – rather than student achievement reinforce the teaching and the scholarship within the college. Teachers can matriculate knowing absolutely nothing about evidence-based approaches, why evidence is critical in selecting and implementing instruction and only implement instruction on the basis of philosophies and beliefs. However, when many of their students fail to learn to read, they and their schools are blamed. The institutions that provided them with the faulty information are not held accountable.
When we provide teachers and administrators with the most current and accurate information, they will know how to determine whether concepts such as multiple intelligences and differentiated instruction are valid. They will know how to ask, “What evidence of effectiveness do these approaches have, and have they been found to work with students similar to those in my classroom?” This is the level of training that is critical. Teachers and administrators must have the means to make accurate decisions about kid’s lives. Many prepared in our existing colleges of education are not at that level.
Parents must hold us accountable
Q. How critical Are Parent’s and Parent education in their Child’s education?
A. Parent education is critical and it has never been mobilized the way it needs to be. We scientists haven’t done a good job of presenting information in a compelling user friendly way. There’s not a lot of useful information being provided to parents currently and we have to remember that many our most disadvantaged parents cannot read. We must be able to provide the most useful information in a way that makes sense and gives parents direction in how to improve the education for their children. We need to focus on numerous ways to communicate to all parents so they become genuine partners in the education process. Parents must hold us accountable for ensuring that their children receive the most effective and appropriate education. Information must be transmitted through churches, groups and organizations that they trust. As we are establishing the American College of Education, there is a lot of thinking going on about how do we provide information to all parents in a way that is meaningful? Parents want to help their kids succeed.
Which areas of education have a significant impact on all the learning activities?
Q. Why are you only offering Curriculum & Instruction or Administration, why not reading methods?
A. First, Developing an American College of Education is an enormous task. But you have to examine which areas of education have a significant impact on all the learning activities that take place in school. Teachers in a curriculum and instruction program frequently do teach reading at the elementary and secondary level. Many also become curriculum directors of reading and math programs. They must know about the best information possible because they will influence the culture of the school environment. As we have already discussed, you can have the best teachers and the best programs, but without strong building level leadership, students typically fail.
Ongoing progress monitoring is essential
In all of our programs that will be coming on line as we move forward, we are making sure that everything we teach and everything we do is based upon the most current and accurate information available. We are also making sure that everything that is taught to teachers can be immediately applied to ensure relevance and improve fidelity of implementation. All of us learn better and retain what we learn if we can use the information in our daily lives. Our students will be receiving information both from faculty and from on-line resources. A tremendous amount of current research indicates that this blended approach is highly effective. Why? Because concepts that are learned can be applied and implemented and practiced through immediate on-line interactions. Moreover, students can work together on-line to collaborate and solve problems directly relevant to their everyday classroom practices In using on-line platforms as well as faculty involvement, we can check to see if our students are understanding the concepts they are learning and can then provide additional immediate instruction if they do not understand. This ongoing progress monitoring is essential. Very importantly, we are developing assessment systems that allow us to track our students into the classrooms they teach in and determine if what we taught them actually benefits the students they teach. This is a very effective way to determine how well we are doing where it counts – student achievement.
Articles in this Complete Series Include:
1. Shifting the focus to Effective Instruction
2. Effective Reading Programs Share Common Characteristics
3. The Federal role in Education
4. Getting Beyond Polarization of Bilingual Methods
5. Developing an American College of Education
Copyright © Nancy Salvato 2006
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