PDS PRESENTATION

Hello folks!

Here is Mary's PDS Partnership presentation from Monday 21st November.

PDS Presentation

Please let me know if this link doesn't open.

Stephanie

Knowing that we're going to start wordsmithing about our purpose, I'm placing this document on here to give us other words describing the "ideal" PDS.

The NAPDS Award for Exemplary Professional Development School Achievement

Purpose:

The NAPDS Award for Exemplary Professional Development School Achievement recognizes Professional Development School relationships for their ongoing contributions to the mission and vision of the National Association for Professional Development Schools in creating and sustaining genuine collaborative partnerships between P-12 and higher education which shapes educator leadership and practice.

Eligibility:

Nominees for the award must include, at a minimum, one school/district and one college/university that are in a formalized Professional Development School relationship. Nominations for the award are restricted to such relationships which support, through one or more individual memberships, the work of the NAPDS. Nominees must have had their PDS work presented at the PDS National Conference by one or more individuals at least once since 2007.

Selection Criteria:

Selection for the award will be based on the nine essentials of PDS work detailed in the April 2008 NAPDS statement titled "What It Means to be a Professional Development School." (The full statement can be found at http://www.napds.org.) These nine essentials are:

· a comprehensive mission that is broader in its outreach and scope than the mission of any partner and that furthers the education profession and its responsibility to advance equity within schools and, by potential extension, the broader community;

· a school-university culture committed to the preparation of future educators that embraces their active engagement in the school community;

· ongoing and reciprocal professional development for all participants guided by need;

· a shared commitment to innovative and reflective practice by all participants;

· engagement in and public sharing of the results of deliberate investigations of practice by respective participants;

· an articulation agreement developed by the respective participants delineating the roles and responsibilities of all involved;

· a structure that allows all participants a forum for ongoing governance, reflection, and collaboration;

· work by college/university faculty and P-12 faculty in formal roles across institutional settings; and

· dedicated and shared resources and formal rewards and recognition structures.

Award Submissions:

Nominations must be received electronically in the NAPDS national office (napds@mailbox.sc.edu) no later than 4:30 PM EST Monday, October 3, 2011.

Applicants for the 2012 award must provide:

1. A cover sheet that includes:

a. the name, title, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address for the individual serving as the Primary Contact;

b. the names and positions of all individuals who contributed to the writing of the application;

c. the names of all members of the partnership who are current NAPDS members; and

d. the date(s) and title(s) of the presentation(s) and the name(s) of the presenter(s) for presentation(s) made on the work of the partnership at the PDS National Conference since 2007.

2. A concise, well-sequenced narrative of no more than 20 double-spaced pages (12 pt. font) which addresses the PDS essentials by providing:

a. an explanation of how the PDS mission is broader in its outreach and scope than the mission of any partner and furthers the education profession and its responsibility to advance equity within schools and, by potential extension, the broader community (essential 1);

b. a brief description of the formal and, if appropriate, any informal roles played by both college/university and P-12 faculty across institutional settings (essential 8);

c. an explanation of how the organizational structure of the relationship encourages collaboration, reflection, and regular communication among participants (essentials 6 & 7);

d. a description of how resources are dedicated and shared across school/university and P-12 settings and how participants are formally rewarded and recognized for their contributions to the relationship (essential 9);

e. a summary of the work of the relationship in preparing future educators in the 2010-2011 academic year, including an explanation of how the P-12 setting embraces the teacher candidates' active engagement in the school community (essential 2);

f. a description of how professional development is provided on a regular basis for all participants (essential 3);

g. a description of the relationship's innovative and reflective practices that are explicit, mutually determined by PDS participants, and demonstrably enhance student learning (essential 4);

h. an explanation of how best practice is routinely examined and shared with others, both within and outside of the PDS relationship (essential 5); and

i. with the essentials in mind, the accomplishments and achievements of which the PDS is most proud.

Not included in the 20 pages, but as appendices, please attach:

1. a copy of the relationship's mission statement;

2. a copy of the relationship's written articulation agreement; and

3. a diagram of the relationship's organizational structure.

*Incomplete nominations will not be considered.

link to Winthrop University Website

Here is the link to the Winthrop University website

Prezi Link

This presentation did what presentations tend to do: formed more ideas and created more questions. Perfect! Now let's collect some of those ideas so we can build on them.

Please add your expertise to the presentation, as you are able. Everyone who uses the link below is listed as an editor. I haven't tried it, so I'm hoping that it works. Because we want to focus it on "ground level", let's but an end-date of June 1 on it. If you don't feel comfortable working with Prezi, I'd be happy to gather information via e-mail (carolyn.loney@gmail) by this date.

Exciting stuff...and exciting to see ideas grow into practice.

http://prezi.com/invitation_to_collaborate/7958627495a45e59f781e56b474b02ce5582e778/

Making Connections at SITE

This week I am attending and presenting a brief research paper/presentation at the annual SITE (Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education) conference.

Amid the special interest groups and tracks at the conference where those dedicated to teacher education programs. I fit a few of the presentations into my schedule and I found some of the discussion has been centered on the issues discussed with this group.

Certainly much of the focus of those at SITE has been focused on effective ways to integrate technology, but throughout the sessions has been a call to better connect the practice of in-service teachers, pre-service teachers, and practice research.

Shared at one presentation was a report produced by numerous representatives from a variety of national groups including NCATE, ISTE, AACTE, and AERA (among others). I’ve skimmed through the report that was produced and thought it was worthy of sharing with this group.  Lots of overlap with the NCATE document shared by Faye.

If you wanted to follow the going-ons of SITE you can follow the conversations on Twitter using the hashtag #site2011. Points of interest that I thought were relevant to this group would be the continued work being done on TPACK and the number of districts pumping money into interactive whiteboards (choose your own flavor) with not much planning of what to do with them once they are installed. Lots of folks using them as high-tech chalk boards.

Summary to date

I've been to a few conferences, and I've found that a clear and focused understanding of why one is attending the conference makes it more likely for one to bring home ideas that can be implemented. As a participant in the upcoming conference, I offer this summary of our current discussions so that it can guide our information gathering while at the conference. Please make comments to continue clarifying our mission! I would really like to see this project take flight.

MISSION: To create a strong and viable PDS in River Falls.

PRIMARY BENEFITS:

For Student participants

- More time spent on the art and the possibilities of teaching and less on navigating climate and procedural information

- Surrounded in proximity by other students in the same process – fosters a community of student learners supporting and encouraging each other

For River Falls MS/HS

- The ability to tie-in to University expertise in content areas and in current research

- Ability to see technology and current/innovative teaching methods first-hand via demonstrations or in student-teacher methods

- Breaking down silos

For University

- A means by which to attract passionate students to the education program at the secondary level

- A way to understand the current educational and other needs of secondary students so as to guide the instruction of student teachers to meet those needs

- A venue for practical application for the student teacher

- Breaking down silos

In creating this PDS, a strong professional bridge will connect the University, the Student Teachers involved in the PDS, and the High School and Middle School.

Our PDS description:

- Big idea: Innovation

- Incorporates Effective Technology

- Includes the Communication of Creative and Critical Practice for high Student Engagement

- Includes Personalized Learning: for University students and for MMS/RFHS students

- Includes a way to assess and evaluate our effectiveness

Some ideas as to how this could work:

- PT3 Grant similarity?

- Use teacher education classes for PDS students (special section) spend mornings in the schools, then connect to the university classroom.

- Mentor for overall program. 50% release for university personnel and school personnel. In the building presence, visibility, in the schools.

Purpose of PDS conference:

- To learn by the experiences of others: What works, what doesn’t with regard to Marketing, Financing, Organization, Scheduling, Other?

- To offer ideas for “catchy umbrella titles” that fit River Falls' focus points

- To create relationships that will encourage the development of our PDS

- To bring these ideas home for further study, which will then lead to implementation

Email Notifications

Hello!

I'm hoping you all receive email notification that I posted to the blog.

Hopefully it worked!

See you all soon!

Stephanie

Connecting to the Research

I do understand that the source from my previous post is Marketplace, a media outlet that is focused on business and economics. Being critical of the sources in which we all gather our information, I found this story a compelling piece. Nevertheless, I have made myself aware of the recent journal articles within the Teacher Education research.

The Journal of Teacher and Education has published similar items within the last couple of years.

For instance, in his article, Zeichner really puts his finger on the issues we are facing and the approaches (I think) the PDS is attempting to take. This includes rethinking the connection between campus courses and field experiences.

Another articles which is much in the same vein is Futrell's article. This article was really aligned with Jamie's comments today about breaking down silos. Essentially, seeing teacher education as a partnership between pre-service teachers, university faculty, and practicing classroom teachers.

Finally, Cuddapah and Clayton really try to apply Wenger's theory of Community of Practice to teacher education programs. I'm certainly a big fan of Wenger's work and it was an interesting take on how this could be applied in practice. Although I think communities of practice really need to be grown organically, it was interesting to see these authors try to apply it.

Of course all of these articles point out issues that we already know from our own experience, but implementing these items require much more thought, coordination, and buy-in.

For those of you that would like access to any of these full journal articles (8-10 pages each) please let me know. As I understand it, University faculty and staff do have access to this journal through our library.

A Response from the University of Louisiana

I remember hearing this story on a drive home a few months ago and forgot to post it for the group.

Faye's reminder about NCATE's recommendations for "Transforming Teacher Education Through Clinical Practice: A National Strategy to Prepare Effective Teachers" [pdf available here] was played out in this story.

Louisiana which is one of eight states that NCATE targeted for improvement have repositioned their teacher preparation program to be exclusively grounded within practicum experience.

I've embedded the story for those that would like to listen to the story.



You may also choose to read through the story or investigate this further by reviewing the story on the Marketplace site.

A few more

If I can add a few more questions concerning basic purpose of the group:

Are we jumping the gun to go directly from fairly weak relationships (based on my perception of few interactions between RFHS/MMS and UWRF staff at the current time) to Redesigning a Teacher Education Program for future teachers at the University?

Is our committee focus on creating a collaboration/strengthening of UWRF/RFHS/MMS relationships, or is it to create a PDS? And if the first of these is the focus, are there other ways to create collaboration/strengthening of UWRF/RFHS/MMS relationships, or are we meeting so that we can best structure a PDS? These are honest questions - I think they are both worthy objectives, and I think that both require different spending of time/energy in order to get results.

Maybe I missed a key point or two, and if that's the case, I don't mind being the dumb one. :) I just know the answer to this question will help me think about and/or answer the rest of the ones in Mary's post.

Think /Pair /Share Questions for next meeting

Hi group,

Our next meeting is nearing and as Carey expressed, it might be good to preview some questions that we will be brainstorming answers for as indicated in the think/pair/share activity highlighted on the agenda. Below are the questions.....put your thinking caps on!

PDS Think Tank Spring 2011

Please collaborate with your fellow think-tankers and generate ideas about the following: the possible focus of our River Falls Area School District/University partnership.

The BIG idea (focus- reason for collaborative partnership)?

What would the school district gain from such a partnership?

What would the university gain from such a partnership?

What would the practicum look like for those students electing to participate in the PDS? Would it be three mornings a week for an entire semester? How many pre-student teaching semesters would they participate in practicum?

What would be the support on the school site(s)? Would we have a P.D.S. school/university liaison? Yes? No?

What are the major obstacles in forging such a partnership?

How could we sustain the partnership for the long haul? Possible ideas for grants or funding?

Clarification

Hi all! Happy almost February!

Can we clarify places that we'd like to go for our next meeting? If I have the basic idea correct, our primary purpose is to create a symbiotic structure between the University and RF Schools...but after that large idea was posed, I find myself a little fuzzy on the details. From the meeting, I heard/remembered one purpose being to create a structure that gives an 'honors' or more in-depth experience to student teachers at the secondary level. I also remembered something where we were identifying a common purpose - and I remember advocating for creativity, or at least for a common goal that would unite rather than further fragment our conception of what education is...but I don't remember why it was important to identify that concept. Perhaps it was something to do with the conference that was mentioned? Another purpose I heard/remembered as an opportunity was a tie where technology is encouraged by University Student/RF Teacher interaction. I frankly don't recall other 'large spokes'. Were there others that were discussed?

Fully putting energy in all of these directions makes it difficult to make headway in any one area. Is it possible for us to prioritize? If we can agree on what the discussion is to center on, we have a greater likelihood of moving forward, or at least being prepared to discuss ideas that support that central idea.

Thoughts?

21st century learners

Thanks Scott for your thoughtful comments and links. I definitely feel there is a wide gap in out of school and in school literacies and students today are reading, writing and composing in new ways. This might be a great place to blend a focus for our partnership on creativity with critical thinking and new literacies. I look forward to sharing our ideas and have prepared a presentation that underscores the need for seriously considering this kind of professional development for students, teachers and teacher educators. We are all in this together!

More from Frontline Digital Nation

Sorry Blogger didn't allow me to embed two video clips from the Frontline episode. Here is Bauerlein's remarks.

On Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants

The discussion around digital natives and digital immigrants is certainly one that has gotten a lot of buzz and certainly sold many books for Prensky and others in his camp. Although I do agree that the students we serve in classrooms today have had access to digital technology since birth, I don't believe it doesn't prepare them to be better multi-taskers or more prepared to work with technology.

An Educational Physchology Professor, Daniel Willingham at University of Virginia, shared a very valuable explanation of multitasking for a cognitive scientist point of view.



I do believe that students are more comfortable "playing" with technology. Consider that you've just purchased a new electronic device and wanted to start figuring this darn thing out. I'd argue, more "digital immigrants" will find the manual and start reading. On the other hand, "digital natives" open the packaging and start pressing buttons. They start working on something until they figure it out. This is off course in "informal" learning settings. In "formal" learning settings, I'd argue that students rely on the teacher to provide them with the steps to work with technology.

We like to think of conventional wisdom is that these students are younger and in that respect more capable of working with technology. But you can not through away the years of research on learning and cognition. If something is unfamiliar to students, lets say a blog, students will need some guidance to learn how this thing works.

For those of you that are PBS watchers, Frontline produced a piece titled Digital Nation. Digital Nation was on PBS on February 2, 2010. If you have 90 minutes or more, it is an interesting and, I believe, balanced look at how technology is changing our world. Listed below are two opposing viewpoints that I thought were interesting to chew over.

Henry Jenkins, professor at University of Southern California, advocates the use of technology in schools and asserts that schools must adapt and accommodate to changing students. You'll also Prensky highlighted frequently in the video.



Mark Bauerlein, professor at Emory University and the author of The Dumbest Generation, argues that technology is working against the critical thinking skills that students have. Tempering the convenience technology has with the skills students need.

Thoughts on Technlogy

Hello!

I love the idea of technology as a focus. I just finished reading a book by Marc Prensky - "Teaching Digital Natives" (2010). It's a really interesting book that explores why and how technology needs to play a role in schools. Prensky also makes the point that personalization of learning is essential - a necessity. The following quote summarizes his thoughts on schools, technology, and lack of personalization. Food for thought! 

"There is a huge paradox for educators: the place where the biggest educational changes have come is not our schools; it is everywhere else but our schools."