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DOCUMENT RESUME SP 038 398 ED 429 067 Auton, Sylvia; Browne, Barbara; Futrell, Mary AUTHOR Creating Partnerships To Improve Quality Teaching. TITLE National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, INSTITUTION Washington, DC. Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), SPONS AGENCY Washington, DC. ISBN-0-9665687-4-5 ISBN PUB DATE 1998-00-00 NOTE 37p. RD97124001 CONTRACT National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, AVAILABLE FROM 2010 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Suite 500, Washington, DC 20036-1023; Tel: 202-466-7496; Fax: 202-296-6620; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: www.ncate.org Reports Descriptive (141) PUB TYPE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. EDRS PRICE *College School Cooperation; Educational Change; Elementary DESCRIPTORS Secondary Education; Graduate Study; Higher Education; Masters Degrees; Masters Programs; *National Standards; *Partnerships in Ec.ucation; Preservice Teacher Education; Public Schools; *Teacher Certification Fairfax County Schools VA; George Washington University DC; IDENTIFIERS National Board for Professional Teaching Standards ABSTRACT This report dr.tscrias the natu:*e of the partnership between the George Washingtoa University (CJU) and Fair.Eax County, Virginia, Public Schools (FCPS) to support the design of GWU's advanced Master's degree program and to support National Board for Professional Teaching Standards candidates as they pursue certification. Sectioa 1 discusses the changing context of teacher education, focusing on the reform agenda. Sectf.on 2 looks at the background of both GWU and FCPS. This section examines the partnership experience by describing the evolution of the partnership, discussing teacher leadership roles, and illustrating what worked in the partnership. It also presents reflections on and experiences with creating Master's programs aligned with National Board Standards, and it discusses the importance of such an alignment. Considerations for other institutions of higher education wishing to develop partnerships with local school districts are presented. The paper concludes with lessons learned and recommendations for others in aligning master's degree programs with National Board Standards. Contains 37 references. (SM) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * * **********************************4.********************************************* 4.1 NCATE/NBPTS PARTNERSHIP FOR GRADUATE PROGRAMS II A U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS CENTER (ERIC) BEEN GRANTED BY L 6, o This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization LAKE BEST COPY AVA originating it. O Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Points of view or opinions stated in this INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) document do not necessarily represent 2 official OERI position or policy. 1 Creating Partnerships to Improve Quality Teaching Sylvia Auton, Fairfax County Public Schools Barbara Browne, The George Washington University Mary Futrell, The George Washington University National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education 3 NCATE/NBPTS Partnership for Graduate Programs Funding for this paper was provided by NCATE under contract with the National Partnership for Excellence and Accountability in Teaching. Primary funding for NPEAT comes from the Office of Educational Re- search and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, under contract number RD97124001. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement or the U.S. Department of Education. ISBN 0-9665687-4-5 © The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, 1998. 4 Acknowledgements The editors wish to thank Valarie French and Amy Colton of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards for their continuing support as colleagues and partners in this endeavor. Thanks also are extended to Tracy Leal Cecil of NCATE for her editorial assistance in readying this document for publication. Preface New emphasis on student and teacher performance is profoundly influencing the ways that teachers are selected, prepared, licensed, and recognized. Policymakers now expect teachers and teacher candidates to show evidence of knowledge and skill and the ability to apply them to teach effectively. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards has accomplished groundbreaking work in the development of standards for effec- tive teaching in specific subject areas, and assessments geared to measure teacher performance against the standards. The National Board's standards contain a vision of accomplished teaching which can become a framework for the redesign of advanced teacher development programs in universities. NCATE is working in collaboration with the National Board to help institutions modify advanced programs so that they are aligned with NBPTS propositions for accomplished practice. The work is part of the National Partnership for Excellence and Accountability in Teaching (NPEAT), established by the U.S. Department of Education as a collaborative effort to enhance quality in teaching and teacher preparation. The NCATE/NBPTS partnership encourages schools of education to develop standards-based master's degree programs that are designed to help teachers improve their practice and develop the tools to better assess their own effectiveness. Unlike many current master's programs that focus on process, the revised master's programs will be geared specifically to improving the art of teaching, which in turn, will aid student learning. The project draws school personnel into partnerships with institutions of higher education, creating new higher education and school faculty roles, new opportunities for research, and new structures within the school, college, or department of education and the P-12 school. There is currently no one best way for higher education institutions to align their advanced master's degree programs with NBPTS standards. Nor are there comprehensive models from which to learn what works best. As more institutions develop their own models and share their successes and experiences, many institutions will be able to draw from an expanding knowledge base. 6 1 The George Washington University has taken on this challenge, forging new territory. A major finding from their collaborative work with a local school district is that partnerships between higher education and local school districts play a vital role in developing programs that support NBPTS certification. This paper by Browne, Auton, and Futrell describes the nature of the partnership developed between The George Washington University and Fairfax County Public Schools to support the redesign of GW's advanced master's degree program and to support National Board candidates as they pursue certification. Although the case study highlights the work of a single program, the findings and lessons learned have implications for other institutions involved in promoting the National Board's vision of accomplished teaching. Boyce Williams, Vice President for Institutional Relations, NCATE Jane Leibbrand, Vice President for Communications, NCATE Editors 7 11 Introduction Facing the complexities of changing practice in education, faculty and administrators in institutions of higher education, and teachers and administrators in P-12 institutions are being asked to rise to the call and respond effectively to ever-increasing demands. Professional development of teachers must be conceptualized as a lifelong career process, and teacher education must be examined and placed at the forefront of the reform agenda in both schools and universities. Purpose The purpose of this paper is to stimulate discussion about one aspect of the professional development reform agendahow partnerships between institutions of higher education (IHEs) and local education agencies (LEAs) can contribute to developing master's degrees aligned with the standards of the National Board for Professional Teaching Stan- dards (NBPTS). This paper presents a case study of a partnership between The George Washington University (GW) Graduate School of Education and Human Development, Washington, D.C. and the Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), Fairfax, Virginia. The paper will address the following topics: + The development of a partnership (GW and FCPS) focused on the work of the NBPTS. The formation of partnerships between universities and schools of education and LEAs to develop and implement master's programs aligned with National Board standards. Related to the above topics are additional questions about partnerships and master's degrees aligned with the NBPTS: +Why is it important for IHEs to partner with LEAs ? +Why is it important to include teachers in the partnership? +What helps or hinders a partnership? +What is needed to build a base of support for a partnership leading to a master's program? In particular, this paper will share the evolution of the GW/FCPS partnership and the influence of national reform on the development of the partnership. We will use the partnership as a basis to address the above questions. Then we will discuss how these original efforts provided the link to the evolution of a master's degree compatible with National Board standards, but not specifically targeted to NBPTS certification. Finally, candid reflections about the process, and recommendations based on current literature and teacher experiences will provide the basis for thoughtful discourse on the original questions. Changing Context of Teacher Education: The Reform Agenda The importance of knowledgeable, caring teachers is critical in the transformation of schools. Preparing, recruiting, and sustaining high quality teachers must be a key goal in education reform efforts. "The school reform movement has ignored the obvious: What teachers know and can do makes the crucial difference in what children learn. Student learning in this country will improve only when we focus our efforts on improving teaching." (The National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, 1996, p. 7) This call and others (Darling-Hammond, 1996; Dilworth & Imig, 1995; Hardman, McDonnell, Welch, 1997; Joyce & Calhoun, 1995) highlight the compelling need to address the quality of teaching, and efforts that focus on professional development beginning with preservice education, and continuing throughout a teacher's career. The need to develop partnerships to unify efforts across the continuum of professional development is essential to sustained teacher improvement. Teacher educators must develop new ways of thinking about the continued preparation of teachers. To expand professional development and have it fulfill its promise of transforming teaching and learning, deep and significant relationships between P-12 schools and schools of education must be established (Dilworth & Imig, 1995). This requires creative approaches to working collaboratively to develop a "seamless system" of teacher development. Barriers to traditional ways of thinking and acting must be eliminated to open up the path leading to the creation of continuous professional development. The roles and responsi- bilities of potential partners must be evaluated to create new relationships centered in principles that advance quality improvement in teaching. The call from the field is clearcreate new ways of thinking about the way we prepare and continue to train teachers (National Commission Report, 1996; Wise, 1996; Wise and Leibbrand, 1996). As Good lad (1990) states, "The renewal of schools, teachers, and the programs that educate teachers must proceed simultaneously." (p. 3) The impact of the standards movement across the education profession further documents the need to work collaboratively to effect change. Standards for teachers are emerging simultaneously as standards for student learning in respective content areas are being developed. The National Commission, for example, recommends that states "use the 9 2 NBPTS as the benchmark for accomplished teaching." (Darling- Hammond, 1996, p. 196) At the same time, others are suggesting that the NBPTS core propositions and certification area standards be considered to provide the focus and direction to redesign teacher preparation and teacher development (Buday & Kelly, 1996; Darling-Hammond, 1996, 1997; Dilworth & Imig, 1995). Over the past decade, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC), and now the NBPTS have worked to align their standards to create consistent sets of standards for the profession across the continuum of professional development. "These standards (NCATE, INTASC, NBPTS) are aligned with one another and with new standards for student learning in the disci- plines, and they are tied to performance-based assessments of teacher knowledge and skills." (Darling-Hammond, 1997, Appendix C) The National Commission (1996) recommends that school districts, states, and professional associations cooperate to make teaching a true profession. This involves developing a career continuum placing teaching at the forefront of the profession and rewarding teachers for their knowledge and skills. A significant step toward making teaching a true profession was taken in 1987 when the NBPTS was established to "create high standards for what teachers need to know and be able to do, and to certify teachers who meet that standard." A special task force consisting of members of the education community, including one of the authors, Dr. Mary Futrell (then president of the National Education Association) and members of the lay community worked together to design NBPTS and develop its agenda. Today, the NBPTS consists of stakeholders representing the global education community, a majority of whom are teachers. Because both GW and FCPS were committed to the goals and standards of the NBPTS, they decided to collaborate through a formal partnership to work with teachers who were preparing for NBPTS certification, as well as to provide a forum for ongoing professional development. In light of these conceptshigh quality teaching, school/university partnerships, and teacher standardsthe next section of this paper describes highlights and reflections of the experiences of a school/university partnership which was designed to co-mingle efforts of both institutions to create a model of lifelong teacher development. To accomplish that goal, the partnership + focuses on quality learning, + puts teachers in the forefront for changing practice, 1 0 3