Accreditation - Teacher Education Unit Review

Michigan Technological University
Michigan State Board of Education/Michigan Department of Education

2004 INSTITUTIONAL REPORT

REPORT INDEX

Critical Accountability Factor IV: Faculty

Quality Indicator 4: The unit supports and promotes the appointment of faculty that possess the knowledge, skills, and dispositions for teaching and learning.

 A  |  B  |  C  |  D  |  E  |  F 

A. What criteria are used to select faculty for teacher education programs?

The full-time faculty in the Department of Education, although few in number, hold degrees from excellent education institutions. All faculty hold terminal degrees and are highly qualified to perform their teaching and research assignments. They have demonstrated competence through various scholarly activities and participation in professional associations in their fields. When faculty positions become available, the department seeks candidates with terminal degrees who are well qualified as teachers and scholars (see department charter and most recent faculty position posting).

Part-time faculty and lecturer/supervisors provide additional instructional services in the professional education courses for the department. Typically, they are experienced active or retired secondary teachers (several with more than 30 years of experience) and have accepted teaching and/or supervisory roles in ED3410, ED4910, and subject matter-specific methods courses.

Table I. Full-Time Faculty Terminal Degrees

Table II. Part-Time Faculty and Lecturer/Supervisors Terminal Degrees

B. What strategies are used to ensure that teacher education faculty receives professional development that is relevant to the preparation of teachers for P-12 education?

The Education Department budget allocates $1100 in travel funds annually per faculty member for department faculty to attend conferences related to their professional specialization and to P-12 education. In recent years faculty have attended and participated in conferences sponsored by the Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers, Michigan Science Teachers Association, Michigan Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Michigan Earth Science Teachers Association, National Science Teachers Association (Regional and National), American Educational Research Association, and American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, as well as a national conference on Service Learning.

C. What strategies are used to ensure that teacher education faculty model best teaching practices?

Teacher education faculty and university supervisors are encouraged to engage in relevant professional development. For tenure-track faculty, this is essential for eventual promotion and tenure. Participation in regional and national conferences related to instruction is detailed above in B. The department chair observes the teaching performance of untenured faculty on an annual basis and uses those observations as part of the mandated annual review of faculty performance. The university also uses a standard teaching evaluation process.

The university operates a Center for Teaching, Learning, and Faculty Development (the director of which is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Education. The center provides services to all university faculty to assist them in improving their instructional skills. The center also administers the student evaluation of instruction process at the university. Each faculty member must be evaluated by students in all classes taught. The administration utilizes the results of these evaluations as part of its merit review process.

In addition, faculty regularly participate in workshops sponsored by the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Faculty Development workshops. In previous years, Department of Education faculty have made presentations in the workshop series. In the current academic year the following workshops have been offered:

9/2003 Teaching at Tech: Honoring the Trust: quality and Cost Containment in Higher Education. Colleges and universities must improve the efficiency and quality of their educational delivery systems to remain affordable and to confront increasing challenges from alternative providers.

10/2003 Teaching at Tech: Supplemental Instruction. Supplemental instruction uses advanced undergraduate students to provide scheduled workshops tightly coordinated with a specific academic course.

12/2003 Teaching at Tech: Concept Tests: A Pathway to Interactive Classrooms. Faculty members have found that employing these simple interactive teaching techniques has resulted in improved student performance, retention, and student satisfaction.

1/2004 Teaching at Tech: Learning from Enterprise. Faculty members and students working with some of the Enterprise projects will discuss the impact these projects are having on their teaching and learning.

2/2004 Teaching at Tech: Learner-Centered Teaching: The Balance of Power. In this workshop we will explore how instructors are using power sharing to increase student enthusiasm and engagement.

3/2004 Teaching at Tech: Learning and Unlearning. Many instructors may be overlooking the effects of prior conceptions on student learning. In this workshop we will evaluate the effects of prior conceptions on teaching and learning and outline some remedies.

D. To what extent are teacher education faculty actively involved with teachers and other P-12 educational personnel?

The Education Department at Michigan Tech is a small operation in a small community. The education faculty, student teacher supervisors, and the department chair are embedded in the community and are thoroughly familiar with local educators and school districts. The department chair has served on a local school board for 16 years, one faculty member serves on another local school board, and two supervisors are lifelong residents. We are on a first-name basis with most administrators and many teachers in local schools, which facilitates communication and interaction in support of prospective teachers going through the Education program.

The Department receives advice and recommendations from its Advisory Council, comprised of area teachers, principals and superintendents. The Advisory Council meets twice annually to discuss issues relating to student teaching, quality of teacher candidates, departmental programs and programmatic changes, and other matters of mutual concern (see sample agendas and minutes of Advisory Council meetings).

E. What strategies are used to ensure that teacher education faculty model the use of technology as a tool for teaching and learning? Provide evidence of this use.

Professional Development and Expertise. Faculty regularly participate in regional and national conferences related to instruction (see B above). Two of the faculty specialize in instructional technology and have taught the required course in that area, ED3100, as well as online graduate-level courses in science education.

Appropriate Tools. All education faculty have recent model desktop and/or laptop computers, which are supported by the university’s System Administration Services. The department has the ability to produce and edit digital video on CD and DVD.

Appropriate Classroom. The Education Department classroom, where most of the education classes are taught, has been remodeled from a 1950s-style science teaching laboratory and is now equipped with some of the latest technology for classroom use. This includes 2 computers, LCD projector, white boards, DVD and VHS video, VHS and digital camcorders, digital cameras, video visualizer, and a SmartBoard. A Polycom Viewstation will be added in the near future.

Plans are currently in the works to further equip the classroom with portable, wireless computers that can be used by students during lessons.

Actual Use Examples. All education faculty are well versed in the use of technology for instruction. Examples that occur in the classes include:

PowerPoint/Keynote based presentations. (ED3100, ED3110, ED3210, ED4700, ED4710)
Video production to support class projects (ED3210, ED2100/3100)
Student presentations using technology (ED3210, ED2100/3100, ED4700, ED4710)
Group editing of documents using a projected image (ED3210)
Videotaping of student presentations (ED3210, ED4700, ED4710)
Electronic submission and grading of assignments (ED3210, ED3100, ED4710)

Regular consultation with area educational technology specialists, teachers and the department's advisory board provides feedback on trends in the uses of technology in the classroom.

F. What strategies are used to ensure that teacher education utilizes a variety of assessment strategies and technologies to assess teacher candidate performance and to support continuous improvement? Provide evidence of this utilization.

Strategies. The Education Department has an Assessment Plan, overseen by an assessment committee, which is a component of the university’s Assessment Plan. The Department’s plan identifies a set of strategies for assessing student learning, as well as for evaluating the unit’s ability to provide a quality program for pre-service teachers.

Evidence from individual courses:

Project assessment (ED3210, ED4710, ED/SS4020, ED/HU4140)
Group project presentation (ED3210, ED4710, ED/HU4140)
Concept map assessment (ED4710)
Authentic Performance assessment (ED4710)
Portfolio assessment (ED3100 [formerly ED2100], ED/HU4140, ED4710, student teaching application, certification completion)
Electronic portfolios (see for example ED3100)
Oral presentation assessment (ED4700, ED4710)
Interview assessment (ED3100)
Journals (ED3210, ED4710, ED/HU4140, ED/HU4150, ED4910)
Electronic publishing (newsletters, web pages) (ED3100, ED3210)

Student teachers are evaluated on their assessment and technology skills through regular observation by supervisors, support and advice from cooperating teachers, as well as formal evaluations (see student teaching evaluation forms).
Student Teaching Mid-Semester Evaluation and Grade Report
Student Teaching Final Evaluation and Grade Report
Student Teaching Snapshot Evaluation

REPORT INDEX