Office of the State Superintendent of Education
District of Columbia
Program Review Report
for
Initial Teacher Education Programs
American University
July 17th, 2008
I. Introduction
In the fall of 2007, American University’s School of Education Teaching and Health (SETH)
submitted its Intent to Seek Initial Approval for New Programs to the Office of Educator
Licensing and Accreditation within the District of Columbia’s Office of the State Superintendent
of Education. The institution’s request was for the review and subsequent approval of two new
programs, one of which is for Early Childhood Education, and the other which is for Health and
Physical Education.
Pursuant to section 1002.1 of the District of Columbia Board of Education Municipal
Regulations, a state-facilitated Program Review Team was assembled to conduct a fact-finding
review the unit’s request and the proposed programs. The aforementioned review of the
program’s curriculum was conducted based on the New Program Proposals, which were
submitted along with the form declaring the unit’s intent. This document represents the
conclusion of the finding of facts by the Program Review Team.
Health and Physical Education – Initial (Grades K-12)
A. Team Decision:
Health Education Standards
Standard 1 is met
Standard 2 is met
Standard 3 is met
Standard 4 is met
Standard 5 is met
Standard 6 is met
Standard 7 is met
Physical Education Standards
Standard 1: Content Knowledge is met
Standard 2: Growth and Development is met
Standard 3: Diverse Students is met
Standard 4: Management and Motivation is met
Standard 5: Communication is met
Standard 6: Planning and Instruction is met
Standard 7: Student Assessment is met
Standard 8: Reflection is met
Standard 9: Technology is met
Standard 10: Collaboration is met
B. Rationale for the Decision
The proposed program in Health and Physical Education at the American University’s School of
Education, Teaching and Health is closely aligned with the standards of the National Association
for the Education for Young Children (NAEYC). The program will be offered as a Bachelor of
Arts degree, a Master of Arts in Teaching degree, and a graduate certificate, resulting in
recommendation for licensure as a Health and Physical Education teacher in the District of
Columbia.
Much of the proposed course sequence and set of experiences center around ensuring that
candidates acquire and learn to apply knowledge from the following core concepts and
principles:
• The social, historical, and philosophical foundations of education, including an
understanding of the moral, social, an political dimensions of classrooms, teaching, and
schools;
• The impact of technological and societal changes on schools;
• Theories of human development and learning;
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Inquiry and research;
School law and educational policy;
Professional ethics; and
The responsibilities, structure, and activities of the profession.
The unit has integrated five key assessments throughout the program to measure candidates’
performance and knowledge of the subject matter. At the start of the program candidates will
undergo a transcript review to measure their content knowledge. Undergraduate candidates are
required to complete a primary major in Health Promotion and maintain a grade of C or better.
Candidates at the graduate level enter the program are required to have completed an
undergraduate major or the equivalent in a field related to Health Promotion.
Other key assessments include a lesson planning evaluation at the start of student teaching and a
student teaching observation which occurs once field experiences have concluded. In addition,
each candidate is required to have developed a portfolio artifact, which is used to measure and
evaluate the candidate’s impact on student learning. Finally, candidates are required to maintain
a complete electronic portfolio which is evaluated by faculty and provides candidates with the
opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and dispositions acquired throughout the
program. A wide variety of rubrics and scoring guides exist for each key assessment to assure
that candidates are well aware of what is expected of them throughout the program.
All of the proposed key assessment measures, in particular the student portfolio are meticulously
organized and designed to align themselves with the national standards for Health and Physical
Education as well as the 10 INTASC principles. There is strong evidence to suggest that
candidates will be required to demonstrate the required breadth of knowledge of the subject
matter, and how to use this knowledge to plan an individually appropriate curriculum.
C. Weaknesses:
There is no perceived weakness in the program
D. Corrections to the Institutional Report:
There is no need for changes to the team report