INSTITUTIONAL REPORT
OF THE
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND
HUMAN SERVICES
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
LONGWOOD UNIVERSITY
201 HIGH STREET
FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA 23909
NCATE CONTINUING ACCREDITATION VISIT
October 25 – 29, 2003
www.longwood.edu/NCATE
Dr. Barbara Chesler, NCATE Co-Chair, College of Education and Human Services,
bchesler@longwood.edu
Dr. Gary Nelson, NCATE Co-Chair, College of Arts and Sciences, gtnelson@longwood.edu
Table of Contents
Overview ………………………………………………………………………………… 1
Conceptual Framework
Section I: History of Development………………………………………………………. 7
Section II: Summary ……………………………………………………………………..10
Section III: Structural Elements …………..………………………………………………13
Standard 1: Candidate Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions . ………………………..18
Standard 2: Assessment System and Unit Evaluation ………………………………...28
Standard 3: Field Experiences and Clinical Practice …………………………………33
Standard 4: Diversity ……………………………………………………………………41
Standard 5: Faculty Qualifications, Performance, and Development ………………..49
Standard 6: Unit Governance and Resources ………………………………………….59
OVERVIEW OF THE INSTITUTION AND UNIT
Longwood University
One of the nation’s oldest colleges became one of its newest universities in July 2002.
Longwood University is a state-assisted, coeducational, and largely residential institution of
higher education. The majority of the 3640 undergraduate candidates (95.3%) live on campus
while the 500 graduate candidates are primarily commuters from the Southside Virginia region.
Longwood is a comprehensive university that offers programs leading to 23 bachelor’s and four
master’s degrees, and three graduate licensure programs.
A pioneer first in private and later in public education, Longwood University is located in
historic Farmville, Virginia, population 6500. The University was founded in 1839 as the
Farmville Female Seminary. It was expanded into a college and incorporated as the Farmville
Female College in 1860. The Commonwealth of Virginia acquired the Farmville Female College
in 1884 and opened the first state institution of higher learning for women in Virginia. The
school became the State Normal School for Women at that time, the State Teachers College in
1924, Longwood College in 1949 and Longwood University in 2002. Longwood was first
authorized to offer four-year curricula leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science in Education
in 1916; the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1935; and the degree of Bachelor of Science in 1938.
The degree of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration was authorized and the College
became fully coeducational in 1976.
Longwood is deeply committed to the liberal arts, and to professional and pre-professional
education. The University’s strong commitment to the liberal arts is reflected in Longwood’s
general education requirement for all candidates, and in its sponsorship of degree programs in
the humanities, fine arts, social sciences, natural sciences, and mathematics. In addition to its
traditionally strong programs in teacher education, health related disciplines, and preengineering, the University offers professional and pre-professional programs in areas such as
business, social work, and therapeutic recreation.
Nationally, Longwood University has been an active member of The Renaissance Group since
1997. This consortium of 33 universities has a strong tradition of high quality teacher
preparation programs. Its members are engaged in inter-university research and collaborative
projects aimed at educational reform. Along with 10 other Renaissance institutions, Longwood
is participating in a five year Title II Grant, Renaissance Partnership for Improving Teacher
Quality, an initiative that assists in advancing the “paradigm shift from the focus on teaching
process to learning results and connecting teacher performance to student learning.” Each
semester across the nation at least 1000 candidates prepare Teacher Work Samples. This
concept of performance-based assessment is designed to “provide credible evidence” of teacher
candidate “ability to facilitate student learning” with P-12 students.
Regionally, the University is a partner in the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center
(SVHED) located in South Boston, Virginia. SVHED is a multi-institutional consortium
comprised of Southside Virginia Community College, Bluefield College, Averett University,
Virginia Tech, University of Virginia, Old Dominion University, and Longwood University.
These institutions offer associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees. Specifically, Longwood
University’s College of Education and Human Services offers graduate concentrations leading to
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1
a Master of Science in Education: Literacy and Culture (Reading Specialist endorsement),
Community and College Counseling, Educational Specialist, Elementary Curriculum and
Instructional Specialist, and Educational Leadership.
Organizational Overview of the University
A Board of Visitors that is responsible for the selection of the President governs Longwood
University. The President is the chief executive officer of the University. There are five Vice
Presidents: Academic Affairs, Administration and Finance, Facilities Management and
Technology, University Advancement, and Student Affairs. Three College Deans complete the
administrative team: Education and Human Services, Business and Economics, and Arts and
Sciences.
Dr. Patricia P. Cormier became President on August 1, 1996. The Provost and Vice President
for Academic Affairs, Dr. Norman Bregman, was installed in July 1997. Dr. J. David Smith
became Dean of the School of Education and Human Services in July 1997. Dr. Smith left in
May 2002 and Dr. Patty Whitfield served as interim Dean until August 2002 when Dr. C. Sue
McCullough became the first Dean of the College of Education and Human Services following a
national search. The current Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. David Cordle, was
installed in July 1998.
The academic year at Longwood University consists of a regular session that includes two
semesters of 15 weeks each, and a summer session of two four-week terms and one three-week
term. The University offers undergraduate academic programs that lead to 23 bachelor’s degrees
and graduate academic programs that lead to four master’s degrees. In addition, the College of
Education and Human Services offers five initial licensure programs at the graduate level:
Educational Leadership Licensure, Elementary P-6 Initial Licensure, Modern Language Initial
Licensure P-12, School Library Media Licensure, and Special Education Initial Licensure.
The Mission of Longwood University
As stated in its institutional mission, Longwood University takes pride in developing citizen
leaders “who are prepared to make positive contributions to the common good of society”.
Building upon its strong foundation in the liberal arts and sciences, the institution provides an
environment in which exceptional teaching fosters student learning, scholarship, and
achievement. As the only four-year public institution in a 7000 square mile area in south central
Virginia, Longwood University serves as a catalyst for regional change, prosperity, and
advancement.
Longwood University is dedicated to creating a community of citizen leaders. From Vision to
Action: The Five-Year Strategic Plan focuses on creating the conditions for such a community
through a learning-centered, service-driven, quality-minded approach to education that combines
the best of the traditional college experience with a high tech campus and curriculum. The
curriculum has been designed to ensure relevancy to the mission of developing citizen leaders.
The major component of the academic mission is instruction in the University’s undergraduate
and graduate degree-granting programs.
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The Collaborative Effort Between Two Colleges
While located primarily in the College of Education and Human Services, educator preparation
is a university-wide collaborative effort between the College of Education and Human Services
and the College of Arts and Sciences. Both colleges have the responsibility of providing
candidates with the content knowledge of their individual fields, the latest theories and practices
of pedagogy, strong skills in technology, and strong professional mentors. Thus, the unit is a
collaborative academic community of scholars dedicated to the development of pre-service and
in-service candidates.
The College of Education and Human Services is made up of two departments: the Department
of Education, Special Education, Social Work, and Communication Disorders, and the
Department of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance. The Department of
Education, Special Education, Social Work, and Communication Disorders prepares
undergraduate liberal studies candidates for teaching elementary and middle grades (N,K-6, 6-8),
and graduate candidates preparing for endorsements in six different concentrations. The
Department of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance prepares candidates to teach
both health and physical education from pre-kindergarten through grade 12 for undergraduate
candidates and also has one add-on endorsement.
In conjunction with the Department of Education, Special Education, Social Work, and
Communication Disorders, seven separate departments in the College of Arts and Sciences
prepare candidates for 10 degree concentrations in undergraduate secondary education including
five add-on endorsements. In graduate education, they prepare candidates for two Master of
Science graduate concentrations including one graduate initial licensure, and one additional
Master of Arts degree.
The collaboration between the two colleges is not new on Longwood’s campus. In the late
1980’s, the Commonwealth of Virginia mandated the restructuring of teacher preparation
dissolving the ability to major in elementary education. This made an interesting phenomenon
because no longer could anyone major in education, yet teacher education was still necessary. At
that time, Longwood acknowledged the need for elementary, middle school, and special
education teachers to have extensive backgrounds in the core areas of mathematics, natural
sciences, social sciences, and the humanities beyond the general education requirements. This led
to the creation of the Liberal Studies Committee, an interdisciplinary team comprised of
members from the College of Education and Human Services and from the College of Arts and
Sciences. Working together, the committee designed a 45 credit hour program designated as the
Liberal Studies Major that requires specific courses in the following areas: mathematics (9
credits), natural sciences (15 credits), social sciences (9 credits), humanities (9 credits), and an
elective (3 credits). When general education and liberal studies requirements are combined,
teacher candidates complete a total of 21 credits of English (grammar, literature, and writing); 12
credits in fine arts and humanities; 12 credits of mathematics and computer science; 19 credits of
natural sciences; and 21 credits of history and social sciences
http://www.longwood.edu/academic/libstudies/libstud.html. The result ensures that teacher
candidates have a broad general studies background in the various content areas of the
elementary school plus the in-depth studies required for the middle school.
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Organizational Overview of the Professional Educators Council
Since the last NCATE visit in 1998, our unit has undergone significant growth, development,
and numerous accomplishments. These major accomplishments and new initiatives have
impacted virtually every facet of the unit’s faculty and administrative composition, organizational
and governance structures, curriculum, field experiences, initial and advanced programs,
development of an assessment system, use of technology, and program delivery.
Under the new leadership of Dean Sue McCullough, one of the priorities emerging was the need
for a governing body for the unit that would bring the two colleges together to facilitate
communication across all programs and would cement the unit as one academic community.
The Professional Educators Council (PEC) was formed in the Fall of 2002 to provide a forum
for all Longwood University faculty members involved in preparing professional educators to
discuss and make recommendations to the deans of the two colleges regarding policy,
procedures, and issues involved in educator preparation (PEC bylaws)
Faculty members involved in teaching pedagogy and educational foundations from both colleges
comprise the Professional Education Faculty. These faculty prepare candidates for 15
undergraduate licensure programs with seven add-on endorsements, two graduate degrees with
eight different graduate concentrations, including five initial licensure concentrations and four
add-on endorsements (Concentrations Table).
The Professional Education Faculty is a community of 41 full-time and 30 part-time faculty
members, and is comprised of faculty from the College of Education and Human Services and
the College of Arts and Sciences. The full-time faculty constitute 26 females, and 15 males, with
ethnicity representation of 37 Caucasians, 2 African-Americans, 1 Hispanic-American, and 1
Asian-American.
Enrollment for candidates in our unit is 1073 in N,K-12 for undergraduate, 359 graduate
candidates, representing approximately 29.5 percent of the University’s total enrollment. The
total undergraduate enrollment is approximately 3508 full-time and 132 part-time candidates.
(Source: State Council of Higher Education for Virginia). This enrollment includes 68 percent
female, 32 percent male, and ethnicity representation of 87 percent Caucasian, 9 percent AfricanAmerican, 2 percent Hispanic-American, 2 percent Asian-American, and 0.2 percent American
Indian/Alaskan Native.
Developing citizen leaders is the beacon that drives the institution, and is the central theme that
is interwoven throughout the unit’s conceptual framework. In Summer 2003, the Professional
Educators Council adopted mission and vision statements that “prepares citizen leader
professionals for the common good through active involvement.”
Other Significant Changes
Other changes have also had great impact on our unit. The following list of accomplishments is
a sample of changes and initiatives we have undergone since our last NCATE visit in 1998:
1. The conceptual framework has been revised to reflect our commitment to diversity and
technology.
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2. Curriculum has been restructured in terms of allotted credit hours, changes in content,
and modes of delivery of the Liberal Studies major.
3. The number of weeks for student teaching has been increased from 10 to 14.
4. Emphasis has been placed on the recruitment of minority candidates through the
program: Teachers for Tomorrow.
5. Partnerships have been developed with four local K-5 rural schools, which has
strengthened our commitment to our community.
6. A new standards-based candidate education assessment system has been fully developed.
7. The use of Teacher Work Sample has impacted numerous curricula changes.
8. New and more stringent requirements for admission to teacher preparation, such as
successful completion of Praxis I have been implemented.
9. A passing grade on Praxis II is now required for graduation and for a Virginia teaching
license.
10. International programs have been expanded to include additional countries.
11. Graduate concentrations have been expanded in Literacy and Culture and School Library
Media.
12. A graduate program has been added for those individuals holding a baccalaureate degree
who desire to obtain initial licensure in N, K-6.
13. Significant new resources were obtained including:
a. Full-time position, Director of Professional Services
b. Associate Dean’s position has been moved to a full-time administrative position
c. Four additional faculty positions
14. The following new programs have been added: five initial licensure with a master’s
degree; and three in initial license, or add-on endorsement, with no additional master’s.
Professional Education Preparation Programs
The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education has continuously accredited our
unit since 1954. The last continuing accreditation visit was in October 1998. The
Commonwealth of Virginia Board of Education also approves the Longwood teacher education
program. In addition, Longwood University is fully accredited by the Commission on Colleges
of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia
30033-4097: Telephone number 404-679-4501) to award bachelor’s and master’s degrees, with
the most recent on-site review occurring in March 2003.
Table 1 lists the Professional Education Preparation Programs at Longwood University.
Table 1
LONGWOOD UNIVERSITY
PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION PREPARATION PROGRAMS
Program
Award Program
Number
Agency or
Status of National and
Name
Level
Level
Of
Association
State Program Reviews
(ITP or Candidates Reviewing
ADV)
Program
Program
Current
Review
Status
Longwood University
5
Art Education
Biology Education
UG
UG
ITP
ITP
10
9
State
NSTA
Submitted
*
Yes
Chemistry
Education
Educational
Leadership
Elementary
Education
Elementary/Middle
Education
English Education
UG
ITP
0
NSTA
Yes
G
ADV
76
ELCC
Yes
UG
G
UG
ITP
ADV
ITP
449
ACEI
Yes
Yes
¥
UG
G
G
ITP
NCTE
Yes
ADV
56
0
27
State
*
UG
G
ITP
ADV
38
44
NCSS
IRA
Yes
Yes
Rejoinder
In
compliance
UG
ITP
14
NCTM
Yes
UG
UG
G
UG
UG
ITP
ITP
NMSA
State
Yes
*
ITP
ITP
14
11
4
15
57
In
compliance
Rejoinder
State
NASPE
*
Yes
UG
ITP
3
NSTA
Yes
G
ADV
116
ALA
**
UG
61
CEC
Yes
G
UG
Liberal
Studies
ADV
ITP
UG
ITP
2
State
*
Guidance and
Counseling
Social Sciences
Reading Specialist
(Literacy and
Culture)
Mathematics
Education
Middle Education
Modern Languages
Education
Music Education
Physical Education
and Health
Physics Education
School Library
Media
Special Education
∞Undeclared Liberal
Studies
Theater Education
240
Resubmit,
2004
Resubmit,
2004
In
compliance
Conditional
Rejoinder
In
compliance
In
compliance
Resubmit,
2004
Rejoinder
75
94
* Virginia program standards were changed in 1998 and all programs were reviewed at that time.
Any program deficiencies must be addressed by the unit and presented to Department of
Education representatives at the next NCATE/State review.
** At the time of program review submission in Fall 2002, ALA/NCATE resources indicated no
program submission was required because of changes in standards.
¥ Program is being phased out as candidates graduate.
∞ Candidates will either declare Elementary Education, Middle School Education, or Special
Education.
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CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Section I
History of Development: Initial and Continuing Upgrades to the Conceptual Framework
for Longwood University
In September of 1999, the Dean of the School of Education at Longwood University, asked the
following faculty members to update the conceptual framework for the professional education
unit:




Dr. Luther Kirk - Department of Education, Special Education, Social Work and
Communication Disorders
Dr. Betty Jo Simmons - Department of Education, Special Education, Social Work and
Communication Disorders
Dr. Jena' Burges - Department of English, Philosophy, and Modern Languages
Dr. Bob Beaudet - Department of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance
Dr. Luther Kirk, chair of the conceptual framework committee (1999), asked the following
students and community leaders to serve on the committee:




Mr. Juan Bernedo - student - Liberal Studies
Ms. Kristin Allgood - student - Liberal Studies
Ms. Rita Saunders - teacher - Cumberland County Elementary School
Ms. Jane Britte - teacher - Cumberland County Elementary School
The goals for this committee were to:




Upgrade and expand the conceptual framework to correlate with new NCATE standards
and reflect the University’s knowledge base.
Solicit input from diverse stakeholders such as:
o Graduate and undergraduate students
o Public and private school teachers
Upgrade the current philosophy of “Teachers as Leaders” to “Educators as Reflective
Citizen Leaders”.
Identify current beliefs and values that form the foundation of the conceptual
framework.
The products of this revision to the 1997 conceptual framework included:



Adopting the theme of Educators as Reflective Citizen Leaders
Incorporating feedback and comments from non-university participants
Reaffirming our commitment to the seven teacher competencies
o Planning for Instruction
o Implementation and Management of Instruction
o Evaluation and Assessment
o Knowledge of Subject
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


o Classroom Management
o Communication Skills
o Professional Responsibilities
Aligning our conceptual framework with the current knowledge base
Producing a conceptual framework that highlighted the knowledge, skills, and
dispositions that would be infused into each course syllabi
Creating in-service presentations on how faculty could align their course syllabi with the
conceptual framework
To address NCATE’s updated criteria for the conceptual framework, the committee was
reconvened in Fall 2002 with Dr. Christopher Jones as chairperson and the following committee
members:




Luther Kirk, Associate Professor of Education
Betty Jo Simmons, Professor of Education
Joseph Blauvelt, Associate Professor of Physical Education
Jeremy Lloyd, Assistant Professor of Science Education.
The conceptual framework was also distributed to the Teacher Education Advisory Council
(TEAC) for comment and input, in December 2002. The TEAC will meet again in September
2003 and provide additional input.
As part of the cycle of the continual growth of the conceptual framework, the committee
members focused their energy on the following goals:






Update the conceptual framework to include two new teacher competencies
o Diversity
o Technology
Update the theme “Teacher as a Reflective Citizen Leader”
Solicit additional input from:
o Faculty
o Diverse Stakeholders
 Alumni
 Public and private school teachers
 Public school administrators
 Business leaders
Update the Vision and Mission components
Incorporate the University’s mission to build citizen leaders
Refocus the theme to include all educators
The Spring 2003 revision to the 1999 conceptual framework:


Highlights the two new teacher competencies
Updates the theme of “Teachers as Reflective Leaders” to “Educators as Reflective
Citizen Leaders”
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8


Highlights Teacher Work Sample as the vehicle for educator reflection
Expands the conceptual framework to highlight the various pedagogies, assessments,
and disposition upgrades.
The 2003 conceptual framework reflects a unified faculty’s commitment to developing citizen
leaders by utilizing the nine teacher competencies and embracing the concept of “Educators as
Reflective Citizen Leaders.” The nine educator competencies, with their foundation clearly
rooted in educator reflection, represent our mission to develop educators who are ready to
become reflective citizen leaders.
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CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Section II
Summary
The conceptual framework, Educators as Reflective Citizen Leaders, provides guidance for our
education programs, candidate knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, field and clinical experiences,
scholarship, service, and accountability. In the spirit of the unit’s vision and mission, the
conceptual framework reflects our philosophy of teaching and learning in the professional
education unit. The foundation of the framework is composed of the following outcomes:

Planning for Instruction
As effective educators, Longwood University graduates entering the their profession
demonstrate expert knowledge in how to plan for instruction. They possess the ability
to develop individual and group objectives using appropriate techniques, strategies,
technology, and available resources to meet state standards other curricular goals and
student needs.

Implementation and Management of Instruction
As reflective citizen leaders trained to critically evaluate their pedagogy, education
candidates from Longwood University demonstrate competencies in implementation
and management of instruction. They use effective lesson designs and provide
appropriate instruction that motivates students to have high expectations while
encouraging critical thinking and creative problem solving.

Evaluation and Assessment
As thoughtful educators and citizen leaders who are well grounded in evaluation and
assessment procedures, graduates of Longwood University approach instructional tasks
reflectively. They use a variety of appropriate appraisal and evaluation methods to assess
lesson objectives and to help make instructional decisions about the quality of learning
and the efficacy of their teaching. They are held accountable for the quality of
instruction and the adequacy of learning through responsibility for multifaceted
assessment plans including formative and summative assessments, as well as product and
process evaluations.

Knowledge of Subject
As a university grounded in the liberal studies, Longwood provides candidates with a
strong background in content knowledge through our General Education program.
As contemplative citizen leaders, educators graduating from Longwood University
possess an extensive working knowledge of subject matter. They understand the
necessity of presenting content using a wide variety of methods and materials that reflect
local deliberations as well as global and cultural considerations.

Classroom Management
As reflective leaders in the classroom, educators from Longwood use fair and positive
classroom management techniques. Through excellent teaching, early intervention,
positive reinforcement, and fair and consistent application of classroom rules and
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10
consequences, they create and maintain a safe, supportive classroom environment for a
diverse population of students in an atmosphere that is conducive to learning,
developmentally appropriate, and encourages mutual cooperation and respect among
their pupils. Effective educators from Longwood University interact positively and
professionally with students, colleagues, administrators, and parents to develop and
maintain a multifaceted alliance for learning, the aim of which is to provide opportunities
for all students to grow and develop to their fullest potential.

Communication Skills
The very core of developing educators as reflective leaders is enhancing the individual’s
competency in disseminating information. To be an effective change agent, the
Longwood University reflective citizen leader must possess the ability to clearly convey
information in a variety of venues: lecture, class discussion, collaborative groups, and
individual conferencing. Our candidates must be able to adapt their communications to
a variety of different audiences depending on the context of the situation and to an array
of differing purposes; therefore, our curriculum provides systematic opportunities for
our candidates to perfect their communication skills. By incorporating the concept of
communication skills across the curriculum, candidates are able to negotiate a variety of
discourses throughout their academic tenure at Longwood University and apply their
communication skills accordingly as they guide students through complex issues.

Professional Responsibilities
As reflective citizen leaders, Longwood University graduates maintain their professional
responsibilities in an exemplary manner. They understand and respect school division
and work place policies and regulations, and they know that participation in professional
development activities and professional organizations is essential for their continued
growth and development as educators. They relate effectively with colleagues,
community, parents, and students in a style that is congruent with professional ethics.
Longwood graduates are prepared to conduct themselves as professionals in their
manner of dress, actions, and attitudes. They are expected to place duties ahead of
personal desires and to accept the responsibilities that are a part of the profession and
characteristic of citizen leaders. They are taught to safeguard and value confidential
information and to use it for professional purposes only.

Technology
The effects of technological advances have continued to play an important role in
Longwood University’s mission to develop citizen leaders. Longwood is dedicated to
providing students, faculty, and staff with the technological tools necessary to integrate
information technologies throughout the Longwood community and into their
professional practice.

Diversity
Critical analysis and reflection are major vehicles in producing individuals who are
change agents in their profession. Rich and diverse pre-service experiences are also
necessary to produce the robust decision-making skills required to become a citizen
leader in education who is sensitive to diversity issues. Exposure to diverse individuals,
experiences, instructional procedures, situations, and assessments, allow Longwood
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11
graduates to assimilate their new experiences into reflections that accurately allow them
as educators to determine the individual and specific needs of their students. In short,
the more unique and diverse experiences and opportunities each candidate has, the more
accurately the reflective educator will assess and help to meet the needs of his or her
students and school.
These outcomes are infused throughout all initial and advanced programs, providing our
candidates with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to become reflective citizen
leaders. Through continuous assessment and examination, the conceptual framework and
programs will be realigned as necessary to ensure that the preparation of all candidates reflects
our philosophy of Educators as Reflective Citizen Leaders.
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CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Section III
Structural Elements
Shared Vision
The unit’s conceptual framework, Educators as Reflective Citizen Leaders, describes the purpose
of our programs for preparation of teachers and other school personnel. The framework is
based on a knowledge base, derived from discipline-based research, inquiry, and the wisdom of
practice. The elements of our conceptual framework, resting on a firm foundation of reflective
practice, foster development of candidates into citizen leaders. The professional education
faculty members work together to facilitate this development.
According to the University Mission Statement, “Longwood University is an institution of
higher learning dedicated to the development of Citizen Leaders who are prepared to make
positive contributions to the common good of society.” Through commitment to active
recruitment of a highly qualified, diverse faculty, the university will continue to provide optimum
learning experiences for our candidates.
Through the University’s Vision Statement, which posits a continued grounding in the liberal
arts, the President is committed to continuous growth and improvement of all programs,
including those in the professional education unit.
The Professional Educators Council (PEC), which includes faculty from education and arts and
sciences, is the faculty body that recommends curricula and program changes. Through the
PEC, the unit maintains an ongoing dialogue regarding our framework outcomes and how they
define our programs. The PEC has been actively involved in examining and updating our
conceptual framework.
We also maintain close ties with school faculty through field and clinical experiences, such as the
Partnership Program, during which our candidates spend an entire semester in a school setting.
The unit works closely with school faculty during student teaching and clinical experiences in the
advanced programs. Longwood faculty members also work with schools in designing on-site
graduate classes and in-service workshops for school faculty.
Coherence
The conceptual framework provides for coherence among content knowledge, pedagogical
content knowledge, field experiences, clinical practices and dispositions across our initial and
advanced programs. Alignment tables for all programs illustrate this coherence among programs
and clinical experiences for teachers and other school personnel.
The conceptual framework is aligned with professional standards from Interstate New Teacher
Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC), National Board for Professional Teaching
Standards (NBPTS), and the Specialty Professional Associations (SPA). This alignment provides
a system for ensuring coherence among all facets of our programs, including curriculum,
instruction, clinical and field experiences, and assessment. The Goals by Assessment Matrix
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illustrates how the assessment system is aligned to our conceptual framework, ensuring that
coherence exists between our programs and the conceptual framework.
Professional Commitments and Dispositions
According to results of alumni and employer surveys, Longwood University graduates maintain
their professional responsibilities in an exemplary manner. They understand and respect school
division policies and regulations and know that participation in professional development
activities and professional organizations is essential for their continued growth and development
as educators. They relate effectively with colleagues, the community, parents, and students in a
style that is congruent with professional ethics. Longwood graduates are also prepared to
conduct themselves as professionals in their manner of attire, actions, and attitudes. They are
expected to place duties ahead of personal desires and to accept the responsibilities that are a
part of the profession and characteristic of Citizen Leaders. They are taught to safeguard and
value confidential information and to use it for professional purposes only. These results are
available in the National Benchmarking Survey for 2002.
Graduate candidates in our unit follow the standards set forth by their Specialty Professional
Associations that require candidates to meet competencies in initiating, implementing, and
evaluating professional development programs. They are specifically trained to become leaders
within their school communities and are knowledgeable in conducting professional development
as well as coaching techniques for guiding professional pedagogical skills for classroom teachers.
Likewise, candidates in programs for other school personnel are guided by standards from their
professional associations.
We expect candidates in our educator preparation programs to possess and display the
dispositions needed to work effectively with students, families, and communities as well as with
fellow educators to support and facilitate the learning and well being of all students.
Professional dispositions as set forth in state, national, and institutional standards include:









Professional development
Professional ethics
Impact of technology on education
Impact of societal changes on education
Ability to foster classroom collaboration
Ability to foster intellectual, social, and personal development of students
Ability to encourage positive social interaction among students
Ability to work effectively with colleagues, school administrators, and parents
Ability to teach children from diverse ethnic and academic backgrounds
Student data concerning their perceptions of the above dispositions can be found in the results
of the 2002 National Benchmarking Survey.
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Commitment to Diversity
Reflective citizen leaders rely on their analytical skills to develop mastery in their teaching
abilities. This vehicle of critical analysis and reflection is essential in producing solutions to
the difficult problems facing our diverse public schools. Reflection is a major vehicle in
producing educators who are change agents in the public schools. (Please refer to the
conceptual framework and the Standard 4 report.)
A variety of pre-service experiences are necessary to produce the robust decision-making skills
required to become a citizen leader in education who is sensitive to diversity issues. Exposure to
diverse individuals, experiences, instructional procedures, situations, and assessments, allows
Longwood candidates to assimilate their new experiences into reflections that allow them as
educators to accurately determine the individual and specific needs of their students. In short,
the more unique and diverse experiences and opportunities each pre-service teacher and
graduate student has, the more accurately the reflective educator will assess and help to meet the
needs of his or her school.
Our courses are designed to integrate different perspectives into course work. Candidates use
their collaborative and communication skills to digest the complex academic and social issues of
today and formulate action plans that value all participants.
Diversity in content, or content integration, emphasizes the need for educators to use examples
and content from a vast array of cultures and groups in order to highlight key concepts,
principles, generalizations, and theories within their discipline. The infusion of content
integration allows for equity in pedagogy. Through well-planned classroom experiences, the
candidates broaden their conceptual understanding of what it is to be diverse.
Diversity with individuals refers to the direct exposure of the Longwood graduate to varying
cultural, racial, and socioeconomic groups. Via Longwood’s international, regional, and local
partnerships, our candidates have a variety of opportunities to work in diverse environments
that develop their knowledge base regarding diverse students. An example of these diverse
environments is the rural southern Virginia school classrooms that support the partnership
semester and other clinical experiences.
Commitment to Technology
According to our Strategic Plan, “Longwood will provide the equipment; faculty, staff and
student training; software; and technical support needed to integrate information technologies
throughout the Longwood community.”
Beginning in Fall 2000, the University contracted with SmartForce to provide online training in
Microsoft Office software, including Word, Excel, and Power Point. All students have access to
this web-based tutorial package to help them develop their competencies. All undergraduate
students are required to pass baseline computer proficiencies before graduation.
Each undergraduate student is required to buy a laptop computer upon enrolling for his/her
first semester. Candidates use their computers in classes, laboratories, and their dormitory
rooms, which are wired for high-speed Internet access. There are also six computer laboratories
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on campus, including a state-of-the-art laboratory in Hull Hall, which houses the College of
Education and Human Services. All candidates have access to the laboratories and technology
support at all times.
The Longwood University campus is now covered by a new wireless umbrella, which allows
access to the Internet and administrative functions from any outdoor location on campus.
Students, faculty, and staff are able to use the wireless technology anywhere outside within the
Longwood perimeter. Using this technology, faculty may now offer course experience in
outdoor settings, where candidates can participate in online course activities.
Faculty and staff have ongoing opportunities to participate in staff development workshops
offered by Instructional Technology Services. Many faculty members use Blackboard, a webbased instructional support system, as part of their instructional delivery. Studies have shown
that a significant percentage of our faculty use technology in all phases of instruction. (Results of
2000 Technology Project, faculty uses of technology, results of satisfaction survey)
The effects of such technological support will continue to play an important role in Longwood
University’s mission to develop reflective citizen leaders. Following a pilot study in 2002-2003,
in the academic year 2003-2004, candidates will begin using Live Text, an electronic portfolio
system. Using this system, they will construct a technology-based portfolio that highlights their
academic accomplishments.
The unit supports the University’s mission and five-year goals by:
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Infusing the existing technology within the content area teaching in order to seamlessly
demonstrate the power of technology on student learning
Implementing a system through which pre-service educators will construct and
disseminate virtual portfolios that highlight their collective academic work
Requiring students to utilize the high bandwidth networks across curricula in order to
develop and refine various effective and efficient lesson plans
Encouraging all faculty to model positive technology usage by seamlessly infusing the
tools into their lessons
Conducting research on the effectiveness of technology integrated into teaching through
the Institute for Teaching Through Technology and Innovative Practice
The interconnectedness between the University’s technology goals and the pragmatic
application, evaluation, and development of those skills in the Professional Education Unit is
apparent. Reflective thought has been used as the vehicle to determine the College of Education
and Human Service’s action plan in support of the five-year mission goals. This reflection will
continue to evolve and expand to address the ever-changing technological advancements.
Candidate Proficiencies Aligned with Professional and State Standards
Candidate outcomes are at the heart of the conceptual framework, forming the elements of
our framework. These outcomes are:
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Planning for instruction
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Implementation and management of instruction
Evaluation and assessment
Knowledge of subject
Classroom management
Communication skills
Professional responsibilities
Technology
Diversity
These elements rest on the firm foundation of reflective practice and assist in the growth of our
candidates towards reflective citizen educators.
The above proficiencies are aligned to standards of the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and
Support Consortium, the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards, the National
Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education, the Renaissance Group Principles, and
INTIME - Technology as Facilitator of Quality Education Model. The Aligning Teacher
Education at Longwood University to Standards matrix provides specific information on this
alignment.
The reports written to the standards of the Specialty Professional Associations indicate that our
programs are aligned with their standards. Since Virginia is a partner state with NCATE, our
programs are also aligned to the Virginia Standards of Learning.
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STANDARD 1: CANDIDATE KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND DISPOSITIONS
Candidates preparing to work in schools as teachers or other professional school
personnel know and demonstrate the content, pedagogical, and professional knowledge,
skills, and dispositions necessary to help all students learn. Assessments indicate that
candidates meet professional, state, and institutional standards.
As stated in our conceptual framework, Educators as Reflective Citizen Leaders, we believe that
educators should also be reflective practitioners. Our purpose is to prepare educators who
possess the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to support and enhance the learning of all
students. Our programs are grounded in national and state standards, and candidates are
expected to develop proficiencies in content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge,
professional and pedagogical knowledge and skills, dispositions, and the ability to engage in
professional practice that positively impacts the learning of all students.
Multiple assessments of Longwood University’s teacher preparation students and graduates
show high levels of knowledge, skills, and dispositions. The 2001 Alumni Survey of graduates
between 1991 and 2000 found that 90 percent of teacher preparation graduates were still
teaching after five years and 80 percent were still teaching after ten years; 98 percent of these
alumni were satisfied with the education they received in their major. Forty-eight percent of the
alumni from the class of 1997-1998 (three years out) had completed or were enrolled in a
graduate program; of these, 94 percent said that Longwood’s teacher preparation programs had
prepared them for graduate school.
In 2000, 2002, and 2003, Longwood University’s teacher preparation programs participated in
National Benchmarking Surveys conducted by Educational Benchmarking, Inc. (EBI). In 2000,
Longwood ranked second overall out of 31 participating institutions; in 2002, Longwood ranked
first overall out of 40 institutions; 2003 data are yet to be reported.
On the 1997/2001 Employer Survey, 82 percent and 80 percent, respectively, of principals rated
Longwood teacher preparation graduates in the top 20 percent of teachers.
Consistent with the Unit Accreditation Board plan for transitioning to the NCATE 2000
Standards, all of our educator preparation programs have comprehensive systems for the
assessment of candidate knowledge, skills, and dispositions relative to institution, state, and
national standards. Assessments are both external and internal: a Goals By Assessments Matrix
indicates the complexity and richness of the unit’s assessment system. The Teacher Preparation
Database, an electronic database developed in 2002-2003, provides key assessment data for
tracking the progress of teacher preparation candidates at key transition points. The assessment
system also tracks graduate data. Other data collected in the Teacher Candidate Database
include admission grade point average, exit grade point average, and passing rates on the
comprehensive examination.
1.1
Content Knowledge for Teacher Candidates (Initial and Continuing Preparation
of Teachers
Content knowledge for initial licensure teacher candidates is developed through completion of
the University’s general education requirements and through major coursework in subject matter
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content. Our commitment to this is evidenced in the conceptual framework, where one of the
basic foundations for Educators as Reflective Citizen Leaders is Knowledge of Subject. To
qualify for graduation, all candidates must complete 41 credit hours to address the 15 general
education goals of seminar, freshman writing, literature, artistic achievements, math, natural
science, western civilization, social sciences, diversity, foreign language, wellness, upper-level
humanities/social science, ethics, writing/citizen leadership, and internship.
Content subject area coursework is offered in all areas of teacher preparation (art, liberal
studies/elementary education, music, physical and health education, secondary English,
secondary foreign language, secondary mathematics, secondary science, secondary social studies,
special education, and theatre arts). Coursework is aligned with national standards and grounded
in the knowledge base of appropriate professional associations:
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Art, National Art Education Association (NAEA)
Secondary English, The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
Liberal Studies/Elementary Education, Association for Childhood Education
International (ACEI)
Secondary Foreign Language, American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
(ACTFL)
Secondary Mathematics, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)
Music, The National Association for Music Education (MENC)
Physical and Health Education, American Alliance of Health, Physical Education,
Recreation and Dance and the National Association for Sport and Physical Education
(AAHPERD/NASPE)
Secondary Science, National Science Teachers Association (NSTA)
Secondary Social Studies, National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)
Special Education, Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)
Theatre Education, National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST)
To qualify for admission into the teacher preparation program, candidates must achieve passing
scores on Praxis I and have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or better. Prior to student teaching,
candidates must have both a cumulative and major GPA of 2.5 or better. To complete the
teacher preparation program, candidates must have passing scores on Praxis II and Content
Area Tests.
Candidates demonstrate their content knowledge through inquiry, critical analysis, and synthesis
of the subject. Their mastery of content knowledge in the subject matter they plan to teach is
measured in numerous ways: through various classroom performance-based assessment tools;
through Praxis, content area tests, and ETS Major Field Achievement Tests; and through
Knowledge of Subject ratings by cooperating teachers and University supervisors, and principals.
Classroom performance-based assessment tools vary depending on subject content area.
Performance-based assessments are utilized to assess candidates’ content knowledge. In 20012002, 91 percent (145 of 160) of N,K-12 teacher preparation candidates passed Praxis I, and 70
percent (seven of 10 candidates) passed Praxis II. Virginia has the highest Praxis cut-off scores
in the nation. Data for 2002-2003 will be available in October 2003. Students have access to a
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Plato-based on-line tutorial system for Praxis I preparation and remediation. A remediation plan
has been implemented for candidates in Arts and Sciences who do not pass Praxis II. Spring
2002 rankings for candidates in secondary science and social studies are shown on the ETS
Major Field Achievement Tests.
In Spring 2000, cooperating teachers rated 92 percent of Longwood student teachers Excellent
or Above Average on Knowledge of Subject, and 96 percent were rated Excellent or Above
Average by University supervisors. In 2003, 94 percent of student teachers on Assessment of
Student Teachers 2003] were rated Excellent or Above Average on Knowledge of Subject by
cooperating and 99 percent were rated Excellent or Above Average by University supervisors.
On the 2001 Employer Survey, almost two-thirds of the principals who responded rated
Longwood teacher preparation graduates as Superior or Above Average on Knowledge of
Subject. On the 2001 Alumni Survey, 94 percent of the responding alumni from the class of
1997-1998 said that Longwood’s teacher preparation programs had prepared them for graduate
school and 97 percent said that their Longwood major helped them perform in the workplace.
1.2
Content Knowledge for Other Professional School Personnel
Programs for other professional school personnel include graduate level programs in educational
leadership, guidance and counseling, literacy and culture, and school library media. Content
knowledge for these candidates is developed through coursework in their respective content
areas: Educational Leadership, 36 hours; Guidance and Counseling, 39 hours; Literacy and
Culture (reading specialist), 36 hours; School Library Media, 36 hours. Coursework is aligned
with state and national standards and grounded in the knowledge base of appropriate
professional associations such as the Educational Leadership Constituent Council (ELCC) for
educational leadership, International Reading Association (IRA) for literacy and culture, and the
American Association of School Librarians (AASL) for school library media. Guidance and
counseling follows State guidelines. (SPA reports and rejoinders.)
Candidates demonstrate a thorough understanding of the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and
structures of their professional fields. Mastery of content knowledge is assessed using multiple
performance-based assessments aligned with standards and through successful completion of a
comprehensive exam administered at the conclusion of the program of study. Assessment of
content knowledge occurs throughout program coursework. Assignments used as major
assessments before program completion, and at key transition points, have rubrics and scoring
guides developed. Also, to successfully complete the program of study, candidates must
maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better and must pass the comprehensive exam in their
content area.
In 2001, an analysis was conducted of pass rates on the Comprehensive Exam for graduate
students between 1998 and 2001. The first-time pass rate for graduate students in education was
82 percent (178 out of 218); however, the remaining students re-took the exam and passed on
the re-test. A comparison of students who took most of their coursework on campus with
students who took most of their coursework off campus found no significant difference in pass
rates on the Comprehensive Exam.
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On the 2002 Graduate Student Alumni Survey, all graduate alumni said that their academic and
career goals had been met (Very Much and Somewhat). As the Graduate Student Alumni
Survey is revised during 2003-2004, questions will be added to address how well their graduate
program prepared them in their content area for professional practice. Data gathered from this
survey will then be used to guide program improvement.
1.3
Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Teacher Candidates (Initial and Continuing
Preparation of Teachers)
Teacher candidates have an in-depth understanding of the pedagogical content knowledge set
forth in professional, state, and institutional standards that is necessary to provide appropriate
and effective instructional strategies so that all students learn. Pedagogy is embedded in our
conceptual framework, and pedagogical content knowledge in teacher candidates is developed
through professional education courses, methods courses specific to content areas, and fieldbased experiences such as practica, partnerships, and student teaching. Teacher candidates
demonstrate the ability to present content to students clearly and in compelling, challenging
ways. They develop proficiency in the use of technology and integrate technology effectively
into teaching and learning. Technology is one of the elements in our conceptual framework,
Educators as Reflective Citizen Leaders.
To qualify for admission into teacher preparation, candidates must have a grade of C or higher
in introductory professional courses. Prior to student teaching, candidates must have a grade of
C or better in all professional courses and must have a GPA of 2.75 or better in professional
courses.
In Spring 2000, 90 percent or more of student teachers were rated Excellent or Above Average
on Planning for Instruction, Implementing Instruction, Assessing Learning, Use of Resources,
Individual Differences, and Classroom Management by University supervisors. In Spring 2003,
94 percent or more of student teachers were rated Excellent or Above Average on Planning and
Instruction, Implementation of Instruction, Evaluation/Assessment, Materials and Resources,
Individual Differences and Classroom Management by University supervisors.
On the 2001 Employer Survey, three-fourths of principals rated Longwood teacher preparation
graduates as Superior or Above Average on Planning for Instruction and Implementing
Instruction. About two-thirds of principals rated Longwood graduates as Superior or Above
Average on Rapport with Students and Instructional Technology (which showed dramatic gains
over the 1997 Employer Survey). Slightly fewer (about 60% of principals) rated Longwood
graduates as Superior or Above Average on Assessment, Leadership Skills, and Ability to Relate
to Diverse Groups. Principals scored Classroom Management lowest at about 30 percent.
Changes in course content and assessment were made to strengthen these weaker areas.
On the 2001 Alumni Survey, 80 percent or more of alumni were Very Satisfied or Satisfied with
Planning for Instruction, Implementation of Instruction, Assessment of Learning, Leadership
Skills, Ability to Relate to Diverse Groups, and Rapport with Students. Classroom Management
and Instructional Technology were rated lower (70% and 75% respectively, with Instructional
Technology again showing dramatic gains in recent years). In addition to acquiring skills in
instructional technology, teacher preparation students are required to take and pass, as a
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requirement for graduation, on-line computer proficiency tests in intermediate Word, beginning
Power Point, beginning Excel, and beginning Internet Explorer.
Since 1999, Longwood has participated in the Renaissance Partnership for Improving Teacher
Quality, a five-year project involving 11 universities to improve the quality of teachers and K-12
student learning (supported by a U. S. Department of Education Title II Teacher Quality
Enhancement Grant). In 2001 and 2002, intermediate-level partnership students submitted
Teacher Work Samples (TWS) conforming to the Renaissance TWS prompt. The work samples
were scored using the Renaissance TWS rubric. More than 90 percent of the 35 Teacher Work
Samples were rated as Met Expectations or Partially Met Expectations in all seven of the TWS
Standards. Students scored highest in:
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Learning Goals
Assessment Plan (with noticeable gains in Technical Soundness over 2001)
Design for Instruction (with noticeable gains in Use of Technology over scores from
2001)
Instructional Decision Making
Partnership students scored lower in Contextual Factors, Analysis of Student Learning, and
Reflection and Evaluation, although all three of these standards showed gains over 2001,
especially Analysis of Student Learning.
Additional evidence for the pedagogical content knowledge of Longwood teacher preparation
students comes from the EBI National Benchmarking Survey. The survey was a national
student assessment survey for graduating teacher education students. The survey sought
comprehensive feedback for schools of education regarding the educational experience their
students were just completing. In 2000, Longwood ranked in the top seven institutions out of
31 participating institutions. In 2002, Longwood ranked in the top three out of 40 participating
institutions on:
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Learning Theories and Teaching Pedagogies/Techniques
Research Methods/Professional Development/Societal Impact
Aspects of Student Development
Classroom Equity/Diversity
Management of Education Constituencies
Assessment of Student Learning
Given the positive feedback from participating programs, a comprehensive student exit survey
will continue to be available nationally to interested teacher education programs.
1.4
Professional and Pedagogical Knowledge and Skills for Teacher Candidates
(Initial and Continuing Preparation of Teachers)
Teacher candidates display an in-depth understanding of professional and pedagogical
knowledge and skills set forth in professional, state, and institutional standards. They
demonstrate this understanding through the development of meaningful learning experiences
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that facilitate learning for all students. Through coursework and field experiences linked to
standards, candidates develop the ability to plan, deliver, and assess meaningful learning
experiences. Planning for Instruction, Implementation and Management of Instruction, and
Evaluation and Assessment are elements of the conceptual framework. Reflection is a key
concept, a basic foundation on which the educator competencies are built. Teacher candidates,
throughout their programs of study, engage in reflective practice, making adjustments as
necessary to enhance student learning. They develop skills to analyze contextual factors of
school, family, and community that impact student learning. During their field-based
experiences, they have the opportunity to apply and utilize professional and pedagogical
knowledge and skills.
Professional and pedagogical knowledge and skills are assessed through course-based
assessments. Professional and pedagogical knowledge and skills are also assessed through
Teacher Work Sample, practicum and student teacher evaluations, and employer and alumni
surveys.
Longwood teacher preparation candidates score above average using contextual factors in the
design for instruction and in relating to diverse groups (Student Teacher Rubric, the Employer
Survey, the Alumni Survey, and the EBI National Benchmarking Survey). Data from the
Teacher Work Samples also show that Analysis of Student Learning and Reflection and
Evaluation have increased noticeably in recent years, as a result of further aligning the
curriculum with the Standards of the Renaissance Teacher Work Sample Project.
1.5
Professional Knowledge and Skills for Other School Personnel
Candidates in educational leadership, guidance and counseling, literacy and culture (reading
specialist), and school library media display in-depth understanding of professional knowledge in
their respective fields as set forth in state, national, and institutional standards. They collect and
analyze data related to their fields, reflect on their practice, and use research and technology to
support and improve student learning. Programs of study target the ability of candidates to
assume leadership roles in the profession and to engage in professional practice that supports
student learning. Advanced professional knowledge and skills are also developed through
clinical experiences, internships, and practica.
As candidates progress through their respective programs from entry into graduate school and
the concentration at level one, to first year graduate from concentration at level five, they must
demonstrate mastery of those assignments designated as key assignments in the program
transition plan.
Candidates’ mastery of professional knowledge and skills is assessed through course-based
assessments and through evaluation of clinical experiences, internships, and practica.
On the 2002 Graduate Student Alumni Survey, 98 percent said that their graduate course work
related to current practices in the field. As the Graduate Student Alumni Survey is revised
during 2003-2004, questions will be added to collect data on the following:
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How well did the program help the candidate to understand and apply the theoretical
foundations of the profession to the practice?
How well did the program help the candidate reflect on professional practice and its
effects?
How well did the program help the candidate assume a leadership role in the profession?
1.6
Dispositions for All Candidates
We expect candidates in our educator preparation programs to possess and display the
dispositions needed to work effectively with students, families, and communities as well as with
fellow educators to support and facilitate the learning and well being of all students.
Professional dispositions as set forth in state, national, and institutional standards include:
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Professional development
Professional ethics
Impact of technology on education
Impact of societal changes on education
Ability to foster classroom collaboration
Ability to foster intellectual, social, and personal development of students
Ability to encourage positive social interaction among students
Ability to work effectively with colleagues, school administrators, and parents
Ability to teach children from diverse ethnic and academic backgrounds
Professional Responsibilities, which ties closely to the professional dispositions, forms one of
the elements of our conceptual framework. Dispositions for teacher candidates are discussed
and explored during different stages of the program.
Beginning Fall 2003, candidates are required to develop a Philosophy of Professional Education
prior to admission to the teacher preparation program. As they move through the program, this
philosophy is revised and expanded at key transition points. Since teacher candidates are in the
schools often, they have many opportunities to explore their own dispositions and to refine
them as they experience differing situations. Reflective journals required during course-based
field experience provide candidates the chance to begin this growth process. Additionally,
teacher candidates are encouraged to learn about and participate in professional associations for
their respective disciplines by attending conferences and by becoming members of these
associations.
In Spring 2000, Longwood student teacher supervisors rated 95 percent of student teachers as
Excellent or Above Average on Professionalism. In the Assessment System, Professionalism is
measured through the following indicators:
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Familiarity with professional organizations
Models speech, behavior, and dress
Accepts suggestions
Shows self confidence
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Uses initiative
Is enthusiastic
Shows professional conduct
Is reliable and punctual
Has a positive attitude
In Spring 2003, Longwood student teacher supervisors rated 96 percent of student teachers as
Excellent or Above Average on Professionalism. On the 2001 Employer Survey, 75 percent of
principals who responded rated Longwood teacher preparation graduates as Superior or Above
Average on Professionalism and 60 percent of principals rated Longwood graduates as Superior
or Above Average on Leadership Skills. On the 2001 Alumni Survey, just under 80 percent of
teacher preparation alumni were Very Satisfied or Satisfied with their preparation in
Professionalism and just over 80 percent were likewise satisfied with their preparation in
Leadership Skills.
On the 2002 EBI National Benchmarking Survey, Longwood teacher preparation students rated
their program in the top 20 percent of the 40 participating institutions on the following
dispositions:
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Professional development
Professional ethics
Impact of technology on education
Impact of societal changes on education
Ability to foster classroom collaboration
Ability to foster intellectual, social, and personal development of students
Ability to encourage positive social interaction among students
Ability to work effectively with colleagues, school administrators, and parents
Ability to teach children from diverse ethnic and academic backgrounds
In addition to the emphasis placed on dispositions by the Professional Education Unit, the
University places great emphasis on educating for values. Longwood’s mission is to educate
citizen leaders and much assessment data indicates the university is achieving that mission.
Results from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) show that Longwood
students ranked at the 80th percentile on Engagement with Civic Virtue (Citizen Leadership).
Civic virtue is viewed as:
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Working effectively with others
Voting in elections
Understanding people of other racial or ethnic backgrounds
Being honest and truthful
Contributing to the welfare of your community
Professional dispositions for candidates in educational leadership, guidance and counseling,
literacy and culture (reading specialist), and school library media are grounded in state, national,
and institutional standards and are discussed and developed throughout program coursework.
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Specific dispositions have been developed for each course in each program and are evident on
course syllabi. Candidates work with students, families, communities, and fellow educators
throughout their programs as they complete course assignments and then, in culmination, their
field-based experiences. Continuing the conceptual framework theme, Educators as Reflective
Citizen Leaders, reflection is required as candidates recognize when their dispositions need to be
adjusted and develop plans to accomplish this readjustment. In the Literacy and Culture
concentration, for example, two criteria referenced disposition assessment tools are used at
various transition point levels: the Theoretical Orientation to Reading Profile (TORP) and the
Literacy Orientation Survey (LOS). Additionally, candidates in these programs are required to
join appropriate professional associations. The Graduate Alumni Survey, which will be revised
during 2003-2004, will include questions concerning professionalism and leadership
development.
1.7
Student Learning for Teacher Candidates (Initial and Continuing Preparation of
Teachers)
Implementation and Management of Instruction and Evaluation and Assessment are two
elements in our conceptual framework. Teacher Work Sample standards are interwoven into
classroom instruction and assessment by teacher candidates. Teacher candidates focus on
student learning by accurately assessing and analyzing student learning, making appropriate
adjustments to instruction, and monitoring student learning. They strive to positively impact the
learning of all students. In art, for example, candidate portfolios include samples of student
work and rubrics used to assess student work as well as reflections on how students learn and
how the candidate knows students are learning.
Candidates study various assessment methods during professional education and methods
courses and learn to use different assessment techniques to guide their instruction and learning
experience. They learn how to apply a variety of formative and summative assessments in the
classroom, a skill that they then practice during their field-based experiences. In music, for
example, candidates learn to assess through observation and to make immediate changes during
a rehearsal, whenever necessary. During their student teaching experience, they make
appropriate adjustments in instruction as a result of self-evaluation and conversations with their
cooperating teachers, their Longwood supervisors, and their music consultants.
Evidence of the impact of teacher preparation candidates on their students is gleaned from preand post-assessments of student learning in the partnership experiences and student teaching, as
a component of the Renaissance Teacher Work Sample Project. Teacher preparation students
teach units in these field experiences and assess student learning through comparisons of preand post-assessments on those units. Recent studies (Fall 2002) show an average gain of 30
percentage points from pre- to post-assessments (percent correct on the pre-assessment
compared with percent correct on the post-assessment) for intermediate-level partnership
students. These gains are significant at the .0001 level, with a moderate effect size (.77). Data
from Spring 2002 show a similar effect.
1.8
Student Learning for Other Professional School Personnel
Candidates in the educational leadership, guidance and counseling, literacy and culture (reading
specialist), and school library media concentrations create and facilitate positive environments
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for student learning. In their professional roles within the school setting, they work to establish
educational environments that support student learning. They understand and build upon the
developmental levels of the students with whom they work, the diversity of the students, their
families, and communities, and the policy contexts within which they work. As appropriate, they
collect and analyze data related to student learning and apply strategies within their own
positions and schools for improving student learning.
For example, candidates in the School Library Media concentration complete a Collection
Mapping assignment in EDLM 503 to determine how well a library collection meets the
curriculum and instructional needs of the school, plan a Collaborative Lesson during EDLM 660
to integrate information literacy skills instruction with content learning, and implement a
collaborative lesson during their clinical experience. In EDLM 503, candidates also construct a
Collection Development Policy for their library media center: a critical component of the policy
is community analysis. These activities inform the candidate of the impact on student learning.
Candidates in the Literacy and Culture concentration complete a Child Study in EDUC 524 and
a Literacy Profile in EDUC 526 and 627, and a Teacher Work Sample during their practicum
experience. These assignments, which evidence candidates’ knowledge of the developmental
levels of P-12 students and the diversity of these students, their families, and their communities,
allow the candidates to evaluate and reflect on student learning. Candidates report information
collected in the Child Study and Literacy Profile to inform classroom teachers and parents of
children’s literacy development and progress.
Comparison of Standards of Learning (SOL) pass rates for 5th grade English in Powhatan
County showed that students of graduate candidates from the Literacy and Culture program at
Longwood achieved an 83 percent pass rate while 5th grade students both in the county as a
whole and in the State achieved a 73 percent pass rate. Efforts are underway to compare SOL
test scores for Longwood teacher preparation graduates with county and State averages for
comparable subjects and grade levels.
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STANDARD 2: ASSESSMENT SYSTEM AND UNIT EVALUATION
The unit has an assessment system that collects and analyzes data on applicant
qualifications, candidate and graduate performance, and unit operations to evaluate and
improve the unit and its programs.
In 1986, the Virginia General Assembly adopted a joint resolution mandating the assessment of
educational programs in public institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth of
Virginia. In 1988, the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools implemented Institutional Effectiveness among its criteria for accreditation. Since that
time, Longwood University has assessed all of its programs and reported these assessments
periodically to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and the Commission on
Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges. The College of Education and Human
Services has been among the leaders of this assessment and accountability movement on
campus, as is documented by the college’s assessment Web site.
2.1
Assessment System
Since 1986, the assessment system of the teacher preparation programs of the College of
Education and Human Services and the Professional Education Unit, and the conceptual
framework that drives it, has evolved from simple and global to complex and rich. In 19992000, the 1997 conceptual framework was reviewed by faculty and administrators, in
consultation with students, alumni, area practitioners, and superintendents, to align the
conceptual framework with professional and state standards. In 2002-2003, it was again reviewed
and revised. The resulting 2003 revision, with its theme of Educators as Reflective Citizen
Leaders, lists the following goals, aligned with the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and
Support Consortium (INTASC) standards, for the teacher preparation programs of Longwood
University:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Planning for Instruction
Implementation and Management of Instruction
Evaluation and Assessment
Knowledge of Subject
Classroom Management
Communication Skills
Professional Responsibilities
Technology
Diversity
The goals of the Conceptual Framework are assessed in multiple ways, using both internal and
external assessments, at multiple points in a student’s progression through the teacher
preparation programs, and focus on knowledge, skills, and dispositions. The Goals By
Assessments Matrix indicates the complexity and richness of the unit’s assessment system.
Transition points are indicated at the top of the matrix, with assessments for each point in the
next row. Student outcome goals are in the first section of column 1; educational processes are
in the second section of column 1. Assessments include external assessments such as SATs,
Praxis Exams, ETS Major Field Achievement Tests, Alumni (undergraduate and graduate) and
Employer Surveys, practicum and student teaching performance ratings by cooperating teachers
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and school administrators, a national benchmarking survey, the National Survey of Student
Engagement, Teacher Work Samples (scored by trained external raters), and a computer
competency assessment. Internal assessments include locally scored Teacher Work Samples,
course-based assessments, portfolios, comprehensive exams, juried performances and shows (in
art education and music education) and a Graduate Student Satisfaction Survey.
Educational processes are further evaluated by means of regular course evaluations, program
reviews, and annual faculty evaluations. Faulty are required to administer the University Student
Assessment of Instruction form every semester; data from these forms are then made available
to faculty, chairs, and deans in the on-line Student Assessment of Instruction Database.
Program and college averages are published on-line each semester. Chairs use these data along
with other data on instruction, scholarship, and service in their annual reviews of faculty.
Probation and tenure reviews of faculty are also conducted at appropriate intervals, as indicated
in the Faculty Policies and Procedures Manual. Program reviews are conducted once every five
years for each program.
Since 1999, Longwood has participated in the Renaissance Partnership for Improving Teacher
Quality, a five-year project involving 11 universities to improve the quality of teachers and K-12
student learning (supported by a U. S. Department of Education Title II Teacher Quality
Enhancement Grant). Over the course of this time, faculty from the participating universities
developed a highly refined Teacher Work Sample incorporating seven Standards, with analytic
and holistic scoring rubrics. Faculty members were trained in scoring these work samples with
the rubrics and sophisticated studies were conducted of the reliability and validity of these
assessments.
Longwood teacher preparation faculty returned to campus and further aligned the curricula and
program assessments (e.g., the Student Teaching Rubric) with the Renaissance Partnership
standards for the Teacher Work Sample (the standards for the Teacher Work Sample were
already aligned with the goals of the Conceptual Framework). Since 1999, the use of the
Teacher Work Sample in the teacher preparation programs at Longwood has spread from
Liberal Studies to special education, health and physical education, English education, and
reading. The Professional Educators Council recommended the use of the Teacher Work
Sample as policy in Spring 2003, and the Deans of the College of Education and the College of
Arts and Sciences approved it. By Spring 2005, all teacher preparation programs will have
implemented the Teacher Work Sample Methodology, as recommended by the PEC in Spring
2003.
Evidence of the impact of teacher preparation candidates on their students is gleaned from preand post-assessments of student learning in the practicum experiences and student teaching, as a
component of the Teacher Work Sample. Teacher preparation students teach units in these
field experiences and assess student learning through comparisons of pre- and post-assessments
on those units. Recent studies show an average gain of 30 percentage points from pre- to postassessments (percent correct on the pre-assessment compared with percent correct on the postassessment). These gains are significant at the .0001 level, with a moderate effect size (.77).
The Teacher Work Sample Methodology and the data pertaining to the impact of teacher
preparation students on their pupils have been discussed frequently at the meetings of the
Superintendents Network (for example, on February 6, 2001; on April 10, 2001; on October 9,
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2001; on December 4, 2001; on October 10, 2002; on December 10, 2002; and February 11,
2003).
Refinements in the University-level and unit-level assessments are continuous and on going,
reflecting changes in goals and assessment technologies, as well as gaps and ambiguities in
assessment data. Validity and reliability studies will be greatly enhanced by the addition of the
Teacher Preparation Database, an electronic database developed in 2002-2003 to allow tracking
of individual students within the teacher preparation programs.
2.2
Data Collection, Analysis, and Evaluation
Assessment data are collected at two levels. The Office of Assessment and Institutional
Research administers institution-wide assessments, such as the National Survey of Student
Engagement, the Graduate Student Survey, the Alumni Survey, and the Computer Competency
Exams. These common, university-wide assessments provide an efficient and expeditious way
of collecting data of interest to all university programs, and allow both historical comparisons
and cross-discipline comparisons. Since 1998, all institution-wide surveys have been
administered as Web-based surveys; in 2002, the University’s web-based survey software was
upgraded to allow conversion of all Teacher Preparation Rating Scales to web-based
administration for cost-effective and convenient integration of data into the Teacher Preparation
Database.
Unit-level assessments are administered within the teacher preparation programs. These include
the Praxis exams, ETS Major Field Achievement Tests, course-based assessments, portfolios, the
Student Teaching Rubric, the EBI Benchmarking Survey, the Employer Survey, and the Teacher
Work Sample. Evidence of the impact of teacher preparation candidates on student learning is
collected at this level.
In 2002-2003, the Teacher Preparation Database was implemented to provide a coherent and
comprehensive database for use in tracking the progress of teacher preparation candidates. All
faculty and administrators in the teacher preparation programs now have immediate, on-line
access to all system and assessment data pertinent to the progress of their students. A series of
Advising screens provides access to individual student data at all pertinent transition points
(Admission, Admission to Program, Admission to Student Teaching, End-of-Program, PostGraduate, Current Status, and Directory Information). A series of Reports screens, currently
under construction in the database, will provide aggregate data for teacher preparation
candidates at pertinent transition points. This database provides faculty and administrators with
a greatly enhanced ability to advise students using key assessment data, and quickly summarizes
the progress of students at key transition points.
In preparation for the 2003 SACS Reaffirmation of Accreditation, the University streamlined its
assessment processes. Most surveys are now administered as web-based surveys for increased
efficiency. Major examinations (e.g., Praxis, the Computer Competency Exams) are now also
administered via the web. All assessment reports are then published to the Assessment and
Institutional Research web site for rapid and cost-effective dissemination.
Faculty assessment and curriculum committees are heavily involved in the design of goals and
assessments, as well as in reflection on the data and the development of curricular and
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instructional improvements to address the data. Program changes based on data are also
published to the Web annually.
2.3
Use of Assessment Data for Program Improvement
Both the 1997 Employer Survey and the 1998 Teacher Preparation Alumni Survey found relative
program weaknesses in the areas of (a) assessment, (b) classroom management, (c) ability to
relate to diverse groups, and (d) use of instructional technology. Changes were made to the
Liberal Studies program in content and assessment to address these data, resulting in the
following credit hour changes:




The Classroom Assessment course (EDUC 380) was expanded from a 1-credit course to
a 2-credit course.
The Classroom Management and System Issues course (EDUC 487) was expanded from
a 2-credit course to a 3-credit course.
The Survey of Exceptional Children course (EDUC 489) was expanded from a 2-credit
course to a 3-credit course.
The use of instructional technology was more broadly diffused throughout the
curriculum.
The credit hour changes allowed significant revamping of the courses. For example, when
EDUC 487, Classroom Management and System Issues, was changed from two credits to three
credits, it allowed the following strengthening of the course:



Additional time to focus on conferencing skills with students, parents, and colleagues.
Peer evaluation rubrics are used for assessing these skills.
Inclusion of new material on the Learning Context, tied to, and incorporated into the
Teacher Work Sample.
Inclusion of new material on professional responsibilities regarding recognizing and
responding to the issue of child abuse.
Satisfaction with advising in liberal studies/teacher preparation increased from 60 percent in
1995 and 1997 to 76 percent in 2000, the last year for which aggregated data are available. To
address these data advisors were increasingly selected from faculty teaching in the liberal studies
program, with a consulting faculty member specified from Education for each student.
An inventory of program changes conducted in 2001 of 29 school practitioners and four
Longwood teacher educators as part of the Renaissance Partnership for Improving Teacher
Quality found that the school practitioners and teacher educators perceived relatively less
curricular emphasis on three of the TWS standards (Contextual Factors, Instructional Decisionmaking, and Analysis of Student Learning). The survey participants reported the following
changes to address these deficiencies:

Teaching Reading and Language Arts in the Elementary School (EDUC 325) has been
changed to focus more on diversity and its implications for instruction.
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









Curriculum in the Elementary School (EDUC 451) has been changed to focus more on
diversity and its implications for instruction.
Teaching Reading and Language Arts in the Elementary School (EDUC 325) has been
changed to require alignment of goals with national and state standards.
Curriculum in the Elementary School (EDUC 451) has been changed to require
alignment of goals with national and state standards.
Teaching Reading and Language Arts in the Elementary School (EDUC 325) has been
changed to require alignment of goals with assessments.
Principles of Instruction (EDUC 450) has been changed to require alignment of goals
with assessments.
Curriculum in the Elementary School (EDUC 451) has been changed to focus more on
contextual factors and instructional technology.
Curriculum in the Elementary School (EDUC 451) has been changed to require teacher
candidates to plan for a wide range of student abilities and articulating modifications to
address this variance.
Classroom Assessment (EDUC 380) has been changed to focus more on assessment and
evaluation.
The use of the Teacher Work Sample Methodology in Principles of Instruction (EDUC
450) requires teacher candidates to reflect on his or her teaching process.
Evaluation of Literacy (EDUC 526) was changed to require candidates to analyze the
results of assessments in fine detail.
In 2002, Longwood teacher preparation faculty who participated in the January 2002 Teacher
Work Sample national meeting reported significant changes to 8 of 11 required teacher
preparation courses in the initial program for at least one of the seven TWS standards as they
aligned the curricula with the standards.
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STANDARD 3: FIELD EXPERIENCES AND CLINICAL PRACTICE
The unit and its school partners design, implement, and evaluate field experiences and
clinical practice so that teacher candidates and other school personnel develop and
demonstrate the knowledge, skill, and dispositions necessary to help all students learn.
Field experiences and clinical practice are essential components of each of our programs that
prepare candidates for professions in education and school services. It is through these
experiences that our candidates develop and demonstrate the capacity to put into practice their
knowledge, skills, and dispositions. This is consistent with the guiding principle of our
University, the development of citizen leaders as well as the theme of our conceptual framework,
the development of educators who are reflective citizen leaders. Our graduates are expected to
use their newly acquired knowledge to make a difference in our society, and in particular, in our
educational system. Field experiences vary for the different program areas but all are marked by
multiple field experiences that begin early in a candidate’s career and follow a logical and
consistent sequence. These experiences often take place in local school divisions that are
characterized as rural districts with large African-American populations. In addition, most field
experiences are under the direction of the Office of Professional Services and are supervised by
qualified staff. Finally, each experience represents a collaborative effort between Longwood and
our school partners.
Description of Field Experiences
Unit programs being evaluated by NCATE are the following: undergraduate and graduate
teacher preparation for initial licensure and graduate preparation in School Library Media,
Guidance and Counseling, Literacy and Culture (reading specialists), and Educational Leadership
(administration and supervision).
The Director of Professional Services for the College of Education and Human Services now
administers field experiences in undergraduate practica and student teaching. This is a new, fulltime position that began in August 2003. Previously, the part-time Director of Teacher
Education fulfilled a similar role. The Director of Professional Services will work in conjunction
with the Field Experiences Committee of the Professional Educators Council (PEC) to examine
and update policy concerning field experiences. While ultimately it is the faculty through the
PEC that will determine the nature of the field experiences, it is the Director of Professional
Services who will carry out policy as well as serve as the primary liaison between the unit and our
school partners.
Special attention is paid ensuring that candidates have the opportunity to work with diverse
populations, and understand the role that student diversity plays in learning. Approximately 62
percent of Longwood students come from large suburban areas. The field experience of our
candidates in rural, largely African-American schools is truly different for most of our
candidates. In addition to being placed in these diverse settings, candidates are constantly asked
to reflect on how the culture of their setting affects teaching/learning. This reflection and
refining of teaching based on context has been formalized through the use of the Teacher Work
Sample that includes a specific section requiring contextual analysis. Thus, in almost all field
experiences, candidates are constantly aware of the role that cultural diversity plays in education.
For a more detailed discussion of this aspect of the field experiences refer to Standard 4.
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Undergraduate and Five-year Teacher Preparation Special Education for Initial Licensure: Field
experiences for candidates can be divided into four types:
1. Course-based field experiences: These include a wide variety of activities including field
trips, directed observations, micro-teaching, etc. that are part of our courses within the
teacher preparation curriculum. These vary widely among programs and thus will not be
examined in detail in this section of the report. For details concerning these experiences
please see the NCATE reports submitted to the Specialty Professional Associations
(SPA).
2. Practica: Candidates in most teacher preparation programs participate in two formal
practica prior to student teaching, EDUC 265 Education Practicum I and EDUC 305
Practicum in Early Childhood or EDUC 370 Practicum II. The first practicum is taken
in the first Summer session at the end of the freshman or sophomore year, and the
second practicum is taken in the first Summer session at the end of the sophomore or
junior year. Each practicum experience involves an intensive three week/90-hour
experience in the public schools in which candidates are assigned full-time to a
cooperating teacher. Practicum I involves directed observation and assisting the teacher
while Practicum II involves actual micro-teaching.
The only teacher preparation candidates not taking these courses are those in art, music,
physical education, and special education. Each of these has specific practica
experiences described in their individual SPA reports.
3. Partnership: Teacher preparation candidates in elementary, middle, and special education
participate in partnership programs. Candidates in the elementary and middle school
partnerships spend four full days a week on site in local partnership schools. They
receive pedagogical instruction in reading/language arts, mathematics, science and social
science for half a day and then spend the remainder of the day in the classrooms working
with children. Once a week, candidates return to campus to take two additional courses
focusing on exceptional learners and classroom management. Special education
candidates spend two days a week taking specific methods courses in reading/language
arts and then devote a portion of two additional days per week tutoring individual
children and offering instructional assistance to their assigned partnership site.
Longwood University currently maintains partnership agreements with schools in four
different school divisions. Secondary education programs are developing partnership
agreements that meet their special needs. In Fall 2003, English education is starting a
pilot partnership program.
4. Student Teaching: Student teaching is required of all candidates in teacher preparation.
Prior to Fall 2003, student teaching was a 12-week experience with a 360-hour on-site
requirement. In Spring 2003, student teachers in the area of physical education began a
full-semester (14-week/420-hour) experience. In Fall 2003, student teachers in all
program areas will participate in the full-semester experience. Those candidates
preparing for licensure in N,K-12 complete half of their experience at the secondary
level and half at the elementary school level. Candidates to receive licensure in a specific
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level (elementary, middle, or secondary) complete their entire experience at the same site.
Candidates may complete their student teaching at sites located in many different regions
of Virginia and in selected international sites. We have working relationships with 55
school districts in Virginia as well as accords with schools in England, Ireland,
Honduras, and the Netherlands.
School Library Media: All candidates in this concentration must complete an internship in a
school Library/media center. This experience, EDLM 690 Clinical Experience in Library Media,
requires 200 hours and is supervised by full-time Longwood faculty. In addition to this formal
experience, course-based experiences including interviewing and observing school media
specialist are required in several courses (EDLM 580, EDLM 660).
Guidance and Counseling: Candidates in this concentration are required to take EDUC 638
Practicum in Guidance and Counseling in the P-12 setting. This field experience requires 450
hours of on-site work.
Literacy and Culture: Candidates in this concentration take EDUC 627 Advanced Practicum in
Analysis and Instruction in which they work in local schools in conjunction with remedial
summer school programs. A full-time Longwood professor supervises this experience. In
addition, several course-based field experiences are required and are described in the SPA report
for this program.
Educational Leadership: Candidates in this program are required to complete 200 hours of
internship time by completing EDUC 690 Internship in Educational Leadership K-12.
3.1
Collaboration between Unit and School Partners
Because of the extensive field service experiences that we require of all our candidates it is
essential that we maintain a close and cordial working relationship with our school partners.
Without them, the placement of our candidates in worthwhile field service experiences would be
impossible. Because of the many diverse experiences we offer, as well as the broad geographical
area in which we make placements, the nature of our collaboration covers the spectrum from
complete collaboration, in our school partnership programs, to more traditional means of
collaboration as found in our practica and other experiences.
Liberal Studies majors in elementary and middle school preparation programs participate in a
partnership semester during their junior year. Our four partnership schools are full
collaboration models of instruction as well as placement of the candidates. The entire
partnership semester takes place on the campuses of the four partnership schools. The schools
provide a classroom, or in some cases, a mobile classroom for the exclusive use of Longwood
professors and candidates. Representatives of the partnership schools meet regularly on our
campus to discuss the direction of the program. The building principals and the Longwood
professors mutually agree upon placements. Though there are regularly scheduled daily
practicum opportunities, the fact that our candidates are actually located in the schools allows
for flexibility in participating and assisting in school events and activities. The Longwood
Partnership Handbook guides recommended candidate activities in the classroom; but the daily
contact between the Longwood professor and the cooperating teachers assures that there is true
mutual decision making in determining the nature and extent of candidate participation. Finally,
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in terms of evaluation, both the Longwood professor and the cooperating teacher use common
forms to do both mid-term and final evaluations of candidates. In addition, candidates are now
required to complete Teacher Work Sample (TWS) during the partnership semester. Both
Longwood professors and cooperating teachers are trained in the construction and evaluation of
the TWS. In fact, in an inter-rater reliability study conducted in May 2003, partnership teachers,
as a whole, performed better on TWS scoring than did many Longwood professors.
We see the partnership semester as a prototypical model for school/unit collaboration. Our
program has been so successful that participating school districts are asking for it to be
implemented at the secondary level. Because of this success, as well as our own goal of
developing "active, responsible" professionals, we have initiated discussions to extend the
partnership semester to all N,K-12 candidates.
The majority of our other field experience programs are guided by agreements and detailed
handbooks. These handbooks list among other things, cooperating teacher qualifications and
responsibilities, requirements and recommendations for candidate activities and evaluation
guidelines. Because there are both requirements and recommendations, cooperating teachers
have sufficient leeway in designing candidate experiences so that there is cooperation in planning
and delivery while at the same time ensuring quality and consistency. In addition, our
supervisors meet with cooperating teachers on at least a weekly basis in all field experiences so
that experiences can be adjusted to meet candidate needs. Finally, both the cooperating teacher
and the supervisor participate in the evaluation of most field experiences. In student teaching,
though the final letter grade is the sole responsibility of the Longwood supervisor, both the
supervisor and the cooperating teacher submit official evaluation forms that are placed in the
candidate's permanent record. For each kind of placement, the manuals as well as the
agreements with each school district stipulate the professional qualifications necessary for each
cooperating teacher. The Director of Professional Services is responsible for assuring
compliance. Because of our longstanding relationships with school districts throughout the
State, the reassignment of student teachers, whether requested by Longwood or the school
district, has always been done amicably and with relative ease. In short, both parties have a say
in determining the best placement for each student teacher.
In summary, our highly successful School Partnership Program represents a prototypical model
of school/unit collaboration, and our exploration into expanding these principles to our other
field service programs represents our commitment to full collaboration. In other field service
programs, where this degree of collaboration is not possible, mechanisms are in place to ensure
that there is a maximum degree of cooperation between Longwood and our school partners.
These mechanisms include detailed handbooks for each type of experience, mutual evaluation by
cooperating teachers and supervisors, and most importantly oversight by the Office of
Professional Services. Our Partnership Advisory Committee has offered suggestions for
improvement, and has worked with us to implement changes. Given the fact that we make field
service placements over a vast geographical area of our State, we feel that our collaboration with
school partners is acceptable, and led by our School Partnership Program, and continues to
improve.
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3.2
Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of Field Experiences and Clinical
Practice
Field experiences for all candidates are numerous and follow a logical sequence throughout the
candidates' pre-clinical preparation; require extensive reflection on their own and their students'
performance; involve the candidates in all levels of teaching from observation and assisting to
complete planning and teaching and participation in the school community at large; and require
candidates to use learning technology. Most of the field service sequence is organized using the
Teacher Work Sample methodology that in turn reflects our conceptual framework. Finally,
students are observed and assisted regularly by highly qualified school personnel and Longwood
faculty.
As described above, almost all undergraduate candidates participate in two practica experiences.
Practicum I is done in the May session after the freshman or sophomore year and Practicum II
is done after the sophomore or junior year. Each practicum is three weeks long and candidates
are placed full time with cooperating teachers in schools throughout the State. Longwood
supervisors visit candidates at least three times and are responsible for directing both the
candidate and the cooperating teachers. Those candidates not participating in the normal
practica (art, music, physical education and special education) have specific intensive practica
experiences as described in their program reports.
Practica experiences begin with directed observation and progress through assisting teachers and
finally whole class instruction. Among other requirements candidates are required to observe
and reflect on resource classes, lunch, playground and bus duty; attend faculty, PTA, school
board and other meetings; tutor students and teach in small group and whole class settings. All
responsibilities of candidates, cooperating, teachers, and supervisors are stipulated in the detailed
Field Services Manual. This manual also has statements describing how the experience
contributes to the development of educators who are reflective citizen leaders, as well as an
explanation of NCATE competencies, and it contains forms for evaluation. Evaluation forms
have always been organized by competencies and are now being revised to reflect knowledge,
skills, and dispositions that align with Teacher Work Sample methodology.
In addition to the two practica, candidates for N,K-8 licensure participate in the Partnership
Program. As described above and in the Partnership Handbook this allows candidates to once
again practice the full range of required skills, knowledge, and dispositions. Besides the obvious
benefits of being in a partnership school for an entire semester, a real strength of this program is
its link to the Teacher Work Sample (TWS). During the semester, candidates complete a TWS,
which, as described earlier, is linked directly to our conceptual framework, and helps develop
and evaluate candidate performance on many skills, knowledge, and dispositions including use of
educational technology, analysis of student diversity, and others. Finally, the TWS requires
candidates to demonstrate their effect on student performance.
Candidates for secondary licensure and those in professional graduate programs who do not
participate in the formal School Partnership Program do have field experiences in addition to the
practica. These are normally provided through the methodology courses and vary according to
each concentration. Descriptions of these experiences can be found in the SPA Program
Reports. It should be noted that these are usually extensive and well coordinated with course
content. In addition, all areas are moving toward the use of the TWS in these field experiences,
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and programs such as English, Physical Education, and Literacy and Culture have already begun
to use the TWS.
Student teaching is required of all candidates for initial teaching licensure. As with the other
field experiences, requirements of candidates are kept consistent through the use of a detailed
manual and the use of the Teacher Work Sample. In addition, the Director of Professional
Services provides a direct link among our school partners, the supervisors, and candidates.
Beginning in the Fall of 2003, student teaching will be a full semester for all candidates. Our use
of school divisions throughout a large portion of the State has many benefits, while admittedly
presenting some challenges. This allows Longwood professors to maintain contact with teachers
and educational practitioners in a wide variety of settings, and offers candidates flexibility that
greatly enhances possibilities for job placement. The challenge is to maintain quality and
consistency of experiences in all placements. We feel we do this through the use of the detailed
Field Services Manual, the Office of Professional Services, and the training and recruitment of
qualified supervisors. In fact, the areas of foreign language, English, physical education, special
education, natural science, and mathematics all use full-time professors to supervise the student
teachers. Additionally, the use of the Teacher Work Sample is now required in many programs
and will be a requirement of all student teachers by Spring 2005. This will ensure additional
consistency and control of experiences and evaluation. Finally, the official evaluation forms for
the student teaching experience are being revised (Revised Field Service Evaluation Form) to
reflect the TWS guidelines.
There is a final piece that solidifies all of the experiences into a consistent whole. That is the use
of the Teacher Work Sample. The TWS is described in detail in other sections of our report, but
a brief summary is relevant here to demonstrate how it ties field experiences together and to the
rest of the program. Our conceptual framework is reflected directly in the candidate
competencies that are developed and evaluated through the TWS. The independent standards
of the TWS have now been assigned to specific course syllabi throughout the curriculum.
Therefore, candidates are made aware, throughout their program, of the theory of teaching
espoused in the conceptual framework and how it is reflected in the TWS. After obtaining
knowledge about the TWS, candidates place this into practice in all field experiences. They
actually develop the TWS in the partnership semester, in specialized field experiences and in
student teaching. And in all field experiences, including the practica, evaluation instruments are
being revised to reflect TWS and conceptual framework knowledge, skills, and dispositions, as
well as describing appropriate behaviors. In short, use of the Teacher Work Sample has allowed
us to link all field experiences into a theoretical framework as well as ensuring that all
experiences maintain a consistent quality. (For a detailed look at the Teacher Work Sample, go
to the national TWS website.)
In the Partnership Program, the Graduate Curriculum and Instruction programs, the Literacy
and Culture Program, and student teaching in the secondary areas of foreign languages, English,
math, special education, natural science, and physical education, supervision is conducted by
full-time faculty. In the practica, supervisors include both adjunct faculty and full-time faculty.
In the student teaching not mentioned previously, we use adjunct faculty. It is the responsibility
of the Director of Professional Services to ensure the qualifications of all adjunct supervisors.
In addition, supervisors are regularly brought to campus for training. Finally, all supervisors,
both full-time and adjunct, are systematically trained in the use and evaluation of the Teacher
Work Sample. This can only help create consistent high quality among all supervisors.
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School-based supervisory personnel (i.e., cooperating teachers) are carefully chosen and work
closely with the Longwood instructor in the partnership program. In other experiences,
requirements for cooperating teachers are stipulated in the handbooks and agreements with the
school districts and are monitored by the Director of Professional Services. In an effort to
further ensure quality and consistency among all cooperating teachers we have conducted
Teacher Work Sample training, and all partnership classroom teachers have been trained in
TWS.
In summary, our field experiences for all candidates are extensive, logically sequenced,
theoretically consistent with our Conceptual Framework, and supervised by qualified
professionals. The use of the conceptual framework along with the Teacher Work Sample
ensures the quality and consistency in the design, implementation and evaluation of these
experiences.
3.3
Candidates' Development and Demonstration of Knowledge, Skills, and
Dispositions to Help all Students Learn
Our Assessment Plan with its designated transition points and the use of the Teacher Work
Sample make this element a strength of our program. The plan requires mastery of content
prior to each transition point. The use of Teacher Work Sample methodology ensures that
evaluation is consistent theoretically and carried out with instruments that are being used
throughout the country by other Renaissance institutions.
Prior to the initial practica experiences students must pass Praxis I. Reflective journals, the
demonstration of selected dispositions, GPA requirements, course requirements, and faculty
evaluations are all required for admission into teacher preparation. At the pre-clinical experience
stage, candidates must again meet GPA requirements, demonstrate acceptable performance in
field experiences (practica and partnership), obtain faculty recommendations, and demonstrate
technological proficiency through standardized testing. At the exit stage, there are again GPA
requirements, course performance requirements, performance requirements in the clinical
practice, and the requirement of passing Praxis II. Finally, evaluation continues in the follow-up
stage with alumni and employer surveys.
Thus, demonstration of candidate knowledge, skills, and dispositions is required at multiple
stages throughout the program and uses multiple measures that are both theoretical and practical
as well as often originating from outside sources. In addition, the use of the Teacher Work
Sample is once again a key in ensuring the achievement of this element. Teacher Work Sample
rubrics are designed and tested for validity and reliability on a local and national level. We are
constantly training our faculty and other supervisory personnel in the use of the TWS as shown
in Table 3-1. From the start of academic year 1999-2000 until the close of 2002-2003, 353 K-12
educators and 140 Longwood unit faculty members participated in ten Teacher Work Sample
Training sessions.
In addition, the TWS parameters are being used to design the candidate performance evaluation
forms in all our field experiences, whether they use the TWS or not. All this ensures that the
measurement of candidate performance is of high quality and consistent among all field
Longwood University
39
experiences. A final strength of the TWS is that it requires candidates to demonstrate changes in
their students' knowledge, skill and dispositions. Thus, we can be reasonably confident that our
candidates not only demonstrate acceptable knowledge, skills and dispositions of their own, but
that they can actually use these qualities to contribute to student learning.
Table 3-1
Teacher Work Sample (TWS) Methodology Training Workshops
Academic Year
Number of TWS
Number of Unit
Number of K-12
Workshops Held
Faculty Participants
Faculty Participants
1999-2000
3
15
199
2000-2001
3
14
78
2001-2002
1
41
0
2002-2003
3
70
76
Longwood University
40
STANDARD 4: DIVERSITY
The unit designs, implements, and evaluates curriculum and experiences for candidates
to acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to help all
students learn. These experiences include working with diverse higher education and
school faculty, diverse candidates, and diverse students in P-12 schools.
This involves facilitating candidates’ exposure and experience with the following:




Design, implementation, and evaluation of curriculum and experiences
Experiences working with diverse higher education and school faculty
Experiences working with diverse candidates
Experiences working with diverse students in P-12 schools.
In focusing on the Standard of diversity, emphasis is also given to the candidate’s awareness and
commitment to provide quality education for all students. The nine learning outcomes of the
conceptual framework, Educators as Reflective Citizen Leaders, guide decisions about the goals,
objectives, and field-based experiences. As seen in Longwood’s strategic plan, all our programs
have been developed to provide a wide range of opportunities to allow candidates to embrace a
broad definition of diversity as they prepare to become teachers.
Longwood University has been putting an increased level of effort into meeting the individual
and group needs of a diverse and pluralistic society through education, research, and service.
Diversity in the University is constituted by the full participation of persons of different racial
and ethnic heritage, age, gender, socio-economic background, sexual orientation,
exceptionalities, and of people from other countries. The University’s vision statement indicates
its commitment to foster the awareness and sensitivity necessary for acceptance and
understanding of all people in society. Diversity at the University is a goal that has been
incorporated into the University’s Strategic Plan. An increased effort is made to recruit and
retain faculty, staff, and students from diverse backgrounds.
4.1
Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of Curriculum and Experiences
Diversity is considered to be an integral part of the University and every effort has been made to
ensure the incorporation of this element in the delivery of our programs. The professional
education programs provide curriculum and field experiences that help candidates to
demonstrate knowledge, skills, and dispositions related to diversity. Diversity is one of the nine
components of our conceptual framework theme, and its implementation is ensured by
addressing multicultural issues as a goal in several of our courses under each program.
The teacher education programs recognize that in order for candidates to understand the
methodology of teaching students, a firm foundation must be established. Thus, the
undergraduate/liberal studies programs include courses from diversified fields such as social
sciences, natural sciences, humanities, and literature in addition to education courses. The
following program descriptions summarize how each program incorporates diversity.

Undergraduate Programs of Teacher Preparation
Longwood University
41


Graduate Programs of Teacher Preparation
Preparation of Other School Personnel
4.2
Experiences Working with Diverse Faculty
Recruitment and retention practices at Longwood place a heavy emphasis on providing
candidates with a range of experiences interacting with faculty of diverse backgrounds.
Candidates are afforded the opportunity to experience the diversity that exists among the faculty
in both general and professional education programs. Teacher candidates interact in classroom
settings on campus during course and laboratory work, in advising sessions, and as mentors for
the content preparation of their Teacher Work Sample. Table 4-1 shows the diversity of the
faculty that our teacher candidates interact with.
Table 4-1
Gender
Full-time Faculty
Professional Education Faculty Profile – 2002 - 2003
Black
Asian/Pacific
Hispanic
White, Not
Total
Islander
Hispanic
M
F
M
F
M
F
M
F
M
F
1
1
0
1
0
1
14
23
15
26
The majority of these 41 faculty members are from states and universities outside Virginia, while
two (5%) are from outside the country. An article on multicultural issues by a faculty member
was also published in a professional journal. Although the ethnic diversity of faculty members
(10%) and research by faculty in diversity issues are minimal, this does provide evidence of the
professional education unit’s earnest effort in giving important consideration for enhancing
diversity and improving diversity awareness.
The Office of Multicultural Affairs sponsors many activities designed to promote multicultural
understanding and interactions, which are open to students and faculty. These activities include
programs addressing various ethnic, gender, and religious issues. Events, course offerings, and
leadership opportunities are posted on their web site at http://www.longwood.edu/mcaffairs/.
Teacher candidates interact with professional education faculty and public school faculty made
up of diverse ethnic, racial, language, exceptionality, and religious groups through participation
in course work, practicum, the partnership semester, and student teaching. Table 4-2
demonstrates the diversity of our partnership schools that includes a teaching faculty that is 23
percent African-American.
The professional education faculty serve as advisers to student groups, provide career and
academic advising, engage in collaborative research partnerships, and accompany students
abroad when they are doing their practica. Public school faculty are frequently invited visitors to
organized classes, consult with candidates regarding the development of their TWS, and evaluate
their performance in the classrooms. In addition, public school faculty can also attend
professional development and student recognition activities at Longwood, thus having an
opportunity for more informal interaction with students on those occasions.
Longwood University
42
Table 4-2
School
Buckingham
Cumberland
Dillwyn
Eureka
Prince Edward
Totals
Demographics of Partnership Schools
Geographic Region
Teacher
Teacher Ethnicity
Gender
Urban
Rural
SemiMale Female
Black
White
Total
Rural
0
17
3
14
17

8
45
8
45
53

2
20
3
19
22

2
32
4
30
34

5
80
30
55
85

17
194
48
163
211

Faculty search committees are charged by the dean to recruit minority applicants.
Announcements are placed in minority publications, personal telephone calls and letters are
directed to historically black and Hispanic colleges and universities, and personal contacts are
made at local, regional and national professional conferences. In addition, announcements are
placed in trade publications for higher education and national web sites. The College of
Education and Human Services had some success in increasing the number of minority faculty
as a minority was hired in the Department of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance
for Fall 2003.
In an effort to “grow our own”, the Longwood College of Education and Human Services is
participating in some initiatives that will hopefully attract more minorities into the teaching
profession, and ultimately to an advanced degree. Longwood has signed Pre-Teacher Education
Admission agreements with the Virginia Community College System and with Richard Bland
College. The agreements will facilitate entry into a teacher education program (NK-6, middle
school, or selected areas of special education) at Longwood University. In the future a path for
students interested in high school endorsement will be added. Another initiative is the Teachers
for Tomorrow program, which encourages young people to consider teaching as a career. These
young people come to campus for a day of orientation and information about teaching.
Additionally, grant funds were sought (Pathways for Improving Teacher Quality in Southside
Virginia, submitted February 14, 2003) to provide tuition support for new and experienced
teachers in Southside Virginia to pursue professional development activities, including obtaining
a master’s degree or national teacher certification. By increasing the pool of minority teachers
with master’s degrees, hopefully Longwood can attract some of them to teach in our
undergraduate program and to consider obtaining a doctorate eventually.
4.3
Experiences Working with Diverse Candidates
Students enrolled in the undergraduate Liberal Studies major and in elementary, middle school,
secondary, or special education licensure programs as well as graduate students completing
master’s and/or initial licensure are in the company of a diverse group of teacher candidates. This
diversity includes candidates from various ethnic, racial, gender, language, rural, suburban, urban,
religious, and exceptional backgrounds. Given Longwood’s history as a Normal School and
female college, females still make up approximately 80 percent of the population in the Liberal
Longwood University
43
Studies and Education majors. Longwood has a reputation for accommodating students with
exceptional needs and many of these students are teacher candidates. In the Fall 2002 class, 277
students were identified and/or receiving services according to the Director of Disability and
Support Services. Of those, 190 students were enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences, and
25 were enrolled in programs in the College of Education and Human Services. At the
undergraduate level 46 disabled students (24%) of the 190 Liberal Studies students were
candidates for licensure along with 7 disabled students (28%) of the 25 in the College of
Education and Human Services.
The enrollment from Fall 2002 in education and in liberal studies (Table 4-3 and Table 4-4) gives
a clearer picture of the diverse make-up of this population. Teacher candidates participate in
course work from both liberal studies and education.
Table 4-3
Program
Education
Education
Education
Education
Education
Totals
Fall 2002 Headcount Enrollment
Diversity Characteristics of Undergraduate Teacher Candidates
Counts
Percentages
Ethnicity
Male Female Total Male Female
N-RA
1
1
0.4%
Black
9
31
40
3.6%
12.4%
Asian or Pacific Islander
1
2
3
0.4%
0.8%
Hispanic
2
2
0.8%
White, Not-Hispanic
37
166
203
14.9%
66.7%
47
202
249
18.9%
81.1%
Liberal Studies N-RA
Liberal Studies Black
Liberal Studies American Indian/
Alaskan Native
Liberal Studies Asian or Pacific Islander
Liberal Studies Hispanic
Liberal Studies White, Not-Hispanic
Totals
1
1
1
44
47
28
1
29
1
9
15
653
706
1
10
15
697
753
0.1%
0.1%
0.1%
5.8%
6.2%
Total
0.4%
16.1%
1.2%
0.8%
81.5%
100%
3.7%
0.1%
3.9%
0.1%
1.2%
2.0%
86.7%
93.8%
0.1%
1.3%
2.0%
92.6%
100%
Table 4-4
Program
Education
Totals
Fall 2002 Headcount Enrollment
Diversity Characteristics of Graduate Candidates In Education
Counts
Ethnicity
Male
Female
Total
N-RA
0
1
1
Black
9
31
40
American Indian/Alaskan Native
0
0
0
Asian or Pacific Islander
1
2
3
Hispanic
0
2
2
White, Not Hispanic
37
166
202
47
202
249
Longwood University
44
There has also been a steady growth from 2000 through 2003 in the enrollment of students from
various ethnic backgrounds.
The Multicultural Office serves as a resource to the campus community including Admissions
and the Academic Support Center on recruiting and retaining multicultural students. Longwood
does not maintain any programs that serve only multicultural students. The services and
resources of the office are open to all regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, disability, etc.
However, the director seeks to identify programs in the larger community that prepare diverse
secondary students for college and university. During scheduled open houses, the director is
available to speak with individuals and organized groups of multicultural students and parents
regarding the campus climate.
Candidates from diverse ethnic, racial, gender, and socio-economic groups work together across
coursework, education projects, liberal studies assignments, committees, and student
organizations. Faculty include many styles of interaction in in-class and out of class assignments,
such as cooperative learning, team projects, group presentations, panel discussions, etc. that
encourage cooperation among candidates from various backgrounds. In addition, through
student organizations, such as Kappa Delta Pi, Council for Exceptional Children, and S-Late
(Students of Longwood Association of Teachers), our diverse teacher candidates work on public
service projects, recruitment activities (Longwood Ambassadors, preview activities) and serve on
college and University committees. The Career Center provides opportunities for teacher
candidates to participate in a variety of volunteer activities.
Longwood helps diverse candidates to make the adjustment into the student/teacher candidate
population through an assortment of support systems. All Longwood students take Longwood
Seminar in the first semester of their freshman year. This course is designed to assist students to
make a smooth transition into the university community. Topics covered in the seminar include
discussions of “Academic Freedom,” differing philosophies among professors, and diversity in
modern society. Each seminar is designed to foster a connection to faculty in a specific
discipline area as well as classmates in the same major. Each seminar has an upper-level peer
mentor so that students have the opportunity to discuss issues with a trusted peer and/or with
the faculty instructor. In addition, students have an advisor throughout their program.
Longwood also has a Multicultural Affairs Office that plans activities, sets up lectures, and
invites performances/productions dealing with the diversity among us.
4.4
Experiences Working with Diverse Students in P-12 Schools
Field experiences, practica, and student teaching arrangements afford the teacher candidates a
variety of settings in which to practice their knowledge and skills taught in the Longwood
classroom and to shape dispositions based on knowledge, experiences and role models to better
work with all students. Teacher candidate programs on campus provide numerous opportunities
for field-based work. Undergraduate field experiences include practica (usually two experiences),
school-based activities associated with a methods course, a partnership semester (in an area
school with methods taught on-site), and a semester of student teaching. Partnership schools,
practica, and student teaching opportunities are found in the schools in Region VIII area around
Longwood www.longwood.edu/assessment/Teacher_Prep_Diversity_files/slide0005.htm).
Longwood University
45
Region VIII, comprised of 11 county school divisions surrounding Longwood University, is a
large, rural, and diverse geographic area as reflected in Table 4-5, September 2001 Census Data.
Table 4-5
September 2001 Census Data for Region VIII
American
Asian/
Black
Hispanic
Indian/
Pacific
Alaskan
Islander
Native
County
Count % Count % Count
%
Count
%
Amelia
3 0.2
3 0.2
628
36
9 0.5
Brunswick
1
-0
1464
78
9 0.5
Buckingham
4 0.2
8 0.4
1102
49
11 0.5
Charlotte
7 0.3
1
-861
39
21 0.9
Cumberland
0
0
725
55
21 1.6
Greensville
5 0.2
5 0.2
2040
73
22 0.8
Halifax
7 0.1
3
-2959
49
75 1.3
Lunenburg
7 0.4
3 0.2
902
50
13 0.7
Mecklenburg
0
20 0.4
2371
49
58 1.2
Nottoway
3 0.1
4 0.2
1134
47
39 1.6
Prince Edward
2
-22 0.8
1569
58
14 0.5
Total
Region VIII
39 0.1
69 0.2 15,755
53
292 0.9
White, Not
Hispanic
Totals
Count
1090
397
1134
1324
572
712
2956
869
2383
1256
1092
%
63
21
50
60
43
26
49
48
49
52
40
1733
1871
2259
2214
1318
2784
6000
1794
4832
2436
2699
13,785
46
29,940
Longwood teacher candidates can take advantage of an international experience (Table 4-6)
from one of the following countries: England, Germany, Honduras, Ireland, and Netherlands.
Given the number of opportunities and the variety of placement areas, the teacher candidates
are exposed to students from different ethnic, racial, gender, socio-economic, and exceptional
groups (all teacher candidates are required to take SPED 489 Survey of Exceptional Children).
Table 4-6
International Placements from Fall 2000 to the Present
Term
England Germany Honduras Ireland
Netherlands
Practica
Spring 2002
Spring 2001
12
9
8
Student Teaching
Spring 2003
Fall 2002
Spring 2002
Fall 2001
Spring 2001
Fall 2000
Totals
Longwood University
3
2
3
3
3
5
9
4
45
2
2
12
2
2
1
3
6
46
For practica, student teaching, and partnership experiences, teacher candidates are required to
complete certain assignments. These assignments are detailed in the manuals associated with
each of these experiences. Teacher candidates (undergraduate and graduate) for all field-based
experiences are required to keep a daily journal of their reflections on teaching practices, on
student behavior, on their own performance, etc. In addition, Practicum I candidates are
required to complete 10 specific journal entries of reflection. Specific requirement #4 requires
the teacher candidate to examine an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and how it relates to
the education of a student with a disability. Specific entry #8 requires the candidate to record
the gender, ethnic, and exceptionality make-up of the classroom, and note ways in which the
teacher and others encourage all students, avoid stereotypes, and call on and respond to students
from various backgrounds in a proportionately appropriate way. Candidates also are asked to
examine materials used in instruction to note how the backgrounds of all students are valued.
Practicum II candidates are asked to review materials and to observe teachers as they value all
students. To encourage the building of knowledge, skills, and dispositions, the University
supervisor reads teacher candidates’ reflective journals and comments on appropriate and
effective teaching of all students. Cooperating teachers in the placement settings encourage
from the candidate appropriate and professional behavior in the classroom.
In addition to the reflective journals kept in both undergraduate and graduate field experiences,
the University supervisor and cooperating teacher critique lessons or activities planned and carried
out by the teacher candidate throughout the placement. Teacher candidates complete a Teacher
Work Sample (TWS) at various points in their program and field experiences (undergraduate
elementary education and graduate Literacy and Culture program). Special education teacher
candidates currently complete parts of the TWS in various courses. Special education teacher
candidates in SPED 321 and SPED 323 piloted TWS in Fall 2002. Examples of Teacher Work
Samples can be found in the evidence room. The TWS with its focus on contextual analysis,
assessment, and accommodation of individual differences, encompasses the “habits of mind” that
infuses sensitivity to diversity issues into each lesson and provides numerous opportunities to
obtain feedback from cooperating teachers, faculty, and student teaching supervisors. TWS data
suggest that Longwood’s teacher candidates are effective teachers for all children. Conferences
are held among the supervisor, cooperating teacher, and the teacher candidate.
The majority of clinical practice and practica at Longwood are with children who represent
diverse cultural backgrounds. The teacher candidates who completed the Educational
Benchmarking, Inc. (EBI) study (87% of student teachers in Spring 2002) had an opportunity to
reflect on their education and their own perceptions of their ability to teach and to help all
students learn. This is the second administration of the EBI questionnaire, and it is planned as a
continuing part of program evaluation. The EBI study included a factor, “The extent to which
your education coursework addressed aspects of student development” on which teacher
candidates gave Longwood a ranking of 5.92 on a 7-point scale with a reliability of .94.
Candidates appear to have confidence in their ability to understand, be sensitive to, and
effectively work with all children/youth as evidenced by their responses on the EBI study
(Spring 2002). When compared to six peer institutions, Longwood ranked #1. When compared
to 17 institutions sharing Carnegie classification, Longwood ranked #2.
On the 2001 Alumni Survey (Figure 9), self-reported skills of alumni on outcomes related to the
program goals, 84 percent said they had the ability to relate to diverse groups. The comparative
Longwood University
47
data from the 2001 Employer Survey (slide 8 and 11) shows that 60 percent of principals rated
Longwood teacher preparation graduates as Above Average in their ability to relate to diverse
groups.
As stated in our Strategic Plan, Longwood is committed to enhancing and maintaining a
culturally diverse and pluralistic academic community. The University’s strategic plan explains
steps that are planned to improve the diversity status of the University.
Longwood University
48
STANDARD 5: FACULTY QUALIFICATIONS, PERFORMANCE, AND
DEVELOPMENT
Faculty are qualified and model best professional practices in scholarship, service, and
teaching, including the assessment of their own effectiveness as related to candidate
performance; they also collaborate with colleagues in the disciplines and schools. The
unit systematically evaluates faculty performance and facilitates professional
development.
5.1
Qualified Faculty
The Professional Education Faculty at Longwood University are highly qualified to teach in the
areas of their assignment. The Professional Education Faculty for 2002-2003, their
qualifications, and their years of P-12 experience are shown in Table 5-1. The Longwood
Faculty Policies and Procedures Manual specifies that the terminal degree for faculty in all
departments except the performing arts shall be an earned doctorate in the subject taught from
an institution accredited by a recognized regional accrediting body. Of the faculty in the unit, 31
of the 41 full-time faculty members hold the terminal degree in their field. Of the faculty in the
College of Education and Human Services, 20 of 25 full-time faculty members (80%), hold the
terminal degree in their fields. The remaining five have the master’s degree, licensure, and
extensive experience. Many faculty currently hold teaching licensure in the Commonwealth of
Virginia.
Responsibility for teacher education extends across the University. Faculty in the College of
Arts and Sciences teach courses that are a substantial part of professional education
requirements for elementary, middle, and secondary education, and Guidance and Counseling.
Some also supervise student teachers in the disciplines they teach (noted by an “*” in Table 5-1).
Of the 16 Professional Education Faculty from the College of Arts and Sciences, 12 (75%) have
the terminal degree, in the large majority of cases the Ph.D. The remaining four have a master’s
degree and either considerable classroom experience or are working on the Ph.D.
Table 5-1
Robert L. Banton
Sarah Bingham
J. Charles Blauvelt
Gretchen Braun
Professional Education Faculty
2002 - 2003
Educational
Degree Area(s)
Level
Ed.D.
Curriculum and Instruction
Ph.D.
Motor Learning
Ph.D.
Curriculum in Physical Education
M.S.
Reading
Barbara Chesler
Ed.D.
Elementary/Reading Arts
Audrey Church
M.S.
Library Media
Carolyn Cooper
Jennifer Doughtery
Ed.D.
M.Ed.
Counseling
Adapted Physical Education
Education Faculty
Longwood University
Years of
P-12 Experiences
2 years Elementary
1 year Elementary
3 years K-12
19 years K-12/
2 years Administration
7 years Elementary/
1 year Middle
20 years Media
Specialist
4 years K-12
6 years Elementary/
1 year Middle
49
Deborah Frazier
Ph.D.
Social Foundations of Education
Charlotte Guynes
Ph.D.
Bette Harris
Frank Howe
Ed.D.
Ph.D.
Health Education/Health
Promotion
Sociology of Sport
Counselor Education
Judith Johnson
Christopher Jones
Ph.D.
Ph.D.
Motor Learning
Special Education
Stephen Keith
Ed.D.
Luther Kirk
Ph.D.
Educational Leadership and
Curriculum
Curriculum and Instruction
Rachel Mathews
Sue McCullough
Ed.D.
Ed.D.
Special Education
School Psychology
Ruth Meese
Ph.D.
Special Education
Marilyn Osborn
Ed.S.
Early Childhood Education
James Riley
Ed.D.
Mathematics Education
Betty Jo Simmons
Peggy Tarpley
Patricia Whitfield
Ed.D.
Ph.D.
Ph.D.
Higher Education
Special Education
Special Education
Rodney Williams
Arts & Sciences
Faculty
* Supervisory
Faculty
Jennifer Apperson
Pam Arkin
Lee Debra Bidwell
Rhonda Brock-Servais
B.A.
Educational
Level
Theater and Dance
Degree Area(s)
Ph.D.
M.F.A
Ph.D.
Ph.D.
Don Butler
* C. Hood Frazier
Joseph Garcia
* Lily Goetz
Dana Johnson
* Jeremy Lloyd
M.A. plus
Ph.D.
Ph.D.
Ph.D.
M.S.
Ph.D.
* Patricia Lust
Dennis Malfatti
D.M.
M.M.
A.B.D
Ph.D.
M.F.A.
Counseling and Psychology
Theatre
Sociology
Children’s Literature & Victorian
Literature
English
English Education
Geography
Spanish
Education/CIS Environmental
Education/Instructional
Leadership
Performance (Voice)
Conducting-Choral Emphasis
Choral Conducting
Mathematics Education
Printmaking
* Gary Nelson
* Kelly Nelson
Longwood University
5 years Elementary/ 6
years
Middle/Secondary
3 years Secondary/
2 years Administration
4 years Secondary
3 years School
Psychologist
2 years Secondary
2 years Teaching/
9 years Administration
16 years Administration
12 years Elementary/
3 years Administration
4 years Administration
7 years K-1/9 ½ years
School Psychologist
2 years K-5, 5 years
Secondary
33 years Prekindergarten
3 years Secondary/
31 Administration
6 years Elementary
13 years Elementary
3 years Teaching/
2 years Administration
11 years K-12
Years of P-12
Experience
0
4 years Middle
0
0
4 years Middle
5 years Secondary
0
8 years Secondary
3 years Substitute
16 years Secondary
4 years K-12
2 years Choral
5 years Secondary
1 years Elementary/ 6
years Secondary
50
Kenneth Perkins
* Deborah Welch
Ph.D.
Ph.D.
Sociology
American Indian History
0
3 years Secondary
Adjunct faculty add both coverage of high demand courses and valuable expertise to
Longwood’s teacher education programs. Adjunct faculty members (Table 5-2) are selected
carefully to ensure that they have the highest quality of educational training and professional
experience. All have had long and successful careers in teaching and/or administration with the
average being 23 years.
Table 5-2
Adjunct Faculty
Elizabeth Allen
Mark Angle
James Coonan
Dorinda Grasty
Carole Inge
Mitzi Lail
Beverly Lammay
Eva Lawrence
Alice Lyons
Barbara Riley
Adjunct Faculty - 2002 - 2003
Educational
Degree Area(s)
Level
M.Ed. plus
Supervision and
Administration
Ed.D.
Administration and
Supervision
M.S. plus
Education
Ed.D.
M.A. and
A.B.D.
M.S.
M.Ed.
M.S.L.S.
M.S. and
A.B.D.
M.S. plus
M.S. and
Professional
Diploma
Leadership
Education and Human
Development
Education
Instructional Technology
Library Science
Clinical Psychology
Supervision and
Administration
Liberal Studies, Educational
Technology
Years of teaching/
administrative experience
23 years Teacher/Principal
10 years Teacher/Principal
43 years Teacher/
Superintendent
23 years Teacher
5 years Va. Dept. of Ed.
Southside C.C.
19 years Teacher
34 years Teacher
Librarian/Administrator
3 years college, 2 clinical
33 years Teacher/Principal
36 years Teacher/
Curriculum Coordinator
Faculty who supervise field experiences and clinical practice are either regular Longwood faculty
or are educators who have exceptional expertise in the profession. Longwood full-time faculty
do most supervision of candidates for secondary licensure. For elementary and other secondary
teaching candidates, retired P-12 school administrators or teachers carry out much of
Longwood’s clinical supervision. These individuals are selected and trained for supervisory roles
by the Director of Professional Services and the coordinator of Teacher Work Sample.
Non-faculty supervisors, shown in Table 5-3, were employed by Longwood in 2002-2003 to
supervise student teachers and practicum students.
Longwood University
51
Table 5-3
Susan Christian
Other Clinical Faculty - 2002 - 2003
Certification
Educational
Level
M.S.
Elementary K-7 & Supervision &
Administration
Ed.D.
English, Elementary Grades 4-7,
Administration
M.S.
Elementary & Administrative
Beatrice Clark-Jones
Ph.D.
Elementary & Administrative
Barbara Davis
M.A.
Secondary Education
Sue Duka
M.A.
Kay Eckler
M.A.
Larry Fannon
B.S.
John Galloway
Ed.D.
Carole Hanus
Mitzi Lail
M.A.
M.S.
Janet Lynn
Karen Newtzie
B.F.A.
M.S. SPED)
Ph.D.
Lou Pierce
M.Ed.
Elementary N,K-7 & Elementary
School Principal
Education & Curriculum and
Instruction
Instructional Supervisor &
Agricultural Education, General
Science, Director of Instruction
English, History and Social
Science, Elementary/Middle/
Secondary School Principal
Middle Education Grades 4-8
Elementary & Elementary
Curriculum Instruction
Art Elementary, Mathematics &
Special Education
Business Education and Data
Processing
Mathematics & Administrative
Baxter Pitts
Lloyd Pugh
B.S.
M.S.
Marian Sanders
M.Ed.
Charles Saunders
M.Ed. plus
Norman Spencer
M.Ed.
Julie Weber
M.Ed.
Bryan Wool
M.S.
Frank Wool
M.S.
Other Clinical
Faculty
Dee Anderson
William Chapman
Longwood University
English
History, English, & Secondary
School Principal
Early/Elementary Grades K-6 &
Elementary Administration
Economics, Basic Business, &
Elementary Principal
English, Theatre Arts, &
Elementary/Secondary Principal
Elementary Education &
Administrative
Early Elementary NK-3 &
Elementary Grades 1-7
Government and History,
Principal, Supervisor
Years of teaching/
administrative experience
20 years teaching
11 years administrative
9 years teaching
30 years administrative
19 years teaching
13 years administrative
11 years teaching
26 years administrative
27 years teaching
11 years administrative
26 years teaching
6 years administrative
20 years teaching
17 years administrative
17 years teaching
17 years administrative
28 years teaching
43 years administrative
19 years teaching
20 years teaching
26 years teaching
4 years teaching
4 years teaching
29 years administrative
32 years teaching
5 years teaching
26 years administrative
20 years teaching
17 years administrative
5 years teaching
25 years administrative
3 years teaching
25 years administrative
6 years teaching
2 years administrative
34 years teaching
10 years teaching
27 years administrative
52
The Office of Professional Services makes requests of at least 55 different school divisions in
Virginia for placements of candidates for practica and student teaching. School faculty must
meet the following criteria:




They must have three years of teaching experience
They must have at least the Collegiate Professional License, (i.e., fully licensed by the
Commonwealth of Virginia)
They must be endorsed to teach the subject(s)/grade level(s) to which they are assigned
They should have a master’s degree.
5. 2
Modeling Best Professional Practices in Teaching
Education faculty members have a clear mastery of their disciplines as documented in the
previous section on faculty qualifications and the following section on scholarship. Student
evaluations of instruction, which are collected every semester, document that education faculty
apply their pedagogical expertise to their own practice and serve as models for teaching
candidates. Education faculty are regularly rated above University averages on virtually all of the
37 questions, including the critical overall ratings of instructor and course (questions 9 and 10).
The integration of technology into instruction by education faculty is clearly reflected in very
high ratings, 4.5 and 4.6 out of 5, significantly above the university norms, on questions 35-37
covering instructors’ use of instructional technology and requirements that students use
technology for information gathering and presentation. Education faculty also received higher
than average scores of 4.4 to 4.6 on questions measuring promoting discussion (#s12 and 14),
explaining material clearly (#13), providing practice in applying skills through projects (#29),
and encouraging creative thinking and problem solving (#31 and 32). These indicate that
education faculty effectively uses a variety of methods for teaching as well as assessing student
achievement. They also received high scores for encouraging diverse perspectives (#27).
Syllabi for unit courses further document faculty emphasis on multiple approaches to teaching,
assessing, diversity, and technology. All syllabi of the unit reflect a direct link to the conceptual
framework and the emphasis on reflective practice.
In recent years, several unit faculty have received major University awards, juried by peers as well
as by students and alumni, recognizing their teaching excellence.
5.3
Modeling Best Professional Practices in Scholarship
Consistent with the Longwood University Mission and Vision statement, “dynamic teaching and
superior scholarship that directly influence student learning” characterize professional education
faculty. Our conceptual framework requiring professional education faculty to model the
process of critical reflection for teacher candidates also demands such scholarship. Professional
education faculty, therefore, are actively engaged in scholarly work related to teaching, learning,
and their fields of specialization.
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53
Faculty are involved in appropriate and continuing scholarship such as the publication of books,
chapters in edited books, and journal articles, as well as presentations at conferences or
workshops and leadership activities relevant to their respective fields. From Fall 2001 through
Spring 2003, professional education faculty, for example, have published six books, five chapters
in edited books, 25 articles in refereed journals, and 11 articles in other publications, as well as
served in editorial capacities for nine journals. In addition, they have made 117 presentations to
local, state, national or international organizations. The scholarly activity of faculty involved in
professional education preparation is detailed in Table 5-4.
Table 5-4
Faculty Scholarship and Productivity
2001-2002 Through 2002-2003
Faculty Activity
Books
Chapters
Refereed Articles
Other Articles
Research Reports
Other Publications
Local, State, National and International Presentations
Editorships and Editorial Review Boards
Local, State, National and International Workshops
State, National and International Offices Held in Professional
Organizations
Totals
6
5
25
11
6
18
117
9
106
18
5.4
Modeling Best Professional Practices in Service
As evidenced in the Longwood University conceptual framework, as well as best practices and
administrative governance, service is an integral part of the faculty’s academic efforts. The
annual evaluation of faculty, used for promotion and tenure as well as merit pay increases, is
comprised of three major components, one of which is service. Evidenced criteria include
presentations to not only other education professionals but also groups and organizations
external to education at Longwood University. Faculty are expected to serve on committees
within the College of Education and Human Services and the College of Arts and Sciences, as
well as University-wide committees in diverse areas such as governance and curriculum. The
Liberal Studies Committee and the Professional Educators Council, comprised of Arts and
Sciences as well as Education faculty, are critical to the continuing refinement of professional
practices. Realizing that service is best modeled in pre-service training, many faculty serve as
advisors and sponsors for various student professional groups. Faculty members also serve in
various capacities in professional organizations at the regional, state, national, and international
level. Through multiple venues, faculty are actively involved in integrating both the academic
and practical side of teaching and learning in a collaborative model with colleagues at the state,
national and international level.
Professional education faculty also demonstrate service to professional organizations and the
educational community through numerous activities such as holding office in various
professional associations or presenting workshops for educators at the international, national,
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54
state, and local levels. A comprehensive list of relevant faculty service is detailed in the evidence
section of the exhibit room under this standard.
5.5
Collaboration
Collaboration is a central theme in faculty and program development designed to improve
teaching and learning within the University, as well as in conjunction with educators external to
the University. Faculty from the College of Arts and Sciences who are involved in teacher
preparation hold membership in the Professional Educators Council. Faculty in the College of
Education and Human Services regularly collaborate with faculty in the College of Arts and
Sciences via the Liberal Studies major, which is required of all candidates seeking elementary,
middle, or special education licensure. Arts and Sciences faculty have participated in training
and in the incorporation of the Teacher Work Sample into all initial licensure programs. The
critical area of literacy is addressed through the Longwood Literature Pages Project, which has
used Web based technology to focus on lesson planning for children’s literacy. Faculty efforts in
environmental education, and teaching math/science are also represented at the state level in the
form of curriculum development grants. Education and Arts and Sciences faculty are also jointly
developing curriculum materials for specific projects in Ireland. At the graduate level, three
faculty members are collaborating with practicing teacher-graduate students in research projects
at the local and state level.
Four local school divisions are in a collaborative relationship with the university to provide four
Partnership Program sites in which faculty and pre-service teachers learn and teach in
conjunction with K-8 teachers in regular classrooms. The university has received several state
grants to work collaboratively with PK-12 teachers in establishing a Mentoring Model that serves
not only Longwood University students but also first year teachers in the school divisions. A
comprehensive list of collaborative interactions between and among Longwood faculty and K12 faculty is detailed in the evidence section of the exhibit room under this standard.
5.6
Unit Evaluation of Professional Education Faculty Performance
There is a systematic and comprehensive evaluation process, which includes regular and
comprehensive reviews of the professional education faculty’s teaching, scholarship, service,
collaboration with the professional community, and leadership in the institution and profession.
This is a developmental, evaluative, and when necessary, remedial process. The connections
between the elements of this evaluative process and the Conceptual Framework Competencies
are presented in Table 5-5 - Promotion and Tenure and Annual Evaluation Criteria and
Conceptual Framework Competencies.
Developmental:
Probationary faculty are provided with mentors at the onset of the induction year. This
mentoring relationship focuses on providing guidance on the evaluation areas of teaching,
scholarship, and service and continues throughout the probationary period.
Evaluative:
Probationary faculty are annually reviewed in five of the six probationary years by the
Departmental Promotion and Tenure Committee and by the department chair. This review is a
comprehensive review of teaching, scholarship, and service.
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Probationary and tenured faulty are reviewed annually by the department chair. This review is a
comprehensive review of teaching, scholarship, and service.
Probationary and tenured faulty distribute course evaluation forms at the end of each semester
in every course. The information provided through this evaluative process is made available to
the department chair as well as the individual faculty member.
For probationary and for tenured faculty, the review process is used both to affirm exemplary
performance in the areas of teaching, scholarship, and service and as a guide for ongoing
improvement and development as appropriate. A summary of faculty evaluations from
2000-2001 through 2002-2003 is presented in Table 5-6.
Table 5-6
Faculty
Annual Evaluation Data for Education and Special Education Faculty
Teaching (T), Scholarship (Sc), and Service (Sr)
2001 - 2003
2001
2002
2003
Average
T
Sc
Sr
T
Sc
Sr
T
Sc
Sr
T Sc
Sr
Maximum
24
Distinguished >18
Range
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Average
20
>7
18
>7
24
>18
20
>7
18
>7
24
>18
20
>7
18
>7
Overall
Combin
ed
Average
24 20
>18 >7
18
>7
20.7
>11
13
7
10
13
7
13
13
5
6
13 6.7
21
6
10
18
5
9
24
8
11
21 6.3
24
17
11
24
21
12
24
16
32
24 18
18
43
8
20
3
8
23
2
9 20.3 3
21
8
13
22
14
14
22
13
12 21.7 11.7
21
9
15
19
6
15
19
7
11
19 7.3
24
9
13
24
5
10 N/A N/A N/A 24 7
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 24
9
11
24 9
N/A N/A N/A 22
9
3
N/A N/A N/A 22 9
19
9
14
13
8
14
24
3
8 18.3 6.7
24
7
11
24
14
18
24
12
17
24 11
22
5
14
22
10
16
22
8
16
22 7.7
23
8
11
24
18
12
19
18
14
22 14.7
15
1
9
15
6
7
13
1
5 14.3 2.7
24
9
12
23
3
18
24
9
18 23.7 7
24
20
18
24
11
17
24
15
18
24 15.3
24
8
11
24
7
10
24
8
10
24 7.7
24
6
18
24
7
18
24
3
12
24 4.7
17.8 17.4
9.7
10
13
8.3
13
13.7
11.5
11
3
12
15.3
15
12.3
7
16
17.7
10.3
16
11.9
9.8
12.4
18.3
10.5
15.5
13.3
14.2
14.7
11.3
12.3
16.8
14.7
16.3
8
15.6
19
14
14.9
14
Remedial:
Probationary faculty are encouraged, and at times directed, to use such resources as a mentor or
department chair to address concerns noted in probationary or annual evaluations.
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Tenured faculty who evidence concerns in teaching, scholarship, or service may be placed on
Post Tenure Review. This is a prescribed process of support, monitoring, and evaluation to
address these concerns.
5.7
Unit Facilitation of Professional Development
According to the Longwood University Conceptual Framework, teacher candidates require “role
models who exhibit a critical pedagogy in their work and teaching styles.” Policies and practices
in the unit, therefore, support and encourage continuing professional development aligned with
the conceptual framework for all faculty members, particularly in the areas of technology,
performance assessment, and diversity.
To that end, Longwood University supports unit faculty development through numerous,
ongoing workshops and professional training opportunities. In the area of technology, recent
workshops through Instructional Technology Services have prepared faculty to utilize the
Faculty Information Network, now used by all unit faculty for online advising and grading, and
to develop courses online through Blackboard 5.0. In addition, six Longwood University
professional education faculty members participated in the INTIME training project to serve as
models for teacher candidates to incorporate technology into lesson planning and instructional
implementation.
Other workshops, conferences and grants sponsored through the College of Education and
Human Services include training for Longwood professional education faculty, as well as faculty
from K-12 schools, in the use of Teacher Work Sample methodology, a performance assessment
focusing on seven teaching processes including Instructional Decision-Making and Analysis of
Student Learning. From the start of academic year 1999-2000 until the close of 2002-2003, 353
K-12 educators and 140 Longwood unit faculty members participated in 10 Teacher Work
Sample Training sessions (Table 5-7).
Table 5-7
Teacher Work Sample (TWS) Methodology Training Workshops
Academic Year
Number of TWS
Number of Unit
Number of K-12
Workshops Held
Faculty Participants Faculty Participants
1999-2000
3
15
199
2000-2001
3
14
78
2001-2002
1
41
0
2002-2003
3
70
76
Similarly, Longwood University has extended professional development opportunities jointly to
K-12 educators and unit faculty through professional development conferences and clinical
faculty mentoring programs. In August 2001, for example, professional education faculty
conducted a two-day clinical-faculty training workshop for 84 K-12 teachers serving as mentors
for Longwood teacher candidates. In August 2002, an additional 79 K-12 teachers participated
in the same training. Moreover, the College of Education and Human Services has hosted for
the past three years an annual professional development conference, the Longwood University
Conference on Teaching and Learning, encouraging joint presentations by faculty, students, and
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57
K-12 teachers. The Office of Multicultural Affairs at Longwood University also features
monthly presentations by professional education faculty and others in the community on
diversity issues.
In addition, the Longwood University Faculty Policies and Procedures Manual outlines the
various opportunities available for additional professional development. Through the Faculty
Connections Program, Longwood faculty members are supported in using their talents,
background, and expertise to become involved in educational settings outside the university
classroom. This benefits the organizations that have use of the particular faculty member’s
expertise on site; faculty members benefit by being involved in their profession. Unit faculty
members have improved their professional skills, for example, by serving as physical education
teachers and guidance counselors in the local public schools through the Faculty Connections
Program.
Moreover, the Office of Academic Affairs, in cooperation with the Committee on Faculty
Development and Research of the Faculty Senate, annually allocates funds for faculty
development and research. Full-time faculty may apply for Faculty Development Grants that
are awarded for travel, producing or participating in workshops, taking courses, or for an activity
that is directly related to the development of curriculum and instruction. Full-time faculty may
also apply for Faculty Research Grants in the categories of summer research assignments, faculty
grants-in-aid, or research-related travel. Moreover, each academic year, deans from the College
of Arts and Sciences and the College of Education and Human Services support faculty
development and research through the allocation of funds specifically designated for
professional activities. In the College of Education and Human Services, for example, 15 Dean’s
Faculty Development Grants for a total of $5,800 and five Faculty Research Grants totaling
$2,270 were awarded for academic year 2002-2003 to support research, travel to professional
conferences, and other professional activities of faculty. The Office of Graduate Studies also
makes available to professional education faculty Graduate Faculty Grants in amounts up to
$2,000 to support research or travel for professional activities.
Finally, policies and procedures for annual performance review, post-tenure review, probationary
review, and tenure and promotion require faculty to demonstrate excellence in teaching,
scholarship, and service. Criteria and guidelines within these three broad categories are set forth
in the Faculty Policies and Procedures Manual for all faculty within the unit. These criteria
include maintaining up-to-date knowledge in the faculty member’s subject area and evidence of
continuing professional activity. Members of the professional education faculty also remain
current in their field of specialization and contribute service to the local public schools by
supervising students in a partnership semester or during practica or student teaching.
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STANDARD 6: UNIT GOVERNANCE AND RESOURCES
The unit has the leadership, authority, budget, personnel, facilities, and resources
including information technology resources, for the preparation of candidates to meet
professional, state, and institutional standards.
6.1
Unit Leadership and Authority
The faculty of the College of Education and Human Services (CEHS) and the College of Arts
and Sciences work together through several committees to coordinate all programs to prepare
education professionals to work in P-12 schools. The Professional Educators Council (PEC)
was formed in Fall 2002 “to provide the leadership and forum to effectively collaborate, review,
and discuss common issues that cross discipline and departmental lines in relation to the
preparation of professional educators and to advise administrators and all Longwood University
programs that prepare education professionals to work in P-12 schools.” Members of the PEC
include program faculty, student representatives, and school practitioners. As specified in the
PEC Bylaws, the deans of Education and Human Services and Arts and Sciences are ex-officio
members.
The PEC has four standing committees: (1) Field Experiences, (2) Assessment, Accountability
and Accreditation, (3) Admissions and Advising, and (4) Professional Development, Grants and
Research. Committee members representing the various programs from both colleges discuss
relevant issues and make recommendations to the full body for further discussion and
recommendations to the two deans. Several University committees also have responsibilities
related to initial and advanced teacher preparation programs. The Teacher Education Advisory
Council, the Liberal Studies Committee, the Secondary Education Committee, the Partnership
Advisory Committee, the Graduate Committee, and the Dean’s Advisory Council all contribute
to the governance of teacher preparation (committee organizational chart).
The Teacher Education Advisory Council (TEAC) consists of the Dean of Education and
Human Services, the Director of Professional Services, Associate Dean of CEHS, NCATE Cochairs, and representatives from P-12 schools; i.e., superintendents, principals, teachers, and
support personnel. This council meets semi-annually to discuss issues of importance to teacher
preparation at Longwood University and to make recommendations regarding policy and
curriculum.
The Liberal Studies Committee consists of faculty from the College of Arts and Sciences and the
College of Education and Human Services (CEHS). This committee makes recommendations
regarding changes in the Liberal Studies curriculum. Similarly, the Secondary Education
Committee includes faculty from the various secondary education majors and provides
coordination and communication across these programs.
The Graduate Committee is a University committee consisting of the Director for Graduate
Studies, the deans of the College of Education and Human Services and the College of Arts and
Sciences, the chairs of all departments having graduate programs, and the coordinators for all
graduate programs. This committee is responsible for policy relating to graduate programs and
for approving curricular changes in graduate programs.
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The Dean’s Advisory Council includes College of Education and Human Services department
chairs, associate dean, the Director of Professional Services, the Director of the Library, and the
Director of the Institute for Teaching Through Technology and Innovative Practices. The
Director of the Southside Virginia Higher Education Center and the Director for Graduate
Studies attend once a month.
The Partnership Advisory Committee consists of the chair of the Partnership Faculty
Committee and representatives from the public schools (partnership superintendent, principal
and two teachers). This committee meets semi-annually to discuss common concerns regarding
the Partnership program and to make recommendations for improving the program and to
handle policy matters (agenda from PAC meetings). The Partnership Faculty Committee
consists of elementary and special education faculty who teach partnership courses. The
Partnership Faculty Committee meets monthly to share ideas and to discuss information related
to the partnership program.
Program units recommending curriculum changes first reach consensus within their own faculty.
Then, the proposal goes to the departmental curriculum committee for approval and then to the
college curriculum committee. The dean must approve the recommended changes before the
proposal is sent to the University Educational Policy Committee (EPC). This committee must
then forward its recommendation to the Faculty Senate for final approval unless the changes
have major implications. For example, the creation or termination of a program requires
forwarding to the Longwood Board of Visitors and ultimately, the State Council of Higher
Education for Virginia.
Educator preparation programs are delivered by faculty in the Department of Education, Special
Education, Social Work and Communication Disorders, and the Department of Health, Physical
Education, Recreation and Dance, and by faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences
departments of English, Philosophy and Modern Languages, Mathematics and Computer
Science, Natural Sciences, Sociology, History and Political Science. Each program is assured of
curriculum integrity through alignment with both national professional standards and the
Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL). A program coordinator chairs each program and
collaborates with program faculty to plan course scheduling, curriculum revision, curriculum
sequencing, program advising, and to deal with issues concerning students, curriculum, and
administrative matters. Course delivery formats vary and may include traditional day class
meetings, evening or weekend classes, short courses, and hybrid on-line and face-to-face
meetings. Faculty have collaborated in the planning of course sequence and assessment
parameters and check points to assure that instruction and learning are occurring in an efficient
and coherent manner. The assessment plan, described in Standard 2, provides feedback to the
faculty to facilitate program modifications as necessary.
Admission to teacher preparation, admission to student teaching, and coordination of field
experiences is administered through the Office of Professional Services. The Office of
Professional Services also has responsibility for tracking and reporting Praxis I and Praxis II
performance, and for processing and approving recommendations for licensure. All applications
for admission to teacher preparation are logged and reviewed by the Director of Professional
Services (formerly Director of Teacher Education). The director interviews each applicant and
reviews each individual’s written philosophy paper. The Office of Professional Services
coordinates public school placements and works directly with the assigned University field
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supervisors. This office is also responsible for the distribution and collection of field
evaluations.
University admissions procedures are described clearly in the Longwood Undergraduate Catalog
and the Longwood Graduate Catalog. Admission to Teacher Preparation is also described in the
Longwood Undergraduate Catalog. In addition, a program progression check-sheet is given to
each student listing all courses required for degree completion. All these documents are also on
the Longwood web site for easy electronic access by applicants and students.
Recruiting for undergraduates occurs in collaboration with the University Admissions Office.
Recruiting events are held throughout the year on campus in which program faculty and
students participate. In addition, the graduate studies office provides information and brochures
to prospective students. Annually high school juniors and seniors are invited to the Teachers for
Tomorrow Symposium, consisting of workshops, panel discussions, speakers, campus tours and
class visits.
The Longwood Public Relations Office maintains the University calendar, official publications,
web sites and advertising. Faculty and administrators work with this office to assure the
accuracy and completeness of the information. University publications are reviewed regularly to
make changes and modifications. Academic policies are described in the Longwood Faculty
Policies and Procedures Manual. This published document is updated annually, and the web
version is updated regularly as policies and procedures are modified.
Liberal Studies majors are assigned an advisor in one of the five arts and sciences departments or
in the Department of Education, Special Education, Social Work and Communication Disorders
by the Liberal Studies Coordinator. First-year students and transfer students are required, by
means of a Registrar’s hold flag, to consult with their advisors in order to register for classes.
Furthermore, students can electronically access their records at any time through the degree
audit, showing their completed courses, remaining courses to be taken, and current GPA and
grades. The associate dean, the department chairs, program coordinators and all teacher
preparation faculty make themselves available for student counseling. Indeed, advisement at
Longwood has received high marks in student surveys and was commended on a recent SACS
review.
Longwood provides free counseling, academic support, and career guidance for students who
may refer themselves to these services or may be referred by a faculty member. The Academic
Support Center provides appropriate academic assistance that includes content area tutoring,
writing lab workshops, reference materials, study materials and techniques workshops,
alternative textbooks, personal exploration materials and computer tutorials. The Office of
Disability Support Services collaborates with faculty to provide an accessible community where
students with disabilities have an equal opportunity to participate fully in all aspects of the
educational environment. The Career Center assists students in obtaining information regarding
career options and identification and evaluation of their skills and interests. Computerized career
guidance systems are available.
Both formal and informal collaboration occur with P-12 practitioners in program design,
delivery, and evaluation of the unit and its programs. The Dean of the College of Education and
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61
Human Services convenes the Superintendent’s Network four times each year. At these
meetings, superintendents provide feedback on program design and delivery, as well as
information about their needs and ideas. Recent agenda items have included the Teacher Work
Sample, the Partnership Experience, No Child Left Behind Act, and NCATE standards. The
dean also attends the monthly meetings of the Region VIII superintendents. This forum
provides an opportunity to gain information about school division, state and national issues and
educational concerns. The regional community college President also attends this meeting,
creating a link across all levels of education in Southside Virginia.
The Teacher Education Advisory Council, consisting of teachers, administrators and other
school personnel, has provided feedback on the conceptual framework and assessment plans.
School divisions have been active participants in assisting in the interview and search process for
the Literacy and Culture faculty position, and school divisions also assisted in the redesigning of
EDUC 524 Emergent and Early Language Acquisition and Literacy Instruction.
The Partnership Advisory Committee provides feedback on partnership activities in the
respective school divisions. The cooperating teachers in the Partnership program evaluate the
teacher candidates at mid semester through a professionalism survey and also in a summative
assessment at the end of the partnership semester. Each partnership faculty must also meet
regularly with the individual cooperating school principal to discuss mentors, student needs and
to make program revisions. Many modifications have been made based on the valuable
feedback received from superintendents, principals, mentors, and teacher candidates.
Longwood has also provided professional development and leadership activities for school
divisions including mentoring workshops, teacher work sample instruction, teaching strategies,
educational leadership, and early childhood programs. A representative of the College of
Education and Human Services (CEHS) attends the regional professional development meetings
to obtain information about school division needs and to coordinate with school division
personnel in the development and offering of professional development activities. CEHS also
has a representative at the regional school division Technology Supervisors meetings. One of
the outcomes of this communication has resulted in discussions with faculty regarding identified
technology training needs of entering teachers.
The College of Education and Human Services, particularly the dean and the education faculty,
is recognized as the leader in the institution regarding preparation of professional educators and
school personnel. The formation of the Professional Educators Council (PEC) was designed, in
part, to provide a forum for the College of Arts and Sciences to have a closer identity and
communication with teacher preparation. Longwood’s membership in the Renaissance
Consortium demands that teacher preparation be an all-campus responsibility.
With funds from a grant through the Renaissance Group, many professional development
activities have been held for faculty in other units and for school division practitioners. These
activities have included workshops on mentoring and teacher work sample development and
scoring (both at the local and national levels). These activities have served to strengthen the ties
across programs and to encourage arts and sciences faculty to modify coursework to include
teacher work sample knowledge, skills and dispositions. Additionally, funds for the Liberal
Studies Program have been used on a regular basis to provide workshops involving faculty in
Longwood University
62
education, special education, and arts and sciences who teach in the teacher preparation course
of study.
6.2
Unit Budget
6.2.A Unit Budget: Department of Education, Special Education, Social Work and
Communication Disorders
The total State-appropriated budget for that portion of the Department of Education, Special
Education, Social Work and Communication Disorders dedicated to the support of teacher
preparation is provided below. These budgeted amounts are percentages of the total resources
allocated the department with both salaries and operating costs combined. Allocation for
education programming follows no specific formula, but does address the technology-intensive
nature of education preparation, the labor-intensive characteristic of
practicum/experiential-based programming, and the unique materials and clerical support
demanded. Budgeted amounts are used in the support of all teacher preparation as funding for
direct education content instruction, curriculum maintenance and design, faculty support,
clinical/practicum applications and associated liaison work with P-12 schools. Portions of the
budget utilized for program development and associated initiatives, assessment, technology
applications, and new program outreach efforts are substantially supplemented from a wide
variety of sources.
Table 6-1
Department of Education, Special Education, Social Work
and Communication Disorders
Total Budget
Teacher Preparation
All Education Programs: Dept.
$988,388
$912,863
In the last four years the college has been awarded over $7 million in grants for the support of
education programs and associated initiatives.
The Office of Professional Services provides substantial support for all education programming
in the unit including:




Determination of eligibility and processing for student teaching and practica placement
of all education candidates
Identification and training of cooperating teachers, including all related liaison and
support work
Placement and coordination of visitation for student supervision and cooperating
teacher support and linkage to assure program integrity and access for assessments
Identification, coordination, training/orientation and support of related supervising
adjunct faculty
The office has an annual budget of more than $250,000 that is used to support all operating
responsibilities as directed by a full-time director, a full-time secretary, a part-time secretary, and
a student worker. The office handles, per academic year, approximately 586 student teachers
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and practica students, utilizing 752 cooperating teachers as a resource base, 741 potential
placement locations and 47 adjunct faculty.
6.2.B Unit Budget: Department of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance
Table 6-2 provides the total budget for the Department of Health, Physical Education,
Recreation and Dance (HPERD), and the estimated portion of that budget used to support
teacher preparation. The teacher preparation calculations are based on the percentage of each
department’s total resources contributed to the content instruction required for that
department’s majors seeking teacher licensure, plus contributions made by the department to
content instruction for the Physical and Health Education Teacher Education (PHETE) major.
Budgetary resources within HPERD are sufficient to support high-quality content instruction
for the preparation of teacher candidates.
Table 6-2
Department of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance
Total Budget
Teacher Preparation
HPERD
$591,134
$245,832
6.2.C Unit Budget: College of Arts and Sciences
The chart below provides the total budgets for the Dean’s Office and the nine College of Arts
and Sciences academic departments, and the estimated portion of those budgets used to support
teacher preparation. The teacher preparation calculations are based on the percentage of each
department’s total resources contributed to the content instruction required for that
department’s majors seeking teacher licensure, plus contributions made by some departments to
content instruction for the Liberal Studies major. Budgetary resources within the College of
Arts and Sciences, as shown in Table 6-3, are sufficient to support high-quality content
instruction for the preparation of teacher candidates.
Table 6-3
College of Arts and Sciences Education Budget
Total Budget
Teacher Preparation
Dean’s Office
$154, 125
$45,000
Art
$465,127
$69,064
Communication Studies/Theatre
$415,518
$22,480
English/Modern Languages
$1,226,485
$342,278
History/Political Science
$504,536
$66,717
Mathematics/Computer Science
$736,224
$351,620
Music
$387,697
$276,234
Natural Sciences
$1,172,658
$270,121
Psychology
$398,841
$0
Sociology/Anthropology
$534,332
$32,497
Total College of Arts and Sciences
$5,995,543
$1,476,011
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6.3
Personnel
6.3.A Personnel: Department of Education, Special Education, Social Work and
Communication Disorders
Since 1999, the number of full-time tenure track education faculty has grown to 16 with four
new positions added since 1999. The department is directed by a chair, supported by one fulltime secretary and five student assistants, and had the use of seven graduate assistants during the
past academic year. In the past year, nine adjuncts were utilized. The adjuncts participated in
orientation to both the University and the department, meetings with education faculty, and
faculty directed consulting regarding construction of course syllabi and instructional strategies in
order to assure program integrity.
The designated library liaison for education programming is the Director of Reader Services and
possesses the M.L.S. degree. In addition to curricular resources maintained by various faculty in
highly specialized areas; i.e., children’s literature, software, instructional materials, etc., the library
provides extensive curricular resource materials which are reviewed yearly, and often transferred
to the department faculty for their immediate use. The Longwood Library has consistently
provided state-of-the-art electronic access and sourcing for such materials in addition to
extensive indexing and abstracting services that support education programming and
supplements such resources with easily available and timely interlibrary loan support.
The average salary of tenure-track education program faculty for 2002-2003 was $47,469 with a
range extending from $34,000 to $65,576. All current faculty are now tenure track. Adjunct
faculty are employed as needed with an average of five adjuncts per semester each teaching an
average of four credit hours. All adjuncts are approved for their teaching assignments by the
respective program coordinators, and associated course syllabi and materials are also reviewed
for consistency with the conceptual framework and other curriculum requirements. Education
faculty at the undergraduate level are assigned the equivalent of 12 credit hours of instruction
per semester and those faculty teaching at both the graduate and undergraduate level are
required to teach the equivalent of a total of 21 credits hours per two-semester academic year.
Faculty teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses are assigned four three-credit loads
(21 credit hours over two semesters) allowing additional time for varied course design and
assessment. Faculty teaching only undergraduate courses carry four four-credit loads (24 credit
hours over two semesters) with time built-in for preparation and course development. Course
load relief may be assigned for certain course development projects. Faculty are required to
pursue excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service reflective of integration with the
conceptual framework and the current Longwood University Faculty Manual of Policies and
Procedures.
6.3.B Personnel: Department of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance
The HPERD faculty comprises 16 full-time faculty members, of whom 13 participate in the
delivery of content instruction for teacher preparation. Adjunct faculty members are employed
on a limited basis to provide additional instruction as needed.
Faculty members in HPERD normally teach four three-credit courses or the equivalent each
semester. Faculty members in the HPERD who teach a combination of lecture and lab courses
teach 15 contact hours each semester.
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HPERD faculty consistently involve themselves in scholarship and service that involves
collaboration with P-12 in the county and region. Collaborative efforts include numerous grantsupported initiatives aimed at providing professional development for P-12 practitioners;
projects that place Longwood candidates and faculty in the schools in service roles, and projects
that explore possibilities for improving the preparation of P-12 teachers.
Budgetary resources for faculty development are sufficient to support effective teaching, highquality research, and useful campus-based and P-12 service on the part of HPERD faculty
members.
The HPERD department provides financial support for faculty development, in varying
amounts, through the unit budget. Each faculty member is assigned $500 for faculty
development. To supplement this departmental funding, the College of Education and Human
Services dean’s office provides faculty development grants in various amounts.
6.3.C Personnel: College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences faculty comprises 115 full-time faculty members, most of who
participate in the delivery of content instruction for teacher preparation. Adjunct faculty
members are employed on a limited basis to provide additional instruction as needed. Graduate
students are occasionally assigned to a supporting role in undergraduate instruction; however,
the instructor of record for all College of Arts and Sciences courses is a faculty member.
Faculty members in College of Arts and Sciences normally teach four three-credit courses or the
equivalent each semester. Faculty members in the natural sciences who teach a combination of
lecture and lab courses teach twelve contact hours each semester. For music faculty members
who teach applied music, three clock hours are considered equivalent to a two-credit lecture
course. For faculty members teaching a combination of graduate and undergraduate courses,
the standard teaching load is based on 21 credit hours or the equivalent per year.
The College of Arts and Sciences faculty consistently involve themselves in scholarship and
service that involves collaboration with P-12 in the county and region. Examples include
numerous grant-supported projects aimed at providing professional development for P-12
practitioners, projects that place Longwood students in the schools in service roles, and projects
that explore possibilities for improving the preparation of P-12 teachers.
The College of Arts and Sciences departments provide financial support for faculty
development, in varying amounts, through their unit budgets. To supplement this departmental
funding, the College of Arts and Sciences dean’s office receives an annual allocation of $200 per
faculty member from the Longwood Foundation and the Office of Academic Affairs to assist
with faculty travel and other needs related to faculty development. The College of Arts and
Sciences also administers the Fund for Student Research and Internships, a program through
which $30,000 is made available annually to support research and creative collaborations
between students and faculty.
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The University administers a Faculty Development and Research Program offering:


Faculty Development Grants, for needs associated with the development of curriculum
and instruction.
Faculty Research Grants, including summer research assignments for projects requiring
an extended period of study, faculty grants-in-aid for smaller projects, and researchrelated travel grants.
The University also offers two types of faculty leaves allowing faculty members to undertake
such professional development projects as would not be possible within the context of normal
faculty responsibilities. These are:


The Sabbatical Leave Program provides for one-semester leaves at full pay, or full-year
leaves at half pay, for tenured faculty members undertaking significant scholarly and
creative endeavors.
The Faculty Connections Program provides opportunities for tenured faculty members
to work for an extended period of time in businesses and organizations outside the
University. Faculty members selected for this program will work for the outside
organization on a full-time basis for one academic semester with no reduction of salary
or benefits.
Budgetary resources for faculty development are sufficient to support effective teaching, highquality research, and useful campus-based and P-12 service on the part of College of Arts and
Sciences faculty members.
6.4
Unit Facilities
6.4.A Unit Facilities: Department of Education, Special Education, Social Work and
Communication Disorders
The instructional facilities and associated technology resources for the education preparation
programs provide exceptional support and are exemplary examples of technology applications in
education for emerging professionals. The unit is housed in the Hull Building. Every faculty
member has his/her own office with personal computer, CD-ROM and ZIP drives, Internet
connection, and software and hardware that are updated approximately every three years.
Associated college and departmental administrative offices are located in the same building.
Education programs are assigned eight instructional classrooms including a “distance learning”
interactive video classroom, one auditorium, one observation room, a computer/media work
center, a storage room, and five counseling/interview rooms. Instruction primarily occurs in
Hull Building classrooms, each containing state-of-the-art stand-alone multi-media equipment,
and console-operated instructional systems, computers with the latest software and hardware,
and Internet. Education programs also occupy four partnership school sites with dedicated
classrooms located in four local regional county elementary schools. Two of those classrooms
have Smartboards and a variety of mobile multi-media equipment and computers are employed
in all the settings as required (Hull Education Classrooms and Equipment).
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The Southern Virginia Higher Education Center (SVHED) in South Boston, Virginia offers
courses and programs from nine colleges and universities. Longwood University is the fiscal and
operating agent for the Center. Longwood University offers between 10 and 15 classes a
semester at the center towards the Master of Science in Education from Longwood. Students
can earn the degree in one of four concentrations: Administration Leadership, Community and
College Counseling/Guidance and Counseling, Literacy and Culture, or School Library Media.
Teacher licensure courses are offered on a rotating basis each semester. The center has
approximately 180 Longwood University enrollments per semester.
The Center’s staff includes seven full-time employees: a director, an administrative specialist,
two program coordinators, a technology manager, a non-credit program and volunteer literacy
program coordinator and a custodian.
SVHED is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 A.M. until 9:30 P.M., and on Saturdays from
7:30 A.M. until 4:00 P.M., and serves approximately 2000 enrollments a semester. Approximately
90 percent of these enrollments are community college students.
SVHED houses six computer labs, eight basic classrooms, and a biology/chemistry lab. Four
classrooms are electronically configured for two-way audio/video distance education. All
classrooms have LCD projection capabilities, teacher workstations including network connected,
personal computers, and document projection systems (ELMO). Teacher workstations are
laptop compatible.
6.4.B Unit Facilities: College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences academic programs that provide instruction for teacher
licensure are housed in five different campus buildings. Current College of Arts and Sciences
teaching facilities are adequate to support teacher candidates in meeting standards. With the
completion of Grainger Hall, and with Ruffner Hall and a new science building scheduled for
occupancy in 2005, the College of Arts and Sciences facilities will be uniformly outstanding
within the near future.
6.5
Unit Resources Including Technology
6.5.A Unit Resources Including Technology: Department of Education, Special
Education, Social Work and Communication Disorders
Instructional technology initiatives have been designed to fully integrate technology into the
curriculum and to model the use of technology by professors for students. The nationally
recognized Institute for Teaching Through Technology and Innovative Practice (ITTIP)
provides substantial support for both outreach programming and off-campus instruction for
education programs. These efforts have been successful and most of the faculty use state-ofthe-art instructional technology on a daily basis. In addition, the following initiatives are
examples of the advances in technology used in education programs. These initiatives are all
focused (directly or indirectly) on the integration of technology into the learning environment
provided to all education program students:
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
Licensure Changes - Programmatic changes in teacher preparation courses led to a fuller
integration of instructional technology in the professional courses with an actual
reduction in credits (from two to one) in the instructional technology course.

Community-Based Courses - With the full semester of student teaching, students receive
direct supervision, but they also participate in an electronic-threaded discussion to focus
on reflective practice. They also have access to an electronic chat room on a regular
basis.

International Opportunities/Technology Connections - Home pages have been
established for students studying abroad. Thus, they can communicate with other
students on the Longwood campus about the value of their international experiences.

Special Education On-line Institute - This institute is an integral part of ongoing efforts
to license qualified special education teachers. The institute offers a significant portion
of its coursework on-line.

The Southside Virginia Learning Network (PT3 three-year grant) - SVLN conducted
training of area teachers and faculty from Longwood and St. Paul's College. This
initiative enabled Longwood students and faculty to communicate and collaborate with
teachers and students in schools throughout Southside Virginia.

Virginia Comprehensive Health Education Training & Resource Centers - Resources are
provided through the VCHETRC web site including a searchable database, Virginia
Standards of Learning for Health and Physical Education, Hotline phone numbers,
lesson plans for health and physical education teachers, and lists of training modules
with a resource list for each module.

Licensure Institute - A licensure institute for K-12 teacher licensure was piloted in 2000.
One of the three courses offered was a web-based course on human growth and
development.

Learning Plus Program - This program was a major initiative for four years in preparing
Longwood students to obtain admission to teacher preparation and eventual licensure by
passing the Praxis I examinations. In Fall 2002, the software was withdrawn from the
market and was replaced by a Plato System located in the Longwood Learning Center
and at the Library. In addition, students are encouraged to use on-line Praxis
preparation resources.

Electronic Portfolio Development - Programs in the unit have taken initial and
exploratory steps to develop electronic portfolios for their students. Classes have been
identified through which various aspects of the portfolios, in compliance with SPA
standards, may be constructed and rubrics are being developed for portfolio evaluation.
Specialized equipment such as CD Read-Write drives, scanners and a mobile production
studio were purchased and installed in 2002-2003 to provide the hardware and software
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necessary to support this expanding electronic portfolio initiative. Construction of these
portfolios will begin during the 2003-2004 academic year.

Through a the Renaissance grant INTIME, six Longwood professors from the College
of Education and Human Services learned to integrate technology teaching modules into
their course work.

The Institute for Teaching Through Technology and Innovative Practices (ITTIP) - The
Institute was established in 2000 as a research and development component of the
College of Education and Human Services. The institute is located near the South
Boston campus, initially serving Halifax and Pittsylvania counties, and expanding to
serve all of Southside Virginia through a collaborative agreement with Southside Virginia
Learning Network. The Institute installed a video conferencing (R232) network in 23
school divisions, trained professors, teachers and administrators to use the network and
to develop asynchronous modules to deliver over the network. This network will soon
be expanded to over 60 school divisions in southern and southwestern Virginia. NASA
and other national curriculum providers have become partners in the training and
delivery of instruction over this network.
Under consideration is a name change to National Institute for Technology Policy and
Research to reflect its growing national stature. For example, a research study conducted
by the Institute evaluating the integration of Internet and video technology into social
studies classes across the Commonwealth of Virginia was lauded by the Congress of the
United States as a model for school-based research that is demanded by the No Child
Left Behind Act. The institute is integrated into the College of Education and Human
Services, providing training and support for faculty and students in the use of the mobile
production studio and asynchronous modules, as well as providing a rich resource for
research into instruction that integrates technology.

Assessment Plan Technology Support - The Office of Assessment and Institutional
Research (OAIR) strongly supports the assessment and accountability plans developed
by the Professional Educators Council. Indeed, this office and its late director, Dr. Ed
Smith, have been recognized nationally by the Renaissance Group for the scope and
thoroughness of the data collected, analyzed and reported. In collaboration with OAIR,
the College of Education and Human Services Associate Dean for Assessment,
Accountability and Accreditation is responsible for assuring compliance with the
assessment plan, for collecting, analyzing and reporting results to the appropriate
instructional unit, and for assuring follow-through on any changes deemed necessary
based on the data. The assessment plan assures continuous quality improvement
through data based decision-making. Our goal is to have all data collected electronically
to facilitate data analysis and reporting. During 2002-2003, we designed and piloted an
on-line application for admission to teacher education, an on-line student teaching
evaluation form, an on-line Teacher Work Sample evaluation form, and an on-line
application for student teaching. These are being refined and linked to databases. The
associate dean is working with each program and with OAIR to facilitate the
development of electronic assessment strategies. The long-term goal is to have
electronic dashboards for program coordinators, department chairs, associate dean,
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director of professional services, and dean, to highlight and efficiently present data
needed for decision-making.
6.5.B Unit Resources Including Technology: Department of Health, Physical
Education, Recreation and Dance
The Lancer 207 classroom has full instructional technology installation and connections for
laptop computers. Faculty have the use of three computers on wheels. All three classrooms and
the human performance lab have Internet connection. Computer labs are used as well as
technological equipment stored in the audio-visual room. Faculty use sophisticated, high-tech
equipment in the Lancer 312 Human Performance Lab, such as the Biodex System 3 Isokinetic
Dynamometer, EMG Retrainer Biofeedback Unit, Sony Mavica digital Camera (digital still
photos and digital video), Cardio Perfect ECG, Sensormedic Metabolic cart, and Hydrostatic
Water Tank. Faculty have access to all physical education equipment including adapted
equipment to use in P-12 methods classes. Extensive sound, lighting and recording systems are
available in the Lancer Dance Studio.
6.5.C Unit Resources Including Technology: College of Arts and Sciences
For the most part, technology resources at Longwood are provided centrally through
Information and Instructional Technology Services and its several divisions:



Instructional Technology Services (ITS) are available to assist academic programs with
software and hardware needs in the academic computing labs, satellite downlinks, and
distance education facilities. ITS also makes available to faculty an extensive
development and training program, through which faculty members can receive
individual or small-group instruction in various instructional technology applications.
Multimedia Services assist academic programs with video production, sound production,
web production and satellite transmissions.
User Support Services provides computer and telecommunications support to faculty,
staff, and students, with a special emphasis on identifying and solving technical
problems.
All classrooms in newer and recently renovated buildings on campus are “smart” classrooms
with full instructional technology installations and connections for laptop computers. Some
classrooms, particularly those in temporary spaces such as Wynne, and in buildings scheduled
for replacement, such as Jarman and Stevens/McCorkle/Jeffers, make use of portable units
incorporating computers, projectors, and overheads.
Longwood maintains seven computer labs equipped to meet varying hardware and software
needs. These labs are available to faculty and students on a walk-in basis, and can be scheduled
for classes as well.
All Longwood faculty and staff are supplied with current, powerful desktop computers.
Longwood’s Computer Refresh Program provides for replacement of desktop machines
approximately every three years.
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Recognizing that the personal computer today is a critical tool in education, Longwood began
requiring undergraduate students to purchase laptop computers in 1998. Using their laptop
computers, students complete assignments using word processing software, spreadsheets,
databases, and electronic mail. Students also have the ability to browse the Internet 24-hours a
day from their dorm rooms, the library, the student union, the dining hall, classrooms, and from
off-campus locations. Beginning Fall 2003, the majority of computers will have wireless
capability. The University offers a computer-purchasing program to assist students in procuring
a computer that will serve as an effective communication tool and will be compatible with the
Longwood network.
The Blackboard web-based course management system is available to all Longwood faculty
members as both an enhancement of, and an adjunct to, the classroom-learning environment.
The Longwood University Library’s holdings include 235,000 book titles, 2,100 print journal
subscriptions, and some 100 electronic databases including 11,000 full-text electronic journals.
The Library’s print and electronic collections exist for the benefit of Longwood University
students and faculty engaged in instructional and research activities. The Library supplements
these collections with a vigorous program of services designed to enable each user to obtain
whatever information is needed for successful pursuit of such educational goals. Staff librarians
are assigned as liaisons to specific academic departments on campus. In their capacity as
liaisons, librarians maintain familiarity with the instructional programs and faculty research areas
in the assigned department, maintain regular contact with the department or its representatives,
respond to faculty concerns, prepare and offer orientation and instruction programs in subject
area(s), and keep the assigned department informed of new services and developments within
the Library.
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