3.3 Transformation Initiative
Activities and changes based on data on candidate performance and program quality that are related
to the TI
Theme: Helping candidates come to terms with unintentional barriers and bias. We are in the initial
phases of this effort. Efforts that have been in place for two years is the Wednesday RAW (readers and
writers) at Hughes STEM High School. In this effort, all special education and English/language arts
education students work with an after school literacy initiative, engaging as co-learners in a book club,
making graphic books, and Freedom Writers. We are designing assessments to measure candidate
change in relationship to activities such as these.
Theme: Implementing a reliable and valid Teacher Performance Assessment to improve the
consistency and quality of teacher effectiveness. We have pilot data related to this option, and are
entering data through the evaluation portal. When assessments are rated and data provided we will
conduct a full analysis of this effort.
Theme: Embedding methods courses in schools and better integrating methods courses with field
experiences. These changes began formally fall 2011 and we do not yet have data related to the impact
on candidate performance or student outcomes.
Theme: Adding more and earlier field experiences. Early field experiences have been extended to first
year students. In three of the transfer agreement guidelines courses (courses which ‘count’ in all state
colleges and universities), consistent syllabi have been agreed upon for Introduction to Education,
Educational Psychology, Introduction to Special Education, and specific early field experiences for middle
childhood and early childhood education candidates.. Key to this agreement was including in these
courses a 10 clock hour experience in schools, including 1:1 interactions with students. Beginning fall
2012 we will be systematically collecting and analyzing the results of these field experiences.
Theme: Preparing teachers for city schools. Three years ago we began tracking our candidates who
complete their field experiences in our neediest schools. A narrower definition of ‘urban school’ to
include the four surrounding districts with the highest poverty, lowest incomes, and greatest ethnic,
cultural, or language experiences was generated. Prior to this commitment, candidates participate in
urban schools, but the emphasis was not on Ohio’s typology of ‘large urban, very high poverty. In
tracking the students, we have consistently increased placements in these very high needs schools, and
are approaching 100%. Though candidates prior to this effort all had experiences in schools with
significant diversity, using the neediest schools was a shift in placements.
In making this change, we also found that some of our students needed explicit feedback related to their
behavior in these settings. With little prior experience in high needs, large urban settings, candidates
needed specifics in developing rapport, managing classrooms, providing feedback, and other teacher
practices. In fall 2011 we began piloting a detailed dispositions form that provided for tracking
measurable behaviors linked to our disposition statements. The form, however, was complex, and, as a
paper instrument, somewhat unwieldy. In winter 2012 we designed and launched a web-based format
of this assessment, using skip logic so that mentors and supervisors could focus and provide feedback on
individual needs areas. We will be analyzing this data summer 2012.
Theme: Implementation of research-based strategies. Research support for designing and
implementing interventions and instructional strategies was required beginning fall 2012. We will
examine the impact of this requirement during summer, 2012.
Theme: Academic language development. Faculty members are just beginning initiatives to increase
our candidates’ ability to facilitate p-12 students’ academic language development. Through literacy
coursework we have infused a greater emphasis on the development of academic language.
Theme: Reflection. The Teacher Performance Assessment’s final three rubrics involve reflection. During
summer 2012 we will be analyzing raters’ judgments and comments related to their reflections in order
to design ways to improve and measure reflection. The collaborative assessment log (CAL) has been
implemented to document mentoring conversations. Through this form, specific information related to
the candidates’ perceptions of their successes, their struggles, and the next steps for the mentor and the
candidate are clearly documented. The CAL provides a structure for self-evaluation and reflection
related to performance.