2014 NCATE Steering Committee
FALL 2013
Fall 2013 meeting schedules:
Time: 9:30 am to 11:30 am
Dates:
September 6, 2013
October 4, 2013
November 1, 2013
December 6, 2013
September 06, 2013
Hawkins Hall 306
9:30-11:30
Agenda
1. Overview of accomplishments - unit wide - from fall 2011 to the present day
2. Review of timeline remaining before the site visit
3. Preview of NCATE-specific Unit faculty preparation meetings for fall 2013 (the Third Monday
meetings)
4. Steering committee questions and concerns preparing for Unit preparation faculty meetings
5.
Soliciting questions from departmental representatives during their upcoming meetings, for use
during the November 18th meeting
Attendees
Scott Gehring ............................. Center for Professional Practice
Lynn Brown ................................ Center for Professional Practice
Kate Holman .............................. Special Education
Lijun Jin ...................................... Elementary Education
Jeff Kenton ................................. Assistant Dean and Steering Committee Coordinator
Gilda Martinez-Alba ................... Educational Technology & Literacy—Graduate Reading
Sandra Perez ............................. Dance Education
Karen Robertson ........................ Associate Dean
Liyan Song ................................. Educational Technology & Literacy
Tabatha Uhrich ........................... Kinesiology
Dave Vocke ................................ Secondary Education
Ocie Watson-Thompson ............ Early Childhood Education
Diane Wood ............................... Instructional Leadership & Professional Development
Natsuko Chow ............................ recorder
Minutes
The meeting was called to order at 9:30 a.m. by Dr. Kenton.
Introduction of the Steering Committee
The existing and new committee members introduced themselves.
Dr. Kenton initiated the meeting by asking the committee members to make a list of activities that the
steering committee has accomplished since September 9, 2011.
Dr. Kenton shared his list and reviewed all the activities/accomplishments. The PowerPoint slides
provided a complete list.
Additional items reviewed and discussed:
Why does InTASC matter to the Unit?
- Transition from 1992 INTASC Principles to 2011 InTASC Standards started in Fall 2012 and the
new InTASC standards were implemented in the course syllabi, internship evaluations, etc.
- All Unit programs are expected to satisfy all 10 standards.
- There is a matrix that shows which INTASC Principle became which InTASC Standard.
SPA Update
The Elementary Education (ACEI) and English (NCTE) will submit their responses to conditions on
9/15/2013. The Foreign Languages program will submit their ACTFL response to conditions in spring
2014.
Remaining Timeline
Writing of the Institutional Report (IR) is in progress, and by end of the semester, we would like to have
some drafts reviewed. The IR is due in February 2014, eight months prior to the site visit, immediately
after receiving a list of team members. We will receive feedback to the IR six months prior to the site visit,
and have opportunity to address issues.
Dr. Robertson shared her experience at the College of Notre Dame. The entire team received the
Institutional Report, and they had a telephone conference to address questions and issues. During the
telephone conference, the NCATE representative wrote up a report. Then, the team reviewed the report
to gather additional information for ‘rejoinder.’ The majority of activities were done prior to the site visit.
In Aug/Sept 2014, previsit occurs to discuss final details.
In September 2013, planning for Gallery Walk begins; Gallery Walk is part of the site visit, and the
purpose is to show what the Unit does on a personal level and to provide the team members an actual
view of what we do.
All Unit Faculty Meetings – “Third Monday Meetings”
The next third Mondays: 9/23/2013, 10/21/2013, and 11/18/2013 have been scheduled for all Unit faculty
for NCATE preparation. Dr. Kenton briefly talked about what each meeting will cover. A memo will be
sent out today.
The committee members are asked to solicit some questions from their faculty regarding the NCATE site
visit and share them at the November meeting (11/1/2013), and based on the discussion, we will facilitate
the 11/18 Unit meeting to provide some answers.
The committee members brainstormed what our faculty may need to know:
- understand intersection between YASU, SPA, and NCATE
- how to prepare our students
- how to prepare adjunct faculty & off-site faculty
- expectations when the visitors are here
- outline/matrix of required artifacts
- list of ‘focus group’ for interview during the site visit and at Gallery Walk: mentor teachers, school
principal, interns, former students, etc
-
sample of interview questions and examples of positive responses
The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 a.m. by Dr. Kenton.
October 04, 2013
Hawkins Hall 306
9:30-11:30
Agenda
1. Updates:
 PDS Explication Processes
 Public Accountability Website
 Content Management System (CSM)
 E-Portfolios
2. Planning October 21st All-Unit Faculty NCATE Preparation Meeting
3. Assessment System
Attendees
Scott Gehring ............................. Center for Professional Practice
Lynn Brown ................................ Center for Professional Practice
Deborah Gartland ....................... Special Education
Lijun Jin ...................................... Elementary Education
Jeff Kenton ................................. Assistant Dean and Steering Committee Coordinator
Gilda Martinez-Alba ................... Educational Technology & Literacy—Graduate Reading
Sandra Perez ............................. Dance Education
Karen Robertson ........................ Associate Dean
Liyan Song ................................. Educational Technology & Literacy
Tabatha Uhrich ........................... Kinesiology
Dave Vocke ................................ Secondary Education
Ocie Watson-Thompson ............ Early Childhood Education
Diane Wood ............................... Instructional Leadership & Professional Development
Natsuko Chow ............................ recorder
Minutes
The meeting was called to order at 9:30 a.m. by Dr. Kenton.
Updates:
The PDS sites have been determined: MSDE selected the Elementary Education and Special Education
dual certification program (EESE) cohort in Howard County, with Deborah Gartland as liaison. Towson
selected the Secondary Education program in Harford County with Mark Herzog as liaison.
Per NCATE’s request, information on public accountability measures was added on the College of
Education website: http://www.towson.edu/coe/ncate/accountabilitymeasures.asp. You will find
information on candidates related to:
 Results of State Licensure Exams -- the Praxis pass rate chart reflects the current information.
 Graduate surveys -- the graduate surveys provide comparative data of first year and third year
graduates and the employer survey of first year graduate to track our graduates.

Title II Report Cards – the MD Title II complete report card shows Towson University (5404)
under traditional program and BCPS/TU-MAT program under alternative program (5780). We do
well in comparison across the state, and have been maintaining high Praxis II pass rates.
The Unit is soliciting comments and questions about selecting a Content Management System (CMS) to
manage multiple facets of candidate data collection and reporting. The foremost issue to be resolved with
the CMS is to have a common framework for hosting electronic portfolios. A list of questions will be
shared with vendors such as TaskStream, LiveText and Tk20.
Planning October 21st All-Unit NCATE preparation meeting:
Dr. Kenton is planning to make the meeting interactive and wants the steering committee members to
take a role to facilitate a table discussion. The purpose of the meeting is to familiarize the Unit faculty
about our target standard, Standard 2, Assessment System. Dr. Kenton will provide an introduction to the
Unit’s assessment system process. Then, programs will follow along with a discussion of the YASU/DAR
template. Finally, programs will “break out” to discuss the program-specific inner-workings of the Data
Analysis report and the program responses to the MSDE Redesign initiative questions.
Meeting the Assessment System Standard at the Target level
We must provide evidence for each prompt, and show what we are doing is consistent across the Unit.
The YASU process provides this systematic and ongoing information. The assessment system graphic
indicates our multiple data points to show measuring candidate performance at different perspectives.
For performance assessment, we are making a case with Praxis II pass rates and national recognition
from all but three SPA programs (so far).
Our program data are disaggregated by program level and location. These data are systematically
analyzed and interpreted by programs. The right hand column of the assessment system graphic shows
multiple points of data collection. Some of our advanced programs do not respond to SPA; therefore,
each program identifies program standards and makes sure collect data from signature assessment.
Three Important Processes:
Data Set -- the annual data set consists of eight reports. Dr. Kenton talked about what each report is,
who creates the data, and where they come from.
YASU/DAR Template
The template intentionally aligns with a SPA report template. The teacher education programs are
accountable to the University’s assessment requirements. When Aileen Trainer from the Assessment
Office proposed an annual assessment cycle, we asked her to consider use YASU. The YASU certifies
university assessment requirements.
The AY 2012-2013 YASU/DAR reports are due by November 1, 2013. Between November 1, 2013 and
January 28, 2014, each program has a chance to address some issues or make necessary changes. If
your program does not submit the report on time, you will miss the chance to implement any necessary
changes. This is a unit-wide effort; not just a person who completes the report. It is important that your
faculty members are aware of this process and have them get involved. It is an essential part of our claim
that we are operating at the target level.
Data Analysis Report (DAR) – this section consists of four data-intensive questions. The questions focus
on “closing the loop” from the prior year’s data-based program improvement initiatives, looking for “areas
of need” in the most recent annual data, and formulating a process for addressing those areas of need in
the upcoming academic year’s data. Section V in the SPA template asks many of the same questions.
MSDE Redesign Questions – Diversity
The Folioette/state program reports address some of the Maryland accountability questions. There are
questions related to preparation to teach Inclusive, Diverse, Gifted and Talented (GT), and English
Language Learners (ELL, as well as querying whether the candidate had experiences with “Other School
personnel” (incl. School Psychologist, Speech pathologist, Guidance Counselor, School Library Media
Specialist, etc.) and All these questions verify information for outside agencies.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 a.m. by Dr. Kenton.
November 01, 2013
Hawkins Hall 306
9:30-11:30
Agenda
1. Updates on PDS Explication
2. Updates on MSDE Team
3. Getting Ready for November 18
– Roles of Steering Committee
– Existing Questions
– Newly Provided Questions
4. Spring Meeting Schedule
5. Spring Third Monday Schedule
6. Next Meeting on December 6, 2013
Attendees
Scott Gehring ............................. Center for Professional Practice
Lynn Brown ................................ Center for Professional Practice
Kate Holman .............................. Special Education
Lijun Jin ...................................... Elementary Education
Jeff Kenton ................................. Assistant Dean and Steering Committee Coordinator
Gilda Martinez-Alba ................... Educational Technology & Literacy—Graduate Reading
Sandra Perez ............................. Dance Education
Karen Robertson ........................ Associate Dean
Liyan Song ................................. Educational Technology & Literacy
Tabatha Uhrich ........................... Kinesiology
Dave Vocke ................................ Secondary Education
Ocie Watson-Thompson ............ Early Childhood Education
Diane Wood ............................... Instructional Leadership & Professional Development
Natsuko Chow ............................ recorder
Minutes
The meeting was called to order at 9:30 a.m. by Dr. Kenton.
Updates on PDS Explication
The PDS sites have been determined: MSDE selected the Elementary Education and Special Education
dual certification program (EESE) cohort at Bellow Spring Elementary School in Howard County, with
Deborah Gartland as liaison. Towson selected the Secondary Education program at Edgewood High
School and Fallston Middle School in Harford County with Mark Herzog as liaison.
There was a question about the EESE cohort in Howard County. Since the cohort is made up with three
PDS schools, the committee members wanted to know whether the review team will visit Bellow Spring
Elementary School or one of three schools. Dr. Kenton will verify the information.
Updates on MSDE Team
Norma Allen has retired, and Liz Neal will replace her. Ms. Neal informed Dr. Kenton that we should find
out who our MSDE review team members are by November 18th.
Getting Ready for November 18th Meeting
Here are the questions and topics that we discussed at Friday’s steering committee meeting:
1. What are the site visitors hoping to learn about Towson University’s Professional Education unit
on the site visit?
a. They want to gain a “big picture” view of the Unit and its operations
b. They want to verify the claims that we have made in the Institutional Report, and in the
PDS explication papers
c. They want to develop a sense of how we do what we do, and what the effects are of that
Unit-Wide knowledge
2. How do we resolve the AFIs that we received during the last visit?
a. The AFI we received was for inconsistent use of data to make program improvements. In
this case, “inconsistent” means that not all programs were collecting and reporting data
when making program improvement decisions.
b. One section of the Institutional Report asks us to report information about what we have
done to address the AFI. In that section, we will highlight the Unit-wide use of the Yearly
Assessment System Update (YASU) and Data Analysis Report (DAR) to make clear
where programs can be improved, and how those programs are making the decisions to
affect those changes.
c. We report selected findings from the advanced programs during the NCATE Annual
Report (Part C)
3. Which artifacts are we still submitting?
a. We have collected syllabi from 2012-2013 courses
b. We have collected example portfolios from 2012-2013 program completers
c. We would like to collect some examples (2-3 from each program) of excellent portfolios
d. We would like to collect some excellent examples (2-3 from each program) of lesson
planning assignments
e. Faculty Vita, please distribute the attached template to:
i. all NEW since 2011 faculty members
ii. Veteran faculty members who have recent contributions to update
Spring NCATE Steering Committee Meeting Schedule:
1/31
2/28
4/4
5/2
These meetings are scheduled on Friday before the department meetings.
Time: 9:30-11:30
Room: TBA
Spring All-Unit Faculty Preparation (Third Monday) Meeting Schedule:
2/17 (location TBA)
3/17
4/21
2-4 Chesapeake
Brain Dance by Sandra Perez
Ms. Perez demonstrated a brain and full-body warm-up which she uses in her class as brain activator.
The exercise took about 5 minutes.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 a.m. by Dr. Kenton.
December 06, 2013
Hawkins Hall 306
9:30-11:30
Agenda
1. Introductions
2. Remaining NCATE Preparation Timeline
3. January 16 Retreat Schedule
4.
Work Session
–
IR Standard 3 & 4 Narrative Review
–
Program Required Course Syllabi Review
Attendees
Scott Gehring ............................. Center for Professional Practice
Lynn Brown ................................ Center for Professional Practice
Kate Holman .............................. Special Education
Lijun Jin ...................................... Elementary Education
Jeff Kenton ................................. Assistant Dean and Steering Committee Coordinator
Liz Neal ...................................... MSDE Liaison
Karen Robertson ........................ Associate Dean
Liyan Song ................................. Educational Technology & Literacy
Tabatha Uhrich ........................... Kinesiology
Dave Vocke ................................ Secondary Education
Tom Proffitt ................................ Guest
Natsuko Chow ............................ recorder
Minutes
The meeting was called to order at 9:30 a.m. by Dr. Kenton.
Introduction
Liz Neal is replacing Norma Allen. She is a representative of Maryland Department of Education (MSDE).
Remaining Timeline
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March 7, 2014 – Institutional Report Submission
Early May 2014 Formative Review Received
Early August 2014 Addendum Submitted
September 2014 NCATE Previsit and PDS Artifact Review
NCATE Visit
NOVEMBER 2-4, 2014
- Official report should be available within 6-8 weeks.
- The timeline for rejoinder should be about two months.




Final report is due back to Unit within 52 days of the visit (~January 1, 2015)
If a rejoinder is required, that is due within 30 days of the final report (~ February 1, 2015)
Within 14 days after receiving the rejoinder, BOE Team chair responds to rejoinder
April 2015, UAB meeting; Decisions Finalized
January 16th Retreat
All-day NCATE Steering Committee meeting is scheduled on January 16th. The purpose of this meeting
is to finalize reviews of IR Standards and to prepare materials to share with on-site stakeholders (i.e.
Admin Assistants, non-instructional staff, etc.)
Work Session
Group 1: Reviewing IR Standard 3 and 4 narratives
Dr. Proffitt discussed the process of reviewing the Standard 3 and 4 narratives. This is a Unit
accreditation; however, the report requires program-specific information such as required exhibits as well
as supplemental exhibits.
The other problem is that the report has character limits; therefore, we need everybody’s critical eyes to
review the drafts to meet these limits while addressing the required prompts.
The Institutional Report requires one academic year’s worth of data, and we want three year data to be
available. We have to provide the most recent profile/data.
Group 2: Reviewing course syllabi for use as exhibits (InTASC, SPA, MSDE)
Dr. Kenton discussed the process of reviewing required course syllabi. The intention is to choose
extemporary syllabi for exhibits and find evidence foci that are exhibited in the syllabi.
Spring 2014 NCATE Steering Committee Meeting Schedule:
1/16, Thursday – all day meeting
1/31
2/28
4/4
5/2
These meetings are scheduled on Friday before the department meetings.
Time: 9:30-11:30
Room: 306
Spring 2014 All-Unit Faculty NCATE Preparation Meeting Schedule:
2/24
3/17
4/21
Time: 2:00-4:00
Room: University Union - Chesapeake II & III
The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 a.m. by Dr. Kenton.