CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LONG BEACH 12-3-97
Strengthening Teacher Education in the Undergraduate Years

CSULB participants in the Strengthening Teacher Education in the Undergraduate Years conference have identified an action plan for CSULB that builds on activities under way to achieve the following campus goals:

1) Formation of a leadership team committed to developing and supporting an all university plan for high quality preparation of undergraduate teaching.

2) Development of an integrated five-year program for prospective elementary teachers.

3) Redesign of the Liberal Studies program to ensure that undergraduates are well

prepared in knowledge, pedagogy and experience to become excellent teachers

in our region.

4) Building of an all-university faculty committed to the preparation of undergraduates for teaching

5) Involvement of local teachers and school districts in planning efforts.

6) Raising campus awareness of issues in education in the state.

The following activities are planned or are in progress to meet the stated goals:

1) Leadership Team: The leadership team includes the following faculty and assignments:

Director of Liberal Studies and Chair of Teacher Education: co-leaders of program development for the integrated program and revision of Liberal Studies and the multiple subjects programs.

Dean of Education: Oversight of planning and revision efforts, structure groups,

calendar.

Associate Dean of Education: Community college and K-12 Liaison.

Deans of Liberal Arts and Natural Science and Mathematics: Involve faculty in

arts and sciences in revision and restructuring.

Five Year Program Planning Team: Development and implementation for five-year integrated program, revisions in Liberal Studies (See attached description).

1. Integrated Five Year Program: Design of an integrated five year program began this summer with a two day retreat attended by representatives of departments involved in Liberal Studies, education faculty, and curriculum leaders from local districts. Planning has continued this fall, with a goal of submitting a redesigned program proposal to faculty governance bodies by December, 1998. The core faculty will work intensively

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during the spring semester to complete recommendations for an integrated program and to make recommendations for revisions in the current Liberal studies program. Curriculum leaders from collaborating districts will be key members of the planning team, which will also include representatives from community colleges with large numbers of transfer students.

3) Redesigned Liberal Studies Program: In addition to consideration of revisions in the curriculum, the campus will consider ways to enhance the student experience in the Liberal Studies program over the next semester. Currently, the Liberal Studies program is housed in Academic Affairs and has no faculty appointments in the program. Students lack a "home", a core faculty with ongoing responsibilities for Liberal Studies and connections between their courses in the early years of the program. In the past two years, the campus has introduced a service learning program for all Liberal Studies students (SERVE), which places all students as tutors in literacy programs in schools with mentor teachers for 120 hours of a service learning requirement. The Vice President has signaled his intent to move the Liberal Studies program to the College of Education in the next year.

1. Core Liberal Studies Faculty: The creation of a core Liberal Studies faculty drawn from across campus and formally committed to the undergraduate preparation of teachers will be a major consideration for the campus leadership group in the spring semester. We recognize the need to design faculty develop experiences to help faculty integrate their

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subject matter with the pedagogy needed for the classroom and to get current experience in school settings.

We also recognize the need for ongoing collaboration between education faculty, arts and science faculty and school curriculum leaders to design integrated educational experiences for students. The campus will also consider the appointment of some core tenure-track faculty to Liberal Studies, possibly through joint appointments (new hires or reassignments) from both education and key disciplines in the undergraduate program.

5) Campus Awareness: The campus will sponsor one or more public colloquia in the spring semester focused on the broad educational issues facing our state and region and the role of the university in responding to them. The Provost will host an all-campus event in the spring, and ill highlight teacher education as an issue in campus meetings such as the fall convocation. More focused discussion will take place at college retreats this winter in the Colleges of Education Liberal Arts, and Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Members of the leadership team, especially the Director of Liberal Studies and Chair of Teacher Education will prepare a presentation to be given to campus constituencies during the next two semesters.

A development and implementation design for the integrated five year program planning program is attached.