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Strengthening Teacher Education in the Undergraduate Years
San Francisco State University Action Plan
December, 1997
In November, 1997, days after the October 29 CSU Conference on
Strengthening Teacher Education, Thomas J. La Belle, Provost and
VP for Academic Affairs, addressed the Academic Senate at SFSU
and proposed that the campus develop a five-year plan to achieve
a more academically integrated teacher education program and meet
CSU initiatives and state standards. He suggested that a campuswide
policy-making committee be established, or that the existing All
University Teacher Education Committee (AUTEC), and other related
campus committees (such as the Liberal Studies Council and K-18
Council) be restructured and newly charged. Additionally, he
proposed the following Action Steps to meet these objectives:
- Improve and strengthen Liberal Studies advising, targeting
the subject matter fields for elementary education, to better
inform students in Liberal Studies about requirements, career
paths, etc. Staff and faculty peer training sessions, special
seminars or courses for students, and improving print and electronic
information could help achieve these goals.
- Build bridges to facilitate cooperation between education
and discipline-based faculty, through pairings in discipline and
pedagogy.
- Identify early in the process students who intend to pursue
teacher education as a career and offer career counseling based
in the College of Education.
- Revise courses in the subject-matter discipline and education
in view of the five year plan, to reflect a true integration.
Explore the use of assigned time for faculty as an incentive
to undertake these curricular revisions.
- Link discipline faculty with K-12 schools so they have a better
idea of what the K-12 institutions represent and the needs of
newly prepared teachers.
- Arrange internships for students in K-12 schools for observation,
tutoring, and other early, preparatory experiences leading to
teacher preparation.
- Investigate the possibility of a Minor in Education for Liberal
Studies and subject matter majors;
- Hire a few new faculty-potentially in the disciplines, some
in education, and perhaps some jointly between education and the
disciplines and between the K-12 schools and the university.
- Consider reviewing promotion and tenure policies in light
of curricular integration and the enhancement of K-12 university
linkages.
- Find ways to enhance resources for Liberal Studies, (e.g.
by identifying and funding a coordinator, creating a capstone
or gateway course, bolstering course offerings.)
- Determine the most effective use of newly granted CSU resources
to increase teacher education productivity and further the integration
agenda.
In the few weeks that have elapsed since the conference on Strengthening
Teacher Education in the Undergraduate Years, the campus has begun
implementation of the Action Plan outlined by the Provost.
Team members have reported back to their constituencies and all
the primary university committees concerned with these issues
(e.g. AUTEC, Liberal Studies Council, the Teacher Credential Committee)
are aware of the Action Plan and its implications. The Provost
met with the All University Teacher Education Committee and expanded
their charge to include consideration and implementation of the
Action Plan.
A faculty member from Elementary Education has been assigned the
responsibility for College-based activities related to Liberal
Studies, working with the College Dean and Associate Dean to begin
to move the agenda and strengthen College ties with the Liberal
Studies Program. (Action Plan #1 and #10) One such activity under
development, in cooperation with the SF Unified School District,
is the America Reads program. Liberal Studies students are being
recruited into this program aimed at improving the teaching of
reading. This provides an internship opportunity in K-12 schools
for undergraduate students. (#6)
Discussions are taking place in the College of Education to determine
ways to identify faculty and a funding source to strengthen the
link between discipline faculty and K-12 schools (#5).
A proposal for a Minor in Education, primarily for Liberal Studies
and subject matter majors, has been developed in the College of
Education--the first step in the university-wide curricular approval
process. (#7)
The Provost and the Dean of the College of Education are in discussions
about the best use of new faculty position(s) in the College,
to support increased FTES and strengthen teacher education. Also
under discussion are the use of Economic Improvement Initiative
funds to support Liberal Studies students and faculty in other
disciplines. (#8 and #11) The College of Education, working
in cooperation with the College of Extended Learning and the SF
Unified School District, will initiate one such program in spring
1998, targeting Liberal Studies students. The program will enable
students to enroll in credential courses and work in the schools
in spring and summer '98 and then obtain a limited teaching contract
beginning fall, '98. Students will be able to fulfill the remaining
requirements for the credential while in a full-time, paid teaching
position.
At SFSU, we are moving ahead with our agenda and Action Plan to
Strengthen Teacher Education in the Undergraduate Years.
Office of the Provost, SFSU
December 5, 1997
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