Conceptual Framework

Overview

Shared Vision

Coherence

Professional Commitments and Dispositions

Commitment to Technology

Candidate Proficiencies Aligned with Professional and State Standards

References

Overview

The mission of Union University, an academic community affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention, is to provide Christ-centered higher education that promotes excellence and character development in service to Church and society in ways consistent with the following core values (see p. 3 of the 2004-2005 Undergraduate Catalogue for elaboration on each of core values):

·        Union University must be excellence-driven.
·        Union University must be Christ-centered.
·        Union University must be people focused.
·        Union University must be future directed.

The conceptual framework for Union’s Teacher Education Program is “A Teacher-Student Dynamic of Sensitivity, Reflection, and Faith."  The conceptual framework which guides the Teacher Education Unit is derived from the institutional mission and is founded upon established and contemporary research, the wisdom of practice, and emerging education policies and practices.  The framework shapes Union’s commitment to prepare its students to be highly effective classroom teachers.
 

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The conceptual framework for Union’s Teacher Education Program is "A Teacher-Student Dynamic of Sensitivity, Reflection, and Faith." First, there is recognition that the relationship between a teacher and a student is dynamic.  This word connotes energy and action, not passivity. A dynamic is a cooperative and collaborative relationship, one where the teacher is also a learner and the student is a reflective practitioner. This relationship is also an attitude.  As Dewey (1938) expressed in his summary work, Experience and Education, “the most important attitude that can be formed is that of desire to go on learning” (p. 48).  It is the hope and desire of the Teacher Education Program that Union’s teacher candidates are prepared to foster in their students this attitude of enthusiasm for life-long learning.  The dynamic is also highly repetitive.  Philip Jackson (1968) suggests that elementary teachers engage in as many as 1000 personal interactions each day.  Most of these interactions involve minor as well as major decisions.

The three distinct facets of the conceptual framework are sensitivity, reflection, and faith.  Sensitivity has many dimensions because it is attitudinal.  But it also must be intentional.  The good news is that it can be taught as a concept and skill.  Bransford et al. (2000) in How People Learn emphasize that learners must construct their own knowledge and understanding based upon their prior experience.  Teachers at all levels must be sensitive to the learner’s experiences (needs, interests, home environment, etc.) in order to connect their teaching to how the students learn.

Many authors and researchers in the “brain learning” field have called for an emotionally safe learning environment for optimum learning to take place (Howard, 1994; Jensen, 1998; McGaugh et al., 1993). When a child feels intimidated in the classroom environment, an overproduction of noradrenalin causes that child to focus attention on self-protection instead of learning. Sensitivity also involves the teacher’s ability to orchestrate learning where students experience appropriate levels of challenge (Tomlinson & Kalbfleisch, 1998). If the curriculum is well beyond the students’ readiness levels, interests, and/or learning profiles, the brain overproduces “stress hormones,” neurotransmitters that impede learning (Koob, Cole, Swerdlow & leMoal, 1990). Conversely, if the classroom environment is tedious and boring--beneath the student’s level of readiness and interest--the brain is not inclined to engage and consequently responds with apathy (Shultz, Dayan, & Montague, 1997).  A sensitive teacher knows students to the point of discernment of the difference between a challenge and a frustration which is directly related to active engagement or tedium.

An example of teaching sensitivity as a concept and skill is in the field of reading instruction.  It is vital that a first grade teacher “knows” his/her children.  Having learned various teaching approaches, the sensitive teacher can discern which method works best for the child who is having difficulty.  If the learner is not able to detect the various sounds used in the part-to-whole strategy, the sensitive teacher will switch to strategies like whole-to-part, the language experience, or the whole language approach to meet the needs of the learner.  Such sensitivity enables the teacher to teach children to read through diverse means that “work” for them.

Sensitivity can also be seen as vital for a teacher in fostering emotional and social learning.  Many educators agree:  emotional and social learning cannot be treated as a fad.  The work of Howard Gardner (1983), Daniel Goleman (1995), James Comer (Comer, Haynes, Joyner, & Ben-Avie 1996) and Carol Gilligan (1987) tells us why.  It is the recognition of the relational nature of learning which constitutes an essential missing piece in our educational system.  Until it is given its proper place, one cannot expect to see progress in combating violence, substance abuse, disaffection, intolerance or the high dropout rate.

Robert Sylwester outlines six areas in which emotional and social learning must converge for the benefit of children and schools:

• Accepting and controlling our emotions
• Using metacognitive activities
• Using activities which promote social interaction
• Using activities which provide and emotional context
• Avoiding intense emotional stress in school
• Recognizing the relationship between emotions and health

He also points out that multiple intelligences are socially based and interrelated:  “It’s difficult to think of linguistic, musical, and interpersonal intelligence out of the context of social and cooperative activity, and the other four forms of intelligence are likewise principally social in normal practice.”  (1995, 75-77, 117)

Reflection is also multi-faceted.  Howard Gardner (1993) has labeled it as “intrapersonal intelligence.”  Armstrong (1994) describes intrapersonal intelligence as:

Multiple Intelligence theory suggests that intrapersonal intelligence can be taught through a variety of means: providing space and time for student privacy, allowing authentic choice in how they are to learn, developing self-paced projects.

Another dimension of reflection is inquiry and reflective thinking.  As a nation, American educators and other citizens have always wanted schools to teach thinking.  Dewey (1916) approached the teaching of thinking through problem-solving.  He defined a problem as anything that gives rise to doubt and uncertainty and posed two criteria: (1) the problems to be studied had to be important to the culture, and (2) the problems had to be important and relevant to the student.  Beyer (1971) described the role of the teacher in inquiry teaching as (1) posing a meaningful problem, and (2) providing the resources with which the students can solve the problem. This role is a major paradigm shift for many teachers.

Yet another aspect of reflection is understanding.  One set of curriculum specialists use the term to mean that a student goes beyond textbook knowledge to really “gets it.”  Wiggins & McTighe (1998) say that understanding involves sophisticated insights and abilities, that knowledge and skill do not automatically lead to understanding, and that misunderstanding is a bigger problem than most realize.  The authors suggest designing or redesigning curriculum to make student understanding more likely.

Faith undergirds all that Union University seeks to accomplish in its classrooms.  Union’s teacher education students have the opportunity to tap into a holistic education which includes the spiritual dimension.  James Sire (1997) contrasts a statement from Stephen Crane on the plight of late 20th century human beings:

A man said to the universe:
”Sir, I exist.”

“However,” replied the universe,

“The fact has not created in me

A sense of obligation.”

 How different this is from the words of the ancient psalmist (Psalm 8) who looked around himself and up to God and wrote:

O Lord, our Lord,

How majestic is thy name in all the earth!

Life can be seen as a struggle to discover one’s faith, worldview and beliefs about reality.  At Union, teacher education balances its conceptual framework on faith.  The university wants to nurture belief in God and His Son, Jesus Christ.  It also desires that its students will be “overcomers” in life through the power of God’s spirit.  This ability is surely relevant as teachers seek to be sensitive and reflective in their classrooms.  It is also vital that students form a consciousness of not only their own way of thought (their own worldview), but also that of other people so that they can understand and communicate with others in a pluralistic society.

An additional question for teacher educators at any university concerned with a more holistic vision for education is, “How do we produce graduates who know what they believe, who measure their beliefs against moral and ethical standards, and who can and will incorporate those standards into what and how they teach?”  An important question for students who are preparing for the teaching profession is, “Are you aware that what you believe, regardless of its integrity, will be conveyed to the students you teach?”  At Union we ask, “How can we lead pre-service teachers to reflect upon their worldviews and to act upon them in school classrooms?  Do they have a reckoning point for moral and ethical beliefs and conduct?”  The questions are as important as the answers because they require a theological reflection rarely found in higher education in America. The questions are simply not pertinent to the missions of teacher education programs (or to the missions of other academic programs as well) in most universities because of the fragmentation of their visions for education.  The answer for teacher educators at Union can be found in a newly-utilized triangulation of inquiry among three foundational points:  faith, character, and service-learning.

Such inquiry presents a pedagogical problem even at a Christian university because the graduate preparation of most professors is secular.  And, unfortunately, most contemporary graduate cultures deny the needed holistic vision of education.  At Union, educators are seeking to formulate a curriculum for undergraduate and graduate education based on critical questions.  The goal is to connect the triangular points of faith and character with the philosophy and action pedagogy of service-learning, and, to actualize those connections with an inquiry process.  Such an emphasis on service-learning represents a pedagogical change and enhancement since the previous NCATE visit.

Union University’s exploration of the role of faith and character in teacher education programs acknowledges the moral development work of Piaget(1965), Kohlberg (1969), Perry (1970), Astin (1977), and the civic and character education advances of Lickona (1995, 1999), Colby, Ehrlich, Beaumont and Stephens (2003), but expands this basis to include the impact of faith.  Fowler’s (1981) stages of spiritual development are a factor in designing a curriculum where adolescent college students consider their faith and worldview.  Westerhoff’s (2000) four styles or stages of faith development provide operational insights into how college students perceive their faith and act on their beliefs. These faith development stages inform the curriculum that will assist students in the establishment of a Christian worldview. 

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The conceptual framework, to achieve coherence, is articulated and shared among professional education faculty, candidates, and other members of the professional community through the following venues:

·        The Teacher Education Program Handbook, 2004-2005, Vol. I, which is given to all applicants to the Teacher Education Program, states and defines the conceptual framework with a clear, integrated explanation.

·        The conceptual framework is found on page 168 of the 2004-2005 Undergraduate Catalogue and on page 30 of the 2004-05 Graduate Catalogue.

• The conceptual framework appears on the unit's current course syllabi within a general, consistent format.  Discussion, explanation, and assessment of the integration of the conceptual framework into each course takes place with students at the beginning of each semester and, when applicable, throughout the semester.
   
• Cooperating teachers of candidates participating in various field experiences and student teaching receive information about the conceptual framework and evaluate the student based on the various facets of the framework.
   
• The university supervisor assesses students participating in various field experiences and the cooperating teacher using behaviors based on the facets of the conceptual framework.  Student teachers are evaluated by the university supervisor, cooperating teachers, and themselves based on designated demonstrations of sensitivity, reflection, and faith. (2004-2005 Teacher Education Program Handbook, Vol. II).

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Union’s conceptual framework articulates professional commitment to knowledge, teaching competence, and student learning.  Because of the immediate impact and relevance their work has on the lives of children, teacher educators have often been among the first to respond to new needs brought on by change in educational landscapes.  Redefining the role of the teacher educator is a timely consideration. 

A pragmatic goal is to present to each teacher educator at Union University an overlay of an inquiry curriculum that can be readily utilized.  This inquiry curriculum is designed to engage learners in worldview thinking that will impact American classrooms.  James Sire’s critical questions of faith from The Universe Next Door (1997) serve as a pedagogical springboard for the curriculum.  Questions like, “What is the basis for your morality?” “How is anything known?” “What happens to you when you die?”  “What purpose do human beings serve in this world?” are starters for worldview thinking.  The task is to frame these ideas and values into coursework and experiences (such as service-learning) that can be understood and prized by students.  The impact must be less missionary in tone and more reciprocal in spirit; i.e., how can teacher education students serve in a way that mutually benefits their communities as well as themselves?  Engagement begins with good questions, and good questions are still the best tool any teacher can have in their pedagogical repertoire.  An emphasis on inquiry skills is an enhancement included in the curriculum since the previous NCATE visit.

Implementing an Inquiry Curriculum

Knowledge, teaching competence, and student learning are enhanced in an inquiry curriculum.  For example, how can a teacher education program equip teachers with a morality informed by an inquiring, civic-minded paradigm which strikes at the heart of their worldviews?  As Colby et al. (2003) assert, moral and civic values are inseparable.  They describe morality as concerned with prescriptive judgments about how one relates to other people personally, in the world of work and in public domains.  Thus, morality is personal as well as public, precisely the domain of the public school teacher.  Schooling in America is and has always been concerned with the morality of the democracy, certain democratic goals and principles like tolerance and respect, objectivity, concern for individual rights and group welfare.  These are traditional values of American citizenship and they rest upon more basic values identified in the secular realm of Character Counts! as well as the sacred context of the Bible.  

One of the most challenging tasks an academic program faces, especially a professional program, is effectively dealing with the dispositional outcomes for students. In teacher education programs like Union's that are nationally accredited by NCATE, they must meet performance standards which require the institution to demonstrate that their students are actually meeting the knowledge, skills, and dispositions specified. The dispositional area is always the most difficult one to validate. However, one way that one can approach this affective realm is by (1) systematically infusing inquiry into the curriculum of preparation of teachers, (2) measuring the value added with an appropriate instrument, and (3) documenting the observation of these dispositions (civic values) in pre-service teachers in the public school classrooms.

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In a rapidly changing American society, educators are confronted with what is often an overwhelming challenge to prepare students from diverse cultural backgrounds.  Because of the reality in each classroom of diversity in race, ethnicity, gender, class, language, religion, or ability, teachers must be prepared to understand and act upon the multicultural factors which affect student learning (Gollnick & Chinn, 2004).

At Union a vital approach to this challenge is to ask students to reflect upon their own worldview through the eyes of faith.  Teaching students from diverse cultures requires a sensitivity that can come through the intentional integration of faith and learning in regard to issues of diversity.  Union’s teacher educators encounter pre-service teachers who have been shaped by their own personal experiences in issues of diversity.  Through dialogue these students are led to share why they believe the way they do.

To facilitate this dialogue, one teacher educator, for example, assigns a worldview paper as a springboard for reflection and dialogue with classmates.  Many students for the first time in their lives confront what they believe about diversity and why they believe it. Union’s conceptual framework provides an understanding of the process that students must utilize to integrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for a commitment to diversity.  Sensitivity, reflection, and faith form a paradigm which reflects the Union School of Education’s commitment to learning for all students.

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Union is committed to preparing candidates who are able to use educational technology to help all students learn.  Educational and information technology are integrated throughout the curriculum of the teacher education program, including instructional pedagogy, field experiences, clinical practice, and assessment practices.  A teacher-student dynamic includes the understanding that the processes and tools of instructional technology must be utilized in addressing educational needs and problems (Robyler, 2003, p. 6). 

Dynamic as a concept means that technology is more than a classroom accessory.  Instead, technology is something that is integrated into the various aspects of teaching and learning as it is utilized by teachers and their students to improve the effectiveness of instructional strategies.  It is also used to increase student motivation and as both a communication and learning tool. 

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The Tennessee State Department of Education requires the acquisition of certain General Education knowledge and skills for initial teacher licensure in addition to Professional Education and endorsement-specific knowledge and skills (Tennessee Teacher Licensure Standards).  These knowledge and skills and the goals of the Teacher Education Program indicate the outcomes of the educational experience and the integration of sensitivity, reflection, and faith in the program graduates. (2004-2005 Undergraduate Catalogue, p. 168, Teacher Education Program Handbook, 2004-2005, Vol. I). The process for meeting those outcomes involves the gradual integration and assessment of sensitivity, reflection, and faith as candidates engage in course work and field experiences.

Courses in general education, professional and pedagogical, and integrative studies complement one another and are consistent with the conceptual framework.  Under the direction of the Dean of the College of Education and Human Studies and the Assistant Dean for Teacher Education and Accreditation, courses are examined to assure compliance with licensure programs of the state of Tennessee and the mission statement of the Teacher Education Program.  In addition, the Teacher Education Committee is available to review courses and their academic support of the unit's conceptual framework and unit mission.  The conceptual framework is continuously evaluated to ensure coherence, compatibility, and application to the preparation of quality teachers.

Candidates increase their sensitivity to the field of education and begin the process of reflection on it and how faith and learning are intricately woven in their first education course, EDU 150, Foundations of American Education.  A twenty-hour field experience in this course begins the journey for candidates entering the Teacher Education Program.  As candidates participate in field experiences they gain valuable insight from which to expand their understanding of education and how to best work with others.  Various courses offer field experiences that enhance professional growth.  Education 233, Personal Qualities of Teachers, is a sophomore level course where fieldwork is integrated into service learning experience.  Below is a template utilized in the course on a pilot-test basis.  The template is designed to integrate faith, character, and service in an inquiry-format.

FAITH

Worldview is a part of our faith.  It is analytic in nature and consists of a set of essential questions and answers which are individual for every person.

1. What do you think the Bible means when it says that we are created in God’s image?

2. One of God’s qualities is His transcendence. Do we as His creation have this quality? If so, what can it mean for us in the life of the mind?

Handout: Sire’s description of God’s qualities.

+ Read the handout
+ Discuss the questions.

Activity

Create a “Worldview Map.”

1. We are in our essence “spiritual beings,” so that we look like God and He looks like us.

2. Transcendence means that we aredistinctly “us,” apart from God as separate beings, and  that we can know it. As learners we are free to explore our individuality and potential.

CHARACTER

Character is who we are.  In schools it consists of civic values or “pillars” of character which include trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.

1. Through your participation in the classroom this semester, identify the cultural differences and the personal commonalities of the students.  What is the teacher’s responsibility in working with students from different cultures? What is important for students to understand about cultural diversity?

2.       2. How do we teach a student that a confident self-identity is vital?

Handout: Cultural diversity.

+ Read the handout.
+ Discuss the questions.

Activity
Create a lesson plan reflecting personal cultural diversity.

2. Self-awareness, motivation, empathy, and interpersonal skills are essential for healthy emotional intelligence. It means having goals, knowing the small steps needed to reach them, and following through.  

SERVICE

Service-learning reflects the unifying role of Christian faith in Union’s teacher education program by enabling faith and character to be translated into knowledge, skills and dispositions.  It is “good education” in that it is linked to social responsibility

1. Through your field experience what have you learned about the value of respecting a person’s cultural diversity?

2.  How do you balance a respect for the student’s individuality and potential with your obligation to other students and to your own professional judgment?

Case Study: Of Race and Rubrics

+ Read, discuss and reflect.
+ Utilize 4 steps to analyze the case study:
-State a “gut-level” reaction
-Consider the issue(s) from other points of view
-Analyze the issue utilizing the consequentialist and nonconsequentialist framework
-Reach a reflective equilibrium

1. Thorough preparation in assessing students’ work often requires a rubric to ensure objectivity and fairness.  Even so, every teacher must be sensitive and confront the potential for personal prejudice or ignorance. 

2. Love often means having the courage to confront an issue or person.  Fairness and courage usually go together in making good decisions.

The final field experience, enhanced student teaching, extends for an entire semester with weekly seminars for additional reflection to heighten the educational experience. 

The unit has an evaluation plan that provides regular and systematic review of the programs and of students.  Below is a listing of assessment tools and procedures used by the unit.

• Formative assessment procedures are included in each professional education course related to the conceptual framework.

• All field experiences require final evaluations completed by the cooperating teacher, the university supervisor and the candidate.  Each evaluation states the conceptual framework and gives the evaluator an opportunity to synthesize and respond to the performance of the candidate through the eyes of the framework structure. 

• Each student teacher participates in an exit interview with the university supervisor near the end of the student teaching experience.  During the interview student teachers reflect upon their own demonstration of sensitivity, reflection and faith during the student teaching semester while receiving evaluative information from the university supervisor and cooperating teacher. The student’s growth and development, with emphasis in the areas of sensitivity, reflection, and faith, contribute to the final evaluation of the student teacher by the university supervisor and cooperating teachers.  A personal presentation portfolio and micro-lesson video is required during the semester and is reviewed by both the student teacher and university supervisor. Evaluation of the micro-teaching video follows the lesson format adopted by the Tennessee State Department of Education that is used for formal evaluations of student teacher instruction.

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References

Armstrong, T. (1994). Multiple intelligences in the classroom. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
 

Comer, J.P., N.M. Haynes, E.T. Joyner, and M.Ben-Avie, eds. (1996). Rallying the Whole Village: The Comer Process for Reforming Education. NY: Teachers College Press.
 

Dewey, John (1972, reprinted from 1938 Kappa Delta Pi edition). Experience and education. Reprinted from 1938 Kappa Delta Pi Edition for Collier Books. New York: the Macmillan Company, 48.
 

Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. NY: Basic Books.
 

Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple Intelligences: The theory into Practice. New York: Basic Books.
 

Kohlberg, L. & Turiel, E. (1971).  Moral development and moral education.  In G. Lesser, ed. Psychology and educational practice. Scott Foresman.
 

Lickona, T. (1993). The return of character education. Educational Leadership. Alexandria, VA, 6-1.
 

Piaget, J. (1965).  The moral judgment of the child.  New York: The Free Press.
 

Shumer, R. (1997). Teacher education and service-learning: A critical perspective. In J.A.
 

Sire, J.W. (1997). The universe next door: A basic world view catalog. Third Edition, Downers Grove, IL and Leicester, England: InterVarsity Press, 13.
 

Tomlinson, C.A., Kalbfleisch, M.L. (1998). Teach Me, Teach My Brain: A call for Differentiated Classrooms. Educational Leadership, 56(3), 52-55.