Putting This we Believe into Action in Performance-Based Teacher Education

• Published in: Middle school journal 2009-01, Vol.40 (3), p.38-46
• Main Authors: Allen, Laura Van Zandt, Ruebel, Kim K., Greene, Melanie W., McDaniel, Janet E., Spencer, Vikki
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accreditation (Institutions); Adolescent Development; Adolescents; Advisory Committees; California; Case Studies; College campuses; College students; Colleges & universities; Competency Based Teacher Education; Course Content; Course Descriptions; Curriculum standards; Educational standards; Field study; Guidelines; Institutional Evaluation; Learning; Middle School Teachers; Middle Schools; Missouri; North Carolina; Preservice Teachers; Professional Associations; Professional standards; Program Effectiveness; Program Evaluation; Quality standards; Reporting standards; Resorts & spas; Review boards; Scoring Rubrics; Secondary school curricula; Standard Setting; Teacher education; Teacher Education Programs; Teachers; Teachers Actively Learning Throughout Their Careers; Teaching; Texas
• ISSN: 0094-0771; 2327-6223
• DOI: 10.1080/00940771.2009.11495585

The turn of the century brought a profound change in the accreditation of teacher preparation programs. This shift--from curriculum-based reviews to standards-based reviews--took place in the context of the accountability movement of the late 20th century. The 21st century ushered in what many refer to as "a culture of evidence." From P-12 to higher education, providing evidence of learning and data-driven decision making became mandatory. This change has affected no group more than teacher candidates and those who prepare them. When the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) adopted new standards in 2000, the National Middle School Association's (NMSA's) Professional Preparation Advisory Board rewrote the 1989 NMSA guidelines, transforming them into two programmatic standards and seven performance-based standards. An institution submitting one or more programs for recognition does so by writing a context statement, responding to the two programmatic standards, and then offering six to eight program assessments that demonstrate how candidates meet the seven performance-based standards. In the authors' collective work, they have developed, enacted, and refined more than 75 assessments and rubrics aligned with NMSA standards. These are drawn from undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, and graduate middle level programs in California, Missouri, North Carolina, and Texas. Most can be adapted for either initial or advanced levels, and many meet more than one standard. For this article, the authors describe two key assessments per standard. These range from conventional to unique and occur in university-based courses as well as field experiences. What they share is the ability to demonstrate candidate knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed for teaching young adolescents. (Contains 1 figure.)