Preparing Teachers: Building Evidence for Sound Policy by David Monk PACTE

Preparing Teachers: Building Evidence for Sound Policy
David H. Monk
Presented at PACTE

National Research Council Study on Teacher Preparation.

• Report from NRC
• Focus on evidence not ideology; avoid political issues
• No budget; focus was to examine existing research
• Congressional mandated study
• The decentralized nature makes the research difficult on a Federal level

Mike Cullin - Prof. at Lock Haven University
Commentary on the Science Committee's charge
The research was based on comprehensive reports (e.g. other NRC reports, National Science Education Standards, Taking Science to School, etc)
Recommendations:

• Systematic data on the nature and content of the coursework in teacher preparation in science
• Additional research on those propositions that haven't been explored yet

Connie
Commentary on Reading in the Report
Based on comprehensive reports (e.g. National Literacy Conference, etc)
Teacher candidates need to know about reading theory, development, and differentiation. Assessment should drive instruction.
Questions raised:
What, then, do the methodology courses look like?
What would the clinical component look like?
What would a quality clinical experience look like in reading?

The research field is still in its infancy with regard to teacher preparation and reading.

Fran Arbaugh
Commentary on What Counts as Evidence in Assessing Teacher Education?
What we should be teaching in teacher education needs to come from student learning.
Instead of being linear, she proposes a cyclical model of:

Teacher education ==> teacher knowledge ==> teacher practice ==> student learning ==> (back to teacher education)
Charge: To have advocacy to let others know that all of this counts as evidence; it isn't just one part but rather it's a combination of them.