Standard 1

Element 4: Professional & Pedagogical Knowledge and Skills for Teacher Candidates

This element, like others, has direct relationships with the conceptual framework Educators as Leaders, and particularly with its themes of content and pedagogical content knowledge and professionalism.

Initial Program Candidates. Element 4 speaks to all professional education coursework other than content pedagogy. Field experiences integrate both content pedagogy and more general pedagogical content knowledge. And, of course, content pedagogy blends with professional education coursework. (For example, how can one learn about special education law—taught in both special education coursework and the Organization and Governance of Schools course—without considering how to teach all students optimally within the law?) The point is that there is no absolutely clear distinction between what is “content pedagogy” and what is “professional and pedagogical knowledge and skills for teacher candidates.” Professional and pedagogical and skills for teacher candidates is assessed through multiple measures.

Assuring that candidates have completed state approved programs is the first level of assessment. The second is an evaluation of field experiences. Data that are presented to support the contention that initial candidates have mastered professional and pedagogical knowledge and skills include:

PLT. The state mandates the PRAXIS II PLT. As ETS states in its bulletin, “These assessments measure your general pedagogical knowledge….These tests feature constructed-response and multiple-choice items.” Only four candidates—out of 542—did not pass the PLT in the four years of administration since 2001-2002. The institution pass rate is higher than the state rate—which is very high—in every year. (See Table 1.14 under Element 3, Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Teachers.)

Course Grades. As noted above, content pedagogy is most clearly covered in methods courses and with field based clinical experiences. Professional and pedagogical knowledge and skills is the information that candidates learn in the remaining professional education coursework. Professional knowledge is taught in the required foundations of education (historical and philosophical underpinnings) and educational psychology courses candidates take (human learning, measurement, and classroom management). It also includes work in multicultural education, technology, children’s/adolescent literature, special education, action research, governance and administration, and counseling/consultation skills. Requirements for each program in effect during the period of review are found in Exhibit (http://soe.ku.edu/ncate/program-reports). Program requirement sheets for each of the programs proposed in the new review cycle may be found on the School of Education website. Grades are high; achievement is high; knowledge and skills are mastered.

Summative Assessments. As was mentioned in the introduction to this standard, the unit has three teacher education models. The integrated extended five-year program enrolls 77 percent of program completers. During the fifth year of the candidate’s program, he or she is evaluated through the use of a 31-item instrument keyed to the 13 state standards. Candidates are assessed at least four times using the instruments: two times at the end of the fall student teaching experience by the university supervisor and the clinical supervisor (cooperating teacher), and two times at the end of the spring semester internship by the university supervisor and the clinical supervisor. Since some candidates have more than one teaching field or teaching level, they may have more than two evaluations per semester. However, all have at least four summative evaluations during the professional year. Clinical supervisors in the other two programs also use the summative instrument. (University supervisors in art and music use a different instrument.) The instrument does not break neatly into data that can be reported only in one element of standard one. For example, element 1 deals with the structure of the discipline or subject matter. This item is related to Kansas standard 1. Other items relate to both elements 3 and 4. The instrument can be found at http://soe.ku.edu/ncate/exhibits/summative-assessment/. Standards 2, 7, 8, 10, and 13 relate most nearly to element 4, professional knowledge and skills. University and clinical supervisors rate the candidates on a scale from 1 (Has not demonstrated the competency) to 4 (Demonstrates the competency in an exemplary way). In the two academic years reported below, the lowest ratings were for standards 8 and 10. The items that received the lowest ratings were “Uses assessment strategies to involve learners in self-assessment” and “Communicates with students, parents and colleagues about student performance and progress” under standard 8 and “Consults with parents, counselors, and other professionals” under standard 10. Even for these standards, only a few candidates received a 1 or 2 rating.

Table 1.21: Summative Assessment Means: Professional & Pedagogical Knowledge Standards

Scale for competency: 1=has not demonstrated, 2=inconsistently demonstrated, 3=consistently demonstrated, 4=demonstrated in an exemplary way

Scale for competency: 1=has not demonstrated, 2=inconsistently demonstrated, 3=consistently demonstrated, 4=demonstrated in an exemplary way

In addition to the PLT, professional and pedagogical knowledge course grades, and the Summative Assessment, professional and pedagogical knowledge and skill mastery is assured through surveys of program completers’ employers.

The KU Employer Survey. As discussed earlier in this standard, principals evaluate the unit program completers whom they have in their employ. The employer survey and data from it can be found at http://soe.ku.edu/ncate/exhibits/employer-survey.doc. On the survey, which is based on the themes of the Educators as Leaders conceptual framework, two sections are most related to this element: professionalism and the assessment of dispositions and values. The principals’ mean rating of the 620 currently-practicing teachers was 2.45 on a three point scale on issues of professionalism (knowledge of standards; understanding of home, school, and community; knowledge of law and policy; ability to contribute professionally; demonstrated flexibility, commitment to continuous learning, and collaboration). On the assessment of dispositions and values, principals rated teachers at a 2.47 on a three point scale regarding cultural and individual diversity; ethical practices; believing that all students can learn; demonstrating a commitment to equity; demonstrating respect for the dignity and worth of all students, and utilizing instructional strategies appropriate for all learners. Virtually all teachers were judged to meet or exceed expectations both in professionalism and in dispositions and values.

Advanced Programs for Teachers. The unit offers endorsement programs for teachers in the areas of Gifted and Talented (G&T), English as a Second Language (ESL), and Special Education (SPED). Assuring that candidates, upon admission, have completed state approved programs is the first level of assessment. G&T and SPED candidates are licensed teachers; the U.S. citizen portion of the ESL population are also licensed teachers. As such, they have been judged professionally competent by KSDE and have completed approved programs. They have also been evaluated as academically competent in order to be admitted to the graduate school.

Each program area is required to include a minimum of eight assessments in its assessment plan. At least one of the assessments must assess professional and pedagogical knowledge and skills for teacher candidates; programs may use more than one. Details about the assessments included in each program assessment plan can be found at http://soe.ku.edu/ncate/program-reports.

PRAXIS II Content. Prior to receiving the added endorsement to their teaching license in special education (adaptive, functional, deaf education) and ESL, candidates must pass the PRAXIS II Content test. (There is no Educational Testing Service content test in Gifted and Talented.) Scores on this test for advanced programs for teachers follow. Over 95 percent of the candidates passed the content assessment.

Research Skills. There are master’s-level programs for the professional development of teachers in the departments of Music and Dance, Curriculum and Teaching, Art and Design, and Health, Sport and Exercise Sciences. Research and best practice, in addition to being central to the Educators as Leaders conceptual framework, is critical for teachers in advanced programs as they learn to refine their action research skills as well as their professional and pedagogical knowledge and skills. Therefore, these programs have research expectations tied to coursework. The course most frequently taken to meet the requirement is PRE/ELPS/SPED/C&T/HSES 715. This course introduces the concepts and skills needed to understand and analyze research in education and related areas. It introduces these concepts and provides an overview of various research methodologies. Topics in the course include quantitative and qualitative methods and designs, historical and descriptive research, and program evaluation. Mean GPAs in the research courses in the last two years were well above 3.0 on a 4-point scale.

About half of those who complete these Masters degrees also have their initial licenses from the unit. Those teachers completed the professional year, which is a rich mix of two major field experiences, pedagogy and content pedagogy, and action research.