N.Y. Thinks Outside Teacher Education Box

By Stephen Sawchuk

Ed Week

Of all the states that have taken steps to rethink systems for preparing teachers, New York appears to be experimenting with the greatest variety of approaches.

Under a series of actions by the state board of regents over the past 1½ years, it has approved the first new graduate school of education in the state in more than half a century; cracked open the door to allow nonuniversity programs to prepare teachers at the graduate-degree level; and financed a variety of “clinically rich” pilot training programs at traditional schools of education.

The state is also in the beginning phases of tying a series of teacher assessments to its tiered-certification system, a move that ultimately will require all teachers to pass performance exams and demonstrate their impact on student learning to receive a professional certificate.

“The regents are interested in figuring out how they use all the levers at their authority to drive an increase in teacher effectiveness throughout the state,” John King, the state commissioner of education, said in a recent interview.

Making a priority of more hands-on, practical training linked closely to student achievement reflects a call from many in the teacher-preparation world, from the U.S. secretary of education to teacher education accrediting bodies.

But New York officials have promised much and face obstacles to their state’s agenda that are as much conceptual as practical. Several of the newest ventures have raised eyebrows among traditional teacher-educators for de-emphasizing a more theoretical approach, even as others hope the momentum continues.

New York’s steps have been aided by its unique governance structure, which gives the regents’ board oversight of P-12 education, higher education, and teacher certification, roles that are governed by several boards in other states.

“New York is very brave in taking this on,” said Robert L. Hughes, the president of New Visions for Public Schools, which operates an unusual teacher-residency preparation program in partnership with Hunter College, part of the City University of New York. “I hope the state leadership will continue to eat its Wheaties.”

New Programs, New School

Look no further than New York City’s famed American Museum of Natural History, which won a share of some $12.5 million in a competition organized by the state regents, for an idea of what’s on the state’s teacher education agenda.

Next summer, it will become the first museum in the nation to formally train secondary-level science teachers, who will earn their master’s degrees under the authority of the board of regents.

The state competition was designed to underwrite pilot programs—both within and outside higher education institutions—to train teachers at the graduate level.

The museum’s president, Ellen V. Futter, described the program as a natural outgrowth of the museum’s engagement in science education, which includes long-standing partnerships with several schools of education around the city; a history of providing teacher professional development; and a corps of professional educators on staff, in addition to 200 scientists.

“Our role in science education and working with schools has become increasingly formal over the last couple of years,” Ms. Futter said. “There is a crisis in science education, and we have felt it incumbent on us, given the resources we have and the leverage we have, to play a prominent role in addressing that.”

The museum’s program, like other teacher-residency programs, includes a yearlong student-teaching apprenticeship in schools. In addition, it puts a special emphasis on ensuring teachers-in-training not only know science content, but also engage in the scientific process: They will be expected to work alongside scientists during one part of the program.

A handful of other recent actions by the state board push the teacher-training envelope in other ways. In February, the regents approved the first new education school in 80 years, the Relay School of Education, which opens its doors this summer.

The program grew out of a teacher-training-program partnership, called Teacher U, between Hunter College and three charter-management organizations. That program focuses on the inculcation of specific teaching techniques and strategies and the use of video analysis to help candidates improve their practice. To graduate, candidates also must demonstrate during student-teaching that they helped their students gain at least a year’s worth of learning. ("College and Charter Groups Team Up to Train Teachers," Feb. 6, 2008.)

According to Norman Atkins, the president of Relay, the school will maintain those features, while pushing the boundaries of teacher education even further—for instance, by doing away with the typical series of three-credit-hour courses in favor of 60 competencies students must master.

“Think about the traditional course if you’re a reading teacher. It finishes in one semester,” Mr. Atkins noted. “It’s not as useful as taking the instruction in reading and developing skills around that over the course of two years.”

The state is investing in traditional teacher education institutions, too. A majority of winners in the contest were traditional schools of education, a heartening sign for some.

“While I was dean, a concern I’ve had about the reform mentality was ...

Click here to continue reading

Coverage of “deeper learning” that will prepare students with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in a rapidly changing world is supported in part by a grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, at www.hewlett.org.