Although the goals, objectives, and activities described in this section of the proposal address discrete programmatic areas, it is recognized that all tasks are interrelated. All the separate parts are necessary for one overriding goal to be accomplished, the delivery and utilization of enhanced content , pedagogy and technology in pre-service teacher education to address the needs of students with diverse learning needs. With that in mind, this section presents a break down of project goals objectives and activities
Goal 1 : To create an actively cooperating "Community of Scholars" to include academic faculty, teacher education faculty, elementary school teachers, and pre-service elementary teacher education students.
The structure to be developed recognizes the need to bring knowledgeable and committed individuals together to address the challenges facing pre-service and practicing teachers. We plan to recruit and support teams of academic specialists, pedagogy specialists, and classroom teachers in addressing the reform of pre-service teacher education programs.
Objective 1.1 Develop content, pedagogy and practice teams in reading and math.
During summer 1998, a development team consisting of an academic specialist, a pedagogical specialist and a classroom teacher will prepare standards-driven, technology-based units that are capable of meeting the needs of diverse student populations, and adaptable to the academic courses, the elementary methods courses and the elementary school classroom all of which form the nucleus of this teacher education community of scholars.
Objective 1.2 To provide opportunities for frequent team interactions through joint training, class attendance, and school visitations.
While the preceding objective provided the strucuture for developing content/pedagogy/practice teams, this objective recognizes the need to sturcuture the activities of the members to facilitate the development of functioning "teams". The following activities are designed to foster identification and a common goal as the center of team development.
Objective 1.3 To promote the ongoing dialog between the community by establishing electronic links using telecommunication technology.
In order to provide and support an ongoing dialogue between team members, each team will establish and maintain an electronic link most likely in the forms of listservs and email. The purpose of these links is to provide a more immediate process for problem solving and planning than the physical team meetings.
Goal 2: To promote the adoption of enhanced content and pedagogy practices in classrooms of students with diverse learning needs including students "at risk" of failure or experiencing a learning disability.
Objective 2.1 Identify content and pedagogy practices to be included in initial model.
Each team will identify the most promising and vlaidated practices to be addressed by the initial model. The overall scope and criteria for inclusion will be established by each working team.
Objective 2.2 Conduct a review of current course offerings for elementary teachers for explicit and implicit content and pedagogy practices.
Each team will systematically examine the content and pedagogy courses to identify the scope and sequence of each course, desired student outcomes, and the most effective procedures for delivering instruction. It should be noted that the purpose is not to standardize instructional procedures but to develop a common vision and framework for each course by the team members.
Objective 2.3 Modify or redesign course content and procedures to reflect identified practices.
Based on the intial completion of Objective 2.2, each content and pedagogy course will be revised to reflect enhanced content and pedagogy practice based on the ongoing dialogues among all agents of teacher preparation.
Goal 3: To infuse technology into pre-service teacher education programs and classrooms serving students at risk.
The purpose of this goal is to develop a process for the integration of technology into all aspects of pre-service and inservice teacher systems. From the university classroom to the inner city classroom, technology has the potential to enhance both adult and child learning and to provide support for the beginning and seasoned teacher.
Objective 3.1 Identify technology applications related to the redesigned content and pedagogy practices.
Objective 3.2 To conduct a technology training institute. (see Objective 1.2)
Objective 3.3 To conduct a "technology camp" for pre-service teachers enrolled in identified courses
A voluntary three-day technology camp will be held on the LSU campus immediately prior to the beginning of classes for fall semester. Students already enrolled in the 18 fall sections of the five academic and pedagogical courses will be invited to arrive early on campus and participate in this technology camp. Participation will be on a first come, first served basis and each student will receive a stipend of $20 per day. The purpose of the technology camp is to jump-start at least 200 of the students in the identified fall preservice courses who can also serve as buddy mentors to other students in the course. The camp will be organized in beginning, intermediate and advanced groups in order to meet individual needs.
Objective 3.4 To create a dynamic and common electronic resource for required pre-service math and reading courses, methods courses and school classrooms.
As the use of the internet increases, the potential for enhancing the courses through internet based activities and examples of critical concepts covered in course work will increase. The work teams will continue to develop electronic resources to support pre-service teachers in the mastery of the enhanced coursework. A website will be developed for students served under the Community of Scholars project. The website is intended to serve as the information center for students in the pre-service teacher education program. Web bases will be established for each of the six enhanced courses (EDCI 3000, 3126, 3200, 3625 and MATH 1201 & 1202). These web bases will support information dissemination (e.g. special assignments, opportunities, etc.) and peer to peer and instructor - student problem solving.
Goal 4: To revise college curriculum to increase future teacher competence and confidence in using technology and enhanced content and pedagogy in K-3 reading and mathematics instruction.
Objective 4.1 Design courses to incorporate available math and reading and software (e.g. Geometer's Sketchpad, Mathematica, Interactive Texts)
Academic. (EDCI 3000) Students will become familiar with a variety of interactive books such as Arthur, Stellaluna and Grandma and Me at the Beach. Students would use the Internet as a research tool for writing a paper and presentation software to present their findings to the class. Students would be introduced to KidPix Studio and use at least the slide show component to develop book talks.
Pedagogical. (EDCI 3200) Through the use of KidPix Studio, Hyperstudio, or Digital Chisel, or other similar multimedia programs, preservice teachers will create interactive teaching materials based on children's literature. Various instructional materials will be developed to address the following literacy areas: decoding (e.g., phonemic awareness and word identification skills), comprehension (e.g., perceptions, constructing meaning, discourse structure, vocabulary, and syntax structure) and teaching learning strategies (e.g., graphic organizers, concept mapping, story grammar).
Objective 4.2 Design courses to incorporate support software and communication technology (e.g. "Teachernet", Portfolio, Homework Heaven).
Much of the potential of technology lies in the ability to access resources such as needed information and to provide support to pre-service and inservice teachers. This objective targets the need to identify and expose pre-service and inservice teachers to this potential as part of the teacher education program. The pedagogy courses (EDCI 3000, EDCI 3126, EDCI 3200) will incorporate software and telecommunications applications designed to assist the teacher in identifying and utilizing information gained through internet and other electronic sources. Equally important is the use of telecommunication technology (i.e. listservs, etc.) for teachers to develop support systems such as "electronic mentors" to assist in problemsolving and social support.
Objective 4.3 Deliver Enhanced Content / Pedagogy Courses
Enhanced Content and Pedagogy Courses will be offered during each semester. During Fall, 1998 all section of the REQUIRED mathematics courses for elementary majors (MATH 1201 and 1202) and all sections of the REQUIRED children's literature course (EDCI 3000) will provide the redesigned coursework . All sections of the REQUIRED elementary mathematics methods course (EDCI 3126) and all sections of the REQUIRED reading / language arts methods course (EDCI 3200) will provide the redesigned coursework. In Spring, 1999 , all courses will repeat with at least some students entering the second course sequences (e.g. Math 1202) after being exposed to the enhanced coursework the previous semester.
Goal 5: To ensure that all elementary education majors have significant experiences in teaching reading and mathematics using enhanced content , enhanced pedagogy, and technology in schools with high populations of at-risk children.
As part of its' commitment to quality teacher education, the College of Education has long realized the critical nature of pre-service field experiences. The Holmes programs described earlier have extensive field based requirements that allow for the training of prospective teachers in criterion environments. The following objectives continue this tradition with the addition of a focus on the challenges of dealing with "at-risk" populations in urban education settings.
Objective 5.1 To provide intensive and sustained field experiences for pre-service teachers in schools with populations of at-risk students.
Today the elementary teacher education program has 15 PDS sites in East Baton Rouge Parish with 8 identified as "y" factor or at-risk schools. During the 1997-98 academic year, the College of Education conducted a pilot student teaching program in which students were placed in pairs in two different schools, one of which was at-risk. The program was so successful that in the fall of 1998, all elementary student teachers will have an at-risk student teaching experience. This program is partly coordinated by a faculty member jointly hired by LSU and the East Baton Rouge Parish Schools.
Objective 5.2 To provide support for pre-service teachers and practicing teachers in "y" factor schools and L.S.U. Laboratory School .
While the preceding objective demonstrates our commitment to providing all elementary teachers with experience with at risk populations, we recognize that the experience without the needed support will not achieve our goals. As part of EDCI 3625 (Clinical Experiences), each student teacher will be supported in the application of the enhanced content courses in their respective school sites. Practicing teachers will be better able to communicate with Clinical Supervisors through the electronic network established by the "Community of Scholars" model. Students having problems in either content, pedagogy, or classroom managment will have an expanded network of resources (e.g. other students, content or methods teachers, other EDCI faculty, etc.).
Estimates of number of prospective teachers impacted
LSU's fall 1997 14th day enrollment report shows that the Department of Curriculum & Instruction had 470 identified undergraduate elementary education majors, plus 51 students in the Alternate Certification Program for Elementary Teachers, plus yet another 33 students in the graduate year of the five-year Holmes elementary education program. This amounts to 554 students enrolled in one or more REQUIRED elementary education courses at any one time. In addition to these majors, there were close to 200 students in Junior Division who signaled their intention to major in elementary education. During both semesters of the 1997-98 academic year, there were 152 students enrolled in 7 sections of the 3 credit course EDCI 3126 (Methods of Teaching Elementary School Mathematics) and 168 different students enrolled in 8 sections of the 6 credit course EDCI 3200 (Reading, Writing, and Oral Communication in the Elementary School). The six courses (EDCI 3000, 3126, 3200, 3625; MATH 1201 & 1202) involved in this proposed program are all REQUIRED of elementary education majors. In any one semester, these six courses which always max out will enroll more than 500 students which calculates to more than 1000 registrations in one academic year.
Impact on children at risk of developing learning disabilities or school failure
Certainly the cumulative efforts of the participants identified in this proposal must ultimately be judged by the impact on child performance. Yet, the impact of such a widespread and systemic effort does not lend itself to short term immediate changes in child performance. The proposed project has the potential for impacting at least three levels: the system of preservice teacher preparation; the individual school level; and the individual child level. In previous sections, we have presented the system and school level variables that will be impacted. We believe the proposed project will impact the individual child by promoting the increased competencies of instructional personnel in : 1. an enhanced knowledge of content areas; 2. an enhanced knowledge and skill base in addressing the needs of students "at - risk" of school failure; and 3. a model that provides the structure for and incentive to participate in active problem solving and support between content specialists, pedagogy specialists, school and instructional personnel.
We may project that during the first year of the project at least 500 pre-service teachers will receive direct training in the enhanced content and procedures in reading and math. In addition, a minimum of 20 practicing teachers (K-3 grade at each "y" factor school) will have the opportunity to participate in the initial program. Since each practicing teacher serves a minimum of 22 students, it is prudent to suggest that the minimal direct impact on all students will be 440 and that at least 25% (110) of those students would be considered to be "at risk". It should be noted that by selecting "y" factor schools the percentage of at-risk students is probably much higher than would be expected in a general population. For example, in one of our collaborative sites ninety percent of the students are identified as "at-risk". We believe that we will reach a large number of "at-risk" students.
Management and Financial Plan
The project will be under the overall direction of Dr. Robert C. Lafayette, Chairperson of the Department of Curriculum & Instruction. In addition, he will bear specific responsibility for the reading segment during the academic year and oversee the crucially important dialoguing community of scholars. Dr. James Madden, Professor of Mathematics, will serve as co-principal investigator. He will be in charge of the summer development teams in both reading and mathematics, and will direct the mathematics segment throughout the academic year.
Objective 6.1 To provide a performance measurement system to ensure regular progress toward project objectives and activities.
Objective 6.2 To provide for effective and efficient use of resources and implementation of project management mechanism.
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