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Within this overall assessment plan, the professional community, including principals, counselors, teachers, alumni of the College of Education, and other agency personnel, has been involved in evaluating, designing, revising, and improving existing programs. The involvement of these stakeholders includes but is not limited to acting as department and program advisory board members, as members of university committees, as outside reviewers or as participants in course/program development and revisions.
The Dean of the College of Education is responsible for oversight of the Professional Education Programs. The Dean is aided by the Office of Student Services, the Office of Professional Laboratory Experiences, Chairs and Directors of the respective programs within the Unit, the College Curriculum Coordinating Committee, and program faculty, in implementing and reviewing the Unit’s assessment system, and in using collected and analyzed data to improve its performance. The Office of Student Services is the primary repository for Unit data related to candidate admission to and performance in the Professional Education Program. Department Chairs and Unit Directors, working together in the Chairs and Directors Committee, under the direction of the Dean, guide program faculty at the Program, Departmental, and Unit in assessment and evaluation actions. Program faculty develop the state-mandated program “folios” for each of the Unit’s programs. These program “folios” are based upon the Kentucky professional educator (teacher, administrator, and counseling) and learned society standards. Competencies and knowledge specified in the program documents are then aligned within each of the courses that comprise the individual programs. Evaluation data provide the impetus for program changes. The Program Assessment Committees meet on a monthly basis to consider and determine the overall desirability and effect of all proposals for new programs, courses, and revisions of existing programs. This committee proposes changes to the Teacher Education Committee, which has the authority to approve or disapprove proposed changes for the Professional Education Unit. Initial Teacher Certification Program Assessment System During the candidates’ progress through their programs they will be exposed to various assessment procedures. These procedures may be components of individual courses or other program experiences. At the commencement of their Initial Programs the candidates are assessed primarily by the faculty and staff of the university. As the candidates progress they will build self-reflection and self-assessment techniques which over time will allow them to assess and monitor their own progress (Figure 1).
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Figure 1. Continuous Assessment of Initial Certification of Professional Education Programs
As they
proceed toward completion, the university will be less involved in
assessing and guiding the candidates in their attainment of skills
in content knowledge, pedagogical and other professional skills, and
dispositions, allowing the candidates to take more of this
responsibility. At the advanced level (Figure 2) the candidates
will have already assumed more of the skills required for
self-evaluation. The Continuous Assessment of Initial Certification of Professional Education Programs, shown in Figure 1, graphically demonstrates the Professional Education Assessment Plan for the Initial certification of Professional Education candidates. The vertical axis represents progress from external responsibility for growth to internal responsibility for growth. When the responsibility for growth in content knowledge, pedagogical and other professional skills, and dispositions is external, as at the beginning of their program, the candidate will be guided by the university system and there will be much emphasis on evaluation by others. As the candidate progresses through the program represented by the diagonal and up the vertical, there is an increase in the requirement for self-reflection and the onus is placed on the candidate to assess their own activities and formulate a plan for improvement and growth. Across the upper horizontal are placed the gates—Admission to Teacher Education, Admission to Student Teaching, and Exit from Student Teaching. The candidate must successfully pass through each gate in order to proceed to the next milestone. Between each of these gates are the learning and assessment procedures required to allow the candidate to successfully proceed. These procedures include the introductory courses and initiation of portfolio, major course completion and assessment, student teaching, and final assessments. Over time these learning and assessment procedures require the candidates to assume more of the responsibility for self-reflection, assessment and correction.
Admission To Teacher Education Assessments Admission to teacher education is the first checkpoint for all teacher education students. A student reaches review for admission after a series of external and internal assessments. The admission takes place after the completion of 60 hours and ends with review by the Teacher Education Admission Committee.
External Assessments The external assessments for admission include admission to the university, satisfactory grades and GPA, meeting with an advisor each semester for review of performance, and meeting all admission to teacher education requirements. Internal Assessment Internal assessment begins with the decision to declare a teaching major. Enrolling in EDF 103 Careers in Education follows shortly after that decision. This course involves the student in experiences, writings and reflections on such questions as: Do I want to be a teacher? Do I have the disposition to be an effective teacher? The EDF 203 course is next. During EDF 203 each candidate initiates the teacher education electronic portfolio, which includes such self-monitoring assignments as the Professional Growth Plan, Resume, Philosophy, Personal Introduction, and Mentoring Project Report. The portfolio involves several reflections on progress to that point as a teaching major. The Mentoring Project is an important early opportunity for a candidate to work in a tutoring role with one to three students and assess if one enjoys the process of working with young people in that role.
The admissions to student teaching assessments involve the satisfactory completion and review of all work through the semester before student teaching. The process ends with acceptance to student teaching and placement in the student teaching site.
External Assessments The external assessments for admission to student teaching include admission to teacher education, satisfactory grades and GPA, meeting with their advisor each semester for review of performance, meeting all other requirements for admission to student teaching. Each professional education course requires some field experience, which includes working with students and professionals in the schools.
Assessments and evaluation of candidate’s performance during these experiences are conducted by university faculty and P-12 school professionals. Major program faculty conduct an interview and portfolio review during the semester prior to student teaching.
Internal Assessments Internal assessments are integrated across all experiences of the program. A candidate's Teacher Education Electronic Portfolio contains selections by the candidate of the best work from courses, field experiences, and other key experiences during their TIME at Eastern. The portfolio requires reflections on these along with a revised philosophy, resume, personal introduction, and professional growth plan.
Student teaching is the culminating performance for each teacher education candidate. The assessments during this period include observations of the candidate in the classroom, completion of standardized evaluations (required PRAXIS series), and an exit portfolio presentation and review.
External Assessments External assessments include at least four formal visits by the university student teaching supervisor who provides written feedback regarding the candidate’s work in the classroom. At least one of the observation assessments is conducted using the Kentucky Teacher Internship Program observations instrument that includes a rating across all nine Kentucky New Teacher Standards. The classroom cooperating teacher provides continuous assessment and feedback each day of student teaching and transmits weekly evaluations, a mid-term, and a final evaluation. The candidate’s Teacher Education Electronic Portfolio is reviewed and scored by the university supervisor and cooperating teacher together near the end of the student teaching experience. In addition, a final, written evaluation of the student teacher candidate is prepared by the cooperating teacher and supervisor, which include ratings of specific performances across all nine new teacher standards.
Internal Assessments Internal assessments are extensive during the student teaching experience. The student teacher maintains a reflective journal each day of this culminating semester. It contains the candidate’s summations of what is being learned, insights into their experiences and self-evaluations of successes and areas for improvement. In addition, the student teacher prepares written critiques of videotaped lessons. Using this reflective process to inform practice, the student teacher, develops a professional growth plan with the university supervisor and cooperative teacher. The electronic portfolio continues to be developed and includes updating and replacement of earlier work with additional or outstanding projects completed as a part of student teaching. The self-evaluation reflections included with these are to be detailed and comprehensive. A critical part of the portfolio entries and other work in the classroom include evidence of effectiveness of teaching during student teaching. These are demonstrated by including both formative and summative assessment evidence collected in the classroom to demonstrate how well students have learned. Portfolio entries with summaries of student performance or copies of students’ work are included in these entries. It is a combination of completion of the prescribed Praxis, positive evaluation by cooperating teacher and university supervisor, completion and successful presentation and adequate score on the exit portfolio that officially marks completion of student teaching and exit from the Teacher Preparation program.
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Figure 2. Continuous Assessment of Advanced Professional Education Programs
The Advanced Program Assessment System includes the evaluation of Advanced Professional Education Program candidates’ content knowledge, pedagogical skills, and dispositions at seven critical points for degree and non-degree programs. The first assessment point for both degree and non-degree programs is entry into the University. The second assessment point is admission to graduate programs by the respective department. For degree programs the third assessment point is Admission into Candidacy for a Degree and Mid-point Portfolio Review. The non-degree programs have a Mid-point Portfolio and program Review. The fourth assessment point is a practical performance demonstration (Practicum). The fifth assessment point is Internship The internship process follows the KDE requirements in most cases. The sixth assessment point for Degree programs includes Comprehensive Program Assessment and an exit portfolio evaluation. The sixth assessment for non-degree programs consists of an exit portfolio evaluation only. The seventh and last assessment point for advanced programs is verification of all state certification requirements.
The monitoring process is accomplished by ongoing assessment of the content knowledge, pedagogical and other professional skills, and dispositions of the candidates throughout their enrollment in EKU programs. The expectations for content knowledge, skills, and dispositions are based upon EKU academic standards, the Conceptual Framework for Professional Education Programs standards of accrediting agencies, learned societies, and standards approved by the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board. During the training and education process the candidate will be monitored and assessed by the faculty, and the outcomes of this assessment will be returned to the candidate for reflection and correction. The assessment information will also be used to guide the Teacher Education Program. Multiple types of assessments are used to implement the assessment plan, ranging from self-assessments to external, nationally normed (PRAXIS) exit exams. One of the significant by-products of our institutional plan, associated directly with our conceptual framework, is the development within our graduates of the ability to make accurate self-assessments that form the basis for continuous growth and learning. The Professional Education Continuous Assessment System (PECAS) evaluates the ability of the Professional Education Unit to train and educate pre- and in-service educators in the three major elements of the EKU Conceptual Framework for Professional Education Programs -- Knowledge, Pedagogical Skills, and Dispositions. It is the method by which all EKU Professional Education Unit programs are reviewed on an annual basis. Figure 3 graphically portrays the Assessment System. During the Spring semester data relevant to the efficient and effective operation of the assessment process are gathered at the university, college, and program levels by the Program Assessment Committees. These data come from all program levels including, professional education candidates, faculty and staff of the COE and other colleges in the professional education unit, cooperating teachers and principals, formal surveys and interviews, standardized tests, other formal assessment results, and informal recommendations from the field. These data inputs are analyzed and consolidated by program, in the Summer/Fall, and a formal report, The Annual Program Assessment Report (APAR), is drafted by each PAC for distribution in the Fall. The structure of the APAR includes a narrative (Figure 4) and a matrix (Figure 5). The APAR narrative contains three sections-- Data Reviewed and Analyzed, Synthesis of Data Analyzed, and Recommended Courses of Action. The APAR matrix contains six sections—The Assessed Outcome, The Method of Assessment, The Results of Assessment, Recommended Actions, Actions Reviewed By, and Actions Taken. Sections One through Four on the APAR matrix are a result of the previous Spring’s data taking and Summer/Fall analysis, and recommendations for review. Section five contains the results of this review by the Department, and Teacher Education Committee. The outcome of this review is then forwarded to The Council on Academic Affairs and Graduate Council, if appropriate. Section six contains the approved actions that will be implemented in the following Spring. Rubrics for completion and examples, are contained in Figure 5 under each heading. The APAR is reviewed by the appropriate department assessment committee and the Teacher Education Assessment sub-committee. If a major change to course structure, content or philosophy is needed, this report is sent to the Teacher Education Committee where recommended changes are approved or disapproved and returned to the departments for corrective action, beginning in the Spring following data collection and analysis. The Dean of the College of Education is the Chair of the Teacher Education Committee and it is in this capacity that s/he exercises approval authority for changes in the University Professional Education Unit. If the Fall Assessment report has no major change, recommendations that would be within the purview of the department, the report is sent directly to the Teacher Education Committee for review and dissemination. It is during the Fall semester that the reports approved by the Teacher Education Committee will form the basis for revising each program, as well as making changes to the PECAS.
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Figure 3. Professional Education Continuous Assessment System
The TEAS is chaired by the College of Education Director of Research and Assessment and is the coordinating element for the Professional Education Unit’s assessment system. The TEAS:
If a change has been made in the curriculum as an action of the previous year’s annual report, the TEAS, in consort with the associated PAC will evaluate the effectiveness of this change and report the assessed outcome to the PAC.
Each program at Eastern Kentucky University that prepares education professionals has a Program Assessment Committee (PAC) whose actions are directed at the departmental level. The PAC is the organization and assessment agent for each of the programs within the Professional Education Unit. Each PAC is responsible for assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of each program. There are multiple sources of data for this evaluation process, both internal and external, to the professional education unit. Internal sources come from data generated by the programs, colleges, and the university. External sources include assessment results, state reports, input from the education community and professional societies, and surveys of graduates, their employers and our school and agency partners, as well as informal feedback. On an annual basis The PACs will write, an assessment report either verifying that there are no changes required to a program or the assessment procedures, or they will make a proposal for change. |
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