SCHOOL OF
EDUCATIONINDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF
EDUCATION
Report on Progress on Weaknesses
Identified in 1999 NCATE Accreditation Visit
Standard 4: Diversity
The unit designs, implements, and evaluates curriculum and experiences for candidates to acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to help all students learn. These experiences include working with diverse higher education and school faculty, diverse candidates, and diverse students in P-12 schools.
Weaknesses related to Standard 4 cited as a result of the last NCATE review:
Professional and pedagogical studies do not systematically include content on working with culturally diverse and exceptional populations.
(Advanced) Professional studies do not systematically include content on developing competencies that support learning for culturally diverse and exceptional populations.
Field experience procedures do not consistently ensure that candidates study and practice in settings with culturally diverse and exceptional populations.
Activities occurring in the unit in the past year to address these weaknesses:
Indiana State University is engaged in continuous improvement in designing, implementing, and evaluating curriculum and experiences for candidates to acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to help all students learn. ISU values diversity in its community because of its enriching effect on all members of the community and is committed to increasing diversity among students and faculty.
Initial Preparation:
Indiana State University’s Office of Diversity honored 8 members of the University community with its 2002 annual diversity award. The School of Education was pleased to note that three of these individuals were our faculty members: Dr. Doris Williams in Special Education, Dr. Karen Liu in Early Childhood, and Dr. Linda Sperry in Educational and School Psychology. The award winners were selected because they depict an outstanding example and drive to promote diversity issues both at ISU and in the Terre Haute community.
Through the PT3 grant, ISU’s SOE has been able to attract a number of speakers on technology. Recognizing the inter-relatedness of the many aspects of teaching, in October of 2002, the PT3 grant sponsored Linda Englert from Kansas to talk about how an initiative to implement web-based IEP’s and the use of technology in an inclusive classroom. Ms. Englert also spent time in professional education classes working directly with our teacher education students on these issues.
A faculty member from ELED is leading a Diversity Outcomes Assessment Project as part of a consortium through Emporia State University. Through this project, six departmental representatives were identified. During Summer 2002, a Summer Diversity Assessment Workshop was held to develop an assessment strategy for determining ISU’s current diversity elements, both systemic and categorical, which determine the preparedness of teacher candidates for working with diverse populations of students. Approximately twelve faculty attended the summer workshop to develop assessments of curriculum content, student experiences, and faculty knowledge base. The group is currently engaged in collecting the assessments and hopes to begin data aggregation in December 2002.
A graduate student from PT3 and a faculty member are currently enrolled in a class on Assistive Technology in order to learn more about these tools and identify ways to incorporate assistive technologies in all parts of the teacher preparation program.
The SOE sponsors an Adams Scholars series. As part of that series, in the Fall of 2002, Dr. Travis T. Threats of St. Louis University led a talk on functioning and disability. In addition to his lecture, he participated in smaller groups with students and classes in communication disorders.
The School Counseling Program Committee has reexamined all course content and assessment. There are significant diversity modules in COUN535 Introduction to School Counseling, COUN615 Introduction to Group Work, COUN623 Counseling Children and Adolescents, COUN666 Multicultural Counseling, COUN634 Counseling Practicum, COUN628 Psychological Appraisal, COUN739 Internship, COUN738 Professional Seminar, COUN793 Fieldwork in Guidance and Counseling, and COUN635 Career Counseling. (Please note that COUN634, COUN793, and COUN739 are field practice courses.) Additional assessments were created in several courses to monitor candidate knowledge, skills and dispositions in this area.
CIMT continues to have field experiences occur in culturally and economically diverse school settings. Two faculty from underrepresented groups were hired for this academic year.
Candidates in the elementary mathematics methods course (ELED 394) routinely spend two days during the semester in the Indianapolis Public Schools working with diverse learners.
Tracking systems are being implemented in all undergraduate programs to assure that candidates consistently and systematically are placed in the highest diversity school settings as possible for practicum and student teaching experiences.
Four new professional development schools representing the most diverse elementary schools in the local school district have been added for the purpose of providing diverse practicum experiences for all elementary education candidates.
Advanced Preparation:
The Department of Educational Leadership Administration and Foundation has begun aggressive recruitment of women and minority leaders in high-need school districts. As a result, they have begun to realize strong gender and ethnicity representation.
As part of the University’s Visiting Minority Scholar Program, Dr. Charles Ridley was contracted to consult with faculty and students in three different programs: School Psychology, Counseling, and Clinical Psychology in October 2002. He has an outstanding record of teaching and scholarship in cultural empathy and overcoming unintentional racism.
As noted earlier, the School Psychology program has added a required practicum with diverse racial groups. In addition, the program continues to infuse diversity into courses. Recent enhancements include the infusion of diversity into the following areas: introductory seminar, psychopathology, social-emotional assessment/intervention, psychoeducational assessment/intervention, and behavioral assessment/intervention. The program has reconvened it Cultural Psychology Committee, which is responsible for planning program initiatives/activities associated with diversity.
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Candidates represent limited cultural diversity.§
Faculty in the unit represent limited cultural diversity.A female was hired as adjunct faculty in the Department of Educational Leadership Administration and Foundation to offer greater diversity.
Within the School Counseling program diversity has been addressed this past year through the following:
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There is gender and ethnic diversity in the two primary program faculty.o
The School Counseling Program Steering Team (which includes two African Americans and one Latino) created a subcommittee to address ethnic and gender diversity in the program applicant pool.o
Assessments have been created in field practice courses to ensure that candidates practice in settings with culturally diverse and exceptional populations.Within CIMT, two faculty from underrepresented groups were hired for this academic year.
This year, the School Psychology program admitted 11 students, three of whom come from cultural minority groups. Also, the program successfully recruited and hired a new faculty member from an affectual minority group.
Faculty were provided the opportunity to attend conferences and institutes related to diversity to increase awareness and to build new competencies.
Standard 6: Unit Governance and Resources
The unit has the leadership, authority, budget, personnel, facilities, and resources, including information technology resources, for the preparation of candidates to meet professional, state, and institutional standards
Weaknesses related to Standard 6 cited as a result of the last NCATE review:
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Heavy advisement, service, and field experience supervision responsibilities strain faculty effectiveness in teaching, scholarship, and service.In order to reduce the advisement load in elementary and early childhood education, advisement responsibilities for those students through the completion of their first professional education experience has been transferred to Education Student Services.
ISU has begun the process of examining faculty workloads and developing new workload policies. Faculty from the School of Education worked this year on recommendations for new policies that are now under review by the Provost and Faculty Senate. If enacted, the issue of excessive advisement and/or teaching loads will be addressed across the institution.
Faculty set personal performance goals, with the department chair, in the areas of teaching, scholarship, and service. These goals are included in annual faculty performance reviews. Chairs are encouraged to help faculty become more balanced in their workload.
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Candidates and members of the professional community are not systematically included in unit advisory and governance bodies in such a way to ensure their active engagement in deliberative activities.
The Department of Educational Leadership Administration and Foundation has developed a plan to create advisory boards for their programs. The search committees that have currently been appointed in EDLR have representatives of the community and profession. The department’s plan is to extend the work of individuals on the search committee into an advisory capacity.
The School Counseling Program continues to work with a community of practitioners through a wide variety of activities. Practicing school counselors, and community members are part of the program’s Steering Team that meets several times each semester. This team provides input concerning all aspects of the School Counseling Program. Practitioners are involved in all aspects of the interview and selection process. They also are employed as adjuncts in the program.
Curriculum, Instruction, and Media Technology Department, which is responsible for the professional education sequence for secondary and all-grade programs, has added candidate representation to the curriculum committees. Teachers in the professional development schools are included in all CIMT advisory groups.
An Elementary and Early Childhood Education Advisory Board has been established. K-12 teachers and administrators and candidates are represented on the Board, which discusses issues related to elementary education and provides advice to the department faculty.
The unit has revised its faculty search procedures to encourage involvement of the local professional community. One or more members of the local professional community are routinely included on all faculty search committees. Meetings are scheduled to accommodate their calendars.
The School Psychology program increased its collaboration with the Covered Bridge Special Education District to promote more systematic involvement in the governance of the program.
Supervising teachers are directly involved in the summative evaluation of candidate placements, including student teaching.
Area teachers are invited to participate in the final summative assessment of student teachers in secondary and all-grade education.