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Conceptual Framework
Teachers as Educational Leaders
Much has changed since our fall 1996 NCATE/BoT visit. In fall 2001, new standards for licensing teachers in Minnesota were put into effect. To comply with this legislated change, we revised all 22 of our initial licensure programs at each of the levels—undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, and graduate. After a brief hiatus, we resumed offering a Master of Arts in Education degree in fall 1997. Originally, this program focussed on Moving Students from Risk to Resiliency. However, in subsequent years, we added tracks in Curriculum and Instruction, Montessori Education, Initial Licensure, and a Distance Learning format. With the addition of programs, we needed to re-examine our conceptual framework.
Teachers as Educational Leaders remains the under-girding principle for all of our programs. Guided by the College’s mission statement, the department’s mission statement, and the Minnesota Standards of Effective Practice, the beliefs that are foundational to the work of the Education Department coalesced in the Teachers as Educational Leaders theme.
We believe that "Leadership, like energy, is not finite, not restricted by formal authority and power; it permeates a healthy school culture and is undertaken by whoever sees a need or an opportunity (Lambert, 1995, p.33). Lambert goes on to say,
Leadership is not a person or role. It is the processes that make up the relationships among us. In other words, leadership is the participatory learning opportunities that exist among us in a school culture. A leader, on the other hand, is someone—anyone in the school community—who facilitates the processes among us. (1996, p. 21)
The education department’s beliefs align well with the college’s leadership statement that says,
The College of St. Catherine is committed to the development of effective, ethical leaders. Through study, practice and life experience, individuals have opportunities to enrich the knowledge, refine the skills and clarify the attitudes essential for responsible action. In varied roles and settings, the College of St. Catherine leader:
- Lives a commitment to the values of justice and caring;
- Acts from a strong self-concept;
- Thinks critically and creatively;
- Communicates and interacts effectively within groups;
- Takes risks willingly;
- Exercises power appropriately;
- Articulates a positive sense of direction; and
- Evokes hope.
(January 5, 1988)
The mission of the education department builds on these concepts of dynamic leadership and results in the following statement of mission:
Extending the College’s mission, the Education Department’s programs prepare effective educators by integrating the liberal arts within the professional sequence, providing a theoretical and clinical foundation in education methodology, developing reflective, ethical leaders with a global perspective, and fostering dispositions for lifelong learning.
Based on our strong commitment to our mission, the department builds its programming on a liberal arts base. We believe that “teachers must know their subject matter so thoroughly that they can present it in a challenging, clear, and compelling way” (National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, 1996). This is evident in the way that we organize our undergraduate curriculum and the way in which we address Minnesota Standard of Effective Practice One: Subject Matter.
All of our programs emphasize a strong grounding in educational theory that is tested in clinical experiences. Fieldwork is embedded in all semesters/trimesters of the initial licensure programs. The fieldwork component of our programs can be found in all the Minnesota Standards of Effective Practice. To more clearly articulate the expectations for fieldwork and to insure consistency and avoid unnecessary redundancy, we created a fieldwork matrix. In the graduate programs for in-service teachers (Montessori, Curriculum & Instruction, Risk to Resiliency, and Distance Learning), teachers use their own classrooms to test their new knowledge and to conduct Action Research. Action Research projects are then shared at a public presentation.
The theme of the Education Department is Teachers as Educational Leaders. Discussions about reflective, ethical leadership, justice and responsibility permeate all of our courses because we believe that leaders teach not just through words but through actions (Gardner, 1995). The foundational course for the initial licensure program is Teachers as Leaders for a Changing Society. It is here that students create their electronic portfolio that will include evidence of their progress towards becoming an “educational leader”. During the 2001/2002 AY, we will begin using a Reflective Practice Group process (Germundsen, Cady & Distad, 1998) in the Current Issues in Education course because regular, sustained reflection is essential for an educational leader. This course is required in all of our licensure programs. The process will be used to deconstruct critical teaching events so that professional ethics, dispositions and behaviors can be closely examined. Minnesota Standard of Effective Practice Nine: Reflection and Professional Development and Minnesota Standard of Effective Practice Ten: Collaboration, Ethics and Relationships will be emphasized. Our commitment to Action Research at the graduate level, which we view as a form of teacher empowerment, is further evidence that we believe that leadership is an important quality for an effective teacher.
As a faculty, we demonstrate that we value a global perspective through our own professional development experiences. We model our commitment to a global perspective by infusing multicultural education into all of our coursework. Minnesota Standard of Effective Practice Three: Diverse Learners is emphasized in the Teachers as Leaders for a Changing Society course. At the professional development level, The Student in the Classroom and The Reflective Teacher also emphasize a global perspective and lifelong learning. Maxine Greene (1988) in the Dialectic of Freedom states that, “ a teacher in search of his/her own freedom may be the only kind of teacher who can arouse young persons to go in search of their own” (p. 14). It is this continual “search” that we define as lifelong learning.
In the last five years, faculty members have engaged in numerous international experiences:
- Drs. Diane Heacox, and Linda Distad led a three-week study tour in London, England (Diane Heacox went twice.)
- Drs. Susan Goetz and Lori Maxfield will lead a study group in London, England in January 2002 (Susan will have gone twice);
- Dr. Beverly Schuler taught a summer course in the Bahamas;
- Dr. Jean Dummer, CSJ did research on English curriculum, instruction and assessment in New Zealand and Australia during her sabbatical leave;
- Dr. Ken Vos volunteered (twice) to perform statistical analyses of medical data for a jungle hospital in Ecuador;
- Dr. Bonnie Fisher will conduct research at Oxford, England in spring 2002;
- Michael Dorer gave a keynote address at a conference in New Zealand; and
- Dr. Susan Goetz was a Fulbright Scholar in Namibia, Africa.
In 1999, we hired Chulangangee Fernando, a ranked part-time faculty person from Sri Lanka who trained with Maria Montessori. This fall, Dr. Tony Murphy, who was born and educated in Ireland, joined the department.
In addition to the department’s international work, our faculty is active nationally. For a complete listing of the varied ways in which The College of St. Catherine Education Department faculty model their commitment to Teachers as Educational Leaders, please read the faculty vitae.
At both the initial and advanced levels, we prepare teachers to teach all children. Our curricula emphasize multiculturalism, differentiated instruction, and authentic assessment. The majority of our students have fieldwork placements in culturally diverse settings.
Each year the Sister Ann Harvey Endowed Lecture Series provides the Education Department with the opportunity to bring to campus a scholar of national stature. With each lecture, we try to accomplish two goals: a.) to enrich the educational experience for the students in the Education Department, and b.) to allow the Education Department faculty an opportunity to engage with a national scholar. Our choice of speakers demonstrates our strong commitment to improving the learning experience for all students (P-16):
- David Elkind 1989
- Joyce Epstein 1990
- Frances Hancock 1991
- Jonathan Kozol 1992
- Clara New 1993
- Lilian Katz 1994
- Howard Gardner 1995
- James Comer 1996
- Geneva Gay 1997
- Sharon Lynn Kagan 1998
- Tomie DePaola 1999
- Ruby Payne 2000
- Marian Wright Edelman 2001
We believe that through our choices about where and with whom we work, we have clearly demonstrated that we value a global perspective and lifelong learning.
Technology
The College of St. Catherine supports the development of a technology-infused teacher education program in many ways. A solid infrastructure is already in place. This includes a schedule for maintaining and updating computing equipment every three to five years; a computer help desk that answers more than 200 faculty and student calls a week; technology equipment such as projection systems and LCD panels, (which are available on a check out basis for faculty and student use); and fully equipped computer laboratories on campus that includes one in Mendel Hall. The second floor of Mendel Hall, where teacher education programs are located, has been given priority attention in the area of instructional technology. Since fall 2000, three of the main Education Department classrooms have been re-designed to include wired tables, overhead digital projectors and electronic white boards. The staff in Computing Services continue to work closely with the Education Department to enhance the teaching/learning experience for both faculty and students.
Since 1999, when the Education Department was awarded a Preparing Tomorrow’s Teaching to use Technology (PT3) Capacity Building Grant and a small College grant ($5000), we have greatly increased our expertise in technology. As a women’s College, we feel an additional responsibility to provide our students with strong and positive modeling in technology.
The College of St. Catherine recognizes that women, people of color, and those who live in rural areas are often victims of “the digital divide.” Leslie Bennetts in Digital Divide (1999) described two divides-- one relates to class and the other relates to the gap between men and women. The College of St. Catherine is dedicated to the empowerment of women and to a mission of social justice that is the hallmark of the College’s founding members, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. The Education Department seeks to promote social justice of all kinds through the development of teacher leaders who can change the direction of P-12 education toward empowering all people. Technology literacy is viewed as an essential component of such an education.
Beginning in fall 2001, all prospective teachers in the Education Department will be provided with an IBM ThinkPad through a lease-to-buy program required by the College. The Education Department is pleased that we are the first (and only) department on campus that will require all students to participate in this program. Vice President Mary Margaret Smith and former Director of Computing Services Ken Baltes approached the Education Department in fall 2000 with this concept. It was their thinking (and the Education Department quickly concurred) that the teacher education program was a perfect setting to pilot such a requirement because the Education Department had already demonstrated a strong commitment to technology and viewed technology as an educational imperative.
With this in mind, The College of St. Catherine is taking a giant leap by requiring all initial licensure teacher education students to participate in a laptop lease program beginning in fall 2001. We believe that all prospective teachers must view their computer as a natural learning tool similar to books, pens, paper, and notebooks.
In preparation for our laptop initiative, the department analyzed the technology-related assignments and expectations currently embedded in our courses. Based on this analysis, we revised some of our offerings so that we are using technology to increase student learning, focus on higher order thinking and problem-solving skills, and improve personal productivity. The following chart indicates the types of experiences that all students will have in their initial licensure courses:
Course | Computer Software or Program* | Purpose |
| Teachers as Educational Leaders | Powerpoint
Lotus Notes | Use a template to create an electronic portfolio; communicate with instructor via email. |
| General Methods (Elementary and Secondary) | Grade Book | Create a grade book for recording and analyzing student progress. |
| Literature for Children | Microsoft Excel | Create a database of children's literature. |
| School Health and Chemical Health | Online Course | Use interactive technology. |
| Literacy in the Content Areas | WebQuest
Graphic design tools | Use the internet to link to learning experiences, create graphic organizers |
| Discipline specific methods courses | Microsoft Excel | Create a spreadsheet to enter and analyze data for use with p-12 learners and for personal productivity. |
| * Students will be expected to word process all assignments and perform simple computing tasks such as cutting, pasting and editing documents. Eventually, all students will create hyperlinks and import graphics, sound and video clips. |
Using their required laptops, our students will create an electronic portfolio that will provide evidence of their professional growth and development. The following fall (2002), just prior to student teaching, they will participate in a Portfolio Assessment Event. This event will provide students with the opportunity to share their portfolio with faculty from the College and P-12 educational community.
Our laptop requirement is not included in the advanced programs. Our commitment to technology at that level is evident but less strategic. This will be an area that we will develop in the next few years. As we accumulate successes in curricular technology at the initial licensure level, it will be easier for us to infuse similar experiences into our advanced programs. Because the vast majority of our students are seeking initial licensure, we directed our attention in that area first.
We believe that technology should be used as a tool to increase learning and productivity across the educational continuum (P-18) for both students and teachers. We model this throughout our programs. |