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The Process of Becoming an Educator • 131 I. H. Quality of field experiences The unit ensures that field experiences are consistent with the conceptual framework(s), are well planned and sequenced, and are of high quality. I. I. Professional community The unit collaborates with higher education faculty, school personnel and other members of the professional community to design, deliver, and renew effective programs for the preparation of school personnel, and to improve the quality of education in schools. II. A. Qualifications of candidates The unit recruits, admits, and retains candidates who demonstrate potential for professional success in schools. II. B. Composition of candidates The unit recruits, admits, and retains a diverse student body. II. C. Monitoring and advising the progress of candidates The unit systematically monitors and assesses the progress of candidates and ensures that they receive appropriate academic and professional advisement from admission through completion of their professional education programs. II. D. Ensuring the competence of candidates The unit ensures that a candidate's competency to begin his or her professional role in schools is assessed prior to completion of the program and/or recommendation for licensure. m. A. Professional education faculty qualifications The unit ensures that the professional education faculty are teacher/scholars who are qualified for their assignments and are actively engaged in the professional community. m. B. Composition of faculty The unit recruits, hires, and retains a diverse higher education faculty. m. c. Professional assignments of faculty The unit ensures that policies and assignments allow faculty to be involved effectively in teaching, scholarship, and service. III. D. Professional development of faculty The unit ensures that there are systematic and comprehensive activities to enhance the competence and intellectual vitality of the professional education faculty. IV. A. Governance and accountability of the unit The unit is clearly identified, operates as a professional community, and has the responsibility, authority, and personnel to develop, administer, evaluate, and revise all professional education programs. 132 • H. William Heller IV. B. Resources for teaching and scholarship The unit has adequate resources to support teaching and scholarship by faculty and candidates. IV. C. Resources for operating the unit The unit has sufficient facilities, equipment, and budgetary resources to fulfill its mission and offer quality programs. (15-29) As one will observe, the NCATE Standards also address curriculum, student, and setting. They add the dimensions of governance, faculty, and resources, which truly are necessary for the component of curriculum, student, and setting to be actualized. The standards, when aligned with the certification and licensing requirements of the various states, and when in compliance with the specialty organization guidelines, such as those of the Council for Exceptional Children, the International Reading Association, National Council for the Social Studies, the National Council of Teachers of English, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, serve to assure that those who seek to become teachers experience a preparation program (process) that enables them to achieve their goal. Unfortunately, NCATE is voluntary, and there are many institutions preparing teachers who do not submit their programs for accreditation. Fortunately, the institutions that prepare the majority of America's teachers do submit their programs for accreditation. Hopefully, the future will find all institutions nationally accredited and thereby assure a basic level of comparable quality for all persons seeking to become teachers. Preparation Process The process to prepare educators, such as program content, differs from institution to institution, albeit there are common elements. These commonalities are contained as instruction in the foundations, theory, methods, and application. Teacher-education programs generally provide their students with instruction in foundations, including an understanding of educational systems (especially the public schools), philosophical, social, and psychological foundations of education and assessment. This content is then followed by theory related to learning , instruction, and classroom management. After the foundational and theoretical underpinnings are in place, the student is introduced to methods course work in reading, mathematics, language arts, or specific subject matter areas. This is then followed by a structured and supervised period of applied practice referred to as an internship or student teaching. The process, to be effective, must be sequential and systematic. Introducing a student to a methods course without an appropriate theoretical base in learning and instruction is wrong and does not permit the student an opportunity to integrate theory and methodology. Equally as important, there must be constant contact with reality. The person preparing to become a teacher needs to be observing and working with children in school settings. This applied or reality orientation...

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