Institutional Report: Conceptual Framework

 

Virginia State University, a comprehensive land-grant institution, is America’s first fully state supported four-year institution of higher learning for Blacks. Its mission is to promote and sustain programs that integrate instruction, research, and extension/public service in a design that promotes knowledgeable, perceptive, and humane citizens that are self-aware, sensitive to the needs and aspirations of others, and committed to assuming productive roles in a challenging and ever changing global society. 

 

The mission of Virginia State University’s Professional Education Unit is aligned contiguously with the 2020 Vision Long-Range Plan (Exhibit C.1.) of the university to prepare reflective practitioners and professional educators to assume productive roles in a global society. Creating a positive learning environment for all candidates and using evidence based performance standards in developing reflective practitioners is central to the unit’s mission. The unit promotes and maintains academic programs with research-based pedagogy, technology-based learning, and reflective practices that integrate service to the community, ever mindful of students’ diverse cultural backgrounds.

 

The overarching theme of Virginia State University’s Professional Education Programs conceptual framework (Exhibit C.2.) is “Reflective Practitioners: Creating Positive Learning Environments for all Students.” Central to this theme is the unit’s commitment to developing competent, caring and effective practitioners. Candidate proficiencies at the undergraduate and graduate levels reflect this commitment. Ultimately, the conceptual framework is integrated in all of the professional programs and throughout the unit’s assessment system. A comprehensive and coherent assessment system is visible in initial and advanced program curricula, candidates’ coursework, field experience, and clinical practice. Candidate proficiencies, outlined in the unit’s conceptual framework and aligned with professional and state standards, are regularly assessed at key transition points.

 

 

 

In 1999, the unit's conceptual framework was based on the belief that the professional educator is responsible for designing and implementing quality learning experiences. This belief was grounded in a knowledge base that supports creative and systematic planning, quality instructional competency and leadership, effective and productive communication, and a commitment to continuous professional growth.

 

The unit had a separate document for graduate programs based on the unit’s framework knowledge base that included different candidate proficiencies. There were a total of 120 undergraduate proficiencies in the 1999 framework. These proficiencies were grouped into 23 general proficiencies focusing on specific attributes of the professional educator.

 

Since the last NCATE and Virginia Department of Education visit in the fall of 1999, the Professional Education Unit at Virginia State University extensively revised its conceptual framework. In the summer of 2001, the unit formed a task force and conducted several workshops and retreats to develop a new conceptual framework. This task force included faculty and administrators from the Professional Education Programs Unit, faculty from the Arts and Sciences, graduate and undergraduate students, and other administrators and stakeholders in the program. The unit hired a consultant to facilitate the development process, and the task force researched current literature on teaching, learning and effective teacher preparation programs.

 

The resulting framework focused on developing reflective practitioners who are competent, effective, caring and who create positive learning environments for all students. Although competence, effectiveness and reflection were present in the original framework, an ethic of caring was designated as a primary attribute instead of being embedded in other elements. Additionally, the task force significantly decreased the number of undergraduate candidate proficiencies and restructured the list.

 

During 2004 and 2005, the Conceptual Framework Focus Group and a select group of human resources personnel from surrounding school districts reviewed the knowledge base and candidate proficiencies of the conceptual framework. After evaluation, the knowledge base and candidate proficiencies were revised to reflect current research, best practices in education, and the school districts’ needs.

 

During unit retreats conducted from 2001 through 2005, Arts and Sciences faculty, Professional Education faculty, and teachers, administrators and human resources personnel from surrounding school districts collaborated in developing about the unit’s mission, vision and conceptual framework. These retreats also provided an opportunity for all stakeholders to develop plans to improve unit operations. The unit has also shared the conceptual framework with new students and their families during new student orientation programs during the summer of 2005. Various student teaching programs, including the exit assessment presentation and the induction ceremony, have also provided an opportunity for the unit to share the conceptual framework with university administrators, families, and PK-12 partners.

 

 

The conceptual framework provides a basis for coherence among aspects of curriculum and instruction, field experiences, clinical practice and assessment across the scope of candidates’ programs, at the initial and advanced levels. All professional education courses in the initial and advanced programs are designed to achieve the candidate proficiencies related to candidates’ knowledge (competent), skills (effective), and dispositions (caring). They also support candidates’ ongoing self-reflection. Evaluations of field and clinical experiences in initial and advanced programs are aligned with the corresponding program’s learning outcomes. Clinical experiences at the advanced level are aligned with the appropriate professional association standards.

 

  

Professional educators embody the elements of the Virginia State University Professional Education Program’s conceptual framework in terms of knowledge, performance, and dispositions. The candidates in initial programs demonstrate their professional commitments by successfully completing coursework at the university and through field experiences and student teaching in PK-12 classrooms. Candidate success in these activities is documented through numerous field experiences and clinical practice assessments of their knowledge and performance in PK-12 classrooms. Candidates in the advanced programs demonstrate their knowledge and skills through program specific courses and related field experience assessments. Disposition assessment procedures for initial and advanced programs include multiple assessment points.

 

 

The unit is committed to diversity in candidate proficiencies, faculty composition, and candidate interaction with other candidates and students in the public schools. The unit is committed to ensuring that candidates demonstrate competent, caring, effective and reflective behaviors when performing the following five elements of diversity: race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic and exceptionality. Candidates’ early experiences in the unit require curricula courses that address and expand a general understanding of diversity within P-12 schools, and candidates demonstrate knowledge and understanding of diversity within local, state, national and international communities. 

 

Candidates seeking a teaching endorsement work with a diverse faculty in general education, content and professional preparation courses. Similarly, advanced level candidates work with a diverse faculty in program area courses. Within the Unit, candidates attend courses, workshops, conferences, and professional organization meetings on and off campus with other candidates or peers of diverse racial, ethnic, gender and socioeconomic backgrounds. Through field and clinical experiences, candidates also work with a diverse student population in local school districts.

 

The commitment to leadership in the educational and informational use of technology is a critical component of the university’s Professional Education Programs. Numerous learning outcomes pertaining to the use of technology are integrated in the undergraduate and graduate candidate proficiencies. Faculty members and cooperating teachers model the integration of instructional and informational technology as they teach professional education and content core courses and supervise candidates in field experiences and clinical practice. Within the initial and advanced programs, candidates take a general technology course and the unit supplements their technology skills with a variety of seminars and workshops. Approved in spring 2006 and beginning fall 2006, pre-candidates at the initial level will take IDST 200 Digital Media in Education. This course is designed to teach candidates how to integrate technology to support teaching and learning and to provide instructional leadership in schools. Candidates in initial teacher education programs are required to exhibit their knowledge and skills related to educational technology through the development of an electronic portfolio that is presented during an exit assessment at the culmination of their student teaching experience. Assessments for clinical practice address the appropriate use of technology.

 

As described in the overview of the conceptual framework, the Virginia State University Professional Education Programs candidate proficiencies are clearly aligned with the knowledge, skills and dispositions presented in professional and state standards (Exhibit C.3.). The INTASC standards are aligned with the undergraduate candidate proficiencies. The masters and doctoral Educational Administration and Supervision programs are aligned with state competencies and Educational Leadership Constituent Council (ELCC) standards. The graduate School Counseling program is aligned with the Commonwealth of Virginia’s competencies for school counselors.