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Project Overview

 

Project Goal

The goal of Improving Teacher Quality Project is to become accountable for the impact of teacher graduates on student achievement by developing systems to measure and improve teacher candidates' ability to facilitate student learning.

 

 

Project Description

The Renaissance Partnership Project is a five-year initiative by eleven teacher preparation institutions in ten states to improve the quality of their graduates and teachers in local partner schools by focusing attention on   P-12 student learning.  These eleven institutions collectively produce about 6,000 new teachers each year.  The five-year project is supported by a Title II grant and is in its third year of operation.  All eleven institutions are members of the “Renaissance Group” whose presidents, provosts and deans have collaborated on issues of teacher preparation.  They are:

  • California State University, Fresno

  • Eastern Michigan University

  • Emporia State University

  • Idaho State University

  • Kentucky State University

  • Longwood University, Virginia

  • Middle Tennessee State University

  • Millersville University, Pennsylvania

  • Southeast Missouri State University

  • University of Northern Iowa

  • Western Kentucky University

Together with their partner schools, the eleven institutions have identified seven performance areas that if improved will significantly increase the ability of teacher candidates and school practitioners to facilitate learning of all P-12 students.  These include:  

  1. aligning instruction and assessment with state and local content standards; 
  2. using the student’s culture, context and background to design instruction; 
  3. using multiple assessments to plan, guide and assess student learning; 
  4. designing instruction for all students, including those with special needs; 
  5. adapting instruction to achieve maximum student growth; 
  6. analyzing and reporting learning growth of all students; and 
  7. reflecting on the teaching and learning process to plan future instructions and improve performance.

Seven performances require a paradigm shift from teaching to learning, new organizational structures and new systems of accountability.  Thus, seven project objectives have become the focus of development activities and actions over the five-year effort.

  1. All institutions are in the process of developing accountability systems that regularly collect, analyze and report performance data on teacher candidates and graduates
  2. All institutions have implemented the process of requiring teacher candidates to develop teacher work samples as evidence of their ability to facilitate P-12 student learning
  3. All institutions are in the process of developing mentoring teams consisting of teacher educators, school practitioners and arts and science faculty to assist teacher candidates in achieving learning results
  4. All institutions are making significant course and program improvements that address critical teaching performances and mentoring processes
  5. New strategies are being collectively explored across project sites to develop partnerships with business that expand learning opportunities for teacher candidates and P-12 students
  6. New structures and processes of networking  of people, ideas and resources have been initiated, including the development of this web site
  7. All institutions are participating in a coordinated research program that links teacher performance to P-12 student learning

If you are a newcomer to this web site, you will notice several web page options for you to visit.

 

Click on Eleven Partnerships to learn about the institutions, schools and business partners participating in the five year Title II Partnership Project. 

 

Click on Project News to learn what is happening this semester at each of the eleven project sites and who to contact for more information.

 

Click on Meetings and Events if you want to find out about future meetings scheduled or minutes of past meetings.

 

Click on Work Plan to learn specifics about Year 3 objectives, activities and outcomes.

 

Click on Project Activities to learn about accountability systems, teacher work samples, team mentoring, business partnerships and research projects or to download materials related to these activities.

 

Click on Discussion Groups to share your ideas or view what colleagues have learned and have to contribute on key issues.  Also, click on Discussion Groups to communicate your ideas, questions and professional wisdom. 

 

Click on Contact Us if you need more direction on who in the project can provide you more information about specific aspects or developments of this project.

Thank you for visiting our project web site and I hope your experience here will contribute to your professional growth and/or enable us to interact with you.

 

Roger Pankratz
 roger.pankratz@wku.edu
Project Director

This project is supported with a US Department of Education Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant, one of 25 funded by Title II in September of 1999.

 

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