IUP
Since its founding in 1875, Indiana University of Pennsylvania has progressed and evolved to match the changing needs of those it serves. Today, IUP has a diverse, vibrant, research-based, and student-centered community comprising distinguished faculty members and more than 14,000 undergraduate and graduate students from across the nation and around the world. IUP boasts 138 undergraduate programs, 57 master’s programs, and 11 doctoral programs, awarding 2,156 undergraduate degrees, 692 master’s degrees, and 95 doctoral degrees in 2010–2011. Our alumni live in 48 states, two U.S territories, the District of Columbia, and 71 countries around the world. They have included university presidents and state system chancellors, chief executives of leading companies and industries, playwrights and authors, and luminaries of the sports world.
College Mission
The mission of the College of Education and Educational Technology is to provide leading-edge development and growth opportunities for students and professionals in education and allied fields. Teacher education at IUP was the first mission of the university in 1875. The Normal School, together with its Model School, was founded to further the acquisition of knowledge and excellence in teaching as mutually supportive goals. In 12 decades of growth and change, IUP has maintained a commitment to the linked goals of excellence in learning and excellence in teaching. Although the university has greatly expanded, the College of Education and Educational Technology continues the tradition of preparing outstanding teachers to serve all students.
The teacher education programs at IUP include a total of 22 initial teacher preparation and 11 advanced preparation programs. A total of 15 of the initial preparation programs offered are housed by departments from the five other colleges across our campus.
The college is well known for its opportunities to practice “hands-on” learning. More than 500 candidates participate in early field experiences each semester. In addition, the college places about 500 candidates each year in public schools for a full semester of supervised teaching experience. Candidates are encouraged to take advantage of a full range of activities offered in culturally and economically diverse urban and rural settings.
Teacher education programs at IUP focus on candidates who are taught and guided by a faculty committed to the preparation of outstanding teachers. Candidates preparing to become educators must exhibit compassion and adaptability, demonstrate and foster critical thinking skills, and model best professional practices. These qualities are developed through coursework and field experiences that emphasize the liberal studies in concert with appropriate professional pedagogy and content. Collaboration is modeled as university faculty, public school personnel, and candidates work together to accomplish the goals of the IUP teacher education programs.
Outcomes
- All of our programs have a 100 percent pass rate on the Praxis II subject assessments, which measure knowledge of specific subjects that K–12 educators will teach, as well as general and subject-specific teaching skills and knowledge.
- Most teacher preparation programs with a national accreditation body have received “National Recognition,” demonstrating that they meet the standards of the profession.
- All teacher candidates complete the Teacher Work Sample, which provide evidence that our candidates have a positive impact on student performance out in the field.
- All teacher candidates complete a required e-portfolio highlighting their teaching skills.
- All teacher candidate program completers complete early field experiences (EDUC 242), pre-student teaching (EDUC 342), and student teaching assignments.
- All candidates completing student teaching as required by the Pennsylvania Department of Education were granted certifications to teach in their areas of expertise.
- Grade Point Averages (GPAs) for graduates of our teacher preparation programs in the last three years ranged between a 3.0 and 4.0 in 2010–2011, 3.0 and 4.0 in 2009–2010, and 3.01 and 4.0 in 2008–2009 out of a possible 4.0.
- A 2010 follow-up survey of employers (n=52) of our graduates indicates that our graduates are highly qualified. For example, results from that survey indicate that IUP teacher education graduates score very high in the following area:
- Knowledge of content
- Appropriate use of technology
- Caring
- Creating a classroom environment based upon respect and rapport
- Dedication
- Enthusiasm
- Honesty
- Showing professionalism
- Of the 2010–2011 graduates of teacher preparation programs that responded to our survey, 78 percent (18 out of 23) indicated they were employed in the field of teaching. All of those employed indicated that they felt more than adequately prepared to teach.
- Pre-/post-assessment results provide convincing evidence of student learning. Data confirm that all students learned as a result of IUP teacher candidate instruction. 2.68/3.0
- Observations by cooperating teacher and university supervisor indicate that the candidate exceeded student teaching expectations (see evaluation form). 2.71/3.0
- Lesson plans follow required format and effectively address required subject-specific P-12 student standards. All lesson objectives are learner-centered and measurable. Critical thinking skills are integrated. All lesson activities address objectives appropriate to all learners in inclusive settings. There is evidence of a variety of instructional activities. 2.8/3.0
- The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful for students. 2.8/3.0
- The teacher understands how children learn and develop and can provide learning opportunities that support their intellectual, social, and personal development. 2.9/3.0
- The teacher understands how students differ in their approaches to learning and creates instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners. 2.8/3.0
Continuous Improvement
IUP has embarked on the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education’s (NCATE’s) Continuous Improvement Model, which requires meeting NCATE’s highest standards in focused areas. In doing so, we have pursued the following improvements:
- The IUP Assessment System has been expanded and improved.
- A rubric outlining the target, acceptable, and unacceptable criteria for the student teaching assessment Form I has been developed.
- The electronic assessment system now includes the Teaching Work Sample and Pre-Student Teaching experiences.
- The electronic assessment system has recently been updated to provide greater detail and better ability to make decisions based on the data. This is done so by generating reports that not only indicate the mean, but also by indicating the number of “target,” “acceptable,” “unacceptable,” and “unable to assess” responses for each criteria. By doing so, we are now able to use the assessment system to verify whether a variety of settings has been used for each candidate during their early field experiences, pre-student teaching, and student teaching experiences.
- The IUP NCATE Electronic Exhibit Room has been redesigned to be more user friendly so as to provide easier access to data to program coordinators so that data can be more readily used for program improvement.
- Diversity efforts have been redoubled.
The Diversity Task Force was established to ensure appropriate use of field experiences and to ensure all candidates are taught how teach in diverse settings. This task force has reviewed employer surveys and found that our graduates perform well in diverse settings. On a scale from 1–5, employers (n=52) in 2010 rated IUP Teacher Education graduates in the following ways:
- Demonstrate a commitment to equity 3.85
- Are culturally sensitive 3.83
- Hold high expectations for all students 3.79
- Interact with students in developmentally appropriate ways 3.74
- The Diversity Recruitment Committee has been charged with monitoring our plan to ensure that we recruit and retain high-quality and diverse teacher candidates and teacher education
- Fall 2011, 73 students teachers were rated (on a scale from 1–3) by their supervisors in the following areas:
- Pre-/post-assessment results provide convincing evidence of student learning. Data confirm that all students learned as a result of IUP teacher candidate instruction. 2.8/3.0
- Observations by cooperating teacher and university supervisor indicate that the candidate exceeded student teaching expectations (see evaluation form). 2.87/3.0
- Lesson plans follow required format and effectively address required subject-specific P-12 student standards. All lesson objectives are learner-centered and measurable. Critical thinking skills are integrated. All lesson activities address objectives appropriate to all learners in inclusive settings. There is evidence of a variety of instructional activities. 2.8/3.0
- The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject mattermeaningful for students. 2.8/3.0
- The teacher understands how children learn and develop and can provide learning opportunities that support their intellectual, social, and personal development. 2.7/3.0
- The teacher understands how students differ in their approaches to learning and creates instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners. 2.7/3.0
- Spring 2011, 177 student teachers were rated (on a scale from 1–3) by their supervisors in the following areas:
- Pre-/post-assessment results provide convincing evidence of student learning. Data confirm that all students learned as a result of IUP teacher candidate instruction. 2.68/3.0
- Observations by cooperating teacher and university supervisor indicate that the candidate exceeded student teaching expectations (see evaluation form). 2.71/3.0
- Lesson plans follow required format and effectively address required subject-specific P-12 student standards. All lesson objectives are learner-centered and measurable. Critical thinking skills are integrated. All lesson activities address objectives appropriate to all learners in inclusive settings. There is evidence of a variety of instructional activities. 2.8/3.0
- The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s)he or she teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject mattermeaningful for students. 2.8/3.0
- The teacher understands how children learn and develop and can provide learning opportunitiesthat support their intellectual, social, and personal development. 2.9/3.0
- The teacher understands how students differ in their approaches to learning and createsinstructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners. 2.8/3.0
