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Standard 5.5
Faculty are actively engaged as a community of learners regarding the conceptual framework and its dissemination to candidates during field experiences and clinical practice. Collaboration regarding the scholarship of the classroom occurs at four levels among College of Education faculty: the university level, the Local Education Agency (LEA)/school district level, the State Education Agency level/ALSDE, and the federal level/U.S. Office of Education. At the university level, College of Education and Arts and Sciences faculty members attend and participate in monthly faculty meetings and workshops where they break into small groups to interact on concerns such as writing syllabi to meet university, ALSDE, NCATE, and INTASC standards. Arts and Sciences faculty participate because they teach content area courses and their syllabi objectives must address institutional, state, and national standards used to develop the unit's programs. An off-campus two day retreat/workshop was held with participants from the College of Arts and Science, the University College, and the College of Education faculty to
develop a strategy
The four departments have regularly scheduled meetings where they discuss items of concern, for example, publications of faculty, advisement, scheduling of courses to accommodate traditional and non-traditional candidates. Faculty members provide input and their shared points of view across curricula. College of Education faculty are involved with advisors from the Advisement Center in University College where they informally and formally share ideas about what works and what does not work in effective student advisement. These relationships are developed among colleagues to improve the quality of education for candidates and P-12 students. At the LEA/school district level, faculty members are actively involved with teachers and administrators when COE candidates are placed for field experiences, and for internship/student teaching. University supervisors communicate with cooperating teachers and administrators and ask for input on how to improve current program offerings. Faculty also consult with LEAs individually and through the Central Alabama Regional In-Service Center to provide professional development on-site when requested. The College of Education also utilizes the expertise of in-service teachers where they provide real-time experiences for candidates and give feedback on how to enhance program and course offerings. Using adjuncts from LEAs also provides an open-door to more schools for candidates to observe and volunteer to gain practical experiences. At the ALSDE level, many faculty members serve on committees for their areas of expertise for textbook selections and for standards revisions; they work on ALSDE/NCATE review teams for other COE units in Alabama; they serve as evaluators for candidates for National Board Certification and as participants in groups working to bring ALSDE standards in compliance with INTASC standards and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation. At the federal level, faculty members conduct research to participate in proposal writing; several have acquired funded federal grants. Faculty read proposals for the U.S. Office of Education and participate in project directors' meetings where they collaborate with their peers on a national level. They are also active with their professional organizations and attend national, international conferences and conventions where they collaborate with cohorts from across the nation and abroad and discuss issues and trends. Informal collaboration occurs in P-12 public school settings. Formal collaboration occurs at planned workshops, faculty meetings, and retreats where all faculty have opportunities to participate in a forum of discussions and presentations. Faculty collaborate with colleagues individuals from the professional community in advisory councils to review outcomes of programs and provide feedback about the success of candidates who complete internships in P-12 schools. |
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for addressing the newly adopted State Department of Education Professional Studies Standards.