Vision
The College of Education is an international leader in innovative research and the preparation of scholars and lifelong learning leaders in two signature areas critical to an increasingly complex and global society: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and cultural and linguistic diversity. Through our research and professional preparation, we contribute to the development of a literate citizenry prepared to be engaged, reflective, creative, and caring members of their communities, as well as the world.
Mission
The College of Education develops multi-culturally competent researchers, scholars, learning leaders and practitioners who make a difference by promoting innovation, social justice, and lifelong learning with a focus on STEM and cultural and linguistic diversity. Our research and professional preparation fosters scholarship, intellectual stimulation, openness, flexibility, and a sense of community.
Values and Beliefs
We believe that the discovery, dissemination, and application of knowledge in STEM disciplines must be situated in a context of social justice that acknowledges and embraces cultural and linguistic diversity. We value a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach to research and to teaching learners of all ages and cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Our programs are informed by research and our research is informed by our practice as educators.
Foundational Values
Each of the four core values of the revised PTCE unit Conceptual Framework are described below, including a discussion of the knowledge base related to each and the related performance expectations for the candidates’ knowledge, skills, and dispositions (KSD) as defined by National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) guidelines.
1. Ethics and Professionalism
Teacher capacity is not the storage or development of knowledge and skills. Rather, it is the development of a disposition to enact them. In order to develop P-12 students’ competence, as citizens, workers, and family members in a democratic society, candidates need to understand the context that contributes to and detracts from equality and democratic participation in schools.
We believe that service to society through an ethical and moral commitment to clients (teachers) includes: A body of scholarly knowledge that forms a basis of the entitlement to practice; engagement in practical action: the need and disposition to enact knowledge; recognition of the different needs of clients and non-routine nature of the need and to develop judgment in applying knowledge; and development of a professional community that builds and shares knowledge.
PTCE programs provide continuous opportunities for candidates to test ideas, to consider ethical and legal issues, to critically reflect on decisions and to take responsibility for their actions. The PTCE unit supports the development of communication and human relations skills and peer and professional collaboration through coursework, candidate and faculty interaction, and field experiences.
Expectations for KSD: Candidates demonstrate ethical and professional behavior in their interactions with students, families, colleagues, and communities. Candidates demonstrate an understanding of the legal aspects of their professional roles.
2. Reflective Practitioner
Reflective teaching is central for effective teachers. Pre-service teachers should continually think about their practice. OSU pre-service teachers will be prepared to maintain constant vigilance throughout their careers as they encounter problems relating to children’s learning and teaching practices. Our graduates will learn how to create, enrich, maintain, and alter educational settings in order to provide the best learning opportunities for all learners. Thinking about practice requires active engagement and adjustments that lead to more effective teaching and subsequent student learning. We believe that reflection is the cornerstone of learning. Thus, we believe that teacher education faculty should explicitly model reflection in their teaching. Candidates engage in reflective practice throughout the professional education preparation. Through exposure to different educational traditions, education candidates in OSU’s PTCE programs reflect on those traditions. The programs foster critical evaluation of the application of theory and research to practice and professional inquiry and encourage debate among candidates and faculty.
Expectations for KSD: Candidates are required to adopt and enact reflective, critical stances about their own and others’ classroom practices, and about the broader educational and social issues that have an impact on schools. Candidates understand the process of reflective practice as it applies to their practice and their understanding of teaching and learning in the context of student learning.
3. Lifelong Learners
Building on reflective practice, we expect our graduates to be able to deal with the complexities and fast-paced changes found in educational settings. This requires lifelong learning and is essential because educators continually make collective and individual decisions about their work. Teachers who are lifelong learners can help learners develop as active, knowledgeable citizens of a changing and complex global society. We require our candidates to be committed to ongoing analysis and continual improvement of teaching and learning, and to have effective ways to collect and analyze information about their practice and use that information to improve practice. Additionally, OSU education graduates will have a disposition toward continual lifelong learning. They will understand human development, subject matter and instruction, and the nature of the student or client to make and evaluate decisions about teaching. Finally, they will be disposed to seek professional development opportunities to deepen their own discipline and pedagogical understanding, and seek and consider evidence of learner understanding in making instructional decisions.
Expectations for KSD: As lifelong learners, candidates engage in continuous professional development, collaborate with colleagues in learning communities and other professional areas, and reflect upon their practice.
4. Diversity and Equity
The PTCE unit’s broad definition of diversity is consistent with reform literature that links multicultural and special needs populations together when addressing learning differences. It is inclusive in that it refers to age, gender, ethnicity, culture, socio-economic status, and intellectual, physical, and language abilities. The unit is committed to the assumption that educators “must seek to eliminate disparities in educational opportunities among all students, especially those students who have been poorly served by our current system” (Banks et al., 2005). Education candidates learn to incorporate and develop a disposition to enact multicultural and diverse perspectives and practices into their own teaching and learning. They organize classroom instruction to meet the needs of a variety of learners, including linguistically different, ethnically diverse, and exceptional students. To this end, the PTCE unit: 1) places candidates in community and school sites with diverse populations; 2) provides instruction in multicultural and second language approaches to teaching and learning; and 3) provides instruction in legal issues and classroom strategies designed to serve special needs children in the regular classroom.
Expectations for KSD: Candidates believe everyone deserves the opportunity to learn and can learn; they possess knowledge, skills, and dispositions to serve as professionals who understand and meet the needs of a diverse society. Candidates provide evidence of their understanding of these differences.
Shared Vision. The PTCE unit’s vision is to prepare education professionals who exemplify quality teaching and learning in the 21st century. Our commitment to the values of ethics and professionalism, reflective practice, lifelong learning, and diversity and equity express this vision and consistently support our operations and programs.
Professional commitment and dispositions. The PTCE unit is committed to mentoring candidates toward appropriate professional dispositions, such as valuing diversity, professional and personal growth, and the highest standards of professional conduct.
Commitment to diversity. The unit has an extensive and ongoing commitment to valuing diversity and in assuring candidates’ skillfulness in helping P-12 learners maximize their potential. The PTCE unit’s commitment to proficiency-based programs and the Work Sample in all licensure programs attends carefully to individual differences, constraints and affordances of the teaching and learning setting, and differentiation necessary to assure that all children learn. Structured course embedded field experiences in all programs assure candidates develop the skills necessary to modify and differentiate for diverse learners.
Commitment to technology. Although not explicitly stated in the conceptual framework, the PTCE unit is committed to providing learners with the knowledge and skills to incorporate technology into their practice.
