Council for Teacher Education
The third meeting of the Council for Teacher Education for the 2006-2007 academic year was held Monday, November 13, 2006 at 3:15 p.m. in Speight 202. Members present: Vivian Covington (Chair), Vic Aeby for Rick Barnes, Michael Bossé, Boni Boswell, Michael Brown, Joe Ciechalski, Dawn Clark, Lynne Davis, Bill Hofmann for Bethann Fine, Bill Grobe, Nancy House, Jami Jones, Ashley Mann, Nicole Mas, Melissa Matusevich, Chris Moxley, Mary Lisa Pories, Marcela Ruiz-Funes, Jane Teleki, Sarah Williams, and Scott Williams. Absent were Todd Finley, Linda High, Carolyn Ledford, Tammy Lee, and Mary Pickard.
Order of Business
Agenda I – Approval of Minutes
A motion was made by Bill Grobe and seconded by Mike Bossé to approve the minutes from October 9, 2006.
Agenda II – Announcements
Nicole Mas, an undergraduate student in Family and Consumer Science, was introduced as one of the new student representatives.
The COE Career Fair, which was originally scheduled in February, has been changed to March 23, 2007.
The final internship deadline for Spring 2007 Senior I/Fall 2007 Senior II students is January 5, 2007, which is the first day of spring semester. There will be approximately 580 students completing their internship this academic year. There are MAT students and licensure only students included in this count.
Enrollment target numbers will be reported later. The Office of Teacher Education is verifying graduation/licensure numbers now. General Administration is particularly interested in the number of students completing programs in middle grades math and science, high school math and science and special education.
Applications for 2006-2007 Future Teachers of NC are now available on www.CFNC.org/FTNC through November 17. The application is available to full-time juniors or seniors with a 3.0 GPA, who are North Carolina residents. Students majoring in math, science, or special education are encouraged to apply. Completed applications should be submitted to the Office of Teacher Education. That office will submit applications directly to the State Education Assistance Authority by November 21, 2007. This information was also posted on OneStop earlier for students.
Agenda III – Old Business
A letter has been received from NCATE stating that ECU passed all areas following the February 2006 Visit. The next visit will be in seven years, 2013.
Vivian Covington appeared before the State Evaluation Committee (SEC) on October 30, 2006 to represent the university and answer any questions concerning the NCDPI program approval based on the February 2006 visit. The SEC presented their recommendation to the State Board of Education November 1, 2007.
The dance program was cited for placing an intern with a cooperating teacher who did not hold a dance education license. Dawn Clark spoke on this issue stating that a contingent faculty licensed in the appropriate area would assist in supervising interns or interns would have to be placed outside the network.
The Teaching Fellows Program’s five year review, which was held November 1-2, 2006 with the NC Teaching Fellows Commission went very well. Lynne Davis and Vivian Covington sat in on the exit interview for John Swope. Mary Beth Corbin of the Teaching Fellows Office sent her thanks to the faculty for their support.
Bill Hofmann in LSIT, who teaches the majority of EDTC 4001, Technology in Ed, gave a powerpoint presentation on the department’s thoughts on technology competencies needed and the timeframe prior to taking EDTC 4001. The course is intensive and a key piece in helping students to complete portfolios at the end of their internship semester. Students have options to rework assignments and online assistance is available. Technology skills are needed to apply integration strategies. One to two-thirds of students in EDTC 4001 need remediation. Students completing a prerequisite course longer than four years ago are at a disadvantage in EDTC 4001. They would prefer completion of a pre-requisite course within two years from enrollment. His department suggests that students completing a course longer than four years ago take a “place out” exam. There is a possibility of an aptitude test in computer skills becoming available soon. With a passing score, students could enroll in EDTC 4001. With a failing score, two-six-weeks modules consisting of Microsoft Office applications, file management, email and internet use would be completed prior to admittance to the class. A motion was made by Michael Brown and seconded by Joe Ciechalski to accept the proposal from LSIT to keep the pre-requisite upper division technology course. If it is more than four years old, the student must take a “place out” exam or complete modules before being allowed in EDTC 4001. The motion was approved with one abstention.
Agenda IV – New Business
Lynne Davis read portions of the letter received from NCATE. As the College of Education is the unit that oversees the professional education offering at ECU, the Unit Accreditation Board of NCATE granted the continuation of the accreditation of the COE at ECU at the initial preparation and advanced preparation levels until 2013. This indicates the unit and its programs meet rigorous standards. There are three areas of improvement; candidates have limited opportunities to interact with faculty members from diverse backgrounds, commitments to diversity are not consistently aligned in courses and assessment, and the assessment system does not ensure that faculty regularly and systematically analyze data to improve programs.
Vivian Covington stated that all standards were met. These are areas of deficiency. Improvements will be addressed yearly on the AACTE/NCATE Report.
Lynne Davis stated that interested persons may attend a teleconference on Speight 225 on Thursday at 2:00 on how to gather program specific data using Task Stream. SACS was called into question at a higher level to examine their standards. The university will continue its work on the SACS Report.
Names of interested persons to serve on the Ad Hoc Committees are needed. Non-CTE members are allowed. Please share this opportunity with other faculty members. Committees will begin work in January.
Agenda V – Standing Committee
Admission & Retention – Scott Williams, Chair, had no report. Vivian Covington stated that the committee needs to meet to discuss a student redoing the internship.
Evaluation and Planning – Carolyn Ledford, Chair, had no report.
Curriculum – Boni Boswell, Chair, reported that the committee met and changes in the M.A.Ed in English were approved as well as a course revision in MUSC 3176, Basic Musicianship. The report was approved.
Policy – Joe Ciechalski, Chair, reported that the committee met to establish procedures for students appealing the testing requirement for admission to teacher education. The Policy Committee suggested that student should have (1) 3.0 GPA, (2) the waiver applies to only one of the three PRAXIS I tests, provided the failing score is within 3 points of passing and the student has passed the two other tests, (3) the student will have failed the PRAXIS I test a minimum of three times and have proof of some direct remediation prior to the last two test attempts, (4) the student will pass a designated subject area test (MATH 1065 or higher for math, ENGL 1100 or 1200 for writing and ENGL 1000 or a literature course for reading) with a grade of “C” or better, and (5) the student will write a well-written, well-edited, well-grounded description of the extenuating circumstances that prevented him/her from passing the particular PRAXIS I test (learning disability, etc.). The student must gather this documentation and advisor will help determine if eligible to apply for the waiver. The Office of Teacher Education will submit all documentation to a panel selected by the State Board of Education. Their recommendation is submitted to the State Board of Education for final decision. The report was accepted. Notices will be sent to all teacher education program areas.
Agenda VI – Ad Hoc Committees
Portfolio – No report.
Graduate Programs – No report.
Professional Studies – No report.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:15 p.m. The next meeting will be on December 11, 2006.
Respectfully submitted,
Sherry S. Tripp