Conceptual Framework:"Preparing  The Future-Ready Educator"

“PREPARING THE FUTURE-READY EDUCATOR”

In the summer of 2009, The Department of Education adopted a new conceptual framework in order to emphasize 21^st century skills and to align our program with the State Board of Education mission that “every public school student will graduate from high school, globally competitive for work and postsecondary education and prepared for life in the 21^st Century.”  Thus, in developing a new conceptual framework for the Teacher Education Program at Davidson College, the Department of Education—in collaboration with the Teacher Education Committee and carefully selected public school personnel—chose to focus on the State Board of Education goal that North Carolina public schools will be led by 21^st century professionals.  As enumerated by the Partnership for 21^st Century Skills, such professionals must be critical thinkers, problem solvers, innovators, effective communicators, effective collaborators, and self-directed learners, who are information and media literate, globally aware, civically engaged, and financially and economically literate.

These characteristics are embedded in the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards, approved by the State Board of Education on June 7, 2007 and represented in the Teacher Candidate Evaluation Rubric.  By demonstrating proficiency in the areas of Leadership, Diversity, Content Knowledge, Facilitation, and Reflection, teacher education candidates who graduate from Davidson College will be models of the “Future-Ready Educator.”  This conceptual framework is illustrated graphically below.

Characteristics of a “Future-Ready Educator”

Teacher Education candidates will provide evidence that they have achieved proficiency in each of the following.  A detailed listing of these five characteristics and the method for providing evidence are found here.

• Leadership.  Teachers demonstrate leadership by leading in their classrooms; by demonstrating leadership in the school; by leading in the teaching profession; by advocating for schools and students; and by demonstrating high ethical standards.
• Diversity.  Teachers establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of students by providing an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults; by embracing diversity in the school community and in the world; by treating students as individuals; by adapting their teaching for the benefit of students with special needs; and by working collaboratively with the families and significant adults in the lives of their students.
• Content Knowledge.  Teachers demonstrate knowledge of the content they teach by aligning their instruction with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study; by knowing the content appropriate to their teaching specialty; by recognizing the interconnectedness of content areas/disciplines; and by making instruction relevant to students.
• Facilitation.  Teachers facilitate learning for their students by knowing the ways in which learning takes place; by knowing the appropriate levels of intellectual, physical, social, and emotional development of their students; by planning instruction appropriate for their students; by using a variety of instructional methods; by integrating and utilizing technology in their instruction; by helping students develop critical-thinking and problem-solving skills; by helping students work in teams and develop leadership qualities; by communicating effectively; and by using a variety of methods to assess what each student has learned.
• Reflection.  Teachers reflect on their practice by analyzing student learning; by linking professional growth to their professional goals; and by functioning effectively in a complex, dynamic environment.