Project Title:PK-12/Arts and Sciences/Education Collaboration InitiativeInstitution Name:Northern Kentucky University
Innovation Category:Research and Regional Stewardship
Project Director:Carol Ryan, Associate Dean, College of Education and Human ServicesContact Information:(859) 572-5152,
ryanc@nku.eduWebsite: Project Description:One example of how the university collaborates
and innovates through a P-20 partnership is the Collaboration Initiative. The
initiative includes representatives from PK-12 teachers and administration,
Arts/ Science faculty, and Education faculty and was formed to review, discuss,
and recommend ideas on collaborating and supporting each other. Many items are
discussed, all with the purpose of improving the teacher education program so
graduates can more positively impact PK-12 children. The Collaboration
Initiative is an ongoing partnership to forge a stronger bond and collaboration
among the teacher education program, PK-12 school districts, and the
Arts/Sciences programs.
Objectives:
- Provide
a means for close collaboration and discussion among faculty/administrators in
PK-12 schools, education, and arts/sciences. This will be evaluated/ assessed
through the feedback provided by each constituent.
- Develop
recommendations for improving the teacher preparation program to meet the CAEP
standards and other initiatives affecting teacher education. This will be
evaluated/assessed through the list of recommendations developed and eventually
initiated in the teacher education program.
-
Review recommendations and begin to implement ones that are most
appropriate for reforming and improving the university’s teacher education
program. This will be evaluated through quantitative data and feedback from all
constituents
Outcomes:
- The
first objective, cited above, has been met. The group met throughout the
academic year and had very collaborative and collegial discussions. All
constituents reported excellent feedback on the success of the Collaboration
Initiative.
- The
second objective cited above has also been met. Many recommendations were
developed and included a personal interview for education students seeking
admission that will include representatives from all three constituent groups
and requiring a yearlong clinical experience that has education students at the
same school for an entire academic year.
-
The third objective cited above will take several more years to
determine if it is successful. Implementing the recommendations will start in
fall, 2014.
Challenges/Problems Encountered:The main challenge was the uncertainty among
each representative of the constituent groups. In the beginning there was a lot
of unease among the participants regarding how honest to be in statements and
feedback given to the group. This subsided very quickly into the process as
everyone realized we were all there to improve the university’s teacher
education program to positively impact PK-12 children.
Evaluation Approach:Evaluation was approached administratively by
developing an opportunity for each participant to provide qualitative feedback.
The final evaluation will be several years in the future as we determine how many
of the recommendations are implemented and how many of them are ultimately
successful in improving the teacher education program.
Potential for Replication:This is a very easy project to replicate. It is
important to have a good collaborative relationship with the PK-12 and Arts and
Sciences communities. If that is already in place then replicating the
Collaboration Initiative will be easy to do and appreciated by all groups. If a
good relationship is not in place, then it will be important to start
cultivating it. It will be important to have the dean of the college of
education contact the area superintendents to seek their suggestions for Pk-12
representatives and the dean of Arts/Sciences to seek his/her suggestions.
CEO-to-CEO Contact:Geoff Mearns
, Presidentmearns@nku.edu
(859) 572-5123 Date Published: Tuesday, May 13, 2014