Portland State University Magazine Fall 1991

Anew fifth-year program, tough admission standards, cooperative teaching, and community input: dramatic changes in the School of Education. The changes are being sparked by several events: restructuring guidelines from the Oregon State Board of Higher Education; the recently passed education reform bill; and perhaps most importan tly, general dissatisfaction on the part of teachers, prospective teachers, educa– tion professionals, and parents with the state of public education. In 1988, the Oregon State Board of Higher Education issued new Teaching · · the teachers A quiet revolution is taking place at Portland State University. Student teachers are learning new ways to work in the classroom and with other teachers. University administrators are struggling to design a curriculum that helps teachers fully engage stu– dents. And the revolution goes one step further as the University reaches out to its constituents-teachers, students, administrators-for input. The process of teaching teachers will never be the same, and PSU's School of Education is at center stage. Vast departmental changes represent more than just a restructuring of curriculum or a revision of teaching methods, accord ing to Robert Ever– hart, dean of the PSU Schoo l of Education. It's a radical departure from the educational norm in this country. "Universities are accustomed to stability and routine, but we can't afford that any longer. We have to set our minds to look at change as the constant," he says. 16 PSU .: ·_ . .. ",. ,; .i .::'.~~· ,..;.12.t~ guidelines aimed at restructuring and revitalizing the teaching profession. The most significant of these guidelines was the estab lishment of a graduate fifth -year program to replace the undergraduate elementary and secondary teacher education programs. After completing a bachelor's degree in a specific subject area, students can apply for the fifth– year program. An additional term of work earns the student a master's in education . Holly Zanville, assoc iate vice chan– ce llor for academic affairs in the O regon State System of Higher Educa– tion, thinks this restructuring is good. "Essentially, the fifth -year program prevents people from specializing too early," she explains. "In a four-year education degree program, most of the last two years are spent in educa– tion classes, rather than learning about a primary subject area. By decid– ing that teachers must have a baccalaureate degree in an area other than education, the fifth-year pro– gram assures that they have a solid liberal arts background. Teacher education is then treated like an MBA- it's an intense year of study and training." PSU has aggressively designed and implemented its fifth-year program. After 18 months of work by nearly 400 educators, administrators, and stu– dents, a pi lot group of 20 students was admitted last fall to the 12-month program. That group just graduated and , according to Zanvi lle, "Districts employing them as teachers are very happy with their performance." Portland -area educators who worked with the pilot group agree with Zanville. "This is a very strong program," says Don Hunt, principal of Montclair Elementary in the Beaver– ton School District. "I can recom– mend for hire a greater percentage than normal of the student teachers who were at Montclair. I definitely saw more students that I would select for my own staff." O llie May Phillips, principal of Laurelhurst Elementary in northeast Portland, says, "These people are intensely committed. They know they want to be teachers. And without exception, they will all make good beginning teachers. They've had a variety of life experiences and have a great deal to offer." Adds Hunt, "The program is too intense fo r them to hold another job, so they're at a high level of commit– ment. They've had to make a definite decision about teaching; they have a lot at stake." With the program now well under way, 60 students are admitted each spring and fa ll. Each class consists of two cohorts: 30 elementary education candidates and 30 secondary educa– tion candidates. Members of a cohort take most of their classes together and explore a distinct theme. The spring '91 group, for examp le, is studying the problems of urban schools. Fall '9 1's cohort will focus on child counse ling strategies. All field work takes place in six to eight cluster schools specifi– cally se lected as the best sites for work in that subj ect area. Fifth-year programs are ga ining favor across the country, but few have been implemented. However, there's