LTETDevelopments
Learning, Teaching & Educational Transformation
(non-licensure M.Ed. track)
"providing students with knowledge, tools, experience, and support so they can become constructive, reflective agents of change in education within traditional and non-traditional roles and settings, from a social justice perspective and by embedding reflection within their practice"| LTET home, Upcoming Courses, Requirements & Graduation, Joining from/with other tracks, Transfering credits, Capstone Options, Advisors |
Developments
Annual reports
2010-11, 2011-122011 AQUAD Review
Here's a capsule summary of the 2011 AQUAD Review of the Learning, Teaching, and Educational Transformation (non-licensure) track of the general Teacher Education M.Ed. Program.
The review team reported substantial strengths, evident particularly in:
- Expertise & commitment of faculty
- High degree of student engagement and learning
- Centrality of LTET Program and its curriculum to campus and college mission of "education for a diverse democracy"
- Relevant and current curriculum, with important and purposeful emphasis on reflection and critical thinking and on the larger societal and organizational contexts for educational reform and transformation.
Evidence gathered by the Review Committee found that LTET did not replicate or overlap substantially with other licensure or non-licensure programs at the University, but rather served the needs of a specific population of students whose curricular needs were not met by other programs.
Most significant area of need was that program lacks adequate resources. (No faculty members are assigned primarily to the program. LTET coordinator(s) do not receive a stipend or course reduction. This has resulted in overworked faculty and fewer opportunities for mentoring students or program outreach, given that all the faculty members have primary commitments to other programs.)
The Deans' response stated that: LTET is "uniquely and significantly aligned with the campus mission and strategic priorities, particularly through its capacity to integrate and support civic engagement in teaching and learning, and for the way the program prepares graduates to analyze and address 'big picture' issues in education." A set of improvements was requested in the Deans' response and during the subsequent meeting with the Provost (see next paragraph). The review process did not yield commitments for any new resources (or coverage when Peter Kiang and Peter Taylor would be on sabbaticals).
The 2010-11 Annual report describes the measures taken to achieve the requested improvements, which included:
- Better record-keeping; Advising to ensure student choice of core courses and electives produces a coherent curriculum; Higher quality of students through stricter admission and transfer review; Review the possible trade-off between flexibility and coherence and substance in LTET studies; More evidence of student success and curricular coherence.
- Organizational Change
- SPED/ELL expertise
- Content Knowledge (depending on content specialty)
- Technologically-mediated learning design
Other than serving students without any new resources, the biggest challenge exposed by the review is to get the word out about what LTET is/does so as to dispel the persistent, but inaccurate picture of LTET being for students who cannot make it in the licensure tracks. (The figures show that group makes up only 1/6th; see breakdown summarized in diagram.)
2011-12 developments
During summer and fall 2011 Mary Brady continued to advise and administer LTET with Jack Levy serving formally as program director. Starting spring semester 2012, Mary is no longer serving in those roles. Peter Taylor is serving as provisional program director while resources for LTET are clarified (e.g., continuation of 1/4 time GAship to assist in administration and stipend to match the other two tracks of graduate Teacher Education). 56 students are being advised by LTET in spring 2012; 35 are on track to graduate in May/June or August; 5 will have done the written paper capstone (updated figures May '12).The recommendation to students about electives (described above) now takes the form of designating formal concentrations for students who include in their 11 LTET courses 7 that are required for the corresponding licensure or CAGS tracks:
- Elementary Education, Middle School Education, Secondary Education, Teacher Leadership
- • The concentrations in Elem, Middle, or Secondary Education ensure that students address the educational issues deemed important by the licensure programs. • The concentration in Teacher Leadership ensures that, in addition to the four core areas of LTET, students address some or all of the following: Organizational Change; SPED/ELL expertise; Content Knowledge (depending on student's content specialty); and Technologically-mediated learning design (which emphasizes learning theory).
April 20, 2012, the Graduate Dean allocated a stipend for directing LTET.
- "Managing a graduate program of this size clearly requires a significant amount of time and effort of the person involved. As a fairness issue and a token expression (as all the exceptionally dedicated GPDs and others will never be adequately compensated for what they do) of our recognition and appreciation, we will include the "coordinator" of the LTET program on the list of GPD stipends... [W]e are now making an one-year commitment of $3,000 for the "coordinator" of the LTET program and will review this case on an annual basis for the next two years."
2013-14 developments
Mary Brady continues as LTET Coordinator/GPD.An addition concentration for Out of School Time workers has been developed. A proposal has been prepared but not yet submitted for governance approval that would for modify slightly the names of the core areas and allow additional courses to count.
2014-15 developments
The Chair of Curriculum and Instruction closed admissions to LTET in March 2015, but existing students will be advised through to graduation. New non-licensure options will be developed in due course, focusing on Out of School Time. The new options will not follow the format of LTET since 1990 that has allowed for a wide range of student interests. Students interested in that format are invited to consider the Educational Transformation concentration in the graduate program in Critical and Creative Thinking.2015-17
The new Out of School Time focus for a non-licensure MEd is still in development. Joan Arches, who joined Curriculum and Instruction from CPCS, is leading this work and will be GPD of the new non-licensure MEd once approved. A proposal went to Graduate Studies for a "Transformative Education" track in the Critical and Creative Thinking designed to serve the kinds of students who had applied (as against transferred) to LTET, but was withdrawn at the CEHD dean's request.Meanwhile, students continue to join LTET from the ABA certificate and from the licensure programs. (The latter students are advised by Jana Kellinger, but Mary Brady continues to supervise the capstone completion and graduation process of LTET.)