To summarize, the Professional for the Future is a continuously learning expert with a(n):

• Increasing level of professional and pedagogical knowledge, skills, and dispositions;
• Strong and developing knowledge of the school culture;
• Growing expertise concerning systemic and developmentally appropriate practices; and
• Strong and developing liberal arts background.

These four foundations are unified through the following factors:

• Diversity
• Leadership
• Oral and Written Communication
• Technology
• Purposeful Reflection
• Parents and Community

In other words a strong and developing knowledge of the school culture should include the understanding of the diversity within the school culture, leadership structures and processes within the school culture, the key role of technology in the school culture, and so forth. An increasing level of professional and pedagogical knowledge, skills, and dispositions should include emphasis upon issues of diversity, technology, oral and written communication, and so forth. The emphasis of these same unifying aspects throughout each of the four foundations of the conceptual framework is present and is evidenced in each separate program that seeks to prepare Professionals for the Future. As our candidates progress through each program (undergraduate through graduate) their expertise in these aforementioned unifying forces and foundations should continually grow.

These key unifying forces and the aforementioned four foundations are evidenced in each program via the particular program standards and the assessments of our students based upon the program alignment with these respective standards. For example in the undergraduate teacher education program, the Arkansas Principles for Beginning Licensure and the Pathwise Criteria (both of which are founded upon the INTASC Standards) along with the National Education Technology Standards adopted by the Arkansas State Department of Education are considered the Benchmarks from which we determine whether or not our students have: 1.) Adopted the core values evidenced in the conceptual framework, 2.) Provided appropriate evidence to demonstrate their expertise concerning the four foundational aspects of the framework, and 3.) Provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate an expertise concerning the aforementioned unifying aspects. In alignment with our ultimate focus, which is Student Learning, the INTASC-based standards and criteria provide benchmarks for determining if we are preparing Professionals for the Future who are capable of impacting learners in diverse learning communities and who, when actually practicing in diverse learning communities, have a positive impact on student learning.

In addition to the Arkansas Standards for Beginning Licensure, Pathwise Criteria, and National Educational Technology Standards used as benchmarks in the undergraduate teacher education programs, undergraduate programs also use national standards from their respective program areas as benchmark indicators. For instance the Middle Level Program uses the aforementioned standards and criteria as well as the National Middle School Association standards as benchmarks in the development of the Middle Level Program and in the assessment of candidates within the program.

In graduate programs such as the Master of Education in Teaching, Learning, and Leadership, for example, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) and Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) are used as benchmarks. In addition the program uses the Arkansas Curriculum Program Administrator Standards and appropriate National Educational Technology Standards as benchmarks of their candidates’ progress.

Each undergraduate and graduate program is standards-based in the development and refinement of programs, courses, design of instruction, and assessment. In summary the Arkansas standards and Pathwise Criteria serve as the basic benchmarks for program development, student assessment, and so forth. Further benchmarks are developed through the examination and alignment of programs with their respective national standards.

Based upon this alignment to state and national standards, the Arkansas Tech University School of Education has three primary goals:

• Our Professionals for the Future will meet and/or exceed the standards of the State of Arkansas and the respective national standards for their particular program of studies.
• Our Professionals for the Future will impact learners in diverse learning communities.
• We as a faculty will exhibit professionalism by modeling best practices, by being committed to continuous learning and purposeful reflection, and by working collaboratively with internal and external constituencies.

There are several knowledge bases that inform our conceptual framework. The work by Danielson (1996) in agreement with the INTASC standards (Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium, 1992) and directly aligned to the Pathwise criteria provide the initial support for each of our four foundational areas previously discussed. The importance of each of these four foundational areas connected through the six unifying factors cited previously is strongly established upon a rich theoretical, research, wisdom of practice, and educational policy base. Each of the four foundations with their informing knowledge bases will be briefly reviewed.

Knowledge Bases, including Theories, Research, Wisdom of Practice, and Educational Policies:

Professional and Pedagogical Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions

Overview:

One fundamental trait of Professionals for the Future should be an expertise and increasing expertise of professional and pedagogical knowledge, skills, and dispositions. As indicated by the research of Danielson (1996), the Interstate New Teacher Assessment Support Consortium (1992), and others, professional and pedagogical knowledge, skills, and dispositions should be considered vital characteristics of educational professionals. In agreement with this assertion, the Arkansas Department of Education has accepted and adopted much of the work of these two research efforts in designing the Arkansas Standards for Beginning Licensure and as a basis for specialty licensure in Arkansas.

The School of Education at Arkansas Tech University in support of these findings is committed to developing within its Professionals for the Future the professional and pedagogical knowledge, skills, and dispositions to assist these professionals in “impacting learners in diverse learning communities.” Research has consistently verified that content knowledge, communication skills, and intelligence (as measured by traditional intelligence tests) alone are not sufficient characteristics of professional educators. Rather research has conclusively demonstrated that professional and pedagogical knowledge, skills, and dispositions are essential characteristics needed by professional educators to impact learners in diverse learning communities (Borko & Putnam, 1996; Darling-Hammond, 2002; Ferguson & Womack, 1993; Wilson, Floden, Ferrini-Mundy, 2001). Therefore, the Arkansas Tech University School of Education in its goal of preparing Professionals for the Future deems professional and pedagogical knowledge, skills, and dispositions as a critical foundation for our programs.

The Unifying Forces of Diversity, Leadership, Oral and Written Communication, Technology, Purposeful Reflection, and Parents and Community in our Professional and Pedagogical Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions:

These professional and pedagogical knowledge, skills, and dispositions are benchmarked through the appropriate state and national standards in each program. This emphasis is infused throughout our programs via the aforementioned unifying forces. For instance part of the essential professional and pedagogical knowledge, skills, and dispositions preparation involves issues of diversity.

As noted by Stronge (2002):

The effective teacher truly believes that all students can learn – it is not just a slogan. These teachers also believe that they must know their students, their subject, and themselves, while continuing to account for the fact that students learn differently. Through differentiation of instruction, effective teachers reach their students and together they enjoy their successes (p. 19).

Professional and pedagogical knowledge, skills, and dispositions as they relate to aspects of diversity are essential in the preparation of Professionals for the Future particularly since current theory and wisdom of practice suggest that students are not “blank slates” to be written upon but who are individuals who bring diverse backgrounds and experiences to the learning community that affect what is learned and how it is learned (Borko & Putnam, 1996; Danielson, 1996; Stronge, 2002). In support of this claim, Borko and Putnam (1996) suggest that knowledge of the [diversity of the] learners and of learning itself is, “arguably the most important knowledge a teacher can have” (p. 675).

In addition these professional and pedagogical knowledge, skills and dispositions should include evidence of a growing technological expertise and a commitment to the appropriate use of technology (another unifying factor of the conceptual framework). The International Society for Technology in Education (2002) summarizes this preparation in the following way:

Through the ongoing use of technology in the schooling process, students are empowered to achieve important technology capabilities. The key individual in helping students develop those capabilities is the classroom teacher. The teacher is responsible for establishing the classroom environment and preparing the learning opportunities that facilitate students’ use of technology to learn, communicate, and develop knowledge products. Consequently, it is critical that all classroom teachers are prepared to provide their students with these opportunities (p. 4).

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All trademarks herein belong to their respective owners. Last updated: March 2005