The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) REPORT
Learn more about SACS.
SACS Report
Duke University
Program in Education
January 15, 2008
I. Program Mission
Education is an applied field that connects to many disciplines within Arts and Sciences. In Education courses students explore complex social, psychological, economic, historical, political, and cultural issues that impact schools and school children.
The mission of the Duke University Program in Education is to provide opportunities for undergraduates to combine coursework in their majors with academic coursework and hands-on service-learning experiences focused on educational issues. Undergraduates reflect deeply on underlying educational principles and gain the insight needed to become advocates for educational issues. If desired, students can declare a Minor in Education and/or earn licensure as a teacher.
The mission of the Program in Education grows out of the mission and philosophy of Trinity College. We share with the College a desire to foster the development of these essential learning outcomes:
- Intellectual Skills (reasoning and critical thinking)
- Cross-Cultural Competency (appreciation of diversity)
- Civic Responsibility (agents for social change)
- Ethical Reasoning (thinking through one’s values)
- Empathy and Perspective Taking (examining viewpoints of others)
The mission of the Program in Education is also influenced by the National Council for the Accreditation of Education (NCATE) and by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. These external accreditation agencies require evidence-based, data-driven program review on an ongoing basis.
II. Learning Objectives for Undergraduates who complete the Program in Education Teacher Preparation Program and/or the Minor in Education
The Program in Education has identified the following learning outcomes. Students will:
- Build on their liberal arts education and will have a broad range of academic and field-based experiences that connect their liberal arts education to social, psychological, economic, historical, political, and cultural issues that impact schools and the education of children.
- Develop a variety of teaching approaches and know the psychological principles which inform how and when to apply certain teaching approaches.
- Demonstrate multiple applications of technology and include them successfully in a variety of teaching and learning situations.
- Model professional ethical behaviors and become leaders-by-example both in and out of the classroom.
- Work collaboratively as team members to contribute to educational efforts at the national, state, and local levels.
- Understand the academic and affective needs of a diverse student population and make appropriate accommodations to address these needs.
- Value the importance of regular and purposeful reflection and perspective taking.
- Recognize the role that the community plays in the education of the whole child and understand the civic responsibility citizens have to public schooling.
III. Assessment of Goals and Learning Outcomes
Assessments of undergraduates who complete coursework in Education leading to the minor or to licensure as public school teachers are comprehensive, utilizing numerous instruments at multiple assessment points. Faculty members work collaboratively to standardize program assessment systems, thus enabling the program to aggregate data more efficiently and make a more meaningful interpretation of student progress and program impact.
Data collected on undergraduates who seek to complete the full course of study within the Program in Education include but are not limited to:
• Written application for acceptance into the teacher preparation program or minor
• Formal interview by faculty members
• Transcripts
• GPA
• SAT
• Written evaluations and recommendations
• Student work samples compiled in a portfolio (i.e., lesson plans, curriculum units,
research papers, etc.)
• Evaluations by faculty members of students’ coursework
• Observational evaluations by university supervisor during field based experience.
• Evaluations by content-area specialist during student teaching internship if entered in Teacher Preparation Program.
• Evaluations by cooperating/mentor teacher during student teaching internship if in
Teacher Preparation Program.
• Written self-reflections
• Products which demonstrate competency in technology
• Results on standardized tests such as the national Praxis exams if in Teacher Preparation Program.
• Trinity College course evaluations
In addition to the data listed above, a series of surveys have been standardized across the program and have been administered to current undergraduates as well as to graduates and their employers (if graduates are working in school systems). Surveys are also completed by directors of the teacher licensure programs, faculty members, and public school partners. Results from these surveys are used to assess program effectiveness and to inform future development of the program.
The Program in Education at Duke differs from some other academic units in Trinity College because undergraduates who wish to complete the full course of study in the Program in Education must apply to be accepted into the program. Each undergraduate meets with the Director of Undergraduate Studies or Teacher Preparation Program Director and obtains approval of a course of study. Undergraduates in the Program in Education must also complete an internship (in the case of teacher licensure candidates) or a supervised field-based experience in a public school (in the case of the Minor). Faculty members have decided that data on undergraduates should be collected at different intervals during an undergraduate’s course of study for students in the Teacher Preparartion Program. The time of application and the semester of internship serve as defining moments in an undergraduate’s course of study. The table below outlines the points in time that faculty members collect and examine data on students in the Program in Education. Data are both qualitative and quantitative.
Table 1. Assessment Schedule
Data Collection Point |
Assessments |
Pre-admission/application |
|
Pre-internship/post-admission |
|
Mid-internship |
|
End of internship |
Cooperating/mentor teacher evaluation of student teaching internship
|
End of 1st Year of Teaching (if student becomes a teacher) |
|
At each collection point, undergraduates are rated on their mastery of certain knowledge, skills, and dispositions that are closely linked to the established goals and learning objectives. Rating scores indicate a student’s progress toward mastery and are based on the quantitative and qualitative data listed in Table 1. Faculty members, internship supervisors, and/or mentor teachers or administrators use a four-point rubric (Table 2). All ratings are recorded, reviewed, and discussed with students in the program. Data are analyzed and utilized to guide decisions about the future direction of the program.
Table 2. The Four-Point Assessment Rubric
Mastery Level |
Description |
4 - Very effective/very aware/very true |
Teaching practices are demonstrated at a high level. Student seeks to expand scope of competencies and undertakes additional, appropriate responsibilities. Student is fully aware of educational principles and incorporates those principles into practice. |
3 - Effective/aware/ true |
Performance within this function area is consistently adequate or acceptable. Teaching practices fully meet all performance expectations at an acceptable level. Student maintains an adequate scope of competencies and performs additional responsibilities as assigned. Student is aware of educational principles and consistently attempts to incorporate those principles into practice. |
2 – Sometimes effective/aware/true |
Performance within this function area is sometimes inadequate or unacceptable and needs improvement. Student requires supervision and assistance to maintain an adequate scope of competencies and sometimes fails to perform additional responsibilities as assigned. Student is sometimes aware of educational issues but is unable to consistently incorporate them into practice. |
1 – Ineffective/ unsatisfactory/untrue |
Performance within this function area is consistently inadequate or unacceptable and most practices require considerable improvement to meet minimum performance expectations. Student requires close and frequent supervision in the performance of all responsibilities. Student is unaware of educational principles and is unable to incorporate them into practice. |
In the Program in Education one faculty member (Dr. Kristen Stephens in 2007-2008) works closely with a staff member to ensure that data from ratings and surveys are entered into a database and analyzed annually for each cohort. Summarized program data are reported to the Director of the Program in Education, to advisory committees, and to the faculty.
IV. Use of Data for Program Improvement
Data are analyzed for program improvement purposes. In the Program in Education several advisory councils and committees exist for the purpose of guiding our teacher licensure programs, our undergraduate minor, and our undergraduate curriculum. When data are aggregated and analyzed, the data are reported to these various councils. This process is essential because the Program in Education is accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Education (NCATE) and by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. These agencies require evidence-based, data driven program review on an ongoing basis. The following are examples of these advisory bodies:
The Teacher Preparation Council meets frequently throughout the year to review all teacher licensure programs. At its final meeting of the academic year (in late June), the Council reviews all annual program reports (which include summaries of data results for the graduating cohort of undergraduates) and makes recommendations to the Program Director for programmatic changes.
The Advisory Committees for the Elementary Teacher Preparation , the Secondary Teacher Preparation Program, and the Academically/Intellectually Gifted Licensure Program meet at least twice a year and review annual program reports. Data from the reports are used to inform decisions about curricula, field experiences, program assessment, and program operations. Members of the Advisory Committees vary from program to program, but in all cases they include regular rank faculty members, clinical faculty representation, as well as representatives from Durham Public Schools and other collaborative partners. Committee membership also sometimes includes graduates of the program.
Table 3 lists examples of recent program and unit improvements made as a result of reviews of assessment data.
Table 3. Examples of Recent Program Improvements Based on Candidate Assessment
Recent Change |
Targeted learning outcome (see Section II) |
Increased observation and practice teaching opportunities during final field experience before student teaching |
2, 6, 7 |
Extended the timeframe during which undergraduates work on lesson planning |
2, 3, 6 |
Added Hillside High School as clinical practice site to extend candidate opportunities to work with diverse student population |
6, 7 |
Improved technology training by creating new course |
3 |
In addition to the data which is collected on individual undergraduates and then aggregated to inform program development, information on the program’s effectiveness is also provided through data generated by other offices within the University. For example,
- Trinity College Office of Assessment Course Evaluations
Since 2001, the Trinity College Office of Assessment has collected student-feedback and faculty-feedback data on many different aspects of each undergraduate course using an instrument called the Teacher Course Evaluation Instrument. The Trinity College Office of Assessment summarizes these data and compares them to data from several other comparison groups (e.g., Arts and Sciences data, Social-Sciences-Coded data). The Office of Assessment also provides each department with demographic data about respondents and comparison demographic data about Arts and Sciences respondent as a whole. The Program in Education uses these data as one means of evaluating undergraduate courses.
- Faculty Database System Summary Reports
The University’s Faculty Database System (FDS) enables the Program in Education Director to pull together data from previously unconnected sources such as the ACES course information database and the Online Directory to generate summary reports on faculty member activity for program reports. Faculty members also use the FDS system as apart of their annual review process.
- Annual Initial Field Experience Reports
Each undergraduate who completes the full course of study with the Program in Education must complete at least three supervised field experiences, including one-on-one work with local underperforming children in the local schools. These field experiences are supported by two structured, grant-enhanced, research-based programs – Partners for Success and Project HOPE. Each year, the faculty directors of these two grant programs generate comprehensive qualitative and quantitative data. Data from these evaluations lead to reports which inform adjustments the Program in Education makes to the field experiences undergraduates complete.
- Program in Education Administered Surveys
The Program in Education is required by its two accreditation bodies (NCATE and NCDPI) to administer surveys to public school teachers and administrators who supervise our undergraduates and employ them after graduation. These surveys ask school personnel to rate the performance of students who are or have completed course work in the Program in Education.
Data from these program level reports are analyzed and used as the basis for program development. Table 4 lists examples of recent program changes made as a result of these types of reports.
Table 4. Recent Program Improvements Based on Program Level Assessments
Assessment |
Recent Changes |
NCATE Continuing Accreditation Institutional Report |
Major faculty expansions – including addition of new director (Program in Education) and undergraduate licensure coordinator – to relieve workload and support research and scholarly activities |
Grant-based reports on initial field experience |
Early field experience classes (EDU 100, 118) expanded field experience preparation and training for students |
Office of Assessment Course Evaluations |
Increased efforts to address issues of diversity in courses |
V. Assessment Findings and Program Improvement Actions
As previously noted, the Program in Education has several advisory committees which exist for the purpose of guiding our teacher licensure programs, our undergraduate minor, and our undergraduate curriculum. Written reports are provided to these committees on a regular basis. The Director of the Program in Education also takes the lead in a program-wide annual report which is provided to the University President and the Dean of Arts and Sciences. Each of these written reports provides a summary of relevant assessment findings and subsequent activities taken to improve the program. Below we provide links to several of these summary program reports.
Program in Education at Duke University
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Reports
IHE Batchelor Report 2006-2007
Conceptual Framework Meeting 12/ 5/ 2007
Part C of the 2007 ACCTE Report
Partners for Success Annual Report 2005