Understanding Early Childhood Unified (ECU) Teacher Training Programs in

Kansas: Meeting Standards and Assessing Student Competencies

Presented atKansas Early Childhood Advisory CouncilProfessional Development Work Group

Topeka, KansasNovember 15, 2013

Overview/Key Points of Today’s Presentation1. Definition of ECU Licensure Programs2. Program Approval Process(es) 3. ECU Teacher Standards4. Linking of Standards to Program Outcome/Program

Assessment5. Transition Point as Teacher Candidates Move through

Program(s)6. Understanding of “who” (i.e., for what roles) we are

preparing7. ECHO Website – A Resource for the State

Early Childhood Unified (ECU) (birth through kindergarten) – highly qualified to work with all infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergartners including those with at risk for and with developmental delays or disabilities.

Early Childhood Unified (ECU) (birth through grade three) – highly qualified to work with all infants, toddlers, preschoolers, kindergartners, and primary learners (i.e., 1st through 3rd graders) including those with at risk for and with developmental delays or disabilities.

http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=303

The University’s Job• Any university can grant degrees based on its

own policies and requirements.• However, in Kansas, teaching licenses are

granted by the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE).

Two Accrediting Bodies for Teacher Training Programs

• Each university in Kansas is required to demonstrate and provide evidence that they are preparing well qualified teachers.

• There are two accrediting (or watchdog) organizations that must grant approval in order for candidates from the universities to be licensed.

• These organizations are the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) and the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP)

CAEP Standard #4 KSDE ECU B-3rd Standard 1

The provider demonstrates the impact of its completers on P-12 student learning and development, classroom instruction, and schools, and the satisfaction of its completers with the relevance and effectiveness of their preparation.

Standard 1: Oral Language: Teacher of young learners understand the importance of oral language, know the developmental process of oral language, and provide a variety of instructional opportunities for young learners to develop listening and speaking skills.

Sample Standards

Program Approval

Review of evidence provided by

institutions to show that candidates have met requirements of

6-8 assessments including student data for the past 3

years

Review of evidence provided by

institutions to show that candidates have

met requirements

Campus visit where team members from both organizations

further review programs and interview students,

faculty, and other stakeholders.

Take Away Points

• Approval is based on the assessments, not course names, so the programs at different universities look significantly different from one another.

• It is often difficult for students to transfer from one university to another

Accountability

• Kansas holds each program accountable for producing students who meet KSDE standards.

• Each program must create assessments that allow students to demonstrate competency in each standard.

• Assessments are aligned to KSDE standards as well as the individual institution’s conceptual framework and predominate type NCATE knowledge/ (CAEP) standard.

Phase IAdmissions

Phase IIProfessional

Development(Formative)

Phase IIIProgram

Completion(Student Teaching)

Phase IVFollow-up of

Program Completers

Elementary Education-EarlyChildhoodEducation

General Ed GPA- 2.75Professional GPA – C or better (in courses taken)Specialty GPA – C or better (in courses taken)Cumulative GPA 2.5PPST ScoresProfessional Rec. – 2.5 EPIC Dispositions – 2.5

Mini-WUPA Disposition EvaluationsGeneral Ed GPA – 2.75Professional GPA 2.75Specialty GPA 2.75 Cumulative GPA 2.5Course Grades Monitored Review student teaching applications -Successful Degree Audit

KPTP – 20/30 Student Teacher Evaluation including Dispositions – 3.0

PLT PerformanceContent Test PerformanceUnit ProgramCompleter/Employer Follow-up Survey

Washburn University, B-Grade 3 Unified Assessment Transition Points for Candidate Performance – Initial Drs. Michael Rettig and Judith McConnell-Farmer

Phase IAdmission

Professional Teacher Education

Phase IITransition to

Student Teaching

Phase IIIProgram

Completion

Phase IVFollow-up of

Program Completers

Early ChildhoodEducation

•Overall GPA- 2.75;•Field courses 2.75;•Completion of 50 hours of coursework including transfer;•Completion of Expos I, II, College Algebra, Stats, Public speaking;•ACT 26 or higher orPPST Scores;•1 credit. Pre-professional experience course

•Overall GPA – 2.75•3.0 GPA in 7 pre-requisite professional teacher education courses (B grade min);•Current first aid/CPR;•Current negative TB;•KBI/CFS clearance;•Review student teaching applications –•Successful Degree Audit

•Degree completion; •Student Teacher Eval. B or better•Completion of all performance assessments including portfolio; •Passing PRAXIS II Principles of Teaching and Learning Early Childhood Ed. Ver. A; •Passing PRAXIS Education of Young Children;• Payment of fees and fingerprints

Performance on PLTPerformance on EYCSenior survey

Kansas State University, B to K Unified Assessment Transition Points for Candidate Performance – Initial

Drs. Mary DeLuccie & Bronwyn Fees

“Who” (i.e., for what roles) Are We Preparing?

• Birth to Three Year Olds– Early care and education for infants/toddlers– Infant/Toddler Early Intervention Services (Part

C of IDEA)– Early Head Start– Parents as Teachers

“Who” (i.e., for what roles) Are We Preparing?• Three to Five Year Olds– Early care and education– Early Childhood Special Education (Part B of IDEA)

– inclusive/reverse mainstream– Head Start– Kansas Preschool Program (Kansas Pre-K Program)– State Pre-Kindergarten Program (Four Year Old At-

Risk)– Early Childhood Special Education Itinerant

“Who” (i.e., for what roles) Are We Preparing?

• Kindergarten through Third Grade– Kindergarten teacher– First, Second, and Third Grade Teacher– Inclusive primary Teacher– Resource/Support Teacher

ECHO Website: http://echo.lsi.ku.edu

ECHO Website: http://echo.lsi.ku.edu

Acknowledgments

This presentation is supported in part by:

ECHO a project of the University of Kansas and was originally supported by the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE), through Grant # H323A990009-02B from the U.S. Department of Education. Currently this project is supported by KSDE through the Kansas Inservice Training System grant (Grant #21013) as a part of the Kansas Technical Assistance System Network (TASN).

Early Childhood Personnel Center a project (Grant # H325B120004) supported by the U.S. Department of Education through a grant to the University of Connecticut with contracts to Florida State University, University of Kansas, and University of Oregon.

Opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views, positions, or policies of the Kansas State Department of Education or the U.S. Department of Education.