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Vision of the ����Vlog Teacher Education Program:

The ����Vlog teacher education program is guided by a vision of preparing effective, compassionate teachers who are reflective practitioners and lifelong professionals. Recognizing that teachers continue to grow cognitively, technically, and professionally, the program emphasizes mission-driven dispositions alongside the ongoing development of essential knowledge and skills.

Mission of the ����Vlog Teacher Education Program:

The mission of the ����Vlog Teacher Education Program is to prepare compassionate, professional educators who are committed to the integration of faith, learning, and life as demonstrated in teaching competence and Christlike character through leadership and service.

The core value of integrating faith, life, and learning is supported by an understanding and foundation in biblical studies and a liberal arts background. The accomplishment of teaching competence is seen in the mastery of a teaching specialization, and a research based professional education core. Christlike character is developed throughout the Cedarville experience, but especially as it relates to attitudes and dispositions essential to a teaching career. Teaching effectively and serving compassionately in diverse settings, our teachers are ready to contribute to the school and to the community through their leadership and service as they positively impact students’ lives.

The mission statement is the central goal in the Teacher Education Program of ����Vlog for students to become compassionate and competent professional educators whose leadership and service are rooted in Christlike character. All of this is built on the foundation of a biblical worldview, where faith, learning, and life come together to form an integrated whole. This is reflective of the mission of ����Vlog and is a primary task at the heart of all who learn and do at Cedarville. This is accomplished in the Teacher Education Program (TEP), through an integrated curriculum and the concentrated effort of each member of the department to guide each student through teaching and learning activities, readings, assignments and experiences which are designed to help them integrate their faith and learning in each course they take. This is the goal we hope they will make central to their own pursuit of excellence throughout the program.

Each of the five major goals of Integration, Competence, Character, Leadership, and Service represented in our mission statement are crucial to a student’s development as a compassionate professional educator. The goal of competence is subdivided into seven areas (students, content, assessment, instruction, learning environment, collaboration and communication, and professional responsibility and growth) which reflect solid research in effective teaching, and the assessment measures by which students will be judged as a beginning teacher. The foundational goal which supports these competencies represents the unique mission of the integration of faith, life, and learning as demonstrated in character, leadership, and service.

Also inherent within our program are the goals or state standards as developed by the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and those standards published by the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC). These criteria together represent critical aspects of teaching and when mastered should result in a successful and effective teaching career!

Teacher Education Program Licensure Certification Preparation:

The Teacher Education program at ����Vlog offers licensure certification in the following programs:

Education Licensure Programs

• Primary (P-5) Education
• Primary (P-5) Education (Online)
• Primary (P-5) / Special Education (Double Major)
• Middle Childhood Education (4-9)

Adolescent/Young Adult (Grades 7–12)

• Integrated Language Arts*
• Integrated Mathematics**
• Integrated Social Studies*
• Science**
  • Chemistry
  • Life Science
  • Physical Science
  • Physics
  • Integrated Science Comprehensive

Multi-Age (K–12)

• Music Education*
• Spanish Education*
• Special Education-Intervention Specialist: Mild to Moderate
• TESOL Endorsement

*Offered by the School of Arts and Humanities
**Offered by the School of Science and Mathematics

Teacher Education Program Assessment Plan Overview:

Purpose

The purpose of the ����Vlog teacher education program assessment plan is to ensure that candidates demonstrate integration, competence, character, leadership, and service to the level expected of Cedarville program completers. A further purpose is for the faculty to monitor their own character, leadership, and compassionate service as well as their competence in enabling our candidates to meet the goals set for them in our program. Additionally, we want our teacher education program to show continuous improvement and to adapt to meet the needs of new generations of teachers.

Philosophy

We believe that our assessment plan should 1) evaluate our candidates as they strive for excellence in their preparation for teaching; 2) assess our faculty and curriculum as we strive for excellence in teaching and professional service; and 3) inform our faculty and administrators’ decisions which maintain quality teacher preparation programs.

We believe this is accomplished by 1) setting clear criteria and delineating high expectations; 2) maintaining a system that gives regular feedback to candidates, faculty, and other stakeholders; 3) providing feedback that can be used in both formative and summative ways; and 4) applying standards in fair and consistent ways, characterized by reason rather than rigidity.

We also believe that the goal of education is to gain wisdom, which is the effective moral application of knowledge and skills. Practical application of knowledge and skills in extensive and well-supervised classroom teaching experiences is one of the primary distinctives of our program; thus, our assessment system is heavily weighted toward performance assessment of the candidate in the preK-12 classroom.

Use of Data

Data is used to 1) provide feedback to teacher candidates and prospective teacher candidates regarding their progress through the program, and suggestions for improvement; 2) provide feedback to professors, supervisors, and cooperating professionals regarding the efficacy of courses and clinical experiences and how they can be improved; 3) make decisions about the progression of teacher candidates; and 4) make decisions about teacher education program courses, policies, and procedures.

Core Outcomes and Alignments

To more clearly define integration, competence, character, leadership, and service for the purpose of assessment, the Teacher Education Program Outcomes were revised and approved by the teacher education faculty, the EPP, and the external advisory council during the 2016-2017 academic year. The intention is to assess most of the individual outcomes and all of the categories at least once at beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels.

Our assessment system is aligned with 1) the five major elements of the conceptual framework—integration, competence, character, leadership, and service; 2) INTASC standards; 3) CAEP standards; 4) Standards for Ohio Educators; and 5) HLC Institutional Portrait Statements. Each program area has a similar chart showing alignment among 1) the teacher education program outcomes; 2) the INTASC standards; and 3) the standards of the specialized professional associations (e.g,, NCTE, NSTA, NCTM, NCSS, and CEC).

The Assessment System

At the individual candidate level, the system features decisions about candidate performance based on multiple assessments made at admission into the program, at appropriate transition points, and at program completion. Program faculty, mentor teachers, and university supervisors assess candidates’ knowledge, skills, and dispositions through course and field-based assessments at various decision points. We use data from these assessments to make decisions about candidate performance at pre-admission, developmental, and program completion stages. The system relies on EPP key assessments, which are linked to the candidate proficiency outcomes and required of all candidates. Students’ progress is monitored through SoE databases.

The assessment system includes multiple internal and external assessments at major decision points for remaining in good standing in the programs. These decision points include a) early checkpoint (3rd semester/ 2 semesters prior to TEP application submission); b) application to the Teacher Education Program (TEP) and admission to methods blocks; c) progression to the upper-level methods block; d) progression to student teaching (all programs); e) program completer and application for licensure.

To be admitted to the TEP, pre-candidates must meet the admission requirements one semester before enrolling in the first methods course or block for their prospective program.

At the time of application to the TEP, pre-candidates must meet requirements listed under decision point 1, complete an application, and be referred by their advisor and one external evaluator. If there are questions about the candidate’s fitness, they may also be requested to have an interview with a faculty member.

The following list outlines the transition points or decision points when the unit does a review to determine if candidates are developing the proficiencies and meeting the unit’s expectations this would allow them to continue in the TEP program. The unit’s policies to address candidates who are not meeting the unit’s expectations are described after each decision point:

Decision Point 1: Early Checkpoint

Sophomore students (3rd semester/2 semesters prior to TEP application submission) meet with advisors to review progress toward Teacher Education Program (TEP) acceptance.

Measures include:

• GPA (Cumulative 2.75+, Education 2.7+, Major Field [AYA, MA, MCED] 2.5+)
• 30+ credit hours achieved
• Background Check
• Dispositions
• Field Placements (EDUC-2100, EDUC-1000, EDUC-2050, EDSP-2100)
• At Risk and/or Intervention

Decision Point 2: Application to the Teacher Education Program

1. Minimum GPA requirements (2.75 overall GPA; 2.7 Education GPA with no grade lower than "C-"; 2.5 GPA in courses required for teaching major, concentration areas, or Primary (P-5)/Special Education content core with no grade lower than "C-")
2. Completion of course prerequisites (TEP core courses)
3. Satisfactory completion of early field experiences
4. Satisfactory performance on key assessments for Decision Point 1:
   1. Satisfactory dispositional ratings (faculty and field experience mentor teachers)
   2. Valid "no record" background check for the State of Ohio (FBI and BCI) and signed statement of good moral conduct
   3. Pre-Service Teacher Permit
   4. Satisfactory recommendation by an external evaluator
   5. Completed application for acceptance into the TEP

The School of Education Assistant Dean and administrative assistant conduct a requirements' audit for each candidate applying to the TEP and make one of the three recommendations to the faculty:

1. Candidates who have met all requirements are recommended for full acceptance into the TEP program;
2. Candidates who have met all requirements but are currently enrolled in prerequisite coursework are recommended for conditional acceptance, and their transcripts are reviewed again at the end of the semester;
3. Candidates who have not completed all requirements or will not have met them by the end of the semester are recommended for denial into the TEP.

Decision Point 3: Progression to Methods II (for primary P5 education, middle childhood education, multi-age special education, and double majors)

At the end of the classroom portion of the Methods I block and again at the end of all methods field experience(s), candidates are assessed by professors and mentor teachers before being allowed to progress. In addition, TEP review of candidates’ transcripts must indicate that they are making the expected progress. To maintain regular standing in the TEP, candidates complete and maintain the following requirements:

• Minimum GPA requirements (2.75 overall GPA; 2.7 Education GPA with no grade lower than a “C-” in all methods courses; 2.5 GPA with no grade lower than “C-” in courses required for concentration areas or primary (P5)/ special education content core)
• Satisfactory completion of Methods I field experience
• Satisfactory dispositional ratings (faculty, supervisor, mentor teacher)

Remediation and At-Risk:

Candidates who do not meet minimum expectations (i.e., poor grades, negative dispositional ratings, lack of responsibility or effort, etc.) are identified as “at risk.” At that time, the School determines an appropriate course for remediation following the procedures outlined in the Teacher Education Program Handbook. The candidate is assigned a professor to mentor the candidate and monitor progress through the remediation period.

Remediation plans may include strategies such as independent studies in writing or content area(s), weekly accountability meetings with an advisor, counseling, extended field experience, retaking a course, or redoing a methods field experience. ����Vlogn a candidate’s acceptable performance on remediating the identified deficit, the candidate is allowed to continue on the path toward licensure. Should the candidate continue to perform at an unacceptable level, the professor of record will report to the School, and the School will make a ruling regarding the candidate’s continuance in the program. At this point candidates are generally encouraged to pursue another major.

Decision Point 4: Progression to student teaching for all programs

At the end of the last methods block, candidates submit a placement request form for student teaching, and a second requirement audit is conducted to ensure candidates have completed all required coursework and earned the appropriate GPAs to qualify for student teaching. Candidates’ TEP assessment transcripts must document that they are making the expected progress toward program completion. Each candidate is reviewed by the university supervisor and mentor teacher during the methods field experience. Candidates are not allowed to progress to student teaching unless they have demonstrated acceptable content, professional and pedagogical knowledge, skills, and dispositions required to help all students learn and have attempted required OAE Licensure exams.

Measures include:

• Maintain minimum GPA (2.75 in Education) and grade requirements (nothing below a “C-” in all methods classes)
• Satisfactory completion of methods/principle field experiences
• Satisfactory dispositional ratings (faculty, supervisor, mentor teacher)
• Satisfactory performance on key assessments for decision point 3
• Completed attempt of all required OAE Licensure Exams

Decision Point 5: Program completer and recommendation for licensure

Candidates must successfully complete student teaching, including evaluation of performance by the mentor teacher and university supervisor. The candidate must be cleared for graduation with the requisite GPAs. Measures include:

• Minimum GPA and grade requirements (2.75 GPA in Education; “C-” or above in all methods classes)
• Successful completion of student teaching and seminar requirements
• Satisfactory dispositional ratings (faculty, supervisor, mentor teacher)
• Satisfactory performance on key assessments for decision point 3
• Valid “no record” background check for State of Ohio and FBI check
• Submission of edTPA
• All requirements for graduation completed; recommendation for licensure contingent upon the posting of the degree on the transcript
• Passing of all required licensure exams. This is not a requirement for graduation. The State of Ohio requires this for licensure. We cannot approve a license application of a student who has not passed all exams.

The School of Education and Social Work Dean, SOE Associate Dean, faculty, and staff manage the quality assurance and assessment cycle.

Ohio Educator Performance Reports