handbook for cooperating teachers - Wilmington University

We believe that successful partnerships (and communities) require shared and consensualdecision-making, interactive planning/problem solving, mutual benefit (reciprocity) and sharedaccountability. Some have suggested that this entails “moving from symbiosis to near organicfusion” (Goodlad, 1994; Schlechty & Whitford, 1989; Schlechty & Whitford, 1986) and that it isour goal to “fuse” the process of preparing educators with the contexts in which they willeventually work.Successful partnerships are directly related to the degree to which the partners share a sense ofownership. We subscribe to the principle that those who have shared in formulating and carryingforward programs for the preparation of educational personnel (as opposed to being only therecipient of a set of externally-imposed specifications) will feel a strong investment in thesuccess of those programs (Hoffman and Edwards, 1986). We believe that such partnershipsultimately result in a strengthening of the practical and professional preparation of our studentsand a sense of increased professional dignity among all participants in our programs. Keyplayers in the College of Education’s partnerships include our students, the University facultyand staff, practicum mentor teachers and supervisors, Cooperating Teachers and internshipsupervisors, schools and their communities, the State Department of Education, and others whoare interested in school improvement and reform.Program Attributes Which Define the Conceptual FrameworkThe manner in which we prepare educational personnel is informed by eight essential attributeswhich serve as the theoretical base for our programs and which serve as the core of ourconceptual framework. These attributes include (1) ensuring the programs are knowledge-based;(2) viewing educational personnel as learners, including a focus on deconstructing pastexperiences as learners in coursework and field experiences and developing appropriateknowledge of the content and discourse of the disciplines to be taught; (3) promoting contextualand cultural sensitivity; (4) enabling authentic participation, collegiality, and collaboration; (5)facilitating inquiry, analysis and reflection, i.e., providing structured opportunities for criticalreflection on and taking action on one’s daily work; (6) building an on-going, developmentalprogram that allows for continuous improvement, experimentation, and professional growth; (7)ensuring that programs are standards-driven; and (8) ensuring that programs promote theeffective use of technology. The program attributes are more fully described below.1. Programs are Knowledge-BasedWe believe that programs designed to prepare educational personnel must be knowledge-based.Educators must acquire, and keep acquiring, a broad foundation of general knowledge in theliberal arts, mathematics, and the sciences and specific knowledge in the content areas which arethe focus of their work. We also believe that there is an essential body of verified and reliableknowledge about teaching and learning that educational personnel must acquire. We believe thatthis knowledge is more than a set of discrete facts, lists, prescriptions and findings. We believethat this knowledge includes a coherent set of facts and other information that together allow usCollege of EducationProfessional PartnersCreating Environments for Learning10August 2011