Our Future Teachers: who will they be, where will we find them, what will they need to know

1
Our Future Teachers who will they be, where
will we find them, what will they need to know

• Presenters
• Cynthia Neese Bailes, Gallaudet University
• Carol, J. Erting, Gallaudet University
• Joseph E. Fischgrund, Pennsylvania School for the
  Deaf
• CEASD, May, 2008

2
Topics

• What you told us you will need
• What you told us about qualities you want in our
  future teachers
• What challenges do teacher preparation programs
  face?
• What can we do together?

3
Our current teachers

• 15 schools responded to the survey.
• THANK YOU!
• These 15 schools employ 549.5 teachers
• Surveys represented 12 states

4
Teachers by grade level

• High School Teachers (grades 9-12) 179.5
• Jr. H.S./Middle School Teachers (grades 6-9)
  98.5
• Elementary School Teachers (K-5) 117
• Preschool Teachers 46
• Parent Infant Teachers 24
• Co-Curricular Teachers 84.5

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Demographic Data

• Of 549.5 teachers,14, or 2.5 are African
  American
• Of 549.5 teachers, 11, or 2 are Latino
• Of 549.5 teachers, 226.5, or 41 are deaf or hard
  of hearing

6
Distribution of Deaf Teachers

• Parent Infant/Early Intervention (0-3) 10
• Preschool, Pre-K 9
• Elementary (K-5) 42
• Middle School/Jr. High School 43
• High School 91
• Co-Curricular (Art, PE, IT) 45.5

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Teachers leaving at the end of the current year,
June 2008

• EI/Parent Infant 0
• PreSchool Pre-K 2
• Elementary 7
• Middle School/Jr. High School 10
• High School 18
• Co-Curricular 4
• Total 41
• Percentage of Teacher Work Force 7.5

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Teachers leaving at the end of the current year,
June 2008

• Average Median
• High
• Low

9
Teachers leaving 2009 through 2011

• Leaving in 2009 23
• Leaving in 2010 29
• Leaving in 2011 29
• Total number of Teacher vacancies
  to be filled Fall 2008 through 2011
  122

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Where do our Teachers Come From?

• CED approved programs
• CED programs are in states
• Number of graduates of CED approved programs
  in 2007

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Where do our Teachers Come From?

• In-state teacher preparation programs
  
• Out-of-state teacher preparation programs
  

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Recruiting Teachers Most Frequently Cited
Problems

• Salary
• Highly qualified teachers
• Experienced deaf teachers
• Location
• Teacher certification
• Signing skills
• Access to training programs
• Work with students with multiple disabilities

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Teacher Retention Most Frequently Cited Problems

• Salary
• Location
• PRAXIS test
• Benefits
• School philosophy
• Ability to teach deaf or hard of hearing
• Knowledge of range of diversity disability
• Professional development
• Demands of the IEP
• Administrative support

14
Teacher skills, competencies, characteristics
what you want

• Categories of Reponses
• Communication skills
• Attitudes
• Instruction

15
Communication Skills

• Most frequently cited
• ASL skills
• English skills
• Clear communication
• ASL fluency cultural competence
• Excellent writing skills
• Bilingual ASL/English fluency

16
Attitudes

• Most frequently cited
• Flexibility
• Creativity
• Dedication
• Team player
• Nurturing, caring, establishes rapport, genuine
  interest in students
• High expectations
• Maturity

17
Instructional

• Most frequently cited
• Knowledge of content area (many!)
• Can assess student progress
• Can differentiate instruction

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Most Frequently Cited Administrator Concerns
About Graduates of Teacher Preparation Programs

• Inadequate communication skills
• - too much emphasis on ASL
• - not enough emphasis on ASL
• Not producing a diverse teacher work force
• Not able to work with students with additional
  disabilities
• Not producing enough teachers to meet the need

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Challenges of Teacher Preparation

• Meeting accreditation (e.g., NCATE) standards
• Praxis I
• Specialized Professional Association (SPA)
  standards
• Praxis II
• Additional assessments
• Adequately preparing teacher candidates
• Content Pedagogy
• Diverse children/education settings
• Meeting the standard for highly qualified
  (NCLB)
• Collaborating with schools (Partnerships)

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NCATE Standards

• Candidate Performance
• Candidate Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions
• Assessment System and Unit Evaluation
• Unit Capacity
• Field Experiences and Clinical Practice
• Diversity
• Faculty Qualifications, Performance, and
  Development
• Unit Government and Resources

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Specialized Professional Association (SPA)

• Evaluation of NCATE Standards 1-3
• Deaf Education SPA Council for Exceptional
  Children (CEC)
• CED
• Content Area SPAs
• Early Childhood Education National Association
  for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
• Elementary Education Association for Childhood
  Education International (ACEI)
• English Education National Council of Teachers
  of English (NCTE)
• Mathematics Education National Council of
  Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)
• Physical Education American Alliance for Health,
  Physical Education, Recreation and Dance
  (AAHPERD)/National Association for Sport and
  Physical Education (NASPE)
• Science Education National Science Teachers
  Association (NSTA)
• Social Studies Education National Council for
  the Social Studies (NCSS)

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Highly Qualified

• What does it mean?
• How does each state address for licensure?
• Currently in DC
• Must have licensure in both general education
  content AND Special Education Deaf to be highly
  qualified

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Partnerships with Schools

• Challenge
• How can we become partners with teachers and
  school personnel so they can support and assess
  student teachers in specific content areas
• While at the same time support what teachers and
  school personnel believe what is important

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What can we do together?