PROGRAM DESIGN Program re-design is one of the most vital aspects of a 21st century educator preparation initiative. Accreditation requirements, state standards; and professional teaching standards add additional layers to the challenge of integrating skills more purposefully into a program and its curriculum, instructional models; and assessments. There is growing consensus around and evidence to support common fundamentals of an effective educator preparation program (Darling-Hammond 2006). These include:
• Coherence • Strong Interdisciplinary Curriculum
• Extensive, Connected Clinical Experience
• Inquiry Approach
• School-University Partnerships
• Performance-Based Assessment Based on Professional Standards
Successful integration of 21st century knowledge and skills into a program and its curricula, then, takes concerted effort at each step of the way. The following questions are important to consider:
• I s there a coherent approach to integrating 21st century knowledge and skills into the program and its curriculum?
• Does the curriculum explicitly focus on the instructional models that best lead to student development of higher order thinking skills in an interdisciplinary manner? • Does the curriculum apply knowledge of child and adolescent development?
• Are clinical experience opportunities sufficiently grounded in the practice of teaching not only core subjects but also applied student mastery of 21st century skills? Are they designed to go beyond the “transmission method” of teaching and instead offer teacher candidates experiences that help them develop rich, applied learning opportunities for all students?
• Do teacher candidates’ evaluations include an understanding and ability to implement best practices around 21st century skills development among students?
• Does the program develop and assess higher order thinking skills in its own students?
• Does the program leverage current technologies, along with the TPCK framework, that stress ICT literacy to enhance educator capacity to learn and teach 21st century knowledge and skills?