scholarly journals Building Collaborative Teacher Education: Integrating UDL through a Faculty Learning Community

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacie B. Whinnery ◽  
Keri Fogle ◽  
Jennifer Stark ◽  
Keith Whinnery
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Teacher Education ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Reform Process ◽  
Education Faculty ◽  
Faculty Learning Community ◽  
Faculty Learning ◽  
K 12

Teacher educators have focused reform efforts on preparing graduates to address increasingly diverse K-12 students. Collaboration among general and special education faculty is seen as beneficial for preparing teacher candidates who can teach diverse learners, yet it is not the norm. This practitioner research study explored a curriculum reform effort that employed a faculty learning community (FLC) to engage general and special education faculty to collaboratively integrate Universal Design for Learning (UDL) into two teacher education programs. Faculty perceptions of the collaborative reform process and resulting curriculum enhancements are presented. Findings indicated the process was valued by our faculty, promoted a stronger culture of cross-disciplinary collaboration, and resulted in systematic curriculum improvements coordinated across content and field courses. This study offers guidance to teacher education faculty interested in collaborative curriculum reform.

Analyzing a faculty learning community strategy based on a process-genre approach supported by videos to develop the writing competence of English teaching students

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Viviana Rojas Caro ◽  
Beatriz Moya Figueroa ◽  
Tania Tagle Ochoa ◽  
Mónica Campos Espinoza ◽  
Lucía Ubilla Rosales ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Student Teachers ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Learning Strategy ◽  
Evaluation Framework ◽  
Step Cycle ◽  
English Teaching ◽  
Faculty Learning Community ◽  
Faculty Learning ◽  
Four Levels ◽  
Writing Competence

ABSTRACT The primary purpose of this inquiry is to analyze the impacts of a teaching and learning strategy designed and implemented by a Chilean Faculty Learning Community (FLC) intended to develop the writing competence of student-teachers of an English Teaching Program. The FLC-led strategy was implemented through an eight-step cycle based on the process-genre approach and supported by educational videos. FLC members guided this cycle during writing sessions at the four levels of the English Linguistic Competence course at Universidad Católica de Temuco. The FLC implemented this experience to address the challenge of serving diverse students’ learning needs and meet the requirements of the national English proficiency standards required by the Chilean Ministry of Education. The FLC examined this experience focusing on students’ writing tasks results and their perceptions of the use of videos in the process, oriented by an impact and evaluation framework of teaching innovations and an action research design. The ages of trainee English teachers who participated in this innovation range between 18 and 22 years old. Students’ writing tests results were analyzed and compared to the suggested CEFR outcomes per level. Moreover, students shared their perceptions towards the use of videos through focus groups. Results show that most students improved their writing performance, especially in content and organization. Furthermore, students perceived that videos helped them contextualize their writing process and contribute as a support resource embedded in classroom activities. Overall, this experience helped the FLC members identify changes resulting from the innovations and areas of improvement.

Literacy in K-12 Teacher Education

2011 ◽  
pp. 469-492
Author(s):  
Kristina Love
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
New Literacy ◽  
Cd Rom ◽  
Text Structures ◽  
Critical Areas ◽  
Complex Forms ◽  
K 12

Midway through the first decade of the new millennium, teachers are still facing considerable challenges in dealing with the complex forms of literacy that are increasingly required for success across the K-12 curriculum in Australia. Three critical areas in particular need to be addressed in teacher education in this regard: teachers’ knowledge about text structures and about how language functions as a resource in the construction of a range of spoken, written, and multi-modal genres; teachers’ understanding of language and text as critical socio-cultural practices and how these practices build disciplinary knowledge across the K-12 curriculum; and teachers’ capacity to choose models of pedagogy that allow learners to master new literacy practices, transform meanings across contexts, and reflect substantively on learning through language. In this chapter, I will outline how a video-based interactive CD-ROM entitled BUILT (Building Understandings in Literacy and Teaching) was developed for use in teacher education to address these concerns. I will conclude by signalling some of the challenges that remain for teacher educators training novice teachers to scaffold, through ICT, their K-12 students into an important range of literacies.

Towards Contextual Experimentation: Creating a Faculty Learning Community to Cultivate Writing-to-Learn Practices

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary K. Chang ◽  
Kavita Rao ◽  
Maria L. Stewart ◽  
Cynthia A. Farley ◽  
Katherine Li
Keyword(s):  
Learning Community ◽  
Writing To Learn ◽  
Faculty Learning Community ◽  
Faculty Learning

Fostering a Sense of Community Among Black Faculty Through a Faculty Learning Community

2020 ◽  
pp. 104515952097790
Author(s):  
S. Renée Jones ◽  
Christina Cobb ◽  
Jeremiah O. Asaka ◽  
Chandra R. Story ◽  
Michelle C. Stevens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Predominantly White ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
The United States ◽  
Black Faculty ◽  
Faculty Experiences ◽  
Faculty Learning Communities ◽  
Faculty Learning Community ◽  
Faculty Learning ◽  
Promotion Process

The atmosphere at many colleges and universities in the United States presents unique challenges for Black faculty including racism. It is well established that Black faculty, especially those at predominantly White institutions (PWIs), work in potentially hostile, unfriendly, and negative environments. Other concerns for Black faculty at PWIs include lack of mentors and tenure politics. Examples of tenure politics include a lack of guidance regarding the tenure and promotion process, a sense of isolation and lack of collegiality, and the inability to speak out on unfair treatment for fear of retribution during the tenure and promotion process. Black faculty often choose self-isolation, conformity, and silence as coping strategies. However, these strategies rarely address the associated psychological and social stress. Faculty learning communities (FLCs) have been touted as a better alternative. FLCs bind faculty together thereby providing a much-needed support for Black faculty struggling to survive in a predominantly White environment. This article is premised on the experiences of six Black FLC participants at one PWI. We recommend that PWIs should actively support the attempt(s) by Black faculty to create safe spaces such as an FLC, which can foster a sense of belonging and build their confidence. An additional recommendation is that PWIs should employ the services of a chief diversity officer to help create and maintain programs that enhance Black faculty experiences and make them more successful.

Learning and Teaching Together to Advance Evidence-Based Clinical Education: A Faculty Learning Community

2019 ◽  
Vol 83 (12) ◽  
pp. 1402-1410
Author(s):  
Zsuzsa Horvath ◽  
Carol Washburn ◽  
Susan A. Albrecht ◽  
Meiyi Song ◽  
Susan M. Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Learning Community ◽  
Clinical Education ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Faculty Learning Community ◽  
Faculty Learning
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