Last modified: Tuesday, July 2, 2002
IU pilot program to focus on evaluating portfolios of prospective teachers
How to properly review the portfolio of a prospective teacher -- required by recent changes in Indiana's licensing requirements -- will be the subject of an upcoming pilot program at the Indiana University School of Education.
The program is one of IU's responses to new state standards that require the involvement of classroom teachers in the decision to license new teachers. Workshops are planned for July 9 and July 16 to give a selected group of mentor teachers the opportunity to evaluate their apprentices' portfolios.
"The two-day workshop will focus on training our mentor teachers to act as second readers of their apprentices' final portfolio submissions, the point at which it is decided whether they merit receiving a teaching license," explained Thomas Gregory, IU professor of education and director of the Community of Teachers Program (CoT) that is arranging the pilot program. The project is funded by a Title II grant administered by the Indiana Professional Standards Board.
Professor Susan Klein, chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the IU School of Education, said about 30 teachers have been invited to the two sessions. Klein is working with Gregory on the project.
At the first session, those attending will become familiar with the goals of the CoT portfolio, evaluate several folders, and discuss the role of mentor teachers in the emerging review process. They will spend the intervening week evaluating portfolios and preparing a draft report on their findings. At the second session, they will discuss the evaluations they have prepared and engage in a final debriefing and evaluation. They will conclude by designing a similar workshop that will be offered next summer.
For more details on the pilot program, contact Gregory at 812-856-8144 or gregory@indiana.edu.
