Teacher Education Council

Teacher Education Council Minutes of the September 3, 2008 Meeting

The Teacher Education Council of the University of Central Missouri met Wednesday, September 3, 2008, at 9:00 a.m. in Lovinger 2120. Members present included Patricia Antrim, Renee Cole, Joyce Downing, Carl Grigsby, Marilyn Grechus, Odin Jurkowski, Sharon Lamson, Don Melichar, Nicole Nickens, Anita Philbrick, Larry Reiter, Jenny Robins, Paul Rorvig, Sue Sundberg, Michael Wright, and Emily Merchant.

1. Distribution of PEF by-laws and TEC policies – Hard copies of the PEF by-laws and TEC policies were distributed.

Action Items

2. TEC chair election – Nominations were requested. Sue Sundberg nominated Don Melichar. There being no other nominations, he was elected by acclamation.

3. TEC membership – The College of Education was reorganized July 1 by eliminating the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and creating the Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education and the Department of Educational Foundations and Literacy. According to current policy department chairs of the College of Education are non-voting members. Sue Sundberg moved to edit the TEC policies to read “The Teacher Education Council shall be comprised of 17 members. Ten are voting members, seven are advisory (non-voting) members.” Additional edit under description of non-voting members: “College of Education chairs (Career and Technology Education, Educational Foundations and Literacy, Educational Leadership and Human Development, and Elementary and Early Childhood Education).” Marilyn Grechus seconded the motion. The motion was approved.

4. Elections – A list was distributed of TEC members with their terms of office. One of the representatives for the College of Health and Human Services, Ruth Nyhus, left the university. An electronic election will be held for her replacement.

5. Approve minutes of the May 8, 2008 meeting - Renee Cole moved to accept the minutes of the May 8, 2008 meeting. Nicole Nickens seconded the motion. The motion was approved.

6. Scholarships – a. Cross/program scholarships listing - A list of scholarships that are open to teacher education majors was distributed. b. Student notification – The Foundation office is working to have a website where all scholarships to be accessed. Students would be able to complete one online form to apply for multiple applications. They hope to have it active in early January. c. Committee representation – Odin Jurkowski will lead a committee with Sharon Lamson and Renee Cole to research procedural options.

7. Curriculum approval process - Members are encouraged to look at curriculum and submit editorial changes to the chair ahead of time.

8. Leadership of K-12 SIG (Special Interest Group) - The agenda from April 2 meeting of the K-12 SIG was distributed for informational purposes. Don Melichar and Sue Sundberg will schedule the meeting.

Information Items

9. AAT update – Joyce Downing noted that Nicole Nickens has been named the College of Education Assessment Coordinator. Dr. Nickens will be focusing on strategic planning, including issues related to the A.A.T. and will be meeting with department chairs and program coordinators in the near future.

10. Nathan Dwyer appeal update – Joyce Downing reported on the remediation plan that was created for Nathan Dwyer. He satisfactorily completed the plan and is now student teaching. 11. NCATE update – Joyce Downing announced that the PEF will meet September 10. A new PEF faculty orientation will be at 3 p.m. with the PEF meeting following at 3:30 in Union 236. Data for 2007-2008 data will be distributed to program areas soon for inclusion in their reports, which will need to be submitted to Patricia Antrim by the end of September for the Standard One report.

A PEF newsletter will be forthcoming. Brown bag opportunities will be scheduled for faculty to learn more about the reports. Vitae and syllabi will be collected soon. Dr. Downing is working on a crosswalk for DESE and SPA reports. Evaluations of SPA reports have been received. Most programs plan to send rejoinders.

12. Secondary Education B.S.E. options approved by MDHE – Dr. Wright distributed information from MDHE was distributed.

13. Course prefixes/numbers – The Provost has agreed to allow a change of prefixes from EDCI to ECEL and EdFL as a group without having to go through the normal curriculum approval process. Changes will not go into effect until after the NCATE visit.

14. Field Experience – In order to have a system in place that allows for coordination and documentation of all undergraduate field experiences, the Office of Clinical Services and Certification is creating a database of specific school buildings/districts that will show the kinds of diversity experiences that those sites offer our candidates. A goal is to have all teacher educator field experiences placed through one office. Larry Reiter will bring the list of the target experiences to the next meeting.

The Center for Safe Schools recommends that in order to participate in any observation in a school a candidate should have a background check on file. The school district is required to monitor this. Dr. Reiter and Richard Cole met with candidates in the EDCI 2100 courses the first week of school so that candidates have the opportunity to go to Public Safety for a background check and be ready to be in the schools by September 15. Background checks range in price from $9.00 to $52.20 and are good for six months. Further discussion of this will continue.

15. Student Teaching - Michael Wright is looking to provide training for district and university supervisors of student teachers since most of the unit assessments of candidates come from there. He is also considering options for “housing” student teaching. It may become a separate prefix under the College of Education.

Meetings for the fall semester will be the first Wednesday of the month at 8:30 a.m. in Lovinger 2120. The next meeting will be October 1.

Respectfully submitted,

Emily Merchant