UNIVERSITY FACULTY SENATE FORMS

 

Academic Program Approval

 

This form is a routing document for the approval of new and revised academic programs.  Proposing department should complete this form.  For more information, call the Faculty Senate Office at 831-2921.

 

 

Submitted by: _Laura Glass__________________________ phone number_831-1647________

                               

Department:  _School of Education_____________________ email address_lglass@udel.edu__

                                                                                                                                                                                                             

 

Action:  _Revise major___________________________________________________

(Example:  add major/minor/concentration, delete major/minor/concentration,  revise major/minor/concentration,  academic unit name change, request for permanent status, policy change, etc.)

 

Effective term__09F_______________________________________________________________________

                                                (use format 04F, 05W)

 

Current degree__BSED________________________________________________________

                                    (Example:  BA, BACH, BACJ, HBA, EDD, MA, MBA, etc.)

 

Proposed change leads to the degree of: __NA____________________________________

                                                                                             (Example:  BA, BACH, BACJ, HBA, EDD, MA, MBA, etc.)

 

Proposed name: __NA________________________________________________

                                            Proposed new name for revised or new major / minor / concentration / academic unit

                                                                                (if applicable)

 

Revising or Deleting: 

 

Undergraduate major / Concentration: _Elementary Teacher Education major______

                                                                                    (Example:  Applied Music – Instrumental  degree BMAS)

 

Undergraduate minor: __________ _________________________________

                                   (Example:  African Studies,  Business Administration,  English, Leadership, etc.)            

 

Graduate Program Policy statement change:_________________________________

                                                                  (Must attach  your Graduate Program Policy Statement)

 

            Graduate Program of Study:______________________________________________

                                 (Example:  Animal Science: MS  Animal Science:  PHD  Economics: MA Economics: PHD)

 

 

                Graduate minor / concentration:___________________________________________

 

 

Note: all graduate studies proposals must include an electronic copy of the Graduate Program Policy Document, highlighting the changes made to the original policy document.

 

List new courses required for the new or revised curriculum. How do they support the overall program objectives of the major/minor/concentrations)?

 

The goal of the Elementary Teacher Education (ETE) program is to prepare teachers who are reflective practitioners serving a diverse community of learners as scholars, problem solvers, and partners. The revision to the ETE program would expand this diverse community of learners to include urban school children. Through the addition of an urban education concentration and the revision of the special education concentration, we can prepare teachers for the urban school classroom. Three new courses are being proposed to achieve the goal of the program.

 

EDUC 395 Building Communities of Learners in Urban Contexts

In this course, students would learn how to design educational communal environments sensitive to diverse needs of urban school children: academic, emotional, moral, and relational. They would participate in a field experience in an urban elementary school to apply the knowledge and skills that they learned in the university classroom to the school classroom.

 

EDUC 440 Literacy Instruction for English Language Learners

Many urban school classrooms include English Language Learners. In this course, students would learn effective literacy instruction for English Language Learners in the elementary and middle school levels in the following areas: language development, vocabulary instruction, decoding, reading fluency, comprehension strategy instruction, and motivation and engagement.

 

EDUC 459 Urban Schools and Urban Landscapes.

It is important for urban school teachers to understand the context within which urban schools reside. Students in this course would examine the historical, sociocultural, economic, and political perspectives on the urban educational experience. They would also explore how educators can create socially just educational environments that address issues of equity and draw upon the resources, opportunities, and challenges in urban contexts.

 

Explain, when appropriate, how this new/revised curriculum supports the 10 goals of undergraduate education: http://www.ugs.udel.edu/gened/

 

EDUC 258, 259, 395, and 459 address Goal 9: Understand the foundations of United States society including the significance of its cultural diversity. Students in EDUC 258 Cultural Diversity, Schooling and the Teacher discuss big structural issues of societal diversity and inequality and how they affect education in the United States. Students in EDUC 259 Cultural Diversity in Community Contexts build meaningful personal relations with culturally different children and learn about their lives and local communities through a field experience at the Latin American Community Center and/or West End Neighborhood House. The latter two courses are outlined above and students in these courses examine urban settings in United States’ society and how to educate children in these settings.

 

Identify other units affected by the proposed changes:

(Attach permission from the affected units.  If no other unit is affected, enter “None”)

 

None.

 

Describe the rationale for the proposed program change(s):

(Explain your reasons for creating, revising, or deleting the curriculum or program.)

 

Currently, ETE students graduate with an elementary teaching certificate and a teaching certificate in special education or middle school English, mathematics, science, or social studies. They complete a major in elementary teacher education and a concentration in the area of their second certificate. The proposed new concentration would expand the list of concentration options, but it would not lead to a second teaching certificate. It is designed to serve four purposes.

·         Prepare effective teachers specifically for urban schools. There is a great demand for teachers to work in urban schools. Urban schools are often the ones who are in the most need of effective teachers and face the most challenges. This concentration would provide ETE students with the knowledge and skills needed to be successful in urban schools and address the demand for urban teachers. One place where these knowledge and skills would be developed is at the Bancroft Elementary Professional Development School (PDS) in downtown Wilmington. This PDS is a collaborative effort between the School of Education and the Christina School District. ETE students in this concentration would have at least one field placement at Bancroft.

·         Recruit minority students into the ETE program. Minority high school students who grew up in an urban setting and want to become an elementary teacher may be attracted to a teacher education program that offers a concentration in urban education. They may want to teach in a setting similar to the one in which they grew up and be prepared to deal with the issues that they encountered as a K-12 student.

·         Contribute to the school, college, and university strategic plans. The proposed concentration addresses the School of Education Strategic Plan Initiative 2: Knowledge-based partnerships with schools by creating a cohort of ETE students who would be actively participating in the Bancroft Elementary PDS. It also addresses the College of Human Services and Public Policy Strategic Priorities of Inter-Cultural Learning and College-Community Partnerships. Finally, preparing teachers for the urban classroom contributes to the Strategic Plan for the University of Delaware through Milestone VI: The Engaged University by strengthening public education in Delaware and beyond.

·         Offer flexibility for current and transfer students. Requiring students to graduate with two teaching certificates makes the program very structured and inflexible due to accreditation requirements. However, not requiring the second teaching certificate in this new concentration enables ETE students to take restricted and free electives. These electives would provide current students with some flexibility and students who wish to transfer into the program a greater probability that their previous coursework will transfer into the program.

 

The proposed revision of the Special Education Concentration provides students with the option of taking 15 credits of the 24-credit urban education concentration instead of taking 15 credits in a content area or completing the Disabilities Studies Minor (15 credits). Many students in urban schools have special needs. By revising the Special Education Concentration, students in this concentration who completed the 15-credit urban education option would be prepared to work with this particular population. The other change to the special education concentration is that the total number of credit hours needs to be corrected. The students in this concentration only take 15 credits in a content area, not 15-21 credits, and the table below reflects this correction.

 

The following is a rationale for the requirements in the concentration.

·         EDUC 258/259. All ETE students must take EDUC 258 or 259 to satisfy their General Studies requirements. Students who pursue the concentration coursework would take both courses; one course would satisfy a General Studies requirement and the other course would satisfy a concentration requirement. Taking both courses would provide students with an understanding of the big picture of diversity in the United States (EDUC 258) and a local view of diversity in downtown Wilmington (EDUC 259).

·         EDUC 395, 440, and 459. A description of how theses courses support the goal of the program is provided above.

·         Restricted electives. There are many courses across campus that can inform students’ understandings of urban education. Requiring three restricted electives in urban education provides students with the opportunity to explore their particular interests and gain multiple perspectives in this area. For example, courses could be from the areas of Black American Studies, Education, Geography, Human Development and Family Studies, Political Science, Sociology, and Spanish. The ETE advisors would contact an identified faculty member who has an expertise in urban education if they have any questions about whether a course would qualify as a restricted elective. In addition, these electives would provide flexibility for current and transfer students.

·         Free elective. Having a free elective provides further flexibility for current and transfer students.

 

Program Requirements: 

(Show the new or revised curriculum as it should appear in the Course Catalog.  If this is a revision, be sure to indicate the changes being made to the current curriculum and include a side-by-side comparison of the credit distribution before and after the proposed change.)

 

Major Requirements

 

Current

Proposed

Note: All students must complete General Studies courses, K-6 Licensure courses, and choose a 2nd licensure either in a Middle School content area or Special Education.

Note: All students must complete General Studies courses, K-6 Licensure courses, and choose either (1) the Urban Education concentration, or (2) a 2nd licensure in a Middle School content area or Special Education.

 

 

Urban Education concentration

 

Courses

Credits

EDUC 258 Cultural Diversity, Schooling and the Teacher or EDUC 259 Cultural Diversity in Community Contexts (whichever was not taken for the ETE Professional Studies requirement

3

EDUC 395 Building Communities of Learners in Urban Contexts

3

EDUC 440 Literacy Instruction for English Language Learners

3

EDUC 459 Urban Schools and Urban Landscapes

3

Three restricted electives that reflect students’ particular interest in urban education. Courses must be approved by advisor.

9

Free elective

3

EDUC 400 Student Teaching: Urban Education

5

Total credit hours for K-6 licensure with urban education

121

 

 

Special Education concentration

 

Current

Credits

Proposed

Credits

EDUC 410 Assistive Technology

1

Same

1

EDUC 431 Applied Behavior Analysis

3

Same

3

EDUC 432 Curriculum for School-aged Exceptional children

3

Same

3

EDUC 435 Educational Evaluation for exceptional Children

3

Same

3

EDUC 400 Student teaching: Special Education

5

Same

5

In addition, students will be required to complete the Disabilities Studies Minor (15 credits) or a discipline area in science, mathematics, social studies, or English (15-21 credits).  See list of courses in 120 Willard, the Office of Undergraduate Services

15-21

In addition, students must complete the Disabilities Studies Minor (15 credits) or 15 credits in the areas of English, mathematics, science, social studies, or urban education. See list of courses in 120 Willard, the Office of Undergraduate Services.

15

Total credit hours for K-6 licensure with special education

122-128

Total credit hours for K-6 licensure with special education

122

 

 

 

ROUTING AND AUTHORIZATION:        (Please do not remove supporting documentation.)

 

Department Chairperson                                                                                                        Date                                       

 

Dean of College                                                                                                                       Date                                       

 

Chairperson, College Curriculum Committee___________________________________Date_____________________

 

Chairperson, Senate Com. on UG or GR Studies                                                                   Date                                       

 

Chairperson, Senate Coordinating Com.                                                                 Date                                       

 

Secretary, Faculty Senate                                                                                                       Date                                       

 

Date of Senate Resolution                                                                                                      Date to be Effective               

 

Registrar                                                                  Program Code                                         Date                                       

 

Vice Provost for Academic Programs & Planning                                                                  Date                                       

 

Provost                                                                                                                                   Date                                       

 

Board of Trustee Notification                                                                                                                Date                                       

 

Revised 5/02/06   /khs