University
of Alaska Fairbanks
School of Education
Preparing professional
educators who are
culturally responsive, effective practitioners
Conceptual Framework Executive Summary
Revised May 15, 2004
WHO WE ARE
The University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Education serves students from throughout Alaska as well as from other states and nations. We are particularly committed to enhancing the educational opportunities for Alaska's rural and Native populations. Through the UAF rural campuses, we are responsive to local and regional needs within the state. Special strengths exist in the use of educational technologies that provide distance delivery of selected education programs throughout the state.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to prepare professional educators who are culturally responsive, effective practitioners, as described in the Standards for Alaska's Teachers and the candidate proficiencies identified in our Conceptual Framework.
The UAF School of Education recognizes that schooling in Alaska has unique characteristics. We prepare educators to work in urban and rural Alaska and to work with K-12 students from many backgrounds, with a particular focus on Alaska Native languages and cultures.
OUR GOALS
Through our programs and professional development courses, we promote the following goals:
1. Increase the number of qualified educators for Alaska's schools by:
- Providing licensure programs at undergraduate and graduate levels
- Providing education programs to place-bound educators in rural Alaska
- Recruiting Alaska Native candidates
- Aligning programs with state and national standards and the candidate proficiencies identified in our Conceptual Framework
2. Enhance the professional skills of Alaska's K-12 educators by:
- Providing professional development opportunities throughout their careers
- Providing graduate degree programs
- Developing partnerships with public schools
3. Develop and support ongoing systemic educational collaborations with Alaska schools and communities to:
- Respond to the needs and interests of youth, families, and communities
- Better serve Alaska's diverse populations
- Enhance learning opportunities for individuals with exceptionalities
4. Conduct collaborative research on cross-cultural and multicultural education to provide on-going support of:
- The quality of Alaska's K-12 schools
- The curriculum of the UAF School of Education
- The preparation of educators who incorporate into the learning environment the varied cultures and languages of Alaska
WHAT WE DO
The programs of the UAF School of Education address five stages of an educator's professional career:
HOW WE DO IT
Our work is accomplished through partnerships with other academic units, the school districts, the state, regional groups, advisory councils, communities, families, and students. As a unit, we engage in purposeful, systematic, and continuous evaluation of candidates' performances. Candidates exit their programs with the requisite knowledge, skills and dispositions to serve as culturally responsive, effective educators. Assessment data are used to modify programs to meet the evolving needs of Alaska schools.
WHY WE DO IT
We believe effective schools prepare students for global citizenship through connections with their local communities. K-12 students are best prepared when educators serve as facilitators within student-centered, inquiry-based collaborative learning environments, in which each member of the group contributes a unique and valuable perspective. Culturally responsive, effective educators guide K-12 students to become productive members of their communities.
What we require of all students in our programs
The UAF School of Education Standards and Performances
for Professional Educators Who are Culturally Responsive Effective
Practitioners
(based on the Standards for Alaska's Teachers and the candidate proficiencies identified in our Conceptual Framework)
1. A teacher can describe the teacher's philosophy of education and demonstrate its relationship to the teacher's practice.
Performances that reflect attainment of this standard include . . .
- Engaging in thoughtful and critical examination of the teacher's practice with others, including describing the relationship of beliefs about learning, teaching, and assessment practice to current trends, strategies, and resources in the teaching profession; and
- Demonstrating consistency between a teacher's beliefs and the teacher's practice.
UAF School of Education additional performances:
- Demonstrating a willingness to take professional risks
- Demonstrating resiliency and flexibility
2. A teacher understands how students learn and develop and applies that knowledge in the teacher's practice.
Performances that reflect attainment of this standard include...- Accurately identifying and teaching to the developmental abilities of students; and
- Applying learning theory in practice to accommodate differences in how students learn, including accommodating differences in student intelligence, perception, and cognitive style.
UAF School of Education additional performances:
- Providing opportunities for all individuals to learn, no matter their age, race, ethnicity, gender, class, sexual orientation, religious beliefs. ability or exceptionalities
- Assessing and teaching to students' or clients' learning preferences, interests, and ways of knowing
3. A teacher teaches students with respect for their individual and cultural characteristics.
Performances that reflect attainment of this standard include . .
- Incorporating characteristics of the student's and local community culture into instructional strategies that support student learning.
- Identifying and using instructional strategies and resources that are appropriate to the individual and special needs of students.
- Applying knowledge of Alaska history, geography, economics, governance, languages, traditional life cycles, and current issues to the selection of instructional strategies, materials, and resources.
UAF School of Education additional performances:
- Demonstrating and promoting respect for cultural, ethnic, racial and linguistic diversity
- Supporting the rich cultural and linguistic heritage of rural and urban Alaskan communities in their professional lives
- Recognizing the importance of using technology in culturally responsible ways
4. A teacher knows the teacher's content area and how to teach it.
Performances that reflect attainment of this standard include . .
- Demonstrating knowledge of academic structure of the teacher's content area, its tools of inquiry, central concepts, and connections to other domains of knowledge.
- Identifying the developmental stages by which learners gain mastery of the content area, applying appropriate strategies to assess the stage of learning of students in the subject, and applying appropriate strategies, including collaborating with others, to facilitate student's development.
- Drawing from a wide repertoire of strategies, including, where appropriate, instructional applications of technology, and adapts and applies these strategies within the instructional context.
- Connecting the content area to other content areas and to practical situations encountered outside the school; and
- Staying current in the teacher's content area and demonstrating its relationship with and application to classroom activities, life, work, and community.
UAF School of Education additional performances:
- Applying content within and across disciplines in culturally responsive ways
- Critically examining forms, uses, and accessibility of technology
- Demonstrating effective communication skills
- Providing opportunities for students to engage in higher order and critical thinking (i.e., reflection, inquiry and problem solving)
5. A teacher facilitates, monitors, and assesses student learning.
Performances that reflect attainment of this standard include . .
- Organizing and delivering instruction based on the characteristics of the students and the goals of the curriculum.
- Creating, selecting, adapting, and using a variety of instructional resources to facilitate curricular goals and student attainment of performance standards.
- Creating, selecting, adapting, and using a variety of assessment strategies that provide information about and reinforce student learning and that assists students in reflecting on their own progress.
- Organizing and maintaining records on students' learning and using a variety of methods to communicate student progress to students, parents, administrators, and other appropriate audiences.
- Reflecting on information gained from assessment and adjusting teaching practice, as appropriate, to facilitate student progress toward learning and curricular goals.
6. A teacher creates and maintains a learning environment in which all students are actively engaged and contributing members.
Performances that reflect attainment of this standard include . .
- Creating and maintaining a stimulating, inclusive, and safe learning community in which students take intellectual risks and work independently and collaboratively.
- Communicating high standards for student performance and clear expectations of what students will learn.
- Planning and using a variety of classroom management techniques to establish and maintain an environment in which all students are able to learn.
- Assisting students in understanding their roles in sharing responsibility for their learning.
UAF School of Education additional performances:
- Demonstrating personal responsibility for the individual student's or client's learning
- Striving for equitable outcomes and success for every student or client
7. A teacher works as a partner with parents, families, and with the community.
Performances that reflect attainment of this standard include . .
- Promoting and maintaining regular and meaningful communication between the classroom and students' families.
- Working with parents and families to support and promote student learning.
- Participating in school wide efforts to communicate with the broader community and involves parents and families in student learning.
- Connecting, through instructional strategies, the school and classroom activities with students' homes and cultures, work places, and the community.
- Involving parents in setting and monitoring student learning goals.
UAF School of Education additional performances:
- Demonstrating respect for students or clients, colleagues and community members
8. A teacher participates in and contributes to the teaching profession.
Performances that reflect attainment of this standard include . .
- Maintaining a high standard of professional ethics.
- Maintaining and updating both knowledge of the teacher's content area(s) and best teaching practices.
- Engaging in instructional development activities to improve the quality of or update classroom, school, or district programs.
- Communicating, working cooperatively, and developing professional relationships with colleagues.
UAF School of Education additional performances:
- Recognizing the legal and ethical responsibilities of a culturally responsive practitioner
- Incorporating technology effectively in professional settings
- Demonstrating high motivation and commitment to the profession
- Demonstrating intellectual curiosity and a commitment to on-going professional development
