Overview
Today’s beginning teacher understands content knowledge with emphasis on classroom practices to address the social, emotional, literacy development, and learning needs of the whole child. The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) collaborated with a variety of partners across the education community to revise the teacher certification structure, update teacher preparation standards, and define clinical experience requirements.
Educator preparation provider (EPP) faculty are required to deconstruct and model MDE adopted Core Teaching Practices (CTPs), integrate Professional Knowledge and Skills (PKS) standards, and embed foundational and disciplinary literacy preparation standards in concert with specialty program standards. Teacher candidates practice and demonstrate CTPs, PKS, and literacy development throughout content area instruction during the Apprenticeship and Internship phases of their preparation experiences.
What: Clinical Experience
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New Michigan teachers are prepared to develop effective relationships with students from day one. New teachers complete an intentional series of diverse and cohesive clinical experiences. These experiences are integrated with their teacher preparation curriculum and occur in multiple settings. Teacher candidates have opportunities to work with learners who represent the cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic diversity of Michigan’s population with a commitment lens and tools for equitable teaching and learning.
Why
- MDE identified critical components of the educator workforce ecosystem that facilitate the development of a highly effective education workforce. This led to the creation of a new model of preparation and induction that promotes the success and achievement of Michigan’s PK-12 students and leverages Michigan’s educator workforce as partners in the teacher preparation system. Experiences should occur throughout a preparation program from initial exploration through the culminating Internship (commonly known as student teaching).
How
- Clinical experiences for teacher candidates occur in two phases, the Apprenticeship and the Internship. A minimum of 600 clinical hours are incorporated across both phases. Apprenticeship spans from a candidate’s initial exploration of the teaching field through the completion of all required coursework. Candidate coursework during this time addresses and provides clinical practice in the areas of classroom management, student development and growth, curriculum planning and instruction, building relationships with students, staff, and parents, and using feedback to improve performance. The candidate then enters the Internship, gradually taking on more responsibility for planning, instruction, assessment, and management of a classroom under the supervision and guidance of a qualified mentor teacher.
What: Professional Knowledge and Skills
- Standards for Professional Knowledge and Skills (PKS) specific to each of the 5 grade bands: Birth-K, PK-3, 3-6, 5-9, 7-12, and PK-12 show what to expect of a well-prepared beginning teacher.
Why
- Michigan aspires to become a state in which all graduates are prepared to be competent global citizens successful in the workforce and society.
How
- Beginning teachers are prepared to address the needs of the whole child; use relevant, research-based criteria to establish a supportive, engaging environment that fosters learning; and use practices that meet individual children’s and adolescent’s needs. To support this vision, standards were collaboratively developed in the areas of Learner-Centered Supports, Ethics and Professional Growth, and Strategic Partnerships.
What: Literacy Preparation
Why
- Ensuring beginning educators can support learners in developing general academic literacy as well as disciplinary literacy is of vital importance to the economy and our democratic citizenry.
How
- Every teacher must be prepared to be a teacher of literacy. In addition to implementation resources, Educator Preparation Unit consultants provide technical support for EPP program alignment to preparation standards. Further, EPP programs are reviewed for literacy course of study requirements in order for approval to be granted.
What: Core Teaching Practices
- Authored by TeachingWorks, the MDE Core Teachings Practices (CTPs) are fundamental competencies that “are used constantly and are critical to helping students learn important content.”
Why
- The CTPs were adopted with the frame of prioritizing the needs of Michigan’s current PK-12 students and producing a quality teacher workforce for Michigan’s future students.
How
- Clinical experiences for teacher candidates occur in two phases, the Apprenticeship and the Internship. A minimum of 600 clinical hours are incorporated across both phases. Apprenticeship spans from a candidate’s initial exploration of the teaching field through the completion of all required coursework. Candidate coursework during this time addresses and provides clinical practice in the areas of classroom management, student development and growth, curriculum planning and instruction, building relationships with students, staff, and parents, and using feedback to improve performance. The candidate then enters the Internship, gradually taking on more responsibility for planning, instruction, assessment, and management of a classroom under the supervision and guidance of a qualified mentor teacher.
What: Specialty Program Standards
- Specialty Program Standards convey what you can expect from a well-prepared beginning teacher in each discipline. These standards include an increased emphasis on the preparation of teachers to teach children within the specialized age bands and focus instruction on specific pedagogical skills (CTPs and PKS) woven throughout.
Why
- This is important because an approach that integrates the development of these proficiencies throughout the teacher preparation program both within and across courses and experiences provides opportunities to prepare beginning educators for the reality of the work of teaching where they will be continuously called to integrate their proficiency across these areas.
How
- Each set of specialty program standards provides information on new teacher competencies related to supporting learners and creating dynamic learning environments, content-specific pedagogy, and content knowledge.
Critical takeaway
Beginning educators are well-prepared to meet the needs of PK-12 students and schools through emphasized understandings in learning and learners, content pedagogy, content knowledge, and impact on learning.
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