Get the latest information about Standard 3: Aspect C
Preparation programs ensure that candidates, upon completion, are ready to engage in professional practice, to adapt to a variety of professional settings, and to grow throughout their careers. Effective program practices include: consistent offering of coherent curricula; high-quality quality, diverse clinical experiences; dynamic, mutually beneficial partnerships with stakeholders; and comprehensive and transparent quality assurance processes informed by trustworthy evidence. Each aspect of the program is appropriate to its context and to the credential or degree sought.
Description of stakeholder engagement in program:
The Education Specialist program engages with a number of stakeholder groups to provide
feedback, contribute guidance, and help us craft a vision for new directions in our
programs.
Completers: We recently began to distribute a survey to get feedback from our recent completers. We plan to revise this pilot survey and distribute each year to our alumni. As we work to reinstitute our Advisory Board (see below), we hope to identify several recent graduates to serve on that board.
Local Practitioners: One way we get feedback is when local practitioners serve as mentor teachers for our teacher candidates. In addition to triad meetings that involve student teachers, the mentor teacher, and the university coach, the university coach also checks in with the practitioner mentors regularly outside of the three triad meetings. Clinical Coaches then share input and feedback from the practitioner mentors with the Program Coordinator. We have hired some of our former MA candidates to teach courses in the areas of their expertise, and the coordinator is in regular contact with adjunct faculty.
Our program has also tried two different methods for working with local practitioners. First, we gather input and feedback from our Special Education fieldwork supervisors regarding the needs and ideas shared with them from the local practitioners with whom their student teachers are placed. Second, the three basic credential programs offered two workshops in Fall 2020 to local practitioners. The majority of practitioners who attended were from the Multiple Subject discipline. This was expected as most local Education Specialist practitioners hold their IEP meetings with families and students after school, are attending site staff meetings and/or professional development after school or are in other meetings relevant to special education after school. Our program plans to offer some type of online workshops and/or focus group sessions in the 2021-2022 academic year to listen to the ideas and needs of our local practitioners.
Schools/Districts: The Program Coordinator meets with the partner districts when requested. In the 2020-2021 school year, the Coordinator met with six partner districts to answer questions, get their input and feedback and to discuss any concerns they had. There are two residency programs involving Education Specialists. Each of those residencies has a Professor-in-Residence who meets weekly with district and/or site personnel for residence planning, monitoring progress of the candidates, and to facilitate professional learning for the candidates. The Professors-in-Residence communicate regularly with the Program Coordinator. One of our program goals is to pair each tenure-track faculty and/or full-time Lecturer with 1-2 partner districts quarterly for their input and ideas.
Community College: Program faculty attend a yearly community college articulation meeting to give feedback and receive input from the local community colleges.
Advisory Board: Our Special Education Advisory Board last convened in 2017-2018. Due to a number of challenges with program faculty shortages and lack of clerical support, we have not been able convene in recent years.
With two new faculty hires, we plan to reinstate this board and reach out regularly to get stakeholder input.
Stakeholder Data: Across the various stakeholder meetings, our program gained input and insights on the needs of candidates and completer as well as improvements our program might make relative to the standards. We also gained input and ideas on support that our partner districts, employers and mentor teachers would like to see.
In the future, our program can further capitalize on stakeholders’ insights by co-collaborating and co-brainstorming solutions to issues to better support districts, candidates, year 1 Education Specialists, and alumni in real time. We will develop a needs survey for districts, employers, and mentor teachers, hold focus groups of candidates and completers for insights, and co-analyze program signature assignment data with our district partners. All of these collaborative insights are opportunities to offer future professional development webinars and workshops to the community.
Previous Stakeholder Engagement:
Education Specialist Clinical Coaches Meeting
| How often meet | Who involved + Role | Data analyzed | Resulting actions |
| Monthly (2018-present) |
CSU Fresno Special Education Coaches:
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Clovis Unified District Personnel
| How often meet | Who involved + Role | Data analyzed | Resulting actions |
| Planning meetings: 09/30/2019 01/30/2020 02/06/2020 02/07/2020 11/12/2020 11/24/2020 |
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Clovis Unified District Personnel
| How often meet | Who involved + Role | Data analyzed | Resulting actions |
| Weekly meetings to discuss progress, planning, recruitment and curriculum for Dual Mild/Moderate Residency cohort and CLSP Multiple Subject cohort 2020-2022 |
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Clovis Unified Placement Meeting
| How often meet | Who involved + Role | Data analyzed | Resulting actions |
| Discussion of Clinical Practice placements In Clovis Unified 2/28/2019, 10/02/2019 |
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Clovis Unified Teacher Residency
| How often meet | Who involved + Role | Data analyzed | Resulting actions |
| Recruitment Information Sessions: 10/28/2020 10/21/2020 10/14/2020 10/08/2020 10/28/2020 03/23/2020 03/16/2020 03/09/2020 03/02/2020 |
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Special Education Clinical Practice Placements
| How often meet | Who involved + Role | Data analyzed | Resulting actions |
| Discussion/ Collaboration on Special Education Clinical Practice placements 12/14/2016 11/13/2017 08/23/2018 08/24/2018 2/26/2019 0/15/2019 03/15/2019 05/03/2019 08/16/2019 09/06/2019 12/05/2019 01/10/2020 05/01/2020 |
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Placement options for candidates | Decisions on matches of candidate - placement- coach |
Admissions
| How often meet | Who involved + Role | Data analyzed | Resulting actions |
| Weekly October- November and March-May 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 |
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Data collection of basic skills requirements and subject matter proficiency for admission applicants | Tracking Basic Skills requirements and subject matter proficiency of admitted applicants throughout program |
Multiple Subject Program Meetings
| How often meet | Who involved + Role | Data analyzed | Resulting actions |
| Monthly 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 |
Multiple Subject Program Faculty
|
Program agendas | Input and feedback to and from Multiple Subject faculty |
Single Subject Program Meetings
| How often meet | Who involved + Role | Data analyzed | Resulting actions |
| Monthly 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 |
Single Subject Program Faculty
|
Program agendas | Input and feedback to and from Multiple Subject faculty |
TEAM Standing Meetings
| How often meet | Who involved + Role | Data analyzed | Resulting actions |
| Monthly standing meeting of Kremen staff and faculty on processes, procedures, information and input |
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Office of Clinical Practice and Program Coordinators
| How often meet | Who involved + Role | Data analyzed | Resulting actions |
| Monthly: October 2020- present |
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Current processes and procedures for placements | Determining procedures for placements |
Regional Coordinating Council Standing Meeting
| How often meet | Who involved + Role | Data analyzed | Resulting actions |
| Standing monthly collaborative meetings to plan and share professional learning opportunities
for valley special educators, service providers, and parents of children with disabilities 09/01/2017 10/13/2017 01/12/2018 04/13/2018 10/02/2019 |
|
Discussion of professional learning | Share and plan professional learning for parents/families and teachers |
Special Education Advisory Board
| How often meet | Who involved + Role | Data analyzed | Resulting actions |
| Invitational meeting for Central Valley SELPA Directors, Directors of Special Education,
and Superintendents to discuss Fresno State’s ES program and requested program changes 04/18/2017 |
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Discussion of program changes and input from districts | Informed our practice |
“Carolyn Dobbs Special Education Teacher of the Year” annual event
| How often meet | Who involved + Role | Data analyzed | Resulting actions |
| Carolyn Dobbs Special Education Teacher of the Year, CSU Fresno-sponsored event |
Superintendents, Board Members, Program Specialists, Principals, Event Nominees and Guests:
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Premier event across seven counties to acknowledge the work of special education teachers | Good public relations |
Central Unified School District Personnel
| How often meet | Who involved + Role | Data analyzed | Resulting actions |
| Discussion of Central Unified Expansion Grant 12/19/2018 |
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