AAQEP Accreditation 2022
Standard 4: Aspect F
The program is committed to and invests in strengthening and improving the education profession and the P-20 education system. Each program’s context (or multiple contexts) provides particular opportunities to engage the field’s shared challenges and to foster and support innovation. Engagement with critical issues is essential and must be contextualized. Sharing results of contextualized engagement and innovation supports the field’s collective effort to address education’s most pressing challenges through improvement and innovation.
Multiple Subject Credential Program Four Pillars
The Multiple Subject Credential Program at Fresno State is focused on preparing creative,
social justice oriented educators who are highly prepared to meet the culturally and
linguistically diverse needs of students in the Central Valley. Through a program
of study infused with inquiry, culturally sustaining practices, developmentally appropriate
practices, and Universal Design for Learning, program graduates will be prepared to
design and implement research-based curriculum that builds on student strengths and
responds to student academic, social, emotional, and developmental needs.
Inquiry
Inquiry, also known as action-oriented classroom-based research conducted by teachers,
is foundational to Student Teacher preparation at Fresno State. Inquiry is a process
of identifying puzzles of practice (Yun & Bennett, 2018) as they arise in a classroom
setting, referencing research related to the issue, collecting and analyzing data
to gain deep understanding of the issue, and methodically implementing a change idea
to address and resolve the issue, which prompts reflection on practice and another
cycle of research. Inquiry is essential to elevating educators from implementers of
generic curriculum to professionals who are capable of differentiating instruction
to meet the range of needs present in any classroom context. Inquiry also encourages
teachers to collaborate, learn from one another, and disseminate findings within their
communities of practice, a necessary skill for participation in school site learning
communities.
Culturally Sustaining Practices
Culturally sustaining pedagogy (Paris, 2012), is a framework that focuses on the cultural
experiences and ‘ways of being’ that students bring with them to the classroom in
order to ensure that curriculum is inclusive and asset-based. In other words, a culturally
sustaining framework serves to disrupt deficit perspectives and facilitates building
upon the linguistic, cultural, familial, and social capital of the children in the
context.
Developmentally Appropriate Practices
A deep understanding of human development is essential to good teaching. In order
for teachers to design learning opportunities that are appropriate for the learner’s
current level of development, Student Teachers must understand various stages of development
and know which practices will work best for learners at each of the various stages.
Through a developmentally appropriate practices framework, Student Teachers learn
how to engage their learners in ways that will match current developmental levels
and stretch learners’ capacity within a zone of proximal development.
Universal Design for Learning
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework that guides the development of
flexible learning environments that can accommodate individual learning differences.
A UDL framework guides teachers to provide multiple means of representation, action
and expression, and engagement when designing learning opportunities to ensure that
all students have the ability to access the content in ways that work best for them,
represent their learning in a range of ways, and work in a manner that is most engaging
in order to facilitate each student’s most impactful learning.
Vision
The Kremen School of Education and Human Development centers academic excellence and
collaboration in the fields of education and counseling. Graduates will be community
leaders who advocate high standards and democratic values with attention to professional
ethics and diversity. Integration of educational technology and performance assessment
is essential to all programs.
Mission Statement
The Kremen School of Education and Human Development's mission is the recruitment
and development of ethically informed leaders for classroom teaching, education administration,
counseling, and higher education. KSOEHD fosters the Student Teacher dispositions
of collaboration, valuing diversity, critical thinking, ethical judgments, reflection,
and lifelong learning. Our mission is realized through a framework of teaching, scholarship,
and services that address regional, state, national, and international perspectives.
The Multiple Subject Credential Program Handbook provides an overview of the frameworks called the four pillars that inform the design of our curriculum and clinical experiences. The Handbook also documents the program’s mission and vision as it aligns with the mission and vision of the Kremen School of Education and Human Development. A syllabi document analysis is used to help us assess where the curriculum aligns with institutional and programmatic missions such as our program’s four pillar framework (see table below). Additionally, the program’s pre-post dispositions surveys align with the program’s goal of fostering candidate dispositions of collaboration, valuing diversity, critical thinking, ethical judgments, reflection, and life-long learning thereby providing another tool to assess that the work the program does aligns with institutional and programmatic missions.
Table 1: Prioritized Knowledge Four Pillar Framework Embedded in MS Coursework
Prioritized Knowledge Framework Embedded in MS | Coursework | Inquiry | Culturally Sustaining Practices | Developmentally Appropriate Practices | Universal Design for Learning | |
LEE 158 |
X | |||||
LEE 159 |
X | |||||
LEE 160 |
X | X | ||||
CI 162 |
X | X | ||||
CI 163 |
X | |||||
LEE 166 |
X | X | ||||
LEE 167 |
X | X | ||||
CI 175 |
X | X | ||||
CI 176 |
X | X | X | |||
EHD 178 |
X | X | ||||
SPED 179 |
X | X | ||||
LEE 169 |
X | X | X | |||
EHD 170 |
X | X |
Codes Used in the Table:
- Lit Found: LEE 158: Literacy Foundation TK-8
- CSP, LEE 159: Culturally and Linguistically Sustaining Pedagogy in the TK-8 context
- iPOPa, LEE 160: Inquiry and Puzzles of Practice A
- DLIC, LEE 166: Disciplinary Literacies and Integrated Curriculum
- iPOPb, LEE 167: Inquiry and Puzzles of Practice B
- SCI, CI 175: Science Instruction and Applied Technology
- Math, CI 176: Mathematics Instruction and Applied Assessment
- iPOPc, LEE 169: Inquiry and Puzzles of Practice C
- Clin 3, EHD 170: Field Study C
- DAP, CI 162: Understanding Children, Learning, and Development in TK-8 Classrooms
- Ped, CI 163: Curriculum and Pedagogy: Designing for Successful Teaching TK-8
- Clin 2, EHD 178: Initial Student Teaching