Sean Hage, a West Virginia University teacher
education student, helps a student at Morgantown's
Suncrest Primary School learn how to tell time.
by Laura Spitznogle
The author was interim editor of this magazine
for the Fall 1996 through Fall 1997 issues.
The job market for teachers gets better every year. America's school-age population is the largest it has ever been in this country, while more than thirty percent of the nation's teachers will retire over the next ten years.
As new teachers enter the workforce and fill those gaps, they will find increasingly diverse student populations, rapidly increasing technology, and increasing expectations. West Virginia University is meeting the needs of those teachers and students by revamping its teacher education program.
The redesign of the WVU teacher education program was funded by the Benedum Foundation. It was accomplished by teachers, faculty, and administrators from thirteen local professional development schools (located within five school districts), the WVU Human Resources and Education Department, and the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.
"By the year 2008, more than 15,000 teachers and administrators in West Virginia will become eligible for retirement, and the demand for new employees in the state's teaching force will certainly escalate accordingly," said Vivian Owens of the Benedum Foundation. "Graduates of the new program at WVU will be well prepared to fill these vacancies."
The only one of its kind in West Virginia, the new program has selective and rigorous standards. Only sixty elementary and sixty secondary education students are admitted to the major each year. It has a clear set of research-based program goals, and a close, long-term collaboration with public schools. The program integrates the teaching and re-teaching elements of West Virginia Senate Bill 300 and WVU's commitment, formally renewed last year by President David C. Hardesty, Jr., to strengthen connections to the people of the state.
Students enrolled in the program are at WVU for five years and receive a bachelor's degree in a content area (chemistry, for example) and a master's degree in education simultaneously.
Tamara Mackey, like other WVU students in the program, is beginning her third semester. She works at Morgantown High School (MHS) two hours per week tutoring chemistry students. She will be at MHS for two more years, spending increasingly more time with students who are taking sciences courses. While tutoring, Mackey will also be taking courses at WVU on how students learn.
Cathy Conway is a chemistry teacher at MHS. Mackey is tutoring her students. The new program is beneficial to Conway because she knows she can have someone to rely on to help a student get caught up on missed work, or to understand a new concept.
"I will get to know Tamara because she will be working in the school for three years," said Conway. "She will come to know me and the other chemistry teachers, the layout of the school, and the policies way ahead of the time that she would have to student-teach. This is an advantage if you already have that knowledge when you come in. You can then get down to the nitty gritty of teaching methods."
Mackey has not had the methods courses yet but can observe a master teacher in the natural setting. When she has her methods courses, they will make more sense. "Tamara will be able to say, 'I remember when' and 'It worked well this way'," said Gwen Rosenbluth, the supervising teacher at MHS.
Rosenbluth teaches half a day at the high school and spends the other half-day supervising the WVU students. Kay McCrory is the supervising teacher at Suncrest Primary School, another professional development school in the Morgantown area. She also supervises eleven other WVU students in the school. Both she and Rosenbluth also teach at WVU.
McCrory says she feels that she has "more credibility" with the WVU students since she does work with children for half a day, and is not lecturing college students all of the time.
Sean Hage, another WVU student in his third semester of the new teacher education program, tutors second-grade students at Suncrest Primary School. Lisa Ammons, the second-grade teacher at Suncrest, says that "Sean is a good role model for the young boys. He is very patient."
Hage, from Atlanta, Georgia, had some good role models himself. His mother, father, and sister-in-law are all teachers. He always knew he wanted to teach, and when he received a scholarship to WVU in wrestling, he got a chance to check out WVU's new program.
Hage has always wanted to teach young children because "they are more sincere and innocent. A lot more so than kids in middle and high school." He admits his patience is a great plus.
His tutoring sessions usually last twenty to twenty-five minutes each and the subjects run the gamut. At a typical tutoring session, Hage helped a student understand time. They counted in intervals of five all the way around a cardboard clock, then took turns quizzing each other. By the end of the session, the student felt comfortable and showed much improvement.
While Hage will be at Suncrest for a total of three years, he will move from teacher to teacher each semester. McCrory will place Sean where she feels he is best suited for the job. She will evaluate his strengths and weaknesses so he can get the most benefit from his experience: "If I feel that Sean is having problems with classroom management, I can match him with a teacher who is strong in that area. Or I might match him up with the third-grade physical education class. I think that he would be a good model for the rough-and-tumble boys in there."
As the WVU students progress into the program, they spend more and more time with children. The ninth semester of the program consists of a full-time internship in conjunction with implementation of a teacher research project.
The tenth and final semester is the professional development semester. It includes culminating coursework in the content area, social and cultural foundations, and the roles of teachers. Students will also work in schools and complete their research and professional portfolios. When all requirements have been met, they will be recommended for graduation and licensure as a teacher.
At the end of their education at WVU there will be an infusion of higher quality teachers entering the work force. This will be beneficial for the school-aged children, and the WVU students will have a higher level of employability.