The unit standards for the Richard W. Riley College of Education, Sport, and Human Sciences educator preparation programs provide the underlying structure of our curriculum and expectations for the students. The teacher education programs at the undergraduate and M.A.T. levels are guided by the Initial Teacher Preparation Unit Standards.
Initial teacher preparation at Winthrop University is built around the central belief that teachers must be able to demonstrate knowledge, skills, and dispositions that produce learners prepared for twenty-first century challenges within the context of a free and democratic society. Through field-focused learning in school partnership settings, candidates demonstrate evolving skills in the domains of diverse needs of learners, learning environment, technology, assessment, instruction and learner engagement, literacy, and professional learning and ethical practice. These domains are embedded throughout an integrated series of classroom and field experiences involving core and discipline-specific curricula, grounded in evidence-based practice and professional standards, and designed to support teacher candidates as they learn about themselves, individual learners, classrooms, and the American school system.
The teacher candidate plans and implements differentiated instructional strategies for diverse learners (including, but not limited to, English language learners, learners who are living in poverty, learners with disabilities, gifted and talented learners, and other exceptional needs in general education settings) to achieve learning outcomes.
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The teacher candidate creates a positive, safe, and caring environment that promotes learning through active engagement and respect for individual differences.
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The teacher candidate plans and implements meaningful learning opportunities that engage learners in the ethical and appropriate use of technology to meet learning outcomes.
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The teacher candidate designs, selects, and implements multiple assessments and systematically uses data to make instructional decisions that support, monitor, and promote learning.
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The teacher candidate uses developmental and pedagogical content knowledge to independently and collaboratively plan and implement learning experiences that are relevant, appropriately challenging, and aligned with curriculum goals and standards.
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The teacher candidate implements essential components of literacy instruction (reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing, and visual representation) within the discipline(s) to enhance opportunities for learning.
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The teacher candidate participates in ongoing professional learning and critical reflection, upholds ethical and legal standards, and articulates the impact of social, legal, and political contexts on American schooling.
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Professional dispositions are attitudes, values, and beliefs that are demonstrated through verbal and non-verbal behaviors as professionals interact with students, clients, colleagues, families, and communities. Graduates of the College of Education, Sport, and Human Sciences, as well as graduates in teacher education programs in the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Visual and Performing Arts, are expected to uphold the highest standards of the profession as they relate to other professionals and the constituents they serve. The foundation of LADDER, a valid and reliable tool, is based on the top 26 traits (one for every letter of the alphabet) necessary to be successful in the field of education.
The College of Education, Sport, and Human Sciences uses a proactive and preventative approach that is designed to assist students in developing more effective skills. The approach involves two processes:
1) LADDER Sorts
2) LADDER Disposition Development Plans
3) LADDER Intervention Form
Completed in EDCO courses and methods courses, teacher candidates read about the skills for each disposition and sort them into one of the following categories: strength, standard, or stressor.
Completed in EDCO courses and program area courses, teacher candidates select a disposition from the stressor category to develop. This development plan targets a specific skill or behavior to put into practice and provides time and space for reflection.
More information to come
Resources for faculty can be found using this link. You will need your Winthrop sign in credentials to access.