Teacher Education, Critical Pedagogy, and Standards: An Exploration of Theory and Practice

Agreeing that a major goal of teacher education is to prepare individuals for informed citizenship in a democratic society, do standards lead toward social change promoting active citizenship of both teacher and student? We approach this question from two perspectives: one is a cultural approach grounded in critical pedagogy and the other is a policy approach based on the use of standards in teaching. We focus on a critical pedagogy in teacher education because of the goal of preparing citizens for participation in a democratic society. Highlighting three tenets of critical pedagogy, (a) reflection upon the individual’s culture or lived experience, (b) development of voice through a critical look at one’s world and society, and (c) transforming the society toward equality for all citizens through active participation in democratic imperatives, we focus on these tenets of critical theory in light of one set of teaching standards, specifically considering the standards’ facilitation toward or hindrance to social justice preparation in teacher education

The effects on student mathematics achievement of academy versus institute models of teacher professional development

Evaluation research findings are presented based on student data collected after the Mathematics in the Early Grades (MEG) Improving Teacher Quality project had carried out professional development training during two summers and provided coaching for two academic years. Because the study was purposefully designed to allow investigation of whether the type of professional development (PD) the MEG teacher participated in during the second summer (Academy versus Institute) resulted in differential student performance, these results based on both project-specific measures and standardized state tests of mathematical achievement are highlighted. The methodological challenges of executing a study such as this and well as implications for those who both provide and utilize professional development services are discussed

The effects on student mathematics achievement of academy versus institute models of teacher professional development

Evaluation research findings are presented based on student data collected after the Mathematics in the Early Grades (MEG) Improving Teacher Quality project had carried out professional development training during two summers and provided coaching for two academic years. Because the study was purposefully designed to allow investigation of whether the type of professional development (PD) the MEG teacher participated in during the second summer (Academy versus Institute) resulted in differential student performance, these results based on both project-specific measures and standardized state tests of mathematical achievement are highlighted. The methodological challenges of executing a study such as this and well as implications for those who both provide and utilize professional development services are discussed