Winter 2012 Partnership Magazine - College of Education Home ...

Effective Field Experiences
Impacting Education
The Office of Field & International Experience (OFIE) acquired new leadership this year in Kristin Dauk, an experienced
Professional Development School (PDS) teacher and mentor in Mankato. Her familiarity with structures in our school-university
partnerships gave her a leg up in directing the Office’s variety of initiatives. For instance, the Office shares a lead role in
Integrated Field Services, helps support the administration of the Teacher Performance Assessment, develops international studyaway
opportunities, and facilitates the broad success of co-teaching in its full implementation with all teacher candidates.
Co-Teaching
Carrie Chapman, in K12 and Secondary Programs, oversees co-teaching across
the university and has been sharing the emerging research around the country. All
departments helped their teacher candidates co-teach last fall except for Special
Education’s newest program, which begins co-teaching this January. The quantity and
quality of co-teaching practices across the Minnesota State University, Mankato, College
of Education and partner schools since it began has created many opportunities for
improving teacher practice.
Since last year, Chapman and colleague, Marti Sievek, have worked together to
create videos out of the effective practices Minnesota State Mankato candidates use in
PDS schools, to use as a demonstration tool in training and development. Co-teaching
principles have since matriculated into other clinical experiences as well as in the
collaborative work done between faculty in the College.
Chapman joined Teri Wallace, Special Education professor and Grantwriting Area
Lead for the NExT project, in piloting research on the effects of co-teaching on student
and teacher engagement, as the immediate effects have indicated a powerful impact on
improving teacher practice.
“I couldn’t imagine doing it any other way,” Andrew Kuklinski, co-teacher at St.
Peter High School, explains about his student-teaching experience last spring. Since first
encountering co-teaching in a field experience prior to student-teaching and subsequently
being hired in the same school where he now co-teaches with another teacher, Kuklinski
sees its benefits.
“What I learned since my first experience is that I just have to give it my all. There’s
no standard for how to co-teach, some are harder, some are easier. You have to adapt,
and confront issues as soon as possible in a respectful and productive way.”
Kuklinski noticed achievement and confidence go up in his students, and learned that
the strength of the practice lies in the strong relationship between the co-teachers and their
ability to effectively plan and communicate together.
His original co-teaching partner, Peggy Dimock, added, “We did everything
together: chaperoned dances, went to sports games, we evaluated student work
together. I wasn’t evaluating him, we were working together as a team. The kids had a
substantially better time with the both of us in
there. It energized them, and our discussions
helped them discuss more easily. It would be
hard to host a candidate without co-teaching.”
Other educators who have seen it in
practice agree. For instance, Chapman visited
a school district in Ypsilanti, Michigan, by
invitation to lead two days of training. Her new
book drew an enthusiastic education crowd
at a publishing event with her co-author, Cate
Hart Hyatt, and she presented the impact
of co-teaching at the Minnesota Association
of Colleges of Teacher Education (MACTE)
conference with Teri Wallace last semester.
OFIE Director Kristin Dauk and TOSA Bridget
Weigt presented the co-teaching program at
the National Convening on Clinical Practice in
Washington, D.C.
PDS Reputation Growing
In the previous issue of Partnership magazine
(Spring 2011), you may recall a story featuring
"Perspectives" from the 2011 National Association
of Professional Development School (NAPDS)
Annual Conference. One perspective highlighted
the interest of Northern Illinois University (NIU)
in our multi-district PDS partnership following
a number of presentations they attended at the
March 2011 NAPDS Conference.
NIU's interest prompted an invitation for
a site visit and day-long retreat, facilitated by
Minnesota State Mankato PDS, to NIU education
faculty. Not long after this invitation, a second
one was received by the University of Wisconsin-
River Falls.
UW-RF's Assistant Dean of the College
of Education, Dr. Mary Wright, left CSUP
Director, Dr. Ginger Zierdt, a very compelling
request: "After attending numerous Minnesota
State Mankato sessions at the 2011 NAPDS
Conference, we really want to learn more about
Mankato's PDS model and your Co-teaching
model. Might we come visit for the day or will you
come to River Falls?"
On Monday, November 14th, a delegation
of eight University faculty members and P-12
partners (teachers and administrators), visited
Co-teaching classrooms, Teachers-on-Special-
Assignment (TOSAs), and teachers/administrators
at Le Sueur-Henderson High School and Mankato
East Senior High School, and visited with
University faculty and TOSAs at Minnesota State
Mankato about the PDS model, the TOSA/Fellow
Program, and more Co-teaching.
As a result of this day, Dr. Carrie Chapman,
Minnesota State Mankato faculty member and Coteaching
Coordinator, was invited to facilitate kickoff
training in Co-teaching for the first University
of Wisconsin-River Falls Co-teaching pairs cohort
in early January 2012.
Congratulations to all the presenters at the
2011 NAPDS Conference who prompted such a
swell of interest in our PDS partnership as well as
expanded the boundaries of what we know as
a learning community to share our practice and
knowledge to impact even more learners.
16 http://ed.mnsu.edu/csup/