Abstract:

Continuous program improvement has become a key priority for institutions of higher education since higher education has become more accountable to internal and external stakeholders. This is of particular relevance within a developing higher education system such as that in the UAE, where national and international accreditation bodies are shining a spotlight on degree quality. As two teacher educators who are also academic administrators in a College of Education, the authors of this paper are committed to providing valid and reliable empirical evidence which is intentional, purposeful and interpreted within its context. This paper explores the implementation of learning assessment tools to drive continuous program in school placement across two data cycles. Prior to the implementation of these web-based learning assessment tools, the instruments used to assess teacher candidates in the field across three school-based placements and one internship were validated by multiple stakeholders including mentor teachers, university supervisors, and teacher candidates. These instruments, the Dispositions Evaluation Form and Teacher Candidate Evaluation Form are used across all four school placements. The Dispositions Evaluation Form is completed by the teacher candidate, mentor teacher and university supervisor, while the Teacher Candidate Evaluation Form is completed by the mentor teacher and university supervisor. The assessment is used four times during the teacher candidate’s preparation, and therefore both instruments offer consistent data across key gateway points during the candidate’s preparation. Once the instruments were validated by the stakeholders, the web-based learning assessment tools were rolled out. The use of these learning assessment tools affords the EPP the opportunity to generate program reports and track progress in a variety of ways – in relation to rubric criteria, in terms of program activity, with a birds-eye view of each school placement on its own or compared to other placements, with drill-down to individual candidates and assessors, in addition to mapping in relation to professional standards. Two cycles of data into the project, the detailed program reports that are generated by the learning assessment tools are showing areas of strength and areas for growth in school placement, while particularly highlighting the need for all stakeholders to correctly interpret the instrument itself. One area of strength across all placements is teacher candidates’ respect for learners as individuals with differing skills, abilities and perspectives, while one area for growth across all placements is developing learning experiences that engage learners in collaborative and self-directed learning. The tools allow faculty members to analyze the data in order to address gaps and discrepancies during regular Continuous Improvement Seminars. In order to continue co-constructing partnerships with partner schools involved in school placement, these Continuous Improvement Seminars can be rolled out to partner schools in the future, and data will continue to be analyzed reflectively from the program reports in order for our EPP to drive further improvement in school placement, particularly where there are discrepancies between assessments by mentor teachers and university supervisors, and where there is any decrease in candidate success over the continuum of school placement.

Keywords:

Higher education, program improvement, school placement, assessment instrument, teacher education.