UTC works to better prepare future teachers [photos]

Dr. Renee C. Murley, ED.D.Director of the School of Education Department at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, talks about increasing diversity in teaching from her office in Hunter Hall on Wednesday.
Dr. Renee C. Murley, ED.D.Director of the School of Education Department at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, talks about increasing diversity in teaching from her office in Hunter Hall on Wednesday.

SCORE’s educator prep recommendations:

1. Improve the educator licensure assessment system in the state2. Increase staff capacity within the Tennessee Department of Education3. Enhance the racial and ethnic diversity of the teaching population4. Strengthen classroom-based experiences for teacher candidates5. Increase collaboration between educator preparation programs and school districts6. Develop a clear process for reviewing and approving educator preparation programs7. Increase access to and transparency of data on educator preparation programs8. Improve the quality of the students admissions process for education preparation programs

More Info

To read SCORE’s entire report on improving educator preparation programs, visit: http://tnscore.org/

Most of the state's 40 teacher prep programs struggle to prepare fledgling educators to be effective during their first few years on the job, and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's School of Education is no exception.

Research shows great teaching is the most significant in-school factor for improving a student's academic achievement, and early career teachers are more likely to teach students that are the farthest behind, contributing to the state's high achievement gap between students.

The State Collaborative on Reforming Education saw that just a few of the state's educator prep programs are consistently preparing teachers to be effective during their first few years in the classroom, according to state data and measures. And it concluded that improving teacher preparation could significantly boost student achievement across the state.

The education nonprofit based in Nashville released a 47-page report in October, highlighting eight areas educator preparation programs, school districts and the state can work on to better prepare new teachers for the classroom.

"It's not about pointing fingers at one part of the pipeline," Mansouri said. "There has to be a collaborative focus on teacher prep and not just saying, 'What do [the educator preparation programs] need to do to get better?'"

UTC's School of Education provides the bulk of the 300 or so teachers hired by Hamilton County Schools each year, but it has done a poor job of preparing them to succeed in the classroom, research shows. Experts say strengthening UTC's teacher prep program could help boost Hamilton County's student success.

Renee Murley, the new director at UTC's School of Education, has been diligently working with the faculty since starting the job in the summer to strengthen the program, and is hopeful that these changes will improve outcomes for her students and the kids they will soon teach.

"The SCORE report came out and we were already working to do most of its recommendations," Murley said. "It was validating."

SCORE's report stresses the need for programs to increase racial and ethnic diversity of teachers and strengthen classroom-based experiences where future teachers learn the craft.

Indira Dammu, a policy and research analyst at SCORE, said research shows teachers of color positively impact student achievement, and that teacher prep programs need to strategically recruit minority teachers.

Murley is aware that across the state diversity in the teaching force is a problem, as the majority of teachers are white females. She said UTC's School of Education plans to increase recruitment efforts of diverse local candidates, strategically targeting some of the county's minority students as early as middle school.

When thinking about diversity, Murley said it's also important future teachers learn from a diverse faculty, saying it's a priority to her when filling future positions.

Mansouri said he hopes the state and each educator prep program will set specific goals to increase the diversity of their graduates and will be held accountable to these goals.

Dammu said another method that helps teachers be successful during their first years is having them spend more time learning from effective teachers and seeing quality instruction.

Murley agrees, and is lengthening the time students at UTC spend in k-12 classrooms, as next year students will spend two back-to-back semesters in local schools. UTC is also putting future teachers in the classroom earlier in the program because Murley said it's important for them to be exposed to the job and evaluate if it's what they want to do before nearing graduation.

These changes are not extending the length of UTC's program, Murley added, but are making the faculty more strategic about the curriculum taught and course sequencing.

Also, starting with the graduating class of 2019, all education majors at UTC will have to pass the edTPA, Murley said.

The edTPA is a multi-measure assessment aligned to state and national standards. The assessment evaluates more than content knowledge, as it also evaluates candidates on their skills and ability to effectively teach students.

Murley said making the switch to edTPA, which is a more strenuous assessment than what has previously been required, is a hard adjustment for students and the faculty. But she is confident the increased rigor of the test will benefit the teachers she is preparing and their future students.

Georgia requires teachers to complete edTPA to earn certification, and SCORE recommends that more Tennessee educator preparation programs require graduates to complete this assessment.

The University of Tennessee at Knoxville, the Tennessee Board of Regents schools and Vanderbilt all require graduates to pass the edTPA. SCORE thinks its critical that future teachers be able to show mastery of content knowledge and pedagogical skills, Dammu said.

"The data we've seen from the [Tennessee Department of Education] is incredibly promising." Dammu said. "There is a strong correlation between how folks do on edTPA and their teacher evaluation scores, and I think that is a pretty powerful data point for why edTPA matters."

Leaders at SCORE and Murley agree, the responsibility of improving UTC's School of Education does not fall on just the institution, but strong partnerships with school districts like Hamilton County is crucial to success.

UTC and Hamilton County Schools are participating in the state's Network for Education Preparation Partnership this year, which helps facilitate conversations between both groups.

"The partnership is going great," Murley said, adding that conversations with the district help her prepare the types of teachers schools need.

Murley also depends on Hamilton County Schools to provide classrooms and effective teachers to help prepare her students.

Both Murley and Hamilton County Schools are also working collaboratively to provide a mentorship program for new teachers, allowing them to get paired with seasoned educators during their first few years.

"All of the pieces of the puzzle are being put together," Murley said. "It's just a really big puzzle."

Contact staff writer Kendi A. Rainwater at 423-757-6592 or krainwater@timesfreepress.com. Follow on Twitter @kendi_and.

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