What Counts as a Good Job in Teaching?

Colleen P. Gilrane is a faculty member in the Theory and Practice in Teacher Education Department at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She works with preservice and inservice teachers as well as advanced graduate students in literacy and in elementary education, and serves as Chair of the Institutional Review Board. Her teaching and research interests focus on working with teachers to create communities in which all learners have access to literacy that is rich, powerful, and joyful. Kristin T. Rearden is a clinical associate professor at the University of Tennessee, where she has focused on pre-service teacher preparation and elementary science education for over fifteen years. She received the University of Tennessee Alumni Association’s Outstanding Teacher Award in 2010 and was the Tennessee Science Teacher Association’s Science Educator of the Year for Higher Education in 2012.Hannah Louderbackgraduated from the University of Tennessee with a BS in Psychology and an MS in Elementary Education. During her graduate studies, Hannah completed her internship in a 2nd grade classroom and did research on the use of technology by students to self-assess their reading expression. After completing her degrees, Hannah was hired to teach 4th grade at a multicultural, Title I school in east Tennessee. This teaching experience enabled her to learn how to teach in a cooperative, one-to-one technology and arts integrated environment. After teaching 4th grade, Hannah was hired by the University of Tennessee at the Early Learning Center for Research and Practice. She is the lead kindergarten teacher, while also conducting research and mentoring undergraduate teacher candidates.Jessica Covington has completed a baccalaureate and master's degree at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She is licensed to teach Modified and Comprehensive Special Education grades K-12 and Elementary Education grades K-6. In her internship year she gained experience teaching in a Comprehensive Development Classroom for grade K-5, a 4th grade class, and a high school Resource class teaching English and World History. While completing her internship, she researched technology-based writing intervention for students with Intellectual Disability. She has been hired to teach in a Comprehensive Development Classroom-Activity Based and is looking forward to helping her students develop the skills necessary to achieve their goals.

• Prelude:The Current State of U. S. Teacher EvaluationSituating Preservice Teacher Education in the ChaosPart I:The Undergraduate Pre-Internship Minor Colleen P. GilraneChapter 1:OverviewThe Spring Block: Practicum and Teaching MethodsPlanning the New and Improved Spring BlockGetting Feedback and Fine-TuningDid the Four Essential Questions Fit the Rubrics?Course DesignImplementing the PlanCourse OrganizationModels of Effective Teaching (2 weeks)Who Are My Students? What Do I Want Them to Learn? (2 weeks)Assessment: What Would Count as a Good Job? (2 weeks)What Resources Are Available to Me? How Do I Organize Them to Support Learning? (3 weeks)Designing Your Learning Plans (5 weeks of Workshop Time)Final Evaluation Conferences Chapter 2:Question #1: Who Are My Students?Who Are My Students: Candidates as Colleen's KidsWhat Do My Candidates Care About?What Kinds of Help Do My Candidates Need?Classroom/Course StructuresSpecific StrategiesResponses My Candidates Need From MeHow Do My Candidates Want/Need to Assessed? To Be Taught?Who Are My Students: Candidates Watching Their KidsAddressing Diversity in our Friday ClassesConferences Addressing Diversity During Workshop TimeClass Session Addressing Diversity as a Stand-Alone TopicWho Are My Students: What Did Candidates Learn?List of Readings Used for Diversity Class SessionChapter 3:Question #2: What Do I Want Them to Learn?Specific Supports for Thinking About ContentClass Session Addressing Content as a Stand-Alone TopicThe Understanding by Design FrameworkWhat Do I Want Them to Learn: What Did Candidates Learn?Connecting Students to ContentThe Process of Identifying Content Worth LearningThe Importance of Depth Over CoverageChapter 4:Question #3: What Would Count as Evidence of Learning?Learning About Assessment by Being AssessedFormative Assessment of My CandidatesSummative Assessment of My CandidatesGrades for the Friday portion of 422Friday Class Sessions Devoted to Assessment as a Stand-Alone TopicPerformance AssessmentFormative AssessmentDesigning Assessments for Learning PlansWhat Would Count As Evidence: What Did Candidates Learn?Assessment Beyond Worksheets and TestsBringing a Critical Lens to Current PracticeBringing Student Experiences to Bear on Designing Assessments as TeachersChapter 5:Question #4: How Do I Get There?Selecting Instructional MaterialsSelecting Personnel Resources and Instructional StrategiesMaking Decisions About Time, Space, Environment, and Pulling It All TogetherHow Do I Get There: What Did Candidates Learn?Expanded Awareness of ResourcesTime as a ResourcePersonnel as ResourcesInterlude: Voices of CandidatesChapter 6:Hannah's ReflectionHannah LouderbackTransitioning to InternshipFirst Year Teaching After InternshipTeaching Science: Erosion UnitTeaching Math: Problems with Missing or Extra InformationFinal ReflectionsChapter 7:Jessica's ReflectionJessica Covington"Understanding" Across Differing Teaching ContextsUsing Knowledge of Students to Set Goals and Evaluate LearningSetting Learning GoalsEvaluating LearningWhat Worked for Me: The W.H.E.R.E.T.O. StrategyWhereHookEquipRethink and Reviseself-EvaluationTailorOrganizeFinal ReflectionsPart II:The Graduate Internship YearKristin T. ReardenChapter 8:Getting Started: Orienting and Building RelationshipsPreparing for the Field Experience: Setting up the Seminar ClassPhysical Design of the Seminar ClassroomThe Opening Class SessionPreparing to Enter the Schools: First ImpressionsThe Field ExperienceThe Spectrum of Classroom EnvironmentsFocal Point One: School CultureFocal Point Two: The Classroom EnvironmentFocal Point Three: The Planning ProcessFocal Point Four: Instructional StrategiesFocal Point Five: AssessmentFinal ReflectionsChapter 9:Fall Semester: Overlaying Good Teaching with TEAM RubricsInitial Weeks of the InternshipPhysical Space ConsiderationsEstablishing a PresenceAssuming Responsibility for Planning, Teaching and AssessingDeveloping Planning SkillsLesson Plans: Novice and Veteran ApproachesQuestions: At the Heart of Learning to PlanPreparing for Formal EvaluationsThe “Dry Run” EvaluationThe Lesson Plan: Intended Versus ImplementedAreas to Improve and Areas of StrengthAssessment DataAnalyzing the Lesson with Evaluation RubricsThe Initial Evaluation for State LicensureChapter 10: Spring Semester: Overlaying Good Teaching with edTPA RubricsGrowing into their Roles as TeachersLeading, Not SoloingViewing Themselves as TeachersRecognizing Beliefs About the Importance of EducationTheory into Practice: Action Research and Problem-Based Research ReviewBlending the edTPA into Our Teacher Preparation ProgramSupporting the Interns During the edTPA ProcessChanges to the ProgramEvidence of SuccessCoda:The Importance of an Inquiry-Based ApproachHow Did Candidates Respond?TEAM ResultsedTPA ResultsTask 1 PlanningTask 2 InstructionTask 3 AssessmentedTPA Total Score and CutoffCandidates' ReflectionsDiscussion

Rising above the current discord and relentless cacophony associated with teacher evaluation nationwide, the authors of this text detail the elementary education teacher preparation program at one Tennessee university. Faculty at this university have orchestrated a program aligned with the state teacher evaluation system highlighting the significance of deep understanding, significant documentation, and insightful articulation. This text features the voices of teacher educators, teacher candidates, and classroom teachers contributing to the harmonious composition supporting the sustainability of professionals throughout their life-long careers.