Teacher Preparation and Partnerships with Public Schools

Salisbury University and Worcester County Public Schools

MARYLAND – The Learning Policy Institute reports, new teachers who have completed comprehensive preparation, are 3 times more likely to stay in the classroom for the long term. The National Center for Educational Statistics data shows although most teachers are prepared to manage classrooms, only 41 percent feel equipped enough to implement new teaching methods. Salisbury University (SU) and Worcester County Public Schools are partnering together to advance educational initiatives, Dean of the Seidel School of Education- Dr. Laurie Henry, is determined to increase readiness amongst teachers.

Initiative

“This is a new initiative; it’s called Learning by Scientific Design,” says Henry. “So it is a clinical module, and they start going into the classrooms as early as their first year as a student at SU, and that increases over time until they culminate with a full-time internship in their last semester.” The Learning by Scientific Design Network seeks to strengthen aspiring teachers’ instructional skills by grounding their practice in a scientific understanding of students’ learning.

Mentorship

Students who are juniors and seniors will engage with elementary students hands-on and gain knowledge from an experienced teacher as they prepare for the classroom. “It’s really focusing in on how we can focus on learning from a cognitive perspective, and really being able to have our teacher candidates learning shoulder to shoulder with our teachers in the classroom.” Their mission is to continue to motivate future educators by giving them the tools they need to teach. This effort ensures that when the time comes, they’re properly prepared. “We’ll also have co-training with teachers, mentor teachers in the school, and really help our students when they graduate on day one, they’ll be ready for the classroom.”

Shortage

Dr. Laurie Henry also stated that the Maryland Blueprint is why this profession [teaching] is more enticing here, and why they don’t see the teacher shortage as often. “I think nationally it’s declining, the rate of students wanting to become teachers. We’re fortunate here in Maryland with the Blueprint. They’re making the profession a bit little more attractive for teachers.” The Blueprint is a piece of legislation including comprehensive changes to Maryland’s early childhood and public schools and increases educational funding by $3.8 billion each year.

Future

The University says the program will begin in September, and they are looking forward to the progress of their future teacher candidates. “Well start with a kickoff in the fall, a full day of training for our faculty, our teacher candidates, and the teachers in the public schools. We’ll do some initial training, and then, it will roll out over a 3-year period, and they’ll continue professional development training along the way.” The University is working closely with the Worcester County Public Schools to ensure this program is implemented. Dr. Laurie Henry has gone on record saying, “Worcester County has been very successful with its state assessments and doing this work. A district like Worcester, which is showing so much success, cand really help us deepen our partnership.”