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Our college vision states that we foster "community relationships and a culture of learning that advance knowledge, honor diversities, and promote social justice." As such we strive toward continual improvement and growth individually, institutionally as a college, and collaboratively with our school partners and professional organizations. For example, each program sets annual goals for growth and development. These  are reviewed each year as new goals are established. We call this review a "closing the assessment loop report" to emphasize that faculty development, and program/department initiatives are dynamic, fluid, and continually assessed to promote program improvement and student learning. Joining EdPrepLab will provide a needed perspective on our goals and initiatives as we look for opportunities to share our thinking with others, and provide/receive feedback from partners across the network.

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Woodring College of Education at Western Washington University 

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Woodring College of Education at Western Washington University 

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Science and the Swinomish Project: Since Time Immemorial Collaborative Planning

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Science and the Swinomish Project: Since Time Immemorial Collaborative Planning

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In 2015 the Washington State Legislature enacted a new state-wide curriculum requirement: Since Time Immemorial: Tribal Sovereignty in Washington State (SSB 5433, 2015). Elements of this legislation included an expectation that school districts would use a place-based approach and that teachers would have an opportunity to choose how to fulfill the related curricular requirements. The “what” of the law was clear; unanswered, though, was the “how.”

Funded by a 21st Century Consortium Grant, Western Washington University’s Woodring College of Education and Huxley College of the Environment, in collaboration with the Swinomish Tribe, formed a partnership with the La Conner and Concrete School Districts to immerse K-12 teachers and principals in the Since Time Immemorial (STI) curriculum (Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, 2012). In keeping with the aims of the partnership, participating principals guided teachers in collaborative professional development to create science lessons focusing on topics such as salmon recovery, tideland impacts, and water use in the “Science and the Swinomish” project.

The value gained from sharing of ideas, not only about the project, but through the collaboration of educational practices in general, became an unexpected, pleasant

outcome, and a major benefit to both school districts.  As one participating principal stated, “We cultivated friendships and working relationships that will continue long after the project is over.”

The work was based on the following theory of action:  If principals support and understand what is needed to produce good instruction (which research informs us is critical to student achievement), and if they have the skills to collaborate with teachers to put into practice rigorous, culturally relevant learning in science, including formative and summative assessment strategies, then they will better facilitate students’ higher levels of learning, sharing culturally-relevant, engaging content that meets the needs of all students, including those in the achievement and opportunity gap (Jensen, 2013; Rentfro, 2007; Silverman, 2016; University of Washington Center for Educational Leadership, 2014).

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Ferndale Schools is comprised of one high school, two middle schools and six elementary schools serving approximately 4,700 students in grades preschool through twelve.

Ferndale is adjacent to the Lummi Nation, home of the Lhaq'temish, The Lummi People, who are the original inhabitants of Washington's northernmost coast and southern British Columbia.

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Thank you for this opportunity to apply for the EdPrepLab consortium. Our application is intended to feature how our work as a College is growing toward the principles of deeper learning and how engaging and growing with EdPrepLab and its partner institutions in relationship offers a wonderful opportunity to grow as a learning-focused organization.

With a combination of narrative and artifact sharing, we hope to share some of the "pockets of promise" and "challenge spaces" that lead to opportunities to learn from and engage with the dynamic members of the EdPrepLab consortium.

In this application, you will learn about the Woodring College of Education, its education pathways, its strategic plan and priorities, and about some of the dynamic work toward personalized, contextualized, transferrable learning with a focus on equity and social justice from its community of faculty, staff, students, and partners. We hope to demonstrate how we, as a learning organization, are focused on the deeper learning principles of developmentally grounded, personalized, contextualized, applied, and transferred learning that occurs in productive communities of practice with a strong orientation and praxis toward equity and social justice.

The framing language and included artifacts are meant to be an introduction to our work and strategic priorities as a College. The artifacts are not meant to be a comprehensive overview of the work of our faculty, staff, and students, but rather provide a frame to view our work. The goal in this padlet is to demonstrate, not encapsulate.

We look forward to engaging in productive conversation to explore how we can support the work of EdPrepLab and its member affiliates and how our engagement in this work can support our mission as a College.

Across the padlet, We will also share specific ideas about how engaging with the EdPrepLab consortium can both benefit the member institutions and help us progress our mission to foster community relationships and a culture of learning that advance knowledge, honor diversities, and promote social justice.  We look forward to engaging with you in the weeks ahead.

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The preparation pathways in the Woodring College of Education are built upon values and principles that are center on equity and opportunities for deeper learning.

*Please note that our College website has recently undergone a complete redesign, so a few of the narratives that accompany our preparation programs are being revised and updated over the summer.

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The members of our core team were selected because their professional interests align to the principles of deeper learning. These team members also can support recruitment to participate in EdPrepLab events and engagement in the network.

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Welcome to Ferndale School District, a public K-12 school district located in Ferndale, Washington.

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Mount Vernon is a small city of about 30,000 people in a rural, agricultural valley. The school district consists of six elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school. All of the schools have similar demographics with a small majority of white students and a large minority of Latino students. Many of the district's Latino families are from an area of Mexico populated by indigenous peoples and speak either Mixtec or Triqui as their first language and Spanish as a second language. They primarily work in the agricultural industry and a number of them are migrant workers following the harvests throughout the district or into other districts in the state. About a third of the students qualify as transitional bilingual and receive English language support. Poverty levels are high throughout the district at 75% or more, affecting many white

families as well as the Latino immigrants. All of these factors indicate significant educational

challenges and opportunities for the schools.

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The Mount Vernon School District is located 60 miles north of Seattle in the fertile Skagit Valley. We are a growing and diverse school district that employs nearly 1,000 employees serving 6,700+ students in grades Kindergarten-12. We have Six elementary schools (grades K-5), two middle schools (grades 6-8), one high school (grades 9-12), and one home school parent partnership (grades K-12).

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There is initial work underway in the district, in partnership with WWU faculty, to include Social Justice Standards in its courses of study. This includes an understanding of intersectionality or intersectional ties which are the cumulative way in which the effects of multiple forms of discrimination (such as racism, sexism, and classism) combine or overlap in the experiences of marginalized individuals or groups. Social Justice is defined in the policy as the removal of social, political, and economic inequalities among people. For complete information, please review the SOCIAL JUSTICE STANDARDS

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Get to know our new Equity Director, David Rodriguez

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The following artifacts highlight aspects of our long-term partnership, including the district's strong focus on equity and culturally responsive practice, place-based education, community-focused pathways into teaching, and a couple of prominent prominent partnership projects, the Collaborative Schools for Innovation and Success (CSIS) project, and Prepared To Teach.

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Department of Elementary Education, Woodring College of Education

28 credits

Note: The ELL and Bilingual Education endorsements are only for those who are already P-12 teachers or in a P-12 teacher education program. If you are interested in teaching or working with language learners outside of a P-12 school, you may be interested in the Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) certificate (see TESL Certificate handout or consult www.wwu.edu/tesol).

Introduction

The Department of Elementary Education offers teachers and teacher-candidates the opportunity to complete the coursework for their endorsement program in English Language Learner (ELL) and/or Bilingual Education. While an undergraduate can add both an ELL and a Bilingual endorsement, there is only one minor, the English Language Learner Minor .

This program leads to an additional endorsement in English Language Learner and/or Bilingual Education based on Washington State English Language Learner endorsement competencies and Washington State Bilingual Education endorsement competencies, when accompanied by a professional teacher education program and a first endorsement in another content area. Students must demonstrate study of another culture (gained through experience, or a minimum of 3 credits of approved course work) and the equivalent of one year of college-level language study world language other than English. A passing score on the ELL WEST-E is required by the state for the ELL Endorsement, and a passing score on the Bilingual Education WEST-E along with a passing score on the ACTFL language proficiency exam is required for the Bilingual Education endorsement.

Why Consider an English Language Learner Endorsement?

Students who are English learners (ELs) are the fastest growing student population in the public school system. Statewide, approximately 10% of all P-12 students are ELs, but in some districts that percentage is much, much higher. In order to meet the needs of this diverse population in the regular classroom and as an ELL specialist, we need teachers at all grade levels and content areas who have the ELL endorsement. For many schools, this is a highly recommended endorsement.

Teachers with the endorsement in English Language Learners from Western Washington University possess in-depth understandings of the role of cultural and linguistic diversity in each student's education. Our program focuses on developing the mainstream P-12 classroom teacher's ability to shelter and support the instruction of language learners in mainstream classrooms, who are at all levels of fluency, as they work to achieve state expectations in subject matter content. Some teachers with ELL endorsements go on to become school ELL Specialists. ELL Specialists are usually experienced teachers who have taught language learners successfully for several years and have previously earned the ELL endorsement. Many earn a master's degree or National Board certification in ELL prior to becoming a school or district ELL Specialist.

The ELL endorsement program prepares you to:

Obtain the WA state endorsement for English Language Learners

Teach a range of language learners in a mainstream classroom.

Work with families from various cultures and home languages.

Serve as a resource for other teachers.

Plan instruction using the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP).

Instruct using effective methods including strategies from the Guided Language Acquisition Design (GLAD).

Thrive in culturally and linguistically diverse settings.

Why Consider a Bilingual Education Endorsement?

Teachers with the endorsement in Bilingual Education from Western Washington University possess in-depth understandings of the role of cultural and linguistic diversity in each student's education and the demonstrated ability to use research-based instruction when teaching in English and also in a non-English target language. The numbers of bilingual schools continue to grow across the United States as research documents the benefits of quality programs. Our program includes study of a variety of models for bilingual education, including two-way, dual, one-way, and early exit models. In addition, current issues related to bilingual education are explored. Teachers who earn the Bilingual Endorsement can also apply for the English Language Learner Endorsement.

The Bilingual Education endorsement prepares you to:

Obtain the WA state endorsement for Bilingual Education.

Teach standards-based content in a target language other than English.

Work with families from various cultures.

Serve as a resource for other teachers.

Instruct using effective methods including strategies from the Guided Language Acquisition Design (GLAD).

Thrive in culturally and linguistically diverse settings.

Classroom teacher P-12 | ELL specialist | Language Teacher/Bilingual Coach

How to Declare (Admission and Declaration Process):

One you are admitted into a teacher education professional program in Woodring, stop by the Elementary Education Department in MH 300 to declare this endorsement.

Grade Requirements

Each required course must be completed with a grade of C (2.0) or better.

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Department of Elementary Education, Woodring College of Education Note: The ELL and Bilingual Education endorsements are only for those who are already P-12 teachers or in a P-12 teacher education program. If you are interested in teaching or working with language learners outside of a P-12 school, you may be interested in the Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) certificate (see TESL Certificate handout or consult www.wwu.edu/tesol).

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Collaborative Schools for Innovation and Success (CSIS) project

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Collaborative Schools for Innovation and Success (CSIS) project

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This 6-year project focused on a partnership to engage and improve student achievement, family engagement, teacher preparation, and teacher recruitment in a district with high levels of poverty and English learners.
The overarching question of the project was how can teacher education programs, in
collaboration with school partners, close the opportunity gap for P-5 students? This question was approached by the partners through four critical questions/strands:

1.Student Achievement: How can instructional and assessment practices be enhanced to better meet the needs of all learners, especially English Language Learners and those living in poverty—with the result being significant gains in student achievement?

2.Family Engagement: How can teacher education programs, in collaboration with school partners, better prepare teachers to engage families in support of their children’s academic success?

3.Teacher Preparation: How can teacher education programs, in collaboration with school partners, better prepare teachers to address the opportunity gap?

4.Teacher Recruitment: How can teacher education programs recruit and prepare more teachers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in the local community?

Please see the article below for a thorough description of the Collaborative Schools for Innovation and Success (CSIS) project:

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Long-term engagement through pathway/community-based partnerships for teacher preparation: Maestros Para el Pueblo

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Long-term engagement through pathway/community-based partnerships for teacher preparation: Maestros Para el Pueblo

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Maestros provides clear educational pathways for teacher certification completion. For example, if you want to become an elementary education teacher you would graduate from high school, obtain an Associate in Arts Direct Transfer Agreement degree (AA-DTA) from Skagit Valley College and then transfer to Western Washington University to obtain a Bachelor degree with a teaching certificate. Maestros connects students and their families to key contacts, such as counselors, advisors, multicultural services, and to financial aid assistance at Burlington-Edison High School, Mount Vernon High School, Skagit Valley College, Western Washington University, and Woodring College of Education at WWU.

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Maestros Para el Pueblo - Academics - Skagit Valley College

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Maestros provides clear educational pathways for teacher certification completion. For example, if you want to become an elementary education teacher you would graduate from high school, obtain an Associate in Arts Direct Transfer Agreement degree (AA-DTA) from Skagit Valley College and then transfer to Western Washington University to obtain a Bachelor degree with a teaching certificate.

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Engagement as a partner district in the Prepared to Teach Project. Mt Vernon has focused on innovations such as paid work opportunities, district-wide mentor professional development for cooperating mentor teachers, the integration of residents into school staffing, learning opportunities that extend the learning in traditional student teaching, and removing financial barriers to quality preparation that disproportionately impact aspiring teachers who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color

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Skip to content

Prepared To Teach

Partnerships bring funded residencies within reach for all those who aspire to teach.
Teacher candidates spend a lot of time on the sidelines of the education system-right now, there's a deep divide between "pre-service" and "in-service." Student teaching keeps aspiring teachers outside of core functions, which means that schools miss out on key human capital and new teachers have a steep learning curve.

But it doesn't have to be that way.

Prepared To Teach redefines partnerships between preparation programs and K-12 education to support a system in which aspiring teachers are key to schools. Residencies integrate aspiring teachers into schools, benefitting everyone. When residents serve an essential function, partnerships can transform teacher preparation:

Instead of paying to practice, residents are paid to practice.

Instead of being irrelevant to core school functions, residents are integral to schools staffing.

Instead of graduating unprepared to teach, residents are prepared to lead a classroom.

Prepared To Teach facilitates conversations between partners that focus on jointly reimagining their work. We open up strategies that lead to better systems, better schools, and better teachers by transforming existing structures in preparation programs, districts, and schools. Through every step of the process, we ensure collaboration, both between partnering institutions and across a larger network of the places and people doing this work. Learn more about how we approach these changes below.

Preparation Program Changes

Preparation programs can conceive a new status quo.

By working closely with P-12 educators, preparation programs can maximize the learning that happens in schools.

Redesigned programs often embed faculty expertise in schools. Cohorts of residents are placed together in schools, with program classes being offered after school onsite, often co-taught with mentor teachers. Faculty are in schools during the day, observing, guiding, and supporting residents in their day-to-day teaching. The school has an additional professional resource, and the faculty member is able to connect with residents on the ground, every day.

Preparation programs have identified key changes that facilitate P-12 partnerships.

Recruit and support teacher candidates from under-represented backgrounds into programs that meet district hiring needs.

Embed deeply partnered fieldwork by shifting program design and working with school-based experts.

Adjust course offerings, logistics, and requirements to ensure teacher candidates can juggle requirements and complete programs on time.

District and School Changes

Schools and districts can reimagine public education.

Across the country, schools are caught in a cycle of recruiting, hiring, and training new teachers, only to have them leave within a few years. The costs of teacher turnover are high-both financially and for student learning.

Districts can break the turnover cycle by partnering with teacher preparation programs. Strong partnerships can bring new resources to schools. Residencies can provide a foundation for new staffing structures, organizational systems, and instructional models. With a few key shifts, an embedded residency program can change the recruitment and hiring norm in the district and improve schools:

1. Coordinate staffing needs with preparation program enrollment and requirements to ensure that graduates are ready to fill key vacancies.

2. Be open to creative use of staffing lines that embrace the roles residents can play in school improvement.

3. Identify and facilitate opportunities to reallocate funding to residents and mentors.

Prepared To Teach can facilitate the learning needed for change.

Our virtual communities of practice promote the diffusion of ideas, where creative thinking generated locally inspires others across the network to innovate. Prepared To Teach functions as a hub, supporting long-term strategic planning between sectors as a means of building and maintaining momentum for change.

Bringing partnerships together keeps the big picture at the forefront of conversations about what we want teacher preparation to look like. Schools, districts, and preparation programs see which strategies succeed across diverse contexts and identify ways to build on their progress. Learning together deepens our shared understanding of what works.

How do partnerships free up resources?

Just like living with a roommate is more budget-friendly than renting a one-bedroom place on your own, partnering for quality preparation is more cost-efficient, freeing up dollars to support residents and their mentors.

We were at a meeting the other day talking about the four schools our elementary teacher candidates will work in with some compensation this fall. We have moved so far forward in great part because of support and expertise from Prepared To Teach team.

Mary Jean Mccarthy

Clinical Associate Professor and Director, Adelphi University

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Our Work - Bank Street College of Education

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Skip to content Prepared To Teach Partnerships bring funded residencies within reach for all those who aspire to teach. Teacher candidates spend a lot of time on the sidelines of the education system-right now, there's a deep divide between "pre-service" and "in-service."

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District-based preservice mentor academy (Collaboration between WWU, Mount Vernon Schools, and Washington State's Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction)

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District-based preservice mentor academy (Collaboration between WWU, Mount Vernon Schools, and Washington State's Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction)

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As an extension of the Prepared To Teach local partnership, we leveraged an opportunity to provide a 3-day mentor development academy for preservice cooperating mentor teachers.  The academy was sponsored by the Mount Vernon School District and The Washington Office of Supervision of Public Instruction (OSPI), Washington State's Department of Education.

The Beginning Educator Support Team (BEST) Preservice Mentor Academy was focused on the skills and knowledge needed to successfully mentor and support the instructional growth and development of preservice teachers. The intent of this Mentor Academy was to have a broad impact in Mount Vernon, working with 40 p-12 cooperating teacher mentors.

This Preservice Mentor Academy will supported participants’ understanding of mentoring skills and strategies that can support their work in professional learning communities, induction mentoring, teacher leadership, and provide a springboard to additional professional opportunities in mentoring.

Through a dynamic pedagogy that allowed for large group, small group, individual/solo reading, and practice opportunities, the the Preservice Mentor Academy topics such as:

Equity-focused mentoring

Specific supports for cooperating mentor teachers

Specific strategies for coaching and supporting preservice teachers

Skills for holding learning-focused conversations

Strategies for conducting observations

Gathering data and providing effective feedback

Using instructional frameworks to promote teacher growth and P-12 student learning

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For the past three years, WWU has re-kindled a partnership with the Ferndale school district. As part of the Prepared To Teach partnership, Ferndale has engaged in a partnership focused on innovations such as situating WWU internship courses in the district (vs. on campus), collaborative resident placements and matching to cooperating teachers, paid work opportunities, the integration of residents into school staffing, learning opportunities that extend the learning in traditional student teaching, and removing financial barriers to quality preparation that disproportionately impact aspiring teachers. The partnership's focus is on developing an ethos that is responsive to the district's needs while focused on the learning and professional development of the resident interns.

Locally, recent partnership efforts have included:
- Work to co-design a "work roles" on-boarding academy in the district
- Collaboration on a "new teacher pathways" program to recruit and retain teachers from the community, particularly those who are representative of the children and families in the district
- The development of new work roles pathways with accompanying professional development to ready and provide ongoing support for interns. Professional development includes a paraprofessional and classroom substitute academy, social/emotional learning workshops, and
- periodic visits to on-site WWU courses to provide the district perspective on areas like Understanding by Design, unit planning, social justice, and other aspects of praxis.

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Co-designing teacher residencies: Sharing leadership, finding new opportunities

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Co-designing teacher residencies: Sharing leadership, finding new opportunities

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This recent report is focused on the key "ingredients" in partnership between WWU teacher preparation and the Ferndale school district to realize outcomes such as career-supportive work opportunities, collaborative placements, district induction, district-provided resident professional development, and a responsiveness to the district's emergent needs.

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blarson@wwu.edu
One role of the college dean is to help foster relationships and collaborative activity with district and school partners. Our teacher and school administration/leadership programs are designed to promote partnerships that are mutually beneficial for our aspiring educators, pK-12 students, school systems, and teachers/leaders.

Bruce Larson has been a teacher educator for 25 years, also serving as a professor of Secondary Education/Social Studies Education. His research examines the use of classroom discussion to explore controversial public issues, and to engage with others about them. He has written numerous articles and two books about teaching strategies and instructional design.

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coskiet@wwu.edu
In addition to serving as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Tracy serves as literacy faculty in the Elementary Education Department and Director of the M.Ed. - Language and Literacy program.  .  Her research interests include writing instruction and writing development, teacher learning, and literacy in the disciplines.

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Dr. Matthew Miller, Elementary Education
mille258@wwu.edu

Matthew Miller is a Professor in the department of Elementary Education at WWU. Dr. Miller's research and practice focus on preservice teacher education program design, clinical residencies, teacher education partnerships, new teacher mentoring, and clinical practice. Dr. Miller is a co-designer of the OSPI BEST Preservice Mentoring Academies for the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and currently co-directs the "Prepared To Teach" local implementation project, focused on partnership development for co-designed clinical residencies for teaching.

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The Impacts of a Research-Based Model for Mentoring Elementary Preservice Teachers in Science

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ABSTRACT This article focuses on the impacts of a program designed to prepare elementary classroom teachers to mentor preservice teachers for effective science instruction. The mentor preparation program was grounded in research on effective science instruction and learning-focused mentoring.

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Info flyer: Mount Vernon Preservice Teacher Academy

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Info flyer: Mount Vernon Preservice Teacher Academy

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Preservice Mentor Academy for Past, Present and Future Cooperating Teachers: Stipend and Clock Hours Offered

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Dr. Kevin Roxas, Secondary Education
roxask@wwu.edu

Dr. Kevin Roxas is a Professor and chair of Secondary Education. In 2019, Dr. Roxas was honored with the Carl A. Grant Research Award from the National Association for Multicultural Education Conference.

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Kevin Roxas | Western Washington University - Academia.edu

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Academia.edu is a place to share and follow research.

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Dr. Aaron Perzigian, Special Education
Aaron.Perzigian@wwu.edu
Dr. Perzigian teaches courses on culturally sustaining pedagogy in K-12 classrooms and methods of instruction for students with disabilities. He directs the Woodring Inclusive Education Teacher Scholars program (WIETS), which is a grant funded pathway to dual teaching endorsements for Kent and Highline school district employees. His research examines the efficacy of alternative school environments (e.g., behavior reassignment programs) and ways in which social-emotional learning predicts academic performance for students with high-incidence disabilities.

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Dr. Tim Bruce, Program Director, Educational Leadership
brucet2@wwu.edu
Dr.  Bruce is assistant professor of leadership in education and the Director of Educational Administration.

With almost 30 years of experience as a school administrator, Tim Bruce has authored over $50 million in federal, state and private foundation grants centered on improving instruction and learning, the preservation of native culture and language, and the perceived attributes of success as  identified by Native American students.

Tim’s latest grant combines Western Washington University’s Woodring College of Education and Huxley College of the Environment, in collaboration with the Swinomish Tribe, and the La Conner and Concrete School Districts to immerse K-12 teachers and principals in learning about the Since Time Immemorial (STI) curriculum and the Digital Library database by developing hands-on science lessons based on traditional cultural practices of the Swinomish Tribe.

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Bill Nutting: Mt. Vernon Assistant Superintendent
bnutting@mvsd320.org

Bill Nutting has been a key WWU school district partner through the CSIS and Prepared To Teach Projects (see descriptions of these projects elsewhere in the application). He has supported the engagement of district personnel in initiatives such as the district-based OSPI/BEST preservice mentor academy, site-based learning opportunities, family outreach and community engagement, and shared professional development among WWU and Mount Vernon staff.

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John Fairbairn: Ferndale Executive Director for Human Resources
John.fairbairn@ferndalesd.org

John Fairbairn has been a key district partner throughout the Prepared To Teach Project and helped support financially supported work roles for student teaching resident interns, a new pathways/community-based program for teacher recruitment, district-provided professional development for student teaching interns, and the development of a shared leadership structure for our partnership.

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Woodring College of Education fosters community relationships and a culture of learning that advance knowledge, honor diversities, and promote social justice.

Its mission is to facilitate life-long learning through exemplary teaching to prepare quality education, health, and human services professionals for meaningful careers.  As a College that serves the state, nation and world, we

Construct, transform, and convey knowledge by integrating research, theory, and practice;

Cultivate student growth through extensive community and school engagement in collaboration with exemplary practicing professionals;

Act with respect for individual differences including taking a strengths-based view;

Develop collaborative partnerships that promote the learning and well-being of individuals, families, and the community; and

Evaluate processes and outcomes to assure continual program improvements.

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The College has crafted a strategic plan to serve as a touchstone when making organizational, relational, and budgetary decisions. It was developed with the intention of collectively moving forward the current vision and mission set by the College. It is intended to be used as a tool to promote dialogue and share organizational decision-making that supports the College as a whole.

As you will see, the Woodring College Strategic Plan is very aligned to the principles of deeper learning. The plan identifies and then elaborates, with objectives and strategies, its key priorities, including:

Strategic Priority 1 focuses on justice-oriented, diversity practices, with goals of a) emphasizing continuous deepening of Woodring’s commitment to dismantling inequities and social injustices in its policies, practices, and ways of knowing and b)  creating a culture within Woodring where all students, faculty, and staff are valued, honored and respected.

Strategic Priority 2 focuses on the ongoing development of high quality programs, emphasizing the facilitation of reflective and active learning and high academic achievement of all students.

Strategic Priority 3 centers on developing and sustaining robist and external relationships and partnerships, while emphasizing an inclusive collaborative college environment and the development, maintenance, and enhancement of partnerships to strengthen the capacity of our programs and address the challenges that schools and communities face, and

Strategic Priority 4 is our College's focus on research and knowledge creation, where we recognize the importance of quality, rigorous academic research as we also develop new avenues for disseminating scholarship with partners and stakeholders, develop systems for within-college sharing, and encourage cross-department, cross-discipline, and creative endeavors. Engagement in EdPrepLab as a member institution would certainly advance these priorities toward engaged scholarship.

The priorities, goals and objectives highlighted in the strategic plan are not organized by the level of importance. Rather, each priority is seen as valuable, meaningful and worth consideration in the decision-making process. They are all connected, and the document was written in such a manner that all individuals, programs, departments and units should see the main expectations of the College being reflected.

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How can EdPrepLab help us foster a less-siloed/cross-program connections, collaborations, and systems development in areas like district and community organization partnerships, internships, areas like clinical supervision, cross-collaborations among candidates?

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Are there examples of how member institutions have adjusted/reformed their practices toward deeper learning principles based on engagement in the EdPrepLab consortium?

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What are possibilities for co-publishing on promising practices toward the deeper learning principles, particularly for faculty who are very grounded in equity work and clinical practice to build upon their strong work?

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What kinds of policy work is EdPrepLab engaged in – advocacy, lobbying, partnering with other institutions, etc.?

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What is the relationship between the leadership and teacher preparation “wings” of the consortium?

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Faculty research compendium of equity-focused research

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Faculty research compendium of equity-focused research

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Recognizing that many faculty  have researched and published on diversity, equity, inclusion, social justice, and similar ideas, the college initiated a collection of the publications/papers that faculty produced related to Goal #1 of our first Strategic Priority: “Continuous deepening of Woodring’s commitment to dismantling inequities and social injustices in its policies, practices, and ways of knowing.”

This was not a call for new scholarship, but a request to receive what colleagues have already presented/published in this area. This compendium will be added to each year, indexed and searchable, and available for college faculty, staff, and students to read and learn. We knew we had this expertise in our college, but had not made a concerted to recognize the college knowledge "in our midst." The compendium is an effort to honor and better understand our colleagues who contribute to this body of research. To date, we have collected 47 publications.

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This forthcoming chapter (in press) details the work of a group of teacher educators from three universities who developed and facilitated a day-long, in-person professional development workshop on clinical practice for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teacher preparation programs across Washington State.

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The examples below represent a sample of the ways in which our teacher preparation programs engage pre-service teachers in projects that not only involve them in work that exemplifies deeper learning, but also prepares them to enact the principles of deeper learning with their own students.

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District Partnership: Mount Vernon Preservice Mentor Academy Slides

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District Partnership: Mount Vernon Preservice Mentor Academy Slides

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The following, for your reference, are slides from the first of four days from the Mount Vernon Preservice Mentor Academy, for cooperating teachers across the district in April and June of 2021.

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ELEMENTARY
This curriculum was developed through a collaborative partnership among WWU students, Bellingham Public Schools, and staff from the SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention. Pre-service elementary teachers participated in an authentic experience planning and developing lessons that align to the Next Generation Science Standards and follow research-based pedagogies (5E Learning Cycle) while strengthening their knowledge of community science resources and partnerships (SPARK museum) to support science learning.

These materials are now being used by teachers throughout the region who bring their students to the SPARK museum field trips.

Central to the lessons students developed is the goal of supporting all students as envisioning themselves as capable of doing science and engineering, through emphasizing the human dimensions of science, and in particular the unsung scientists of color who contributed to much of the technology we use today.

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EARLY CHILDHOOD
In this article for the International Journal of Sustainability Education, early childhood faculty provide an example of how interns engage in child-centered and place-based inquiry projects with preschool children and share them with teachers and families.

With inquiry projects that are influenced by the underlying
principles of the Reggio Emilia approach, children and teachers are protagonists of their own
learning and teachers are co-learners and collaborators with each other. Pre-service teachers pose and re-frame essential questions, document children’s actions and words by means of photography, videotaping, written notes and transcripts, participate in co-inquiry meetings to interpret the documentation and ultimately, plan
for subsequent experiences.  It is a cyclic process making teaching and learning visible.

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Day 1 Preservice Mt. Vernon Preservice Academy

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Day 1 Preservice Mt. Vernon Preservice Academy

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Next year, EdPrepLab will be supporting the Prepared To Teach Communities of Practice. Where might the overlap and extensions of the work these PTT CPs connect to engagement with the EdPrepLab consortium in 2021-22?

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Teacher preparation programs, along with human services programs, in the Woodring College of Education are dedicated toward the College's Strategic Priorities.

Teacher preparation programs in Woodring College of Education are organized into three departments (elementary, secondary, special education) plus offices for field experience and certification.  Each department includes programs on-site at the main campus as well as outreach sites across the state.  In addition, teacher education is a served by colleges across the university, such as the Science Math and Technology Education center, which is housed in the College of Science and Engineering.

Programs across our outreach sites have homes in one of the departments, and department chairs and program directors ensure that program cultures, curricula, and practices align with the values embedded in our priorities, with attention always to strategic priority one: justice-oriented diversity practices.

Structurally, the college leadership provides multiple opportunities for guidance, support, and co-learning.  The Teacher Education and Academic Departments Commission, for example,  serves as a forum for the discussion and development of teacher preparation issues, policies, and initiatives. The Commission also provides a mechanism for ongoing communication between all the departments in the University involved in the preparation of teachers.   With guidance from the Office of Field Experience and the Certification Office, the Teacher Education Group works to coordinate field experiences across programs and our district partners.

As an institution, we have also prioritized our community and K-12 partners.  In addition to grant projects and other initiatives, our partners meet with us quarterly through our Professional Educators Advisory Board, which serves as an opportunity for two-way engagements around the key aspects of teacher preparation and development.  These engagements require us to look deeply at and question our goals and practices, specifically with respect to state expectations, and set new goals.

At the program level, our work is deeply connected to schools and community organizations and faculty work closely with teachers and administrators as we all wrestle with how best to serve learners.  For example, many methods courses are housed in schools, and teacher leaders collaborate with us in course development.  Our faculty work with teachers to develop practices that support powerful learning experiences, such as co-developing K-12 curriculum and after-school programming.

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This program for pre-major students in Woodring brings together faculty and students from human services and teacher education.  It began as an inquiry project for faculty in teacher education and human services as we asked how we might more holistically conceive of our collective work.

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PDFScholars Week FACET LinCS Poster 2019

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Exemplar #3: Service Learning in Special Education

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Exemplar #3: Service Learning in Special Education

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SPECIAL EDUCATION
In this project pre-service teachers learn first-hand about the role of individual differences (e.g., disability, culture) in classroom contexts, students are assigned a service learning placement with partnership community schools.

The purpose is twofold: 1) Bring abstract, theoretical concepts to life and, thereby, foster a more enduring understanding of these concepts/issues (e.g., role of individual differences in educational experiences); and to provide students with practical and applicable resources and strategies for how they might engage with youth from a variety of backgrounds and abilities (e.g., culturally relevant pedagogy). This assessment is a vehicle through which students document the role of individual differences (e.g., disability, culture, and social membership) in classroom contexts, discuss their observations and/or application of culturally sustaining strategies, and analyze the influence of individual differences in students’ academic and social engagement.

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SECONDARY
This book by two Woodring Faculty, Dr. Francisco Rios and A. Longoria, was recently published with Teacher's College Press. The authors provide caring advice to Black, Indigenous, and Teachers of Color (BITOC) to help sustain them into and through the teaching profession. Through an examination of BITOC in the education workforce, the assets that these educators bring to the teaching profession are identified, as are some of the most critical challenges they face in today’s schools.

The book illuminates the importance of cultivating and supporting social cultural identities as resources that will serve prospective teachers and their increasingly diverse students. Rooted in an identity sustaining framework, the authors strongly encourage BITOC to bring their full cultural, social, and linguistic assets into the classroom while simultaneously encouraging their students to do the same.

The strategies highlighted in the book (and emanating from the practices of its authors) are embedded in the deeper learning principles of equitable and oriented towards social justice, developmentally grounded and personalized, contextualized, applied, and occurring in productive communities of practice.

Book Features:

Explores major contextual constraints that BITOC will have to understand and navigate.

Identifies the cultural and linguistic assets BITOC bring with them and how to make these a central part of their teaching.

Focuses on the importance of a strong sense of identity and how to approach teaching and learning in identity sustaining ways.

Offers guidance for enacting culturally sustaining pedagogies that are rooted in BITOC identities to serve the needs of their students.

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Jump to navigation

Western Washington University Professor of Secondary Education Francisco Rios and Assistant Professor of Secondary Education A Longoria of WWU's Woodring College of Education will host a virtual launch event from 4 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. on Thursday, May 13 to discuss their new book, "Creating a Home in Schools: Sustaining Identities for Black, Indigenous, and Teachers of Color."

In "Creating a Home in Schools," Rios and Longoria provide caring advice to Black, Indigenous, and Teachers of Color (BITOC) on subjects regarding the assets they provide to their classrooms, the unique challenges they'll face, and how to encourage their own Students of Color to feel comfortable in their identities and cultures.

"This book was sparked by some of our own Students of Color in our teaching programs who bemoaned that diversity books are largely written to help white students understand diversity," Rios said. "However, given the efforts to increase the number of Teachers of Color in the profession, we heeded their call to write about how to navigate the teaching profession, which has been hostile in many ways to Teachers of Color."

"We wrote this book as a love letter to BITOCs," Longoria said. "We hope that it gives them strength on their journey toward becoming a teacher. BITOCs are not a panacea for all the necessary reforms schools need, but their presence is vitally important for a school's excellence."

To purchase a copy of "Creating a Home in Schools", click here.

To join the online book launch on May 13 or for more information about the event, click here.

Click the heart to favorite

Thursday, May 6, 2021 - 10:35am

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WWU's Woodring College of Education to Host 'Creating a Home in Schools' Book Launch on May 13

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Jump to navigation Western Washington University Professor of Secondary Education Francisco Rios and Assistant Professor of Secondary Education A Longoria of WWU's Woodring College of Education will host a virtual launch event from 4 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. on Thursday, May 13 to discuss their new book, "Creating a Home in Schools: Sustaining Identities for Black, Indigenous, and Teachers of Color."

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The Staff Advisory Council offered an opportunity for staff and faculty in alignment with Woodring’s Strategic Priority 1. The book groups created an opportunity for staff and faculty . Staff recognized that working towards justice-oriented practices takes forming a habit and continued work over many months, and they wanted to do that work in partnership with faculty.

“So You Want To Talk About Race” by Ijeoma Oluo

“How to be an Anti-Racist” by Ibram X. Kendi

“Is Everyone Really Equal? An Introduction to Key Concepts in Social Justice Education” by Ozlem Sensoy and Robin DiAngelo

“We want to do more that survive” by Bettina Love

“Raising Our Hands; how white women can stop avoiding hard conversations, start accepting responsibility, and find our place on the new frontlines” by Jenna Arnold

They created 8 groups of 5 with a mix of different departments and classifications. In total there were 3 classified staff, 4 exempt staff, 8 adjunct faculty, and 13 tenure-line faculty.

Books were specifically chosen to address Strategic Priority 1. They asked that each group meeting took time to connect back to the work we do in the college. How do the readings relate to the work you/we do in Woodring? What connections can we make?

This is an on-going project. Teir main goal is that all participants learn more about building justice-oriented practices and consider how our roles impact this. They are planning to create an opportunity to share our overall learning and implications for Woodring after the book groups end.

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Prepared To Teach Communities of Practice

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Prepared To Teach Communities of Practice

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In 2020-21, members of the Woodring College community (including Dean, Associate Dean, tenure-line and adjunct faculty, and staff) partnered with representatives from the Ferndale and Mt. Vernon school districts (Superintendents, HR Directors, teacher mentors, school personnel) to participate in communities of practice and local advisory work to support shared institutional learning. These learning-focused and cross-institutional groups included:
A. Advisories, which focused on shifting narratives and strategizing for systems shifts towards long-term affordability, quality, and sustainability

B. Exploring Staff Structures to support needs-responsive work opportunities

C. Mentors, which focused on areas such as co-teaching and mentor development, and

D. Curriculum and Whole School Design, which focused on curricular alignment and exploring district and program needs.

These opportunities for cross-institutional learning are leading to reforms such as:
a)  A shared understanding across our institutions that diversification of our workforce and further developing community-based (local) pathways are a primary goal of our partnership work.
b) The generation of one and five-year goals for our partnership: https://wwu2-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/mille258_wwu_edu/EZ0sIVfoYXxOrKqJhi6sddgBYLCUTstvbNQmillV0OVArw?e=MlP99X
c) A pilot of a four-day district-based OSPI/BEST mentor academy in Mt. Vernon with a focus on learning-focused mentoring, working with
preservice teachers, equity-focused mentoring, mentoring strategies, and practice
opportunities.
c) A 1-day Ferndale Teacher Academy summit in April, 2021, which will be followed by
ongoing development and progress in 2021-22
d) The further development of work opportunities and systems of support for residents during student teaching in 2021-22
e) Shared systems development for  student teaching
placements, cross-district and cross-institutional sharing and leveraging of resources, and our
growing understanding of our contexts and priorities.

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Exemplar #5: The Impacts of a Research-Based Model for Mentoring Elementary Preservice Teachers in Science

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Exemplar #5: The Impacts of a Research-Based Model for Mentoring Elementary Preservice Teachers in Science

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The following is a recent co-written article that is focused on the impacts of a  program designed to prepare elementary classroom teachers to mentor preservice teachers for effective science instruction. It also features Woodring's ongoing partnership with the WWU's Science Math and Technology Education Center, whose ongoing mission is to improve teaching and learning of science, mathematics, engineering, and computer science by all and for all. About SMATE | SMATE | Western Washington University (wwu.edu)

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ABSTRACT
This article focuses on the impacts of a program designed to prepare elementary classroom teachers to mentor preservice teachers for effective science instruction. The mentor preparation program was grounded in research on effective science instruction and learning-focused mentoring. The goals of the mentoring professional development were to (a) develop mentors' knowledge of what is important to talk about in effective mentoring conversations and (b) develop their skills with regard to how to structure and facilitate effective mentoring conversations about observed science lessons enacted by the mentees. We describe the impacts of the program on mentors' and mentees' beliefs about effective science instruction and their ability to facilitate and engage in effective mentoring conversations. Our analysis reveals that cooperating teachers who participated in the professional development sequence showed statistically significant increases in their beliefs about effective science instruction and their ability to facilitate effective mentoring conversations. Furthermore, the preservice mentees showed statistically greater gains in their beliefs about effective science instruction than their nonmentored peers.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. (NSF 1119678).

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The Impacts of a Research-Based Model for Mentoring Elementary Preservice Teachers in Science

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ABSTRACT This article focuses on the impacts of a program designed to prepare elementary classroom teachers to mentor preservice teachers for effective science instruction. The mentor preparation program was grounded in research on effective science instruction and learning-focused mentoring.

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Pilot to Practice Grant: Diversity in Teacher Education

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Pilot to Practice Grant: Diversity in Teacher Education

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The advancing equity grant, from the Washington State Professional Educators Standards Board (PESB) is focused on advancing equity within educator preparation programs and colleges of education. The grant is designed to address persistent inequities in Washington’s P-12 education system and educator preparation programs.

PESB is committed to upholding Washington’s standards for educator preparation programs and cultural responsiveness to ensure all educators are prepared to recognize diversity as an asset and build upon students’ diverse strengths. This includes students of Color, those living in poverty, students with disabilities, English learners (ELs), and LGBTQ students and families. PESB strives for all teacher candidates to engage in a preparation experience that advances racial equity for both the candidate and their future students. Doing so requires productive collaboration between community partners and the P-12 education system.

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In preparation for this application, the core team met with each of the programs in our college that prepare teachers (preK through 12), and school/district administrators and leaders. All agreed that the EdPrepLab and its partner institutions will provide a network that will assist us develop even more robust systems and relationships. In addition, we welcome any opportunities to engage with partners to examine, critique, and refine teacher and leader preparation, school collaborations, and community engagement. The network of member institutions in EdPrepLab provides an exciting opportunity to examine our own practice, and to engage with others about promising activities. As a member of the network, we hope to engage with ideas and approaches of other programs, and improve teacher/leader preparation. This includes, but is not limited to equity work, preK-12 student learning, distributive leadership, and dismantling structures that negatively impact teachers and students of color. Our strategic plan for the college of education sets as priorities four areas:

Justice-Oriented, Diversity Practices (we pursue practices that honor diversities and promote social justice to and for equity. This recognizes and challenges historical and contemporary inequalities).

High Quality Programs (we focus on the importance excellent teaching, and the aspiration to strengthen innovation, technology, and sustainability to meet current and anticipated needs).

Robust and External Relationships and Partnerships (we recognize the complexity of change, and thus develop partnerships internally, locally, nationally, and globally to maximize our ability for meaningful impact within communities).

Research and Knowledge Creation (basing our programs on quality, rigorous academic research, and creative activity, we engage in scholarly activity that advances the academic disciplines and illuminates challenges and opportunities).

We clearly identify a nexus between our four priorities and the principles of deeper learning. For example, our Priority One is closely linked to the principle that learning is “equitable and oriented toward social justice.” The other deeper learning principles are more integrated in our other three priorities, and we are thrilled by the potential of unpacking these connections as we continually refine our strategic plan.

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Educational Leadership Faculty Co-Learning with Schools: Since Time Immemorial Curriculum

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Educational Leadership Faculty Co-Learning with Schools: Since Time Immemorial Curriculum

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This 7 minute segment from the student-led show Western Window highlights the collaboration between the Swinomish Tribe, WWU faculty, and the La Conner School District as they learn together and develop land-based curriculum around water resources.

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WESTERN WINDOW TELEVISION SHOWEpisode 46This month's show is hosted by Chris Roselli of the WWU Alumni Association and Kevin Miller, a student at Western. ...

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How are affinity groups being established within EdPrepLab, for participants with interests in areas such as special education, disciplinary learning, ELL, or other areas?

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Science and the Swinomish Unit Sample #1

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Science and the Swinomish Unit Sample #1

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Primary Content Area: Science
Grades: 10-12

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Science and the Swinomish Unit Sample #2

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Science and the Swinomish Unit Sample #2

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Primary Content Area: Art
Grades: 5-6

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Exemplar #6: Critical Personal and Family Education Narratives in Education, Culture, and Equity Courses

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Exemplar #6: Critical Personal and Family Education Narratives in Education, Culture, and Equity Courses

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Here is a brief description of the assignment:

You will be engaging in your own critical familial history from an educational perspective. This critical personal narrative will be a reflexive self-narrative immersed in your multiple identities and cultures, highlighted by performance, storytelling, the power to disrupt, reproduce, reimagine, debate, and dialogue for social change. The FEHP reflects your various ways of knowing – your written and/or oral languages, with explicit charges for charting new spaces for democracy, liberation, decolonization, and/or consciousness cultivation as a cultural worker (Mutua & Swadener, 2005; Reed-Danahay, 1997).

Deeper Learning:

This FEHP assignment is contextualized in that it asks teacher candidates to critically examine their own family educational histories and how those histories affect their development as learners in schools and their own practice as future teachers.  It helps our candidates better understand the wide variety of family educational histories so that they can work toward more authentic relationships with families in their schools and with members of their local communities. The assignment is also developmentally grounded and personalized in that it centers the experiences of our candidates and builds upon their own needs, interests, experiences, and prior knowledge as a method of engagement and active learning.  The essential learnings via the assignment are also applied and transferable as candidates are asked to examine their own real-world experiences as former students in schools.  Candidates interrogate the school settings and classroom structures in place that either work towards critical thinking and social justice in schools or reify existing inequities in schools and local communities.