Center of Pedagogy
What is the Office of the Agenda for Education in a Democracy?
The
Agenda for Education in a Democracy grounds Montclair State
University's education program in the moral and ethical responsibilities
of the teaching profession and informs every aspect of the Center
of Pedagogy's work. One salient product of this grounding
has been the development of The Portrait of
a Teacher. The Portrait is used for admission to the Teacher
Education Program, teacher education courses, and ongoing professional
development and renewal of university and school faculty.
The Office of the Agenda coordinates Montclair State University's Leadership Associates Program. Every year, approximately 25 education professionals representing faculty and administrators from the tripartite (public schools, arts and sciences and education) are selected to participate. Members of each cohort attend, participate in, and co-construct an intensive seminar that focuses on our four-part mission (see below), social justice, diversity, and democratic practice.
The Agenda also sponsors the Annual Advance, held each January on the Montclair State University campus. Timely topics, dynamic presenters, and extensive sharing of expertise among the tripartite frame what has become an annual anchor of campus professional development.
The Office of the Agenda for Education in a Democracy is responsible for maintaining the focus and vitality of the shared vision that bonds faculty members in education, the arts and sciences, and the public schools as they undertake their common work of ethical, effective, and morally grounded teacher education.
The vision that drives the work has evolved from a number of sources, including the work of the Institute for Educational Inquiry
and the
National Network for Educational Renewal , founded by John Goodlad.
A central purpose of the work of John I. Goodlad, his colleagues at the Center for Educational Renewal and the Institute for Educational Inquiry, and the hundreds of participants at the various settings of the National Network for Educational Renewal is to restore the links between education and democracy, and to ground the work of the public schools in the moral and political ideals of democratic life. The overarching purpose of the endeavor is to strengthen the voice of democracy in the ongoing discussion of the purpose and future of public education in the United States.
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Our Four-Part Mission for Teacher Education
The mission of teacher education at Montclair State University has four parts, and each part is derived from a moral imperative in education.
The first two parts of the mission statement embody the goals of public education:
- To facilitate the critical enculturation of the young into a social and political democracy
- To provide to all children and youths access to knowledge, which entails disciplined encounters with all the subject matters of the human conversation
The third and fourth parts stipulate essential teaching practices for attaining these two goals:
- To engage in pedagogical practices that forge a caring and effective connection between teacher and student
- To exercise responsible stewardship of our schools
The vision for the teacher education program is derived from this four-part mission and in the spirit of educational renewal, is open to continuous scrutiny and revision.
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How does The Office of the Agenda for Education in a Democracy carry out its work?
A number of initiatives around the themes of professional development/leadership development, developing standards for judging admissions, curriculum, and performance (see the Portrait of a Teacher), and actively seeking funding to support this work form the core of the work of the Agenda.
In addition to these activities, the Agenda coordinates
the membership of the University in the National Network for Educational
Renewal (NNER) and the Institute for Educational Inquiry (IEI).
There are more than twenty university-school partnerships nationwide
that participate in the NNER and all settings pursue the Agenda
for Education in a Democracy. The work of the NNER is closely
linked to John Goodlad's IEI, which offers a variety of professional
development activities to the NNER membership including national
leadership associates programs.
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Leadership Associates Program
A major function of the Agenda is coordinating Montclair State's Leadership Associates program, which has been adapted from the national Leadership Associates Program of the Institute for Educational Inquiry. Every year, twenty education professionals representing faculty and administrators from the tripartite (public schools, arts and sciences and education) are selected to participate. Over an eight day period in July, members of the cohort attend an intensive seminar that focuses on public education in a democracy and issues such as social justice and equity. Teams continue to meet during the following academic year. Leadership Associates undertake funded inquiry projects designed to move the agenda forward. These projects are shared with others in the cohort and beyond. If you are interested in applying to the program, you must be a member of the Montclair State University/Montclair State University Network for Educational Renewal partnership. Contact the Coordinator at 973-655-7535 for an application.
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Annual Advance
Each year the Agenda puts on the January Advance,
a professional development workshop for members of the tripartite
(public schools, arts and sciences and education) focused on a
pressing issue in the educational community. Topics of past Advances
have included authentic assessment, racism, white privilege and
power, literacy, health, and mindfulness in teacher education.
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Admissions Process
The Agenda provides the framework for the Teacher
Education Program admissions process, with the goal of "selecting
in" those students whose qualities and dispositions most
closely reflect the aims and values of our Portrait of a Teacher.
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Montclair State University's Portrait of a Teacher
The embodiment of the vision and mission of the work is the Portrait of a Teacher, a statement of dispositions and standards that drive admissions, curriculum, and the assessment of the program. The Portrait evolved through the collaborative efforts of the faculty from education, the arts and sciences, and the public schools and is constantly open for review and revision. In its most recent iteration, the Portrait is as follows:
(Revision Sept. 1, 2003)
The Montclair State University community is committed to the continuing development of teachers who exemplify the dispositions, knowledge, and skills reflected in this portrait. They:
- Have expert knowledge of the disciplines they will teach and can use various strategies, including media and technology, for creating learning experiences that make the subject matter accessible and meaningful to all students.
- Understand how children and adolescents learn and develop in a variety of school, family and community contexts, and can provide learning opportunities that support their students' intellectual, social, and personal development.
- Understand the practice of culturally responsive teaching. They understand that children bring varied talents, strengths, and perspectives to learning; have skills for learning about the diverse students they teach; and use knowledge of students and their lives to design and carry out instruction that builds on students' individual and cultural strengths.
- Plan instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, students, families, communities, and curriculum goals and standards; and taking into account issues of class, gender, race, ethnicity, language, sexual orientation, age, and special needs in designing instruction.
- Understand critical thinking and problem solving, and create learning experiences that promote the development of students' critical thinking and problem solving skills and dispositions.
- Understand principles of democracy and plan and carry out instruction that promotes democratic values and communication in the classroom.
- Understand and use multiple forms of assessment to promote the intellectual, social, and physical development of learners and to inform instruction.
- Create a community in the classroom that is nurturing, caring, safe, and conducive to learning.
- Are reflective practitioners who continually inquire into the nature of teaching and learning, reflect on their own learning and professional practice, evaluate the effects of their choices and actions on others, and seek out opportunities to grow professionally.
- Build relationships with school colleagues, families, and agencies in the community to support students' learning and well-being, and work to foster an appreciation of diversity among students and colleagues.
- Possess the literacy skills associated with an educated person; can speak and write English fluently and communicate clearly.
- Develop dispositions expected of professional educators. These include belief in the potential of schools to promote social justice; passion for teaching; and commitment to ensuring equal learning opportunities for every student, critical reflection, inquiry, critical thinking, and life-long learning, the ethical and enculturating responsibilities of educators, and serving as agents of change and stewards of best practice.
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Contact Information
Dr. David Lee Keiser and Dr. Leslie Wilson, Agenda for Education in a Democracy Coordinators
Montclair State University
Montclair, NJ 07043
Phone: (973) 655-7199
Fax: (973) 655-5227
Email: keiserd@mail.montclair.edu or wilsonl@mail.montclair.edu
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