New standards and assessments? Curriculum transformation in teacher education

Abstract

Curriculum transformation was examined at seven higher education institutions in the USA that were developing`performance-based' teacher-education programmes. A heuristic was created to di erentiate the contemporary performance standards-based assessment movement from its historical predecessor, competency-or performancebased teacher education. This heuristic provides the basis for a comparative analysis of curriculum change at these seven institutions, focusing on four questions: (1) Do the standards and performance assessments convey an image of a teacher as a professional who is engaged in intellectual work that requires careful deliberation?(2) Do they re¯ect the complex, integrated nature of teaching knowledge? (3) Do they evoke an image of teaching that is learner-centred and context-dependent?; and (4) Do they call for shared responsibility for assessing the quality of teaching in authentic settings? The paper concludes with lessons and dilemmas for teacher educators and policy makers involved in performance-based reform e orts.In 1992, the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC), whose mission is to promote standards-based reform of teacher preparation and licensing in the USA, issued a set of core teaching standards. This action was part of a systemic reform to articulate and align high standards for teachers and students. Parallel to the work of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) for experienced teachers, the practical impact of INTASC was the development of performance assessments for beginning teachers. In a parallel movement a ecting institutions, the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) embedded INTASC principles in its accreditation standards and expected teacher-education programmes to assess student performance according to these standards. Several US states are also requiring teacher-education institutions to be`performance-based', using either the INTASC or State-developed standards as guidelines for teacher-candidate assessment.This shift from course-based to performance standards-based teacher education (PSBTE) has gained general approval and endorsement from j. curriculum studies, 2002, vol. 34, no. 2, 201±225 Linda Valli is an associate professor in the

Characteristics and Competencies for Teacher Educators: Addressing the Need for Improved Professional Standards in Turkey

“…Another criticism is that standards usually do not take the complexity and unpredictability of teaching and learning into account (i.e., Korthagen, 2004). Some authors also add that too much emphasis is placed on standards as sole assessment tools, and that normative systems lead toward deprofessionalization (e.g., Cochran-Smith, 2001;Valli & Rennert-Ariev, 2002). Correspondingly, some question the validity, reliability, and practical feasibility of assessments of teacher educators based on competence descriptions (e.g., Zeichner, 2005).…”

A Vygotskian perspective on teacher education

“…A strong point of competency-based teacher education, here taken to include performance-based teacher education (Elam 1971, Houston 1974, McKenzie et al 1996, Valli and Rennert-Ariev 2002 is that it defines a public (supra-personal) standard for teaching as a framework for teacher education, that it is explicit about objectives and assessment criteria, and that it emphasizes the need for teacher education to bear fruit in effective performance in the daily practice of teaching. Privileged attention to the instrumental aspect of teaching, however, tends to detach this aspect from the aims and values underlying teaching, and limits the space for practitioners to participate in choosing and designing their own performance.…”

Considerações teóricas sobre o conhecimento pedagógico do conteúdo na formação inicial em Educação Física

“…Vários autores compartilham dessa visão, ressaltando a necessidade de os programas de formação inicial em educação Física implementarem mecanismos pedagógicos precursores (1) da conscientização dos estudantes-professores sobre a sua relação com seus próprios conhecimentos; (2) do esclarecimento quanto a justificativas e objetivos para a construção de cada um dos seus conhecimentos e, principalmente; (3) da construção do conhecimento pedagógico do conteúdo, por meio da gestão de todos esses conhecimentos em situações reais de ensino e aprendizagem (3,9,17,19,22,27,29,39,43) .…”