The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0951-354X.

htm

IJEM 21,3

Continuous quality improvement: integrating best practice into teacher education

Carole Edmonds
Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, Missouri, USA
Abstract
Purpose This paper aims to provide a framework for continuous, quality, low cost professional development opportunities at the university level to improve the quality of the instructional practices and/or curriculum used in the teacher education program. Design/methodology/approach Background of the design, needs assessment and implementation of professional development (best practice seminars) based upon the established best practices principles is described. Findings Provides information about the various seminars that were held each year based upon the faculty needs assessment which is administered biennially. This needs assessment is developed based upon input from the yearly Beginning Teacher Assistance Program survey, P-12 Regional Professional Development Center Advisory Group, current research and yearly goals set by university departments. Practical implications A useful framework for other colleges and universities to provide continuous, quality, low cost professional development opportunities. At the very least, these seminars will raise awareness of current instructional practices and curriculum that is currently being used in P-12 schools to raise student achievement. Hopefully, these best practice seminars will change instructional practice and curriculum at the university level to improve teacher education programs. Originality/value This paper fullls an identied need in the eld of continuous quality improvement in the eld of teacher education and offers a very useful framework for establishing a design to complete professional development at the university level. Keywords Best practice, Professional education, Universities Paper type Case study

232

International Journal of Educational Management Vol. 21 No. 3, 2007 pp. 232-237 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0951-354X DOI 10.1108/09513540710738674

Introduction Traditionally, when a new program is introduced, only the leaders get the training (Mulligan, 1992). However, professional development, including best practices, should be opportunities for professional education faculty to develop new knowledge and skills through inservice education, conference attendance, sabbatical leave, summer leave, intra-and inter-institutional visitations, fellowships, and/or working with P-12 schools. Education is a process that encourages continual progress through the improvement of ones abilities, and the expansion of ones interests (Bostingl, 1992). Supporting faculty in their continual efforts to improve instruction so that each student may achieve at higher levels is the mission of all professional development at the P-12 and higher education level as well. Technology transfer, collegial exchanges, enhanced content knowledge, and skill development can all contribute to increasing both individual and organizational capacities. Professional educators should continually reect on their practice and develop and articulate their beliefs about teaching and learning while improving classroom practices. This requires time and opportunities for observing and practicing new ways of teaching, learning, and networking in and out of

the classroom. Sustained training to develop and hone those teaching skills is a worthy goal of all educators. Educators must be committed to the improvement of instruction for enhanced and sustained learning. Collaboration promotes conversation about the best available research utilized in teaching, learning, and leadership. Effective systemic reform and reculturing ensures that each P-16 student learns well, applies his/her knowledge, and continues achieving in and out of the classroom (Missouri Professional Development Guidelines for Student Success, 2006). Faculty should make teacher candidate as well as knowledge of current practices in P-12 student learning central to their professional work. Faculty must continuously be engaged as a community of learners and model good teaching. They should inquire systematically into and reect upon their own practice and be committed to lifelong professional development. Faculty should provide leadership in developing, implementing, and evaluating preparation programs that embrace diversity and that are rigorous, relevant, and grounded in theory, research, and best practice. They should collaborate with members of the university and professional community to improve teaching, learning, and teacher education. They should serve as advocates for high-quality diversity in the education professions. Faculty should also contribute to improve the teacher education profession (NCATE, 2002). Practitioners in education have a professional obligation to keep abreast of best practice in order to fulll their professional obligation. The total quality view allows us to see with a students eye view to understand what the school and the world around it looks like to children growing up today (Rhodes, 1992). Doing so will not only advance education as a professional endeavor, but will also yield a deeper understanding of the teaching eld and far more effective practice (Guskey, 1996). Northwest pre-service educators are preparing for teaching in highly diverse and challenging environments characterized by the broad spectrum of issues facing American society today. Our university assessment system is designed to ensure that students who are admitted to teacher education are capable of performing at high levels in all classroom settings. Therefore, our primary goal is that all facets of the Professional Education Unit (PEU) curriculum and its instructional practices challenge each student, maximizing his or her ability, as a means to advantage them in their current and future experiences in this ever-changing eld of education. Keeping in mind that the Northwest PEU consists of university faculty from all colleges and departments across campus that teach content and methodology. Our students must know many facts and concepts as well as theories. Students must be able to identify these practices and theories as represented in literature while at the same time witness evidence of teaching best practice as modeled by university instructors. The success of our students, and ultimately our teacher education programs, rests on the ability of our students to apply these theories to practice and consistently reect on their use while adjusting curriculum and/or instruction based upon student needs. How can this type of continuous quality improvement occur at the higher education level under limited budgets and time constraints while maintaining high quality and up-to-date best practice inservice opportunities for each member of the PEU? Background NCATE (2002) Standard 5 states that faculty are qualied and model best professional practices in scholarship, service, and teaching, including the assessment of their own

Continuous quality improvement 233

IJEM 21,3

234

effectiveness as related to candidate performances; they also collaborate with colleagues in the disciplines and schools. The unit systematically evaluates faculty performance and facilitates professional development (p. 33). In the spring of 2002, the Northwest Missouri State University PEU formed a Best Practice Team. This team was charged with assessing the unit, determining professional needs, develop guiding principles, and seeking out K-12 best practioners that would share their exemplary teaching/learning practices at the university level. The Beginning Teacher Assistance Program (BTAP) survey results were also used to assess PEU needs. This survey, sent to school administrators where our beginning teachers are employed, asked the administrators to respond to the qualitative question, In what preparation area(s) was your Northwest Missouri State University beginning teacher lacking? This same survey is administered to pre-service teachers each semester during their nal semester of clinical practice and also asks the pre-service teacher to respond to the question, In what preparation area(s) was your education at Northwest Missouri State University lacking? The Director and Assistant Director of the Regional Professional Development Center (RPDC), which serves the professional development and mentoring needs of the university 19 county area, were also surveyed as to current trends in P-12 education. Based upon the development and use of the above instruments and surveys the Best Practice team implemented Best Practice Seminars in the fall of 2002. Best practice principles The Professional Education Unit (PEU) will: (1) Teach a rigorous curriculum grounded in and consistent with academic standards of the learned societies and characterized by high expectations. (2) Monitor classroom progress of individual students, identiable groups and on the overall pre-service student population to identify trends based on national standardized exam data and from locally developed assessments. (3) Adjust curriculum and/or instruction in short cycles of improvement (plan/do/check/act) to achieve agility in instructional improvements. (4) Utilize data gathered by pre-service teachers during eld experiences to validate their ability to accomplish learning gains in the classroom and document these from data collections and artifacts. (5) Monitor, analyze, interpret, and report overall trends on performance by identiable groups at the PEU level through the PEUs Advisory Council. Publish/disseminate this data in reports to formative and summative teams and through faculty development efforts. (6) Provide faculty with on-going professional development through Best Practice Seminars and other regular in-service training efforts such as PEU and Leadership Unit retreats. These professional development efforts are based upon ve key decision sources: . review feedback from previous years from various sources such as in-service evaluations, pre-service and Beginning Teacher Assistance Program (BTAP) survey feedback, and department advisory council meetings; . a biannual PEU needs assessment; . review of current literature or action research;

. .

review of the goals of departments, colleges, and the university; and collaboration with the Regional Professional Development Center (RPDC).

These systemic professional development processes engage faculty in sustained, intellectually rigorous study of what they teach and how they teach it. This professional learning will be built on continuously improving the work instructors provide to students and also improving instructors analyses of student work. Taken together these best practice processes will enable professors and their students to be competent, challenged, and empowered throughout their educational careers. With the guiding principles in tact the Best Practice Team set out with a mission to continuously look outside its organization for current best practice to improve the quality of the education of its customer, the teacher candidate. Best practice needs assessment development Based upon the Missouri Teacher Self-Assessment Inventory, a faculty self-assessment instrument was developed. Possible topics for university Best Practice seminars were gleaned from the weaknesses of our beginning teachers as submitted by administrators in their response to our BTAP survey. Our Regional Professional Development Center (RPDC) was also consulted to determine current best practice in our universitys 19 county service area serving P-12 schools. The self-assessment instrument and the best practice topics gathered from the survey and RPDC input were sent to all PEU faculty in a needs assessment instrument in the spring of 2002. Best Practice seminars would then be planned for the 2002-2003 academic calendar based upon the results of the needs assessment instrument. The self-assessment instrument was mailed to assist faculty as they reected upon and analyzed their own weakness in the areas of teaching and learning. Implications Through these systemic professional development processes, the Best Practice team allowed faculty to become engaged in sustained, intellectually rigorous study of what they teach and how they teach based upon best practice in P-12 education. This professional learning builds on continuously improving the work faculty provides to students and also improves faculty analyses of student work. Taken together these best practice processes enable university faculty and their teacher candidates to be competent, challenged, and empowered throughout their educational careers. This interaction of P-12 educators, university faculty, and teacher candidates creates synergy to establish continuous quality improvement of the Northwest Missouri State University Professional Education Unit. Results Best practice seminars 2002-2003 . Accommodations/modications in the P-16 classroom. . Active learning. . Assessment.

Continuous quality improvement 235

IJEM 21,3

236

2003-2004 . Teacher work samples. . Classroom management. . Differentiated instruction. . Frameworks of poverty. 2004-2005 . Missouri assessment program results (crystal reports). . English language learners. . Walk throughs and Look fors. . Technology/PDAs. 2005-2006 . Curriculum mapping. . Teacher work sample interrater reliability. . Crash pluralism (popcorn and a movie). Best practice manual In the course of the development of the Best Practice seminar series a manual was developed for the PEU to store materials related to each seminar. For many seminars pre and post readings were made available and handouts were distributed during the seminar. The Best Practice Manual continues to allow faculty to keep these materials organized and readily accessible for future use. Conclusion, potential implications, and further questions Many best practice seminars have been made available for Northwest PEU faculty over the course of the past four years. In keeping with Demings prescription for quality management, data will once again be used to make decisions. In the spring of 2006, the best practice needs assessment will be distributed to the PEU. Based upon the results of this instrument and the input from the other sources stated earlier, the best practice seminar topics will be determined for the next two years. This gives ample time for exemplary practioners in the P-12 arena to be contacted and dates determined for three to four seminars each year. When applying many of Demings 14 points to schools (Mulligan, 1992), the best practice team looks closely at: . Create a constancy of purpose. . Adopt a new philosophy of knowledge creation. . Constantly improve every system. . Break down barriers between departments. The greatest emphasis continues to be placed upon: . Institute training on the job. . Promote employee education and self-improvement.

The most successful organizations carefully build quality of process into their long-range planning as well as their day-to-day operations (Bostingl, 1992). The Northwest Best Practice Team has planned and executed their mission since their creation. The question remains have these seminars had an impact on instructional practices in the PEU classroom? Have they affected the learning of the teacher candidate? Are the teacher candidates using these practices in their own classrooms? A quality education means that all are held accountable for learning and are continually improving on their current level (Walker, 1998). The teams next step is to strive to nd a way to evaluate these questions. Bostingl (1996) stated that the fth personal practice of quality is the constant dedication to continuous improvement for oneself and those who are in ones sphere of inuence through the exercise of leadership, partnership, systems thinking and systems action, and process orientation. The nal question, Will it be possible to sustain this type of continuous quality improvement in the Northwest PEU, over the course of the next few years, or will the enthusiasm and excitement of continuing to keep up-to-date on what is happening with teaching and learning in P-12 begin to fade with time? Senge (1990) stated that organizations learn only through individuals who learn. Should university faculty be continuous learners? The Best Practice Team must continue to remind the Northwest PEU that organizing the workplace for the continuous study of the process of teaching and learning is not for the fainthearted (Murphy, 1992).
References Bostingl, J.J. (1992), The total quality classroom, Educational Leadership, Vol. 49 No. 70, pp. 66-70. Bostingl, J.J. (1996), Schools of Quality, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria, VA. Guskey, T.R. (1996), To transmit or to construct?, Education Week, Vol. 16 No. 34, EBSCO Host database, available at: www.ebsco.com (accessed December 13, 2002). Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (2006), Missouri professional guidelines for student success, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Division of Teacher Quality and Urban Education, Jefferson. MO. Mulligan, D. (1992), Quality management for schools, Streamlined Seminar, Vol. 11 No. 12. Murphy, C. (1992), Study groups foster schoolwide learning, Educational Leadership, Vol. 50 No. 3, pp. 71-4. National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) (2002), Professional standards for the accreditation of schools, colleges, and departments of education, NCATE, Washington, DC. Rhodes, L.A. (1992), On the road to quality, Educational Leadership, Vol. 49 No. 70, pp. 76-80. Senge, P.M. (1990), The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, Doubleday, New York, NY. Walker, M.H. (1998), The fundamental of a quality education, Streamlined Seminar, Vol. 16 No. 3. Corresponding author Carole Edmonds can be contacted at: cake@nwmissouri.edu To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight.com Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints

Continuous quality improvement 237