2009 - 2010

Educator Preparation Services

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Update to previous cycle's plan for continuous improvement

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Plan for continuous improvement

In 2009-2010, typical Educator Preparation Services operations were affected by vacancies in the Certification officer (Aug. – Dec.) and advisor positions (Jan. – Feb.) and by the remodeling of the second floor of the Teacher Education Center.  Although accreditation visits by both NCATE (Oct.) and TEA (Mar.) resulted in clearly positive impressions of Educator Preparation Services, the work flow and operations of EPS were somewhat affected by preparations for those monitoring visits.  When assessing the quality of operations and customer service, it is appropriate to acknowledge the above factors that can affect the quantity of staff resources and the quality of the typical flow of tasks and projects.  New instruments for student teachers to evaluate university supervisors and classroom mentor teachers were developed and implemented, as was a new instrument to evaluate the Educator Preparation Program that was suggested in last year’s OATDB summary. The new instrument had student teachers rate 1) the quality of the service provided and 2) the importance of that service to them.  The new instrument also aligns more directly with the OATDB than the previous Educator Preparation Services evaluation instrument.  The transition to a new, more detailed evaluation instrument may have been a contributing factor in the generally lower ratings of the service areas.  To complement the above end-of-program evaluation instrument, Educator Preparation Services will consider carrying over last year’s plan to develop a new Unit Operations evaluation students can complete and submit immediately after they have received service. An “Educator Preparation Services” email account was established so 1) student groups could be emailed and 2) student questions and issues could be address or directed more efficiently and professionally. Educator Preparation Services will continue to gather, analyze, and share evaluation data to facilitate improvement in operations and in student services. 

The individual needs of all full-time staff, especially new staff, will be assessed, and targeted professional development will be provided to assist them in day-to-day operations and in providing excellent services to students seeking teacher certification. Educator Preparation Services will continue to train and cross-train student workers to prepare them for primary and secondary responsibility of multiple tasks. The student assistant guide will be reviewed, revised, and implemented in 2010-2011.  Educator Preparation Services will also continue to provide professional development and support for all University Supervisors to assist them in providing excellent support and supervision to student teachers.

EPS is prepared for the migration of the EPS website to a new common format that has been adopted by the university.  EPS will continue to collaborate with the SHSU Testing Center to streamline the representative form registration, administration, and feedback reporting process.  Planning to return to the practice of having a graduate assistant secured for two years, in 2010-2011 a new graduate assistant will be hired for the second year in a row.  2010-2011 will be a year of significant expansion of the Mentor Orientation Workshop through SHIPS (Sam Houston Innovative Partnerships Schools).  2010-2011 will also be a year to carefully review and refine EPS processes and procedures, further implement Tk20 and other new technologies, raise the level of office professionalism and efficiency, have staff attend targeted professional development, and prepare for new expectations for accountability that lie ahead for educator preparation.

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