OATdb Archive

2013 - 2014

Educator Preparation Services

Goal
Quality Educator Preparation Services
To provide quality services to students in the areas of advisement, Ep prep application assistance quality field experience, TExES exams, NCATE-CAEP requirements, and teacher certification


Objective
Advisement
Provide quality academic advisement to students transferring to SHSU and entering the educator preparation program

 


KPI
Candidate Satisfaction With Service Area Of Advisement
Transfer student satisfaction will be measured by 1) their level of satisfaction as shown on the advising session evaluation sheet and 2) importance to them, expressed as mean score using a 3 point Likert scale from the Student Teacher End-of-program evaluation of SHSU services and Operations.  The service and operations survey was changed in the summer of 2013.  The survey uses a 1-2-3 Likert scale, with 3 being the highest score.  Our target is to increase the mean score of 2.4 to 2.6 in 2014-2015.

 


Result
Advisement
Our advisement for transfer students has only shown a slight improvement in client satisfaction which is a concern.  We have enlisted the expertise of the SAM center advisors in order to receive the most current and updated information that we need to give our transfer students.


Action
Advising In The COE
We will work closely with the Sam Center advisors to speak with one voice to students.  We will hire a quality, qualified person to be the COE transfer advisor and recruiter.

Objective
Educator Preparation Program
Provide effective communication about requirements and the application process in order to support student’s application and admittance to the educator preparation program.

 


KPI
Candidate Satisfaction With Service Area Of Educator Preparation Program Admission
Candidate satisfaction will be measured by 1) their level of satisfaction and 2) importance to them, expressed as mean score using a 3 point Likert scale from the Student Teacher End-of-program evaluation of SHSU services and Operations.  The service and operations survey was changed in the summer of 2013.  The survey uses a 1-2-3 Likert scale, with 3 being the highest score.  Our target is to increase the mean score of 2.6 to 2.8 in 2014-2015.


Result
Admission
Our efforts in the classes was rewarded with a higher number of first time ed prep applicants earlier in the semester than we’ve had before.  Because our visits were successful we are now tracking the number of applications at a certain date and will compare results in the future.  We are refining our visits agenda based on what we learned by going to classes during the last semesters.


Action
EPS Orientation Sessions
We have established an orientation for all EPS students in order to ensure they have all the information they need in order to ensure success in the EPS program.

Objective
Field Experiences
Provide effective communication of information to support and facilitate quality, and meaningful field experiences (Levels I, II, and III) for teacher candidates in the public school setting.


KPI
Candidate Satisfaction With Service Area Of Field Experiences
Candidate satisfaction will be measured by 1) their level of satisfaction and 2) importance to them, expressed as mean score using a 3 point Likert scale from the Student Teacher End-of-program evaluation of SHSU services and Operations.  The service and operations survey was changed in the summer of 2013.  The survey uses a 1-2-3 Likert scale, with 3 being the highest score.  Our target is to increase the mean score of 2.7 to 2.8 in 2014-2015.


Result
Field Experience
Our field experience processes must be revisited in order to ensure a successful and quality field experience for all candidates.  We are considering all alternative field experiences for our students.  Considerations are, a video based field experiences using the MET (Methods of Effective Teaching) from the University of Michigan.  We are considering student teaching for 2 4-8 social studies teacher candidates at the Houston Outdoor Education Center just outside of Huntsville. We will also seek professional development opportunities to learn about other types of field experience.


Action
Field Experience Pilot Programs
We have decided to pilot a new methods and level 1 and level 2 field experience.  The EPS team and the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Students will formulate a program to pilot in 2015.

Objective
TExES Examination
Support teacher candidates and other school professional candidates by providing effective communication of information (including testing pre-requisites, examination schedules, and applicable review software and proactive examinations) and approval for required state educator certification examinations.


KPI
Candidate Satisfaction With Service Areas Of TExES Facilitation
Candidate satisfaction will be measured by 1) their level of satisfaction and 2) importance to them, expressed as mean score using a 3 point Likert scale from the Student Teacher End-of-program evaluation of SHSU services and Operations.  The service and operations survey was changed in the summer of 2013.  The survey uses a 1-2-3 Likert scale, with 3 being the highest score.  Our target is to increase the mean score of 2.37 to 2.5 in 2014-2015.


Result
TExEs Examination
We are judged by TEA and the SBOE on the number of students that successfully complete our program.  This rating ensures that we are in constant communication with our students regarding their state requirements.  Our new website has an alert when items are due or required and we hope that this will increase our students effectiveness in completing our program.


Action
EPS Website Focus
We will continually enhance and refine the new EPS website to ensure all information is current and easily understandable.

Objective
Teacher Certification
Provide effective means of information, monitor and facilitate candidates/ completion of program requirements, and ultimately recommend teacher candidates and other school professional candidates for certification to the State Board for Educator Certification.


KPI
Candidate Satisfaction With Service Area Of Certification Facilitation
Candidate satisfaction will be measured by 1) their level of satisfaction and 2) importance to them, expressed as mean score using a 3 point Likert scale from the Student Teacher End-of-program evaluation of SHSU services and Operations.  The service and operations survey was changed in the summer of 2013.  The survey uses a 1-2-3 Likert scale, with 3 being the highest score.  Our target is to increase the mean score of 2.35 to 2.5 in 2014-2015.


Result
Certification
We want to ease the process of certification for our student.  We have developed a planning group in order to computerize the ed prep process at the beginning of their entry into our program and continue on through to their final certification.  This would require developing a technological path for the flow of this information.  We are in the planning stages now and will depend on our technical and business analysts to help us build this process.


Action
On-line Application Updates
We are working continuously to update our on-line applications for ease of use.  The updateing has begun for EC-6, 4-8, and 7-12.

Update to previous cycle's plan for continuous improvement

For the previous year that has been considerable attention given to reaching the effectiveness goals for the future.  We are aware that our website is not user-friendly for students and we are in the beginning steps of a process that will lead to an overall improvement of our department website.  We will be guided by a web content specialist in order to systematically improve communication through our website. Our advisement status needs to be effective in every meeting with students.  Training and education are necessary to make greater improvement steps. We have not had the director of EPS go to classrooms to inform students on the EPS application process.  That has created confusion and ineffective communication. Because the current process was not effective we are changing our plan which will include the director of EPS going into all beginning education courses to inform students. Our field experience process is a continuous improvement process.  We have looked at the disconnect that exists in some courses between the course content and the fieldwork experience.  All department chairs have met to discuss ways to improve the process to make it more effective and beneficial to students. We constantly strive We want to ease the certification process for our students.  To date, we are waiting on rules clarification from TEA for specific new information on testing, certification and grade level plans, and implementation of the new rules.  We expect information in October that will clarify the new steps to be implemented in these areas.


EPS director did go to all Level 1 field experience classes and shared responsibilities with students.  This appeared to be an effective means of relaying important information but we will study the implementation in order to increase the effectiveness of our visits.  Through training and off site daylong meeting the EPS website has been re-written and is not live. This is an accomplishments for a small department with such large impact.  Our advisor/recruiter traveled to satellite campuses on a weekly schedule which proved valuable to the students she served.


Our electronic MOW workshop trained 100+ mentor teachers in the public schools.  All university supervisors were trained in the use of and importance of MOW.  This was an overwhelming achievement for a program implementation that we did not know would work.  We will continue to utilize the MOW training for all mentor teachers.  Revised student teacher guidelines.

Plan for continuous improvement The EPS director has been appointed by SBEC as a member of the Texas Education Preparation Advisory Committee.  This 3 year opportunity will allow for state directed information to come to SHSU in a timelier manner and with a more in depth understanding of program requirements. This will help with our increased communication effort with all university stakeholders. The student teacher guidelines have been revised and edited in order to provide more concise information to our student teachers.  The guidelines will be an important factor in our student teachers success each semester.  Educator Preparation Services (EPS) will continue to strive to improve our communication to students, faculty, staff, and the university community.  We have refined our efforts to attend all beginning Level 1 field experience classes on the home and satellite campuses.  Our schedule of attending the classes has been reconsidered for effectiveness.  The schedule will allow for longer discussions in each class and will take place over a 2 week period of time.  Our new website is up and functioning but there has been constant changing and re-thinking on the placement of information.  We expect through meetings between all concerned parties to have the website 100% current and functional by December 2014. The university supervisors will be trained in the new Texas Teacher Appraisal System (T-TESS) in the summer of 2015.  The EPS director has been trained and certified as a trainer and will be planning for the training and implementation of T-TESS for all relevant personnel.  The EPS office and staff have been physically moved to a new location where all office personnel are together.  This arrangement is optional for all office staff and student assistants for improved inter-department communication.  Staff member have been assigned areas of responsibility in their area of expertise and we believe this is a step toward a more effective and efficient EPS department.

Sam Houston State University | A Member of The Texas State University System