George Mason University initiated these projects in the fall semester of 1997. The first one implemented was the faculty development opportunity for professors of mathematics and the sciences. This program extended a handful of small opportunities offered through National Science Foundation funding for collaborative projects between education schools and arts and sciences. At the request of faculty in both units, the deans' offices have been sponsoring monthly workshops between faculty in the disciplines of mathematics and science and a science educator. The focus of these workshops has been improving instruction in lower division, undergraduate courses. The science educator has been leading the workshops using the latest findings from research on effective teaching practices in math and science. The workshops have been going on for two years with very positive evaluations from the participants who are quite interested in increasing their instructional effectiveness with undergraduate students. The University will benefit from this effort through better instruction in undergraduate mathematics and science; greater collaboration between the College of Arts and Sciences and the Graduate School of Education; broader opportunities to focus University discussion around teaching and learning; and an undergraduate student population which learns at higher levels.

The second project extends into the continuing professional development of practicing teachers. Grounded in the premise that solid content knowledge is prerequisite to effective teaching, we have jointly crafted a new Master's degree entitled Advanced Studies in Teaching and Learning. This degree program of thirty semester hours includes twelve credit hours of an education "core" and eighteen credit hours study in one of the disciplines found in Virginia's Standards of Learning for K-12 schools, namely English, History/Geography, Science, and Mathematics. The education core is based in the five propositions of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Completing the core, which includes the use of simulated National Board exercises, should prepare a teacher to stand for National Board Certification. Completing the eighteen credit hours in a discipline prepares a teacher to assume the role of content leader among his/her school peers. As can be seen, the goal of this joint degree program is to invest in teacher content knowledge and teaching expertise. As a result of this effort, schools benefit in multiple ways: preparing for National Board Certification is led by University faculty in the Graduate School of Education; teacher content knowledge is expanded through deeper study in a discipline for which the teacher is accountable; schools receive a "teacher leader" in a content area who can help shape curriculum at grade level among peers; there is a direct link of the College of Arts and Sciences in the continuing education of a teacher; we increase the likelihood that teachers know what they need to know and are thoughtful about how to help all children learn to the state's standards.

Another area of teacher professional development is a jointly-sponsored project entitled the Intellectual Life of Schools (ILS). This is a one-week summer institute for teachers in which they wrestle with the "world of ideas." ILS is professional development only to the extent that a small group of teachers comes together for a week, reads a common text (The First Moderns by William Everdell this past summer), and explores with University faculty the implications of the thought found therein. Through ILS, schools are advantaged because teachers are reminded about the world of ideas and how central clear thinking is to quality education.

The third collaborative activity, which is still in the design phase, is a new multidisciplinary degree program for aspiring elementary teachers. Since George Mason University requires a bachelor's degree for admission into teacher preparation, there is a role for the College of Arts and Sciences, through its unit New Century College, to design an undergraduate degree that meets the requirements of a baccalaureate degree and which prepares aspiring elementary teachers in the subjects they will teach. This will be alternate to the single discipline major currently required because that approach fails to educate elementary teachers well enough in all the subjects for which they are responsible. When this design is implemented, schools will benefit because elementary teachers will have deeper content knowledge than they currently have in all the disciplines they teach; new groups of teachers will enter into the field who know the value of being well-educated and well-prepared for the roles they will undertake.

Through these initial efforts the two units have agreed that the best teachers are both well-educated and well-prepared. As the units increasingly find common ground other collaborative activities can grow from the trust and confidence created through these early initiatives.

Institutional Mission and Context

George Mason University is the state regional University for Northern Virginia. It is classified as a Carnegie doctoral II university with an enrollment of 25,000 and 900 faculty. As a regional state University, it carries an expectation of graduating students who can contribute directly to improving the region's economy and social environment through high quality programs and high quality teaching. In its short history (twenty-seven years), it has established itself in the National Capital Region as a center of excellence.

Key Partnership Representatives

Gary R. Galluzzo, Dean, Graduate School of Education
Daniele C. Struppa, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences

For further information, contact:

Gary R. Galluzzo
Dean, Graduate School of Education
George Mason University
Phone: 703-993-2008.
e-mail: ggalluzz@gmu.edu

Daniele C. Struppa
Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
George Mason University
Phone: (703) 993-8715
FAX: (703) 993-8714
Email: dstruppa@gmu.edu

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