In the late 1980?s, public school leaders in the southern Maine area criticized the quality of USM?s teacher education graduates. They were said to be ill prepared in content knowledge and lacked the pedagogical skills that K-12 schools were seeking. As a result, a bold decision was made to eliminate the four-year undergraduate teacher preparation program at the University of Southern Maine. At the beginning of the 1990?s, a collaborative effort between USM and selected Southern Maine Partnership school leaders lead to the birth of the Extended Teacher Education Program (ETEP). Southern Maine Partnership schools, part of John Goodlad?s National Network for Educational Renewal (NNER) became the host professional development schools and the heart of the fifth year, graduate level program. ETEP continues as a collaborative effort between selected Southern Maine Partnership school personnel and university faculty who have joined together in planning, delivering, and evaluating the program.

ETEP has two distinct but related levels. The first level features an undergraduate degree, with a major in the arts and sciences, or an undergraduate degree with at least 60 credit hours in liberal arts courses. Eligible USM undergraduates may choose an 18-credit hour minor in educational studies. The second level offers a graduate program in education, which combines teacher certification with opportunities for continued studies culminating in a master?s degree. The initial phase of the graduate program, the internship year, includes the professional education coursework and field experiences needed to qualify prospective teachers for certification in the state of Maine. Upon successful completion of the internship year and meeting criteria for continued study, students have the option of completing a master?s of science in education degree.

The Internship Year

The internship phase of ETEP consists of 33 to 36 credits of graduate coursework. Applicants are accepted as interns at the elementary, middle or secondary levels. Middle and secondary level interns may teach English, foreign languages, mathematics, physical and/or life sciences, or social studies.

The internship year of ETEP is an intense full-time experience, which integrates theory and practice in a school-based program. During the first semester interns spend approximately half of each school day in a classroom with a mentor teacher. Afternoons are spent in professional education coursework. During the second semester, interns work with their mentor teachers during the entire school day. Remaining coursework is completed in late afternoon or evening sessions.

Professional Development Schools

ETEP interns study in Professional Development Schools in five selected sites within the Southern Maine Partnership. These sites include urban, suburban and rural school settings. Each year approximately 90 interns join the faculties of some of Maine?s best schools.

As part of the NNER, USM and its partner schools are committed to the simultaneous renewal of K-12 education and teacher preparation. This pursuit is dependent upon a rich and full relationship among K-12 and higher education faculties and their institutions. In the Professional Development School (PDS) model that USM has adopted, partnership is not an end but a means by which we seek to accomplish four purposes:

1. Provide an exemplary education for all students,

2. Provide a quality clinical setting for pre-service education,

3. Provide continual professional development for teachers and professors,

4. Promote and conduct inquiry into teaching, learning and schooling.

ETEP is committed to the PDS goals by joining school and university-based faculty to teach courses, mentor interns, learn together in joint professional development activities, and conduct collaborative action research.

Expected Outcomes

Essential qualities of the successful ETEP graduate and teacher educator include:

1. Knowledge of child/adolescent development and principles of learning: The teacher demonstrates respect, concern for children, and an understanding of how they continue to develop and learn. S/he uses this knowledge in collaboration with families to plan and guide instruction and to create a challenging, supportive learning environment.
2. Knowledge of subject matter and inquiry: The teacher understands the framework of the subject matter(s) s/he teaches and makes accessible to students the discipline?s tools of inquiry, central concepts, internal structure, and connections to other domains of knowledge, in a manner that promotes the learner?s independent inquiry.
3. Instructional planning: The teacher consistently plans and evaluates instruction based on knowledge of the learner, the subject matter, the community, the intended student outcomes, and the curriculum.
4. Instructional strategies and technology: The teacher understands and uses a variety of teaching strategies, including appropriate technology, to promote learning and independent inquiry for all students.
5. Assessment: The teacher enhances and documents learning through continuing use of formal and informal assessment strategies, communicates feedback, and promotes guided self-evaluation in learners.
6. Diversity: The teacher demonstrates methods of ensuring equity and fairness in the practice of education. The teacher models respect for individual differences among students and coworkers. He/she plans and creates instructional opportunities with sensitivity to individual learners.
7. Beliefs about teaching and learning: The teacher clearly communicates his/her beliefs about learning, teaching, assessment, and the role of education in society, and demonstrates practices that support those beliefs.
8. Citizenship: The teacher understands principles of democratic community and plans instruction to promote ideals, values, and practices of responsible citizenship.
9. Collaboration and professionalism: The teacher demonstrates professional responsibility to school and community. S/he works ethically and collaboratively with colleagues, parents, and community members to improve the conditions of learning for all students and adults.
10. Professional development: The teacher recognizes that s/he is, above all, a learner. S/he continually reflects on and evaluates choices and actions, and seeks out opportunities for professional development as well as ways to improve teaching and learning.
11. Classroom management: The teacher understands and implements classroom management techniques that support individual responsibility and the principles of democratic community.

Reflection and Inquiry

ETEP provides opportunities for students and faculty to acquire teaching strategies, expand knowledge, and explore professional and social dimensions of teaching. Journals, videotaping, dialogues with faculty and peers and activities connecting coursework and classroom experiences weave together to foster a spirit of inquiry. This reflective posture encourages participants in the program to remain sensitive to their own beliefs and practices as well as to the learning of the students with whom they work.

Teachers are Learners

The principle that teachers are learners connects all aspects of ETEP. Teachers apply themselves to the same commitment to learning expected of the school-age students with whom they work. They share the excitement and uncertainty of new learning and recognize that professional development is a process in which an individual engages before, during and after the formal teacher education program.

Institutional Mission and Context

The University of Southern Maine (USM) has a long-standing tradition of preparing teachers, from the days of the Western Maine Normal School in the 19^th century to the present. The University?s mission affirms "an historical and special commitment to elementary and secondary education through the preparation of teachers and educational leaders."

The faculty of USM?s College of Education and Human Development collaborate with school-based faculty in the Extended Teacher Education Program (ETEP), from which teachers emerge well grounded in an academic discipline as well as in educational knowledge and practices supportive of quality teaching. Individuals come to ETEP from a wide variety of backgrounds and with a broad array of life experiences. They may be recent graduates or career changers.

The teacher education faculty believes that the process of teaching is actually a process of learning. Effective teaching is grounded in knowledge, experience, critical reflection, and a commitment to preparing children and youth for the future. Such teaching encourages inquiry that leads to independent thinking. Teaching is a complex enterprise. It is an art, a craft, a science, a collection of skills, and common sense. Teachers and students together foster a lifelong pursuit of learning, which encompasses personal growth and global awareness. The College of Education and Human Development is committed to providing experiences that promote this learning process. Our mission statement represents beliefs that form the foundation for the University of Southern Maine?s Extended Teacher Education Program.

Key Partnerships

University of Southern Maine College of Education and Human Development
Southern Maine Partnership, c/o USM
Gorham School Department, Gorham, Maine
Portland Public Schools, Portland, Maine
Yarmouth School Department, Yarmouth, Maine
Sanford School Department, Sanford, Maine
Wells-Ogunquit CSD, Wells, Maine
York School Department, York, Maine
School Administrative District #55, Hiram, Maine
School Administrative District #61, Bridgton, Maine
School Administrative District #72, Fryeburg, Maine
Fryeburg Academy, Fryeburg, Maine

For further information contact:
Richard H. Card, Director
Teacher Education
University of Southern Maine
500 Bailey Hall
Gorham, Maine 04038
207-780-5134
rcard@usm.maine.edu

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