NCATE Blue Ribbon Panel initiates a mainstream move to more clinically based preparation of teachers

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) in January announced the formation of an expert panel on clinical preparation and partnerships, signaling the beginning of a sea change in the preparation of the nation’s teachers. The work of the Panel, called the NCATE Blue Ribbon Panel on Clinical Preparation, Partnerships and Improved Student Learning, will culminate in recommendations for restructuring the preparation of teachers to reflect teaching as a practice-based profession akin to medicine, nursing, or clinical psychology.

Supporters say practice-based professions require not only a solid academic base, but strong clinical components, a supported induction experience, and ongoing opportunities for learning. This redesign is intended to bring educator preparation into better alignment with the urgent needs of P-12 schools. Such changes in the way teachers and other P-12 educators are prepared potentially have far-ranging effects on the structure of schools of education.

Dr. Nancy Zimpher, Chancellor, State University of New York System, and Dr. Dwight Jones, Commissioner of Education, Colorado, will co-chair the panel. Other panel members include experts in education research, policy, teaching and learning and leaders in higher education and P-12 schools at the state and local level. The panel will establish a set of guiding principles for the clinical preparation of teachers so that preparation focuses more on building the expertise necessary for effective practice as professionals. This includes the development of candidates’ ability to understand and relate to their students and their needs, development of practical and evidence-based pedagogical skills, and the use of research evidence and judgment in practice.

Dr. Dwight Jones, Commissioner of Education, Colorado, and panel co-chair, said, “Raising P-12 student achievement in America is an imperative; using our combined resources in new ways to focus on urgent P-12 needs will help reach that goal. I see this Panel as a major step forward in restructuring educator preparation throughout the nation.”

The first meeting of the Panel was held January 6-7, 2010.

Read more…