The WGEE-ESE Partnership
on the
Knowledge and Skills of Professional Teaching
A Joint Project of the Working Group for Educator Excellence (WGEE) and the Department of Elementary/Secondary Education (ESE)
In October 2008, the Working Group for Educator Excellence (WGEE) met with Commissioner of Education Mitchell Chester to discuss ways to pursue our shared and continued commitment to comprehensive support for educator professionalism in difficult financial times. The outcome was an agreement to pursue a joint project between the Department and the Working Group to define the knowledge and skills of professional teaching practice in a deep and detailed way, a project that would enable clearer communication and coordinated programs and practices (such as preparation, licensure, professional development, etc.) in the “Knowledge and Skills of Professional Teaching Project” was born.
The WGEE-ESE partnership project will create a detailed and specific inventory of the great range of knowledge and skills that might be a part of the teacher’s repertoire. Established as a dynamic tool, this ever-expanding resource will be organized by essential domains around which there is professional consensus. These domains include academic content and content-specific pedagogy in each of the major disciplines, generic pedagogy including the use of technology, teaching all students, family and community involvement, and professional culture. This map of professional knowledge is an absolute requirement for guiding policy and giving support and pressure to colleges and other teacher prep programs, and to school districts in their conduct of induction, teacher evaluation, and professional development.
Representing WGEE/Teachers21
Susan Freedman |
WGEE Co-Chair President, Teachers21 |
Jon Saphier |
WGEE Co-Chair Chairman Emeritus, Teachers21 |
Jill Harrison Berg |
WGEE Member Director of Research and Development, Teachers21 |
Mary Ann McKinnon |
WGEE Member Assistant Dean, Education, Bridgewater State College |
Irwin Blumer |
WGEE Member Professor, Educational Administration and Higher Education, Boston College |
Representing ESE/EPAC
David Haselkorn |
Associate Commissioner, Educator Quality Unit, ESE |
Brian Devine |
Director of Educator Licensure & Proprietary Schools, ESE
|
Elizabeth Losee |
Acting Director of Educator Preparation and Quality, ESE |
Linda Davis-Delano |
Director of Educator Preparation & Licensure, Springfield College EPAC Member |
Phillip Veysey |
Director, Educational Policy and Programs, AFT-MA EPAC Member |
Notes
1.) The Working Group for Educator Excellence is a coalition of 24 educator, business, and parent groups that has been collaborating since 2004 to create greater coherence among all the systems that influence the quality of teaching and educational leadership.
2.) Major Disciplines: Math, English Language Arts, Science, History/Social Studies, Arts, PE/Health, and World Languages
3.) Educational Personnel Advisory Council: The Educational Personnel Advisory Council advises the Commissioner and the Board of Education on issues pertaining to all educational personnel. The current focus is on accountability and support for educator quality at every level, specifically in the areas of recruitment and retention, induction and mentoring, preparation program approval, and resources for educators. Advice on the development of programs to prepare new schools leaders will be a priority this year. [Return to roster] http://www.doe.mass.edu/boe/sac/councils/epac.html
Knowledge and Skills of Professional Teaching Project