A Framework of Teacher Knowledge and Skills Necessary in a Standards-Based System: Lessons from High School and University Faculty.

Abstract

The Standards-based Education Project (STEP) was conducted as part of the Eisenhower Initial Teacher Professional Development Program in Oregon, under the Proficiency-based Admissions Standards System (PASS). STEP focused on the development of a framework of teacher knowledge, skills, and materials for pre-service and practicing teachers. High school teachers and university faculty across six disciplines committed one or more classes to the implementation of standards-based instruction and assessment. In ,collaborative work groups they shared pedagogical practices, broadened their content knowledge, and learned new ways to engage students in learning. This paper summarizes the findings of the project and the culminating state institutes in the spring of each year that provided the opportunity for participants to share information. Data were collected over a 2-year period for 44 secondary school teachers and college faculty. Findings from the STEP study suggest that teachers engaged in the actual implementation of standards provide clear imperatives for those charged with the formulation of educational policy and the design of teacher preparation and professional development programs. The major findings of this study are informing the next steps in the development of standards-based reform in Oregon. Fifteen areas of teacher practice were identified and grouped into the categories of target/plan, teach/assess, and verify. The framework of teacher practice these categories define will be further refined for inclusion in teacher preparation and licensure programs in Oregon. (Contains 52 references.) (SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.