Teacher Education for the Arts Discipline

ASSERTION #1

For teachers to help students meet the requirements of the Standards successfully, four things must happen in and for teachers:

(1) They should themselves be competent exemplars of the context and skills they are teaching. At a minimum, teachers ought to be able to meet the K-12 National Standards.

(2) They should be able to teach from the base of their own knowledge and skills, not merely model or present prefabricated lessons.

(3) They should be able to lead, in the sense of being able to provide content-based guidance to the uninitiated, the beginner, and the advanced student.

(4) They should be able to learn and develop on their own in the primary disciplinary fields associated with their work.

QUESTIONS FOR DECISION MAKERS

• Are the mission and goals of our undergraduate teacher preparation programs consistent with the aspirations for K-12 achievement inherent in the Standards?

Yes these are in the objectives of the courses we have to take.

• How is each competency expressed in the Standards addressed within and across the components of our teacher preparation curriculum for each arts discipline?

In each arts discipline the components go over how to teach the Standards in our classrooms. The components of the teacher preparation curriculum assure that we know what the standards are and how to do all of the standards so we can teach them the best we can.

• Is curricular time and weight allocated to courses in the specific arts discipline, general studies, and professional education adequate to achieve the requisite artistic, intellectual, and pedagogical competencies?

No we have to try to practice more outside of classes because there is not enough time in class to perfect teaching and knowing the competencies in the Standards.

• What expectations do we have for developing competence and capacity for artistic educational leadership in the classroom, with various types of groups, and in the community at large?

We don’t have that high of expectations at all because there are a lot of schools taking the arts out of the classroom. There needs to be a lot higher expectations for the teachers and the leaders in the classroom and community to incorporate the arts in everything.

• How should our programs promote, by requirement and example, the “habits of mind” necessary for performance and growth of a teacher?

The professors should have high expectations for their students so that we can be the best teachers we can be when we come out of college. The professors should also demonstrate the things that they are teaching in their classrooms with the students to help the students better understand.