VISION SUMMARY STATEMENT
Preparing Educators who are Scholars and Leaders
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
The Department of Teaching and Learning includes educators dedicated to ongoing, rigorous scholarship across a variety of disciplines. Our faculty is committed to educating undergraduate and graduate students to become scholars and leaders. Our teaching and research are grounded in multiple perspectives that encompass behaviorist, cognitive, social-constructivist, and sociocultural approaches to scholarship. We prepare educators who are:
- Scholars and Leaders in Professionalism. Our students display intellectual curiosity, engage in critical thinking, and model collaboration in their professional interactions. Through classroom-based and field-based learning experiences, undergraduate students develop and refine the positive attitudes and dispositions which characterize teacher leaders. Graduate students continue the journey of lifelong learning through reflective and evidence-based practice and informed implementation of innovation.
- Educators Committed to High-Quality Teaching. Our students stay well versed in the most current and available research from quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, and multidisciplinary studies. They use the latest scholarship to guide their classroom practices and instructional design. Our courses in all the degree programs include clearly laid out competency-based requirements that emphasize high-quality teaching.
- Leaders in Translating Evidence-Based Research into the Classroom. Undergraduate students implement teaching strategies that have been proven to be effective, becoming leaders in the schools where they teach. Master’s students become critical consumers of research and will lead their colleagues in efforts to translate research to practice. Doctoral students become active researchers as they work beside faculty in grant-funded research to expand scientific knowledge and disseminate research findings.
- Experts in Differentiated Instruction. Our students are sensitive and responsive to diverse learners. Graduates adapt their educational methods to meet the needs of all students across linguistic, developmental, cognitive, ethnic, gender, and sociocultural variations. They are committed to creating learning environments that address the full range of human potential and human development.