TEI Updates: Archives
Winter 2007 Update
We are pleased to have this opportunity to report on the progress that has been made on the Teacher Education Initiative (TEI) in the last few months. Begun in 2005, the TEI continues to take form and gain momentum each month. By now, many people are involved in projects of the TEI, and there is an increasing need for others to become involved. We are excited to launch this website, which will provide regular information about projects, lines of work, and special activities associated with the Initiative. We intend the website both to communicate about the TEI and to reach out to those who are interested in joining some aspect of the work. The TEI is one of the main programmatic initiatives in the School of Education and everyone’s involvement is welcomed and needed.
WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING THUS FAR?
The most important work of the Initiative has been occurring in the several work groups that have been established in the past six months. These groups are re-imagining the curriculum so that it is both rooted in and structured by the work of teaching; creating activities and settings through and in which student teachers can learn to do the work of teaching, and designing assessments that will provide evidence of student teachers’ progress toward competent beginning practice and feedback as they move through the program. Updates on our efforts in each of these areas, including descriptions of the pilot activities that are underway, are available in the “Current Areas of Work” section of this website.
Our work this year has also been enriched by the TEI-sponsored seminar series on teacher education: "Teacher Education: Considering the Past to Build the Future.”
The TEI Steering Group, also established this year, meets weekly to exchange ideas and direct the overall progress of the Initiative. Steering Group members include Francesca Forzani, TEI Project Manager; Magdalene Lampert, who coordinates work on the practice and settings component of the Initiative; Pamela Moss, who coordinates our efforts to create a system of assessments throughout our program; Beth Grzelak, who represents the current Teacher Education Program; and Deborah Ball, who directs the Initiative. The composition of this group will change as the TEI grows, but we envision some version of the Steering Group managing the work of the TEI for approximately the next five years.
HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED IN THE INITIATIVE?
If you have a question about or would like to get involved with a particular aspect of work on the TEI, please contact the coordinator for the area of work that interests you:
Curriculum: Deborah Ball ( dball@umich.edu)
Activities and Settings: Magdalene Lampert ( mlampert@umich.edu)
Assessment: Pamela Moss ( pamoss@umich.edu)
General TEI Infrastructure (communications, budgeting, marketing, etc.):
Deborah Ball ( dball@umich.edu) or Francesca Forzani (fforzani@umich.edu).
