Professional Development School Network
General Information
The School of Education has embarked on a model of teacher training known as Professional Development Schools (PDS). Based on the work of John Goodlad at the Center for Educational Renewal at the University of Washington, the notion of a PDS involves the simultaneous renewal of public schools and teacher training programs. This concept involves a commitment to a university-school partnership centered on the belief that if change within teacher preparation and public schools is to occur it must involve a collaborative relationship between the two partners. Each must commit to the idea that, together, they are responsible to the preparation and cultivation of teachers and that it is through this collaborative, evolutionary process that teacher training programs and public schools will be revitalized together for the 21st century.
PDS offer our students a unique opportunity to participate in school classrooms, to reflect upon their work via discussions and tie-in's to classroom work back at the university and engage in active inquiry about education. SCSU faculty are directly involved in the schools and offer consultation and direct support to classroom teachers in areas of educational research and emerging best practices in reading, mathematics, classroom management, inclusion of students with disabilities, among a host of other contemporary educational issues and challenges. Conversely, public school teachers offer our students and faculty a realistic view of what public (urban) education really is, and ways to effectively create learning communities within classrooms. Together, faculty in the public school and at SCSU are engaged in a dialogue of simultaneous renewal which will ultimately create better teachers for today's world.
PLEASE NOTE:
Connecticut law requires all students in teacher/educator certification programs to undergo state and national criminal history background checks before participating in school-based field experiences and student teaching. For more information regarding background check requirements, please visit the School of Education Background Check page.
PDS Network: Lists of Schools