Change was a byword that permeated the political landscape over the past three years and was also relevant in the Teacher Education Department at Maranatha during the past few years. When contemplating the Teacher Education Department topography, the casual observer can notice some distinct changes that have occurred. At the same time, although some changes have taken place, much has remained the same.
Our professional relationship with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction continues to equip many of our Teacher Education graduates with professionally valuable degrees. During May 2009, we were visited by Wisconsin DPI officials commencing our scheduled five-year review. I am pleased to report that the review process gave rise to positive change for our department and resulted in our reapproval to certify teacher education graduates for state teaching licenses. The DPI officials were pleased with our teacher education program and made some timely suggestions to strengthen a quality program in order to make it improve it even further. We thank God that qualified graduates of Maranatha’s teacher education program can choose to receive state teacher licensing upon completion of their respective programs if they so desire. Pray for us as we plan changes that will better and more effectively equip our teacher education graduates.
SMART board technology arrived on campus during the Fall 2010 semester. One classroom in the Dining Commons building was outfitted with a SMART board and a short throw projector. In the ensuing years, two additional SMART boards were placed in Old Main classrooms. The new technology combines the simplicity of a whiteboard with the power of a computer. Pre-service teachers at Maranatha are learning how an interactive whiteboard can help deliver interactive and dynamic lessons that better engage learners.
The terms Response to Intervention and Inclusion have been literally jumping off the pages of educational journals since 2008, and consequentially, Maranatha’s Teacher Education Department has been attempting to educate our pre-service teachers regarding these topics. Using a grant from the Wisconsin Department of Instruction, the department hosted two evening student and faculty summits during the 2010-2011 school year that were designed to educate and train faculty and students about the concept and procedures of RTI. In addition, a 2011 grant has allowed us to host another education summit on PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports). This summit can be viewed online in our previous blog post. We were also blessed recently by something that did not change – our seniors’ performance on the Praxis II content area exams. Over the years our pass rate has been 94% on the first attempt at the content test. In the latest round of testing for teacher certification, our 2009-2010 test takers had a 97% passing rate. In fact after several hundred attempts at the Praxis II tests over a ten year period, we have yet to have an english education, social studies education, history education, science education or business education major fail to receive a passing score. Thank God for the success of our students.
How do you handle change? Change is a continuous occurrence in our lives, yet we can be ever thankful that we know someone who never changes – “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) Thank God that during times of change we have the most solid foundation.