Improving Teaching and Learning
Part of the InTeGrate Washington State Colleges and Universities Program Model
Impact on Teaching and Learning
Best practices shared across institutions supports a community of practice
We were not asking faculty to make changes to their courses directly, but courses are a significant component of teacher preparation programs. Individuals shared some of the best practices they engage in, promoting wider implementation across the state.
- Successful teaching strategies for preparing elementary teachers
- Student-centered elementary science courses (PowerPoint 11.6MB May30 15) at WWU, Whatcom Community College, Skagit Valley College, Everett Community College, and Northwest Indian College
- Presentation (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 1.2MB May30 15) about Soils, Systems, and Society module for elementary science methods courses
- Successful strategies for preparing secondary teachers
- UTeach secondary STEM teacher preparation at the University of Texas at Austin
- Preparing Physics Teachers for the 21st Century (Acrobat (PDF) 4.6MB Jun1 15) at Rutgers University
- Exploring Geoscience Methods module for secondary science methods courses
- Successful strategies for incorporating Education for Sustainability
- Environmental Sustainability Endorsement (PowerPoint 7.7MB May30 15) at Whitworth University
- Infusing sustainability into courses across the curriculum
- Supporting future teachers in learning about Earth and sustainability
Although it is difficult to measure the impact of the sharing of best practices, the communication supports the development of a community of practice, who are engaged in similar activities in similar settings and can call on each other as needed.
Supporting Faculty Change
The people involved in this program were eager to see change happen on their campuses, yet they represented a small subset of the faculty involved in their teacher preparation programs. We were asking them to serve as representatives for their institution and/or discipline by bringing their specific institutional strengths and weaknesses to the group and by sharing back with their institutions the results of our work.