Section I: Content
A. Statement of the Issue
The current political climate that dictates standards and testing as the norm in the
classroom, changes in certification requirements, and moves toward mandated curriculum
threaten to undermine colleges’ of education push to provide teachers who are both content and
pedagogy experts. Colleges of education must continue to push against this current to continue to
prepare future teachers who are able to develop and implement curriculum that is both effective
and relevant.
There is a need to infuse standard driven content, pedagogy skills, and an appreciation of
the value of partnerships into teacher education programs. By modeling in the college classroom
we can provide future teachers with opportunities which will influence them as they design
learning experiences for their future students. A partnership was formed between a local medical
organization and the university department of elementary and early childhood education. The
goal of the partnership is to enable students to contextualize a previously developed program and
become proficient at designing learning experiences that incorporate existing programs to drive
the curriculum. The development of the new activities will occur in a curriculum assessment that
will present students with a problem-based learning opportunity.
B. Literature Review:
The report A Nation at Risk followed by the No Child Left Behind Act brought on a sense
of urgency to find ways to help schools bring about needed reforms. The need triggered a
resurgence in the numbers of partnerships of P-12 schools as well as schools with local
businesses and community organizations. According to the California Alliance of Pre K-18
partnerships, “partnerships are about using collaboration to increase opportunities for all children
to be successful in life.” They go on to say “inter-institutional collaborations generate a complex
array of programs, initiatives, and activities across systems and sectors. There are many reasons
for collaboration between K-16 schools and community organizations including a sense of
responsibility to address current societal problems, readiness of teachers for the demands of the
times, and a more effective approach for preparation of professionals (Russel, 2000). As far as the
post-secondary institutions involved in partnerships are concerned there are opportunities to
implement the mission of the institution, respond to pressures for outside of the college or
university, and to institute programs that are of benefit to all members of the institutional
community (California Alliance for Pre K-18 Partnerships).
Wilbert and Lambert (1991) suggest a range of needs that are addressed through
partnerships. They report these in four categories: 1) programs that are designed to help
educators; 2) programs that are designed for students; 3) programs for development or reworking
curriculum and instruction; and 4) programs designed to facilitate sharing of educational
resources. While most partnerships address only one of these areas of need, the partnership
described here addresses each of these areas (cited in California Alliance of Pre K-18
Partnerships)
One of the outcomes of the current push to reform education through the political system
is the push to standardize the process of educating children as well as preparing teachers. Former
secretary of education, Richard W. Riley (2002) wrote, “I am a strong believer in standards, but
the movement to raise achievement levels cannot be driven by standardization. Creativity in
teaching and learning must be encouraged, not stymied. “Problem-based learning (PBL) fits right
into the movement for higher-standards and greater achievement (Delisle, 1997). The expectation
for PBL is that students will demonstrate deep understanding of the material, as opposed to rote
memorization. Students who participate in problem-based learning experiences use reflection as a
means to learn by analogy and abstraction (O’Malley et al 2003). The use PBL to facilitate the
development of this program allows students to experience curriculum development using an ill-
defined problem in a real world setting and to develop a creative solution to that problem. Further
the PBL experience provides students with opportunities to gain an appreciation of the value of
partnerships as a part of the curriculum.
C. Contribution
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Convention