| |
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
KCTS Connects Special: The Learning Curve
Originally aired Thursday, September 5, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, September 5 at 7:30 p.m
Streaming video of the report:
Part 1: Teacher Training
220k
56k
Part 2: Pat Wasley Interview
220k
56k
Part 3: Courage to Teach
220k
56k
KCTS Television's weekly current affairs series, KCTS Connects, launches its fourth season with the half-hour special, The Learning Curve — the first of four KCTS Connects specials that will be devoted to education issues. Hosted by the series' host and executive producer, Enrique Cerna, the September 5 program features reports on the challenges educators face and efforts to help teachers improve their classroom skills.
The purpose of this special is to explore the history, methods and stages of teacher training. The stages will be illustrated by featuring innovative programs. The Learning Curve special includes an interview with Pat Wasley, dean of the University of Washington College of Education, about teacher development — what it is, what it costs and why it's vital both for educators and the children in their classrooms. Also featured are stories about the Seattle School District's STAR (Staff Training Assistance and Review) program, which provides mentors for new teachers, and the "Courage to Teach" movement, which is going beyond imparting teaching techniques to nurture and inspire teachers from public schools statewide.
We also explore three examples of development programs offered at the three different stages of a teacher's career: pre-service, induction and mid-career. The induction element featured is STAR, the Seattle Schools mentor program. For the induction segment, we follow a first-year music teacher and his relationship with his mentor, an experienced teacher and administrator who works full-time helping a caseload of 15 teachers around the district. The mid-career segment features experienced teachers in a unique two-year program at Pacific Oaks College. They are learning to be bi-lingual while learning new classroom skills. Half of the teachers are primarily Spanish-speaking, half are English. The pre-service program example was developed by the Teaching Learning Partnership, which developed a coalition between the University of Washington's School of Education, College of Arts and Sciences, Seattle Schools and the Seattle Education Association. Mid-career professionals are leaving their jobs to become middle-school math and science teachers. His program gives them more in-depth preparation than usual before they step into the classroom. We also talk with Jane Goetz, Coordinator of teacher Development in the Seattle Schools about teacher attrition and what teacher development means at different stages of a teacher's career.
And finally, we feature a national program called "Courage To Teach" which operates on the belief that focusing on the teacher and the challenges of being a teacher will lead to more successful students. We attend a weekend workshop attended by teachers from around Washington state who spend time sharing stories and helping each other develop ways to address the challenges of school life.
|
|
|
|
