National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) Outcomes Summary

A Summary of the Teacher Education Programs and Teacher Candidate and Graduate Outcomes from Notre Dame of Maryland University’s School of Education

A Description of Our Institution
Nationally Recognized Programs in the School of Education
Degrees, Programs and Areas of Certification in the School of Education
Mission of the School of Education
School of Education Teacher Candidate Outcomes and Measures Used to Evaluate Outcomes
Other Helpful Information about Accreditation Outcomes

A Description of Our Institution

Notre Dame of Maryland University has a proud history of serving as a catalytic change agent.  Originally conceived in 1847 (and formally founded in 1873) to educate those neglected by society, poor girls and women, this innovative school evolved from a K-12 institution and became the first women’s Catholic college in the United States to award a four-year baccalaureate degree.  Later it was recognized that women over the age of 25 could benefit from a four-year degree and the school expanded to meet this need.  Subsequently a weekend college was established to serve the needs of employed students.  Demands for a graduate school lead to both the development of several master’s degree programs and to the first Accelerated College for working professionals, both women and men. Mirroring the diversity of our society and our school, English as a second language and American culture classes also bring an international dimension to the Notre Dame of Maryland University campus. Another innovation, the Renaissance Institute (a noncredit membership program for students age 50 and older) rounds out the University’s high-impact educational offerings, thus meeting the diverse needs of yet another underserved population by emphasizing professional and personal knowledge, development, and integrity.  The final jewel in this crown of pioneering change has been the successful development of the first doctoral program, a Ph.D. in Instructional Leadership for Changing Populations.  Thus, Notre Dame of Maryland University continues its evolutionary (and sometimes revolutionary) pathway and mission to educate leaders to transform the world by providing “Distinctive undergraduate and graduate programs [that] challenge women and men to strive for intellectual and professional excellence, to build inclusive communities, to engage in service to others and to promote social responsibility.”

Nowhere is this mission more evident or vibrant than in the School of Education’s undergraduate and graduate programs where one-third of the students are people of color.  This extremely rich cultural, racial and ethnic diversity reflects a strong foundational belief in meeting the needs of those who are underserved.  Neither gender, race, age or religious affiliation serves as a barrier in our effort to transform the world.  Notre Dame of Maryland University students and faculty members come from a variety of backgrounds, bringing diverse perspectives to the academic community. The University is known for its student-centered orientation and for its faculty commitment to superior teaching and scholarship. Undergraduate and graduate students are challenged by a team of university professors who represent a full range of experiences; of 20 full-time faculty members in the School of Education, over 80% are former P-12 school teachers, principals and superintendents who have served as leaders in our nation’s urban schools.  Others have been leaders in their respective fields; e.g., in brain research, school reform, special education instruction, middle school programming, curricular design, Reading research, etc).  Equally important is the depth and breadth of associate faculty (approximately 40), all of whom currently serve or have retired from positions as educators in P-12 school settings.  Thus, they are keenly familiar with the multiplicity of challenges which confront new teachers; yet they are also cognizant of the plethora of instructional and curricular tools that can be effectively utilized to positively impact student achievement and promote the retention of new educators in the workforce.  Indeed, to accommodate cohorts of students, many of the courses are taught off-site in satellite centers/schools, thus bringing the faculty closer to the real-world teaching environment.  Therefore, our teacher candidates are ensured of being well grounded in theoretical frameworks but are equally certain to acquire the requisite practical skills needed to be successful in the classroom. 

Yet another integral part of these successful teacher preparation programs, and many would posit is the backbone of this institution, is the School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND). The SSND congregation continues to inform and inspire the education provided at the University, with more than twenty sisters serving on the faculty, staff, or administration and seven serving as trustees.  No less than six serve within the School of Education. The Catholic tradition of the University provides the context by which intellectual dialogue is actively promoted. The SSND mission is the guiding principle of campus life: education should “empower persons to reach the fullness of their potential and enable them to direct their gifts toward building the earth.” The University’s values-centered education and high academic standards emphasize the student’s total development: intellectual, professional, social and spiritual.

Nationally Recognized Programs in the School of Education

The following programs are nationally recognized and meet standards of the profession:

Degrees, Programs and Areas of Certification in the School of Education

The following Table identifies the plethora of degrees, programs and areas of certification offered at Notre Dame of Maryland University:

Mission of the School of Education

The mission of the School of Education is to provide rigorous Teacher Education Programs which seek, above all, to instill in our students a desire to be proactive as future leaders and decision-makers within the education enterprise, and to value teaching as the vocation that enables the choices of others and supports the human impulse to grow.  These programs are designed to present the vocation of teaching as the vital link between our private and public worlds, and our personal fulfillment, professional development, and social responsibility.  Our aim is to nurture and help focus the program participants’ consciousness of vocational commitment and purpose as they develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of competent professionals.  The approach taken throughout the program is characteristically holistic, shaping and defining our roles as educators within the larger contexts and diverse environments and dimensions of education: public and private; elementary and secondary; urban, suburban, and rural; local, national, and global.  The program is holistic also in the sense that the artificial boundaries between content and processes, curriculum and instruction, and knowledge and values are erased by faculty who teach through modeling an array of instructional approaches, and, as reflective practitioners, raise the important moral and ethical issues embedded in teaching decisions.  As individuals who care, listen to, understand and respect one another, faculty and students together create a community of shared inquiry as well as a community of purpose through the following commonly-shared values that we believe are inherent qualities of sound teaching and meaningful learning (and which are referred to as our RSVP Conceptual Framework): 

Five specific outcomes, which are derived from this RSVP framework and are embedded in each of the School of Education teacher preparation programs, are designed to prepare teachers with the requisite skills needed to promote student achievement accordingly:  Research-based and experience-based teaching within a liberal arts tradition enables the educator to act with the integrity that comes from knowing what one is doing and why one is doing it. (1) Demonstrate a general knowledge base in the liberal arts and in specific content appropriate for teaching.  (2) Demonstrate effective application of principles derived from the ongoing relationship between research-informed theory and practice.  Reflection in action and critical self-knowledge enable the educator to articulate a point of view that is guided by informed reason rather than rhetoric, a personally appropriated value position, and attentive self-assessment. (3) Exemplify the qualities of a reflective practitioner through analysis and assessment of teaching practices and behaviors, redesigning instruction to meet individual needs.  Teaching is a vocation or “calling” in which the meaning of professionalism gives equal weight to both competence and virtue.  (4) Act and make decisions guided by a philosophy of teaching and leanings rooted in a moral system that values the development and diversity of each individual.  Teachers who exhibit visionary leadership and commitment to life-long learning apply exemplary educational practices, which encourage and enable others to act with imagination, risk-taking, intention, and invention.  (5) Create a safe and interactive environment in which students are both empowered and free to take risks, to think analytically, critically, and creatively, to make informed choices and to act responsibly.

School of Education Teacher Candidate Outcomes and Measures Used to Evaluate Outcomes

The aforementioned RSVP outcomes (designed in a cross-curricular format and approved jointly by the School of Education and the School of Arts and Sciences) are rigorously assessed throughout the Teacher candidate’s academic and clinical experience.  Using a Chalk and Wire platform for e-Portfolios and rubrics tailored for each task, faculty members assess the quality of student works (artifacts) which are closely aligned to individual course assignments and which mirror InTASC standards.  These artifacts are routinely reviewed, analyzed and refined by faculty in order to strengthen their utility for the prospective teacher and to ensure national recognition by NCATE.  Moreover, two major components that cross all programs, undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, and master’s programs (with and without certification components) are “reflection” on the Conceptual Framework (RSVP) and “candidate dispositions.”  For example, the candidate disposition for initial certification is obtained at three different levels of the candidate’s program.  The candidates complete a self-reflection early in their program; the second assessment is completed by the method’s instructor prior to the internship, and the final disposition is completed by the candidate, the mentor teacher, and the supervisor.  Each is designed to be recursive and to hold all parties accountable to the rigorous standards of the School of Education.

Notre Dame of Maryland University, though comparatively small to our many neighboring colleges and universities in Maryland, yields the third largest number of teacher certificates.  While some of these certificates are attained by undergraduates in our liberal arts/elementary education program, the vast majority are attained through our Master’s degree programs. These degrees in teacher education are largely designed to cultivate and provide teachers to mirror the increasing diversity of the student population in Maryland and to fill some our largest gaps in the workforce: special education, TESOL, mathematics and science. 

Subject Matter Outcomes:

Praxis Scores:  As a requirement for admission to the School of Education, all candidates must pass Praxis I.  This ensures that 100% of all candidates eligible for internship have passed Praxis I.  As a requirement for teacher (or advanced degree) certification, all candidates must also pass Praxis II to demonstrate their command of the content knowledge in their respective field of study.  The following results were obtained for 2010-2011 and posted in the annual Title II Report for Higher Education:

 Teacher Candidate Preparation Outcomes:

Each semester mentor teachers, from the many Professional Development School sites with which the University partners, assess the performance of teacher candidates on a wide range of specific skills that are aligned to the ten InTASC standards that were developed by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO)’s Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium.  For a complete listing of these ten standards and their respective indicators associated with performances, essential knowledge and critical dispositions, go to:    http://www.ccsso.org/Documents/2011/InTASC_Model_Core_Teaching_Standards_2011.pdf  The SOE faculty and staff use this critical feedback to guide future decisions pertaining to program preparation.  These mentor teachers repeatedly assign very high marks to the SOE and its preparation of these teacher candidates (as depicted in the table that follows).

Specific comments offered by mentor teachers in this survey included the following:

“She has been a wonderful intern who has embraced every opportunity in her path. She is highly reflective and ready to try a new approach during a lesson. She has taken on more than a "normal" intern would just so she "could get the full experience". I am very confident that she will make a great teacher in the near future and any school would be lucky to have her on staff!”

 … was a wonderful intern to work with. She's very professional, organized and has been a great asset to our classroom.

“…meets all of her responsibilities with great professionalism. She is a willing supporter of her colleagues, and she often participates in school events voluntarily. She is very thorough in student documentation and meets all deadlines in a timely manner.”

“Both the students and I have learned a great deal of things from her, both about academic subjects and about inter-personal relationship skills. We will miss her presence and her contributions to our daily life immensely.”

“If my intern is typical of the educators you are producing, then Notre Dame is doing an outstanding job!”

Clinical Practice Requirements and Outcomes and Consistency/Accuracy in Measurement:

1. A minimum of 15 field/clinical days are required of candidates in the School of Education.  Most programs include a full three-week clinical experience to meet or exceed this requirement.
2. The student teaching (internship) is a minimum of 100 days and depending upon the program of study is rendered over a nine, ten or twenty-week experience.  This NDMU minimal requirement is in alignment with the required Professional Development School standards that require all initial full time interns to complete a minimum of 100 days of clinical and student-teaching to successfully complete their internship requirements.  Most NDMU candidates exceed these minimal expectations which vary significantly due to a hybrid of different pathways to initial certification.
3. Within the student teaching experience, candidates teach full-time a minimum of four weeks.  However, this varies depending upon the proficiency of the intern; most teacher candidates exceed this minimum expectation and assume full teaching or co-teaching responsibilities related to planning and executing lessons.
4. 100% of the 229 teacher candidates in the 2008-2009 academic year and 100% of the 205 teacher candidates in the 2009-2010 academic year satisfactorily completed the clinical practice requirements, including methods courses, student teaching, and action research projects.
5. With regard to the Professional Knowledge Praxis II requirement
1. 100% of the 259 program completers in 2009-2010 passed the Professional Knowledge Praxis II requirements
2. 100% of the 334 program completers in 2010-2011 passed the Professional Knowledge Praxis II requirements
3. 100% of the 292 program completers in 2011-2012 passed the Professional Knowledge Praxis II requirements

Graduate Outcomes:

Survey Data obtained from initial certification program completers are obtained each semester.  These data consistently demonstrate that teacher candidate graduates are confident that their NDMU preparation program has been rigorous and has fully prepared them to pursue a career in the teaching profession.  Each of these criteria is aligned to the InTASC standards.  The following data were obtained from the Fall 2012 survey:

The following sample quotes from graduates reflect their perceptions regarding how they impacted student learning and achievement during their internship experience:

A secondary education graduate observed that “I impacted my students by being available for extra support and guidance. I designed and implemented lessons that incorporated many strategies that scaffolded and differentiated instruction in order to meet their specific learning needs. I measure their learning by interactive lessons for guided practice and summative and formative assessments that give them options to express their mastery of knowledge.”

An elementary education graduate noted, “I believe I learned as much from my students as they learned from me. Teaching seems to be a growth process, learning to recognize the abilities and motivation necessary to make them successful. Their learning is measured by how engaged they are in the lesson, and I could always tell how well they were learning by how much they participated in the lesson.”

Another elementary education teacher graduate stated, “I believe that the biggest influence that I had on my students was to promote a positive attitude towards learning. I approach teaching and learning with a "can do" attitude and I believe that children will adopt a similar attitude if they are exposed to this attitude. I believe their growth was reflected in the progress they made on a daily basis within the classroom. For instance, I worked with a small group of students in third grade with place value concepts. As the weeks went by, I saw that their number sense became much better and as a result, their confidence increased.”

Other Helpful Information about Accreditation Outcomes

A. Date of Last Review:February 24-26, 2013

B. Strengths as Cited by On-Site Team: The SOE is awaiting the Board of Examiner’s Report

C. Areas for Improvement as Cited by On-Site Team: The SOE is awaiting the Board of Examiner’s Report

D. How NDMU’s School of Education is addressing Areas for Improvement (AFIs): Not Applicable.

E. Schools/Districts in Partnership with XYZ School of Education:  The SoE maintains active partnerships with Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Harford County, and the Archdiocese of Baltimore.  These five partnerships support the following Professional Development Schools (PDS) and sites where students engage in field and internship experiences.  They include:

Anne Arundel County Public Schools

• Arnold Elementary
• Belvedere Elementary
• Lothian Elementary
• Severn River Middle
• Broadneck High

Baltimore City Public Schools

• John Ruhrah Elementary/Middle
• Medfield Heights Elementary
• Western High School

Baltimore County Public Schools

• Baltimore Highlands (On hiatus 2011-12)
• Oakleigh Elementary
• Hillcrest Elementary
• Johnnycake Elementary
• Stemmers Run Middle
• Kenwood High

Harford County Public Schools

• Church Creek Elementary
• Churchville Elementary
• Forest Hill ElementaryHill H
• Forest Lakes Elementary
• Roye-Williams Elementary
• Aberdeen High/Middle
• G. Lisby-Hillsdale Elementary

Archdiocese of Baltimore

• Mother Seton Academy
• St. Thomas Aquinas

F. Date of Next On-Site Visit: 2020