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Fall 2009 Common Entry Survey Results for theTeacher Certification Program for College Graduates (TCPCG)

The initial Common Entry Survey was developed and administered in the Neag School’s Teacher Education Program in 2005. The Neag School’s Assessment Subcommittee on Teacher Education made revisions in the spring of 2009 and this report represents the first results of the 2nd edition of this survey.

Introduction

The Common Entry Survey is designed to gain insight into the views, expectations, goals, and perceptions of students toward their teacher preparation program, as well as their opinions on a number of related topics. The Common Exit Survey, as well as the Common Entry Survey, evolved from a request by Dan Fallon, chair of the Carnegie Corporation Education Committee. Dr. Fallon requested that the Teachers for New Era universities work together to gather similar data across institutions. Eleven universities and collegesi participated in this Carnegie initiative. In March 2005 all universities suggested “common” items and scales that could appeal to all schools in order to create the “common” entry and exit surveys. In addition to these common items and scales, schools could also measure their own variables of interest. The survey is related to the goal for Teachers for New Era which is to prepare students to become excellent teachers who are committed to enhancing the learning opportunities of their pupils. The three driving design principles are: evidence driven decisions, engagement with the Arts and Sciences faculty, and teaching as an academically taught clinical practice. This survey is directly tied to the first of the three guiding principles. It is intended that input from the Common Entry Survey and the Common Exit Survey will be used to improve the teacher education programs at the Neag School.

MethodologyParticipants

In the summer of 2009, individuals in the Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates (TCPCG) component of the Teacher Education Program were invited to complete the Common Entry Survey. Of 72 students (53 in Hartford; 19 in Waterbury), 70 (97.2%) participated. Because this component in now in two locations, Hartford and Waterbury, summary results are presented along with disaggregated information by location.

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Instrument

This version of the survey has been streamlined and will be administrated with the Common Exit Survey given immediately prior to graduation. In the first section of the TNE Common Entry Survey, students were asked about their concentration in the Teacher Preparation Program. The students were also asked basic demographic questions and information regarding their parents’ education as well as their background, including the type of school they attended. (See Appendix A for the survey.)

Procedure

The survey was developed on Checkbox, a technology application that can administer a web-based instrument. Students received an email about the survey from the Director, Dr. Michael Alfano. They also received two follow-up emails.

Results

Below are TCPCG, first for this component, then by location.

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Mother's Highest Educational Level (70 Responses)

Option Count Percent

Some middle school 1 1.4

Completed middle school 1 1.4

Some high school 1 1.4

Completed high school 13 18.6

Some junior/community college 2 2.9

Completed junior/community college 7 10.0

Some college 10 14.3

Completed college 14 20.0

Some graduate school 2 2.9

Completed graduate school 19 27.1

Total: 70 100.0

Father's Highest Educational Level (70 Responses)

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Completed elementary school 1 1.4







Some college 3 4.3




Unsure 1 1.4

Total: 70 100.0

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What subject area are you in? (68 Responses)

Option Count

English/Language Arts 16

World Language 6

Mathematics 3

General Science 1

Biology 8

Chemistry 2

Special Education 9

Social Studies/History 21

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Agricultural Education 3

Total: 69

What was your final, overall grade point average for your undergraduate degree (on a 4.0 scale)?

(68 Responses)

3.50-4.00 24

3.00-3.49 30

2.50-2.99 12

2.00-2.49 0

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Aspirations (57 Responses) Upon graduation, I hope to find an immediate placement in Connecticut in a middle school or high school setting. I plan to utilize everything I have learned, applying my knowledge of my content area and teaching in my classroom. Ultimately, my goal is to create a safe and comfortable environment that facilitates my student individual goals resulting in their happiness and success.Be an effective teacher in building a student's cognitive and emotional development.Find an elementary teaching position near my home in Storrs.I hope to teach at a local middle school or high school. I hope to have a rewarding student teaching experience and gain much valuable information from it. I hope to learn important methods as well.Be able to provide my future students with an education that they can use in many aspects of their daily lives. I hope be able to provide my students with critical thinking skills and the ability not to accept popular opinion because it is easier and to search for answers to their questions for themselves.Find a teaching job in a high school and find satisfaction in my daily activities of guiding the youth of today.Have a full "information tank" of various ways/ideas about how to best implement special education to a variety of students.Have the skills and confidence to enter the classroom and be a successful teacher. Through feedback by instructors and peers, I hope to better my teaching abilities and philosophy of education.Develop a thorough teaching portfolio that I can show to parents as well.Be able to feel comfortable in a variety of classroom settings and in front of a variety of students. I would also like to learn more about educational theory and ways to motivate students to become more involved in social studies, essentially, looking for ways to make some of the important lessons in social studies more interesting and exciting to students.Upon graduation, I hope to have acquired knowledge and skills that will make me a more effective educator. More specifically, I hope that I will be able to develop units and lessons that use the textbook only as a resource. I would like to be able to practice some innovative, non-traditional methods my first year of teaching. Another important accomplishment to me is forming a support network of teaching colleagues and mentors.Be confident in my methodology and have established a solid pedagogy before entering an actual classroom. I hope to have a successful student-teaching term where I can pull from my strengths and especially my weaknesses through reflection and instruction from my observing professor.Be a catalyst for young adults interested in a productive, enjoyable and rewarding role in our community. I hope to trigger in those around me an appreciation for the overwhelming curiosity that they already possess, but remains unrealized. I hope to be able to share my sense of awe in the explanatory power and sweep of evolutionary biology. I hope to be a trusted friend and guide, a figure that my students can look back upon and say "he put me in touch with what I didn't know was already inside me." I know I have the desire. I hope I will have the tools.Teach students who have been diagnosed with a disability. Ideally, I would like to work with

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early elementary students who have been diagnosed with Autism. My desire would be to help these students reach the highest academic level possible as well as help them learn appropriate communication and social behavior that students with Autism often struggle with.Be offered a job in either an agricultural high school, teaching Natural Resources, or be offered a job with the cooperative extension 4-H program working with youth.I have learned how to nurture students and foster a healthy learning environment for all students. I have also learned how to teach to different learning styles and to adapt in varying classrooms. Find a job that I believe I will make a difference in. I want to help children reach their full potential and help them accomplish their goals.Find a job teaching high school English, preferably in the type of school indicated in the prior set of questions.Go into the world of teaching as well prepared as possible. I hope to have methods and techniques in my mind that will help me approach my own classroom in a unique and innovative way that will help kids to learn and enjoy my class. I hope that I will be able to make a difference in the lives of my students and help them realize that the world is a wide open door and they can go on any path they choose. I also hope that I use my student teaching as a time to not panic or be hard on myself when I don't get things quite right, but as a true learning experience. A time to see what works, what doesn't, how long things take, and just a general understanding of school life as it exists today. Being open to the experience is the only way to take in all you can which will only help when I go out into the world and teach in my own classroom.I would hope that with the help of many people in the program as well as my cooperative teacher, I hope to accomplish better writing skills in the English language to benefit my future students.I hope to find a job teaching English in a place that will allow me to teach the way I I have been taught in this program.Have the skills and tools to be able to successfully teach my students the skills they need to know. I also want to be able to develop programs for my special education students that enable them to lead fulfilling lives and accomplish as much as possible.Get a job! But assuming that the economy is somewhat better, I would hope that I would leave with some valuable experience in how to teach and write IEP's. Also, it is important to me to be able to walk away with some more organizational skills as well so that I will be the best teacher that I can be.Have developed techniques that will help me be able to establish a classroom that will allow me to implement my pedagogy of shared experiences. I know I will leave the program being able to reflect properly on my student teaching experience in a way that I will learn and grow from it, and that will be the most important achievement of my TCPCG career.Teach history in either middle or high school in the Hartford area.Find employment...Have developed my own style of teaching that works effectively in a classroom and am able to adequately organize and create units.Obtain a job teaching at an inner city high school in Connecticut. I would like to teach an American Government or History class.Have the tools necessary to become and effective and reflective teacher.Become a gainfully employed Connecticut public school teacher. I hope to be able to teach

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students of mixed ethnicity and backgrounds in an urban school setting. I also hope to be able to aspire all students to a high level of achievement.Be accepted into a teaching position at Lewis S. Mills High School, my alma mater. This ideal may be a stretch, and if it is not possible then I would like to teach at a local high school or possibly middle school, depending on how my student teaching session at Torrington Middle School goes.Have gained valuable techniques to teach a diverse body of students. I hope to have a solid foundation from which I can react to new problems in an appropriate and efficient manner that is in line with my teaching pedagogy. I hope to have had a successful student teaching experience that helps me find appropriate placement for my career. I also hope that I have gained as much knowledge and experience as I possible could have during my experience with the program.Teach in a prison setting, I wish to help the truly disadvantaged people in this state, weather it be at Mason Youth Institution (MYI) or at Cheshire Prison (for adult offenders). This is a "20 and out" job, so after I would retire from the prison institutions I plan to teach at low SOS school systems, and do my best to help those who need it moreThis program is too condensed and needs to be extended another 6 months. I know that is a bad MARKETING idea but its too much in too short a time to absorb properly. I do not think it is fair, nor I am getting good value. Also the technology is a distraction. I have 3 teachers and the only one who can work a Smart Board or set up a PowerPoint or video is the Tech teacher. But I need to learn all the Tech stuff that my teachers cannot master...that is not right. I want to learn how to teach first....then teach me how to work Tech stuff...it out of order and too difficult to teach all at once in a condensed program. Please re-think it.Complete the program with a 4.0 GPA and have a couple of leads for future employment.Have had an excellent classroom and practicum experience that will prepare me to become a successful secondary education teacher who can embark upon a full-time, tenure-track position for Academic Year 2010-2011.Upon graduation, I hope to get a teaching position. I am excited about starting my teaching career. My major is English; however I have extensive background in chemistry and pharmaceutical courses. I hope down the road to be able to teach both English and Chemistry. I also read and write three languages fluently; I would hope to get into multicultural studies as well. My ultimate goal is to get my P.H.D while I am teaching.Obtain a job in the teaching field.I hope to make a difference in student teaching and with the research project at West Side Middle in the Spring. By difference, I mean I hope to help those students along that deserve a fair chance like all other students. At West Side, I would like to tackle a problem where the Principal can use our suggestions. After graduation I hope to get a job. Anywhere. I have been interested in Invisible Children in Uganda where my father grew up. I would also be open to international schools overseas. If the pickings are slim in the CT area I would also be open to other states all over the country. I do not need to stay in the area to teach.Enrich the lives of future students and effectively convey my mathematical knowledge to them, not only so they know how to complete math problems but are also able to apply them to real world situations.Know how to teach effectively and get a job in a desired school. How to manage and motivate students. How to use fun, relevant, and exciting activities in the classroom.

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Kind a job. I'm willing to be flexible with the kind of school and location of the school that I will be working at.I wish to learn how to be a successful special education teacher.Have had a successful student teaching experience.Teach foreign language to high school students, in this country and abroad.I hope to have succeeded and excelled during my student teaching experience, so that I am fully prepared to enter the workforce as a successful history teacher. I also hope to have met new and interesting people in my field.Accomplish all that I possibly can, in order to make me as prepared as possible when entering the classroom.Find a job.To be able to have understandings that allow for a fluid transition into the my classroom. By attending the program I hope to be able to feel that i am prepared to take on the challenge that is teaching. That can only be accomplished through the use of the techniques and talents that each individual teacher can give to me.Be able to begin a career that I will truly enjoy. I'm looking forward to applying what I have learned to being a great teacher and to continue to strengthen my skills through experience.Rural!Find a job. By the end of this program I hope I know several techniques for engaging my students and for keeping them interested in learning. I hope to feel comfortable and confidant in front of class. I hope that I still have a positive attitude about teaching and that I can enthusiastically make a difference in students' lives.Teach in a suburban high school, possibly a middle school.Get a great urban job in a big city.Find a teaching job where I am a good fit within the community and can be successful.Feel prepared to teach and be able to apply what I have learnedUpon graduation from the TCPCG program I hope to attain a position as a Special Education teacher. I am unsure what grade level I would like to teach; however, I desire to work with students with low incidence disabilities. Ultimately, I would like to teach students with hearing impairments as well as special needs. In the future, I may pursue a degree in Education of the Deaf and use that along with my Special Education background to teach students with special needs and hearing impairments.Have obtained the teaching skills and especially a critical view of my own teaching abilities. I hope to have developed my own personalized education pedagogy that will translate through to my students. Also, I hope to have made some connections with other future teachers within my subject area that will prove useful in creating a unified agriscience unit throughout the state.

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Hartford Results: Selective Findings

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Mother's Highest Educational Level(49 Responses)







Some college 7 14.3




Total: 49 100.0

Father's Highest Educational Level(49 Responses)


Completed elementary school 1 2.0





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Some college 1 2.0




Unsure 1 2.0

Total: 49 100.0

What subject area are you in?(49 Responses)


English/Language Arts 9 18.4

World Language 6 12.2

Mathematics 3 6.1

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General Science 1 2.0

Biology 7 14.3

Chemistry 1 2.0

Special Education 9 18.4

Social Studies/History 12 24.5

Agricultural Education 2 4.1

Total: 50 100.0

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Waterbury Results: Selective Findings

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Mother's Highest Educational Level(19 Responses)






Some college 3 15.8



Total: 19 100.0

Father's Highest Educational Level(19 Responses)






Some college 2 10.5




Total: 19 100.0

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What subject area are you in?(19 Responses)


English/Language Arts 7 36.8

Biology 1 5.3

Chemistry 1 5.3

Social Studies/History 9 47.4

Agricultural Education 1 5.3

Total: 19 100.0

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i The author is Dr. Mary E. Yakimowski, on behalf of the Neag Assessment Subcommittee on Teacher Education.

2 California State University, Northridge, Michigan State University, University of Texas at El Paso, Bank Street College of Education, University of Washington, Boston College, Stanford University, University of Virginia, Florida A & M University, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and the University of Connecticut.

Neag School of Education: Teacher Education Entrance Survey

The purpose of this survey is to obtain your views regarding a variety of aspects of your expectations, goals, and perceptions of your teacher preparation program and some related topics. We will use your input to improve our teacher education programs at the Neag School. Thus, your responses are extremely important to us and to the larger education community.

We request your name and Peoplesoft ID only because we will need to match your responses to a survey you will take near the end of your time at the Neag School. Your responses will not impact your grades and will not be shared with your advisor or teachers. Only group data will be reported. So please answer these questions as honestly as possible. Your candid responses will make a big difference in helping to improve the Teacher Education Program and the Neag School of Education.

The survey should take approximately than 4-8 minutes. Thank you in advance for your time.

Sincerely,

Michael Alfano, Ph.D., Director of TCPCGMary E. Yakimowski , Ph.D., Director of Assessment Marijke Kehrhahn, Ph.D., Associate Dean For questions, contact [email protected].

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Last First

Name:

Month Day Year

Date of Birth:

*3. Your gender:

4. Your race/ethnicity:

*5. Primary language spoken in your childhood home:

*6. Highest level of education attained by your mother:

*7. Highest level of education attained by your father:

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*8. People Soft ID:

*9. Component of the Teacher Education Program:

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*10. In what year did you receive your high school diploma?

*11. What was your final, overall grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) for your high school diploma?

12. Which pupil level(s) are you focusing? (Please check all that apply).

Early childhoodElementary schoolMiddle schoolHigh school

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13. What subject area are you interested in the IB/M Program?1. Elementary Education2. English/Language Arts3. World Language4. Mathematics5. Music6. General Science7. Earth Science8. Biology9. Chemistry10. Physics11. Special Education12. Social Studies/History13. Agricultural Education

*14. Are you planning to have a double major?

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A. Background Questions

This section asks about your educational background prior to entering the Neag School of Education.

*15. What type of high school did you attend?

*16. How would you describe the location of your high school?

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*17. How would you describe the racial/ethnic composition of your high school?

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B. Future Teaching Plans

We would like to get a better sense of your future teaching plans. Please describe the type of school that you would most like to teach at for the majority of your career.

*23. How would you describe the location of this school?

*24. On average, what would be the socio-economic status of the students in this school?

*25. How would you describe the racial/ethnic composition of this school?

*26. How you describe this school in terms of its overall achievement level?

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27. Ideally, what will be your mst important achievements and/or accomplishments in the Teacher Education Program at the Neag School?

Upon graduation, I hope to ...

Thank you very much for providing us with this information. Have a successful year.

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