Collaborative Professional Development Program
UPCS' professional development school (PDS) relationship the Jacob Hiatt Center for Urban Education at Clark University provides the school with valuable teaching and professional development resources. UPCS serves as a clinical training site for the University’s teacher preparation program, with 4-6 graduate interns working alongside UPCS faculty for the full academic year.
Shared Approach to Teaching and Learning: The University Park Campus School and the Hiatt Center have a shared approach to teaching and learning. Clark’s “ways of knowing” philosophy emphasizes a pedagogy where students engage in the core thought processes of a discipline, thinking like a scientist, a mathematician, a writer, or an historian. Students in the teacher education program see the theories discussed in their Clark courses put into practice at UPCS. Current and former UPCS faculty members lead courses in the education program, creating further linkages.
Pipeline for Highly Prepared Teachers: Nearly all of the new teachers who join the UPCS faculty come from Clark's teacher education program. Teachers who have studied at Clark and student taught at UPCS understand its powerful culture and are well versed in the instructional techniques that lead to success for students. When newly-hired teachers enter the school, they continue to receive formal and informal mentorship from their colleagues (who were their mentor teachers and professors) through the school’s program of embedded professional development. Over three fourths of current UPCS faculty are graduates of the Clark teacher education program. This program serves as a valuable pipeline for maintaining the school's excellent teaching faculty.
Creating Alignment with Curriculum Teams: The Hiatt Center hosts curriculum teams in each discipline that consist of education faculty, arts and sciences faculty, and teachers from all levels, who meet to discuss and improve K-16 instruction in their discipline. These teams engage in careful analysis of data, student work, and classroom practice to support the goal of college readiness for all students.
UPCS teachers in nearly every discipline serve on these curriculum teams. These teams advance the disciplinary knowledge of K-12 teachers and enable them to map their curriculum backwards from college-level expectations to ensure that all students will be prepared for higher education. At the same time, curriculum teams engage university faculty in a discussion of pedagogy that rarely occurs in higher education.
Free Courses at Clark: Teacher at UPCS and all other Worcester Public Schools are eligible to take five free courses at Clark, half of those required for a master’s degree. These courses are available in the education department and in arts and science disciplines. One biology teacher, for example, has continued study in her discipline and spent a summer conducting research with a professor. Ongoing research helps teachers return to the classroom excited to teach at the start of each new school year.
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