Are They Learning as We Expected Them To Learn? An Evaluation of the Preparation of Special Education Teachers Using a Professional Development School Model

This paper reports initial results from an evaluation of the first 2 years of implementation of a Master's level teacher preparation program at Wheelock College (Massachusetts) for teachers of students with special needs (TSSN). An overview of the program notes that the intensive 14-month experience leads to a Master's degree in education and standard certification in both elementary and special education. The program is organized around three phases (fundamentals, teaching-to-learn and learning-to-teach, and knowledge integration) and four learning vehicles: (1) coursework; (2) practice (a full-year, full-time internship); (3) mentoring and supervision by both the cooperating teacher and college supervisor; and (4) utilizing prior experiences and self-examination. Evaluation involved extensive data collection (such as employer evaluation surveys and student surveys) during and following the program. Findings are detailed for each of the four learning vehicles. The evaluation concluded that the program design is coherent with the Professional Development School model and students are learning as expected, but that the mentoring and practice components seem less effective than expected. (Contains 24 references.) (DB)