Professional Development Laboratory School Partnership
| Initiative: | Professional Development Laboratory School Partnership |
| University: | UH-Clear Lake |
| Focus: | Urban/Minority Education |
Description and Justification
The mission of the Professional Development Laboratory School (PDLS) is to provide exemplary professional development based on sound educational research and practice throughout the school community, resulting in improved student achievement. The goals are to increase the achievement of the public school students, provide professional development to all instructional and administrative personnel, and develop a school community of learners. The partnership is a melding of school and university cultures to create a professional development laboratory school in which the school district staff, UHCL faculty, and UHCL teacher candidates and interns work together to create an environment in which student learning and teacher development can thrive.
The initial focus of the partnership's efforts will be on English and Spanish mentoring and the teacher as researcher. To achieve the goals of the partnership, an overall structure will be created in which two instructional supervisors, one from a school district and one from UHCL, will coordinate all the activities of the partnership. Working with the instructional supervisors will be two lead teachersÑone for mathematics and science and one for language arts and social studies. The lead teachers will team with the appropriate UHCL methods instructors to create teaching environments for the students and the UHCL candidates. The mentor teachers will coordinate activities across subjects and grade levels. The mentor teachers will work with UHCL facilitators, the director of the Center for Professional Development of Teachers, and the interns. Finally, at the individual classroom level, there are PDLS teachers.
In the first year of the partnership, UHCL will offer onsite mathematics, language arts, social studies, and science methods courses. UHCL students will have a positive experience in the school because they will see theory and practice in each class. The school will have the advantage of offering professional development activities during the school day. Initially, the morning session will focus only on the goal of improving student achievement and will involve school staff, UHCL faculty, and interns. The afternoon will involve UHCL candidates, and the focus will be on all three goals. The afternoon activities will continue beyond the normal school hours so that the community can be involved.
The partnership's long-range view is for teachers throughout a school district to cycle into PDLS for professional development and then cycle out into the rest of the district to share their expertise. Dual language will become the mainstay of the school to produce students who are fluent in both English and Spanish. Research will focus on curriculum and instruction to provide research-based instruction for the improvement of student achievement. Community activities will be used for the betterment of all those involved.
Funding Request
$480,000 per fiscal year
