Teaching and Learning Language Arts: From Campus to Classroom and Back Again

Abstract

Professional Development Schools (PDSs) can potentially affect the quality of teaching and learning of students in Grades K-16. The authors describe the collaborations among teacher education, arts and science, and K-12 classroom teacher faculties involved in a 5-year PDS partnership at Kansas State University. A 15-member language arts team examined state and national standards for teacher preparation in the context of teaching and learning English language arts in their respective settings. Qualitative results of the initiatives include a Standards in Practice model, illustrating how English language arts are addressed during the preservice teacher-preparation program. Also reported is the collaborative research of 2 university professors who examined the impact of their respective courses on 1 teacher intern, as he developed and taught a poetry lesson to his 8th-grade English students. Finally, an elementary school classroom teacher, who was also a clinical instructor, describes how the PDS partnership helped her influence change in the quality of teaching and learning English language arts, K-16. Wild Things: Performance-Based Standards in Practice is appended. (Contains 1 figure.)