A Person-Centered Approach to Competency-Based Teacher Education.

Overview & Synopsis

This two-part document explores the person-centered approach to performance-based teacher education as used by Project Change at the State University of New York College at Cortland. Part one discusses the program and its evaluation. Developed as part of a graduate program in early childhood education, the project is characterized by the following features: (a) students direct their own learning; (b) courses are practicum-centered; (c) the program is performance-based; (d) the program is developmental; and (e) the program seeks to develop teachers who are open to change and capable of fostering change in others. Evaluation of the program is conducted by three methods (a) constant process evaluation with feedback from staff and students; (b) comparative evaluation comparing project courses with other education courses at the college. Included in the evaluation are measures of student products and attitudes, and teacher behavior beyond the classroom; and (c) the Open Classroom Observation Inventory which documents the degree of openness in a teacher's classroom. Part two discusses philosophical and operational principles and competencies for a person-centered teacher education program based on a theory of human growth. A chart indicating competency objectives, assessment procedures, and illustrative student performance is included. (JS)