"University and Community Collaboration to Improve Teacher
Preparation to Meet the Needs of Diverse Learners".

WELCOME TO THE UNIFICATION OF TEACHER PREPARATORY PROGRAMS. This project is designing a unified teacher preparation program by establishing learning partnerships among faculty in the School of Education, the School of Arts and Sciences and local school districts. As part of this project, we are establishing collaborations through the integration of coursework, co-teaching classes, utilizing a variety of teaching strategies to meet diverse learning needs of students, infuse literacy strategies in General Education Requirements and the utilization of distance learning technology that will provide a link from the university to other educational institutions and focus on strategies of differentiated instruction and unifying general and special education.

Learner Diversity Defined

Specific objectives of our project are to:

1. Establish a collaborative, inter-departmental/inter-school coordination committee responsible for meeting all project objectives.
   
2. Align the content in at least three general education requirements for a liberal arts education with the pedagogical course content in the Elementary/Special Education teacher preparation program within the School of Education.
   
3. Integrate performance-based teacher competencies across at least three different departments as measured by the NCATE standards of the professional associations of those departments.
   
4. Integrate effective, research-based teaching methods and practices into co-taught classes between and among faculty in the School of Education, the School of Arts and Sciences and faculty from two local school districts.
   
5. Integrate technology into all coursework and field-based experiences of students.

Resources, activities and outcomes for each of these project objectives may be accessed here.

This project is funded by the Connecticut State Department of Education, Bureau of Special Education.

Project Director:
Dr. James M. Granfield Associate Dean, School of Education Granfieldj1@southernct.edu
Faculty Coordinators:
Dr. Pamela O. Brucker Associate Professor of Special Education Faculty Profile Bruckerp1@southernct.edu
Dr. Vincent T. Breslin Associate Professor of Science Education and Environmental Studies Faculty Profile Breslinv1@southenct.edu