Pictured left to right: Peggy Stewart, Board chairperson; Jay Doolan, Assistant Commissioner of Education; John McIntyre, Program coordinator-Caldwell College; Leah Fanning, Graduate student presenter; Patricia Wright, Spring Lake School Superintendent; Joan Moriarty, Assistant Professor & study mentor, Caldwell College and Christopher Campisano, Coordinator of the Higher Education Division(DOE). |
Graduate students in Educational Administration and Supervision Present to Professional State Panel of Educators
Caldwell, NJ -- June 15, 2009 – Students in the master's degree program in Educational Administration and Supervision at Caldwell College had the opportunity to present their educational findings to a committee of statewide educators at the New Jersey Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NJBPTS) meeting in Trenton on June 12.
Dr. Christopher Campisano, Coordinator of Higher Education, invited the Caldwell team to the meeting that was also attended by Dr. Jay Doolan, Assistant Commissioner of Education. Leah Fanning, a special education teacher with 6 years of experience, lead the Caldwell study team's presentation to the board.
Dr. John McIntyre is Coordinator of the Graduate program at Caldwell College. He says that because students' learning is strengthened by identifying and solving real educational questions or issues, Caldwell College has adopted a method of educating prospective school administrators known as problem-based learning. "The tenets of this kind of learning were first applied to school leadership preparation by educators at Stanford University. Using this approach requires that graduate students in the Masters degree program in Educational Administration and Supervision seek, research, and present real matters of concern to educational practitioners and present their findings to them. Caldwell's graduate students work as a study team over the course of an entire academic year on their assigned problem."
A presentation is then made to the client at the conclusion of their research. McIntyre says that over the past years study teams from Caldwell have examined issues or problems identified by several local school districts, including Bloomfield, Caldwell/West Caldwell, Montclair, the Archdiocese of Newark, and the Paterson diocese. This year's study team examined an issue of interest to the members of the NJ Board of Professional Teaching Standards. With the approval and cooperation of the Higher Education Division of the State Education Department, the team completed their study of Professional Learning Communities. Professional Learning Communities, also referred to as PLCs, operate under the assumption that the key to improved learning for students is continuous job-embedded learning for educators.
Highlighting the report was the recognition that students whose schools reflected a high number of traits associated with identification as a PLC demonstrated much higher State test scores than their counterparts at a similar socio-economic level and far outstripped the norm for student performance in language arts/ literacy. mathematics, and science. Schools were contacted nationwide, while the study focused on several New Jersey schools that evidenced the aforementioned PLC characteristics. A charter school within a large urban district in New Jersey was also included in the research with similarly impressive student academic performance, despite the lower socio-economic background of its students. The State committee members were pleased to receive the group's findings and applauded the study's content and the students' efforts. Dr. Joan Moriarty, assistant professor of education at Caldwell, guided the students through the study and maintained communication with State officials.
The State standards board recommends professional development requirements and programs for New Jersey's teachers. The Board felt that the findings reported by the Caldwell study team provided research support and additional background that will be useful as they make recommendations regarding Professional learning school environments. As Chris Campisano of the Higher Education division stated, "The research team deserves praise for their fine piece of work. Caldwell College truly did shine today."
McIntyre praised the work of Dr. Moriarty and her graduate students: Patricia Clark, Leah Fanning, Ryan Kelly, Sr. Maurice Liguori, and Jenna Russo. "These students and Dr. Moriarty, their faculty mentor, worked extremely hard to provide these useful findings to the State Board of Professional Teaching Standards. Their preparation throughout the Masters program has engaged them in the real world of problem-based research". The Board appreciated the diligent effort of the Caldwell representatives and the skillful manner of their presentation. "Furthermore", said McIntyre, "our previous students have told us that they feel well-prepared to recognize and confront these kinds of issues and problems when they assume school leadership positions". Professor Moriarty indicated, "I am very proud of this team, they worked cooperatively to accomplish the preparation of a report that brings honor to the institution and provides a valuable service to the New Jersey Department of Education. "