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Florida International University,
one of eight colleges and universities in the nation cited for
having an “exemplary” reading
teaching preparation program, participated in an unprecedented
major research study on quality teacher preparation released earlier
this month by the world’s largest organization of reading
professionals.
The International Reading Association's
(IRA) National Commission on Excellence in Elementary Teacher
Preparation for Reading Instruction
conducted an in-depth,
three-year research study. It included a national survey of reading teacher
educators to gauge current practices, identified eight critical
features of excellence
in exemplary programs and collected data on the effectiveness of program graduates
teaching in the field of reading. It was the first longitudinal research study
of its type ever conducted.
Other study sites with “exemplary” programs included Hunter College,
Indiana University at Bloomington and Indianapolis, Norfolk University, the University
of Nevada at Reno, the University of Sioux Falls and the University of Texas
at Austin and San Antonio. There are some 1,400 teacher-preparation programs
in the country.
“We’re very proud of our outstanding faculty and this recognition
is just the latest sign of the increasing national recognition they are receiving,” said
Linda Blanton, dean of Education. “We are committed to providing the finest
programs to develop the best teachers. At a time of widespread state and federal
initiatives focusing on literacy, we are gratified that our efforts are proving
successful with teachers and their students in the classroom.”
The study revealed “compelling evidence that an investment in quality reading
teacher preparation at the undergraduate level contributes to effective teaching
and learning of reading in elementary schools.” Specifically, it
found: teachers prepared in quality reading education programs are more
successful and
confident than other beginning teachers; and student achievement in reading
is higher for students with teachers trained in quality reading teacher
preparation
programs.
Joyce Fine, associate professor of
Reading Education, who was the FIU site leader and a commission
member for the project, said that the study
followed
100 teachers
throughout the country (including six FIU graduates) through their
first three years in the classroom. These teachers were compared
with other
certified teachers.
As a result of a project sub-study
on apprenticeships, FIU will include supervised tutoring under
a university professor in schools as part
of the state of
Florida’s
newly mandated fourth reading class for undergraduate elementary education majors.
The design of this course is based on what was learned in the study.
“One of the reasons FIU stood out was because of the diversity we have
here and the way we prepare teachers to work with all students,” Fine said. “There
was wonderful leadership shown by our graduates, both in the classrooms and in
the way they worked with colleagues in their schools.”
Fine said that the processes and
observations of the study would be used for the continuous improvement
of the quality of FIU’s reading programs, which
are offered at the bachelor’s, masters and doctoral levels.
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