Twelve Arkansas Tech University students from the College of Education have received a sneak peek at the future of teacher preparation and assessment by participating in a pilot program hosted on campus by Educational Testing Service (ETS).
ETS put the students through a simulated classroom environment that allowed them to work with computer avatars that are programmed to respond in real time and in a manner similar to actual students.
Terry Egan of ETS was on hand to facilitate the pilot program and gain feedback from the Arkansas Tech students regarding their experiences teaching the avatars.
The simulations that the Arkansas Tech students performed were focused on English language arts and math at the kindergarten through sixth grade levels. Egan said the simulations are designed to measure how teachers make content explicit through explanations, modeling interactive practices, effectively leading classroom discussion and eliciting student thinking.
“Some of the complaints over the last few years have been that we put teacher candidates in the classroom with an insufficient level of practice or skill,” said Egan. “We really believe that these are teachable skills. We feel this assessment will drive the development of curriculum in teacher preparation programs. Teacher candidates need to understand the content and they need to understand the principles of learning and teaching, but they also really have to understand the practices that are implemented in a classroom. By providing a way to practice and assess those skills, we hope that teachers will have an opportunity to learn in a low-stakes environment before they are in front of a classroom. Teaching is too critical for us to have so much learning on the job.”
Similar pilot programs have been carried out by ETS in Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey and Texas.
“This gave the students who went through this a chance to see where testing for teachers is probably headed,” said Dr. David Bell, director of the Arkansas Tech College of Education Office of Educator Licensure and Support Services and professor of elementary education. “It’s going to be a much better gauge for these young teachers in terms of what they can actually begin to do in the classroom.”
Dr. Mary B. Gunter, dean of the Arkansas Tech College of Education and Graduate College, said that the opportunity to serve as a pilot site for the ETS software is just one of the ways the university is embracing emerging technology in teacher preparation.
“In keeping with this avatar-based performance assessment, the Arkansas Tech College of Education has taken the lead in committing to the inclusion of avatar teaching experiences for students in its Master of Education in teaching, learning and leadership non-traditional teacher prep degree program and the Master of Arts in teaching degree program,” said Gunter. “Teaching scenarios utilizing the avatars will be developed this spring and fall by College of Education faculty to include in the teacher preparation programs curriculum.”
Egan said that ETS hopes to have its avatar-based teacher preparation and assessment program finalized and ready for launch in fall 2017.
“I love this work so much because I can recognize how these things are going to translate to better practice in teaching,” said Egan. “That’s all we can hope for. I really feel that this will have an impact on education and on how well prepared teachers are in order to better educate our children. That’s what makes it great.”
