The Middlebury College Teacher Education Program is looking for students who want to make a difference in the lives of young people in this country and other nations of the world. The existence of educational inequities is a constant reminder that there is critical work to be done to bring greater educational opportunity to more students. Good teachers are needed. The Teacher Education Program seeks students who are well-grounded in their content areas, possess strong communication skills, are willing and ready to motivate young people, have the independent research skills required of today's teachers, and who want to make a positive difference in the lives of young people.
The Teacher Education Program has chosen the following theme as its framework:
Teaching and Learning in the Liberal Arts:
Constructing Meaningful Connections
The Teacher Education Program is grounded in and grows out of the strength and excellence of the Middlebury College liberal arts curriculum. The College's aim has been to educate students in the liberal arts tradition who can bring their learning to bear on practical and significant real-world problems and concerns. In gaining a well-balanced liberal arts education, the Middlebury student majors in a recognized field of inquiry and undertakes a minor in teacher education that provides a cross-disciplinary focus on the teaching and learning process. Taken together with distribution requirements in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and mathematics, and foreign language and cultures, the coursework in the major and the teacher education minor provide prospective teachers with the analytical framework and content knowledge pivotal to engaging in reflective instruction in the practicum and in their first years of teaching.
Through a curriculum that emphasizes both breadth and depth in the selection of courses in different fields, Middlebury students develop conceptual understanding and interdisciplinary perspectives. Gaining informed, multiple viewpoints on a wide-range of problems and concerns also helps students develop empathy, as well the disposition for critical inquiry necessary for any professional career and for effective participation in a democratic society. Such liberal arts preparation, in particular, fosters and facilitates reflective practice in beginning teachers and the effective development of their problem-solving, decision-making, and communication skills. These skills are essential to the creation of a learning community in the classroom that is intellectually challenging for a diverse population.
Students who are recommended for licensure must display a passion for the subject matter, high expectations for all students, and sensitivity to the diversity of students' needs and family backgrounds. They must also view their students as active learners whose intellectual capacity, emotional and moral levels of development, and self-worth must be respected and enhanced.
While the foundation of the Teacher Education Program rests on the excellence of the College's liberal arts curriculum, the framework is built from strong connections and collaboration with liberal arts faculty, liberal arts disciplines and programs, volunteer and service learning colleagues, and through a multi-dimensional partnership with local schools, teachers, and administrators, called Partners in Education (PIE). The connections and collaborations include the MiddArts Program, the Summer Science Institutes, Costa Rica Internships, the DeWitt Clinton Partnership, the Bread Loaf School of English, the Summer Language Schools, Information Technology Services, the Center for Educational Technology, special Winter Term courses, the Teacher Resource Room, the Cook Commons affiliation, Partners in Education, our Liberal Arts Mentors, the Teacher Education Committee, the Consortium for Excellence in Teacher Education (CETE), the Vermont Council for Teacher Education (VCTE), and the Addison-Rutland Consortium. Indeed, Teacher Education Program's strength results from its multiple connections to the pre-K-16 educational community.
The Teacher Education Program works closely and collaboratively with our cooperating schools and teachers. Together we have developed guidelines and procedures for the mentoring and assessing of student teachers, and for their evaluation by portfolio. Through dialogue in classes and seminars, through thoughtful discussions in supervisory conferences, and on other mentoring occasions, we foster collaboration and reflective practice in all aspects of our work.
The multifaceted partnership with K-12 schools, Partners in Education, has become an important school-college collaboration, supporting quality K-16 teaching and learning. Not only does partnering offer extended opportunities for on-site visits and clinical preparation for pre-service teachers, but it also enriches the entire educational community through professional development and other support services that utilize College resources and personnel.