Mission

The Professional Education Unit (PEU)* prepares and develops professional educators who facilitate life long learning and enrich quality of life for people in public schools and other educational settings.

* The Professional Education Unit is responsible for managing or coordinating all programs offered for the initial and continuing preparation of teachers and other school personnel. (See National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education guidelines, p. 58.) The Unit involves programs and faculty that span four colleges at Oklahoma State University. The Professional Education Council (PEC) is the governing body of the Unit.

Vision

• Provide leadership to improve the quality of education that improves the economic development of Oklahoma;
• Be a globally recognized leader in the professional education community;
• Be the University of choice for those who aspire to careers in our professional education programs;
• Advance knowledge and practice through creative and critical research;
• Educate students to be life long learners, and intellectually and ethically prepared to serve and lead in an increasingly complex, global society;
• Engage our constituencies meaningfully through advocacy and outreach; and
• Be a model of a culturally diverse, intellectually stimulating and dynamic community and be a leader in innovative practices in educational settings.

Core Values

Excellence - We seek excellence in all our endeavors, and we are committed to continuous improvement.

Intellectual Freedom - We believe in ethical and scholarly questioning in an environment that respects the rights of all to freely pursue knowledge.

Integrity - We are committed to the principles of truth and honesty, and we will be equitable, ethical, and professional.

Service - We believe that serving others is a noble and worthy endeavor.

Diversity - We respect others and value diversity of opinion, freedom of expression, and other ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

Stewardship of Resources - We are dedicated to the efficient and effective use of resources. We accept the responsibility of the public's trust and are accountable for our actions.

Leadership - The Professional Education Unit (PEU) prepares candidates who are committed to the belief that professional educators providing quality education are the foundation of a prosperous and democratic society. The candidates advance their professions as innovative leaders and advocates who support all learners and families, in the context of diverse systems and communities.

Ethics and Professionalism - The Professional Education Unit prepares candidates who demonstrate ethical and professional behavior in their interactions with students, families, colleagues, and communities and practice social justice. The candidates demonstrate an understanding of legal aspects in their professional roles. As life-long learners, they engage in continuous professional development, collaborate with colleagues in the learning community and other professional arenas and reflect upon their practice.

Academics and Professional Roles - The Professional Education Unit, through curriculum, instruction, field experiences, clinical practice and the use of technology, prepares knowledgeable candidates who reflect upon the connections between academics and their professional roles.

Integration - The Professional Education Unit prepares candidates who demonstrate integration of theory into practice incorporating appropriate pedagogy, methodology, content knowledge, curriculum, inquiry and research-based practices in diverse settings. The candidates understand the process of curriculum integration and use a variety of instructional strategies to encourage students' development and learning. They assist students with career awareness and apply career concepts to the academic curriculum.

Content Knowledge - The Professional Education Unit prepares candidates who value the importance of knowledge and learning by providing them with a rich learning environment, technology, and supervised experiences in academic areas. The candidates possess subject matter competence and enthusiasm for the subject matter; they are life-long learners of the central concepts and methods of inquiry in their subject matter areas.

Human Growth and Development, including special populations - The Professional Education Unit prepares candidates who understand how students/clients learn and develop and can provide learning opportunities that support their intellectual, social, and physical development at all levels including early childhood, elementary, middle level, secondary, and adult. The candidates understand that students vary in their approaches to learning and create opportunities that are adaptable to individual differences of learners.

Learning Environment - The Professional Education Unit prepares candidates who understand the dynamics of individual and group behavior and use communication techniques to develop, facilitate and manage positive approaches to learning. Candidates select styles that work best for their learning environments and are able to adapt to different circumstances. They choose procedures that are appropriate for all students/clients including those with diverse backgrounds, with exceptionalities, and English language learners.

Technology - The Professional Education Unit prepares candidates who understand technology as a complex integrated process for analyzing problems and devising, implementing, evaluating and managing solutions to those problems in situations in which learning is purposive and controlled. The candidates are able to use technology to help all students/clients learn by providing a conceptual understanding of how knowledge, skills and dispositions related to education and information technology and instructional technology are integrated throughout the curriculum, instruction, field experiences, clinical practices, assessments and evaluations.

Teaching/Professional Practice and Assessment - The Professional Education Unit prepares candidates who use best practices to create learning environments and instructional opportunities based upon Oklahoma and national standards that lead to student learning and development. Candidates understand and use a variety of assessment strategies to evaluate and modify the teaching/learning process to ensure the continuous intellectual, social, and physical development of learners. They demonstrate reflective practice.

Diversity - The Professional Education Unit prepares candidates who believe everyone deserves the opportunity to learn and can learn; they possess knowledge, skills, and dispositions to serve as effective professionals who understand and meet the needs of a diverse society. Candidates provide evidence of understanding of differences including age, gender, ethnicity, culture, socio-economic status, and intellectual, physical, and language abilities.

Service Orientation/Community Outreach - The Professional Education Unit prepares candidates who value and engage in service and meaningful involvement of the learners/clients, their families and communities. Candidates engage in result oriented service to address the economic, educational, public safety, environmental, and other human needs.

Goals, Critical Success Factors, Objectives, and Strategies

Goal One. Promote a Unit identity that fosters broad participation, coherence, and collaboration across programs.

Critical Success Factors:

• Demonstrated leadership and governance structure
• Documented program collaboration across Colleges
• Full implementation of revised Professional Education Council By-laws
• Use of technology to facilitate participation
• Unit wide communications and newsletters
• All professional education syllabi show evidence of the conceptual framework.
• All field experiences reflect the conceptual framework
• All undergraduate portfolios will use the PEU core values for documenting learning

Objectives:

• Hold an annual public Professional Education Unit forum to receive input about programs and report on council activities.
• Conduct a regular meeting of the Professional Education Council (PEC) each semester.
• Convene meetings of program advisory councils regularly to provide input for design, delivery, and evaluation of each program.
• Use focus group, surveys, etc., to seek input from stakeholders.

• Appoint a minimum of one student on each Professional Education Council standing committee.
• Appoint at least four students to the Professional Education Council.
• Provide an annual update on professional education activities and accomplishments to each student organization associated with the Professional Education Council.
• Work with students, professors, and community members to gain annual feedback about professional education programs and activities at Oklahoma State University.

• Report assessment results to Professional Education Unit members and constituent groups.
• Refine the Professional Education Unit's identity and work based on careful evaluation of assessment information.

Goal Two. Deliver programs that attract, retain, and graduate highly qualified candidates who possess knowledge, skills, and dispositions to serve as effective educators and service providers who understand and meet the needs of a diverse society.

Critical Success Factors:

• Teacher candidates demonstrate content knowledge with pass rates of 90% on appropriate professional education exams
• Accreditation maintained and/or obtained in all program-relevant areas
• Candidate enrollment in identified high need content areas increased
• Alumni/employer tracking system implemented by January 2005

Objectives:

• Establish a "Community/Junior College Partnership Plan" with community/junior college feeder institutions.
• Increase recruiting visits to major feeder schools, school districts, colleges, and universities each semester with more emphasis on minority communities, noting high-need content areas.
• Develop plans for targeting funding sources for increased scholarship dollars.
• Increase enrollment from underrepresented groups.

• Assess and modify admission standards to ensure matriculation.
• Provide effective advisement services to assist students in meeting standards of their programs.
• Implement unit-wide field experience assessment system to assess knowledge, skills, and dispositions.

• Review the content and accuracy of all degree sheets.
• Review undergraduate and graduate programs to ensure that they meet standards established by accrediting agencies.
• Provide support to ensure students' success in meeting standards.

Goal Three. Develop and maintain a Unit assessment system that measures the extent to which the unit and its individual programs meet stated goals.

Critical Success Factors/Assessments:

• Fully functioning Assessment System for Oklahoma State Professional Education Unit implemented
• Feedback loop from the assessment system to PEU programs implemented

Objectives:

• Refine the Professional Education Unit conceptual framework.
• Align the L.E.A.D.S. Conceptual Framework with 15 Oklahoma Competencies.
• Implement an assessment system for professional education programs.

• Coordinate activities of Professional Education staff, College of Education technology staff, and Oklahoma State University Information Technology staff.
• Hire an assessment specialist.
• Utilize and expand on-line forms and Assessment System Instruments which feed directly into the Assessment System database.

• Schedule two training sessions per semester to be organized by College of Education Technology in conjunction with professional education staff.
• Use technology for assessment as demonstrated by clinical faculty in partnership with schools and agencies.

• Demonstrate the use of data to modify programs.
• Track the progress of non-traditional students in meeting program goals and initiate strategies to support their success.

Goal Four. Engage a professional education faculty who demonstrate best practices, scholarship, and service.

Critical Success Factors:

• Over 70% Professional Education Faculty have earned doctorates in their areas.
• Faculty annually generate an average of two research-based professional publications, presentations, and/or other creative activities
• Documented Awards for Excellence for Teaching
• All clinical faculty (higher education and school faculty) are licensed or certified in the fields that they teach or supervise and are master teachers or well recognized for competence in their field
• Teaching by the professional education faculty reflects the Unit's conceptual framework(s), incorporates appropriate content in their fields and performance assessments, and integrates diversity and technology throughout coursework, field experiences, and clinical practices
• All PEU faculty complete at least ten hours of service per year teaching in state accredited schools and/or perform a professionally appropriate role at the school site(s) which involves direct contact with students
• All of PEU faculty annually participate in professional development activities

Objectives:

• Recruit outstanding candidates with diverse backgrounds for faculty positions.
• Recognize and reward successful faculty.

• Collect data from on-line faculty development system.
• Sponsor an annual professional education forum for faculty and students to present and discuss current professional education research and creative activities.

• Coordinate work of Professional Education Unit internal and external partnerships.
• Support collaboration through activities of the Faculty Affairs committee.

• Deliver courses by distance education technology to serve constituents.
• Leverage resources to support faculty service in education settings.

• Sponsor faculty development activities, seminars, and colloquia based upon identified needs.

Goal Five. Analyze and apply technological processes and tools in teaching, research, service and other outreach activities.

Critical Success Factors:

• The majority of professional education faculty will use course management software or other distance education technology in courses or collaboration with preservice teachers each year.
• 20 faculty participate in professional development activities related to technology integration by 2006
• Appropriate instructional technology resources available to all learning environments in professional education

Objectives:

• Work with appropriate student technology fee committees to provide training, staff support, and access to technology resources for high quality and exemplary class projects.

• Use of technology resources is monitored and revised as necessary to support faculty and student research, scholarship, and service needs within the professional education efforts in the areas of teaching, research, and service.
• Track technology-related outreach and service activities across programs.

• Require candidates in undergraduate and graduate programs to demonstrate appropriate use of and proficiency in instructional technology through academic coursework or professional portfolios.
• Encourage faculty and instructors to integrate instruction of multiple literacies (information, communication, technology, media) into content courses, emphasizing critical thinking and appropriate use of all resources for teaching and learning.