Early Childhood, Elementary, Secondary, K-12 Arts Education, and Special Education

VISION & MISSON STATEMENT:

We astonish our customers by challenging the limits of tradition and creating new opportunities.  Rio Salado provides an online/hybrid format to support student’s busy life styles as they juggle work, family, and school.

PROGRAM GOALS:

The Education Department/Program, within its diverse community, creates a climate of high expectations and outcomes, prepares competent, quality teachers for success, and provides accessible opportunities for a life of learning through:

• Customized unique programs and partnerships
• Accelerated formats and distance delivery.

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The program outcomes are tied directly to the Arizona Professional Teacher Standards and the Interstate New Teacher Support and Assessment Consortium (INTASC) standards. They are:

ARIZONA PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS:

The Teacher:

• Designs and plans instruction that develops students' abilities to meet Arizona's academic standards and the district's assessment plan.
• Creates and maintains a learning climate that supports the development of students' abilities to meet Arizona's academic standards.
• Implements and manages instruction that develops student's abilities to meet Arizona's academic standards.
• Assesses learning and communicates results to students, parents and other professionals with respect to students' abilities to meet Arizona's academic standards.
• Collaborates with colleagues, parents, the community and other agencies to design, implement, and support learning programs that develop students' abilities to meet Arizona's academic standards and to transition from school to work or post-secondary education.
• Reviews and evaluates his or her overall performance and implements a professional development plan. Has general academic knowledge as demonstrated by the attainment of a bachelor's degree. The teacher also has specific academic knowledge and performance to meet Arizona academic standards.
• Demonstrates current professional knowledge sufficient to effectively design and plan instruction, implement and manage instruction, create and maintain an appropriate learning environment, and assess student learning.

INTERSTATE NEW TEACHER SUPPORT ASSESSMENT CONSORTIUM (INTASC) STANDARDS

The Teacher:

• Understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful for students.
• Understands how children learn and develop, and can provide learning opportunities that support their intellectual, social and personal development.
• Understands how students differ in their approaches to learning and creates instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners. Understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage students' development of critical thinking skill, problem solving, and performance skills.
• Uses an understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction in the classroom.
• Uses knowledge of effective verbal, nonverbal, and media communication techniques to foster active inquiry, collaborations, and supportive interaction in the classroom. Plans instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, students, the community, and curriculum goals.
• Understands and uses formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous intellectual, social, and physical development of the learner. Is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates the effects of his/her choices and actions of others (students, parents, and other professionals in the learning community) and who actively seeks out opportunities to grow professionally.
• Fosters relationships with school colleagues, parents, and agencies in the large community to support students' learning and well-being.

The Teacher Education Department embraces performance assessment as a comprehensive system through which students demonstrate their proficiencies in subject, professional, and pedagogical knowledge, skills, and dispositions, including their abilities to have positive effects on student learning. This is done via online signature assignments, site-based Practicum and Student Teaching placements. In the majority of courses require a signature assignment that allows students to demonstrate your competency in meeting the Arizona Professional Teaching Standards. Practicum placements are completed simultaneously with coursework. Students complete a predetermined number of observation, tutoring, and teaching hours within mentor teacher classrooms while assisting the mentor teacher as needed with classroom activities. The student reflects on the classroom experiences and verifies completion of requirements via Observation Forms, Practicum Verification forms, and Teacher Evaluations. The mentor teacher provides direct feedback regarding the experience and determines pass/fail grade for the student following specific standardized criteria. Students complete 120-160 hours of practicum experiences prior to entering the formal student teaching experience. Practicum results demonstrate of the 286 completers in 2008-2009 that 99% successfully pass. Student teaching is the capstone experience. All program course work, internal and external examinations/tests and practicums must be successfully completed to qualify. Students are required to finish a minimum of nine (9) weeks in the classroom of a Certified Cooperating Teacher and under the direction of a College Supervisor. A formal Student Teaching Assessment Instrument is used by both the Cooperating Teacher and the College Supervisor along with a Weekly Progress Report. Students score in the Proficient, Basic, or Unsatisfactory range. In order to receive a passing score, students must reach the Basic or Proficient level.

Students in Rio’s Post Baccalaureate Teacher Preparation Program are evaluated by an external evaluation process through the Arizona Department of Education. Each student must pass the Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessment (AEPA) in both Subject Knowledge exam and a Professional Knowledge prior to earning an Arizona teaching certificate. Rio’s students must pass the Subject Knowledge exam in the content they will be teaching prior to placement in student teaching.

After completing Rio’s Teacher Preparation Program students take the AEPA Professional Knowledge Exam (pedagogy).