Classroom Literacy Artifacts as a Vehicle for Collaborative Mentoring in Special Education Michelle Parker-Katz Marie Tejero Hughes University of Illinois at Chicago NTC 2007

About the STEP=UP Funded by the U.S. Department of Education to prepare teachers to work with children with disabilities Designed to prepare 76 highly qualified special education teachers to work with linguistically and culturally diverse children with disabilities in an urban community Students are accepted into the special education master’s program and take courses and participate in field experiences that include children with disabilities ages 3-21 Graduates will be eligible to receive an Illinois teaching certificate as Learning Behavior Specialist I Emphasis on support is provided through three innovative structures of field advisories, a strong mentoring component throughout the program and into the first years of teaching, and an induction program Students are required to complete a service obligation by accepting a position as a special education teacher

Field Advisories Regularly-scheduled large- group and small-group sessions around major topics of teaching, with semi- structured agendas Meetings enable extension of the field experiences that happen in in every course. Meetings allow novices to actually engage in professional and collaborative problem- solving. Group discussions help novices construct knowledge, skills and attitudes essential to understanding multiple dynamics that shape learning and teaching. Novices learn about teaching students with varied disabilities. Meetings enable novices to practice demonstrating competence to colleagues.

Mentoring Each novice at the beginning of the program is matched to an exemplary CPS special education teacher. Major goals of this unique kind of mentoring include a) expose novices to varied disability populations, b) learn how teachers teach content and life skills, c) learn about different instructional delivery models (e.g., co-teaching, resource). Mentors are recruited and selected based on ongoing partnership work in the masters program. Novices and mentors communicate through multiple vehicles ( , phone, meetings). Mentors are prepared for their new roles in an ongoing way.

In-Program Student Supports Doctoral Advisors Quarterly Newsletters Curriculum Resource Library Full Tuition Support Listserv and Website Conference travel or book stipends

Sample Artifacts Student writing about a field trip

Sample Artifact House of Voice

Sample Artifact Illustration of Romeo and Juliet

Sample Artifact Sight Words

Sample Artifact Schedules

Sample Artifact Menu Choice Board

Sample Artifact Mystery Word Lesson Plan

Sample Artifact Vocabulary Square

Research Findings Using artifacts, mentors can d emonstrate their practice around that which they know best: their students, their learning, and their instruction. The artifact can help teachers focus their mentoring on teaching and learning content. The artifact discussion can serve as a strategy for focusing novices on particulars of a lesson or situation, and they can then use that to generalize to other related situations -- a key aspect of learning. The artifact also serves as a collaborative vehicle through which teachers in different phases of their professional lives can discuss student learning as well as conditions and cultures of teaching.

Implications for professional learning Work with mentors to help them select, plan and discuss their classroom artifacts. Situation-specific professional learning -- base the professional development on the actual work mentors do. –Mentors learn new literacy strategies and skills for teaching academic content to a range of student populations. –Mentors learn varied approaches and ideas for working with adult learners. Learn ways to facilitate authentic conversation, marked by interchanges and full engagement by all participants, including students who are not as experienced.

Transitioning into Special Education Teaching: A Multimedia Resource Module

From Teachers to Teachers An authentic resource to help novice teachers reason about teaching and learning. Artifacts from experienced special educators’ classrooms serve as resources for constructing effective teaching. Artifacts are from diverse learners in urban classrooms, and provide new special educators with exposure to many additional classrooms.

The Module’s Organization The module is organized around four main components: An easy-to-use color scheme helps teachers navigate among the different components. Serving Students with Disabilities Creating Learning Environments Planning and Preparation Collaboration, Co- teaching and Consulting

A Multimedia Resource Web-based, allowing teachers to access help any time, anywhere. The module is multimedia: digital video, audio and photography provide a rich and inviting environment for users to learn and explore. Links between and among different artifacts and resources give teachers a multi-faceted view of teaching and learning.

Encouraging Interactivity and Exploration Links to other topics Direct links to other artifacts that may be of interest An option to move straight through the module sequentially Links to other topics A rich, graphical interface provides multiple ways for teachers to discover the content of the module and navigate through it organically.