Conceptual Framework

"Ignite and nurture a spirit of learning for both educator and student"

1.Educators recognize, accept, value and promote diverse ideas, languages, and cultures. The School of Education actively recruits, hires, and retains a multicultural faculty that reflects the diverse population of its service area(s) and/or student population. All approved programs within the SOE reflect bicultural, multicultural, anti-racist, pro-justice, critical, participatory, and cognitive grounded curricula. Also, the School of Education's mission is to prepare its students to become critical thinkers capable of and responsible for creating change that values diversity through action in their own lives and in the broader society. (Freire, 1970).

2. Educators stress quality programs that are aligned with professional and state standards that produce exemplary results. Programs that set rigorous standards and communicate those expectations obtain greater performance assessments than programs that set and communicate low standards (Brophy, 1981).

3. Educators integrate theoretical knowledge into the world of practice through field-based experiences and reflection. When knowledge and experience are combined with reflection, change and growth occur (Dewey, 1933).

4. Educators possess the skills and knowledge to effectively collaborate with parents, professionals both within and across schools and agencies, and community stakeholders. When professionals possess the interpersonal skills necessary for collaboration and utilize these skills both within the school setting and when working with outside agency providers and families, there is a greater likelihood that services will be individualized and appropriately reflect the needs, strengths, and goals of all stakeholders involved-i.e. students, professionals, and families (Bruner, 1991; Goldman, 1998; Faulker-Schofield & Amodeo, 1999).

5. Educators advocate for equitable access to and model thoughtful, effective, integrated use of technology resources. With equitable access to both human and material technology resources and thoughtful, effective, integrated use of technology, the learning of all students is facilitated in order to become informed, responsible, caring contributing citizens in a diverse, democratic society (Butler-Pascoe and Wiburg, 2003).

Educators advocate for equitable access to and model thoughtful, effective, integrated use of technology resources. With equitable access to both human and material technology resources and thoughtful, effective, integrated use of technology, the learning of all students is facilitated in order to become informed, responsible, caring contributing citizens in a diverse, democratic society (Butler-Pascoe and Wiburg, 2003).

All students construct meaning of the world in which they live (Brooks and Brooks, 1993). Accepting this proposition calls for a redesign of schools based upon a new definition of learning. Learning is maximized in classrooms where students 1) adapt their environment to actively pursue solutions to real problems, 2) construct knowledge by building upon prior understandings, and 3) work in harmony with differing cultures (Noddings, 1990). Administrators structure school climates that reflect efficient routines and lack of disruption yet tolerate spontaneity and novelty (Brooks and Brooks, 1993). It is in this type of learning environment where the opportunity for student achievement is maximized and students are allowed to become independent thinkers who construct knowledge by synthesizing relevant information.

The Western New Mexico University teacher education program has selected specific teaching/learning outcomes that maximize opportunities for student thinking and achievement. The program calls for teachers who:

Maximizing Opportunities for Student Thinking and Achievement
1) have a knowledge of content/field,
2) develop and implement curriculum,
3) can assess and evaluate learners and self,
4) effectively manage classroom and learning environment,
5) utilize technology,
6) implement appropriate inclusion, and
7) demonstrate knowledge of the teaching profession.

Through these outcomes, each successful candidate will be able to transform content knowledge into learning experiences that are pedagogically powerful and yet adapt to variations in the background and/or ability of the learner. As Shulman (1987) states, the method in which meaning is communicated conveys to students what is essential about a subject and what is peripheral and the teacher must have a flexible and multifaceted comprehension, adequate to impart alternative explanations of the same concepts or principles.

The variety and complexity of the tasks performed by institutions of higher education produce an inescapable interdependence among governing board, administration, faculty, students, and others. All of these participants also contribute unique characteristics of our diverse society. The relationship calls for adequate communication among these components and full opportunity for appropriate joint planning and effort.

Joint effort in an academic institution will take a variety of forms. "Although the variety of such approaches may be wide, at least two general conclusions regarding joint effort seem clearly warranted: (1) important areas of action involve at one time or another the initiating capacity and decision-making participation of all the institutional components, and (2) differences in the weight of each voice, from one point to the next, should be determined by reference to the responsibility of each component for the particular matter at hand" (American Association of University Professors, 1966, p. 2).

The culture most nourishing to joint effort is captured by this explanation from Virginia Cyrus (1993):

Students in college now will live and work in a society that is multicultural and global, and college must prepare them for this world…. [They must have] the opportunity to explore the complexity of American society and its historic, social and economic makeup.... No single 'norm' represents the American experience; instead, many points of view and wide varieties of experience exist, and always have existed, in this country…. To wrestle with such questions, students first need to develop an enhanced sense of their own identities and life situations and a positive understanding of the experiences and values of the many different groups that make up contemporary American society. In order to experience differences among groups with understanding with understanding and appreciation, and not with fear and rancor, students need to be encouraged to foster empathy for the perspectives of those who seem different from themselves and to acknowledge the many similarities that are often overlooked (p. xi).

The teacher education program at Western New Mexico University accepts Cyrus's concept of cultural pluralism by being sensitive to our own identities as well as caring for the unique characteristics of each segment in our diverse society. The image that teachers and students have of themselves has great influence on how they see others and construct knowledge. William Glasser, a noted psychiatrist, presents the premise that if teachers and students can identify and satisfy the fundamental needs for survival, love and belonging, power, freedom and fun in themselves, they can make conscious choices about how to meet them. This recognition results in personal confidence. Teachers and students are then able to have the control of how to interact with information and events that appear oppressive (Glasser, 1990).

The School of Education highlights the work of Paulo Freire to reveal its beliefs about cultural pluralism and democratic processes. Freire, 1970, speaks about the need for the liberation of the oppressed by using dialogue and reflection as a tool for critically assessing issues that impact the disempowered. Freirean methods lead to a higher consciousness, which, if acted upon, may create positive social changes. Thus, active participation may lead toward equality for politically and economically disempowered communities. Likewise, by building a community of learners-utilizing inclusive strategies among teachers, students, families, and diverse communities-we enrich culture and language, create positive social change, and promote a sense of ownership which increases the possibilities for academic success in children (McCaleb, 1994).

The Western New Mexico University teacher education program has selected specific teaching/learning outcomes that represent knowledge and skills that facilitate active, participatory decision-making. The program calls for teachers who:

   1) are focused on student development and advocacy,
   2) support diversity and quality of life, and
   3) have skills necessary for family/school/community interactions and         communication.

Certainly, these outcomes represent the view of Alma Flor Ada (1994) who advocates working with students rather than on them therefore encouraging human growth in truly democratic schools. An equitable, just, and responsible social reality can potentially be created in such an atmosphere. The outcomes highlight the relationship between facilitating active, participatory decision making and the dispositions of successful teacher educators.

Continued professional development needs of educators are the foundation of the graduate programs at Western New Mexico University. The School of Education graduate programs are organized around the same five-part philosophy and two categories of knowledge represented at the undergraduate level.

Developing advanced knowledge in content and pedagogy is only one function of the graduate education programs as they strive to maximize opportunities for student thinking and achievement while participating in active decision-making. The advanced program places a higher emphasis on action research and expects graduates to take a leadership role in efforts to bridge differences through collaboration among the greater learning community.

While the Master of Arts in Teaching programs follow the previously mentioned set of outcomes, the Counseling, Educational Leadership, School Psychology, and Reading programs display a different set of outcomes. The Educational Leadership program outcomes are based on the New Mexico Competencies and the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) standards. The Counseling program outcomes are based upon the New Mexico State Public Education Department's competencies for school counselors, K-12. The School Psychology program outcomes are based upon the New Mexico State Public Education Department's competencies for school psychologists, K-12. The Reading program outcomes are based upon the New Mexico State Public Education Department's competencies for entry-level reading teachers.

Teachers and other school personnel need to develop a willingness to establish collaborative relationships and discuss professional issues through scholarly activity. This joint effort propels the transformation of schools at a more efficient rate. These relationships are central to an effective learning community and educational reform effort (Goodlad, 1991). Western New Mexico University graduate education programs are committed to making this world a better place for children. As Alma Flor Ada (1993, pg viii) proclaims: "by sharing the joy of learning and discovery with our students we affirm the human capacity, inherent in all of us, to generate knowledge and to transform the world."

The SOE logo is a Classic Mimbres black-on-white geometric bowl from the Eisele Collection of Southwestern Artifacts and Pottery, a permanent collection of Western New Mexico University Museum (Accession Number 73.8.337). The Mimbres people made the bowl between AD 1000 and 1140 during the Classic Mimbres period. Richard C. Eisele removed this bowl from Coulson archeological site in Grant County, New Mexico. This particular Classic Mimbres bowl has a shard missing. The well-worn appearance of the interior of the bowl--the spottily missing pieces of design--and the absence of any pigment stains suggest that this particular piece was used either to serve or prepare food.

The design on this bowl provides a compelling visual representation of the conceptual framework as a living document. The intersection of various narrow lines, at the center of the bowl, symbolizes the focus of all efforts, the spirit of learning in every human. These lines create four segments, typical of Mimbres pottery (Brody, 1991), and represent four parts of the philosophy that the programs purport: diversity, quality results, application, and proactive leadership. The fifth portion of the philosophy is technology and is represented by the creation of the bowl, a people making use of the technology of their time. The classic black on white characteristic of this Mimbres bowl represents the natural relationship of the dual categories of a knowledge base: 1) maximizing opportunities for student thinking and achievement and 2) facilitating active, participatory decision making. The circular bowl naturally creates an extension outward signifying the nature of community. Similarly, our graduate programs nurture the potential for influence and collaboration among educators. Such collaboration enhances the ability of teachers, administrators and counselors to "ignite and nurture a spirit of learning for both educator and student."

The SOE logo is a Classic Mimbres
Black-on-white bowl from the
Eisele Collection of Mimbres Pottery
and Artifacts,courtesy of
Western New Mexico University Museum.

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