Focus on Research
Penn State Intercom......September 5, 2002

Program nurtures
mentor-student teaching teams

By Paul Blaum
Public Information

(Editor's note: Tracey Traeger was part of the Professional Development School program during the spring 2002 semester.)

Student teachers have been a familiar sight in U.S. classrooms, but the University's Professional Development School has retooled the traditional program, allowing State College teacher Brenda Khayat and education major Tracey Traeger to work more as a collaborative team.

"As PDS participants, Tracey and I are always open to each other's ideas in meeting the needs of our diverse student population," said Khayat, a fifth-grade teacher at Park Forest Elementary School. "I've been in this field for 14 years, but I've still learned a lot from Tracey. This renews me as a teacher."

PDS is an expanding movement nationwide designed to transform the manner in which teachers are prepared through shared efforts of schools and universities.

"Penn State's application of PDS is unique," said James F. Nolan, professor of education and co-director of the elementary PDS. "We are one of the few institutions to offer undergraduate seniors a yearlong teacher internship program that replaces the traditional semester of student teaching. Interns are assigned to the same mentor teacher and serve the entire school year."

The program also combines training of beginning teachers with professional development of veteran teachers, according to co-director Nancy F. Dana, associate professor of education. University faculty and classroom teachers together make up the planning teams that design the methods classes taught by faculty to the student interns during the first semester of the internship.

Khayat, for instance, has been on the mathematics planning team for three years.

"At Penn State, PDS could be compared to a teaching hospital where real-world, state-of-the-art research goes on every day and interns learn to teach along side skilled veteran teachers and University faculty. All of the participants are expected to grow and learn together," Nolan said.

The methods classes are based on prior experience of mentor teachers and their interns, with the result that interns receive assignments grounded in classroom realities. At the same time, this system gives teachers and interns alike a powerful voice in the training of new teachers, Dana said.

The PDS partnership between the University and the State College Area School District, now in its fourth year, was recognized with this year's Distinguished Teacher Education Program Award from the Association of Teacher Educators.

This past year, the elementary PDS portion had 32 student interns at the Park Forest, Radio Park, Matternville and Ferguson Township Elementary Schools. At Park Forest alone, there were 13 interns and 13 mentors. Fourteen secondary-education students served PDS internships teaching English at State College Area High School. This fall, another six students have embarked on internships in secondary level science.

Khayat's professional relationship with Traeger has been typical of PDS matchups. During the first half of the internship, Khayat performed the lion's share of the teaching, but with Traeger spending a full day in the classroom, observing, assisting with the planning, teaching periodically and building rapport with 25 energetic fifth-graders. During that same time, Traeger spent three days a week after school taking four methods classes in mathematics, social studies, science and technology, and classroom learning environments. University faculty come to Park Forest and teach the interns collaboratively with a team of teachers.

During the second semester, Traeger has taken a single teacher inquiry class once a week along with the other Park Forest interns. In this class, Traeger, like other interns, discusses issues arising out of her classroom experience, then uses University expertise and her newly developed savvy to ask questions about her teaching practice and attempt to find solutions. Apart from the counsel given by Khayat, Traeger also is aided by a PDS associate assigned to Park Forest, in this case, doctoral student Mary Beth Henning.

Strangers last fall, Khayat and Traeger became a smooth-functioning team, with complementing talents and expertise. Traeger was involved in all aspects of teaching, including parent-teacher conferences.

"If I'm leading the group, Tracey will be assessing the journals, preparing activities or meeting with small groups of students," Khayat said. "We are constantly in motion to meet the needs of the diverse group of students that we have."

Having Traeger with her in the classroom allowed Khayat to carry out projects with students that she could never have done alone. For instance, the two educators have just completed a comprehensive survey project of favorites -- desserts, sports, hobbies and so on -- among all Park Forest students and amassed an impressive data collection to culminate the fifth-graders' study of fractions, decimals and percentages.

Of the overall PDS experience, Traeger said, "PDS has given me the opportunity to experience everything that goes on in a classroom throughout the school year. Both my mentor and myself bring to the classroom our unique styles of teaching, and we collaborate to provide an environment where every student can learn. I leave this experience confident that being a teacher is my chosen profession and that I am well prepared for all its challenges."

Paul Blaum can be reached at pab15@psu.edu.

Planning could prevent
urban forest fires

By A'ndrea Messer
Public Information

Provisions for fire prevention and fire fighting including restrictions on campfires, prevention of illegal dumping and control of tree vandalism can go a long way toward maintaining the viability of urban forests, according to a University researcher.

"Fire changes the urban forest and considering fire when urban foresters make planning and management decisions will help to maintain the long-term stability of the urban forest," said Robert E. Loeb, a biologist and director of Academic Affairs at Penn State DuBois.

Something as simple as ensuring that off-road fire fighting equipment is available to urban forest firefighters can protect the forest and enhance the value of the forest for the public, Loeb said.

Loeb compared the histories of undeveloped forests within parks in the New York City area with an old growth, well-studied urban forest in Cleveland. The Cleveland forest has no history of forest fires and has changed little in tree density or composition since 1935 when records on the forest began. Fires in the New York City forests have contributed to an increased tree density of specific species.

"When a fire occurs in the thousands of forested acres in New York City's undeveloped parklands, the trees are beyond the reach of city water and road systems," Loeb said. "These fires are usually brought under control before buildings or mature trees are damaged but the fires destroy saplings, seedlings, herbs and the humus layer of the soil."

The Cleveland caretakers "contributed to the protection of the old growth forest by regularly explaining the value and importance of the woods to the public through tours and the establishment of an environmental education center," Loeb said. "Pathways were well defined and signs of off-trail transit are rarely observed."

Public interest and the lack of fire have helped preserve the stability of the Cleveland woods. "Reducing the frequency and severity of fire is critical if maintaining a diverse urban forest is important," Loeb said. "A first step would be to provide appropriate fire-fighting equipment and training."  

A'ndrea Messer can be reached at aem1@psu.edu.

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