K-State PDS Partnership
Glossary of Terms

Aides
KSU TEACHER AIDES: Students from KSU who spend two hours twice a week assisting classroom teachers in tutoring and clerical duties.

Block A
ELEMENTARY and MIDDLE FIELD EXPERIENCE IN MATH and SCIENCE: Teams of three preservice students teach six one-hour lessons (three lessons in math and three lessons in science).

Block B
ELEMENTARY and MIDDLE FIELD EXPERIENCE IN LANGUAGE ARTS and SOCIAL STUDIES: A team of two preservice students teach whole class, small group or individual Language Arts and Social Studies lessons. Students are in the classroom 16 half days per semester.

Block 1
MIDDLE FIELD EXPERIENCE: A team of four to five preservice students meet with teams of teachers at the middle school to develop an interdisciplinary lesson which is presented in the cooperating teacher’s classroom each period on a designated day.

Block 2
MIDDLE and SECONDARY METHODS FIELD EXPERIENCE: This is the filed experience prior to student teaching. Preservice students perform a variety of tasks, depending on the content area, that range from observations and tutoring to small group and large group instruction. Candidates Individuals admitted to, or enrolled in, programs for the initial or advanced preparation of teachers and other professional educators.

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CI
CLINICAL INSTRUCTOR: School District liaison and coordinator of PDS activities at the building and/or level. Co-Teaching Student teacher and cooperating teacher working together with groups of students and sharing the delivery of instruction and physical space.

CPSI
COUNCIL FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT: Sponsor four to five conferences per year.

CT

COOPERATING TEACHER: A certified teacher who is supervising and co-teaching with a student teacher in his/her classroom.

District Induction Program

Comprehensive program aimed at training and retaining quality teachers, promoting professional growth and improving student achievement.

Field Experience
A variety of early and on going field-based opportunities in which candidates may observe, assist, tutor, instruct, and/or conduct research. Field experiences occur in off-campus settings such as schools, community centers, or homeless shelters, as well as in PDSs.

FFT
Framework for Teaching: Charlotte Danielson identified those aspects of a teacher’s responsibilities that have been documented through empirical studies and theoretical research as promoting improved student learning. The framework seeks to define what teachers should know and be able to do in the exercise of their profession.

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INTASC
Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium: A project of the Council of Chief State School Officers that has developed model performance-based standards and assessments for the licensure of teachers.

Interns
Term used by some schools to identify KSU students in their last field experience. A synonymous term would be “student teacher.”

KSBE

Kansas State Board of Education: State agency responsible for developing the rules and regulations for accrediting teacher education units and approving programs.

KSDE

Kansas State Department of Education: The agency’s staff that assists and facilitates the process described in KSBE rules and regulations.

KSU
Kansas State University: Land-grant university located in Manhattan, Kansas.

Mentor
Provides personal support and guidance to teachers and administrators. Promotes professional growth, cr

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NBPTS
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards: A professional certification process where teachers demonstrate their teaching practice as measured against high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do. It is a national voluntary system to assess and certify teachers who meet these standards. A National Board Certificate is valid for 10 years.

NCA
North Central Accreditation: A national accreditation process.

NCATE
National Council for Accreditation of Teachers: A non-profit, non-governmental organization that is recognized by the US Department of Education as the accrediting body for colleges and universities that prepare teachers and other professional personnel for work in P-12 educational settings.

NT
New Teacher: Persons in their first year of employment as a teacher.

Partnership
A relationship between USD 214, USD 229, USD 233, USD 378, USD 383, USD 443, USD 457, USD 475, USD 512 and Kansas State University College of Arts and Science and College of Education.

Partnership Project
A Title II Department of Education supported project that allows for collaboration among Kansas State University Arts and Science faculty, College of Education faculty, Dodge City Community College faculty, Garden City Community College faculty, Seward County Community College faculty, and PDS faculty to improve teaching and learning K-16 and enhance teacher education in partnering colleges.

PDC
Professional Development Council: A district organization that sets parameters for district staff development activities.

PDS
Professional Development School: Partnership between KSU and local school districts to improve teaching and learning K-16.

Preservice
KSU student who has been accepted into the College of Education for training.

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QPA
Quality Performance Accreditation: An accreditation process used in the state of Kansas for K-12 schools.

SIP
School Improvement Plan: A plan for addressing accreditation goals.

Summer Institute
Part of the Partnership Project. Provides professional development opportunities for Kansas State University Arts and Science faculty, College of Education faculty, Dodge City Community College faculty, Garden City Community College faculty, Seward County Community College faculty, and PDS faculty.

US
University Supervisor: A supervisor from KSU who observes, coaches, provides feedback and writes a final evaluation of the KSU preservice teacher during his/her field experience. This supervisor may be an on-campus faculty/staff or a clinical instructor.

Elementary = grades K-6
Middle = grades 7-8
Secondary = grades 9-12


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