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News
November 11, 2008
For immediate release
The Gevirtz School at UC Santa Barbara hosts the third annual Performance Assessment for California Teachers (PACT) Implementation Conference
The Teacher Education Program in the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education at UC Santa Barbara hosts the third annual Performance Assessment for California Teachers (PACT) Implementation Conference, “Building Knowledge and Practice,” on November 13 and 14. This conference, which brings together representatives from teacher education programs in 30 universities including all UC campuses, several California State Universities, and several private institutions including Stanford University, will discuss the implementation of the PACT assessment system that is intended to improve teacher education program quality through authentic measures of teaching performance.
The Conference also will feature a keynote talk – “Teacher Quality: Defining It, Assessing, It, Promoting It” – by P. David Pearson on Thursday, November 13 at 6 pm at UC Santa Barbara Corwin Pavilion. Dr. Pearson currently serves as Dean of the Graduate School of Education at UC Berkeley and as Chair of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. His seminal research and service in reading instruction has influenced the field on multiple levels—from classroom practice to national policy. Of his many books, most notable is the Handbook of Reading Research (now in its third volume) and an edited work on Effective Schools and Accomplished Teachers. His most recent book, Powerful Learning: What We Know about Teaching for Understanding, was co-written with Linda Darling-Hammond and other leaders in the field.
The 200 attendees of the conference will take part in workshops and roundtable discussions that include sessions entitled “Strategies for Supporting Candidates” and “PACT as Part of a Professional Learning Community.” The topics of sessions are aimed at helping institutions use PACT to promote teacher candidate learning and strengthen the work of individual teacher education programs.
Tine Sloan, Director of the Gevirtz School’s Teacher Education Program, says, “One significant feature of the PACT is the unprecedented collaboration between universities around developing and implementing this assessment system. The enlightened state policy enables us (the consortium of universities) to develop measures that met high standards while maintaining our values. For this reason, we are engaged in using the assessment for much more than making high-stakes licensure decisions. We are using it to make the work of teacher education better.”
PACT was developed by a consortium of UCs, Stanford, and some CSU and private institutions in response to SB 2042, which called for new credential requirements and the use of a state-approved teaching performance assessment to determine the readiness of California teachers for the profession. The creators of PACT designed a system centered on a Teaching Event, for which candidates plan a series of integrated lessons, videotape their instruction, analyze student work, and reflect on their teaching.
[Tine Sloan is available for interviews; contact George Yatchisin at 805 893 5789]
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Photo caption: Teacher Education Program Director Tine Sloan, Chancellor Henry Yang, Dean Jane Close Conoley, keynote speaker P. David Pearson, and Executive Vice Chancellor Gene Lucas before Dr. Pearson's lecture. (photo by Nell Campbell)