In our TechEd class, a small group of us discussed the PDP and how it might be revamped to improve the program. We discussed what needs to be improved and what we thought was great in the program. Our list was much longer on what needed to be improved, including topics such as:

  • Admittance shouldn’t be focused on GPA
  • Observation day is great, but seminars after seem useless – not much, if anything, is learned.
  • More even distribution in teachable subject areas
  • Co-op vs. Practicum – why does the student pay for their practicum? 
  • Would be nice to rotate through the schools that observations are being done in.
  • Administration could try to accommodate students who make reasonable requests, such as requesting the observational school that was close to their home. 
  • More instruction on the nuts and bolts of teaching. 

What we thought was good about the program include:

  • Observation days are great
  • Program is taught by teachers
  • Good connections to the schools
  • Great professors

I think it is important and necessary to have conversations like these. Knowing that your fellow students have the same concerns is comforting. And being able to bring these concerns to the chair is also important. The program leads and admin aren’t present in the courses, so they may not know where the program needs improvement. Nothing is perfect, and nothing is set in stone. If the students this year can help the students next year, I think it should be done. After all, at the end of this, we will be teachers, so we are all in this together. Although we are not sure if we were really ‘heard’ by the department chair, we, at least, got the opportunity to address our issues.