What is the Pekin Professional Development School?
The Pekin Professional Development School (PDS) model is a university-public school partnership that combines teacher education and school reform to improve student learning. The intent of the PDS collaborative relationship is to provide a year-long internship which focuses on improved classroom learning, comprehensive preparation for preservice teachers, and professional development opportunities for district educators.

What does this year-long partnership in a PDS look like?
Participants in the Pekin Professional Development School are college seniors from Illinois State University. They are referred to as interns. These interns spend an entire school year in District 108. The year is divided into four phases:

Phase I: The intern is assigned to a mentor (cooperating teacher) in a classroom of one of the intern’s top three grade level preferences. During this phase which is about seven weeks, the intern will assist the classroom teacher by working with small groups of students, working individually with students, observing strategies and techniques that are being used, understanding resources that are available, and learning the science and art of teaching. When the intern is not in the classroom, he/she will be taking the required methods courses two days a week on site in the Pekin PDS room.

Phase II: This phase is similar to the first phase. However, the intern will be assigned to a different grade level with a mentor in a different District 108 school. They will continue with their methods coursework in the Pekin PDS room.

Phase III and IV: These phases are the student teaching phases. Typically, the intern returns to his or her Phase I classroom for an in-depth student teaching experience that continues for 16 weeks. The mentor and intern form a “Quality Team” partnership that focuses upon the needs of the children in the classroom and how the two partners can best meet those needs. As the intern assumes more teaching responsibility, the mentor takes on the role of an assistant-working with small groups of students or working with individual students on a variety of skills. This “Quality Team” partnership allows for an enhanced student teaching experience for the intern, for professional growth for the mentor, and most importantly, for the academic success of the students in the classroom.

What benefits are there to participating in the Pekin Professional Development School?

• Comprehensive year long internship
• Total immersion in the school culture
• Intensive and extensive clinical experiences and practice
• Opportunities for practice, reflection, and collegiality
• On-site methods coursework
• Linkage between course content and teaching practice
• Involvement in school-community relationships
• Cohort experience
• Recognition by prospective employers
• Promotion of best practices
• Quality Mentor-Intern team
• Preparation for the “real” teaching world

 

My Experiences:

Phase I:

     During my phase one placement, I was in a third grade classroom at Willow Primary School.  I helped my mentor teacher set up the classroom, attended the District Retreat, and Building Institute/School Improvement Days.  I learned about all the "behind the scenes" work that happens before the school year even starts!  I was also involved in the Meet the Teacher Night and had some experience with meeting parents at the beginning of a school year.  I also visited other classrooms and specialists at Willow and wrote "Focused Observations" in which I would deeply reflect on the various methods of teaching and strategies used to reach all students. I also completed a daily reflective journal which helped me address the strong and positive areas of my teaching as well as areas that need improvement in a reflective format.

During Phase I and II, I took teaching methods courses through ISU on-site in Pekin.  I attended methods classes two days each week and clinical experiences four days each week.  I also completed an online Middle School Methods course throughout these phases.  It was a huge benefit to learn something in a methods course one day and the next day, implement it in the classroom.  The connectivity of these courses and classroom work was invaluable.

Phase II:

     During my phase two placement, I spent three weeks in a 7th and 8th grade gifted Language Arts classroom and four weeks in a 5th grade classroom.  At Broadmoor Junior High, in Pekin, with 7th and 8th grade students, I was able to better develop my ability to question using higher ordered thinking skills and develop advanced lesson plans and activities that challenge not only a typical junior high student, but a gifted child, as well. 

              In my 5th grade experience at Washington Intermediate School in Pekin, IL, I was given the opportunity to teach a Mathematics class for struggling learners, Science, and a Reading/Language Arts class for advanced learners.  This opportunity helped me develop a wide range of abilities in my own teaching and thinking and sincerely center my teaching on reaching each student and amplified the importance of goal setting for each student.

Phase III:

     I returned to my third grade classroom in January 2007.  I spent the first week observing and adjusting back to the third grade setting.  After only a few weeks, I resumed full time teaching responsibilities.  I taught all subject areas and managed all classroom routines.  I was also able to see personal growth in my students from the first semester.  I continued to have contact with parents concerning the progress of their child in my classroom.  My mentor assisted me in gathering resources and planning units.  I had the opportunity to make decisions that dictated the pace and direction of my lessons.  I used Pekin District 108 and Illinois State standards to help guide my lesson planning.  My mentor also gave me daily feedback and weekly evaluations, outlined in the Charlotte Danielson Framework, which helped me to sharpen my skills and help into my development as an effective teacher.  I also had a bi-weekly evaluation from my Professional Development Liason based on Charlotte Danielson’s Framework for Teaching that allowed me to see the areas of my teaching that needed to be tweaked as well as the strong areas of my implementation.  One major highlight of this phase was my implementation of a two week long integrated unit focused on Women’s History.

Phase IV:

      I had the same expectations as in phase three, but more responsibility on my end, as my mentor teacher was gone for three school weeks/1 calendar month on personal leave.  Although there was a substitute teacher in the classroom for certification reasons, I truly was the teacher in the classroom.  My mentor came back to the classroom with three weeks left in this phase.  Within the last few weeks, I developed a constructivist multicultural lesson based on my personal experiences, team-taught with my mentor, and evaluated student progress from the start of my internship to the very end of my experience in May.