Conceptual Framework

Our Sources of Knowledge and Philosophy

Quaker Background
(Essential Beliefs)
 Liberal Arts Traditions
(Sources of Knowledge)
 Multicultural and Global Perspectives
(Awareness of Contexts)

Lead to the articulation of working themes

Self and Community
 An Integrated Approach
to Knowledge
 Social/Cultural/Ecological Context
1. A learner is a discoverer and creator of knowledge.

2. The teacher initiates pedagogical encounters where the student is in his/her cognitive, intellectual, cultural, emotional, physical, and spiritual life.

3. We learn in community and through dialogue and inquiry, interchanging teaching and learning roles.

4. Learning is deepened by wonder at the mystery of being.

 5. Without self-reflection, reflection concerning circumstances and dialogical articulation, meaningful learning cannot happen.

6. Knowledge is integrative and corresponding pedagogies must make connections among and beyond the boundaries of each content area.

7. Learning is a continuous process necessary to an active life.

 8. All knowledge has social and physical context; all learning occurs in context.

9. Just as every person possesses inherent value, so to does every culture. The diverse cultures of humankind deserve mutual respect and attempts at understanding through intercultural communication.

10. The ecology of human society and the ecology of the natural world must be studied in their local and global contexts.

which guide us as we interact with

Our students and colleagues
 The national and state organizations responsible for teacher licensure
 The K-12 students and school personnel we serve in our fieldwork

to shape the courses, field experiences, and
support systems our students use toward their
development as educational leaders who

  • Learn the value of self-assessment, starting with the identification of strengths and then deciding upon "next steps," moving away from focusing on deficiencies and honoring the knowledge and beliefs they bring to the learning process.
  • Work to build community and a sense of mutual responsibility through systematic practice in learning with and from their peers. Faculty model a non-hierarchical decision-making process whenever possible, demonstrating the value of collaboration in teaching and learning.
  • Understand themselves as global citizens who must seek insight into all cultures and voices in order to meet the needs of diverse learners.
  • Recognize that teachers must assume the role of ethnographers within the classroom or school, acknowledging that finding the "right" way to teach must be based on careful observation, inquiry, and analysis.
  • Read and listen to multiple viewpoints about the profession of teaching, recognizing that ideas and decisions about learning can be seen from various points of view.
  • Focus on the learner, regarding the curriculum as a tool when designing learning activities, respecting individual student's characteristics and needs.
  • Define knowledge in many ways, integrating content and skills from their two majors, viewing all of their professors as educators who can define excellence in teaching.
  • Develop a repertoire of teaching approaches, enlightened but not confined by developmental perspectives, honoring the processes of learning as much as the quality of their students' products and performances.
  • Comprehend how their experiences in the Education Studies Program align with the Five Academic Principles of the College and prepare them to maintain a critical perspective when working with a mandated curriculum.
  • Respond to the spiritual dimensions of learning and living through seeking to discover, rediscover, interpret, and create knowledge though life.
  • Relate the experiences and ideas they have encountered in the Education Studies Program to their own teaching, allowing them to see that there is continual interplay between theory and practice, each informing and modifying the other.