Project Scholarship

STEP=UP's mission is to enhance educational opportunities for students with disabilities, not only through the practical work of recruiting and preparing special educators and scholars, but also through ongoing research into innovative methods of teacher preparation. The main thrusts of the project's scholarship include research into the use of classroom artifacts for teacher development that focus on the literacy inherent in all learning, and the creation of the Transitioning to Special Education Teaching module.

Using Classroom Literacy Artifacts to Mentor Special Education Teachers

A key component of the STEP=UP Master's Degree program (which is part of the UIC special education master's degree program) is the structured mentoring relationship all STEP=UP students have with experienced special education teachers. Those "partner teachers" receive extensive support in learning to guide conversations with teacher candidates, and use artifacts from their classrooms (e.g., students' work, lesson plans, etc) to center the discussions around issues of practice and students' learning.

Based on data gathered from mentor teachers and teacher candidates, we see that classroom literacy artifacts can be a major asset in teacher development. Using the artifacts to guide discussion gives teacher candidates an entry point into the conversation. Teachers across phases of their careers can examine classroom realities. Using artifacts to demonstrate classroom teaching or investigate alternative strategies and ideas also focuses the conversation around those things mentor teachers know best - their students, their learning, and their instruction.

ntc 2007 presentationTo learn more about this area of research, you may download copies of recent poster presentations on the subject:

Or view selected conference handouts:

Development of the Transitioning into Special Education Teaching module

presentation screen shotIn spite of enormous effort to improve induction supports and increase teacher retention rates, new special education teachers still find themselves overwhelmed by the responsibilities of teaching, and retention statistics remain troubling. STEP=UP developed the Transitioning into Special Education Teaching module as a web-based, multimedia resource for new teachers, a collection of video clips, audio interviews and photographs to which they could turn for ideas, plans, strategies, advice and encouragement any time, any where.

The module captures the authentic voices of experienced special educators, as well as a handful of new teachers who have problem-solved their way through their first years. By listening to teachers talking about their practice, visitors learn to think and reason about teaching, while also gaining practical, immediately employable ideas to use in their own classrooms.

For a full description of the module and initial findings about its use, please download the slides from the poster presentation made at the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) conference in 2007:

Or download a copy of the conference handout from INTC.