TLC

Teaching and Learning

As an Interactive Process

By Barbara E. Martin

The students in Angela Lawrence's classroom were squirming in their seats in anticipation of the lesson she had prepared for them. Excitement ran high as she explained the experiment to the young scientists, fourth-graders in Paterson's School No. 18.

They were going to locate the taste receptors on their tongues. In a commanding voice, Lawrence demanded silence as she outlined their task. They must sit still. They must not go on before the rest of the class. They must write down their responses.

When all was set, they began testing the first of the four flavors. Sweet. No problem, they loved it. Salty. Yuck! was the general consensus. Savory. Okay. Next, they spied the last part of the experiment, a tiny piece of dark brown chocolate. Yummy, they thought. Slowly, as they popped the small morsels into their mouths expecting a sweet taste, their young innocent faces were transformed as the class cried out as one in disbelief. They were fooled. It was bitter chocolate, not the sweet treat they were used to. Moans, groans, and finally laughter echoed around the room as the children realized their expectations did not match the reality.

Lawrence, a student teacher, smiled as she walked through the aisles helping her charges while exchanging glances with her cooperating teacher, Mary Grace Cinquino, a 20-year veteran of the urban school district. It was a lesson they were not likely to forget any time soon, and Lawrence was pleased with its success. The lesson was another stepping stone to a career in teaching for Lawrence, who will graduate in January 1999 with a degree in elementary education.

Lawrence is particularly well-prepared for a teaching position because she was one of 10 students involved in an innovative program at William Paterson called the Teaching Learning Collaborative, usually known by its acronym, TLC. With a strong focus on mentoring, TLC has produced an elite corps of young educators whose success in the profession of teaching can be credited to the program established in 1992 by the University's College of Education.

Two of the original goals of the program were to "provide a communication network for administrators from the University and the school districts to prepare students in urban areas, and to identify characteristics of students who demonstrate potential for urban education."

Formed in partnership with the Paterson Public School District, TLC envelops student teachers interested in urban education in a solid program of mentoring by creating a triad, formed by the preservice (student) teacher, the cooperating teacher, and the supervising teacher. The synergy created by the triad is part of what makes this program a success, along with a strong commitment to communication between the Paterson School District and the University.

"Our sense is that the added support of TLC makes this a valuable experience," says James Lerman, supervisor of staff development in the Paterson district. "An extremely high percentage of TLC students have been hired into our district and are successful teachers."

As an employer, Lerman says, "We want people who know us. When we hire, we want as few surprises as possible, and we have been successful with TLC students. We are pleased with the way it turned out."

A key component to the program is the requirement that the student teachers remain in one school for both the practicum and the semester spent as a student teacher. This differs from the more traditional teacher training program wherein students may spend their practicum in one district and do their student teaching in another (the practicum calls for students to spend two days in a classroom teaching, while the student teaching requires a five-days-a-week commitment).

Everyone involved with the program believes that this is one of the reasons that the program prepares students so well to assume full responsibilities as a teacher.

"During student teaching, students gain control of the classroom and gradually take over responsibilities," explains Nancy Norris-Bauer, director of field experiences at William Paterson, who oversees the program. "With TLC, students are teachers earlier and it gives them more opportunity to teach than normally." At the end of the semester, students "slowly hand things back to the cooperating teacher," she adds.

"No one can argue with full-year placement," Lerman reports. "The program is turning out teaching candidates who are knowledgeable - it's the best way to go."

Lawrence agrees. "The best part of this program is that I spend two semesters here," she says. "There is more of a connection with the teachers and the students. And by communicating with the other TLC students, I get to see other teaching techniques."

Cinquino, Lawrence's cooperating teacher, is pleased with her apprentice's performance. "I'm so proud of her," she says. "She's dedicated to excellence, both for herself and for the kids. She goes out of her way for them."

Lawrence, for her part, wants to continue in urban education. A single mother, she lives with her two-year-old son, Samod, and her parents and two younger brothers in Newark. She is the first in her family to attend college. While her father was in the Navy, the family was stationed in various places, and consequently she was a product of suburban schools all her life.

Once exposed to an urban district, she saw the differences between the two. "I felt the urban students were being short-changed. I want to teach them what I know. I have a love for these children and even in high school I knew I wanted to work with kids."

All members of the triad make a significant commitment to ensure the program's success. Student teachers, along with their regular classes, must take a technology course, Technology Across the Curriculum, while the cooperating teachers must take a mentoring course at the University. They meet for a workshop before the semester begins and the student teachers and the cooperating teachers receive laptop computers to communicate with each other via e-mail.

The computers have Internet access, which some student teachers, including Nicholas Timpone, used with great success in the classroom.

"I would bring my laptop to class, and the kids got some use out of it, to type their book reports," Timpone explains. "We also took virtual field trips on the Internet."

For Timpone (shown at right), a nontraditional student, the TLC program allowed him to realize a longtime dream - to teach. Before he was a student at William Paterson, he owned a construction company that was hired to put a new roof on the University's Sarah Byrd Askew Library. Day after day, high above the campus, as Timpone and his crew did the hard physical work, he began to formulate a plan that would one day bring him back to campus as a student.

Assigned a TLC position in School No. 2 in Paterson teaching math and language arts to grades five through eight, he forged a genuine bond with his students.

"I like the diversity in Paterson," he explains. "People underestimate what kids can do...you can talk to them as adults, yet they're vulnerable and smart; they handled everything I gave them." Timpone, now 38 and the father of three children, graduated magna cum laude, picking up a bachelor's degree in elementary education in May. (He was hired by the Paterson School District and is currently teaching in School No. 2.)

Timpone's assignment to his cooperating teacher, Beverly Piekema, was propitious. Referring to their morning conferences he says, "I learned more during those conversations than in any class or from any book. Her critique was always perfect."

"The thrill of seeing someone learn to teach and the potential they have is truly rewarding."

Piekema, a teacher for 19 years, believes in the TLC program. "I have someone who's really involved. The TLC student really knows the child better and earlier and the students are ready to work and want to work." She believes the TLC students interested in teaching in an urban setting know the difficulties ahead of time: that there are students with problems and often there is a lack of supplies creating hardships in the classroom.

(Photo at left: Donald Holwerda works with cooperating teacher Beverly Piekema.)

For students "being part of TLC is not looking for the easy way out, and being willing to take on the problems of an urban setting," she reports.

The third unit of support for the triad is the supervising teacher. An employee of the University, this teacher "bridges the gap between the University and the public school," says Donald Holwerda, who supervises student teachers at Schools 2 and 18. "My role is to encourage them, yet critique the lessons as carefully as I can."

Supervising teachers have a maximum of six students assigned to them per semester. They collect interim and final reports and monitor student progress through the eight scheduled observations required by the state.

Typically, the three teachers meet "and share what's going on," Holwerda says. "I try to accentuate the positive and build on their strengths in the post-lesson conference." He sees his role as something of a safety net for the cooperating teacher and the student teacher. "The third person from the University can stabilize the relationship," he says.

Holwerda is a hands-on supervisor, not merely sitting behind a desk, but actively involved with the students if necessary. The day of Lawrence's science experiment, he quickly jumped in and helped the students sort out the facts.

As a supervisor, he looks for student teachers who have a "certain personality," one that combines "a passion for caring for kids with a sense of humor," and they must be the "brightest and the best." Holwerda's critique is an important component in the process of transforming a student into a teacher and "the thrill of seeing someone learn to teach and the potential they have is truly rewarding," he adds.

In School No. 18, Holwerda also supervised Lilliana Santos, who taught a fourth-grade bilingual class. Santos came here from Portugal when she was 10 years old; her family settled in Newark. She is the first person in her family to receive a college degree.

"I was a bilingual student for two years," she says. "I like helping children in need because I didn't have someone to help me at first."

Many of the Latino children in Santos' classroom couldn't speak English, so her knowledge of Spanish was vital to their understanding of the subjects presented to them.

She says that most of the students come from homes that are not secure, and often have low self-esteem. "I give one-on-one instruction, and I work with them in small groups," she explains. "The kids need to have someone to look up to, to give them love, attention, and care."

(Photo below: Lilliana Santos teaching bilingual fourth graders in School No. 18.)

Santos became devoted to her students and to the school and is a staunch supporter of TLC. "The greatest strength of the program is being with the students for so long. I really got attached to the school."

Her cooperating teacher, Modestino Oliveriero, says having a student teacher like Santos "opens us up to new ideas. She gives me suggestions for activities and projects and prepares her lesson plans on the Internet." Santos used her laptop in the classroom to look up Web sites and to integrate science experiments into her lessons. She was also hired by the Paterson School District in June, and is currently assigned to School No. 18.

(Photo at right: Second-grade student teacher Julie Singer.)

The 34 students in Julie Singer's second-grade class presented a challenge to the TLC student at School No. 18. The children were often unruly in the beginning, and she worked hard to win their respect. "It was overwhelming at first. The students were testing me," she recalls. "But it made me stricter and toughened me up and it was an excellent opportunity to gain classroom management skills."

TLC gives students like Singer and the others an opportunity to test the waters in an urban district whose environment is completely different than suburban schools.

"I would like to see what a suburban school is like," she said. "We have a lot of innovative ideas from the University, but it's hard to incorporate them in a class this size."

She does believe the program was a positive experience. "The main advantage is being ahead of the game," she says. "Progress is due more to the length of time I was here, and I was fortunate to have a good cooperating teacher."

Singer says the cooperating teacher, Lillian De Martino, taught her management skills, pacing (the length of time to spend on subject matter), and "superb organizational skills." She is working as a teacher's aide in Fort Lee.

TLC is a true interactive collaboration, with each member of the triad acting in support of the other - listening and coaching in turn. In a process as old as time, the elders share their erudition with students, establishing a continuum of knowledge.

"It's exciting," says Norris-Bauer. "This is the students' capstone experience, and we are developing teachers for the twenty-first century."

WP