Collaborative Professional Preparation in Visual Impairment: A Brief Description of the Project & Unique Features

KC Dignan, Ph.D., Project Coordinator, TSBVI Outreach (from See\Hear Spring 1997)

When I worked at TEA one of the most common complaints I heard was about the availability of VI teachers and O & M instructors. Comparisons to "hen's teeth" were not uncommon. However, the issue of having enough adequately trained and supported professionals is complex. Recently, Texas has started a proactive project to train enough VI professionals (VI teachers and O & M Instructors) to meet the needs of the children and school districts.

OVERVIEW

In March, 1996, TSBVI, in collaboration with TEA, universities, education service centers, school districts, and parents began to formalize a collaborative personnel preparation project. This project is supported by funds from TEA's decentralization efforts to Education Service Center XI, who then subcontracted with TSBVI to coordinate the project.

In May of 1996 an advisory board was established. It is called the Personnel Preparation Advisory Group, or "PPAG" for short. During this development phase, it is the heart of the project. It consists of representatives from universities, TEA, ESCs, school districts, the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (formerly known as Texas Commision for the Blind) , parents, and consumers. The work of this visionary group is built on a series of meetings which began in 1991.

VI professionals in Texas receive training from either universities or non-university-based programs. Some individuals go to a university to attend classes, either during the summer or the traditional academic year. Others receive university-based instruction at a site which is closer to home, such as an education service center. Still others prefer to use the field-based training programs known as "teacher preparation certification programs" (TPCP). These programs were formerly known as "alternative certification programs".

This project believes that all of the above options have value to professionals, and this project will continue to support these options. It's goal is to help the preservice professionals have options which meet their needs and resources.

PROGRAM GOALS

The Personnel Preparation Advisory Group adopted goals to insure that personnel preparation programs will:

1. prepare qualified teachers and O & M instructors so that professionals will be available to all students with visual impairments.

2. be accessible regionally and locally.

3. meet the standards delineated by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and the Visually Impaired (AER).

4. include a theoretical base, skill development, and practical application experiences.

5. collaborate to utilize all available resources to the best of their ability. Resource options include (but are not limited to) instruction, personnel, funds, and technology.

6. be coordinated with professional development systems.

7. will include mentorship programs at both preservice and inservice levels.

UNIQUE FEATURES

This project has many unique features which makes it invaluable to students with visual impairments. To date no other state has the degree of collaboration, support and vision demonstrated by the participants of this project. Some of these features include competency based instruction, curriculum excellence packages, collaborative curriculum, collaborative partners, collaborative funding, mentorship program, and a coordinating office.

Competency Based

The PPAG is committed to providing training for preservice professionals which meets, or exceeds established professional standards for beginning VI professionals. For VI teachers these standards have been developed and adopted by the Council for Exceptional Children. For O & M instructors, the standards are set by the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER).

The competencies have been grouped into instructional "units". Each university and Teacher Preparation Certification Program have agreed to use these units as a foundation for building their instructional program. For university-based programs, units will be gathered into courses. Teams of university and field personnel, with the coordinator, will work to develop a Curriculum Excellence Package for each unit. As a result, students can be assured of uniformity of competencies across the state.

Curriculum Excellence Packages

The development and use of Curriculum Excellence Packages is one of the most exciting aspects of this project. University and field personnel, along with the project coordinator, will collaborate to develop a package with identified texts and materials, expert speakers from around the country, and other state-of-the-art instructional strategies and resources for each unit. The intent is for the packages to provide a "scaffold" for instruction without diminishing individual creativity or instructional style, while ensuring the highest quality of instruction.

Collaborative Curriculum

Instruction to preservice professionals is provided by either universities or education service centers through Teacher Preparation Certification Programs (TPCP). Three universities currently sponsor VI professional preparation (SFA, TTU, & UT). Education service centers may sponsor an alternative program for VI teachers (not for O & M instructors) upon approval from the State Board of Education. All of the programs have agreed to collaborate on the curriculum to be used. As a result, preservice VI teachers may take courses from any of the universities (or from the collaborative partners, explained below) or a TPCP, and be assured that they are getting the exposure to the same competencies. As a result, preservice professionals, and those who hire them, may be assured that they will be exposed to the same set of competencies and that there will be consistency of instruction across the state.

In addition, the universities have agreed to begin reviewing their course catalogs to determine if it is necessary to apply to the Higher Education Coordinating Board for changes, additions and/or deletions to their course catalogs. This is a very time-consuming process, which may take two years to complete and is just another example of the high degree of commitment shared by the partners in this project.

Collaborative Partners

For the past 15 years, enrollment in VI programs on university campuses has been small. Preservice professionals have had to leave their home and hearth to learn about orientation and mobility and/or VI instruction. With the advent of modern technologies, travel can be reduced or perhaps eliminated. This project will study the distance education options available to offer more flexibility to professionals. One exciting example is the use of distance education setup with our new partners, Prairie View University (near Houston) and University of Texas Pan American (in Edinburg). As a collaborative partner, these universities have agreed to act as telecommunication satellite "downlink" sites. This means that students who are attending either of these universities may attend VI courses at their home university. These courses will be taught by a university with a VI program via distance education methods. For example, a braille class may be taught by Stephen F. Austin faculty, and students will receive credit for that class while attending Prairie View. We are very excited about this aspect of the program. Distance education methodologies may also be used by education service centers around the state.

Texas is a state of diverse cultures and populations. Currently, the number of Hispanic and African-American students in VI training programs are low. The partnerships with Prairie View University and University of Texas Pan American will hopefully bring more professionals from these communities into the field of visual impairment.

TSBVI will also sponsor training, taught by university personnel, at TSBVI during the summer. Preservice professionals will attend courses here and may complete internships or practicums by working with students with visual impairments who are attending TSBVI Summer School. The preservice professionals will be supervised by TSBVI staff.

Collaborative Funding

Among the many exciting aspects of this project is the collaborative funding. Recently, two grant proposals were submitted to the Office of Special Education Programs in Washington D.C. If funded, these proposals will greatly expand training options in the area of visual impairments in Texas.

In addition, other funding sources will be explored. These may include corporate and foundation sources, state and federal sources. Currently, professional preparation is primarily supported by federal funds (professional preparation funds and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act - Part B) and the State Supplemental Visually Impaired funds.

Mentorship Program

For most of us, becoming a VI professional was a big change from what we were doing previously. If we had been a teacher, chances are we did not have to deal with issues related to being itinerant. We probably didn't have the kind of student diversity that is common for most VI teachers. Likewise, I am not aware of any educational position which is similar to being an orientation and mobility instructor. The mentor program will assist preservice professionals with this transition.

From the very beginning, new students will be connected with a mentor. The support options will vary but may include: phone calls, on-site visits, meeting with other mentors and protégées, and participating in an e-mail listserver for new VI professionals. Each of the mentors will receive training in the goals and activities involved in mentoring a young professional. The mentors and protégées will be supported by a mentor coordinator.

The mentoring relationship will continue throughout the program, and possibly well into the professional's career since it will be coordinated with a similar program for new teachers currently in existence. Dr. Dixie Mercer, Statewide Professional Development Coordinator at TSBVI Outreach oversees the new teacher mentorship program currently.

Coordinating Office

Tying all these diverse aspects of the project together is the Coordinating Office, which is located at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Currently the office is housed within the Outreach Department, and staffed by myself, KC Dignan, and a part-time support person, Gwen McDaniels. If recently submitted grant proposals are funded, a mentor coordinator will be joining us.

One of my functions is to assist in the coordination of the PPAG and the related project management board (for the grant proposals). In addition, I will be assisting ESCs and universities in recruiting individuals into the training programs and helping districts identify the need for, and recruitment of VI professionals.

This office will assist with the review, development and/or acquisition of various instructional products, and resources. We will be providing information and training on various aspects of professional preparation. Another of the diverse functions of this office is advocating for the needs of professional preparation programs and to pursue an array of funding options.

SUMMARY

Consumers, family members, districts which hire and supervise professionals, and those institutions which provide professional development are all key players in the development of qualified professionals for school-aged children with visual impairments in Texas. Through their collaboration in this project we hope to provide a coordinated, pro-active approach to the issues involved in professional preparation. This is one of the most critical issues facing the state when it comes to meeting the needs of the visually impaired children in Texas.

For more information about training options or about this project, please do not hesitate to contact me at 512-206-9156 or via e-mail at kcd@tsbvi.edu.

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