The Power of Knowledge
Effective teachers are knowledgeable and see themselves and their students as
life-long learners. Our graduates will be able to make informed decisions based
on complex data.
The Interdependency of Pedagogy and Content
Knowledge is not a series of discrete bits of information. Effective teachers
help their students see relationships among different areas of study and their
application to the real world. In our curriculum, liberal arts and professional
courses are intentionally connected. In the same manner, pedagogy and content
often are addressed together.
The Potential of All Children
Every child deserves to be taught by quality teachers who believe that each
child is capable of learning. The Otterbein teacher education program provides
its candidates with the knowledge, skills and dispositions for creating learning
environments that are developmentally responsive for each of the students they
teach.
The Richness of Diversity
Our program prepares teachers to accept, honor and enhance the diversity within
the school environment. Diversity includes but is not limited to ethnicity,
gender, social class, sexual orientation, and special needs.
The Possibilities of Technology
As teaching and learning become more complex, the effective use of technology
within the classroom becomes even more essential. During their teacher education
program, Otterbein students will not only use technology as an integral part
of their own professional preparation and see technology modeled for classroom
productivity, but they will also learn how to use technology effectively in
their classroom.
The Necessity of Reflection
The transition from being a student to becoming a teacher requires a great deal
of reflection and introspection on the part of teacher education candidates.
In order to truly discover their teacher persona, teacher education candidates
must take a critical look at what they believe about teaching and learning throughout
their program and strive to incorporate those values in their own teaching.
The Merit of Experiential Learning
Otterbein is committed to continuous and progressive field experiences. The
program exposes teacher education candidates to a variety of educational settings.
The Importance of Accountability
Our program is committed to the formative and summative assessment of the knowledge,
dispositions, and skills of teacher education candidates in order to assure
that graduates from the program are effective and qualified teachers. Furthermore,
the unit will use the information obtained from these assessments to change,
alter, and/or modify the program so that the quality is maintained.
