The College of Education at the University of Central Arkansas has received approval from the Arkansas Department of Education and the Arkansas Department of Higher Education to prepare educational professionals as instructional facilitators.
The program is designed to provide practicing classroom teachers the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to serve as an instructional facilitator/coach. Teachers will be prepared to enhance classroom instruction by providing instructional support in the elements of research-based instruction and methods, in aligning instruction with curriculum standards, assessment tools, and individual needs of students, said Kathleen Atkins, chair of the Department of Early Childhood and Special Education.”This program will allow the college to prepare professionals with a very unique and specialized set of collaborative and instructional skills necessary to effectively coach classroom teachers, which will ultimately equip Arkansas teachers to better meet the diverse needs of their students,” Atkins said.
An individual will be eligible to hold an Arkansas Instructional Facilitator Licensure Endorsement for grades P-12 after completing the 15-hour graduate program.
“Increasingly k-12 schools and districts are working to increase their leadership capacities by employing teachers in non-administrative leadership positions,” said Diana Pounder, dean of the College of Education. “The Arkansas Department of Education is now requiring that teachers serving in these teacher leadership positions or instructional facilitator roles be credentialed by the state. UCA is one of the first three institutions in Arkansas to be authorized to offer this endorsement program.”
The endorsement curriculum meets the Arkansas Department of Education’s expectations to prepare facilitators to be skillful in collaboration, curriculum implementation, and evaluation.
An appealing characteristic of the program is the ability for teachers to apply the endorsement hours toward a graduate degree in either School Leadership with a license in Curriculum Administrator or Advanced Studies in Teacher Leadership, Atkins said. The endorsement courses will be delivered electronically with a hybrid component of selected courses.
A valid Arkansas teaching license, identification as a highly qualified teacher, and admission into UCA graduate school are prerequisites to the program. For more information, contact the Department of Early Childhood and Special Education at 450-5441.
