AASCU Innovations Exchange
Your Source for innovation in Public Higher Education
Teacher Preparation for Urban Settings
Culture Walks—Changing Pre-Service Teachers' Perceptions of Urban Communities
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Project Description:
Culture Walks connect a large,
public teacher preparation program with urban community and PK-12 partners to
provide an experience intended to dispel urban school stereotypes commonly held
by pre-service teachers. Funded by a small local grant and scheduled
immediately prior to a 40 hour practicum in an urban school, Culture Walks
annually bring over 250 pre-service teachers and program faculty members into
urban neighborhoods. After listening to community leaders, meeting with school
personnel, visiting local business and service agencies, and eating lunch
catered by a neighborhood restaurant, pre-service teachers have an increased
capacity to understand the urban education landscape.
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Meeting Unique Needs of an Urban School District through a University-School Partnership
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Project Description:
The partnership is a grant-funded effort by the University
of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) and Omaha Public Schools (OPS) to provide a Master’s in
Reading degree tailored to OPS’s instructional framework with the goal of
meeting students’ unique needs in the urban school environment. A blend of UNO
faculty and OPS staff deliver the instruction to the teachers. This “theory
into practice” collaborative project implements evidence-based strategies
proven to increase PK-12 student literacy performance across content areas, as
well as to expand the pool of knowledgeable literacy leaders to support
students and other OPS teachers in their daily work.
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