California State University, East Bay’s Department of Teacher Education Nimbly Responds to Evolving State Mandates
California State University, East Bay’s Department of Teacher Education Nimbly Responds to Evolving State Mandates
The Challenge
Meeting Detailed State Reporting Requirements
“It was a nightmare of pencil and paper, just a mess,” recalled Dania Massey, a professor in the Teacher Education department California State University, East Bay (CSUEB), describing the challenge of meeting the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing’s (CTC) requirements through a manual reporting process.
CSUEB’s student teachers under contract — teaching degree candidates who are hired by a school district and have full teacher responsibilities and attend night classes at CSUEB while they work full-time — receive support from both a university supervisor and an onsite mentor from the school district.
Massey was charged with creating a program which would help CSUEB fulfill the state-mandated documentation of 144 hours of general support and 45 hours of work supporting English learners for student teachers under contract, as well as 600 classroom hours for student teachers.
“There didn’t seem to be a way to easily get verification from different people,” said Massey.
After starting to explore a solution, Massey “didn’t do a lot of other research” once she discovered Time2Track. CSUEB has now used the platform for more than three years.
“People were immediately responsive to me, and the cost was reasonable,” she said. “Time2Track was willing to build the program I needed to create, so it was just a good match from the beginning. I didn’t search around for other technology.”
Results
With Time2Track, CSUEB:
Addressed a highly specific need
by introducing a flexible and customizable platform that enabled the college to meet the state’s detailed documentation requirements.
Established consistency and reliability
within a dynamic environment in which state regulations shift from year-to-year.
Put data to practical use
by providing the school with valuable information and insights for the purposes of program improvement and evaluation.
We just had our CTC accreditation visit last year, and we were able to even parse out how much support teaching candidates were getting from the district, what that support looked like and what support they were getting from supervisors. With Time2Track, we were able to really look at the data and use it to show CTC what our program was doing, with a lot more detail than we’ve been able to share previously.
The Solution
A Tailor-made, Easy-to-use Platform
Responding to the CTC’s reporting requirements, Massey used Time2Track’s customizable platform to create features such as drop-down menus that make it as easy as possible for teaching candidates to document their hours.
“Once they’re just adding hours and time, it’s pretty easy,” she said.
CSUEB set up a system that uses the CTC’s specific language for candidates’ documentation of various year-round classroom activities, including co-teaching with the teacher of record, planning, reviewing assessments or actual teaching.
The college was able to nimbly add a second Time2Track reporting program this year, when the state introduced additional specifications for tracking hours. Massey herself is now empowered to provide state-requested data on a moment’s notice.
“I’m often being asked to run a report,” she said. “The accreditation coordinator might say, ‘Oh, can you get me a report on this?’ And I can say, ‘Well, sure!’”
As the state continues to insert variables into the equation, such as this year’s switch from quarters to semesters as well as new teaching performance expectations and standards, documenting teaching candidates’ hours remains a reliable constant thanks to Time2Track.
“It’s just so easy to use, that’s the key,” Massey said. “Even just the whole idea of having a page with activities that repeat every week, the candidates love that.”
The University’s Outcome
Comprehensive Documentation and Practical Data for Different Stakeholders
“We just had our CTC accreditation visit last year, and we were able to even parse out how much support teaching candidates were getting from the district, what that support looked like and what support they were getting from supervisors,” reflected Massey. “With Time2Track, we were able to really look at the data and use it to show CTC what our program was doing, with a lot more detail than we’ve been able to share previously.”
Massey envisions CSUEB expanding and diversifying its usage of Time2Track. As the college’s five-year Memorandum of Understanding with its partner school districts is set to expire in June 2019, Time2Track data “will help inform where our candidates are getting their support and whether we need to make changes to our agreement,” she said.
Within the program evaluation process, CSUEB can use Time2Track to identify potential lapses in candidates reporting their hours, or in supervisors fulfilling their responsibilities in the realm of supporting the candidates.
“Different people have different angles around what they need the data for, whether it’s us looking at it around new agreements, or whether we’re looking at it for accreditation purposes or for program improvement,” said Massey. “We haven’t even explored everything the Time2Track data can provide for us yet, but we’re definitely starting to use it more.”
About California State University, East Bay’s Department of Teacher Education
California State University, East Bay’s Department of Teacher Education prepares teachers who are dedicated to the academic achievement of all students, and who demonstrate a commitment to life-long, professional growth and school leadership. The Department offers post-baccalaureate and graduate programs to prepare teachers who are committed to improving school practices for California’s diverse student populations and who can model such practices in their own classrooms.
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