From K-12 Classroom to College Campus: Aligning Teacher Prep with K-12 Imperatives

As a teacher, I shared my classroom with student teachers whenever I had the chance. They helped me grow my practice while their time with me gave them a glimpse into the profession’s current realities. This reciprocal relationship had myriad benefits–and I wanted to share those benefits with far more future teachers than I could ever host in my classroom. 

Communication with my student teachers’ professors was limited to signing letters of agreement and filling out form evaluations at intervals each semester. I had more to share, but these professors felt elusive; they were probably too busy or wouldn’t find my insights worthwhile. Years later I learned how wrong I was. 

🧩 Fostering Collaboration: Five Star's STEM Forums

As part of a recent project, Five Star helped gather educator prep faculty and K-12 educators from across Indiana for a series of forums focused on integrated STEM pedagogy. 

• The Impact: Faculty were eager for the chance to have informal conversations with K-12 educators.
• Key Takeaway: K-12 educators shared their thoughts on what they felt college education classes should prioritize.
• Results: Both groups walked away with a deeper understanding of implementing integrated STEM practices in their respective environments.

Faculty from 26 Indiana educator prep programs attended, with feedback describing the forums as:

“Beneficial,” “productive,” and “empowering."

🤝 The Need for Connection

Education faculty and K-12 educators have a lot to learn from one another.

• Why It’s Critical: Things move fast in the K-12 world. To prepare pre-service teachers for success, educator prep programs need to keep pace.
• What Future Teachers Need: A clear understanding of what’s working, what’s not, current trends, and priorities—and what all of this means for them.

💪🏻 How to Foster Stronger Connections

We need more opportunities for K-12 educators and educator prep faculty to connect on challenges and initiatives. There are many ways to foster these connections: 

1. Day-long forums like the ones we hosted are a good way to kickstart conversations. 
2. Feedback Loops advocated by Digital Promise to inform relevant, just-in-time professional learning; these loops could help educators from higher ed and K-12 norm up on shared needs (check out this article to learn more). 
3. Sustained Partnerships provide meaningful, intentional collaborations, like the one featured in this recent Education Week article. This particular partnership helped ensure that skills and priorities around literacy instruction were mirrored across methods courses and local K-12 schools. 

👥 Opportunities for Collaboration

Similar opportunities for educators to connect around STEM, AI, use of technology in the classroom, and computer science are also needed. Imagine initiatives like:

• Joint Training Programs
• Smoother Curriculum Transitions
• Research Projects that bridge the gap between K12 and education methods classrooms.