West Virginia University transforming teacher training for new era
Jul. 27—FAIRMONT — At last week's Marion County Board of Education meeting, board member George C. Boyles voiced concern over teacher education programs disappearing from West Virginia University.
Boyles's comments come as WVU works to restructure the way it approaches teaching. Monumental events like the pandemic have brought a sea-change to teaching, which has educators re-evaluating how the profession is taught.
"We have to prepare teachers, especially now in a post-COVID world, to be very conscious of the new ways of capturing and inspiring the attention of students," Autumn Cyprès, dean of the WVU College of Applied Human Sciences, said. "And, to think differently about the intersections of well-being, of not only our physical health, but our mental health and our emotional health, and how family plays a role in the education of every learner."
The school of education lies within the College of Applied Human Sciences, and is not the only program that is undergoing an academic transformation. WVU's review process on its academic programs began even before the pandemic as the university evaluated the best way to serve its students.
The pandemic had an impact on WVU's work. For the school of education, that meant looking at how remote learning actually took place during lockdowns and how teachers were adjusting in the post-COVID world. Cyprès said commanding the attention and focus of 20 six year olds through a screen is an incredible task, one that is daunting for any experienced teacher let alone a new one, which makes the transition from virtual to in person learning more challenging.
"Now just add that you're a teacher new in the field," Cyprès said. "Where you spent two years at university learning remotely. And now for the first time ever, you're going to be in person in front of students that you were never in front of before."
It's a transition that's difficult on students too, many who don't even understand the importance of going outside for fresh air.
"When I think about 'are we cutting programs,' what we're doing is we are reviewing relevancy in a completely new context that has been changed permanently by the COVID 19 pandemic," Cyprès said.
This re-evaluation is taking place during a nationwide teacher shortage, to which Marion County Schools is also subject to.
Marion County School Superintendent Donna Heston said that last year, the district opened with 24 uncertified teacher vacancies. The subjects that are particularly vulnerable to the vacancies are math, science and special education. The district relies on retired teachers to fill the gaps.
What further complicates the outlook for teacher production, is a looming enrollment cliff. Cyprès said that due to declining birth rates, there will be fewer and fewer students attending college. The cliff is forecasted to appear within the next three years, but Cyprès said they're already seeing it. It's difficult to produce teachers when higher education itself is facing it's own enrollment challenge.
"Nationwide, fewer and fewer are going into the teaching profession, which is frustrating," Heston said. "It is a difficult job, and definitely one that is fulfilling. I think it's a very special person who cultivates that love of learning and education in students and unfortunately, it's not a field that many are choosing to go into anymore."
The school district at least has the option of relying on its partnerships with WVU and Fairmont State University. The district takes student teachers and observers from Fairmont State and places them in classrooms where they're needed, allowing them to build relationships with students, teachers and staff. Heston said it also has an impact on getting teachers to stay in the area.
The state department of education is also stepping in, creating a residency program to get teachers into the classroom.
"The residency program puts students and teacher education out in the public schools more often and with greater and greater number of hours," Barbara Owens, director of PDS partnerships and clinical experiences at Fairmont State University, said. "So basically, by the time our students finished the program, they've been in the public schools for over 900 hours."
Marion County Schools benefit from this and other programs, which help schools meet their teaching needs. Heston said teacher numbers for the district are about the same place they were last year. As WVU transitions to a stronger teacher model, Marion County Schools will be among the first beneficiaries of that change.
Reach Esteban at efernandez@timeswv.com
