Oregon Administrative Rules › Chapter 584 - TEACHER STANDARDS AND PRACTICES COMMISSION › Division 400 - STATE APPROVAL PROCESS FOR EDUCATOR PREPARATION PROVIDERS › Section 584-400-0020 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 7, July 1, 2024
(1)
Area for
			 Improvement (AFI
): A statement cited by the Commission that identifies a
			 weakness in the evidence for a standard. A single AFI is usually not of
			 sufficient severity that it leads to an unmet standard. AFIs should be
			 remediated by the end of the state's term of approval.
(2)
At-Risk Unit
: A
			 determination that the Commission finds a Unit to be "at risk" of becoming
			 "low-performing." The Commission may designate a Unit to be "at-risk" if it
			 finds multiple AFIs. Such Unit is required to respond to Commission-imposed
			 conditions and must provide evidence within the time indicated by the
			 Commission that the Commission's concerns have been addressed. Units receiving
			 an "at-risk" designation will be subject to a follow-up review site visit that
			 focuses on the AFIs noted by the Commission. Additionally, if the Commission
			 finds a Unit has not corrected multiple AFIs within the time indicated, it may
			 designate a Unit to be "at-risk."
(3)
Candidate
: Candidates are
			 individuals admitted to and enrolled in Commission-recognized programs,
			 including, but not limited to, people preparing to teach, teachers continuing
			 their professional development, and people preparing for other professional
			 roles in PreK-12 schools, such as administrators, school counselors, school
			 psychologists, and school social workers.
(4)
Clinical Practices
: All
			 supervised field experiences, internships, residencies, apprenticeships,
			 student teaching, or practicum opportunities necessary to complete a
			 preparation program that provide candidates with an intensive and extensive
			 field-based set of responsibilities, assignments, tasks, activities, and
			 assessments that demonstrate candidates' progressive development of the
			 professional knowledge, skills, competencies, and dispositions to be effective
			 educators. This definition does not apply to supervised practica, as provided
			 in OAR Chapter 584, Division 220.
(5)
Commission
: Teacher
			 Standards and Practices Commission (TSPC).
(6)
Competency Assessment:
A
			 student-centered, learning-outcome-based model where the assessment of a
			 student's capabilities is measured against the standards of the profession and
			 allows students to progress in their learning after they have demonstrated
			 mastery.
(7)
Conceptual
			 Framework
: An underlying structure in a professional education unit that
			 gives conceptual meaning to the Unit's operations through an articulated
			 rationale and provides direction for programs, courses, teaching, candidate
			 performance, faculty scholarship and service, and Unit
			 accountability.
(8)
Cooperating Teacher:
An appropriately licensed teacher of record
			 in a public, private, or charter school who is assigned to provide guidance and
			 supervision to teacher candidates in the cooperating teachers' classroom during
			 the candidates' clinical practice experience.
(9)
Credential:
An official
			 document issued by a state agency attesting that an individual meets state
			 requirements to:
(a) Teach at a specific level
			 or for a specialized discipline or population of students (e.g., middle grades,
			 biology, English Language Learners, etc.); or
(b) Serve in a specific education role in a
			 school (e.g., principal, reading specialist, etc.).