Initial Programs: The school is committed to preparing educators who can work in schools with diverse populations. This is a major strand addressed in the mission of the school and the Principles of Teacher Education.

Element One: Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of Curriculum and Experiences

The school accepts a broad definition of "diversity" and the programs address diversity in term of ethnicity, language, religion, gender, social-economic status, race, exceptional learning needs, and sexual preference.

Candidates in the elementary program must complete a diversity elective as part of their general education coursework (see Elementary General Education Template). In addition, candidates may elect to complete concentrations in Afro-American Studies, Anthropology, Spanish Language Studies or other areas that contain courses that address diversity (see Elementary Concentration List ).

Ongoing conversations between the school and content area departments have resulted in the restructuring of the general education and major courses for the secondary/middle school programs. The English program now requires candidates to take a course in diversity literature as part of the English core. The mathematics program requires a foreign language as well as 6 hours in humanities and a comparative world cultures course. The social studies program requires a world cultures course as part of the social studies core, and courses addressing diversity are included as part of the licensure concentration areas. Candidates in the science program must fulfill an 8-10 hours foreign language requirement as well as humanities and comparative world culture requirements.

Diversity is a strand woven throughout the teacher education curriculum. In Block I, students are immersed in readings, experiences, and projects to heighten their awareness of the many ways in which people are different from one another and the impact of difference on children's learning. In the elementary program the first block is an integrated seven-hour course that incorporates the issues formally addressed in the educational psychology, multicultural, and special education courses (see Block IA-Diversity and Learning and M320 Syllabus: Diversity and Learning). Candidates in secondary and all-grade program take a comparable course M322: Diversity and Learning: Reaching Every Adolescent.

These Block I courses address the Principles of Teacher Education:

Principle 1: Conceptual Understanding of Core Knowledge
(The ability of teachers to develop rich expertise within their discipline)

• Design & implement instruction that develops students' conceptual frameworks.
• Write and speak with clarity.

Principle 2: Reflective Practice
(The ability of teachers to analyze and critique the impact of the experiences and contexts of teaching from multiple perspectives)

• Explain the experiences that guide the teaching.
• Entertain multiple perspectives.
• Collect information through observation of classroom interaction.

Principle 3: Teaching for Understanding
(The ability of teachers to draw on their knowledge and frameworks to plan, implement, & assess effective learning experiences and to develop supportive social and physical contexts for learning)

• Use multiple strategies that engage students in active learning.
• Support learners to assume responsibility for themselves and their own learning.
• Motivate all children to learn.
• Create an inviting, interactive learning environment.

Principle 4: Passion for Learning
(The ability of teachers to continually develop their own complex content and pedagogical knowledge and to support the development of student's habits of continual, purposeful learning)

• Recognize and support learners' intellectual, social, and personal growth.
• Support learners with special needs.
• Seek help from other professionals.

Principle 5: Understanding School in Context of Society and Culture
(The ability of teachers to value and teach about diversity, to recognize the impact of social, cultural, economic, and political systems on daily school life, and to capitalize on the potential of school to minimize inequities)

• Communicate in ways that demonstrate sensitivity to a broad range of diversity.
• Collaborate with parents, teachers, administrators, and other community members involved in the lives of students.
• Challenge negative attitudes.

Principle 6: Professionalism
(The ability of teachers to be active contributors to professional communities that collaborate to improve teaching and student achievement)

• Stay current in terms of research and practice.
• Utilize resource networks beyond school.

In Block II, the strand is further developed through an integrated unit taught by instructors from different disciplines art, music, language arts, mathematics, and science. The theme of this unit is freedom, and the candidates spend three weeks exploring the historical era of slavery through art, music, literature, and discipline-based inquiry. Candidates represent what they learn in the unit by creating a quilt comprised of patterns designed using math and poems and collages of their own design.

During Block III, elementary candidates take a course (EDUC K307: Methods of Teaching Students with Disabilities) where they learn to use learning modalities, varied rates of instruction and complexity, and make use of individual interests and preferences in teaching students with diverse abilities in inclusion educational settings. In addition, candidates are prepared to use differentiating and/or individualizing instruction and develop classroom management skills.

In Block III, the diversity strand is further developed as a critical literacy perspective and as a focus on differentiation. The students are asked to use what they have learned about cultural and individual differences to plan responsive and socially-conscious classroom practices and curriculum. They actually teach in classrooms where there are diverse students and reflect on how well their planning and teaching meets the needs of each student in their classroom.

Candidates also may elect to complete a dual program in mild intervention along with their major program. The mild intervention program prepares candidates to work with students with special needs in the developmental areas of their major program. Secondary and All-grade candidates will be licensed to teach students with special needs in the secondary and middle school levels.

The school works with many of the school corporations surrounding the Indianapolis area but has made a strong commitment to the Indianapolis Public Schools and works extensively with them. Field experiences occur in urban and suburban schools with diverse student populations. The early field experiences are structured so that all candidates work with diverse student populations throughout their program (see Elementary Rotation Grid).

The Columbus education department has developed a relationship with Rockcreek Elementary School.

that serves over 300 students in grades K-6. Rockcreek is a CLASS (Connecting Learning Assures Successful Students) school and a CLASS training site for the state of Indiana. A federally funded Migrant Education Program serves their diverse student population.

Although the Migrant Education Program is housed at the school, it actually serves 30 students in 11 different buildings at all age levels. The program is one of 23 current programs in the state of Indiana that is supported by federal monies. The funds are used to support children in the area who are identified for services.

Despite the strong commitment to urban education, the school also realizes that many of their candidates will eventually teach in rural schools outside the immediate Indianapolis area. Therefore, candidates from both Indianapolis and Columbus are placed in a wider geographical area for student teaching. To insure that candidates experience school cultures that differ from those experienced as a K-12 student, the school does not allow candidates to student teach in school where they have been a student or where they have been employed as a teacher's aide. As described in Standard 3, the process for placing student teachers allows the candidates to choose a geographical quadrant but the final placement is determined by the university supervisor, Student Teaching Office, and school faculty in conjunction with the school corporations and K-12 faculty and administration.

Candidates' ability to work with all students and develop plans for improving their practice is addressed in the following ways:

• The essay portion of the application process to the teacher education programs is reviewed by faculty. One of criteria that is considered when reviewing the essays is any indication of an applicant's bias or difficulty working with a diverse student population.
• The Benchmark I Rubric is used at the end of Block I. Under the category of Dispositions and Professional Behavior, the block instructors assess the candidates' ability to work well with different personalities and cultural backgrounds.
• Benchmark II is a performance-based activity that requires the candidates to be able to assess the conceptual understanding of a student and address the diversity in how children learn and understand (see Elementary Benchmark II and Secondary Benchmark II). The rubrics used to assess Benchmark II address the assessment of the learner's development and knowledge.
• Benchmark III is a portfolio containing artifacts related to a lesson designed and implemented by the candidates. In assessing the portfolio, the school expects the candidates to appreciate and consciously attempt to build on students' unique funds of knowledge, interests, and developmental needs. Also, they are expected to be respectful of diverse pathways to learning.
• During student teaching the mentor teacher uses the Student Teaching Framework, as a guide in establishing goals and in assessing the student teachers. Although attention to diversity is woven throughout the entire framework, it is specifically addressed in the following domains:
  • Domain I: Curriculum Content And Planning -- The need for candidates to have and use knowledge of students' interests and cultural heritage as well as selecting instructional goals suitable for a diverse student population is addressed.
  • Domain 2: The Classroom Environment candidates are assessed on their sensitivity to diversity and awareness of student needs.

Advanced Programs: Courses at the graduate level incorporate diversity issues in a variety of ways. For example, L500 introduces students to critical children's and adolescent literature and focuses on using this literature as a starting point for classroom discussions about equity and social justice. This literature features stories about present and past marginalized populations and how social action can be taken to change patterns of discrimination.

The first course in the master's degree in curriculum and instruction, J500: Instruction in the Context of Curriculum, addresses topics that include conceptions and definitions of curriculum and instruction and their impart on social contexts.

H520: Education and Social Issues examines how social condition, issues, and expectations affect the processes of schooling in the United States. Although all types and levels of educational institutions are discussed, the Indianapolis and surrounding township schools are a context for discussions. Candidates learn how society and culture shape the complex policies and practices of schooling.

The school is in the process of designing a Master's program in urban education . The curriculum "core" of this program will be the Certificate in Community Building & Urban Education. This graduate certificate is an 18-credit, project-based professional development option using an innovative, comprehensive approach to understanding and intervening in the school-community nexus in urban settings. Instead of simply preparing professionals to "fit" within existing institutions, the program provides a wide array of community assessment, organizational management, curriculum development and critical thinking tools necessary for making sense of and producing improvements in school-community relations.

Element Two: Experiences Working With Diverse Faculty

Candidates have opportunities to work with diverse faculty in general education, major and education courses and with diverse K-12 faculty in both initial and advanced programs.

Initial and Advanced Programs: IUPUI employs 1,500 tenure-track faculty. That number has been fairly steady for the past several years. The overall number of minority tenure track faculty has been increasing slowly since 1993. Asians continue to represent the largest single racial/ethnic minority group. The greatest growth has been among Asian faculty, followed by Hispanic faculty. The number of African-American faculty has fluctuated in a narrow band, while the number of women has declined modestly (see IUPUI Faculty Diversity).

In his State of Diversity Message , Chancellor Bepko committed the campus to strive for "optimal educational conditions of diversity." As part of this initiative an external reviewer was commissioned to generate a report of the campus climate on diversity. During the past year IUPUI has doubled their minority faculty recruitment fund from $250,000 to $500,000 . Over the past six fiscal years, this fund has allowed IUPUI to recruit more than a dozen new minority faculty members.

In 2001-2002 the school had a total of 27 full-time faculty. Of the full-time faculty, 2 were African-American (7%), 1 American Indian (4%), 1 Asian (4%), 3 Hispanic (11%) and 20 white (74%). Fourteen were female (52%) and 13 (48%) were male. Diversity is evident also in the Student Services staff who interact with candidates on a regular basis. Of the eleven staff, 3 are African-American (27%), 1 is Hispanic (9%) and 6 are white (55%).

During the 2001-2002 academic year, the school was host to a Teacher in Residence and two graduate assistants who were African-American. All three were involved in teacher education programs as instructors.

This fall four new full-time minority instructors will join the school. Three are African-American and one is Hispanic. They will all teach in the education programs and hold the ranks of tenure-line assistant professor, lecturer, adjunct instructor and graduate assistant.

The Columbus campus continues to address the diversity of their faculty. Recently, the campus has been able to attract adjunct faculty of African-American, East Indian, Egyptian, and Asian ethnicity.

The school's faculty is involved in a number of multicultural projects.

The Center for Urban and Multicultural Education (CUME) promotes research-based educational innovations through community-based channels. As a "unit" of the School of Education in Indianapolis, it seeks to improve educational conditions and opportunities for urban students. The Center is dedicated to bringing together local neighborhood and university perspectives on educational problems, and provides a novel approach to community development through the combination of university and community resources.

The El Puente Project supports and challenges Hispanic youth in Indiana to excel in school and to engage in service to their communities. Hispanic students, their parents, teachers, the community and school faculty work together to ensure that students graduate from high school and are well prepared for their futures -- in careers, for college, or technical school.

The school co-sponsors with the Indiana Urban Superintendents Association (IUSA) a summer conference on Urban Education . Last year's conference highlighted P-12 school programs that improved student achievement in the urban schools of Indiana.

The school is also engaged in the following campus-community partnerships that embrace service learning projects and curriculum development: Madame Walker Partnership, Eiteljorg Museum, Hispanic Education Center and the Indianapolis Urban League.

Candidates in all programs work with diverse faculty in the K-12 schools during early field experiences and/or student teaching.

Element Three: Experiences Working with Diverse Candidates

Advanced and Initial Programs: Over the past several years, IUPUI has had enrollments of 27,000 -- 28,000 students per semester. The component of traditional-age students has increased annually, and like many other institutions of higher education, the student population at IUPUI is predominantly female (see IUPUI Student Diversity). The number of minority students reached a plateau during the recent past but increased again during 2001-2002. However, the composition of the minority population is shifting as a reflection of the demographic changes in the state of Indiana. African-Americans comprise the largest group of racial/ethnic minority students while the number of Hispanic students is increasing at a rapid rate.

The Columbus campus student body mirrors the demographics of the surrounding area from which the campus draws most of its students.

Data from the 2001 Professional Education Data System indicates that 11% of undergraduate full-time candidates in the School of Education at Indianapolis were from under-represented groups while 12% of part-time candidates were from these groups. Candidates from under-represented groups represented 12% of the candidates admitted to advanced education programs.

The demographics of candidates applying to the initial teacher education programs from Fall 2000 to Fall 2002 reflect that 8-9% of those applying and 7-8% of those admitted represented minority racial/ethnic groups. Thirty-one percent of those responding to the question on their applications indicated that they were first generation college students.

Project TEAM (Transformative Education Achievement Model) is an important part of the school's efforts to prepare teachers for culturally diverse student populations. In addition, it provides academic, social, personal and financial support for candidates from minorities who wish to become teachers.

The school is a key player in the campus-wide Bridge Program. This is an initiative to support incoming freshman in their transition from high school to college. The program provides a special opportunity to freshman to refine their academic skills and to acclimate to the college environment. Additionally, candidates are able to form relationships with other candidates, faculty and staff that will serve to increase their chances of academic success.

Element Four: Experiences Working with Diverse Students in P-12 Schools

Initial Programs: Candidates work extensively with diverse students in P-12 schools. All early field experiences are located in schools in the Indianapolis area. Candidates in block complete their early field experiences at sites selected in a purposeful manner by the faculty (see Elementary Rotation Grid). Faculty select sites in a programmatic way to ensure that all candidates work with diverse student populations at a variety of developmental levels (see School Rotation).

Candidates whose cohort works with Anchor or Partner Schools normally do their student teaching at those sites. All of these schools have diverse student populations. Candidates may also elect to do their student teaching overseas or on an Indian Reservation through the Cultural Immersion Project.

Advanced Programs: The advanced programs are based upon the in-school experiences of practicing teachers. Candidates are encouraged to view their own teaching from multiple perspectives throughout the programs. By observing and reflecting on their own students and those of their fellow candidates, they construct a viewpoint of teaching and learning beyond the insularity of their own ethnic or cultural group.