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TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAM HANDBOOK EDUCATION DEPARTMENT LEWIS HALL 1501 Morningside Avenue Sioux City, Iowa 51106 TELEPHONE: (712) 274-5106 FAX: (712) 274-5470 www: Revised Fall 2008 Morningside College Education Department Conceptual Framework Teacher Education Theme: An Effective Educator is a caring professional who creates interactive learning environments responsive to the diverse needs of students and society. An Effective Educator is a caring professional. Caring educators respond thoughtfully to a wide range of human needs and conditions and exemplify the virtues they seek to impart to students. They understand that concern for knowledge and skills cannot be separated from dispositions, those values and beliefs unique to each individual. The caring educators establish and maintain a psychologically safe and healthy classroom based on positive and nurturing relationships. They use individual and group guidance and problem-solving techniques to develop supportive relationships with students. The environment created by caring educators is characterized by mutual trust, respect, encouragement, and shared responsibility. Caring educators modify the environment and learning experiences to meet the unique needs of each learner while valuing the efforts of all students regardless of proficiency. An Effective Educator establishes and maintains collaborative relationships with colleagues, other professionals and families, and works effectively as a member of a professional team. The caring educator serves as an advocate for students and their families and works for the improved quality of programs and services. Effective educators continually seek to preserve and improve the society by establishing caring communities of learners. An Effective Educator is a professional who is academically proficient in the subjects taught, a researcher of best practice, and an inquirer into the teaching profession. Professionals reflect on their practice and cr