Trying the Triumvirate Approach at Oglethorpe: Integrating Teacher Education and the Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Overview & Synopsis

For 2 years, the division of education at Oglethorpe University (Georgia) has been building links among professors of teacher education, professors of liberal arts and sciences, and K-12 teachers (the triumvirate). The paper describes attempts to strengthen the multicultural dimension of the program. One very successful activity has been the development and execution of six seminars that brought together members of the triumvirate to discuss, plan, and execute integrated activities for student teachers before and during student teaching sessions. The seminars taught students how to integrate content into teacher education courses in K-12 English, biology, multiculturalism, mathematics, history, and foreign language. The triumvirate approach brought about changes in Oglethorpe's teacher education program including: (1) creation of new courses; (2) networking of teacher education/liberal arts/K-12 teaching professionals to improve teacher education curriculum; (3) development of related grant proposals; (4) involvement of liberal arts and sciences professors in training and evaluating student teachers; and (5) infusion of liberal arts into teacher training. The most immediate change coming from the triumvirate approach was in the way the three members of the triumvirate viewed each other's roles. (SM)