Both of KSU and KU believe that the recruitment of undergraduate students into teacher education majors and retaining early teachers during the induction phase of their careers is strongly dependent on developing teacher preparation programs that value student learning, model best teaching practices, present the reality of K-12 teaching to preservice teachers and establish lasting supportive connections between mentoring programs in school districts, colleges and universities. The teacher preparation programs at KU and KSU are undergoing significant redesigns with the intention of improving the performance of our institutions in these areas.

Kansas State has entered into partnership with three local school districts to establish twelve elementary schools, four middle schools, and one high school Professional Development Schools (PDSs). The KSU PDS Model is founded on the belief that teacher preparation and school reform are the joint responsibility of institutions of higher education and school systems. The vision of the KSU PDS partnership is to collaboratively restructure the College of Education's teacher preparation program while simultaneously reforming K-12 education for all students and educators. Institutional partners share responsibility for the clinical preparation of new teachers, continuing professional development of school and university faculty, support of K-12 students' learning, and support of research focused on the improvement of teaching and learning. All teachers and principals from the 13 PDSs are now collaborative PDS partners.

The PDSs and their faculty are involved in all phases of the K-State teacher preparation program. Each PDS has identified at least one clinical instructor and K-State faculty member who coordinate the PDS activities and experiences in conjunction with the building principal. Our intent is to create new roles for all PDSs and KSU partners and to establish a joint community of learners. We are implementing our intent by using teachers, administrators, and KSU faculty as co-planners, teachers, and evaluators of methods courses and field experiences, on-site PDS seminar leaders, and supervisors and mentors of practicing teachers.

KU is planning a cooperative teaching approach for instruction in teacher education courses. The goal of this strategy is to create synergy between issues in instruction, educational research, cognitive development, and school organization and operation, while reducing redundancy in topic coverage. The curriculum spirals from introductory education content in the first two years of the program through intensive methods coursework during the final two years of study. The reform will also redefine the methods used in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to present mathematics and science content to preservice teachers. For preservice teachers, this plan culminates in a two-semester fifth year internship in which courses are presented at the internship site using case studies from the site to focus discussion. This strategy will allow the preservice interns to construct their understanding of the instructional and cognitive issues addressed in the courses. This plan will also establish a stronger link between KU's growing PDS program and continuing on-site staff development in these schools and districts.