University of Maine at Farmington
Mission Statement for Undergraduate Teacher Education

The University of Maine at Farmington prepares caring teachers, competent educators and confident professionals, grounded in the arts and sciences, who will become the educational leaders of the 21st century.

Revised and Accepted May 2007

Guiding Principles and Beliefs for Undergraduate Teacher Education

Our candidates will become the educational leaders of the 21st century who are caring teachers, competent educators and confident professionals. These guiding principles and beliefs reflect the ideals we hold for ourselves, our candidates, and the students and communities with whom they will work.

Caring Teachers

  1. Build respectful relationships
  2. Create communities of learners
  3. Support and encourage successful learning for all students
  4. Honor and respond to differences
  5. Utilize knowledge of human development

Competent Educators

  1. Design, plan, implement and evaluate instruction
  2. Use best practices for instruction and assessment
  3. Know content and strategies for integration
  4. Communicate clearly and effectively
  5. Solve problems creatively and constructively
  6. Use the tools of a changing world

Confident Professionals

  1. Collaborate effectively with families, communities, and colleagues
  2. Practice reflective, self-directed, life-long learning
  3. Demonstrate a commitment to ethical and legal responsibilities
  4. Contribute to and lead in diverse societies

Our essential goals and purposes are embodied in the Maine Standards for Initial Teacher Certification. These standards, written by the faculty at the University of Maine at Farmington and adopted by the state of Maine as the Standards for Initial Teacher Certification are:

Beginning teachers should be able to:

  1. Demonstrate knowledge of the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) s/he teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful to students.
  2. Demonstrate the ability to integrate the concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures among the disciplines.
  3. Demonstrate knowledge of the diverse ways in which students learn and develop by providing learning opportunities that support their intellectual, physical, emotional, social and cultural development.
  4. Plan instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, students, curriculum goals, and learning and development theory.
  5. Understand and use a variety of instructional strategies and appropriate technology to meet students’ needs.
  6. Create and maintain a classroom environment which supports and encourages learning.
  7. Demonstrate the ability to support students’ learning and well-being by engaging students, home, school, colleagues, and community.
  8. Understand and use a variety of formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and support the development of the learner.
  9. Demonstrate an awareness of and commitment to ethical and legal responsibilities of a teacher.
  10. Demonstrate a strong professional ethic and a desire to contribute to the education profession.

 

Last Updated: November 18, 2009