The Portfolio
CEC, currently the State of Indiana’s only performance-based computer endorsement program, has established a list of 23 Program Expectations that each student satisfies through her apprenticeship. The Expectations are closely related to the real work of teachers. The student amasses evidence of her teaching in a portfolio; it is the portfolio that supports the case that she must make to the faculty, to her mentor teacher, and ultimately to a hiring principal or superintendent, that she is, indeed, ready to enter the profession.

Democratic Governance
Any CEC member can propose a change in the program’s operation. CEC will develop a process for considering these proposals and subsequently voting on them. Every member of the community has a vote in determining how the program will evolve to meet new challenges.

Authentic Performance
Students complete the program, not by accumulating course credits, but by demonstrating, through the 23 Program Expectations, what they can do in a teaching capacity. Each student organizes this accumulating body of evidence in a Portfolio that serves two critical functions: it presents a convincing case to CEC faculty that the person is ready to teach, and it conveys to prospective employers the student’s potential as a teacher.

Community
CEC will foster a sense of community and continuity by placing students in a small, ongoing seminar, led by a faculty member. Through participation in this community students develop personal relations with their School of Education colleagues and experience a very different way to learn.

Personalization
The CEC standards are encapsulated in a set of 23 performance standards?what we term Program Expectations that span the gamut of teaching. These Expectations are more than competencies; they are the habits of mind of good teachers. Because good teaching is inextricably bound to an individual’s personality, each student creates his own path to becoming a good teacher.

Apprenticeship
Working alongside a master is a time-honored way to learn. The modeling that occurs in apprenticeships is a powerful tool. The CEC program empowers its students to select their own teacher mentors. Mentor Teachers, in turn, freely choose whether they will work with CEC students. Such mutual respect engenders commitment. CEC’s Mentor Teachers are critical elements of the communities we seek to build; they are always welcomed members of their Apprentices’ Seminars.

Intensive Fieldwork
Throughout his preparation, a student spends approximately one day each week in his Mentor Teacher’s school. Students essentially agree to serve as volunteer, part-time assistants whose responsibilities and latitude for action grow as their Mentor Teachers’ trust in their abilities and good judgement does.