Education at Central College
Secondary Education CTA
The Central Teacher Academy (CTA) program is a three-year collaborative model for preparing prospective teachers, which utilizes the resources of distinct educational entities:
- Central College
- Pella Community School District
- Pella Christian Schools
- Heartland Area Education Agency
Exceptional students pursuing teaching careers must apply and be selected to participate in CTA. Those students selected are trained and paired with mentor teachers in the Pella CSD or Pella Christian schools for two years, prior to student teaching.
Central Teacher Academy Application
Sophomore Year – Middle School and High School
- Observation in mentor classroom using observation tool; discuss observation with mentor teacher
- Classroom or small group opportunities which include interactions with students
- Instruction planning with mentor teacher
- Work in the non-proficient classroom or other tutoring situation at least one hour per week
- Attendance at staff development sessions
- Training in specific teaching practices including: Motivational strategies, Cooperative learning, Study and test taking skills, Setting objectives and providing feedback, Summarizing and note taking
- On-going consultation from mentor teacher and CTA coordinator
Junior Year – Middle School and High School
- Peer coaching and mentor for a sophomore CTA student
- Attendance at staff development sessions
- Training in specific teaching practices including: Behavioral and motivational strategies, Classroom management, Reflective conferencing strategies, Classroom Instruction That Works by Marzano, Pickering, Pollock: Research based teaching practices on nonlinguistic representation, similarities and differences, reinforcing effort and providing feedback, setting objectives, cooperative learning
- Instruction planning with mentor teacher
- Collaborative teaching in small and large groups, 6-8 hours per month with mentor teacher
- Reflection and analysis of lesson completed by CTA student and mentor
Senior Year – Middle School and High School
- Student teaching with mentor teacher
- Mentor sophomore and junior CTA students
- Coordinate and implement additional training for junior CTA students
- Opportunities for continued involvement with mentor teacher after student teaching
Central Teacher Academy is endorsed by:
- Greg Ebeling, Superintendent of Pella Community Schools
- David Wood, School Consultant, Heartland Area Education Agency
- Mark Putnam, President of Central College