Purpose of the Project

Dedicated to Learning

Operation Happy to Be Here aims to create the kind of learning environments and experiences that might best support our teacher candidates' journeys to becoming exceptional educators. It began in the fall of 2018 as a collection of students, staff, instructors and faculty advisors that came together to discuss ways to ameliorate the Professional Program. The initiative has involved a variety of methodologies to help better understand and respond to the student experience, including a broad-based student questionnaire (implemented in February 2019, n=123), follow-up focus groups, targeted focus groups, straw polls, and faculty working groups, and student class projects.

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The focus of this website is to house and present constructive feedback, ideas, and recommendations for the program that have been generated by those closest to its implementation. The website contains findings from various data collection methods but also draws on relevant academic literature, faculty expertise, and comparative examples from similar education faculties. This format is intentionally accessible and transparent so that students, faculty and other stakeholders may all participate. It is also a living text, so it is a but also may be further developed, adjusted and updated as the process unfolds.

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In sum, this initiative proposes a vision for what this program might offer, constructive recommendations to achieve this vision and ideas and intent for their implementation.