The CANDLE Conceptual Framework

Overview
The Conceptual Framework (CF) is comprised of the fundamental elements that are embedded in the
MCEE educator preparation program. Each element will promote understanding and mastery of the
methods, research and practices required to effectively meet the educational needs of all children. A
primary focus is placed on the innovative and critical pedagogies that are essential in the preparation
of revolutionary educators. The interdisciplinary elements of the framework integrate principles,
theories and philosophies from both the social and human sciences. The framework also emphasizes
the importance of immersive experiences that permit teaching candidates to connect theory to
practice.

Philosophical and Theoretical Underpinnings

The philosophical foundation of the MCEE educator preparation model and motto is inspired by the
work of Morehouse alumnus, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and former Morehouse professor Dr.
Edward Jones. Though both books were published in 1967, each remain relevant to our institutional
mandate to develop men with disciplined minds who will lead lives of leadership and service.

In 1967 Dr. Edward Jones wrote A Candle in the Dark, a historical sketch of Morehouse College’s
first hundred years that includes instructions and aspirations for the next century. Jones shares the
following in his book:

Morehouse had begun as an elementary school ministering to the needs of freedman with a thirst for
knowledge and eager to function as free men in democratic society. Its first building was an
unpretentious Black church; its first students, a handful of adults not granted the opportunity to learn
to read. As its students’ educational levels advanced, so did the school’s curriculum. But whether as
an elementary school, or as a college, Morehouse addressed itself through its educational program to
one overall objective: the making of men. Its unique achievement is that it took in Black boys and
prepared them for graduate school, professional school, and for life—and all this in a segregated
society.

The last book written by Dr. King before his death, Where do We Go From Here, Community or
Chaos? contains themes of optimism and hope during a turbulent time in American history. Dr. King
states, “We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce
urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history there is such a thing as being too
late. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked and dejected
with a lost opportunity…this may well be mankind’s last chance to choose between chaos or
community.”

Now is the time to respond to the mandates and call to action delivered by Dr. King and Dr. Jones.
The Morehouse Center for Excellence in Education has developed a framework that incorporates the
institution’s rich history of servant leadership, social action and academic achievement with
approaches that are grounded in progressive and critical theories in education.

Educators Who Light the Way is the motto of the Morehouse Center for Excellence in Education.
Inspired by the motto of the college, et Facta est Lux, ‘and then there was light’, our motto serves as
a reminder of the Morehouse legacy of excellence, scholarship and commitment to justice. It is with
this spirit that we work to develop teachers and leaders who will illuminate the education sector.

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Components of the CANDLE Conceptual Framework

Critical Pedagogy
Appreciative Inquiry as Practice
Neuroscience and Learning
Digital and Distant Learning Methodologies
Leadership
Experiential Learning Activities

Critical Theory in Education (CRT)

CRT is an important component of this Conceptual Framework as it places racial literacy as a priority
in the development of teachers. Pre-service teachers must be equipped with the knowledge, skills, and
dispositions necessary to confront social inequality in society and promote equity within their sphere
of influence (Adams, 2010). It’s also important that teacher candidates can recognize and respond to
social inequality within and outside their classrooms and incorporate a critical approach into their
own teaching to increase equity among social and demographic groups (Picower, 2012).
According to Soloranzo (1997), teacher education programs must provide ongoing opportunities for
teachers to think and talk about issues related to race and social justice. By embedding Critical Race
Theory in the preparation of pre-service teachers, the common deficits-based narratives and
ideologies associated with people of color can be challenged. A research study conducted by____
revealed that pre-service teachers of color in education programs at Predominately White Institutions,
(PWIs) report their lived experiences as K12 learners often go unrecognized, and are often silenced
when they share their perspectives on racism and discrimination. Izriarry (2011). MCEE will use
CRT approaches to support Black male teachers as they examine intersections of their own learning
experiences and their role in what gets taught.

Appreciative Approaches
Appreciative Inquiry is used to challenge traditional problem-solving approaches by considering what
an organization (or school) does well, rather than focusing on its deficits. Appreciative Inquiry is a
theoretical approach (Barrett & Fry, 2008; Burrello, Beitz, & Mann, 2015; Cooperrider, Whitney, &
Stavros, 2008) that allows individuals to reject the deficit model and harness “students’ cultural
strengths” into the learning environment and organizational design (Azano, 2014, p. 62).

Appreciative educators ask strengths-based questions about their students and the contexts in which
they teach. They dream and focus on the ideal rather than the problematic. The CANDLE framework
includes approaches that connect principles from culturally relevant pedagogy (Ladson-Billings,
2009), culturally responsive teaching (Gay, 2010) and funds of knowledge (Moll & Gonzalez, 2004).
All set the stage to identify assets and resources within our marginalized students, families, and
communities, providing them hope, instead of assuming our struggling students are a burden and
liability (Guajardo et al., 2008; Trueba, 1999; Wyatt, 2014) as in the traditional problem-solving,
deficit model.

Neuroscience and Inquiry in Education

Those working across neuroscience and education point to how our understanding of the mind and
brain are complementary to each other (Howard-Jones, Varma, et al., 2016). In the last twenty years
more authentic dialogue between education and neuroscience has developed that is aimed at
enhancing teaching and learning with insights from the mind and brain. These efforts to identify
genuine scientific insights that can inform teachers’ understanding and practice.

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Distance and Digital Learning Methodologies
Hanson, Maushak, Schlosser, Anderson, Sorenson, and Simonson, (1997) state that the word
“‘distance’ has multiple meanings...the term, ‘distance education’ has been applied to a tremendous
variety of programs serving numerous audiences via a wide variety of media, [and] finally, rapid
changes in technology challenge the traditional ways in which distance education is defined” (pg. 1).

Education that takes place in a nontraditional environment is defined as distance learning.

Historically, distance learning and distant teaching, correspondence study, home study, independent
study or any other environment where the teacher and student are separated. More contemporary
distance learning approaches rely on digital and electronic tools to deliver instruction remotely.

Portway & Lane (1994) examines the role of the teacher and learner in the distance learning process,
and Keegan (1996) explores issues related to the following characteristics that will be incorporated
into the teacher preparation program:

• The impact of the separation of the teacher and learner

• The influence of the school on instructional planning and student support
• The use of digital media to deliver content and connect the teacher and student
• The two-way communication process that allows students to dialogue with the teacher
• The focus on the individual student and absence of the social learning group

There are many terms that describe how new technologies in educational settings reflect the
ambiguity that exists in the distance learning community (Guri-Rosenblit, 2009). In fact, the author
argues that distance education and e-learning are in fact two different approaches that permit teaching
and learning from a distance without actually participating in digital learning, which is typically
characterized by the use of technology as a way to replace face to face instruction (Guri-Rosenblit,
2009).

Leadership Development
Teachers have long been accustomed to working in isolation within the boundaries of their own
classrooms. Going beyond the class- room by providing input at meetings, sharing best practices,
working with the community, working with university faculty, and mentoring teacher candidates are
examples of additional challenges that can foster the development of leadership (Petrie, 1995).
Teachers need to be given opportunities to leave the isolation of their classrooms to collaborate with
others in order to build leadership capacity (Dozier, 2007). While there are some teachers who view
teacher leadership as formal administrative roles, others view it as any opportunity in which teachers
contribute to the decision-making process (Donaldson & Johnson, 2007). Whichever way it is
defined, it is commonly accepted that teacher leadership capacity is underdeveloped in most schools
(Greenlee, 2007).

Teaching requires complex decision making, frequently under conditions of uncertainty and high
levels of pressure. Therefore, the role of leadership in a school setting, whether exer- cised by
teachers or administrators, involves supporting the decision making of teachers in the service of
student learning.

Experiential Activities

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Rooted in the work of Dewey, Piaget, Vygotsky and Hahn, experiential learning is an overarching
term used to classify several different forms of learning approaches, including problem and inquiry-
based learning. Dewey stated that not all experience results in learning. Experiential learning, much
like professional development, is a process of change within the individual. For each learner it is
unique as they draw upon their own past experiences as a foundation to engage with the new. In
teacher professional development it is suggested that this approach can motivate teachers to try new
practices and make desired changes to the curriculum a practical reality (Darling-Hammond &
McLaughlin, 2011).

Pre-service teachers’ knowledge and beliefs about teaching and learning were developed over the
many years of their own educations, through “apprenticeship of observation” (Lortie, 1975), in
traditional lecture-based settings that they then replicate in their own classrooms. To support the
implementation of inquiry in K–12 classrooms, teachers need firsthand experiences of inquiry,
questioning, and experimentation within professional development programs (Gess-Newsome,
1999; Supovitz and Turner, 2000; Capps et al., 2012).

The literature on teacher learning and professional development calls for professional development
that is sustained over time, as the duration of professional development is related to the depth of
teacher change (Shields et al., 1998; Weiss et al., 1998; Supovitz and Turner, 2000; Banilower et al.,
2007). If the professional development program is too short in duration, teachers may dismiss the
suggested practices or at best assimilate teaching strategies into their current repertoire with little
substantive change (Tyack and Cuban, 1995; Coburn, 2004). For example, Supovitz and Turner
(2000) found that sustained professional development (more than 80 h) was needed to create an
investigative classroom culture in science, as opposed to small-scale changes in practices.

Teachers need professional development that is interactive with their teaching practices; in other
words, professional development programs should allow time for teachers to try out new practices, to
obtain feedback on their teaching, and to reflect on these new practices. Not only is duration (total
number of hours) of professional development important, but also the time span of the professional
development experience (number of years across which professional hours are situated) to allow for
multiple cycles of presentation and reflection on practices (Blumenfeld et al., 1991; Garet et al.,
2001). Supovitz and Turner's study (2000) suggests that it is more difficult to change classroom
culture than teaching practices; the greatest changes in teaching practices occurred after 80 hours of
professional development, while changes in classroom investigative culture did not occur until after
160 hours of professional development.

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