Archive for December, 2017

AACTE Tech Committee Joins Fall Summit, Plans Preconference Symposium for #AACTE18

group photo of aacte committee on innovation and technology
Members of AACTE’s Committee on Innovation and Technology at the 2017 National Technology Leadership Summit in Washington, DC

AACTE and its Committee on Innovation and Technology (I&T) are committed to being a leading voice in the preparation of educators to integrate technology within teaching and learning. The latest examples of this commitment include active participation in the 2017 National Technology Leadership Summit (NTLS) and plans for a preconference symposium at the 2018 AACTE Annual Meeting.

AACTE hosted the 18th annual NTLS September 28-29 at the Association’s headquarters building in Washington, DC. AACTE President/CEO Lynn M. Gangone welcomed NTLS attendees, acknowledging the importance of the work to be done during the summit. Six members of the I&T committee attended the event, including Chair Arlene Borthwick (National Louis University, IL), Jon Clausen (Ball State University, IN), Elizabeth Finsness (Minnesota State University-Mankato), Charles Hodges (Georgia Southern University), Lara Luetkehans (Indiana University of Pennsylvania), and Guy Trainin (University of Nebraska-Lincoln).

What Supports Are Needed for New School Leaders? Discuss in Dec. 14 Webinar

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On Thursday, December 14, AACTE will host a free webinar, supported by The Wallace Foundation, on principal leadership. Please join us from 3:00-4:00 p.m. EST for “Principals as Transformation Leaders: Support for New Leaders.”

Although university support for new school leaders often ends with graduation, novice principals need ongoing professional development and can benefit from continued connections with their preservice preparation programs. The new leaders serving as panelists on this webinar will offer perspectives on their preservice principal preparation and ideas for creating ongoing systems of support. Each panelist is a recent participant in a new leadership institute at Colorado State University, developed in partnership with AACTE and the Wallace Foundation, that convened early-career principals to identify practices and support structures needed for graduates beyond university-based preparation programs. Outcomes from these institute discussions will help guide curriculum reform to better prepare school principals and will also inform universities on how to keep the connection with alumni vibrant and relevant.

Research Brief Explores Using ESSA Funding to Support Community Schools

On November 14, the Learning Policy Institute (LPI) held a briefing to share research-based findings and recommendations on investing in community schools as a means to school improvement. The briefing was based on a study LPI recently conducted with the National Education Policy Center and highlighted community schools – that is, schools that partner with local agencies to provide integrated academic, health, and social services to the community – as a school improvement approach that meets the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requirement for “evidence-based” interventions.

At the briefing, panelists included representatives from community schools and other supporters. Community School Director Shanelle England described her work at Baltimore’s Forest Park High School, which consists of supporting her students, their families, and the school staff, as well as developing relationships with community agencies. The panelists all advocated for continued funding for the integrated models.

White House Releases Higher Education Reauthorization Principles

On the same day that Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) released her Higher Education Act (HEA) reauthorization bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Trump Administration released a set of principles for HEA reauthorization.

The White House document (see PDF here) reveals five broad goals and eight policy principles for consideration as the reauthorization process begins in the U.S. House of Representatives. The House Education and the Workforce committee is expected to move the bill forward starting the week of December 4. On the U.S. Senate side, Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) has stated that HEA reauthorization will be a priority for the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee next year.

House HEA Bill Would Repeal Title II, End TEACH Grants

On December 1, the Republicans of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce released their bill to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. H.R. 4508, the “Promoting Real Opportunity, Success, and Prosperity though Education Reform (PROSPER) Act,” would change or repeal aspects of the current law.

While we are still analyzing the bill, here are few key provisions that would affect educator preparation:

TQP Grantees Discuss Program Transformation on Radio Show

Faculty from three AACTE-member universities were featured guests in an Education Talk Radio show last month to discuss their experiences as Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) grantees. Joining host Larry Jacobs were the following teacher educators:

  • Christina K. O’Connor, Director, Professional Educator Preparation, Policy, and Accountability, and Co-Chair, Collaborative for Educator Preparation, University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Regional Director, North Carolina New Teacher Support Program
  • DaShaunda Patterson, Clinical Assistant Professor, Educational Psychology, Special Education, and Communication Disorders, Georgia State University
  • Jennifer Robinson, Director of the Center of Pedagogy, Montclair State University (NJ)

Study Suggests Early Childhood Teacher Candidates Need More Support to Create Mathematical Modeling Problems

Have you seen the JTE Insider blog managed by the Journal of Teacher Education (JTE) editorial team? Check out the following interview with the authors of a recent article. This blog is available to the public, and AACTE members have free access to the articles themselves in the full JTE archives online – justlog in with your AACTE profile here.

This interview features insights from the article “An Examination of Preservice Teachers’ Capacity to Create Mathematical Modeling Problems for Children,” by Catherine Paolucci of the State University of New York at New Paltz and Helena Wessels of Stellenbosch University (South Africa). The article, which appears in the May/June issue of JTE, is summarized in the following abstract: