20 Apr2021
By Matthew Wales
Although entirely virtual, participants were amazed at the volume of opportunities to engage with scholars, network with fellow colleagues, and collaborate on topics important to education and educator preparation during AACTE’s 2021 Annual Meeting. With over 150 presentations addressing the theme of “Resisting Hate, Restoring Hope: Engaging in Courageous Actions,” attendees united in efforts to disrupt inequities while educating for inclusion and change. And as AACTE eagerly begin preparations to meet in-person at the 2022 Annual Meeting in New Orleans, participants will play a vital role as we “Rethink, Reshape, Reimagine, Revolutionize: Growing the Profession Post Pandemic.”
Ready to be a part of the change during AACTE’s 2022 Annual Meeting in New Orleans? Year after year, demand to present at the Annual Meeting continues to remain high, and only the “best of the best” content is ultimately selected for presentation during the conference. Want your proposal to be a cut above the rest? Then be sure to follow these tips for submitting a competitive proposal:
10 Mar2021
By Matthew Wales
Now through May 28, AACTE is accepting session proposals for the 74th Annual Meeting, to be held in New Orleans, LA, March 4-6, 2022. We also invite applications by May 14 from AACTE member faculty to review proposals.
The conference theme is “Rethink, Reshape, Reimagine, Revolutionize: Growing the Profession Post Pandemic,” conceptualized as follows in the call for proposals:
The events of 2020 challenged the field of education in dramatic and unprecedented ways. The advent of the pandemic thrust educators into uncharted territory and created a dramatically different, virtual context for teaching and learning. As the COVID‐19 crisis unfolded, teachers and teacher candidates quickly adapted their instruction to incorporate multiple modes of delivery, including virtual, hybrid, and in‐person instruction constrained by masks, plexiglass, and social distancing. The enormous investment of energy required to make the sudden shift, the isolation imposed by the threat of the pandemic, and the separation from colleagues tested the intellect, energy, and emotional resilience of educators. In the midst of this unforeseen and uncharted environment, a pressing challenge arose: addressing the striking inequities of access to technology and learning, clearly delineated along socioeconomic lines, which stood to further expand the achievement gap between white students and their classmates of color.
12 Jan2021
By Matthew Wales
Meeting as we complete the final stages of planning. We are confident the content offerings will both spark and support positive change and growth for you, your institutions, and for our profession.
If there is one thing we have learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is that flexibility and patience are more important than ever. We have heard from a multitude of AACTE members that today’s early bird registration deadline for the Annual Meeting is too soon. Many of you are just returning to campus after a well-deserved winter break, and simply put, need a few more days to coordinate both your registration and payment. AACTE both hears your request and understands your point of view, and we are happy to extend the deadline.
Please be sure to register for the AACTE 2021 Annual Meeting at the early bird discount by next Tuesday, January 19. And, remember:
16 Nov2020
By Matthew Wales
Applications are now being accepted for the new AACTE Video Observation Technology Implementation Grant. This opportunity, in collaboration with Edthena, is available exclusively to AACTE members.
Given the many challenges that educator preparation programs have weathered in 2020, AACTE and Edthena have created this grant opportunity to provide some much needed relief for up to 20 AACTE members. Each grantee will be awarded up to $25,000 in grant funds, which will be utilized to implement the Edthena platform for the upcoming Spring 2021 semester.
For those AACTE member institutions interested in applying:
- Active AACTE members in good standing, and not already an Edthena partner, are eligible for the grant.
- Matching of grant funds are not required during this Spring 2021 offering.
- Continuing Edthena implementation after the grant period is not required.
- Grantees will receive implementation and planning support from the Edthena team to build a deployment strategy for the spring semester.
- Awardees will receive access to the relevant edTPA toolsets needed for your program (where applicable).
- AACTE team members will also participate in onboarding training with grantees, where possible, to help connect awardees with additional resources.
02 Nov2020
By Matthew Wales
Themed Leadership During Difficult Times, AACTE’s first session of the 2020 Leadership Academy Series, held on October 14, explored how three institutions have risen to the challenge and taken strides to make lasting policy and programmatic changes related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. To continue the discussion, AACTE has provided panelist Lisa Norton, dean of the College of Education & Health Sciences at Touro University, California and one of the featured panelists, with some additional questions from session attendees. Here is what she had to say:
The Graduate School of Education at Touro University, California recently held a series of informative and courageous conversations regarding what it means for education to live diversity in 2020 and beyond. Can you share some of the insights related to accessibility for all PK-12 students in a remote learning environment?
Our current Academic College Instructional Designer and Graduate School of Education faculty member, Dr. Michael Barbour, is internationally known for work on PK-12 remote learning and accessibility. We are lucky to have him to help both our own campus and the local school districts with information related to creating an inclusive online environment. We conducted a webinar series entitled Diversity Now, in which we addressed this and many other topics. We are now in discussions to help the school district with additional support for families. This support includes tutoring and mentoring children in two of the schools and possibly partnering on a large-scale grant effort through the state.
23 Oct2020
By Matthew Wales
Every year, AACTE typically holds its Leadership Academy as an in-depth, face-to-face, hands-on training for those educators seeking to begin or enhance their roles in academic leadership. Given the current Covid-19 pandemic, AACTE wanted to bring a portion of that experience to its membership, and thus the 2020 Leadership Academy Series was created.
With the theme of Leadership During Difficult Times, the Leadership Academy Series explores topics that are more relevant than ever to our members. The first session of the series, held on October 14, explored how three institutions have risen to the challenge and taken strides to make lasting policy and programmatic changes related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Monika Williams Shealey, senior vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion at Rowan University, was one of three distinguished panelists. She recently took time to answer some additional questions from attendees. Here is what she had to say:
01 Oct2020
By Matthew Wales
After much deliberation, AACTE has decided it is in the best interest of its members, sponsors, education colleagues, and strategic partners to not hold an in-person Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington in February 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, AACTE will host its 2021 Annual Meeting, now taking place February 24-26, as a virtual conference. The goal, however, will remain the same: to provide interactive and meaningful experiences that will equip attendees to advance educator preparation during these challenging times.
As an association, we understand the value of face-to-face meetings. We appreciate the formal and informal opportunities to share and discuss best practices and latest research in-person, connecting with like-minded peers, and recognizing and honoring colleagues for their stellar accomplishments. We are confident that our virtual experience will continue to provide these unique experiences in an innovative way while ensuring your safety.
14 Sep2020
By Matthew Wales
For much of 2020, COVID-19 has forced AACTE and its members to “think outside the box” and reimagine programming. Just last week, AACTE conducted its inaugural virtual event, with educators coming together to receive advocacy training and learn effective techniques for effectively engaging with political leaders. And in keeping with innovating its professional development opportunities during the current pandemic, the association is pleased to announce the 2020 AACTE Leadership Academy Series.
In lieu of the traditional, in-person, four-day training, this years’ experience will offer a series of interactive sessions for attendees. The six-session experience will take place in two parts, with three sessions to be offered this fall, and the other three sessions to be offered during the 2021 Annual Meeting. Under the theme of “Leading During Difficult Times,” the three fall sessions will explore content in the following areas:
October 14 – Addressing Issues in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
October 27 – Collaborative Decision-Making During Crisis
November 10 – Re-Thinking Field Experience
14 May2020
By Matthew Wales
The reviews are in, and AACTE’s 2020 Annual Meeting was its most successful and engaging learning opportunity yet! Under the theme “Disrupting Inequities: Educating for Change,” attendees explored and developed methods and strategies to infuse equity and inclusivity into preparation and practice. And looking to the 2021 Annual Meeting, attendees will continue to revolutionize the profession by “Resisting Hate, Restoring Hope: Engaging in Courageous Actions.”
Want to feature your work during AACTE’s 2021 Annual Meeting in Seattle? Each year, AACTE receives many more proposals for consideration than can be accommodated, and only the “best of the best” content makes its way into the programming for the conference. So take note, because you will want to follow these tips to submit a competitive proposal:
27 Apr2020
By Matthew Wales
The AACTE Annual Meeting is the premier educator preparation conference in the nation. Each year, the conference provides a forum for educators to engage in meaningful discussions, share research and practices, and become better equipped to drive change in the educator preparation field. And with the 2021 Annual Meeting theme of “Resisting Hate, Restoring Hope: Engaging in Courageous Actions,” the profession will continues its 2020 mission to join together in a united effort to disrupt inequities while educating for inclusion and change.
Peer Reviewers serve an important role in ensuring that exemplary learning opportunities are selected from the proposals submitted. Since the Annual Meeting offers attendees a wide breadth and depth of content and learning experiences, peer reviewers from a background of areas from within the educator preparation field are essential. AACTE encourages you to shape the focus of the 2021 Annual Meeting by volunteering to serve as a peer reviewer.
Timeline for a Reviewer Application
- Applications are due by Wednesday, May 13 at 11:59 p.m. PT
- Approved applicants will be notified on or before Friday, June 5 at 11:59 p.m. PT
03 Mar2020
“Resisting Hate, Restoring Hope: Engaging in Courageous Actions”
By Matthew Wales
Now through May 27, AACTE is accepting session proposals for the 73rd Annual Meeting, to be held in Seattle, WA, February 26 – 28, 2021. We also invite applications by May 13 for AACTE member faculty to review proposals.
The conference theme is “Resisting Hate, Restoring Hope: Engaging in Courageous Actions,” conceptualized as follows in the call for proposals:
Collectively, we are losing traction in our democracy and experiencing reversals in the civil and human rights that leaders such as Cesar Chavez, Delores Huerta, Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, and Harvey Milk all fought to advance. Children are being educated in an environment fraught with violence on our school campuses and in our communities. They are assaulted by guns, words, and legislation that create an unsafe, hateful, and fearful climate. We are living in a time when children are taken from their families, retained in deplorable circumstances, and denied access to basic needs and education. The term “all” seems to only mean some, and people who speak out against these injustices are attacked by words and actions.
23 May2019
By Matthew Wales
Academic leaders from across the country are preparing to gather in Pittsburgh, PA, for AACTE’s annual Leadership Academy. In one month, attendees will experience an interactive and engaging professional development opportunity designed to advance their leadership skills while exploring a wide range of topics. And even if you have attended in the past, you should consider returning this year, June 23-27, as the program has once again integrated new content into the curriculum (view the full schedule).
Academy faculty first redesigned the content of the popular “Managing Conflict” sessions in 2017 by incorporating avatars into the program. Faced with difficult conversations and topics likely to occur in an academic environment, groups of job-alike attendees collaborate to design effective responses to the scenarios proposed. Their conflict-response plans are tested in simulated encounters, as volunteers meet with avatars, who emulate the situations attendees are likely to face when they return to their institutions.
“This training was one of the most valuable I’ve participated in,” said an attendee from the 2018 Leadership Academy about their avatar experience. “It provided an opportunity to define my objectives, take notes, and reflect upon how I could communicate more clearly.”
06 May2019
By Matthew Wales
Looking to begin, or even expand upon, your career as an educational leader? AACTE’s Leadership Academy is your opportunity to discover who you are as an academic administrator. We asked a member of AACTE’s Academy Faculty, John Henning, to elaborate upon his experiences as a three-time attendee. Henning had this insight to offer, as well as advice for future Academy participants:
What year(s) did you attend the Academy, and what position were you in at the time?
I first attended the Academy as a newly-hired, outside department chair in 2009. I attended again in 2013, when I was promoted to Associate Dean. Finally, I attended a third time in 2015 when I began my dean’s position.
19 Apr2019
By Matthew Wales
AACTE received high praise for its sessions during the 2019 Annual Meeting in Louisville, KY. Such acclaim can be contributed to one important element: the competitive nature of the Annual Meeting selection process. Each year, AACTE receives many more proposals for consideration than can be accommodated, so only the “best of the best” content makes its way into the programming for the conference.
Want to see your work featured during AACTE’s 2020 Annual Meeting in Atlanta? Then take note, because you will want to prepare a proposal that stands out in our peer-review process. Follow these five tips, and you are likely to distinguish yourself from the rest:
- Mind the Details –Y our proposal will be evaluated based upon the 10 criteria and elements outlined in the Expectations for Presentations. Familiarize yourself with these prior to writing your proposal. And most importantly, do NOT include any information that identifies either the authors or the institutions in the written proposal.
- Be Succinct and Specific – Choose a title that clearly conveys your topic. Proposals selected for presentation tend to state their subject matter upfront in the title. Additionally, the majority of chosen proposals contain short, concise abstracts that highlight the main focus of the presentation.
18 Apr2019
By Matthew Wales
AACTE’s Leadership Academy is the perfect professional development opportunity for you to discover who you are as a leader. Designed for new and aspiring deans, department chairs, and anyone looking to develop or enhance their skills as an academic administrator, the academy covers the essentials of leadership while helping attendees cultivate a supportive network of peers. Here’s what the newest member of AACTE’s Academy Faculty, John Kuykendall had to say about his experience, including being a previous Academy participant:
What do you feel is the most valuable reason for attending the Leadership Academy?
For new administrators, it is essential to know that you are not alone in your role. I consider it necessary to develop a support group around your new leadership position and to have colleagues to call upon for guidance and assistance. The sessions at AACTE’s Leadership Academy provided me with key awareness in the decision-making process and leadership practices and strategies. My experience with the Academy was essential in developing a confident start in my new role as a dean for a school of education.
