Apply Now for 2018 AACTE Awards

Nominations for the 2018 AACTE awards are now open on AACTE’s online submission site (except the Outstanding Book Award, which closed May 30). Applications for the Outstanding Dissertation Award are due August 18, and all other award submissions are due October 12.

Now in its 22nd year, AACTE’s awards program recognizes member institutions’ exemplary programs as well as individuals who have made noteworthy contributions to education preparation. For an overview of last year’s winners, see this press release.

Radio Show Spotlights AACTE Member Work to Combat Teacher Shortages

In the latest monthly episode of Education Talk Radio spotlighting AACTE member institutions’ work, the online radio show featured the work of three educator preparation programs to combat teacher shortages. Host Larry Jacobs was joined for the May 17 show by AACTE member deans Kim Metcalf from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV), Patricia McHatton from the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), and Marcia Burrell from the State University of New York-Oswego (SUNY-Oswego) as well as Rod Lucero from AACTE.

Teacher shortages are plaguing many states and districts around the country, particularly in high-need fields and low-income schools. In addition to school-centered problems such as high teacher turnover and persistent gaps in the diversity of students and their teachers, preparation programs have experienced enrollment drops that further heighten the productivity challenge. “It has to do with, quite frankly, money,” Lucero said, noting that college students are leery of investing in an expensive degree for a career that lacks sufficient salary to repay their student loans, and some teachers start out earning below the poverty line.

China-U.S. Education Innovation Alliance Marks Launch of Fund for Collaborative Projects

On May 12, AACTE President/CEO Sharon P. Robinson addressed U.S. and Chinese leaders from education, investment, and business sectors in Shenzhen, China, marking the launch of an investment fund of $20 billion for education initiatives by CITICS Securities, the largest brokerage in China. Robinson was invited to speak as cochair of the China-U.S. Education Innovation Alliance, which was created in February 2017 to promote collaboration and exchange opportunities for innovative education programs in both countries.

“Our alliance results from more than 2 years of intense research and discussions to identify unique Chinese and U.S. assets that are ready to be leveraged in order to create new answers to important questions of education practice in both countries,” Robinson noted in her remarks, thanking the Ivy Elite Education Association for its role in convening the group. She also expressed gratitude on behalf of the alliance to CITICS leadership connecting Chinese business and philanthropic interests to global education issues.

Preservice Residency Helps Candidates Develop Teaching Style, Confidence

Two new videos are available this week in AACTE’s Research-to-Practice Spotlight Series highlighting the St. John’s University (NY) School of Education clinical preparation program known as RISE. This week’s videos show how the experience teacher candidates have in the classroom contributes to their teaching style and to their readiness to teach after completing their 1-year internships. See this introduction to the series for more information about RISE.

The School of Education at St. John’s University (SJU) and its Residential Internship for St. John’s Educators (RISE) in partnership with Queens school districts develop high-quality teachers by exposing candidates intensively to classrooms during their collegiate career. SJU students develop their teaching style and voice and enter the profession feeling confident and prepared, thanks to their residential internship experiences and prolonged mentorship by veteran teachers.

Call for Entries: 2018 AACTE Outstanding Dissertation Award

Have you recently completed a fabulous dissertation? Then AACTE wants to hear from you! Applications for the 2018 Outstanding Dissertation Award are being accepted in our online submission system now through August 18.

The AACTE Outstanding Dissertation Award recognizes excellence in doctoral dissertation research (or its equivalent) that contributes to the knowledge base of educator preparation or of teaching and learning with implications for educator preparation. Dissertations completed since January 2016 are eligible for consideration, regardless of what institution awarded the doctorate (member or nonmember of AACTE). See the call for entries (PDF) for other requirements.

Research-to-Practice Spotlight Turns to RISE at St. John’s University

I am thrilled to introduce the St. John’s University (NY) School of Education as the next featured institution in the AACTE Research-to-Practice Spotlight series. In this latest focus on exemplary models of clinical practice, we highlight the work of the Residential Internship for St. John’s Educators (RISE) program in Queens, New York. This partnership with surrounding school districts aims to develop the very best teachers for local classrooms, a mission to which both the university and the school district are committed.

The first video in the series is now posted in the Innovation Exchange, introducing the RISE program’s yearlong internships and focusing on the importance of relationship-building and a shared professional community. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be publishing additional videos and blog summaries to highlight what AACTE staff learned during our visit to the St. John’s campus and partner sites.

AACTE Kicks Off Regional Workshop Series for Quality Assurance Work

(April 24, 2017, Washington D.C.) – Today, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) launches its inaugural Quality Support Workshop in Fort Worth, Texas. The workshop, which runs through Wednesday, is the first in a new series of regional events focused on supporting teacher preparation providers to improve program quality. By providing a forum for educators to share experiences about program innovation and construct solutions to shared problems of practice, the Quality Support Workshops aim to meet the present-day needs of teacher educators.

Offered through the Association’s Quality Support Center, these workshops deliver professional development for assessment, accreditation, and documenting quality assurance in convenient sites around the country. Each event connects participants with specialists in facilitated, hands-on sessions where faculty can share strategies and develop customized, actionable plans for use in their home institutions.

AACTE, Westat Piloting Surveys of EPP Graduates, Supervisors

AACTE and Westat are partnering with state chapters and education agencies this spring to pilot new surveys of beginning teachers and their supervisors. By developing common instruments to be used across states that can also be customized with state-specific questions, the partners aim to fill the need for both national benchmarks for preparation programs (as called for in accreditation standards) and state-determined priorities.

AACTE staff conducted exploratory work last year, collecting and studying state-level instruments currently used for surveying program completers in 13 states that were willing to share both their instruments and their most recent survey results. We found that all of the instruments align with the InTASC model standards for beginning teachers, although their length and emphasis areas vary. Meanwhile, we began talking with state education agencies (SEAs) and AACTE state chapters and member institutions to gauge their interest in consolidating these state and institution data collection efforts in a national-level instrument.

Clinical Practice Commission Shares Proclamations, Tenets at AACTE Forum

On the last day of the 69th AACTE Annual Meeting in Tampa, Florida, the AACTE Clinical Practice Commission (CPC) held a major forum to unveil and discuss the 10 “Essential Proclamations and Tenets for Highly Effective Clinical Educator Preparation” identified in the CPC’s work. These proclamations and tenets, which undergird a forthcoming white paper, were released during the forum as part of a draft executive summary of the paper.

The event started with a panel presentation and discussion moderated by CPC member Jennifer Robinson, executive director of the Center of Pedagogy and associate professor at Montclair State University (NJ). Panelists included Michael Alfano, Central Connecticut State University; Diane Fogarty, Loyola Marymount University (CA); John Henning, Monmouth University (NJ); Rene Roselle, University of Connecticut; Jennifer Roth, Poudre School District (Fort Collins, CO); and Christine Smith, University at Albany, State University of New York.

AACTE Members Showcase Initiatives to Advance Social Justice, Diversity

A major forum at last month’s AACTE Annual Meeting highlighted actions under way to diversify the teaching workforce and advance social justice at universities across the country. Titled “Meeting the Needs of All Learners: Advancing Social Justice and Diversity in Teacher Preparation,” the forum featured panelists from four Association initiatives working toward these objectives: the AACTE Black and Hispanic/Latino Male Teacher Initiative Networked Improvement Community (NIC), the Diversified Teaching Workforce: Recruitment and Retention AACTE Topical Action Group, the AACTE Holmes Program, and the AACTE Committee on Global Diversity.

The forum was moderated by Sharon Leathers of William Paterson University (NJ) and included the following panelists, each of whom is a member of one or more of the four initiatives: Lora Bailey of New Mexico Highlands University, Traci Baxley of Florida Atlantic University, Jacob Easley of Eastern Connecticut University, Conra Gist of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, and Reyes Quezada of the University of San Diego (CA).

Elementary Students Enjoy Having Two Teachers in the Classroom Through Mason’s PDS Model

The final segments of AACTE’s Research-to-Practice Spotlight Series featuring the George Mason University (VA) clinical model are now available online. This week’s videos present the voices of first and fourth graders from Westlawn Elementary School and Daniels Run Elementary School discussing their experience learning from interns alongside their experienced teachers.

PDS Partnership Benefits PK-12 Students From Many Angles

Two new videos are available this week on AACTE’s Research-to-Practice Spotlight Series highlighting the George Mason University (VA) College of Education and Human Development’s clinical preparation program. This week’s videos present partner elementary schools’ experience with having multiple teachers in the classroom and display the readiness of George Mason students after completing their 1-year internships.

The College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University (GMU) and its network of professional development schools (PDSs) benefit PK-12 student learning in several ways. Students enjoy having access to a second adult in the room dedicated to helping them succeed; teacher mentors gain new perspectives and techniques they can integrate in their classroom; and teacher candidates are prepared through a yearlong internship to hit the ground running in their own classrooms in the future.

Free Data-Use Online Course Starts March 20

AACTE’s enhanced online professional seminars, offered through the Quality Support Center on the FutureLearn social-learning platform, are well under way! More than 5,000 registrants signed up for the first run of our introductory assessment course, which just concluded, and the second course, Using Data to Improve Student Outcomes, opens March 20. (Please note this start date is a change from the original schedule.)

In this free 3-week course, you will discover how to apply data science to deliver better outcomes for students. Led by Linda McKee, AACTE’s senior director for quality support initiatives, you’ll learn to identify a range of data sources, analyze the data, and present your findings, then select indicators and establish actions to achieve continuous improvement.