Coalition for Teaching Quality Releases Papers on Educator Pipeline; Features TQP Residency Graduate

By Zachary VanHouten

Last week the Coalition for Teaching Quality (CTQ) held a congressional briefing, “Strengthening Educator Recruitment, Development, and Support Through ESSA Implementation,” hosted by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Representative Glenn Thompson (R-PA). At the briefing, CTQ released a series of new policy papers for supporting the educator pipeline and held a panel discussion that examined ways that the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) can support states and districts in improving the pipeline.

The briefing featured a former teacher residency student, Alexander Diaz from the Newark Montclair Urban Teacher Residency (NMUTR) Program, a federal Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) grantee. Stressing the importance of the residency experience in the NMUTR program, Diaz said the program prepared him thoroughly, requiring students to apply their learning under the supervision of a master teacher.

New Standards Released to Guide High School Students on Path to Teaching

By Abigail Mercadante and Zachary VanHouten

New standards developed by Educators Rising to “define what high school students exploring teaching need to know and be able to do to take their first steps on the path to accomplished teaching” were released last week during a launch event at the National Education Association headquarters in Washington, DC.

Educators Rising, launched in August 2015 and powered by PDK International, sought feedback from a variety of community stakeholders before releasing the final standards that aim to embolden the “grow-your-own-teacher” movement emerging in communities and states throughout the country. The standards address understanding the profession, developing strategic relationships and content for students, planning and implementing instruction to meet students’ needs, and using assessments and reflection constructively.

A Candidate’s Perspective on the Clinical Practice Summit

By Abigail Mercadante

I was honored to attend AACTE’s Clinical Practice Summit earlier this month, where the common theme was creating a unified profession to improve teacher preparation programs. It was wonderful to see so many passionate educators working to make improvements for future educators like me.

During the summit, I was able to sit in on the conversations of various groups and heard about roadblocks facing education policy. One that was mentioned repeatedly is the fact that many policy makers have no experience in education to inform policies that are truly helpful. There is also a persistent disconnect between higher education institutions and PK-12 schools. One participant noted that many principals still do not know what edTPA is, for example, making it hard to implement. This is just one of the many examples that show the necessity of better communicating and operating as a unified profession.

PDS Director Reflects on Partnership Themes

By Rodrick Lucero

AACTE’s Research-to-Practice Spotlight Series on the Patton College of Education at Ohio University is coming to a close. We’ve enjoyed sharing the successful partnership work of the college and its network of professional development schools (PDSs) in a series of videos and blogs over the past 2 months, and now we’ve posted one final video – a longer clip with some great insights from the college’s leaders about their clinical practice model.

Summit Merges AACTE Clinical Practice Commission, CAEP State Alliance Work

By Rodrick Lucero

Last week, the AACTE Clinical Practice Commission met with members of the former CAEP State Alliance for Clinical Preparation and Partnerships for a summit that began merging the outcomes from the alliance’s work into the ongoing efforts of the commission. Summit participants from the alliance were invited to join the commission, which is now in Round 2 of its quest to better define clinical practice and related best practices for the field.

The synergy in the room when these two groups got together was palpable. They began as if they had been working together forever. Each group has been studying clinical practice with an eye to advancing the recommendations of the 2010 NCATE Blue Ribbon Panel report, but tackling the work from different angles. The alliance’s findings, produced by state-based teams through work cycles grounded in improvement science, provide a valuable complement to the commission’s national effort. (CAEP, the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, allowed the alliance to sunset this spring.)

Clinical Partnership Mutually Benefits Teacher Candidates, Mentors, and PK-12 Students

By Melvin Bogard

A new set of brief videos in AACTE’s Research-to-Practice Spotlight Series focuses on operationalizing clinical practice through the award-winning partnerships of Ohio University’s Patton College of Education (see this article introducing the series, this overview of the first three videos, and this summary of the next four videos). Today’s article highlights messages from the next three segments, which feature faculty and administrators from the partner schools as well as Patton College students.

AACTE to Host Webinar Series on Clinical Practice Starting June 16

By Amanda Lester

AACTE is excited to announce the launch of a new webinar series on clinical practice beginning this month. Kicking off Thursday, June 16, 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. EDT, the series will highlight examples of AACTE members’ clinical programs and partnerships and will provide updates on the work and progress of AACTE’s Clinical Practice Commission (CPC), which plans to release a white paper in early 2017.

The inaugural webinar, “Building the Pathway From Theory to Practice: The AACTE Clinical Practice Commission” will feature members of the CPC presenting an overview of their work during the past year. Learn about the commission’s efforts to establish a clearly defined pathway between the research and theory supporting clinical teacher preparation in order to operationalize and support best practice in the field. The overview will include–

‘Third Space’ Urban Teacher Residency Offers Transformative Lessons

By Deborah Koolbeck

Last month, AACTE held a briefing in Washington, DC, on the Teacher Quality Partnership grant program. Titled “Investing in Solutions,” the briefing featured several grant recipients from New Jersey, North Carolina, and Virginia in order to showcase the program to congressional staff and members of the higher education community. One of the featured grantees, New Jersey’s Newark-Montclair Urban Teacher Residency (NMUTR), shared lessons and best practices published in the recent book A Year in the Life of a Third Space Urban Teacher Residency: Using Inquiry to Reinvent Teacher Education. I invited the book’s authors, Monica Taylor and Emily J. Klein of Montclair State University, to highlight some of these lessons for Ed Prep Matters:

Ohio Program Takes Holistic Approach in Clinical Teacher Preparation

By Katrina Sheffield

A new set of brief videos in AACTE’s Research-to-Practice Spotlight Series focuses on operationalizing clinical practice through the award-winning partnerships of Ohio University’s Patton College of Education (see this article introducing the series and this overview of the first three videos). Today’s article highlights messages from the next four segments, which feature students and leaders from the college as well as from its partner schools.

The Patton College of Education at Ohio University and its partner schools nurture future teachers with extensive and hands-on experience in classrooms. Teacher candidates play an active role from early in their college years, actively participating and working closely with veteran educators to develop their own proficiency.

Albany State University Helping Partner School Reduce Literacy Gaps

By Melvin Bogard

Ed Prep Matters is featuring “Stories of Impact” to showcase AACTE member institutions with educator preparation programs that are making a positive impact in their communities and beyond through innovative practices. We are committed to sharing members’ success stories and encourage you to do the same.

The clinical practice partnership between Georgia’s Albany State University (ASU) College of Education and nearby Live Oak Elementary is bringing mutual benefit to the elementary students and the ASU teacher candidates. The field-based preparation model they have cultivated around the school’s learning goals promotes growth for all involved.

The hands-on assistance and dedication of the teacher candidates are helping to close literacy achievement gaps for Live Oak second-graders, for example, through the partners’ remedial reading practicum in the early childhood education program.

How Lunch and edTPA Strengthened an Elementary School’s Partnership With Its Local Educator Preparation Program

By Suzie Henderson

The author, assistant principal at Pepperell Elementary School in Lindale, Georgia, is one of several PK-12 educators who presented on their experiences with edTPA and their partnerships with educator preparation providers at last month’s 2016 edTPA National Implementation Conference in Savannah, GA.

Do you want to strengthen relationships between PK-12 administrators and educator preparation faculty? Try going out for lunch.

That’s how the relationship between Pepperell Elementary School, where I’m an assistant principal, and the Shorter University School of Education really took off.

I was at lunch a few years ago with Kristy Brown, who supervises student teaching for Shorter. I told her my staff needed professional development in teaching writing skills to our diverse learners. She said she needed classrooms to host teacher candidates for their clinical experiences.

Patton College PDS Model Builds Bridges for Greater Teaching, Learning

By Melvin Bogard

A new set of brief videos in AACTE’s Research-to-Practice Spotlight Series focuses on operationalizing clinical practice through the award-winning partnerships of Ohio University’s Patton College of Education (see this article introducing the series). Today’s article highlights messages from the first three videos, which feature leaders from the college as well as students, teachers, and administrators from several of its partner schools.

The Patton College of Education at Ohio University is building bridges for greater teaching and learning in a model that is a boon to PK-12 students, faculty, and teacher candidates. Its professional development school (PDS) partnerships employ a clinical model of education to provide hands-on experience for future educators while supporting their mentors and demonstrating educational benefit for the students as well.

Clinical Practice Commission Members Share Vision for Advancing Teaching Profession

By Amanda Lester

The AACTE Clinical Practice Commission (CPC) was launched in June 2015 with the goals of establishing a shared lexicon, identifying model protocols and best practices, and developing actionable recommendations for the field to define and align high-quality clinical practice in teacher preparation. The commission’s work is projected to extend through December 2016, but the 68th AACTE Annual Meeting held in February provided an opportunity to share the group’s work to date and gather feedback from the field.

During the conference, members of the CPC presented their vision for clinical practice, built upon a foundation of strong PK-24 partnerships and centered on transforming educator preparation by unifying the profession. Several commissioners provided insight into the CPC’s work as presenters during the preconference event “Preparing Tomorrow’s Leaders Through School-University Partnerships,” sponsored by the Wallace Foundation, and as featured panelists in the major forum “Clinical Practice in Educator Preparation.”

Three members of the CPC, Kristien Zenkov and Audra Parker from George Mason University (VA) and Rene Roselle from the University of Connecticut, spoke at the preconference event. Their presentation summarized the commission’s progress toward developing a white paper and a shared lexicon to connect the essential elements of clinical partnerships. They also discussed the common structures of clinical preparation and the implications that clinical teacher preparation has for advancing clinical practice in principal preparation.

Research-to-Practice Spotlight to Feature Ohio University

By Rodrick Lucero

It is my pleasure to introduce the Patton College of Education at Ohio University as the next institution to be featured in AACTE’s Research-to-Practice Spotlight Series. Continuing our focus on effective models of clinical practice, this series highlights the award-winning work of Ohio University’s Patton College and its network of PK-12 partner schools to continuously improve their preparation of teachers in an active interchange of theory and practice.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting videos and blog articles to share what AACTE staff learned during our recent visit to picturesque Athens, Ohio, where we met with a broad selection of program leaders and participants. It was clear that the clinical practice model resonates with candidates, mentor teachers, PK-12 administrators, and those on the campus because those involved can see the benefits and have a clear understanding of the processes supporting them. The tone of this partnership is one of infinite possibility as all members of the community find themselves involved.

To help introduce this series, I invited Patton College Dean Renée Middleton to reflect on the program’s success and development. Here’s what she had to say:

Collaboration Across State Lines Transforms Educator Preparation

By David Hough

In February, the Louisiana Department of Education hosted representatives from six states in the Council of Chief State School Officers’ Network for Transforming Educator Preparation (NTEP). Formed in 2013, this aligned action network brings together state chiefs and their education agency staff who are committed to activating key policy levers around licensure, program approval, and data as they transform educator preparation in their respective states. As a representative from the Missouri NTEP team, I joined colleagues from five states—Georgia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Washington—on the visit to Baton Rouge to attend Louisiana’s Believe and Prepare Community Meeting and learn from the work of practitioners, programs, and districts across Louisiana leading efforts to improve educator preparation.