Posts Tagged ‘global issues’

Structures to Support Teacher Preparation for Cultural and Global Learning

The author and her collaborators presented a free AACTE webinar last month, “Building Teachers’ Cultural and Global Awareness to ‘Reach and Teach’ All Students”; the webinar recording and slides are available here. See also her earlier blogs on this topic, “Preparing Teachers to ‘Reach and Teach’ All Students” and “The Nature of Cultural and Global Learning: Key Concepts for Teacher Preparation.” The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.

The University of Kentucky has been working to transform education programs to better prepare teachers for the diversity of their future classrooms. But we are hardly alone – educator preparation programs, state agencies, accrediting bodies, and others are all directing energy and support toward ensuring the education workforce is prepared to reach and teach all students.

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).

The Nature of Cultural and Global Learning: Key Concepts for Teacher Preparation

The author and her collaborators will be presenting a free AACTE webinar Wednesday, April 12, 3:00-4:00 p.m. EDT on “Building Teachers’ Cultural and Global Awareness to ‘Reach and Teach’ All Students” (see this blog for more information). The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.

Various education-oriented groups have sounded the call for increasing attention to global competence among our nation’s PK-12 students. Recent reports from the Council of Chief State School Officers and the Asia Society, the Longview Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have underscored the need to prepare all students to live and work in an interconnected, interdependent world. What does this mean for the preparation of their teachers?

Preparing Teachers to ‘Reach and Teach’ All Students

The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.

Classrooms today are more diverse than ever. Students come with a wide array of learning modalities, interests, and life experiences and represent increasingly varied socioeconomic, religious, and cultural backgrounds. As of 2014, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, “minorities” now constitute the majority of PK-12 students in U.S. public schools, and more than 10% of students are considered English language learners (ELLs). How can we better prepare our candidates to “reach and teach” all children in today’s schools?

Call for Proposals: JUSTEC 2017

The 29th annual conference of the Japan-U.S. Teacher Education Consortium (JUSTEC) will be held September 14-17 at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Although registration is not yet open, the submission site is ready for your paper and poster presentation proposals, due by April 5.

JUSTEC organizers seek presentations related to educator preparation in either country – or, better yet, related to collaborative research or exchange between the two. In particular, this year’s conference has three invited areas of interest:


Bridgewater’s GLOBE Program to Be Recognized With AACTE Best Practice Award

AACTE has chosen the College of Education and Allied Studies at Bridgewater State University (BSU) to receive the 2017 AACTE Best Practice Award in Support of Global and International Perspectives. The award will be presented at the 69th AACTE Annual Meeting Welcoming Session, Thursday, March 2, at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida.

BSU will be honored for its Global Learning Opportunities for Bridgewater Educators (GLOBE) program, which sends teacher candidates overseas to participate in faculty-led service-learning, student teaching, and educator exchange programs. Participants are exposed to many international sites, such as Belize, Ecuador, England, Hong Kong, and Puerto Rico. (An overview of last year’s STEM-themed trip to Tbilisi, Georgia, includes video highlights and plans for this spring’s expanded visit.) BSU student teachers who choose international placements chronicle their experiences by contributing to their international student teaching blog, BSU Teaches.

Award Application Deadline EXTENDED to Oct. 26

AACTE has extended the application deadline for the 2017 Best Practice and Professional Achievement Awards until October 26! Now you have an extra 2 weeks to submit an entry through AACTE’s online submission site or to finish an entry you have already started. For detailed submission information, please refer to the official Call for Entries.

Our Best Practice Awards recognize your institution’s exemplary and innovative work in one of three areas:

Expanding Horizons With Global Partnerships

What did you do this summer?

For many of us in education, summer is a time for reflection on the past and planning for the future. We engage in professional learning, and if we’re lucky, we expand our horizons by visiting new places.

I had the great fortune to do all of these things last month during a fascinating trip to China.

At the invitation of China’s National Center for School Curriculum and Textbook Development, several U.S. education leaders and I participated in the China Teacher Leaders Forum and a series of other meetings with Chinese agency heads, educators and teacher educators, and business and philanthropic representatives.*

AACTE Members Report Global Exchanges as Leaders Explore New Partnership With China

Sharon Robinson addresses the China Teacher Leaders Forum. Photo courtesy of East China Normal University

Thank you for responding to AACTE’s survey earlier this year about members’ international activities. We were excited to hear from 142 of you about your established partnerships, new ventures, and suggestions for AACTE to take up the global agenda.

The survey results seem to reflect the growing emphasis, at least among the subset of educator preparation providers (EPPs) that responded, on international exchange and competitiveness as educators in our global society seek to learn from and share with colleagues around the world.

International Lessons for Developing Elementary Teachers

The latest report from the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE) Center for International Education Benchmarking analyzes how four high-performing systems around the world develop elementary teachers with deep content and pedagogical understanding. An accompanying policy brief makes a case for employing these practices in order to strengthen primary education, setting students up for success in high school and beyond.

Sharon Robinson to Join NCEE Webcast for New Elementary Education Report

A new report on international approaches to developing elementary teachers will be released next week at a webcast event featuring AACTE President/CEO Sharon P. Robinson. Register at this link to tune in for the event, which will be held Tuesday, July 19, 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. EDT.

The report, Not So Elementary: Primary School Teacher Quality in Top-Performing Education Systems, is authored by Australian researcher Ben Jensen on behalf of the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE). It looks at international practices in elementary teacher preparation and their effects on student achievement. Recommendations for U.S. policy and practice are included.

Register by August 15 for JUSTEC Seminar

Online registration is now open for the 28th annual seminar of the Japan-U.S. Teacher Education Consortium (JUSTEC), to be held November 4-7, 2016, at Japan’s Ehime University. An early-bird discount is in effect through August 15.

This year’s theme is “Collaborative Teacher Education With Local Communities,” with sessions that aim to explore regional rather than national solutions to local needs for educator preparation. The conference schedule includes an optional site visit to two local schools, a city tour, keynotes and seminar presentations from both U.S. and Japanese educators, networking and meal events, and more.

Apply Now for 2017 AACTE Awards

UPDATE: Submission deadline for Best Practice and Professional Achievement Awards has been extended to October 26

Nominations for all of the 2017 AACTE awards are now open on AACTE’s online submission site. To read detailed submission information, please refer to the official Call for Entries.

Now in its 21st 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.

Global Learning Colloquia Coming to Denver

AACTE is proud to support two daylong colloquia at the annual conference of NAFSA: Association of International Educators in Denver, Colorado, May 31 and June 3.

On Tuesday, May 31, the Global Learning Colloquium on Teacher Education will focus on the theme “High-Impact Global Learning Experiences and Curricular Design.” The program runs 9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. and will address how to prepare preservice teachers to work with diverse populations, understand how their practice affects both local and global communities, and be culturally responsive in pedagogy and curriculum choices. Participants will hear from global education organizations as well as from teacher educators from California State University, Kent State University (OH), Southern Connecticut State University, the University of Connecticut, the University of Missouri, and the University of Nevada-Reno.