AACTE Statement on Federal Award of 2014 Teacher Quality Partnership Grants

By Deborah Koolbeck

AACTE is thrilled that the U.S. Department of Education last week announced the awarding of a new round of Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) grants, the federal government’s only investment in reforming teacher preparation. With grants totaling more than $35 million to 24 partnerships in the first year alone, these awards will assist to recruit, train, and support more than 11,000 educators in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.

AACTE is pleased by the administration’s recognition of the value of continued federal investment in higher education-based teacher preparation programs. Many AACTE member institutions have benefited from TQP funding since the program’s inception in 2009, and the new round of grants expands the reach to more institutions and their partner schools.

National edTPA Implementation Conference

By Omar Davis

The annual National edTPA Implementation Conference will be held October 24 – 25 at the University of California, Los Angeles. Preregistration closes October 13, and space is limited!

This year’s conference, titled “Implementation for and as Learning,” will convene higher education administrators, state agency representatives, clinical supervisors, and others engaged in edTPA implementation. Lorrie Shepard of the University of Colorado at Boulder will be featured as the keynote speaker.

Come share your experiences and hear others’ perspectives of how edTPA is being used in teacher preparation programs nationwide.

Visit http://edtpa.aacte.org/events for more information and to register.

Be a Pioneer for the Teaching Profession: National Board Field Tests

By Andrea Hajek and Kristin Hamilton

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

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is recruiting practicing teachers as well as undergraduate and graduate preservice teachers to participate in field tests of the revised National Board certification process. This is a great opportunity to help shape the future of the teaching profession and experience a sample of the performance-based assessment that thousands of teachers have called transformative.

Not Just for Deans: AACTE Annual Meeting Reaches Broad Audience

By Jerrica Thurman

Do you think of AACTE’s Annual Meeting as the deans’ conference? Think again!

In 2014, about a quarter of the Annual Meeting registrants identified themselves as deans and another quarter as professors. Representation of program directors, chairs, and staff from colleges of education was also strong.

2014 Annual Meeting Registration by Type

Innovation at SUNY Buffalo State: Robust PDS Consortium

By Kristin McCabe

The Innovations Inventory of AACTE’s Innovation Exchange is an online database highlighting members’ pioneering practices in educator preparation that have shown a positive impact on issues of student learning, preparation program advancement, or educator workforce needs. This blog post is one in a series highlighting entries from the inventory. For more information, contact Zach VanHouten at zvanhouten@aacte.org.

The award-winning Professional Development School (PDS) Consortium based at the State University of New York College at Buffalo (Buffalo State) offers a supportive cohort community for teacher candidates, minigrants for action research in the schools, and even international partner settings. This clinically rich network, founded in 1991, has evolved in alignment with frameworks including the 2001 NCATE PDS Standards, the National Association of Professional Development Schools Nine Essentials, and the 2012 NCATE Blue Ribbon Panel report.

Registration Now Open for 2015 AACTE Annual Meeting

By Jerrica Thurman

Registration is now open for AACTE’s 67th Annual Meeting, to be held in Atlanta February 27 – March 1, 2015. Secure your spot by November 6 to take advantage of the Early Bird rate, which saves you $40!

The conference theme, Advancing the Imperative, is supported by four strands that will empower you to build a stronger workforce, institution, and community:

September Reading List

By Kristin McCabe

With the school year now in full swing, we know it’s a challenge to stay on top of your professional reading. Here are a few hot assignments you won’t want to miss:

1. Journal of Teacher Education

The latest issue of AACTE’s journal offers fascinating insights into the professional development and practice of teacher educators. Based on the premise that “while research on teaching informs research on teacher education, the latter needs a specialized knowledge base of its own” (see the issue’s editorial), articles address general and specific elements of that knowledge base, professional identity, core practices, and more.

Extra credit:Read the latest research to be published in future issues of the journal! It’s posted on a rolling basis in Sage’s Online First system.

PDK/Gallup Poll Shows Public Support for Quality Teacher Preparation

By Jerrica Thurman

AACTE Members Addressing Key Concerns Through Rigorous Programs, Partnerships, and Policy Initiatives

AACTE member institutions across the country are leading rigorous and effective teacher preparation programs that echo the priorities of those surveyed in the 46th annual PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools. The 2014 poll includes a special section released today on teacher preparation and evaluation.

The first report on the 2014 poll, released last month, showed that Americans are skeptical of federal policy influences on public schools and of the Common Core State Standards and standardized tests. The newly released second report delves into specific ways respondents think teacher quality and schools should be improved.

Feedback Wanted: Revised Standards for School Leaders

By Kristin McCabe

The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and National Policy Board for Educational Administration (NPBEA) have issued the following request for public comment on their draft revision of the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium standards (see this post announcing the Wallace-funded revision effort). Make your voice heard by October 10!

CCSSO is seeking feedback from the public on draft standards for education leaders that aim to ensure district and school leaders are able to improve student achievement and meet new, higher expectations.

Innovation at St. Cloud State University: The Coteaching Model

By Kristin McCabe

The Innovations Inventory of AACTE’s Innovation Exchange is an online database highlighting members’ pioneering practices in educator preparation that have shown a positive impact on issues of student learning, preparation program advancement, or educator workforce needs. This blog post is one in a series highlighting entries from the inventory. For more information, contact Zach VanHouten at zvanhouten@aacte.org.

Free Webinar to Discuss edTPA Implementation at Minority-Serving Institutions

By Omar Davis

Please join us September 16, 1:00-2:00 p.m. EDT, for a free webinar with faculty from minority-serving institutions (MSIs) who will discuss how they have used edTPA resources to initiate change within their programs.

This webinar will be led by Fran Oates of Winston-Salem State University (NC), Felicia Mayfield of Clark Atlanta University (GA), and Patricia Steinhaus and Cynthia Valenciano of Chicago State University (IL) and moderated by me. Learn how to address issues of student achievement, curriculum reform, and educator preparation advancement from these faculty members’ unique experiences and findings. Take away solid methods for capacity building among the professional community.

Please visit the AACTE Resource Library to access a recording of the webinar.

Request for Proposals: Editorship of the Journal of Teacher Education

By Kristin McCabe

The AACTE Committee on Research and Dissemination invites proposals for a campus-based team to edit the Journal of Teacher Education (JTE) for a 3-year term, commencing with Volume 67, Issue 1 (January/February 2016). Proposals must be submitted online by November 7. Qualified individuals from schools, colleges, and departments of education at AACTE member institutions may apply.

Click here to download the complete request for proposals, or click here to enter the online submission site.

Commentary: We All Have to Pitch In to Make Common Core Work

By Dean Vogel and Cheryl Scott Williams

This post first appeared in the Sacramento Bee. View the original here. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.

The new school year brings one of the biggest transitions our state’s elementary and secondary education system has ever experienced. As students settle into new classrooms, our teachers are adjusting their instruction to help students meet expectations of the new Common Core state standards. It’s our job – as parents, business leaders, students, community members, and educators – to look beyond both the hype and hysteria to ensure that students benefit from thoughtful, locally driven implementation.

CPRE Report: Preparation in Methods, Pedagogy Linked to Teacher Retention

By Kristin McCabe

Preservice preparation in teaching methods and pedagogy has a notably positive effect on new teachers’ likelihood to stay past their first year on the job, according to a new report out of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE). Teachers’ routes to licensure, certificate types, degrees, and selectivity of their colleges have much less correlation with attrition, say report authors Richard Ingersoll, Lisa Merrill, and Henry May.

Analyzing data from the national Schools and Staffing Survey and supported by a National Science Foundation grant, the authors studied to what degree various elements of preservice preparation contribute to beginning teachers’ attrition or retention after 1 year in the classroom, particularly in the fields of mathematics and science.