26 Jun2015

AACTE Launches National Clinical Practice Commission

AACTE issued a press release June 24 announcing a new Clinical Practice Commission, which has already begun working on an ambitious agenda to better define what constitutes high-quality clinical teacher preparation. Read on to learn more, or contact Vice President Rodrick Lucero, who chairs the commission, for more information.

AACTE Launches National Clinical Practice Commission
Higher education, PK-12 leaders to jointly define high-quality clinical teacher preparation

(June 24, 2015, Washington, DC) – The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) has brought together a group of higher education and PK-12 leaders from across the country to examine the state of clinical practice in teacher preparation. The Clinical Practice Commission (CPC) is charged with identifying a set of criteria that define clinical practice, lifting up exemplary models in the field, and ultimately publishing a set of recommendations for teacher preparation programs nationwide.

“In 2010, the NCATE Blue Ribbon Panel on Clinical Preparation and Partnerships found that clinical preparation was a key lever to high-quality teacher preparation,” said Rodrick Lucero, AACTE’s vice president for member engagement and support, who chairs the CPC. “Although we know how essential classroom experiences are to a candidate’s preparation, we also see a broad spectrum of practices being labelled ‘clinical.’ It is high time to create a shared and actionable definition of what high-quality clinical practice looks like to be able to continually improve individual programs and the field as a whole.”

The CPC, which includes representation from professional associations, institutions of higher education and PK-12 school districts, will work over the next 6 months to develop a common understanding of effective approaches to field experiences. The group will develop a white paper, to be circulated broadly this fall for input from the field, and will also recommend ways to address common roadblocks to building successful district-university partnerships, such as transportation, funding, and scheduling concerns.

“There are so many promising, and yet disparate, approaches to candidate preparation around the country,” said Jennifer Roth, assistant principal of Fort Collins (Colo.) High School, who is a member of the CPC. “This work is essential to ensuring that we continue to build a professional community that better serves all students through a continuum of practice from pre-K to higher education.”

Current members of the CPC include educators involved in AACTE, the Association of Teacher Educators, the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, the National Association of Professional Development Schools, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, the National Network for Educational Renewal, and PK-12 schools:

Rodrick Lucero, AACTE (Chair)

Michael Alfano, Central Connecticut State University

Nancy Dana, University of Florida

Derek Decker, Poudre School District (Colo.)

Christine DeGregory, George Mason University

Danielle Dennis, University of South Florida

Elaine Holmes, Poudre School District (Colo.)

Marcy Keifer Kennedy, Ohio University

Amanda Lester, State University of New York

Audra Parker, George Mason University

Jennifer Robinson, Montclair State University

Rene Roselle, University of Connecticut

Jennifer Roth, Poudre School District (Colo.)

Lisa Stooksberry, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

Cindy Stunkard, Kutztown University

Diane Yendol-Hoppey, University of South Florida

Kristien Zenkov, George Mason University

Omar Davis and Tim Finklea, AACTE support staff