Archive for 2015

Free Webinars: Next Steps on the Federal Proposed Teacher Preparation Regulations

Please join me next week for a free webinar on what you can do next regarding the proposed federal regulations for teacher preparation programs.

The public comment period through the Federal Register, which closed last month, was just one piece of ongoing advocacy and outreach necessary to ensure the voice of the profession is expressed to policy makers and key stakeholders as the regulation process unfolds. Learn of the next steps for you to take on the federal proposed teacher preparation regulations.

Interest in Performance Assessment Abounds at AACTE National Conference

The discussion about developing and integrating high-quality teacher performance assessments across the continuum of teacher preparation was the highlight of several sessions offered at AACTE’s recent Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.

An audience poll during the AACTE Town Hall Meeting illustrated that most of us work in states that either have policies regarding performance assessments in place or are considering implementing such policies in the near future. It’s no wonder, then, that related sessions were well attended.

Reaffirming the Importance of All Voices: Universities and PK-12 Partners

One of the things I appreciate most about conferences is how the small groups of teacher educator voices residing within our home institutions can join together with others to create an impressively large chorus—one whose collective power can provide needed volume and attention to important issues.

At the AACTE Annual Meeting in Atlanta, I was encouraged to have my quiet voice as a future teacher educator amplified, thanks to the company of so many colleagues who share my passion about creating a developmental continuum that recognizes, values, and utilizes the expertise of classroom teachers in preservice teacher preparation and induction.

AACTE Board, ACSR Name New Leaders

During their meeting February 26, members of AACTE’s Board of Directors chose officers for the coming year to serve with new Board Chair Mark Ginsberg (see related press release).
Effective March 1, the Executive Committee includes the following leaders:

  • Chair: Mark Ginsberg, George Mason University (VA)
  • Chair-Elect: Jane Bray, Old Dominion University (VA)
  • Past Chair: Julie Underwood, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Secretary: Renée Middleton, Ohio University
  • At-large: Grant Hayes, University of Central Florida, and Tim Wall, Northwest Missouri State University

Advancing the Imperative of Authentic Practice

Throughout the AACTE Annual Meeting sessions in Atlanta, I was reminded of the lesson from Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert. The imperative of ample, authentic practice as a foundation for professional mastery resonated across several conference presentations.

Contest Seeks Math, ELA Units for Common Core Instruction

Have you created PK-12 lessons aligned with new college- and career-ready standards? Achieve, Inc. wants you to share them—and is offering cash prizes for the best units of study submitted this spring.

The Achieve initiative known as EQuiP (Educators Evaluating the Quality of Instructional Products) is collecting instructional units to support the Common Core State Standards in English language arts (ELA)/literacy and math. Units rated exemplary by peer reviewers will win $1,500.

Call for Proposals, Reviewers for 2016 Annual Meeting: ‘Tough Questions, Tough Choices’

Now through May 29, AACTE is accepting session proposals for the 68th Annual Meeting, to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, February 23-25, 2016. We also invite applications by May 15 from AACTE member faculty to review proposals.

The conference theme is “Meeting the Demands of Professional Practice: Tough Questions, Tough Choices,” conceptualized as follows in the call for proposals.

CAEP Call for Volunteers Open Through March 20

AACTE’s Committee on Professional Preparation and Accountability would like to encourage AACTE members to respond to the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) Call for Service. The online application for the CAEP “Volunteer Corps” is open through March 20.

Volunteers may apply to serve as reviewers at different levels or on CAEP’s governance bodies. The call seeks a diverse population of volunteers, not only faculty from programs holding CAEP accreditation. But it is important for teacher educators to be represented in CAEP, and this can be achieved if you volunteer!

Call for Nominations: Serve Your Association!

Do you know an individual­­ with broad or deep experience in the field of educator preparation? Do you think someone’s guidance would benefit the educator preparation community nationally? Nominate that person (or yourself!) by May 8 to serve an important role in the governance of AACTE.

AACTE Board of Directors Resolution on CAEP

On February 26, the AACTE Board of Directors unanimously passed the following resolution regarding the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP):

“The Board of Directors of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) reiterates its support for a single, unified professional accreditation system for educator preparation programs.  Further, AACTE is committed to the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). However, the AACTE Board also reiterates its ongoing, significant concern about the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and asserts that there is a ‘crisis of confidence’ with respect to CAEP. Specific concerns are related to the accreditation standards, process for accreditation, costs associated with accreditation, the capacity of CAEP to implement the accreditation system and the representativeness of the CAEP governance structure.”

Letter to Editor: Teacher Preparation Programs Are Effective and Accountable

The following letter to the editor was published in the Washington Post February 23, in response to the February 20 commentary by the University of Virginia’s Robert C. Pianta, “Teacher Prep Programs Need to Be Accountable, Too.”

Robert C. Pianta vastly oversimplified the narrative about accountability among those who prepare educators.

Educator preparation programs should indeed be accountable, and the profession has been busy creating data tools and processes for accountability. States such as Louisiana, California, and Georgia are working to determine the best ways to use data collected through existing assessments and surveys to document program impact. These systems rely on access to K-12 student achievement data as one indicator.

State Chapter Advocacy Wins Changes to Proposed Florida Rule

The state of Florida recently passed a new rule governing the implementation and evaluation of teacher preparation programs. The Florida Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (FACTE) was very active during the development and public comment periods for this new rule, and while we did not secure all the changes we’d hoped, we did make a difference in the process and in the outcomes.

FACTE implemented a detailed advocacy strategy during the public comment period. One of our greatest assets was our relationship with the Florida Department of Education (FDOE), which has always worked to be partners with our programs. I cannot speak enough of the importance of building relationships with those charged with program approval before you are in the process of rule development. We have focused our efforts on building on our shared vision of ensuring every child in the state is taught by a high-quality educator.