Now through May 31, AACTE is accepting session proposals for the 69th Annual Meeting, to be held in Tampa, Florida, March 2-4, 2017. We also invite applications by May 17 for AACTE member faculty to review proposals.
The conference theme is “Acting as One: The Power of the Professional Community,” conceptualized as follows in the call for proposals:
Are you ready to step up your service to the national educator preparation community? Or do you know someone whose professional experience would bring value to an AACTE committee or the Board of Directors? Now is the time to nominate yourself or a colleague by May 9 to serve an important role in the governance of AACTE.
AACTE is currently seeking nominations for the AACTE Board of Directors and the following standing committees:
AACTE has selected Ena Goodrich Shelley, professor and dean of the College of Education at Butler University (IN), to receive the 2016 AACTE Edward C. Pomeroy Award for Outstanding Contributions to Teacher Education. The award will be presented at the 68th AACTE Annual Meeting Welcoming Session, Tuesday, February 23, at The Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas.
The Pomeroy Award, named for longtime AACTE Executive Director Edward C. Pomeroy, recognizes distinguished service either to the educator preparation community or to the development and promotion of outstanding practices in educator preparation at the collegiate, state, or national level.
Dean Shelley wins accolades in both of these categories, captured in an impressive nomination portfolio submitted by a passionate coalition of faculty, staff, and students at Butler and beyond.
AACTE has chosen Matthew Ronfeldt of the University of Michigan School of Education to receive the 2016 AACTE Outstanding Journal of Teacher Education (JTE) Article Award for his article “Field Placement Schools and Instructional Effectiveness,” published in the September/October 2015 issue of the journal. The award will be presented at the 68th AACTE Annual Meeting Speaker Spotlight Session, Thursday, February 25, at The Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas.
Ronfeldt’s study aimed to determine (a) what types of schools in an urban district are used most for preservice field placement, (b) what school characteristics make a difference in the effectiveness (gauged by value-added measures, or VAM, in reading and math) of the teachers placed there, and (c) whether teachers’ effectiveness corresponds to the degree of match between their preparation sites and the schools where they currently work.
AACTE will honor Monica T. Billen, assistant professor in the Kremen School of Education at California State University, Fresno, with the 2016 AACTE Outstanding Dissertation Award for her study #Learningtoteach: Using Instagram to Elicit Pre-service Teacher Reflection. The award will be presented at the 68th AACTE Annual Meeting Speaker Spotlight Session, Thursday, February 25, at The Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas.
Billen’s study investigated how using participant-driven images on Instagram influenced reflective expression among preservice teachers during a yearlong internship. By employing a photojournalistic approach, teacher candidates constantly noticed their surroundings and used these “noticings” as catalysts for deeper, more critical reflections. Participants touted this method as much more connected to real life, collaborative, and interesting than traditional reflection methods. Amassing more than 1,800 photos over a year’s time, preservice teachers built a unique visual data set using familiar technology combined with written and oral reflections.
AACTE will honor Anthony S. Bryk, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, with the 2016 AACTE Lifetime Achievement Award. The award will be presented at the 68th AACTE Annual Meeting Speaker Spotlight Session, Thursday, February 25, at The Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas.
Bryk will be honored especially for his transformative work at the Carnegie Foundation developing the field of improvement science in education—lessons of which he will then be sharing as a panelist at the Speaker Spotlight Session.
AACTE has chosen Rethinking Field Experiences in Preservice Teacher Preparation: Meeting New Challenges for Accountability, edited by Etta Hollins of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, to receive the 2016 AACTE Outstanding Book Award. The award will be presented at the 68th AACTE Annual Meeting Welcoming Session, Tuesday, February 23, at The Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas.
Published by Routledge in 2015, this edited volume offers a robust set of perspectives on critical and challenging elements of teacher preparation—how field experiences are designed to support preservice teachers while they are learning to teach. Chapters are organized into three sections focusing on “approximation and representation of practice,” “learning teaching situated in context,” and performance assessment and program improvement. The book provides a collection of models of field experiences across a variety of teacher preparation contexts and deeply examines how the experiences are theorized, designed, and implemented for preservice teacher learning.
AACTE has selected the Loyola Marymount University School of Education (CA) to receive the 2016 AACTE Best Practice Award in Support of Multicultural Education and Diversity. The award will be presented at the 68th AACTE Annual Meeting Welcoming Session, Tuesday, February 23, at The Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas.
All of the education programs at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) are grounded in principles such as the promotion of social justice, cultural responsiveness, inclusion, value and respect for all individuals, and leadership that is moral, intellectual, responsible, and caring. Their effectiveness is evident in the conceptual framework, curriculum, commitment of faculty and staff, and the culturally and linguistically diverse teacher candidates and students throughout the programs.
AACTE’s Committee on Innovation and Technology has selected the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) to receive the 2016 AACTE Best Practice Award for the Innovative Use of Technology for Tech EDGE, a collaborative partnership between UNL and eight PK-12 partner school districts. The award will be presented during the Speaker Spotlight Session on Thursday, February 25, at the AACTE Annual Meeting in Las Vegas.
Tech EDGE infuses best practices in technology integration centering on the ideas of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). The partnership is dedicated to preparing preservice teachers with research and theory in university courses and practical applications in schools. As 21st-century skills are adopted locally and across the nation, it is critical that teacher preparation programs and schools work together to determine how to best teach the skills that are necessary in a diverse, global, and digital world.
AACTE has selected the Global Gateway for Teachers, offered through the School of Education at Indiana University (Bloomington), to receive the 2016 AACTE Best Practice Award in Support of Global and International Perspectives. The award will be presented at the 68th AACTE Annual Meeting Welcoming Session, Tuesday, February 23, at The Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas.
The Gateway program, in existence in various forms for over 40 years, aims to enhance and engage the professional preparation of future educators by offering them experiences in schools, homes, and communities of culturally and linguistic diverse groups in 18 countries and in domestic placements on Navajo reservations and in urban Chicago. Participants are engaged in 18 weeks of student teaching abroad as well as domestically where they immerse themselves in the language, the culture, and the educational system of that nation or community.
The program is directed by Laura L. Stachowski and enjoys strong support from the School of Education’s administration, including Dean Emeritus Gerardo Gonzalez and Interim Dean Terrence Mason.
As you join the nationwide conversation on the future of educator preparation at the AACTE 68th Annual Meeting next week, don’t miss your chance to interact with the Association’s leadership during the Town Hall Meeting. Members of the AACTE Executive Committee will take the stage to discuss topics of interest to the field and answer your questions on Wednesday, February 24, at 11:45 a.m. PST.
“The vision for having a town hall meeting was to get the members actively involved in the issues we are facing,” said Fayneese Miller, who served as chair of the AACTE Board of Directors during 2013-14 and is now president of Hamline University (MN). “How can we as a community begin to solve some of the questions? How do we work collaboratively? How do we ensure that a variety of different voices are heard?”
Take advantage of the opportunity to ask tough questions and receive candid answers from these current AACTE leaders on how the Association is working to support members in meeting the demands of the profession:
Have you noticed AACTE’s fresh look? Last year, the AACTE brand received a face lift. The corporate logo was streamlined, the organization’s key messages were refined, and new marketing materials were developed (and more are under way!).
We are proud to bring you a new AACTE Fact Sheet and PowerPoint slidedoc, a uniquely shaped marketing brochure, and a must-see corporate marketing video.
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.
As America and its school-age population grow increasingly diverse, educator preparation programs are striving to recruit and prepare more teachers from historically underrepresented groups. Statistics show that by 2050, the United States will have no clear racial or ethnic majority, yet the educator workforce remains largely White—a mismatch decried as violating students’ educational civil rights.
“Teaching is a high-stakes practice—there is no more powerful position to hold than that of teaching,” said University of Missouri Kansas City Professor Etta Hollins at her November 2015 TeachingWorks streaming seminar series talk. What’s more, Professor Hollins described coherence as a series of opportunities to learn teaching, “like glue” that makes the opportunities to learn teaching work.
Hollins’ statements capture the commitments that inform the 2016 TeachingWorks/AACTE “Preparing Teachers for Practice” strand of the AACTE Annual Meeting, including a warrant to work together on the problems of change, improvement, and coherence in teacher education. This year’s strand confronts critical obstacles to change in teacher education. We ask boldly: Can we as the profession of teacher education stand up and take charge of change? What—if anything—would you argue should be common in teachers’ preparation across programs? Are there things that we can agree are crucial for any beginning teacher to be committed to and be able to do? Is there a way to reach some common professional ground in ways that are sensitive to contexts and respectful of difference? Is there a way to do this that does not silence or dominate diverse perspectives? What would you argue must vary, and why? Can such difference avoid exacerbating inequality?
Congratulations to Thomas S. Tucker, superintendent of Princeton City Schools in Cincinnati, Ohio, who has been named 2016 AASA National Superintendent of the Year!
Tucker’s selection was announced February 11 at the National Conference on Education hosted by AASA, The School Superintendents Association. He was one of four finalists for the honor; others included Pamela Moran of Charlottesville, Virginia; Steven Webb of Vancouver, Washington; and Freddie Williamson of Raeford, North Carolina.
