Summit Merges AACTE Clinical Practice Commission, CAEP State Alliance Work
Last week, the AACTE Clinical Practice Commission met with members of the former CAEP State Alliance for Clinical Preparation and Partnerships for a summit that began merging the outcomes from the alliance’s work into the ongoing efforts of the commission. Summit participants from the alliance were invited to join the commission, which is now in Round 2 of its quest to better define clinical practice and related best practices for the field.
The synergy in the room when these two groups got together was palpable. They began as if they had been working together forever. Each group has been studying clinical practice with an eye to advancing the recommendations of the 2010 NCATE Blue Ribbon Panel report, but tackling the work from different angles. The alliance’s findings, produced by state-based teams through work cycles grounded in improvement science, provide a valuable complement to the commission’s national effort. (CAEP, the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, allowed the alliance to sunset this spring.)
The charge of AACTE’s commission is to provide recommendations that define clinical practice, and a lexicon for its use, and then support action to operationalize best practice in local implementation efforts. The commission will also be looking at the rules of evidence to assist members in meeting the expectations of CAEP Standard 2.
During the summit, participants focused on developing the commission’s white paper on clinical practice to maximize its utility and impact on the field. The paper includes research and writing on the following:
- Creating/Implementing Clinical Practice
- Maintaining a Clinical Practice Site
- Governing and Funding Clinical Practice
- Identifying Policy Implications for Clinical Practice
These topics will be combined with the draft completed during Round 1 to form the content for the white paper. Once this draft is finished, it will go through a significant vetting process with constituent groups across the country. After their feedback is incorporated, the commission plans to finalize the white paper along with an executive summary in time for the 2017 AACTE Annual Meeting in Tampa, Florida.
Following publication of the white paper, the commission will focus on sharing its work with the field. Round 3 will include a sustained presence at meetings and conferences across the country by commissioners to share the results of the white paper with various stakeholders. For Round 4, commissioners aim to provide site visits at the invitation of institutions looking to begin or improve clinical practice partnerships. Preliminary ideas for further work have also been discussed.
Click here to view the full list of commissioners. I am thrilled to witness the power of their collective experience to address the problems of practice!
Tags: AACTE partner organizations, accreditation, clinical preparation, content areas