Archive for November, 2016

Expanding AACTE’s Research-to-Practice Spotlight Series

innovations exchange logo

It’s been a busy fall of traveling for the AACTE Member Engagement and Support team as we’ve been visiting campuses to document exemplary clinical partnerships and practices for our online Research-to-Practice Spotlight Series, part of the AACTE Innovation Exchange.

This fall, we’ve been filming at St. John’s University (NY); the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; and California State University, Long Beach. We are also busy scheduling visits with State University of New York at Oswego and Butler University (IN) for spring 2017. At each location, we’ve met with deans, professors, teacher candidates, school district principals, teachers, and PK-12 students to see firsthand how a variety of programs are developing and sustaining successful clinical partnerships. The video production company “Ideas That Breathe” has been a valuable partner for filming, editing, and producing a compelling series from each site we visit. Each series is then segmented into episodes for posting on the Innovation Exchange and highlighting in the Ed Prep Matters blog.

November 2016 Federal Update Available

Did you miss this month’s AACTE Federal Update webinar? You can now view the webinar recording and slides through the federal page of the AACTE Advocacy Center. While you’re there, you can also explore the many resources that we have compiled or created for you to advocate on the federal and state levels.

In the November webinar, I covered the results of this month’s election, reviewed the composition of congressional leadership, and looked ahead to the activities expected during the next Congress with an impact on educator preparation. I also provided a very high-level review of the final rule for teacher preparation program regulations. Lastly, we discussed critical advocacy needs such as seeking cosponsors for a bill in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and engaging at the state level on the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act.

Dec. 14 Webinar to Showcase Locally Adapted Strategies for Diversifying Teacher Pipeline

Next month, AACTE will host the second installment of a webinar series highlighting the experiences and findings of each of the 10 institutions in the AACTE Black and Hispanic/Latino Male Teachers Initiative Networked Improvement Community (NIC). The webinar, “Diversifying the Teacher Pipeline at Florida Atlantic University and the University of St. Thomas: Lessons From AACTE’s NIC,” will be held Wednesday, December 14, 2:30-3:30 p.m. EST.

The goal of this NIC is to identify broadly applicable strategies to increase the percentage of Black and Hispanic/Latino men receiving initial teaching certification through educator preparation programs. This webinar will provide an inside look at the path of inquiry guiding the NIC’s overall work and how that process has shaped and changed recruitment and retention of Black, Hispanic, and Latino male teacher candidates at two participating institutions.

Holmes Scholar Comes Full Circle as Cadets Coordinator

holmes program logo

The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE. For more information on the AACTE Holmes Program, visit http://aacte.org/programs-and-services/holmes-program.


It is amazing how life is connected in cyclical threads, sometimes leading you down old paths, but showing you completely new views. This recently happened to me as I became a coordinator of a new Holmes Cadets program at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. As a former Holmes Scholar, I remember the impact I felt when I was inducted into the program. That was an amazing experience, for it made me realize my potential in leading others to become teachers.

JTE Author Interview: How Perfectionism Affects Teachers’ Persistence

Have you seen the JTE Insider blog managed by the Journal of Teacher Education (JTE) editorial team? Check out the latest author interview below.

JTE

This interview features insights from Northwestern University’s Brady K. Jones, author of the JTE article, “Enduring in an ‘Impossible’ Occupation: Perfectionism and Commitment to Teaching.” You can find this article in the November/December of JTE through this link.

Dec. 8 Webinar to Highlight Financial Challenges, Solutions for New Educators

Is your educator preparation program doing enough to equip students to manage their finances when they enter the workforce? Money concerns often influence students’ career choices as well as whether a new employee will stay in the profession. As the country grapples with ongoing teacher shortages and declining teacher preparation enrollments, an important part of the solution is helping prospective educators address the particular financial challenges they’ll face.

To assist programs in meeting this goal, AACTE is partnering with The Horace Mann Companies on a series of webinars for teacher educators. The first webinar, “New Educator Financial Wellness: Challenges and Solutions,” will be held Thursday, December 8, at 11:00 a.m. EST.

Penn Center for MSIs Convening Highlights New Report

On October 28-30, we had the privilege of taking part in the National Convening on Success in Teacher Education at Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), held at the University of Pennsylvania. Hosted by the Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions, the convening was focused around the release of the Center’s new report, A Rich Source for Teachers of Color and Learning: Minority Serving Institutions.

MSIs, which include Hispanic-serving institutions, tribal colleges and universities, historically Black colleges and universities, and Asian American and Native American/Pacific Islander-serving institutions, educate 20% of college and university students, many of whom are low-income and first-generation college students as well as students of color. Because of their focus and scope, MSIs play a key role in teacher preparation and efforts to diversify the nation’s teaching workforce.

Entries Due Dec. 2 for Teacher Diversity Research Award

The AACTE Diversified Teaching Workforce (DTW) Topical Action Group (TAG) invites nominations by December 2 for the 2017 Teacher Diversity Research Award.

The award recognizes outstanding research and advocacy related to various policies, practices, programs, pedagogies, systems, and/or institutions for the purpose of advancing teacher diversity. The research leadership embodied by the recipient of this award reflects the DTW TAG mission and goals and advances our current understanding of how to diversify our teacher workforce to enhance educational opportunities for all students.

NCTQ Criticizes Admissions Standards for Teacher Prep

A new report released this week by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) calls for stronger admissions standards for teacher preparation programs. Casting blame for “a low bar for entry” on states, the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), and individual programs, NCTQ claims that raising admissions requirements (such as minimum GPA and ACT or SAT scores) would increase not only the quality but also the number of candidates entering the profession.

EdD Knowledge Forum Convenes in Georgia, Seeks New Members

Group Photo
Left to right: Stephen Pape, Jimmie Walker (award winner), and Camille Bryant of Johns Hopkins University

The 18th convening of the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) took place October 24-26 on the campus of Augusta University (GA). Faculty members from 80 member colleges and schools of education explored the program theme “Inquiry as Practice: Understanding the Research Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions Scholarly Practitioners Need to Improve Problems of Practice.”

Rick Mintrop of the University of California-Berkeley challenged the group to consider design-based inquiry as a potential signature pedagogy for preparing professional practitioners. “We should spend design energy only on ‘wicked problems’ for which there is no current conventional solution,” he urged.

Building a New Holmes Scholars Program at Oral Roberts University

carolyn stubbs
Carolyn Stubbs, ORU Holmes Scholar

For Oral Roberts University (ORU), joining AACTE’s Holmes Program contributed to an initiative to create a dedicated space within our department for aspiring education leaders. Over the past year, we’ve succeeded in setting up a fledgling program that we hope will flourish and grow as time goes on.

Our Holmes Scholars Program began in September 2015. Its conception and development was very much influenced by the Holmes Program presentation given at the AACTE Annual Meeting in 2015.

Invitation to ‘Ed Tech in Teacher Prep’ Challenge

The U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Technology (OET) invites educator preparation providers (EPPs) to publicly commit to the four key principles identified in the 2016 National Educational Technology Plan for the use of educational technology in teacher preparation.

EPPs that pledge to uphold the four principles will be eligible to receive an invitation to an “Innovators’ Briefing” hosted by OET December 14 in Washington, DC, along with an afternoon workshop hosted by AACTE the day before. Space at the event is limited, so to be considered for participation, be sure to complete the online challenge form by December 1.

Recapping State Elections: Results and Next Steps

While the country’s attention during last week’s election was largely on the presidential race, education had a lot at stake in key state-level decisions.

Governors

The first significant category of decisions was for governorships, for which 12 states held elections. Going into this month, Republicans held 31 offices, Democrats held 18, and an Independent led one state. In the 12 states with gubernatorial races, Republicans won six, Democrats won five, and one was still too close to call at press time.

The results put Republicans on track to tie or exceed a post-World War II record for the partisan control of governorships. See this link for an overview of the outcomes of each gubernatorial race.

Vote by Nov. 28 in AACTE’s Board of Directors Election

The annual election for the AACTE Board of Directors opens today and runs through November 28. Eight seats will be decided via online voting: one representing the Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education (AILACTE), one representing the Council of Academic Deans from Research Education Institutions (CADREI), one representing university presidents/provosts, and five at-large seats.

All AACTE Institutional and Chief Representatives are eligible to vote for all eight open seats. The slate of candidates is as follows: