10 Nov2020
By JTE
This Journal of Teacher Education (JTE) interview features insights on the article entitled, “What Constitutes an ‘Opportunity to Learn’ in Teacher Preparation?” by Julie Cohen and Rebekah Berlin. The article was published in the September/October 2020 issue of the JTE. AACTE members have free access to the articles in the JTE online archives—just log in with your AACTE profile.
What motivated you to pursue this particular research topic?
The goal of the paper was to surface issues around measuring what happens in teacher preparation, in particular, the construct of “opportunity to learn” or OTL. Much of the prior research on OTL has relied on survey data, and scholars have often treated the idea of OTL as an objective reality, contingent on features of coursework or fieldwork made available in a given program. However, self-reports of “opportunities” are often divergent from other measures—like observations—of the same events. Rather than assume that self-reports tell us something conclusive about a particular program, we wanted to use the rich, multifaceted data we had from a longitudinal study of teacher preparation to analyze whether program features and candidate characteristics explain variation in reported OTL.
10 Nov2020
By Jacqueline E. King, Ph.D.
You may have thought that you were done voting for 2020, but there is one more important election this year. The good news is that you don’t have to worry about in-person or mail-in ballots. AACTE has a convenient online voting system, and it will only take a moment to cast your vote for new leaders of your Association.
The 2020 election for the AACTE Board of Directors is underway through Friday, December 4. Two seats will be decided via online voting:
- One seat representing the Council of Academic Deans from Research Education Institutions (CADREI)
- One seat representing the Teacher Education Council of State Colleges and Universities (TECSCU)
All AACTE Institutional and Chief Representatives are eligible to vote for both positions, regardless of whether you work at a CADREI, TECSU, or other type of institution. The slate is as follows:
09 Nov2020
By Jacqueline E. King, Ph.D.
How are education leaders responding to the twin crises of the coronavirus pandemic and racial injustice? What can we learn from each other and how can AACTE best support its members as they navigate these unprecedented times? A webinar on Wednesday, November 18 from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. ET will feature the results of AACTE’s recent member survey and reactions from leaders in the field of educator preparation.
09 Nov2020
By Jerrica Thurman
Register today for the AACTE Town Hall on Critical Race Theory on November 19 at 3:00 p.m. -4:00 p.m. EST. Critical Race Theory provides a lens to understand race, racism, oppression, and power in America. Join the AACTE Town Hall on the integral role educator preparation programs play in advancing scholarly work on Critical Race Theory and discuss ways to resist recent federal attacks on institutions’ efforts centered on this work. Bring your voice to the AACTE open forum and share challenges and success stories about your efforts to address race, equity, and social justice during these challenging times.
09 Nov2020
By Jerrica Thurman
AACTE is collaborating with Edthena to provide $500,000 in grant funding to teacher education programs for Spring 2021.
AACTE member institutions may apply by December 7, 2020, to receive up to $25,000 for implementing video observation technology to support their teacher candidates during COVID-19 and beyond. Through this partnership, up to twenty AACTE members will receive grants for the upcoming Spring 2021 academic term.
A leader in video observation and collaboration technology, Edthena is widely used by schools, districts, and teacher education programs across the country. The technology platform enables teacher candidates to upload videos of their practice and faculty to provide feedback at specific moments in time. An approved edTPA platform provider, Edthena’s video technology can be utilized in methods courses, field observations, edTPA skill building, and group learning, making it possible to capture data for candidate growth and program improvement.
09 Nov2020
By Jacqueline Rodriguez
Join AACTE government relations consultant Jane West and her insightful and politically astute guests to dissect the 2020 election results at the federal level on November 18. Barmak Nassirian, director of federal relations and policy analysis for the American Association of Colleges and Universities, will offer a perspective from the higher education sector while Danny Carlson, director of policy and advocacy for the National Association of Elementary School Principals, will cover the PK-12 perspective. Join us as we consider the following:
- Who is in the running for the next Secretary of Education?
- What will the education priorities be for the next four years?
- Will there EVER be another COVID relief bill? What will be in there for education?
- Who will chair the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions in the Senate and what difference will it make?
- Who will take the helm of the all-important chair for the Appropriations Committee in the House and what difference will it make?
We will have a lively discussion about where the election results stand, what is possible with a new balance of power and how you can continue to make your voice heard! Remember, if you’re not at the table, you’re probably on the menu!
Register for our webinar Wednesday, November 18 from 3:00 -4:00 pm ET.
09 Nov2020
By Jerrica Thurman
Join colleagues in tackling the current challenges impacting educator preparation and advocate for the future of education at AACTE’s virtual 2021 Annual Meeting, February 24-26. Education leaders from across the country will convene to address the national teacher shortage and how to effectively recruit and retain educators of color through topics featured in the conference Strand III: Establishing a Sustainable and Diverse Profession. Content from this strand includes these concurrent sessions:
- Enhancing Partnerships with University Departments to Increase Teacher Numbers
- Planting Seeds of Hope through a University-High School Pre-Educator Partnership Program
- Strategies for Prioritizing the Social and Emotional Health of New Teachers: Tools for Administrators and Preparation Programs
- Recruiting, Retaining, and Supporting Teachers of Color through Alternative Pathways to Licensure
- Creating a Collaborative and Sustainable Teacher Induction Program: A University and Multi-District Partnership
- A Pipeline of Promise: Leveraging Culture, Assessment and Data to Bridge the Teacher of Color Pipeline
- Cultivating Culturally Responsive Teaching Contexts
09 Nov2020
By Meghan Grenda
As an AACTE member you have most likely accessed educator preparation resources, attended webinars or downloaded presentations via the AACTE Resource Library, but have you visited the online Career Center?
The AACTE Career Center is your one-stop shop for teacher education students and professionals. Whether you are a seasoned educator searching for the best fit, a student embarking on your career journey, or an educator preparation provider seeking highly-qualified talent, the Career Center’s job board and resume resources are here to help. The Career Center features
- 700+ employer profiles
- 500+ job seeker profiles
- 9,000+ positions
03 Nov2020
By Katrina Norfleet
Have you visited the AACTE online News Room lately? While the News Room is the primary tool used by AACTE to increase the visibility of the educator preparation community, this resource is not only for journalists. AACTE has designed its news hub as a virtual repository of articles, information, and trends in the field to help its members stay up to date on timely education and educator preparation topics.
As a member-based organization, AACTE is keenly positioned to be a collective voice for the educator preparation community. When you want to know how the Association leadership is responding on behalf of AACTE to national events and federal issues that directly impact education and educators nationwide, visit the Press Release & Statements section. Read AACTE’s public comment on actions that range from the push to reopen schools during the COVID-19 pandemic to the most recent statement on the Administration’s restriction of federal funding for critical race theory training in education. This section also houses news releases, offering you updates on the work your Association is generating to assure educators are profession-ready when they enter the classroom, such as research reports, partnerships with other educator preparation-based organizations, and AACTE professional development events (Annual Meetings, Leadership Academy and Washington Week).
02 Nov2020
By Lynn M. Gangone
“Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
As educators, we have confronted monumental challenges this year, and yet, have managed to still make great strides. In mid-March, while closing our classrooms due to the COVID-19 outbreak, we found ways to educate our students virtually. Amidst mounting challenges, educators united to ensure that our nation’s children were able to continue learning.
Then, just as we were discovering coping mechanisms to live amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, we bore witness to incredible injustice and racial bias with the unjust deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless others. Educators heeded the call for justice, uniting with the community at large, to show that racism will not be tolerated. But despite having met these challenges head on, we cannot rest upon our laurels. The battles that lie ahead are too important and necessary to protect the core of our democracy.
02 Nov2020
By JTE Insider
This podcast interview features insights from the article “Education Policy and Black Teachers: Perspectives on Race, Policy, and Teacher Diversity” by Terrenda White, Brian Woodward, DaVonna Graham, H. Richard Milner, and Tyrone C. Howard. The article is published in the September/October 2020 of the Journal of Teacher Education. AACTE members have free access to the articles in the JTE online archives—log in with your AACTE profile.
02 Nov2020
By Katrina Norfleet
The University of Michigan’s TeachingWorks is offering a series of free virtual mini-courses for English language arts teacher educators as part of its goal is to create a system for teacher preparation and establish support that will produce skillful beginning teachers who disrupt inequity.
The mini-courses will help build an understanding of critical content in ELA and develop practice-based approaches for teaching that content to novice teachers. This series will support ELA teacher educators to develop K-12 instruction and teacher education that fills immediate needs for children and contributes to building an education that dismantles injustice instead of perpetuating it.
The next course available for registration takes place on December 4, 2020:
02 Nov2020
By Weade James
During the 2020 AACTE Annual Meeting Holmes Program Preconference events, selected scholars participated in the AACTE Holmes Dissertation Funding Competition to receive $5,000 funding support for their dissertation research. AACTE interviews the winner of the 2020 competition, Monique Matute-Chavarria, who completed her study, Parents’ Beliefs of Cultural Considerations During the IEP Process: A Delphi Study, and received her Ph.D. from the Department of Early Childhood, Multilingual, and Special Education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
How would you describe your experience as a Holmes Scholar? What supports were most impactful and why?
I was a Holmes Scholar at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for three years. It was a great experience, and I am grateful for the opportunities the Holmes program afforded me. The Holmes program provided me with several professional development opportunities that helped me craft my goals that I wanted to accomplish in the doctoral program to prepare me for a tenure track position. I gained several skills that assisted me through my journey as a doctoral student, such as academic writing, scholarship opportunities, presenting my research, and serving on the Holmes council. I was also able to network with other Holmes Scholars at other institutions at the AACTE Holmes Preconference and build relationships that have led to lifelong friendships and several opportunities to collaborate on research. I gained a new confidence that I did not have prior to my doctoral studies. I know that I can write for publication, stand before experts in the field, and confidently present and discuss my scholarship. The academic and personal growth I gained from the mentorship helped prepare me for a career in academia.
02 Nov2020
By Jerrica Thurman
As the November 3 election nears, AACTE is committed to uplifting and advancing America’s democratic values. During the virtual 2021 Annual Meeting, February 24-26, educators from across the nation will unite in advocating for the future of education through topics featured in the conference strand Activism for Renewing Democracy. Content from this strand includes these concurrent sessions:
- Teaching Culturally Responsive Dispositions, Informed Advocacy, and Activism through a Framework of Children’s Rights and Professional Ethics
- Teacher Education as a Factor in Failed Citizenship
- Pre-service Teachers Acts of Courage and Resistance: Wading Gently into Dissent
- University and State Agency Partnerships for Equity: From Regulation to Collaboration
- Networking Voices for Public School Advocacy: A Focus on Equity and Innovation
- Courageous Actions in Vulnerable Spaces: First-Year Teachers Meeting Students’ Needs in Challenging Contexts
- Preparing Doctoral Students to be Research to Policy Advocates
02 Nov2020
By Matthew Wales
Themed Leadership During Difficult Times, AACTE’s first session of the 2020 Leadership Academy Series, held on October 14, explored how three institutions have risen to the challenge and taken strides to make lasting policy and programmatic changes related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. To continue the discussion, AACTE has provided panelist Lisa Norton, dean of the College of Education & Health Sciences at Touro University, California and one of the featured panelists, with some additional questions from session attendees. Here is what she had to say:
The Graduate School of Education at Touro University, California recently held a series of informative and courageous conversations regarding what it means for education to live diversity in 2020 and beyond. Can you share some of the insights related to accessibility for all PK-12 students in a remote learning environment?
Our current Academic College Instructional Designer and Graduate School of Education faculty member, Dr. Michael Barbour, is internationally known for work on PK-12 remote learning and accessibility. We are lucky to have him to help both our own campus and the local school districts with information related to creating an inclusive online environment. We conducted a webinar series entitled Diversity Now, in which we addressed this and many other topics. We are now in discussions to help the school district with additional support for families. This support includes tutoring and mentoring children in two of the schools and possibly partnering on a large-scale grant effort through the state.
