PSU Partners with Schools to Advance Inclusive Education

By Katrina Norfleet

One of the key components of Portland State University’s (PSU) Secondary Dual Education Program is its success in developing and sustaining partnerships with local school districts.

Marvin Lynn, dean of the Graduate School of Education at PSU, shares how the program prepares secondary education teacher candidates to bring content knowledge and “the knowledge that special education teachers have to bare about the learning process and about how to work with these unique populations” to local schools.

Educators like Ana Capac, a special education teacher at Evergreen High School, specifically ask for student teachers from the PSU program because of the mindsets and approaches they bring to the classroom and community. “It is really important that I’m supporting both the student teachers I’m working with on how they are developing this mindset of inclusion, supporting all students, and working within the school to support their colleagues as well,” says Capac.

Andrew Gilford, assistant principal at Clackamas High School, emphasizes this culture shift to more collegial relationships where the PSU teacher candidates and the classroom teachers “speak the same language” and can work together to serve students with disabilities and improve learning outcomes. “Coming from this kind of program and this kind of background, you are immediately an advocate,” adds Rob Parness, special education teacher and former academic coach at Tigard High School.

In discussing the culture shift, Will Parnell, curriculum and instruction department chair at PSU, emphasizes that the program was built based on relationships with the community. “There were local districts that were saying ‘we want special ed teachers that can support students in general ed classrooms’ but they found out that teacher prep programs were not focused on that,” says Susan Bert, assistant professor of practice, special education at PSU.  “So there was a need.”

To learn more, view the Developing and Sustaining Partnerships video featuring PSU’s Secondary Dual Education program.

A Conversation with Donald Easton-Brooks on Culturally Responsive Practice

By Katrina Norfleet

AACTE board member Donald Easton-Brooks is widely known as a scholar of educational policy and culturally responsive teaching. This year, he released his book Ethnic Matching: Academic Success of Students of Color. In a recent Q&A with AACTE President and CEO Lynn M. Gangone, Easton-Brooks talked about the book and how his research shows diversifying the teaching profession will ultimately improve student’s success. The following summary highlights the conversation.

How would you describe the concept of ethnic matching and its importance to student learning?

What ethnic matching initially suggests is that teachers of color can play a significant role in enhancing the academic experience of students of color. As this research and other research progress, findings have shown that teachers of color can play a significant role in also enhancing the academic experience of white students and can assist in enhancing a more culturally responsive profession as a whole.  Therefore, the concept and research related to the concept suggest that we need to diversify teacher education. Mainly because as our communities are becoming more diverse, we are seeing our public schools also becoming more diverse. Yet what is happening is that our educator profession is not growing at a similar rate as these communities of students. The research around the concepts shows that perceived knowledge or knowledge from a preceptive culturally lens can play a role in students’ understanding of concepts, learning, and processing of information. This often can lead to these students being misinterpreted by teachers and feeling somehow misunderstood by teachers if they do not have that cultural lens to understand them. That is what teachers of color can bring to the table that can be of assistance to educational systems.

JTE Earns High Ranking, Rise in Impact Factor

By Katrina Norfleet

In the recently released 2019 Journal Citation Reports, AACTE’s Journal of Teacher Education (JTE) achieved a 2-year impact factor score of 3.263—indicating the average number of times any JTE article published in 2016 or 2017 was cited during 2018. The impact factor increased  from JTE’s last score of 3.180, and keeps its ranking as 12th out of 238 journals worldwide in the “education and educational research” category.

The journal, now in its 70^th year of publication, is widely known for its high standard of quality and diverse perspectives on policy, practice, and research in teacher preparation. The number of citations of JTE articles in other journals provides a snapshot of its significance to the profession.

This high ranking is also a reflection of the scholarly rigor assured by the editors and peer reviewers. Michigan State University’s (MSU) College of Education currently serves as the editorial host of the AACTE flagship journal. MSU completed its first 3-year term as editorial host in 2018, and will continue to lead the editorial process through 2021. As of July 1, 2018, the coeditors are Tonya Bartell, Dorinda Carter Andrews, Robert Floden, and Gail Richmond, all from MSU.

One of the fundamental goals of the journal is the use of evidence from rigorous investigation to identify and address the increasingly complex issues confronting teacher development at the national and global levels. Thanks to the MSU editorial team and publishing partners at SAGE, a number of global perspectives factor into the journal. These include the translation and posting of article abstracts online in Spanish, German, and Mandarin; the high number of submissions—nearly half—from outside the United States; and the thousands of subscribers who read the journal through SAGE’s “developing world” initiatives.

To learn more about the journal and its current editorial team, visit aacte.org. AACTE members can also access JTE content online via the page’s “AACTE Member Free JTE Access” button—including the complete archive dating back to 1950 as well as prepublication articles in the SAGE Online First system.

Workshop Offers Opportunity to Practice Pedagogies

By Katrina Norfleet

TeachingWorks at the University of Michigan is presenting its second annual Practice-Based Teacher Education Workshop, an opportunity for teacher educators to examine and try out practice-based teacher education pedagogies. The workshop, will take place on July 8-10, 2019 at the University of Michigan School of Education, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The presentations will include artifacts of practice such as videos and transcripts to create more time for teacher educators to practice teacher education pedagogies.

JTE Insider Podcast Highlights Evidence-Based Teacher Preparation

By Katrina Norfleet

In a recent podcast interview for JTE Insider blog, author Dan Goldhaber from the University of Washington offers an overview of his article, Evidence-Based Teacher Preparation: Policy Context and What We Know, during a talk with Graduate Assistant Mary Neville. The article was published in the March/April 2019 issue of the Journal of Teacher Education.

Goldhaber shares that the article is intended to do two thing: Describe what is known about teacher education and what happens once a teacher candidate becomes an in-service teacher, and secondly, to make observations about some of the structures that might be needed for state teacher preparation programs to learn more about what constitutes effective teaching.

Educators Discuss How to Disrupt Oppression During #AACTE19

By Katrina Norfleet

During the “Disrupting the Persistence of Oppression” Deeper Dive session, panelists explored the question: How does knowing content matter for disrupting the persistence of oppression? The panel discussion was moderated by Deborah Ball, director of TeachingWorks at the University of Michigan and included Maisha Winn, Chancellor’s Leadership Professor in the School of Education and co-director of the Transformative Justice in Education (TJE) Center at the University of California, Davis; Sylvia Celedon-Pattichis, senior associate dean for research and community engagement and professor of bilingual and mathematics education at the University of New Mexico; Abby Reisman, assistant professor of teacher education at the University of Pennsylvania; and Carol Lee, former Edwina S. Tarry Professor of Education, School of Education, of Social Policy and African-American Studies at Northwestern University.

Winn began the panel discussion with a scholarly presentation focused on restorative justice and shared a narrative framework she developed for teachers to consider when seeking justice in the school setting. The framework is based on four pedagogical stances: history matters, race matters, justice matters, and language matters. She presented the framework and shared her desire to add a fifth stance: futures matter.

Deeper Dive Session Explores Data Systems

By Katrina Norfleet

The “Data Systems” Deeper Dive session, held during the AACTE 2019 Annual Meeting examined the possibilities and challenges for using information and evidence-based research to improve teacher education programs. The discussion was led by moderator Robert Floden, dean of the College of Education at Michigan State University, and included four panelists: Kevin Bastian, senior research associate, University of North Carolina (UNC) and director, Teacher Quality Research Initiative Education Policy Initiative at Carolina (EPIC); Charles Peck, a professor of teacher education and special education at the University of Washington; Suzanne Wilson, Neag School of Educatin Endowed Professor of Teacher Education at the University of Connecticut (UConn); and Gladis Kersaint, dean, Neag School of Education at UConn.

The robust discussion opened with Bastian sharing the details of a two-pronged study conducted by EPIC that pairs student teaching data with workforce outcomes. He stated, “The problem we’re interested in addressing is how can programs take a mountain of performance assessment data and identify what we might call actionable evidence within it.”

#AACTE19 Opening Keynote Speakers Discuss Accountability in Teacher Education

By Katrina Norfleet

Opening keynote speakers Marilyn Cochran-Smith of Boston College and Marvin Lynn of Portland State University, explored the challenges with accountability in teacher education in a provocative discussion on Friday, February 22.

Cochran-Smith is the Cawthorne Professor of Teacher Education for Urban Schools in the Lynch School of Education at Boston College. A teacher educator for more than 40 years, she stressed that teacher educators are passionate about accountability for the learning and development of the teacher candidates they work with, as well as the students, families, and communities the future teachers will serve.

“I have never met a teacher educator who didn’t feel accountable and who didn’t want to be accountable for his/her work,” said Cochran-Smith. “The trouble with teacher education accountability is not with accountability itself; it’s what teacher education has been held accountable for.”

New paper addresses professionalization of teacher education

By Katrina Norfleet

Jacob Easley II, dean of the Graduate School of Education at Touro College, recently authored A Way Forward Toward Professionalizing Teacher Education: A Response to the AASCU Teacher Education Task Force Survey, a commentary published in the Educational Renaissance journal. In the paper, Easley reviews the recommendations resulting from the 2016 American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) Teacher Education Task Force survey. The survey was completed by member presidents, provosts, and their deans of education at public institutions of higher learning to better understand the state of the profession.

The results from the national AASCU survey yielded six recommendations for quality teacher education programs. Of the six, Easley categorizes the first four are as similar to the standards that inform national accreditation by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP):

1. Bolster clinical experiences
2. Ensure strong university-school partnerships
3. Step up recruitment into preparation programs
4. Build agreements with community colleges

2019 National Superintendent of the Year Is Alumnus of AACTE Member Institutions

By Katrina Norfleet

AACTE Congratulates 2019 National Superintendent of the Curtis Jones Jr., superintendent of Bibb County School District in Macon, GA.

Jones, was Georgia’s finalist for the honor given by AASA, the School Superintendents Association. He is also an alumnus of AACTE member institutions, Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee, where he received his Ed.S. from the Carter & Moyers School of Education and NOVA Southeastern in Florida, where he received his Ed.D. from the Abraham S. Fischler College of Education.

Jones joined the Bibb County School District in April 2015. Using his classroom and administrative experiences, he developed the district’s strategic plan, “Victory in Our Schools.” The plan has five goal areas: increasing student achievement; increasing student and stakeholder engagement; increasing teacher and leader effectiveness; being a reliable organization; and learning and growth. This plan drives the district’s continuous improvement efforts through shared accountability for all stakeholders and resource alignment.

Butler College of Education Named AACTE Global Award Recipient

By Katrina Norfleet

AACTE is delighted to announce Butler University College of Education as the recipient of the 2019 AACTE Best Practice Award in Support of Global and International Perspectives for its Global Network for Teacher Preparation program. Kelli Esteves, Butler College of Education (COE) associate professor and global coordinator, will be presented with the award at the AACTE 71st Annual Meeting, February 22-24, in Louisville, KY.

Butler’s Global Network for Teacher Preparation is a comprehensive program designed to bring international and multicultural perspectives into their teaching through experiential learning in other countries. Made up of local and global partners, the network has sent faculty and students around the world and has hosted educators on Butler’s campus and in its lab schools from Sweden, Colombia, Italy, Australia, and China to ensure its teacher candidates are exposed to international perspectives and curriculum. The network’s local partners include the College of Education’s two Reggio-inspired Lab Schools, Shortridge International Baccalaureate World School (lab high school) and Butler’s Center for Global Education. Global partners are the Institutes of Higher Education student exchange partners, including Uppsala University, Sweden, University of Tasmania, and the Education University of Hong Kong; and School partner for student and educator exchange—Vallentuna Gymnasium in Sweden.

Jane S. Bray to be Presented with 2019 Pomeroy Award

By Katrina Norfleet

AACTE’s Committee on Professional Preparation and Accountability has selected Jane S. Bray as the recipient of the 2019 AACTE Edward C. Pomeroy Award for Outstanding Contributions to Teacher Education. Bray, dean of the Darden College of Education and Professional Studies at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA, will be presented with the award at the AACTE 71st Annual Meeting, February 22-24, in Louisville, KY.

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.

Bray joined the AACTE Board of Directors in 2013 as a representative of the Advisory Council for State Representatives (ACSR), a coalition of leaders from AACTE’s state chapters. During her tenure on the AACTE Board, she was elected to serve as a member of the AACTE Executive Committee. She became chair of the AACTE Board in March 2016 and led the national search for the next president and chief executive officer of AACTE. Bray chaired the national search committee while completing her normal responsibilities as board chair. This daunting task included leading interactions with the search committee and the AACTE Board of Directors, and managing the intricacies of a national search that included a wide range of individuals and constituents. Bray is being honored for her exceptional contributions to AACTE at a time of great significance and importance to the Association.

UCA’s iPad Mobile Initiative earns AACTE Technology Award

By Katrina Norfleet

AACTE is delighted to announce the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) College of Education is the recipient of the 2019 AACTE Best Practice Award for Innovative Use of Technology for its iPad Mobile Initiative program. Donna Wake, associate dean of UCA’s College of Education, will be presented with the award at the AACTE 71st Annual Meeting, February 22-24, in Louisville, KY.

The UCA College of Education is in its third year of implementing the intensive 1:1 mobile technology initiative for all undergraduates in its initial preparation programs. Beginning in fall 2016, students who were enrolled in the university’s undergraduate elementary, special education, middle level, and all secondary education programs were immersed in the mobile technology initiative. The iPads devices were formally listed as a College of Education curriculum requirement, and students were able to purchase the devices at the education rate.

“Vision isn’t something you declare. It’s something you build. The mobile learning initiative has given our school the opportunity to transform traditional approaches into a commitment to active learning, increased student voice, and accessibility,” said Victoria Groves-Scott, dean, UCA College of Education. “This has been especially important as we strive to prepare the teachers of tomorrow to educate students who live in an increasingly interconnected and information-saturated world. Through contextual analysis and application, we aim for our students to be creators and designers of learning opportunities rather than simply as carriers of information.”

Kelly C. Henson to Receive AACTE’s Imig Award

By Katrina Norfleet

AACTE’s Committee on Professional Preparation and Accountability has selected Kelly C. Henson to receive the 2019 AACTE David G. Imig Award for Distinguished Achievement in Teacher Education. Henson, who in January 2019 retired as the executive secretary at the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, will be presented with the award at the AACTE 71st Annual Meeting, February 22-24, in Louisville, KY.

The Imig Award, named for AACTE President and CEO Emeritus David G. Imig, recognizes distinguished achievement in the formulation, implementation, or analysis of teacher education policy, or in the performance of distinguished scholarship in educator preparation.

Since 2007, Henson has led substantive educator preparation policy, certification, and ethics reform efforts in his role at the Georgia Professional Standards Commission. During his distinguished career of over 45 years in education, he also served as the superintendent of schools in Floyd County, principal of Walton High School, principal of Pope High School and associate superintendent in Marietta City Schools in Georgia. He has contributed to the statewide and national implementation of tiered certification, preparation program effectiveness measures (PPEM), performance-based educational leadership, enhanced ethics instruction and assessment and job-embedded professional learning.

2019 National Teacher of the Year Finalists Announced

By Katrina Norfleet

Today, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) announced four educators with diverse teaching styles and who teach different subjects as finalists for the 2019 National Teacher of the Year:

Donna Gradel, the 2019 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year, is a high school science teacher who empowers her students to discover ways they can improve their local environment, including helping their city to develop and implement sustainable solutions to improve the water quality and natural habitats of the city’s waterways. Learn more.

Kelly Harper, the 2019 District of Columbia Teacher of the Year, is a 3rd grade teacher who leads her students to work on advocacy projects throughout the year, even going so far as meeting with members of Congress in the U.S. Capitol Building. Learn more.

Danielle Riha, the 2019 Alaska Teacher of the Year, is a middle school teacher who has learned from Yup’ik Elders how to incorporate indigenous knowledge that she applies in a culturally infused curriculum with her students at the Alaska Native Cultural Charter School, which she helped open to increase opportunities for students to connect to their identity and community. Learn more.

Rodney Robinson, the 2019 Virginia Teacher of the Year, who teaches social studies in a juvenile detention facility, creates a positive school culture by empowering his students— many of whom have experienced trauma—to become civically-minded social advocates who use their skills and voices to affect physical and policy changes at their school. Learn more.