Author Archive

Facilitators at Workshop to Include Experts From EPPs, Partner Organizations

Next month, AACTE’s Quality Support Workshop in Minneapolis will help participants take their programs and practices to the next level with 2 days of hands-on, expert-facilitated sessions. Attendees will interact with leaders from educator preparation programs (EPPs) as well as with researchers, program administrators, and other professionals who will be on hand to guide their progress at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis, August 10-12.

Participants can work on assessment data, quality assurance plans, standards and evidence for accreditation, and much more in their choice of over two dozen sessions led by these facilitators:

New Additions to AACTE Workshop in Minneapolis

Thanks to several brand-new sessions and revamped activities throughout the original program, next month’s regional AACTE Quality Support Workshop will deliver an even more robust program than its popular predecessor. During the event August 10-12 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, participants will choose from two dozen expert-facilitated workshops offered in seven time blocks – with topics such as interpreting candidate assessment data, mapping curricula to competency indicators, preparing evidence for an accreditation visit, recruiting and supporting more diverse candidates, and others.

Many of the sessions from last spring’s southern regional workshop, held in Fort Worth, Texas, will run again in Minneapolis with few changes. Others are bringing in new facilitators or making adjustments to reflect feedback from attendees (the organizers do try to practice what they preach about using data for improvement!).

Learn to Use Data for Improvement in Online Course Starting July 17

Data, data everywhere – so now what do you do? When you are awash in student test scores, survey responses, or research results, how do you determine what they mean – and what actions to take as a result?

For a concise and engaging introduction to data sources, uses, and improvement processes, try AACTE’s online professional seminar Using Data to Improve Student Outcomes, opening July 17 for a 3-week run on the FutureLearn social-learning platform. It requires only 3 hours per week and costs nothing! (Or you may choose to upgrade your enrollment, for a fee, to participate in tests, obtain a completion certificate, and gain unlimited access to course materials in the future. A completion certificate is required if you plan to become an AACTE consultant.)

Overcoming Challenges, Reaping Benefits of Clinical Partnership in Queens

Two new videos are available this week on AACTE’s Research-to-Practice Spotlight Series highlighting the St. John’s University (NY) School of Education clinical preparation program known as RISE, or the Residential Internship for St. John’s Educators. This week’s video interviews present faculty and administrators discussing various challenges they’ve had to overcome in setting up and sustaining the RISE Program – and why the results are worth the effort.

The School of Education at St. John’s University (SJU) and its Residential Internship for St. John’s Educators (RISE) have hit a stride with their clinical partnerships to prepare new teachers – but it wasn’t always easy. To get to this point, all parties have worked to overcome hurdles and cultivate strong relationships that set them up for successful navigation of future bumps in the road.

Apply Now for 2018 AACTE Awards

Nominations for the 2018 AACTE awards are now open on AACTE’s online submission site (except the Outstanding Book Award, which closed May 30). Applications for the Outstanding Dissertation Award are due August 18, and all other award submissions are due October 12.

Now in its 22nd year, AACTE’s awards program recognizes member institutions’ exemplary programs as well as individuals who have made noteworthy contributions to education preparation. For an overview of last year’s winners, see this press release.

Introducing Lynn M. Gangone, President and CEO

Today, AACTE welcomes Lynn M. Gangone to the position of president and chief executive officer. Gangone graciously took time during her first day on the job for this introductory interview for Ed Prep Matters:

Q: Your career has spanned a variety of higher education and association roles. What attracted you to AACTE?

A: AACTE’s mission is the first and foremost attraction. In my opinion, educators are the most important professionals in our society, and the opportunity to serve an organization dedicated to their preparation is unparalleled. Not only have educators made a difference in my life, but I have had the extraordinary fortune to “pay it forward” through my career as a faculty member and a dean. AACTE aligns so many facets of my lifelong work as an educator with service to and advocacy for educator preparation programs.

Rowan Develops Male Teachers With IMPACT

As this spring’s graduates march across stages and celebrate their newly earned teaching licenses, 14 students in the College of Education at Rowan University (NJ) still have a few years of work before heading to their first teaching jobs. But as participants in Rowan’s Project Increasing Male Practitioners and Classroom Teachers (Project IMPACT), they are well on their way to not only graduating but also remedying the persistent shortage of male teachers of color.

Majoring in education fields from early childhood to music, math, science, and more, these young men from the South Jersey area receive an annual $4,000 scholarship, mentoring and study supports, and hands-on experiences in schools in exchange for their commitment to return as teachers for at least 3 years in high-need public schools. The program is designed to equip candidates with the skills and supports to persist in their high-attrition field while effectively enhancing student learning.

Call for Entries: 2018 AACTE Outstanding Dissertation Award

Have you recently completed a fabulous dissertation? Then AACTE wants to hear from you! Applications for the 2018 Outstanding Dissertation Award are being accepted in our online submission system now through August 18.

The AACTE Outstanding Dissertation Award recognizes excellence in doctoral dissertation research (or its equivalent) that contributes to the knowledge base of educator preparation or of teaching and learning with implications for educator preparation. Dissertations completed since January 2016 are eligible for consideration, regardless of what institution awarded the doctorate (member or nonmember of AACTE). See the call for entries (PDF) for other requirements.

Call for Papers: NKU Symposium on Teacher Diversity

Cynthia B. Dillard

Are you developing, implementing, or evaluating policies or practices that help increase the numbers and improve the experiences of teachers of color? The Department of Teacher Education at Northern Kentucky University (NKU) wants to hear from you! Paper proposals are due May 15 for a September event, “Teacher Diversity Matters: A National Symposium on Preparing, Recruiting, and Retaining Teachers of Color.”

The symposium, to be held September 15 at NKU, will feature a keynote address from Cynthia B. Dillard of the University of Georgia titled “You Are Because I Am: The Necessity of Identity, Mutuality, and Equity in Teacher Education.” Other sessions will highlight accepted papers from researchers, practitioners, and students based in PK-12 and higher education.

AACTE Workshop Brings Quality Support to Texas

Last week, AACTE’s inaugural Quality Support Workshop drew dozens of faculty, administrators, assessment and accreditation coordinators, and other educators to Fort Worth, Texas, April 24-26 for interactive sessions and hands-on collaboration.

The event – the first in AACTE’s new series of regional workshops – opened Monday afternoon with a facilitated discussion of the topic “Quality Assurance in Education: What Should a Profession Expect?” AACTE’s Mark LaCelle-Peterson and Linda McKee led participants in considering what evidence they need to evaluate their students and programs, how they obtain this evidence, and how different measures combine to build a framework for quality assurance as well as continuous improvement.