Author Archive

Ball State Program to Receive AACTE Multicultural Award

AACTE has selected the Ball State University Teachers College (IN) “Schools Within the Context of Community (SCC) program to receive the 2017 AACTE Best Practice Award in Support of Multicultural Education and Diversity. The award will be presented at the 69th AACTE Annual Meeting Welcoming Session, Thursday, March 2, at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida.

SCC takes an innovative approach to preparing culturally responsive, community-engaged candidates. In partnership with a local neighborhood and the Muncie Community School District, the university’s Department of Elementary Education immerses both teacher candidates and faculty into the community and provides opportunities for unique mentoring relationships, service-learning projects, family engagement, and more. Both the community and the university students have benefited in numerous ways since the program started in 2009, ranging from higher elementary student achievement to cultural immersion for teacher candidates to grant funding for community improvements, such as a shared walking path on the grounds of the elementary school.

AACTE to Honor JTE Article on Urban Indigenous Community Roles in Field-Based Teacher Preparation

AACTE has chosen Anna Lees of Western Washington University to receive the 2017 AACTE Outstanding Journal of Teacher Education (JTE) Article Award for her article “The Roles of Urban Indigenous Community Members in Collaborative Field-Based Teacher Preparation,” published in the November/December 2016 issue of the journal. The award will be presented at the 69th AACTE Annual Meeting Speaker Spotlight Session, Saturday, March 4, at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida.

The qualitative case study presented in this article used Indigenous Postcolonial Theory as a lens to explore the process and outcomes of a partnership between Indigenous community members and a teacher preparation program. The article offers scholarly insights and a model for the design and implementation of community-university partnerships in the support of preparing novice teachers to effectively work with Indigenous children and their families in urban environments.

Arizona State University to Win AACTE Award for Infusing Technology in Methods Courses

AACTE’s Committee on Innovation and Technology has selected the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University to receive the 2017 AACTE Best Practice Award for the Innovative Use of Technology. The award will be presented during the Speaker Spotlight Session on Saturday, March 4, at the AACTE Annual Meeting in Tampa, Florida.

About 5 years ago, the college eliminated its stand-alone educational technology course and instead began infusing the tech content into methods courses. Because of the college’s large size, this undertaking required massive support and commitment among dozens of faculty and administrators. Their infusion initiative was based on a vision to prepare students to teach and learn with technology, achieved through four components:

Get Support for Assessment, Accreditation, More Through AACTE Courses, Events

Are you looking for assistance in preparing your programs for accreditation or state review? Or maybe you’re in need of guidance on refining your internal quality assurance system, or using performance assessments with your teacher candidates, or just making sense of all the data and other evidence you’re collecting?

AACTE is ready to help you with these and other needs. In fact, you have several options to choose from just this semester, with more being rolled out later in 2017. Whether you prefer to take a convenient online course, hire a trained consultant, or bring your colleagues together for hand-on, facilitated planning, we aim to provide the support you need.

Wanted: Elementary Education Candidates to Pilot NOTE Assessment

As part of the Quality Support Center, AACTE is partnering with Educational Testing Service (ETS) to support members’ use of teacher performance assessments. The new NOTE assessment developed by ETS in collaboration with TeachingWorks (see this video interview with Deborah Ball) is now in a pilot phase. AACTE members in eligible states may wish to participate in the pilot with their students and/or recent alumni, as noted in the following announcement from ETS.

Elementary education teacher candidates can earn $750 by participating in a multistate pilot of the ETS® NOTE Assessment Series, a new simulation-based licensure test. Qualified teachers are encouraged to apply for the pilot study in selected states.

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.

Webinar Makes Case for Educator Candidates to Understand Legal, Ethical Expectations

Did you miss AACTE’s webinar last month on what teacher candidates need to know about the intersection of educator dispositions, ethics, and law? Don’t worry – you can watch the recording at your convenience in AACTE’s Resource Library. You’ll find it, along with the presentation slides, here.

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David Thompson, University of Texas – San Antonio
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Troy Hutchings, Educational Testing Service

Presenters David Thompson of the University of Texas at San Antonio and Troy Hutchings of the Educational Testing Service opened their presentation with a case study that illustrated the complexity of factors at play not only in teacher-student relationships, but also in teacher-supervisor and other adult interactions. They discussed different frameworks that can guide teachers’ decision making and how teachers might reconcile conflicts between these frameworks to “navigate the gray areas.”

Come Early to Tampa for AACTE Preconference Events

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The AACTE Annual Meeting always presents a full schedule of opportunities for registrants, even before the conference officially begins. The 2017 event in Tampa, Florida, will uphold this tradition with a wide variety of preconference meetings, workshops, and other events on the schedule for March 1.

As always, several affiliate organizations and leadership groups will hold business meetings, including the Florida state chapter, various deans’ organizations, and AACTE’s Board of Directors, standing committees, and topical action groups. (Separate registration may be required for some of these meetings–if in doubt, check with your group!) Special events will also be offered for participants in certain AACTE initiatives, and an assessment–focused workshop is available for anyone to register.

Shaun Harper to Speak at AACTE Welcoming Session

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AACTE is pleased to announce that Shaun Harper of the University of Pennsylvania will headline the Welcoming Session at the 69th AACTE Annual Meeting, discussing social justice and equity issues in education and educator preparation. The session will kick off the conference at the Tampa Convention Center on March 2, 2017.

Harper is founder and executive director of the Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education at the University of Pennsylvania, where he also is a professor in the Higher Education Division of the Graduate School of Education. His work and research center on race and gender in education, equity trends, and racial climates on college campuses.

Explore Roles for EPPs in Solving Teacher Shortages

Mark your calendar for a special webinar September 29 about key roles for educator preparation providers (EPPs) in solving the nation’s persistent teacher shortages.

Offered by AACTE in partnership with the Learning Policy Institute (LPI), the webinar will highlight the latest enrollment and staffing data and promising models for programs and policies to improve educator recruitment, preparation, and retention.

48th Annual PDK Poll: Americans Divided Over Purpose of Education

If it’s back-to-school time, it’s time for the annual Phi Delta Kappa (PDK) International Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools. The findings released today, in this 48th year of the survey, show views that are consistent with prior years in many areas and reveal ambivalence about the primary purpose of public education.

As usual, most of the 1,221 adults (especially parents) who participated in the telephone interviews say they like their local public schools, in general, but are less positive about schools elsewhere and about their own schools’ performance in specific areas, ranging from academic rigor to development of students’ critical thinking and teamwork skills. Respondents are notably divided about the chief goals of public education, the degree of freedom that charter schools should have, and the appropriate balance between technology-based and traditional teaching.

‘What Matters Now’: Empower Teachers, Reorganize Schools for Success

In a new report issued August 10, the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NCTAF) calls for reorganizing schools to better cultivate deep learning for all students. The report, What Matters Now: A New Compact for Teaching and Learning, lays out an ambitious vision for educator-driven improvements buttressed by a coordinated system of policy and community supports.