21 Jun2016
By Rodrick Lucero
Last week, the AACTE Clinical Practice Commission met with members of the former CAEP State Alliance for Clinical Preparation and Partnerships for a summit that began merging the outcomes from the alliance’s work into the ongoing efforts of the commission. Summit participants from the alliance were invited to join the commission, which is now in Round 2 of its quest to better define clinical practice and related best practices for the field.
The synergy in the room when these two groups got together was palpable. They began as if they had been working together forever. Each group has been studying clinical practice with an eye to advancing the recommendations of the 2010 NCATE Blue Ribbon Panel report, but tackling the work from different angles. The alliance’s findings, produced by state-based teams through work cycles grounded in improvement science, provide a valuable complement to the commission’s national effort. (CAEP, the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, allowed the alliance to sunset this spring.)
13 Jun2016
By Francisco X. Gaytán
When considering the trends in college degree attainment among students of color, there appears to be a tale of two genders, and something must be done about it. In April, I was part of a group of educators from across the country that convened in New Jersey at William Paterson University’s College of Education to consider the issue. The attendees have been working together over the past 2 years as members of AACTE’s Black and Hispanic/Latino Male Initiative Networked Improved Community (NIC), drawing upon the collective expertise of the member institutions to increase representation of Black and Hispanic/Latino males in the teacher workforce.
13 Jun2016
By Melvin Bogard
A new set of brief videos in AACTE’s Research-to-Practice Spotlight Series focuses on operationalizing clinical practice through the award-winning partnerships of Ohio University’s Patton College of Education (see this article introducing the series, this overview of the first three videos, and this summary of the next four videos). Today’s article highlights messages from the next three segments, which feature faculty and administrators from the partner schools as well as Patton College students.
09 Jun2016
By Whitney Watkins
The annual Holmes Scholars Dissertation Symposium and Retreat convened May 27-28 at the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando. The retreat served as an invaluable exchange of knowledge, mentorship, and networking. Professionals in the fields of counseling and mentoring, qualitative research, quantitative research, and grant writing guided more than 70 participants in their doctoral journeys.
09 Jun2016
UPDATE: Submission deadline for Best Practice and Professional Achievement Awards has been extended to October 26
By Kristin McCabe
Nominations for all of the 2017 AACTE awards are now open on AACTE’s online submission site. To read detailed submission information, please refer to the official Call for Entries.
Now in its 21st 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.
24 May2016
By Omar Davis
Holmes Scholar alumna Bridget Steele
Participation in the AACTE Holmes Program produces tangible results for students through many local and nationwide channels of support. These benefits include not only success in completing a course of study but also mentoring and professional networks that extend well past graduation. The following testimonial from program alumna Bridget Steele, who graduated from the University of Central Florida 4 years ago, conveys how being a Holmes Scholar can shape a student’s experience through graduate school and beyond:
23 May2016
By Rodrick Lucero
I am excited to announce that this year’s Leadership Academy will feature new programming related to preparing teachers for exceptional learners. Enhancing an already robust leadership curriculum being offered June 26-30 in Portland, Oregon, we’ve planned a special set of new sessions to engage participants on how to lead programs that prepare teachers to educate every child.
Members of the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability, and Reform (CEEDAR) Center at the University of Florida and the Ohio Deans Compact on Exceptional Children are collaborating with AACTE to bring this new dimension to the Leadership Academy. Together, we hope to elevate awareness and interest in serving exceptional learners among decision-makers in teacher preparation. The presentations and conversations with guest experts will create a space in which new and aspiring leaders can learn and gather ideas that can be operationalized in their home colleges and programs.
17 May2016
By Katrina Sheffield
A new set of brief videos in AACTE’s Research-to-Practice Spotlight Series focuses on operationalizing clinical practice through the award-winning partnerships of Ohio University’s Patton College of Education (see this article introducing the series and this overview of the first three videos). Today’s article highlights messages from the next four segments, which feature students and leaders from the college as well as from its partner schools.
The Patton College of Education at Ohio University and its partner schools nurture future teachers with extensive and hands-on experience in classrooms. Teacher candidates play an active role from early in their college years, actively participating and working closely with veteran educators to develop their own proficiency.
09 May2016
By Kristin McCabe
AACTE is now accepting nominations for the 2017 Outstanding Book Award. Nominations must be made through our online submission system by June 14.
The Outstanding Book Award recognizes books that make a significant contribution to the knowledge base of educator preparation or of teaching and learning with implications for educator preparation. Last year’s winner was Etta Hollins’ Rethinking Field Experiences in Preservice Teacher Preparation: Meeting New Challenges for Accountability (Routledge), and the 2015 winner was Nel Noddings’ Education and Democracy in the 21st Century (Teachers College Press); check our online honor roll for other great recommendations for your summer reading list!
03 May2016
By Melvin Bogard
A new set of brief videos in AACTE’s Research-to-Practice Spotlight Series focuses on operationalizing clinical practice through the award-winning partnerships of Ohio University’s Patton College of Education (see this article introducing the series). Today’s article highlights messages from the first three videos, which feature leaders from the college as well as students, teachers, and administrators from several of its partner schools.
The Patton College of Education at Ohio University is building bridges for greater teaching and learning in a model that is a boon to PK-12 students, faculty, and teacher candidates. Its professional development school (PDS) partnerships employ a clinical model of education to provide hands-on experience for future educators while supporting their mentors and demonstrating educational benefit for the students as well.
26 Apr2016
By Amanda Lester
The AACTE Clinical Practice Commission (CPC) was launched in June 2015 with the goals of establishing a shared lexicon, identifying model protocols and best practices, and developing actionable recommendations for the field to define and align high-quality clinical practice in teacher preparation. The commission’s work is projected to extend through December 2016, but the 68th AACTE Annual Meeting held in February provided an opportunity to share the group’s work to date and gather feedback from the field.
During the conference, members of the CPC presented their vision for clinical practice, built upon a foundation of strong PK-24 partnerships and centered on transforming educator preparation by unifying the profession. Several commissioners provided insight into the CPC’s work as presenters during the preconference event “Preparing Tomorrow’s Leaders Through School-University Partnerships,” sponsored by the Wallace Foundation, and as featured panelists in the major forum “Clinical Practice in Educator Preparation.”
Three members of the CPC, Kristien Zenkov and Audra Parker from George Mason University (VA) and Rene Roselle from the University of Connecticut, spoke at the preconference event. Their presentation summarized the commission’s progress toward developing a white paper and a shared lexicon to connect the essential elements of clinical partnerships. They also discussed the common structures of clinical preparation and the implications that clinical teacher preparation has for advancing clinical practice in principal preparation.
25 Apr2016
By AACTE
A set of principles released this month gives educators and policy makers new guidance on the secure and ethical use of video and other classroom materials gathered as part of preservice teacher preparation. A task force of educators led by AACTE created the principles to ensure the privacy of those whose images and work are captured in the performance assessment of aspiring teachers.
The 27-member task force began convening last fall, meeting several times to develop the principles and supporting documents. Their brief brochure, “Securing Personal Information in Performance Assessment of Teacher Candidates,” explains the importance of videos and other artifacts in teacher performance assessment and introduces nine principles to guide those involved in creating or reviewing materials that include student images or identifying information.
18 Apr2016
By Rodrick Lucero
It is my pleasure to introduce the Patton College of Education at Ohio University as the next institution to be featured in AACTE’s Research-to-Practice Spotlight Series. Continuing our focus on effective models of clinical practice, this series highlights the award-winning work of Ohio University’s Patton College and its network of PK-12 partner schools to continuously improve their preparation of teachers in an active interchange of theory and practice.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting videos and blog articles to share what AACTE staff learned during our recent visit to picturesque Athens, Ohio, where we met with a broad selection of program leaders and participants. It was clear that the clinical practice model resonates with candidates, mentor teachers, PK-12 administrators, and those on the campus because those involved can see the benefits and have a clear understanding of the processes supporting them. The tone of this partnership is one of infinite possibility as all members of the community find themselves involved.
To help introduce this series, I invited Patton College Dean Renée Middleton to reflect on the program’s success and development. Here’s what she had to say:
12 Apr2016
By Linda McKee
A new agreement between AACTE and Educational Testing Service (ETS) will bring support to AACTE member programs as they implement performance assessments with their students. Under the agreement, AACTE will develop various events, online platforms, and communications related to the assessments PPAT, NOTE, and ProEthica.
AACTE is assisting ETS with the development of a curriculum clinic for member institutions that are using the PPAT and piloting NOTE. The clinic aims to guide programs through curriculum redesign based on the reports generated through the performance assessments. AACTE is working on a curriculum matrix template to be used with participating educator preparation providers (EPPs) in a review of their data with ETS. AACTE also will coordinate the creation of case studies with volunteer EPPs to build out the clinic process, to be followed by an interactive curriculum clinic that will guide teams from the EPPs through the redesign process.
29 Mar2016
By Rodrick Lucero
AACTE is excited to collaborate with the Association of Teacher Educators and the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network in a national outreach effort to determine how we can best support teacher preparation programs in training future educators to work with LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) students. Working together, we have created a survey that we now invite you to complete.
We recognize that there is little information about how to best support teacher educators in this arena and many educators, for numerous reasons, may not be addressing these issues. Although there are pockets of excellence leading this work, few teacher preparation programs require LGBTQ issues to be included in their overall diversity initiatives. Through this survey, we hope to learn more about how LGBTQ issues are (or are not) being addressed across the country, raise models of excellence, and provide guidance for programs that are asking for support. As a token of appreciation, survey takers will be entered into a lottery to win Amazon.com gift certificates or free AACTE Annual Meeting registration!
