05 Oct2017
By Jane E. West
The Learning Policy Institute (LPI) is out with a new analysis of teacher turnover and its impact on teacher shortages, showing that the nationwide shortfall of 100,000 teachers predicted in last year’s study A Coming Crisis in Teaching? has largely been realized and issuing recommendations to stem the problem before it grows worse.
In the updated report – Teacher Turnover: Why It Matters and What We Can Do About It – Desiree Carver-Thomas and Linda Darling-Hammond share recent data revealing that in just 31 states, 82,000 positions are filled by underqualified teachers and at least 5,000 are unfilled altogether; extrapolated to all states, the total number is likely around 110,000. If current trends persist, they say, we could face an even higher shortfall next year. The shortages are most acute in the fields of special education and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and are disproportionately present in high-poverty and high-minority schools.
04 Oct2017
By Jemima Cabedo
An online Education Talk Radio program last month featured AACTE members in a discussion of how their educator preparation programs contribute to high teacher quality. Host Larry Jacobs interviewed guests Rebecca West Burns, assistant professor at the University of South Florida, and D. Mark Meyers, director of the Educational Administration Program at Xavier University (OH).
The show began with discussion around the continuum of teacher development, from preservice preparation through stages of leadership, both formal and informal. Burns explained that teacher leaders include those who are instructional coaches or mentors as well as those acting less formally as leaders from within their classroom. Teachers can work collaboratively to share knowledge and help each other make progressive changes in their school. Meyers added that leadership principles applied by teacher leaders and administrators are often the same, although they may be implemented differently.
04 Oct2017
By Kim Metcalf
Students from Clark County School District at the Rebel Science Camp in March. The district’s diversity makes it a "living laboratory” for developing educational practices the entire country will eventually adopt.
This article was originally published in the UNLV News Center and is reposted with permission. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
From the earliest days of our republic, we have believed that education was critical to our democracy. Our founders knew that the health of our country, the wellbeing of the citizenry – and particularly the strength of the democracy – would be built on a well-educated population. Though disagreements have been fierce regarding who is to be educated, how much education they need, and whether to measure its value in economic growth, individual growth, or societal growth, fundamentally, we have always agreed that educating our citizens is important.
02 Oct2017
By Jerrica Thurman
Today, we are excited to unveil the new AACTE Video Wall as a tool to better showcase members’ impact and amplify their voices. Please check it out at videos.aacte.org!
For several years, AACTE has encouraged members to “tell their stories” so local communities and policy makers can learn more about the positive work educator preparation professionals do every day. Storytelling is indeed essential to getting your message out in a way that creates lasting impressions in people’s minds and hearts. AACTE is now integrating storytelling, video and technology to more broadly disseminate member stories.
29 Sep2017
By Deborah Koolbeck
As Congress returned from August recess, its agenda included a laundry list of items, and it is shaping up to be a very busy fall on Capitol Hill. Budget and appropriations, hurricane relief, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, Higher Education Act reauthorization, and tax reform are just some of the issues that will fill the congressional calendar. For many of these topics, the voice of the education profession will be an important perspective for your members of Congress to hear.
Follow these three steps to ensure your constituent voice is heard:
29 Sep2017
By Kristin McCabe
What does strong preservice preparation look like for teaching the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)? This question is explored in an article published in the May/June 2017 issue of the Journal of Teacher Education, an issue that also includes several other articles on the topic of the implications for teacher preparation of the Common Core and other new PK-12 learning standards.
A recent podcast interview for the JTE Insider blog provides insights from Mark Windschitl of the University of Washington and David Stroupe of Michigan State University, authors of the article “The Three-Story Challenge: Implications of the Next Generation Science Standards for Teacher Preparation.” JTE Graduate Assistant Bernadette Castillo conducted the interview.
29 Sep2017
By Aaron Goldstein
A commission made up of college of education deans, state legislators, university presidents, heads of postsecondary systems, state and district superintendents, and leaders of nationwide organizations has released a report presenting recommendations for state policy related to teacher preparation data systems. This Teacher Preparation Commission of the Southern Regional Education Board, a nonprofit organization that works with states to improve public education and support state policy makers, is charged with developing and identifying state recommendations to improve teacher preparation programs.
More Than the Numbers – Teacher Preparation Data Systems: State Policy and Recommendations, the Commission’s first report, focuses on how to build strong statewide data systems for teacher preparation drawing on policy models in three states – Louisiana, North Carolina, and Tennessee. In Louisiana, the report acknowledges the work of the Board of Regents and the Louisiana Teacher Preparation Program Dashboard for promoting data in a more accessible and transparent way. In North Carolina, the report praises the University of North Carolina Educator Quality Dashboard. In Tennessee, the State Board of Education, Tennessee Department of Education, and Tennessee Higher Education Commission redesigned the state’s Teacher Preparation Report Card to provide an interactive tool for aspiring teachers. Other practices that the report praises are data systems’ ability to follow teachers through their careers, focus on outcome measures, break down data “silos,” and make data more accessible.
27 Sep2017
By Jerrica Thurman
The AACTE 2018 Annual Meeting will feature new and improved sessions that will provide deeper levels of audience engagement. AACTE is committed to modeling best practices for effective learning and offering attendees contemporary approaches to pedagogy. Join AACTE in Baltimore, Maryland, for a collaborative and interactive educational experience designed to contextualize data and information, foster peer-to-peer interaction and dialogue, and apply sound principles of adult education.
All of the conference formats for Major Forums and concurrent sessions have been revamped. In fact, we will say “good-bye” to Major Forums and “hello” to Deeper Dives! In the enriched Deeper Dive sessions, still scheduled in pairs during dedicated time slots, you will get inspiring content to apply in your daily work by exploring the practices and dispositions crucial to educator preparation today. Topics at these sessions reflect work that is central to AACTE’s mission and its ongoing initiatives, including presentations from collaborating institutions, affiliate organizations, government agencies, think tanks, and thought leaders from the field.
26 Sep2017
By Jemima Cabedo
In a
recent podcast with Enrollment Fuel, the organization’s president, Jacquelyn D. Elliott, interviewed AACTE President/CEO Lynn M. Gangone about what leadership means. The following summary highlights the conversation.
Opening the interview with a question about her definition of leadership, Gangone explained it as the process of orchestrating change “with people and for people” – that is, while the individual leader may have the power to implement change, the collective team is where change happens.
26 Sep2017
By Lynn M. Gangone
The greatest benefit of an association is the collective effort of its members to identify and then advance shared values. In the 2016 Harvard Business Review article “The Ecosystem of Shared Value,” the authors describe collective impact as a movement that successfully brings together various actors in their ecosystems to catalyze change. In the ecosystem of educator preparation, every individual AACTE member plays a critical role in creating a collective voice that impacts American education today and beyond. Through members’ active engagement, AACTE is empowered to achieve successes beneficial to our entire professional community and the students we serve.
Leading into this academic year, I have been highlighting AACTE’s core principles as they reflect members’ shared values and the driving force of our work. This month, I celebrate AACTE’s core values around scholarship and knowledge production, which represent your commitment to high research standards and to producing scholarship that contributes to educational practice. AACTE, its members, and its collaborative partners stand ready as a collective voice to effect educational and social change.
26 Sep2017
By Lori Piowlski, Elizabeth S. Finsness and Karen Colum
The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
At the College of Education at Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU), our strategic vision is to inspire lifelong learning and professional engagement through racial consciousness, social justice, and inclusion within a global context. Our collective energy as a faculty is spent engaging in conversations, professional development, and research to ensure that our instructional approaches foster cultural proficiency in our teacher candidates.
To enhance that collective learning, several MNSU faculty attended the “edTPA and Equity” strand during the August AACTE Quality Support Workshop held in Minneapolis. The sessions, facilitated by teams of local teacher educators and national experts, examined how edTPA constructs address equitable teaching and learning practices and considered how candidates can engage in the assessment as a reflective opportunity to learn about equitable teaching practices.
26 Sep2017
By Zachary VanHouten
As part of continued efforts to provide relief for hurricane-affected regions, the U.S. Department of Education this week issued guidance to outline flexibility in reporting deadlines, grant-funded activities, continuity planning for disrupted programs, and fiscal management efforts. This guidance applies to state and local education agencies, Bureau of Indian Education-funded schools, postsecondary institutions, and other Department grantees.
Institutions affected by the recent hurricanes are highly encouraged to review the guidance, particularly if your program receives funding from a federal grant, receives federal student financial aid, or if you have other general questions regarding postsecondary education relief.
26 Sep2017
By Jemima Cabedo
“Although the current dialogue about school choice is generally focused on charter schools, vouchers, and the overall diversion of taxpayer monies to private entities, it misses a fundamental reality: Most public school districts already offer a wide range of choices to their students.” This message is at the core of a new report from the National School Boards Association’s Center for Public Education titled Busting the Myth of “One Size Fits All” Public Education.
At an event unveiling the report earlier this month, panelists discussed the wide variety of alternative options offered in public education. Thomas Gentzel, executive director and CEO of the National School Boards Association, noted that the system has evolved over many years from one that offers limited options into one that molds to students’ diverse needs – providing a greater degree of choice, in fact, than many private schools.
22 Sep2017
By Donna Cooner and Wendy Fothergill
This fall, AACTE will present a new webinar series called “Principals as Transformation Leaders,” supported by The Wallace Foundation as part of the Association’s ongoing partnership to disseminate the latest research and practice innovations in principal preparation. As faculty working with current and aspiring principals in Colorado, we are excited to serve as moderators for these webinars. If you are involved in school leadership, either as a practicing administrator or as a university faculty member, please join us!
The first webinar, titled Principals as Transformation Leaders: Changing Roles and Responsibilities, will be held October 12 at 3:00 p.m. EDT. Transformation leaders identify needs and empower stakeholders to implement positive change to maximize the desired results. They are visionary, resourceful, and adaptable – qualities that are especially valuable in today’s educational environment, where the roles and responsibilities of a principal are changing drastically in any typical day. This webinar will explore these changes and how they impact the day-to-day work of a principal. Learn about proactive ways to support new principals in their challenging role from our panelists:
19 Sep2017
By Jerrica Thurman
For 70 years, AACTE has flourished through committed educator preparation providers coming together as a profession. Now more than ever before, your voice is important in shaping the future of education in America.
Come to Baltimore March 1-3, 2018, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the premier educator preparation conference in the nation: the AACTE Annual Meeting!
