13 Mar2018
By Jerrica Thurman
The March 1 Opening Keynote Session at the AACTE 70th Annual Meeting featured an interactive panel discussion on recruiting and retaining profession-ready candidates in teacher preparation programs as well as increasing the number of teacher candidates of color. AACTE President/CEO Lynn M. Gangone, who facilitated the discussion, was joined by special guests Marquita Grenot-Scheyer, assistant vice chancellor of Teacher Education and Public School Programs for the Chancellor’s Office of the California State University (CSU) System, and Kimberly Tobey, executive director of the National Association of Community College Teacher Education Programs (NACCTEP).
The conversation began with identifying ways for how teacher preparation programs are effectively implementing programs and practices that reaffirm strengthening and diversifying the teacher candidate pool. The panelists highlighted successful strategies such as developing community college partnerships, creating capacity for students to have ease of transfer, and providing support to assist first-generation college students and others to pass through required pathways to completion.
12 Mar2018
By Joe Lubig
The author presents at the AACTE preconference workshop on quality assurance in Baltimore, Maryland.
The AACTE Committee on Professional Preparation and Accountability (CPPA) is charged with providing leadership in the development of professional consensus on standards, assessment, and practice in educator preparation. Our work is most effective when it is driven by the AACTE membership. The 70th Annual Meeting preconference workshop conducted by CPPA, “Quality Assurance: Moving Beyond Data Collection Towards Assuring Quality,” reinforced the collective wisdom of our profession and the level of care we put into our programs, candidates, and clinical partners.
Those in attendance at the February 28 session repeatedly raised the need for leadership at educator preparation institutions to foster a collaborative culture that constantly questions our practice. We all recognized that there is a delicate balance between the critique of our work and assuring that we are celebrating and advancing those parts of our systems that are working well. The tension most outstanding in our conversations was that of turnover of leadership or faculty in institutions. These observations led to thoughtful discussion by those in attendance to assist colleagues in planning quality assurance processes with an emphasis on program goals and outcomes and how we all could use those goals and outcomes specific to our institutions to keep drawing our faculty, candidates, and clinical partners back to our established priorities and purpose.
08 Mar2018
By Kristin McCabe
Opening Keynote speakers Lynn M. Gangone, Marquita Grenot-Scheyer, and Kimberly Tobey on stage at the Baltimore Convention Center
To all 1,900 of the AACTE members, partners, and supporters who joined us last week in Baltimore for the 2018 Annual Meeting: Thank you! Your presence was a valuable part of “Celebrating Our Professional Identity” for the Association’s 70th anniversary.
Over the coming weeks, Ed Prep Matters will bring you a variety of conference coverage. Meanwhile, you can view (and share!) conference photos on Facebook, browse the event’s Twitter feed, and enjoy the following recap videos:
01 Mar2018
By Matthew Wales
Now through May 29, AACTE is accepting session proposals for the 71st Annual Meeting, to be held in Louisville, Kentucky, February 22-24, 2019. We also invite applications by May 22 for AACTE member faculty to review proposals.
The conference theme is “Sustaining and Advancing the Profession,” conceptualized as follows in the call for proposals:
22 Feb2018
By Rodrick Lucero
Congratulations to four AACTE members on winning an award from the American Association of University Administrators (AAUA)! Research supported by AACTE through its annual Deans Academy has led to this national award for its coauthors, William Henk, Shelley B. Wepner, Sharon Lovell, and Steven Melnick. Their paper “Education Deans’ Beliefs About Essential Ways of Thinking, Being, and Acting: A National Survey” has been named to receive the 2018 AAUA Neuner Award for Excellence in Professional Scholarly Publication.
The Neuner Award is given annually to the authors judged to have written the overall finest manuscript published during the preceding year in the Journal of Higher Education Management. Criteria for the award include overall quality; advancing higher education; sharing insights into leadership, policy analysis and development, and institutional management; and developing principles and standards for college and university administration.
20 Feb2018
By Robert Toy-Giles
This year marks the 70th anniversary of AACTE, and we want to celebrate with you at the 2018 Annual Meeting! As we honor the past, present, and future of educator preparation in Baltimore, Maryland, several fun activities will be offered to engage attendees, including the AACTE History Trivia Contest. Come test your knowledge about the history of AACTE and have a chance to win one of three prizes!
20 Feb2018
By Robert Toy-Giles
In an online radio show February 12, Education Talk Radio host Larry Jacobs interviewed AACTE staff members about the upcoming AACTE 70th Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland. Rodrick Lucero (vice president) and Matthew Wales (senior director of meetings, events, and special projects) joined Jacobs to discuss preparations for the event, which marks the 70th anniversary of AACTE, and what to expect on site at the Baltimore Convention Center and Hilton Baltimore.
Jacobs opened with an overarching question about AACTE’s purpose, in honor of the Association’s 70th anniversary. Lucero said it boils down to uniting the field in a national narrative, pooling everyone’s research and practice and solutions so that progress anywhere can benefit students everywhere. He emphasized that this narrative must be “put forward by the experts, and those are the people that are trained and able to speak about the work we do with kids, and with training teachers.”
16 Feb2018
By Deborah Koolbeck
Despite all the action in Washington, DC, this month, AACTE will not be offering a February Federal Update webinar – instead, please catch it live at the AACTE 70th Annual Meeting in Baltimore.
In fact, I am thrilled that this year you have two opportunities to catch my Washington Update: Thursday, March 1, 3:45–4:45 p.m., and Saturday, March 3, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
12 Feb2018
By Kristin McCabe
The National Association of Community College Teacher Education Programs (NACCTEP) and AACTE are partnering in a new effort to better align their members around common work. In this pilot initiative, the organizations will explore and develop collaborative membership and governance structures, joint programming at the AACTE Annual Meeting, and other offerings.
Currently, 2-year colleges are eligible only for “affiliate” membership with AACTE, but a recent survey of AACTE members revealed an openness to incorporating community colleges more explicitly in the Association’s membership structure. About 800 community colleges nationwide offer some type of teacher preparation, including many programs that lead to bachelor’s degrees and licensure as well as others that prepare candidates to move on to 4-year institutions. Approximately 120 of these community colleges are members of NACCTEP.
09 Feb2018
By Shardae Proctor
Did you catch AACTE’s recent Facebook Live sessions hosted by our Director of Member Engagement Tim Finklea? As we prepare for our big conference next month, we want to let you in on some of the excitement through our new live web series titled “What to Expect at AACTE’s 70th Annual Meeting.” Join us on Facebook Live for a behind-the-scenes view of AACTE staff and their preparations for Baltimore!
Considering that the Annual Meeting is just weeks away, our whole staff is in high gear, and we will bring you one live episode each week featuring different guests. If you can’t join the live shows, don’t worry – they are captured for later viewing as well. To watch our first two installments of “What to Expect at AACTE’s 70th Annual Meeting,” just click on the thumbnails above.
07 Feb2018
By Matthew Wales
The AACTE Annual Meeting is just 3 weeks away, and in order to maximize your time in Baltimore, you will want to do some advance preparation. With over 250 sessions covering a wide variety of topics of interest, you are guaranteed to find sessions and content that fits your needs. Be sure to check out the AACTE Event Planner, where you can search the Annual Meeting offerings by keywords, topics, conference strands, and other criteria to locate sessions and create your personalized conference itinerary.
One place you most certainly don’t want to miss is the Conference Community Center. Located on the second floor of the Hilton Baltimore, the center is the place for you to connect with colleagues in a dynamic, engaging environment. Conveniently situated in the Key Ballroom Foyer, adjacent to many of AACTE’s Learning Labs, the center offers you a place to take a break and network, while also engaging with our Annual Meeting sponsors in the following booths:
06 Feb2018
By Kristin McCabe
As AACTE heads into the final weeks of planning for the 70th Annual Meeting, we can’t wait to welcome you to Baltimore! Be sure to visit the Online Event Planner to create a personal schedule that makes the most of your time. In addition to adding the opening and closing keynote sessions, you’ll want to select the Learning Labs and “Deeper Dive” sessions that are of greatest interest to you.
The Deeper Dives take the place of AACTE’s former “Major Forums,” providing a large-format, expert-facilitated exploration of a key topic during one dedicated time slot each day. Refreshed for 2018 with new expectations for audience interaction and other adult-learning principles, five such sessions will be offered this year:
01 Feb2018
By Kristin McCabe
Congratulations to the University of Colorado Denver School of Education and Human Development (SEHD) on its selection to receive the 2018 AACTE Best Practice Award in Support of Multicultural Education and Diversity! The award will be presented March 1 at the Opening Keynote of the AACTE 70th Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland.
The university, known as CU Denver, offers multiple pathways for teacher preparation to fit the needs of candidates from a variety of backgrounds and contexts, succeeding in attracting a diverse range of students. The program aims to prepare teacher candidates who believe all PK-20 learners deserve access to an excellent education by building upon the strengths of their individual culturally diverse backgrounds.
01 Feb2018
By Kristin McCabe
AACTE’s Committee on Professional Preparation and Accountability has selected Stacy K. Duffield, professor in the College of Human Development and Education at North Dakota State University, to receive the 2018 AACTE Edward C. Pomeroy Award for Outstanding Contributions to Teacher Education. The award will be presented at the 70th AACTE Annual Meeting Closing Keynote session, March 3 in Baltimore, Maryland.
The Pomeroy Award, named for longtime AACTE Executive Director Edward C. Pomeroy, is one of the Association’s highest honors, recognizing 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. Duffield stands out in all of these categories.
01 Feb2018
By Arlene Borthwick
On behalf of the AACTE Committee on Innovation and Technology, I am delighted to announce the winner of the 2018 AACTE Best Practice Award for the Innovative Use of Technology: the College of Education at Oklahoma’s Northeastern State University (NSU), for its Robotics Academy of Critical Engagement (RACE) program. Representatives from NSU will receive the award on Saturday, March 3, during the Closing Keynote at the AACTE Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland.
This annual award celebrates and recognizes the innovative use of educational technologies in a school, college, or department of education in ways that stretch beyond established practice to enable change in teacher education programs.
