Posts Tagged ‘Annual Meeting’

Deadline to Submit Proposals for AACTE’s 2022 Annual Meeting Extended to June 1

New Orleans waterfront

Don’t’ miss your chance to be a part of the AACTE 74th Annual Meeting. Submit a session proposal by the extended deadline, Tuesday, June 1, to share your lessons learned during these difficult times and contribute to the educational content at the AACTE 2022 Annual Meeting, March 4-6, in New Orleans, Louisiana.  

Themed Rethink, Reshape, Reimagine, Revolutionize: Growing the Profession Post Pandemic, the conference features four strands:   

  • Strand 1 – Preparing Educators In and For the Future
  • Strand 2 – Renewing Democracy through Activism and Collaboration
  • Strand 3 – Addressing Public Concerns for the Future of the Profession
  • Strand 4 – Confronting the Challenges Facing Our Programs and Institutions

The Benefits of Presenting at the Annual Meeting

Microphone on the stage at a seminar.

The events of 2020 challenged the field of education in unprecedented ways. The pandemic forced educators to adapt to new ways of teaching that included virtual instruction and hybrid and in-person instruction constrained by masks, plexiglass, and social distancing.

You still have time to submit a proposal and share your story of lessons learned during these difficult times and contribute to the crucial conversations to rethink, reshape, and reimagine the profession at the AACTE 2022 Annual Meeting, March 4-6, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Looking Forward to New Orleans

As the May 28 deadline for the Call for 2022 Annual Meeting Proposals nears, John Henning, AACTE Board liaison for the Committee on Meetings and Professional Development, reflects on the theme and developing proposals for the post-pandemic world of educator preparation.

The AACTE 74Th Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA, March 4-6, 2022, promises to be a memorable one. AACTE members have just passed through one of the most intensive and challenging periods of growth in the organization’s long history. There will be much to share and much to reflect upon next spring. Even now, AACTE members are deeply engaged in reflection as they craft their conference proposals in anticipation of the May 28 deadline. What a great time to take a deep breath, gather your thoughts, and prepare to share insights with like-minded colleagues. This is noble work and critical for reimagining teacher preparation. 

Call for Proposals, Reviewers for 2022 AACTE Annual Meeting

Be a part of the AACTE 74th Annual Meeting.  Submit a proposal or be a reviewer and join us in New Orleans, LA, March 4-6, 2022, as we prepare to “Rethink, Reshape, Reimagine, Revolutionize: Growing the Profession Post Pandemic.

Call for Reviewers
May 14 is the deadline for submitting a reviewer application. Peer reviewers serve an important role in ensuring that exemplary learning opportunities are selected from the proposals submitted. Only current AACTE member institutions may serve as reviewers. Applicants must commit to evaluating up to 10 session proposals during June and July of 2021. You are still eligible to serve as a reviewer, even if you are submitting a proposal!

Call for Proposals
May 28 is the deadline for submitting session proposals. Proposals must align with the conference theme, “Rethink, Reshape, Reimagine, Revolutionize: Growing the Profession Post Pandemic,” and focus on one of the four strands listed below:

Elements of a Successful Annual Meeting Proposal: What it Takes to Present at AACTE’s 2022 Annual Meeting

Tips graphicAlthough entirely virtual, participants were amazed at the volume of opportunities to engage with scholars, network with fellow colleagues, and collaborate on topics important to education and educator preparation during AACTE’s 2021 Annual Meeting. With over 150 presentations addressing the theme of “Resisting Hate, Restoring Hope: Engaging in Courageous Actions,” attendees united in efforts to disrupt inequities while educating for inclusion and change. And as AACTE eagerly begin preparations to meet in-person at the 2022 Annual Meeting in New Orleans, participants will play a vital role as we “Rethink, Reshape, Reimagine, Revolutionize: Growing the Profession Post Pandemic.

Ready to be a part of the change during AACTE’s 2022 Annual Meeting in New Orleans? Year after year, demand to present at the Annual Meeting continues to remain high, and only the “best of the best” content is ultimately selected for presentation during the conference. Want your proposal to be a cut above the rest? Then be sure to follow these tips for submitting a competitive proposal:

Annual Meeting Panel Discusses edTPA: A Teacher Performance Assessment

edTPA logoThe 73rd AACTE Annual Meeting held a Deeper Dive session focusing on the edTPA teacher performance assessment. This session illuminated a variety of ways edTPA is being used and the multiple goals it is intended to achieve, including, a standardized measure of program quality, a high stakes teacher assessment for licensure, a performance screen for teacher quality, a professionalization tool, and a curriculum development framework for teacher preparation programs (TPPs).

AACTE’s new Board Chair Robert Floden, from Michigan State University, served as the moderator for the session and began by acknowledging outcome measures—such as edTPA—are used to measure teacher preparation quality for a variety of purposes including accountability, teacher learning, and program improvement. Further, he provided meaningful background about edTPA and how it was developed as an outcome measure that was closely related to teacher practice. Since 2013, edTPA has grown and been implemented in 41 states and the District of Columbia. This session pulled on the expertise of five researchers and highlights some of the affordances and barriers this performance assessment has for TPPs, teacher educators, and teacher candidates.

Cap Peck of the University of Washington began the session by recognizing there are both risks and opportunities associated with edTPA. In particular, he discussed the opportunity and value of using edTPA as a resource for program evaluation and improvement because it provides a common language to discuss practice, make comparisons, and see differences to make improvements within TPPs. He emphasized that in order to foster continuous improvement, organizational policies and practices need to support collective and collaborative program improvement.

Next, Drew Gitomer of Rutgers University discussed the need for a moratorium on the use of edTPA in the context of a high stake’s licensure exam. He drew on the failure to meet several key measurement expectations during his explanation for why edTPA should not be used for licensure. The three key components included

  • Reliability is not reported
  • Precision is not estimated in an acceptable manner
  • Passing scores and passing rates are substantially different across licensure areas

Then Julie Cohen of the University of Virginia continued the conversation as she focused on the degree to which licensure tests, such as edTPA, inform teacher preparation curriculum. She discussed the complexity of this work, with a specific focus on implementation at the program 

level and not at the institutional level. Further, she discussed equity implementations for candidates and the consequential ways variation between programs effects candidates in their programs and for licensure.

As the discussion progressed, Craig De Voto of the University of Illinois at Chicago discussed how TPPs have made sense of and responded to varied edTPA policy designs and contexts. He and his colleagues found that edTPA became a tool used for inquiry or compliance across teacher preparation programs. He proceeded to talk about the good, bad, and ugly findings from implementation of this tool. First, the good results they found were cross departmental collaboration, continuous program improvement, coherent foundation for field (e.g., academic language, teaching pedagogy, differentiation and assessment), and external legitimacy as a professionalization tool. The bad results they found were implementation challenges, particularly when mandated and philosophical challenges with equity and social justice. Finally, the ugly they found were divergent views of edTPA as a professionalization tool across the field with some teacher educators viewing it at as a de-professionalization tool.

To conclude the panel, Beth Kubitskey of Eastern Michigan University reflected on her experience implementing edTPA. She discussed her view of edTPA as a process that helped novice teachers provide a commentary linking their learning to their classes. Additionally, she and her colleagues were able to implement and use edTPA in a way that was educative for their students. 

Overall, during the discussion, the panelists reiterated the many uses of edTPA and how it is being used across states and institutions. They further acknowledged the complexity of this work and the divergent responses and reactions by teacher educators and teacher candidates within institutions and organizations. At the end of the panel discussion, one participant asked, “Do you think this policy is a good or bad thing?” Fittingly, a panelist replied, “Well, it depends.”

Ann Marie Wernick, is a Ph.D. student at Southern Methodist University and AACTE research, policy, and advocacy intern.

 

#AACTE21 Deeper Dive on How Educators Can Embrace Critical Race Theory

A Deeper Dive into Critical Race TheoryThe AACTE 2021 Deeper Dive session “Critical Race Theory and Countering Political Culture” brought together experts in education, law, and history to discuss how taking a critical approach can help educators engage in courageous action. The panel included Khiara Bridges, professor of law at University of California Berkeley; Sonya Ramsey, associate professor of history at University of North Carolina Charlotte; and Alfredo Artiles, Lee L. Jacks Professor of Education at Stanford University.

What is critical race theory?

Khiara Bridges began by acknowledging that although there is no single definition or enactment of critical race theory (CRT), CRT scholars all stand in opposition to oppression. Bridges defined CRT as an intellectual movement, a body of scholarship, and an analytical toolset for interrogating the relationship between inequality and education, law, history, health, or any other school of thought. She discussed four common tenants to CRT:

A Recap and Reflection: Applying Technology-enhanced Teaching Strategies to the New Normal

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic brought immediate changes to the normalcy of pedagogy practiced within the classroom. Because of the changes, educators are tasked with establishing innovative approaches to teaching in making the learning process more engaging. For a variety of factors, technology-enhanced learning (TEL) is critical. It is critical not only because it is the current educational standard but also because it can enhance the way we develop the education system (Carrillo and Flores, 2020). The Applying Technology-Enhanced Teaching Strategies to the New Normal in 2021 and Beyond session at the AACTE 2021 Annual Meeting took a deeper dive into the need for more teacher preparation programs that adopt inclusive approaches to educating at all levels of education.

Equity-Minded Deans Discuss Leading During the Twin Crisis at #AACTE21

AACTE presented a Deeper Dive session on February 24, 2021 at its 73rd Annual Meeting, “Leading in the Time of Crisis: Responding to COVID-19 and Social Justice Movements.” This panel discussion, moderated by AACTE’s Vice President of Research, Policy, & Advocacy Jacqueline Rodriguez, explored the leadership responses of three education deans to the national and racial pandemic. Although the issues raised were not easy to navigate, each dean highlighted specific strategies and intentional efforts made at their respective institution, which demonstrated the keen ability to lead with justice, compassion, and action. In listening to their responses, I noted that each response matched one of John C. Maxwell’s quote for leadership success, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.”

Jacqueline Rodriguez described the deans as equity-minded leaders who start off with empathy and maintain their efforts through action.

Annual Meeting Keynote Presenters Address Policy and Practice Post COVID-19

#AACTE21 Keynote Speakers

The Opening Keynote session at the virtual AACTE 73rd Annual Meeting included five speakers, each addressing the theme, “Policy and Practice for a Post-Pandemic World.” The keynote presenters were Jack Reed, Alma Adams, Karen Marrongelle, Leslie Fenwick and Elizabeth Warren.

AACTE President and CEO Lynn M. Gangone and Edthena CEO Adam Gheller opened the Keynote session with insight about AACTE resources. Gangone talked in depth about the COVID-19 resource hub that AACTE made available through its website, and the state policy tracker map. A tool that helps teachers identify certification and policies in their respective states. Gheller stressed the importance of video observation in today’s educational climate, and how Edthena is helping 20 AACTE Member institutions with a grant to implement its use.

“Rethink, Reshape, Reimagine, Revolutionize: Growing the Profession Post Pandemic”

Call for Proposals - AACTE 2022 Annual MeetingNow through May 28, AACTE is accepting session proposals for the 74th Annual Meeting, to be held in New Orleans, LA, March 4-6, 2022. We also invite applications by May 14 from AACTE member faculty to review proposals.

The conference theme is “Rethink, Reshape, Reimagine, Revolutionize: Growing the Profession Post Pandemic,” conceptualized as follows in the call for proposals:

The events of 2020 challenged the field of education in dramatic and unprecedented ways. The advent of the pandemic thrust educators into uncharted territory and created a dramatically different, virtual context for teaching and learning. As the COVID‐19 crisis unfolded, teachers and teacher candidates quickly adapted their instruction to incorporate multiple modes of delivery, including virtual, hybrid, and in‐person instruction constrained by masks, plexiglass, and social distancing. The enormous investment of energy required to make the sudden shift, the isolation imposed by the threat of the pandemic, and the separation from colleagues tested the intellect, energy, and emotional resilience of educators. In the midst of this unforeseen and uncharted environment, a pressing challenge arose: addressing the striking inequities of access to technology and learning, clearly delineated along socioeconomic lines, which stood to further expand the achievement gap between white students and their classmates of color.

Annual Meeting Attendees Engage on AACTE Connect360

AACTE Connect360 logo

There are several great reasons for starting an online community, like the continuous learning it offers participants and the sense of pride in being part of a group. For members of AACTE, the new online community it is about connecting members, building meaningful relationships, and engaging in critical conversations with each other, Board members and staff. That is why the virtual AACTE 2021 Annual Meeting was a perfect initial launching point for AACTE Connect360.

Through the online community, attendees responded to different threads in the “73rd Annual Meeting” community group. The “Introduce Yourself” thread was a popular choice for new users, allowing others on the platform to learn a little bit more about them and sharing the best piece of advice they received from a mentor or colleague.

Annual AACTE Holmes Program Dissertation Funding Competition Awardees Announced

During AACTE’s 73rd Annual Meeting last week, Pricella Morris, Phllandra Smith, and Moe Green were announced as recipients of the 2021 Holmes Program Dissertation Funding Competition (DFC).

Over the last four years, AACTE has held an annual Holmes Program DFC to support Holmes scholars’ dissertation research related expenses. This annual event is sponsored by AACTE and its partners, including the Council of Academic Deans from Research Education Institutions (CADREI), Teacher Education Council of State Colleges and Universities (TECSCU), the Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges of Teacher Education (AILACTE), and the National the National Association of Holmes Scholars Association (NAHSA).