17 May2022
By Meghan Grenda
The Co-Teaching in Clinical Practice Topical Action Group (TAG) is hosting their end of year virtual chat for all AACTE members and you are invited to join.
What: Co-Teaching in Clinical Practice Topical Action Group
When: Wednesday, May 18
Time: 8:00 p.m. EST / 5:00 p.m. PST
Registration Information:
- Meeting ID: 834 1795 8707
- Password: COTEACH
AACTE’s TAGs are action-oriented working groups that focus on areas such as accreditation, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), elementary education, research in teacher preparation, international education, and women in leadership, just to name a few.
To view the full the list of the 20 TAGs visit: aacte.org and join the TAG community on aacteconnect360.org.
If you have any questions please reach out to me at mgrenda@aacte.org.
22 Apr2022
By Manasseh Cudjoe
In an effort to find a lasting solution to the teacher shortage crisis in the United States, Austin Peay State University (APSU) and Clarksville Montgomery County School System (CMSS) of Tennessee developed and successfully implemented an educator preparation-program called “Grow Your Own.” Given the program’s success, the Tennessee Department of Education became the first state to establish a permanent model of the program in January of 2020. The Apprenticeships for Teaching: A National Model session of the AACTE 2022 Annual Meeting brought together the pioneers of the apprenticeship program to share their success stories, which could serve as a national model. The speakers included Prentice Chandler, dean of the APSU Eriksson College of Education; Lisa Barron, associate dean and director of teacher education at APSU; and Sean Impeartrice, chief academic officer of CMSS.
18 Mar2022
By Muhammad Kara and Zach Curtis
AACTE has partnered with graduate students from the George Washington University and the Learning Policy Institute to distribute a survey intended for current candidates for teacher licensure. Specifically, they are seeking candidates of programs that have a teacher residency, student teaching, or Grow Your Own component. Candidates of diverse racial and socioeconomic backgrounds, as well as candidates for special education bilingual education, are highly encouraged to participate. This survey will aid research on the ways in which AmeriCorps grants could be utilized to deploy highly prepared teachers to high-need schools.
15 Mar2022
By Agnes Hina
This article originally appeared on ung.edu and is reprinted with permission.
The University of North Georgia’s (UNG) College of Education is launching its teacher candidate residency program in fall 2022, in partnership with the Gainesville City and Hall County school districts.
The program allows preservice teachers enrolled in a UNG teacher preparation program to be hired by school districts to be full-time teachers during their senior year.
The program is meant to replace traditional student teaching, and these students are paid half the standard teaching salary, which amounts to about $23,000 annually.
20 Jan2022
By Sandy Pantlik
Texas State University students participating in the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) approved teacher residency program at Lockhart Independent School District (LSD) were surprised with $20,000 annual stipends awarded during a special event on Jan. 18 at Clear Fork Elementary.
The stipends, in the form of oversized checks, were presented to a cohort of 17 Texas State students who are embedded in Lockhart ISD for a full year, working with mentor teachers and engaging with students. The funds are meant to support the students financially while they are working in the residency program.
18 Jan2022
By Anna Oakes
This article originally appeared on the Appalachian Today website.
Appalachian State University is partnering with Elkin City Schools to open the university’s second laboratory school aimed at enhancing student education, improving outcomes,and providing high-quality teacher and principal training.
Under the plan — which was developed in collaboration with Elkin City Schools leaders and approved by the Elkin City Schools Board of Education on Dec. 13, 2021 — a lab school will open at Elkin Elementary School in August. The “school-within-a-school” model will serve approximately 100 students in second through fourth grades.
03 Jan2022
By Nicole Dunn
In the fifth episode of AACTE’s podcast covering the Wallace Foundation’s University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI), David Lorden and Alejandro Gonzalez Ojeda from San Diego State University share how to restructure principal preparation programs to meet the array of needs required by various districts. During the episode, titled “A Sustainable Approach to Customizing Clinical Practice,” Lorden and Gonzalez Ojeda share insights from their own UPPI experiences as faculty in diversifying the clinical experiences of candidates through collaborative redesign with the districts. Through these insights, they answer the following questions:
- How do you prepare a principal to lead anywhere?
- How can prep programs adapt to meet the various needs of districts?
- Why is customization critical for education leadership prep programs? Especially for equity?
- How can a university sustain customizing their learning experiences for candidates with different backgrounds and strengths?
14 Dec2021
By University of Michigan
During a two-day visit to the U-M campus, the inaugural class of Marygrove students worked together on problem-solving and engineering projects. Image credit: Heather Nash
Isra Elshafei, a teacher at the School at Marygrove in Detroit, is grateful for a unique teaching residency program that offers additional support and mentoring she doubts others who completed student teaching online during the pandemic are getting.
29 Nov2021
By John Henning
Clinical experience is critical to the success of teacher candidates. It allows them to receive real classroom experience while they foster relationships with students and build their own instructional skills.
But, even with the skills they learn leading up to the clinical experience, teacher candidates can’t just enter the field and be expected to succeed. There’s a whole host of skills that cannot be taught in a college classroom or via a textbook. And, teacher candidates—just like classroom teachers themselves—need ongoing coaching and feedback to continuously improve their practice.
15 Nov2021
By Stephanie Daniel
This article originally appeared on KUNC.org and is reprinted with permission.
At East Elementary school in Littleton, a group of fifth graders is seated in a semi-circle around student teacher Stephanie Shufelt for their morning meeting.
“Yesterday we talked about resiliency. Can someone remind me of what that actually meant?” she asks.
“To keep trying,” 10-year-old Brisaida Velasco replies.
“To keep trying, right,” Shufelt says. “When tough times hit, you’re able to bounce back.”
Four days a week, time is set aside for teachers to focus on social-emotional learning and teaching students self-regulation skills. At this meeting, Shufelt discusses strategies that can help them be resilient.
19 Oct2021
By Kim Creasy
The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) is hosting its National Field Experience Conference April 3 – 5, 2022. The purpose of the conference is to share information, practices, policies, and research pertaining to teacher candidates’ experiences in school settings. Presentations will address the preparation, supervision, and evaluation of teacher candidates for their knowledge, skills, and dispositions. Logistics and management of these placements will also be addressed.
Proposals are being accepted through January 1.
23 Jul2021
By Seth Parsons
The National Center for Clinical Practice in Educator Preparation (NCCPEP) is a new, cutting-edge organization aimed at supporting clinical practice in educator preparation. NCCPEP was born out of AACTE’s Clinical Practice Commission. After the publication of A Pivot Toward Clinical Practice, Its Lexicon, and the Renewal of Educator Preparation, Commission members saw the need for an association that supports educator preparation programs as they strive to put clinical practice at the center of teacher education.
22 Jul2021
By Weade James
Addressing the needs of new teachers affected by the twin crises.
Over the past year, COVID-19 created an uncertain landscape that deeply impacted our nation’s educational systems. Compounding the effects of the pandemic, another crisis emerged—racial injustice. These twin crises together have generated new obstacles and exacerbated those that have long been a concern of the educator community. As we reopen schools and return to in-class instruction, teachers face unprecedented challenges toward “getting back to normal,” including safety concerns, the need to address learning loss, and the social and emotional well-being of their students—a daunting undertaking for even the most experienced teacher.
20 Jul2021
By Meenakshi Sharma
I recently had an incredible learning opportunity to be a part of the AACTE Simulations for Secondary Science Teachers conference. The goal for the convening was to introduce participants to the simulation design process and to support them to create a secondary science simulation scenario in smaller teams. Large group zoom meetings with almost 55 participants provided a valuable opportunity to listen, ask questions, and reflect on matters that concern science teacher preparation. The convening provided just the right amount of stimulation and sense of community that probably many of us were missing due to the recent pandemic. Until now, I saw myself as a user—employing simulations to help my teacher candidates understand and practice core teaching practices. However, being a part of the scenario development team afforded an insider or “behind the scenes’ perspective.” I was able to understand the complexities, affordance, and constraints of the simulation designing process.
14 Jun2021
By Kristine Schutz
Video is a powerful tool—for teacher candidates and teacher educators alike—to engage in reflective practice and accelerate professional growth. And I can say this from personal experience as it has helped me grow as an educator.
As a proponent of video, I believed this innovative professional learning approach would be an asset to the undergraduate elementary teacher preparation program at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Our preparation program is organized around a decolonizing framework that recognizes that schools are designed for acculturation and colonization. And, as such, we prepare teachers who simultaneously teach in—and resist—that context (Trinder, 2021).
As my colleagues and I were talking about bringing video coaching to our program, questions were raised about how to make sure that we do not lose the context-driven aspects of our program that are attended to as our faculty come to know the children, schools, and communities in which our students learn to teach. Questions often associated with any new technology implementation were also brought up: How hard is this going to be to implement? How am I going to use it? Is it going to take too much time?
