07 Jan2022
By Katrina Norfleet
AACTE is happy to introduce the newest additions to its national staff: Janae Blanscet, confidential executive assistant to the president & CEO; Christine Chirichella, director of marketing & public relations; and Krislyn Mossman, senior director of operations.
Janae Blanscet has over 25 years of experience as an executive assistant. She has supported multiple executives in various for-profit and non-profit industries. She also has 12 years of insurance experience and still retains her licenses. She specializes in organization, time management, streamlining processes, as well as problem solving and implementing solutions. She holds a Bachelor’s in political science with a minor in Russian history from the University of Colorado-Denver.
06 Dec2021
By Jacqueline Rodriguez
The Center for Innovation, Design, and Digital Learning (CIDDL) is inviting you to join a community of higher education faculty members focused on sharing tips and tricks, research-based practices, and strategies for innovative use of educational technology in educator or leadership preparation programs. CIDDL’s mission is to influence change that supports the appropriate use of educational technology in all early intervention/early childhood special education (EI/ECSE), related services, and K-12 learning environments to improve outcomes for all students, especially those with disabilities.
24 Nov2021
By Clay Smith
“From the moment I stepped on the yellow footprints, I was teaching somebody something,” said SSgt. (Ret.) Isaiah Ybarra, who served as a Fixed Wing Crew Chief in the United States Marine Corps for nearly a decade. He now teaches social studies at an eastern North Carolina high school. He recalled palpable connections between serving in the military and serving as a teacher-leader, specifically reiterating the opportunity to change and improve the lives of others. Ybarra’s experience is not unique, as hundreds of new enrollments each year confirm education and teacher preparation are amongst the most popular fields for military-connected individuals.
08 Nov2021
By CSUDH
This article originally appeared on the California State University, Dominguez Hills news site and is reprinted with permission.
Snap Inc., developer of Snapchat, announced a $5 million gift to California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) for the creation and endowment of a new institute focused on addressing equity gaps in computing education. The gift comprises the largest single donation ever given to the CSUDH campus.
25 Oct2021
By Grady Wilburn and James Elias
The reading and mathematics scores of 13-year-old students fell between 2012 and 2020—the first time in the almost 50-year history of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) long-term trend (LTT) assessment—according to results released today by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The performance of 9-year-olds remained the same in both subjects compared to 2012.
In both age groups and subjects, the scores of lower-performing students declined since 2012, the previous assessment year, mirroring patterns observed in other subjects assessed by NAEP, also known as The Nation’s Report Card.
19 Oct2021
By SD State News
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has appointed Kay Schallenkamp to the Board of Technical Education effective November 1. A former AACTE Board Chair, Schallenkamp will replace Scott Knuppe. She was appointed along with local township board member Brad Greenway.
“The new members of the Board of Technical Education will ensure that South Dakota’s technical colleges remain the very best in America,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “Kay and Brad’s expertise will help put our kids and grandkids on a path to lifelong success.”
17 Sep2021
By Kari Vogelgesang
This past summer, the Iowa Department of Education and the University of Iowa announced a new partnership aimed to expand mental health supports for students, teachers, and school administrators. The Iowa Department of Education designated $20 million in federal relief provided in the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER II) Fund within the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRSSA) Act to help support the development of the Iowa Center for School Mental Health (ICSMH). This center is housed in the College of Education at the University of Iowa and will provide social-emotional-behavioral health (SEBH) focused training opportunities and resources for education professionals, pre-service teachers, school administrators, and conduct research on the effective delivery of these services.
In addition to the SEBH professional learning and trainings, the ICSMH is in the process of building a crisis response team, offering face-to-face and online crisis interventions, strategic planning support, needs assessment and SEBH program evaluation.
29 Jul2021
By Meghan Grenda
Members of an AACTE Topical Action Group (TAG) can collaborate with fellow members through AACTE’s online community,
Connect360. This new platform enables you to easily post content, ask questions, exchange ideas, and share resources and best practices.
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.
20 Jul2021
By Sarah Wood
This article originally appeared in Diverse Issues in Higher Education and is reprinted with permission.
The “fragility of our democracy” was made evident by the events of Jan. 6 at the United States Capitol, which was incited by rhetoric around election fraud, according to Harvard University’s James Bryant Conant University Professor Dr. Danielle Allen.
As misinformation and government-related conspiracy theories continue to divide the nation, the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and the Educating for American Democracy initiative co-hosted a webinar on Tuesday to discuss the need to promote civic readiness within the K-12 education system.
The event, “Monitoring Civic Learning Opportunities and Outcomes: State of the Field and Future Directions,” noted inadequate support for civics education from policymakers and education leaders.
29 Jun2021
By Trisha DiZio and Jacqueline Rodriguez
There is wide recognition that history and civics have been neglected disciplines in American K-12 education. Recent events, including the January 6 insurrection of the U.S. Capitol, underscored this point and the need to elevate learning in these essential disciplines.
The Educating for American Democracy (EAD) initiative has garnered broad cross-partisan and stakeholder support as a way to re-imagine and re-prioritize the important civic mission of K-12 public education. AACTE became an EAD organizational Champion in 2021 and is developing professional development that addresses inquiry-based civic instruction in our member educator preparation programs. AACTE is participating in the upcoming webinar, Monitoring Civic Learning Opportunities and Outcomes: State of the Field and Future Directions, on July 13
11 Jun2021
By Shalander Samuels
AACTE Teacher Stories is a new series highlighting the experiences of K-12 educators who are attending or alumni of AACTE member institutions.
As an AACTE National Holmes Scholar who graduated from the University of Central Florida, I learned that to persevere I must overcome some fears regardless of how grand they might seem. After graduation, I opted to take the path of returning to the K-12 classroom as a teacher and reading specialist rather than transitioning to higher education. In the midst of COVID-19, I was uncertain and fearful, like many of my fellow teachers. The new school year highlighted my and others’ fears, forcing us to consider our roles as frontline workers in education. My English class read the text, What Fear Can Teach Us, a speech by Karen Thompson Walker. In her speech, Walker posits “We all know what it’s like to be afraid. We know how fear feels, but I’m not sure if we spend enough time thinking about what fear means.”
21 May2021
By JTE Insider
Listen to the recent JTE Insider podcast by the Journal of Teacher Education (JTE) editorial team. This blog is available to the public, and AACTE members have free access to the articles in the JTE online archives—just log in with your AACTE profile.
This podcast interview features insights from the article “Proposing Core Practices for Social Studies Teacher Education: A Qualitative Content Analysis of Inquiry-Based Lessons” by Alexander Cuenca. The article was published in the May/June 2021 issue of the Journal of Teacher Education.
03 May2021
By Ann Marie Wernick
Teacher candidates benefit from exposure to a range of diverse clinical experiences. Often, the clinical placements teacher candidates experience during their preparation program are limited and do not encompass the variety of settings they will encounter during their careers. While simulations are not a substitute for in-person clinical practice, well-crafted simulations can:
- expose teacher candidates to student populations that are more diverse in terms of learning needs and socio-cultural experiences than they may encounter in their clinical placement
- allow candidates to practice pedagogical approaches that they do not have the opportunity to employ in their clinical placements and to receive immediate feedback on their professional practice
- offer the opportunity to teach courses and/or categories of content beyond the scope of their clinical placements
26 Apr2021
By Ann Marie Wernick
AACTE has extended the deadline for interested participants to apply to attend the Simulations for Secondary Science Teacher Conference. The extended deadline is May 5, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. EST.
In partnership with the National Science Foundation (NSF), AACTE will convene the Simulations for Secondary Science Teachers Conference, June 8-10, 2021, to address the critical need for well-qualified science educators who can teach effectively in a variety of face-to-face and virtual school settings and meet the needs of diverse learners. AACTE received funding from the NSF Discovery Research PreK-12 grant to virtually convene members and strategic partners to advance the use of simulation in science education teacher preparation.
The purpose of this conference is to convene experts across the country to
- identify significant gaps in the clinical preparation of science educators;
- ideate on virtual environments that help address those gaps; and
- develop scenarios through design thinking for EPPs to implement within their programs.
