20 Apr2018
By Larry Daniel
James McManus (undergraduate social studies education major), Jennifer Bucciarelli (MAT math education major), and Associate Professor Stephenie Hewett represent The Citadel in their visit with Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC) at the 2016 AACTE Day on the Hill.
I have been attending AACTE’s Day on the Hill (DOTH) for the past 18 years. It is a highlight event of the year, as it allows opportunity to assess our priorities for advocacy while simultaneously putting advocacy into action. Over time, I have found that some of the best advocacy team members are our education students. I have had the privilege of making DOTH congressional visits accompanied by numerous students over the last 8 years – including both undergraduate and graduate students – and, in every case, the students have added value to the conversations well beyond what might have been obtained by faculty and deans alone.
When planning our Hill visits, we ask students to help us deliver important messages about pending legislation or federal education budgets and policies to our congressional members, and they are very effective in doing so. More importantly, we ask our students to tell their own story: Why did they decide to become an educator? How will new policy changes impact them as practicing teachers and school leaders? What can the federal government do to make a career in education more important to other students at their institution? When students visit and present answers to these and other questions, congressional members and staffers take notice.
05 Apr2018
By Rangasamy Ramasamy and Deborah McEwan
The authors are part of the AACTE Holmes Program at Florida Atlantic University. For information about the program, visit aacte.org. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
On March 27, Holmes Scholars at Florida Atlantic University hosted a research workshop, “Understanding the Role of the Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks in Dissertation Research.” More than 30 doctoral students and faculty attended the event with the university’s four Holmes Scholars – Kalynn Hall Pistorio, Kayla Elliott, Deborah McEwan, and Brianna Joseph (pictured above, standing, along with Holmes Coordinator Professor Rangasamy Ramasamy).
03 Apr2018
By Jerrica Thurman
AACTE is excited to announce the dates for our 2018 summer events, offering a variety of targeted professional development for teacher educators. You can join your colleagues from around the country in Washington, DC, to learn to advocate for the profession; meet with fellow new deans and administrators in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for intensive leadership development and networking; and discover best practices for quality assurance in Columbus, Ohio, to help enhance your programs. Group discounts are available for each of these three events, so plan now to bring your friends and colleagues to these popular summer conferences.
WASHINGTON WEEK: JUNE 3-6
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 Kristin McCabe
Participants in the 2017 JUSTEC annual conference in Hawaii
The 30th annual conference of the Japan-U.S. Teacher Education Consortium (JUSTEC) will be held September 14-17 at Bukkyo University in Kyoto, Japan. Conference organizers invite proposals for paper and poster presentations by March 15 under the theme “Next Steps in Teacher Education in the U.S. and Japan: Celebrating 30 Years of JUSTEC.”
To commemorate the milestone anniversary, participants in this year’s conference will reflect on past collaborations and accomplishments, assess the current changing landscape of teacher education, and look ahead to the new approaches, frameworks, technologies, and international relationships to support teacher learning and educational research.
14 Feb2018
By Kristin McCabe
Last month, the Oregon Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (OACTE) convened the second annual Oregon Education Summit, organized to unite as many stakeholder groups as possible around educator preparation and related topics. Held January 5 at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, just 15 miles from the State Capitol in Salem, the gathering attracted representatives from every OACTE member institution as well as community colleges, legislators, PK-12 district staff, the state Department of Education and licensing agency, and nongovernmental agencies.
The summit was borne of the desire by OACTE to both claim a seat at the state table and access first-hand information – while establishing the organization and its members as willing collaborators on all aspects of education in the state. The first summit, held a year ago, was a success that organizers were eager to build on in Year 2. “Our first step is always a proactive one. We begin by asking, ‘How can we help?’” said OACTE President Leif Gustavson, who is dean of the College of Education at Pacific University. “Then we tend to get invited to the table. We are not an obstructionist organization, and we need to not think of others that way either. The summit gives us all an opportunity to meet face to face and realize the potential of what we can accomplish collectively.”
19 Jan2018
By Zachary VanHouten
The clock is ticking on what appears to be an imminent federal government shutdown, unless a last-minute deal is struck on a short-term funding solution (continuing resolution) through either next week or February 16. Republicans and Democrats are facing off on numerous issues.
What’s causing this logjam? Challenges range from settling on a legislative fix for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to reauthorizing the Children’s Health Insurance Program, increasing defense spending, deferring some healthcare tax provisions, extending the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and raising spending caps (aka “a budget deal”). What’s also coming in February is the need to raise the debt ceiling. Looking forward, we could see more action on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act through the spring.
03 Jan2018
By Christina Tschida and Ann Sebald
The authors are cochairs of the AACTE Coteaching in Clinical Practice Topical Action Group. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
Participants at the 2017 National Conference on Coteaching included Christina Tschida, East Carolina University (NC); Meghan Crosier and Shelli Pence, North Harrison School District (IN); Ann Sebald, Colorado State University; and Beverly Ochieng-Sande, Houston Baptist University (TX).
Members of AACTE’s Coteaching in Clinical Practice Topical Action Group (TAG), which we cochair, participated in the second annual National Conference on Coteaching, held in October 2017 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Our TAG also cosponsored a social event at the conference, whose purpose was to support research and practice of coteaching at both preservice and in-service levels for all areas of education.
19 Dec2017
By Jerrica Thurman
Join dynamic education leaders in an interactive discussion on ways to strengthen educator recruitment and retention during the Opening Keynote at the AACTE 70th Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland. This general session, to be held March 1, 2018, at 12:15 p.m., will feature the following speakers:
18 Dec2017
By Kristin McCabe
The National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY) requests proposals for workshops and other interactive sessions to be presented at its 2018 National Teacher Leadership Conference, July 8-11 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Proposals are due by February 5.
The 4-day conference will convene state and national teachers of the year (and finalists from the states) to “engage with national education leaders, administrators, policy makers, the business community, and colleagues to dynamically teach and learn in order to impact students, schools, and the profession.” Themed Teaching Tomorrow’s Leaders, the conference will offer sessions focused on four urgent problems of practice identified through a membership survey by NNSTOY:
12 Dec2017
By Jerrica Thurman
AACTE is pleased to share new announcements related to the Clinical Practice Commission’s upcoming press briefing. We’ve confirmed several speakers and panelists for the briefing in Washington, DC, and in addition to registering to attend the live event, you can sign up to view a live webcast of the briefing and join members of the commission for a Twitter chat this week.
Limited seating is still available for the briefing itself, which will be held Wednesday, January 17, 9:00-11:00 a.m. at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Register for free by December 18 to secure your spot at the briefing, where members of the AACTE Clinical Practice Commission will unveil their findings on how effective clinical educator preparation ensures educators are prepared to meet the needs of all learners.
13 Nov2017
By Benita Kluttz-Drye
This year’s Holmes Dissertation Symposium and Retreat was sponsored by the University of Central Florida (UCF) and Florida A&M University (FAMU). It was held October 27-28 on the beautiful campus of UCF, providing attendees with a plethora of information to advance their scholarship and practical knowledge.
The conference began with a welcome by Dean Pamela Carroll of the University of Central Florida, Dean Monika Shealey of Rowan University, and Tim Finklea of AACTE. Shealey challenged us to use the support provided through the Holmes network, to glean from each other and all of the presenters at the symposium, and to take this as an opportunity to learn from others before us.
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.
05 Sep2017
By Zachary VanHouten
As classes resume at your institution, so too does the work of Congress, which returns to Washington today following its August recess. The disaster relief for Hurricane Harvey may upend the Congressional agenda, potentially shuffling a laundry list of items Congress needs to address, including funding for FY18 and where the federal dollars will flow.
With all of this going on, it has never been more important to remain informed and engaged – and AACTE’s members-only Federal Update webinars help you do just that. You can sign up now for this month’s webinars, September 19 or 20 (see below); you can also view archived webinars and presentation slides through this link.
