Posts Tagged ‘membership’

AACTE Board Chair Ann Larson Discusses Leading in Difficult Times

AACTE Responds to Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Ann Larson

AACTE is spotlighting interviews with its member leaders on effective ways for educator preparation programs to navigate through COVID-19. AACTE Board Chair Ann Larson took time to share important tips in this video on leading in difficult times. She also discusses the leadership role all educators have during the coronavirus crisis.

New Webinar on Member Responses to the Coronavirus Pandemic

AACTE Responds to COVID-19

Last week, I reported on results of a survey that AACTE conducted in April to better understand and assist members as they respond to the coronavirus pandemic.  The survey yielded valuable insights about how the pandemic is affecting educator preparation now and the concerns that leaders anticipate as they look ahead to the 2020-21 academic year.

On May 27 from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. ET, AACTE is hosting a webinar on the survey results. During this session, you will be able to

  • review the survey results
  • benchmark your experience against that of your colleagues
  • discuss the challenges you are facing—and how you are overcoming them—with your colleagues

Joining me to discuss the survey results will be Cynthia F. Grutzik, dean of the Graduate College of Education at San Francisco State University; John A. Kuykendall III, dean of the School of Education at University of Indianapolis; and Timothy J. Wall, professor and dean of the School of Education at Northwest Missouri State University.

Register today to join this important conversation about the impact of the coronavirus and how AACTE can help you and your students during these challenging times.  For those unable to attend on May 27, a recording of the session will be posted to the AACTE website.

AACTE and Mursion Present Virtual Reality Classrooms

AACTE & Mursion Virtual Reality Classrooms

You, like many AACTE members, are likely facing pauses and interruptions to the clinical practice partnerships in your educator preparation program due to COVID-19. AACTE wants to provide you with solutions, and as such, I am excited to announce our collaboration with Mursion to provide our members access to virtual reality classrooms. This technology enables teacher candidates to receive experiential learning to continue their career development in virtual settings. View the complete details at aacte.org/vrclassrooms.

Please take a few minutes to watch the video and learn more about this special member-only benefit and other ways to engage with your Association this month. Stay positive and rest assured that AACTE is here to support you through this difficult time.

Protecting the National Pipeline of Teachers

How Virtual Classrooms Can Help Train Preservice Candidates

Teachers using virtual teaching program

“Currently, under normal times, this would not count in Texas. This may change with pandemic issues,” chimed a participant at a recent Mursion Roundtable webinar. This was not an ordinary Zoom event though. It was a group of educators who gathered to test drive a classroom simulation for “Introducing Content for Middle School.” Messages in the chat were flying. In true teacher form, they were engaged, curious, forthright and funny. Several chat messages started with “I’m here to learn …”

What does it actually mean to train a teacher candidate in a simulated clas sroom? What does that look like? How does it feel? One brave volunteer blurted, “I’m terrified …and excited, but mostly terrified.” For those who have observed a first-time participant jump into a simulation, what follows is quite predictable. The learner starts out very tentative. Within minutes of the student avatars appearing on screen, they’re conversing and chuckling at the students’ responses. Then at their command “pause simulation,” they pop out of the scenario with a sigh and a wow. “That was very realistic,” is the usual description of this new experience.

AACTE Extends Due Dates for Annual Meeting Reviewer and Proposal Submissions

Annual Meeting Call for Reviewers

Have you thought about getting more involved with AACTE?  Have you considered submitting a proposal or being a reviewer for the 2021 Annual Meeting?  Well now is the time. AACTE has extended the deadlines for reviewers and proposals:

Call for Reviewers deadline has been extended until May 27. Peer Reviewers serve an important role in the Annual Meeting by ensuring that exemplary learning opportunities are selected from the proposals submitted. Applicants will be notified by June 19 and asked to review up to 10 proposals between June 19 – July 29. And don’t forget, you can still submit an Annual Meeting proposal, even while serving as a reviewer. Read the full call for proposals, then apply to review proposals.

AACTE and Mursion Collaborate to Support Teacher Preparation Through Coronavirus

New Partnership Offers Virtual Reality Classrooms to Advance Learning for Future Teachers

The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), the leading voice on educator preparation, and Mursion, the global leader in virtual reality (VR) training, are partnering to offer educators and students world-class experiential learning through simulations. The collaboration provides teacher candidates an opportunity to complete clinical field experiences remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. The special offering is available to educator preparation programs (EPPs) across the nation.

During the coronavirus outbreak, EPPs can launch the VR classrooms in just a few days. Through virtual simulations, candidates can practice instructional techniques and access a platform of over 100 videos of classroom instruction. AACTE and Mursion will offer the VR classroom with simulated students at a special discount to support teacher candidates in these unprecedented times.

AACTE and Mursion Offer Technology Solution for Virtual Clinical Practice

AACTE Responds to COVID-19

AACTE- Mursion Virtual Reality Classrooms

AACTE and Mursion have partnered to offer educator preparation programs a solution to an acute need caused by the global pandemic. Teacher candidates’ opportunity for face-to-face classroom training has been suspended, which has resulted in a risk for future teachers to not complete their course work. The AACTE and Mursion collaboration provides virtual reality classrooms for teacher candidates to receive experiential learning through simulations. Mursion is rooted in teacher training and has conducted 50,000 simulations. Through the new offer, AACTE members receive a 10% discount to access innovative technology, thanks, in part, to an anonymous donor underwriting a portion of the cost.

Mursion has worked with over 70 educator preparation programs at colleges and universities. Here’s what a few participants had to say about the benefits of virtual reality classrooms:

AACTE Survey Captures Members’ Coronavirus Experience and Response

AACTE Responds to COVID-19

To better understand and assist members as they respond to the coronavirus pandemic, AACTE invited all chief institutional representatives to complete a short online survey in early April. Nearly 200 members responded, yielding valuable insights about how the pandemic is affecting educator preparation now and the concerns that leaders anticipate as they look ahead to the 2020-21 academic year. The complete set of findings is available online; highlights include the following:

Instruction 

  • Virtually all programs have transitioned to fully online instruction, using synchronous and asynchronous methods.
  • Faculty have received training in online instruction, and IT support has increased.
  • Many institutions are providing devices for students as needed.

The Value of Being an AACTE Volunteer

AACTE Board Meeting

Here is your opportunity to engage with AACTE! The Association is currently accepting 2021 Annual Meeting session proposals and reviewer applications, nominations to serve on AACTE Committees, 2021 award nominations, and voting on revisions to the Association’s bylaws and articles of incorporation. With so many opportunities available, will you answer the call to serve the profession?

Each call to action has its own deadline, so be sure to mark your calendar and click on the links below for more information:

AACTE Wants You! Nominations Open for Standing Committees

Standing Committee Nominations

Don’t let the current crisis distract you from connecting with colleagues and advancing your professional interests through service on an AACTE committee. Nominations are open through May 29 for positions on the following AACTE committees:

  • Global Diversity
  • Government Relations and Advocacy
  • Innovation and Technology
  • Meetings and Professional Development
  • Membership Development and Capacity Building
  • Professional Preparation and Accountability
  • Research and Dissemination

Chief Reps Called to Vote on AACTE Bylaw Revisions

AACTE invites all chief representatives  to perform a quick but important service to the association: vote on updated Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws.

As part of its stewardship of the Association, the AACTE Board of Directors oversaw a process last year to review and update the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws. These documents describe AACTE’s purpose as a non-profit membership association and lay out the essential features of the association’s governance system. It is recommended that these reviews occur every five years, and they were last revised in 2015.

The Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws were updated to

  • Ensure compliance with Washington, D.C. law
  • Bring the Bylaws into alignment with current Association practice and with recognized best practices in non-profit governance
  • Incorporate changes recommended by the Board Composition Task Force
  • Improve readability and ease of use and eliminate redundancies or contradictions

Reminder to Complete AACTE Member Survey

Member Survey Banner

On behalf of the AACTE Board of Directors, I send greetings and warm wishes for your health and safety during this critical time. As your colleague, I understand your tireless efforts to navigate through the unprecedented challenges the coronavirus has caused for your educator preparation program and university. While we may experience similar struggles, our circumstances may differ because institutions are unique in their own way along with the local communities they serve.

AACTE is currently conducting a survey to better gauge the diverse needs of its member institutions. The survey was distributed to senior leaders with responsibility for a school, college, or department of education such as deans, associate deans, vice presidents, or department chairs. If you have not yet received the AACTE invitation to participate in the survey, it may have landed in your spam folder.

I ask that you take a few minutes to complete the short survey by Friday, April 24. AACTE will use your responses to 

  • determine the support members need;
  • inform the public and policy makers about how the coronavirus is affecting educator preparation; and
  • share aggregated information with members to help you benchmark your experience against your peers.

Start Survey

It is imperative that we receive your feedback so we can be better informed about how to assist you and our profession through this difficult time. Thank you in advance for your time and participation in the survey.

My prayers are with each and every one of you.

AACTE Member Survey on Impact of the Coronavirus

AACTE Responds to COVID-19

Member Survey on Impact of the Coronavirus

To help AACTE better understand and help members respond to the unprecedented challenges that COVID-19 has created for educator preparation, AACTE distributed a survey today to targeted members. The member survey was sent to senior leaders with responsibility for a school, college, or department of education such as deans, associate deans, vice presidents, or department chairs.

If you received this survey, AACTE needs to hear from you and will use your responses to

  • determine the support members need;
  • inform the public and policy makers about how the coronavirus is affecting educator preparation; and
  • share aggregated information with members to help you benchmark your experience against your peers.

Call for Volunteers: Apply by May 29 for AACTE Standing Committees

Leadership concept - Group of people and leader with hand up.

Your Association wants you! Are you ready to become a leader in the national educator preparation community, or do you know someone who is? Nominate yourself or a colleague by May 29 to serve on an AACTE standing committee.

AACTE is currently seeking applications from volunteers to serve on the following standing committees:

  • Global Diversity
  • Government Relations and Advocacy
  • Innovation and Technology
  • Meetings and Professional Development
  • Membership Development and Capacity Building
  • Professional Preparation and Accountability
  • Research and Dissemination

Call for Entries: 2021 AACTE Awards

AACTE Awards Banner

Applications for the 2021 AACTE awards are now open. For most of the awards, programs and individuals can be either self-nominated or nominated by a third party.  To submit your nomination, visit AACTE’s online submission site.  Entries for the Outstanding Book Award are due May 15 and entries for the Outstanding Dissertation Award are due August 15. The due date for all other award submissions is October 9.

Winning entries will be decided by the AACTE standing committees and recognized formally at the 2021 Annual Meeting, February 26 – 28, in Seattle, Washington.