31 Jul2021
By Meghan Grenda
AACTE’s Member Spotlight features an individual from a member institution, highlighting how their work makes a difference in classrooms across the country. Nominate yourself or another member by providing a response to the following questions and sending to mgrenda@aacte.org.
Get to know Anne Tapp …
Position/Institution: Professor, Saginaw Valley State University
(also serving as a director for the University of Michigan Center for Digital Curriculum)
Number of years in your position: 19 years
Alma Mater(s): Ph.D. Curriculum and Instruction, Wayne State University
Hometown: Frankenmuth, MI
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.
23 Jul2021
By Lynn M. Gangone
With the 2021-2022 academic year quickly approaching, how are you preparing for in-person, virtual or hybrid teaching and learning settings? Additionally, how are recent, state legislative actions impacting your programs? Your National Office team wants to hear from you. Please take a few minutes to watch this video and share your feedback with us at communications@aacte.org.
Don’t forget about AACTE’s upcoming 2021 Leadership Academy Series, 2021 Washington Week and 2022 Annual Meeting. Registration for all three events is now open, so secure your spot today!
22 Jul2021
By Jerrica Thurman
As a member of
AACTE Connect360, you have access to more than 20 community groups to join, with more on the way! Community groups allow you to engage with like-minded peers on topics of interest and grow your network. These groups highlight important areas in educator preparation including research, leadership, advocacy and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Here’s how to explore the communities on Connect360:
20 Jul2021
By Lynn M. Gangone
AACTE provides interactive tools and innovative solutions to advance educator preparation. Our new initiatives in 2021 support our vision to revolutionize education for all learners. To learn about our newest offerings, please take a few minutes to watch this video.
In just a few weeks, AACTE will kick off its 2021 Leadership Academy Series on August 11, as well as its 2021 Washington Week in September. Registration is open for these events, as well as the 2022 AACTE Annual Meeting, so secure your spot today. I hope to see you there!
15 Jul2021
By Meghan Grenda
The AACTE membership team would like to extend our sincere gratitude to you, your institution, and your colleagues for your ongoing support of AACTE. This past year has been unlike any other. A global pandemic, a historic number of natural disasters, and the continuation of violence and racial injustices towards members of our community all impacted our pursuit for high-quality, evidence-based preparation that assures educators are ready to teach all learners. Yet despite everything our community faced, we were still able to amplify our united voice to invest in educator preparation.
As AACTE opens the 2022 renewal season for the coming year, I’d like to remind you of the network of resources at your disposal. Below are just a few of the essential tools and initiatives AACTE has developed in the past year.
13 Jul2021
By Meghan Grenda
Have you needed to edit your member roster, update your address, or change your areas of expertise lately? If so, you have probably noticed a few changes to the AACTE Profile Manager.
From now to August 2021, AACTE is in the final stages of a database migration. As such, you will not be able to make any edits to your member profile during this time. Do not worry, you can still access all other tools. Do you need to search for a colleague, access a resource, or register for an event? The Membership Directory, Resource Library, Registration System are still accessible. Or are you planning to renew your membership for 2022? You may also still make renewal payments via the Profile Manager.
Once the migration is complete, you will have access to all AACTE resources and much more! The only difference is that when you log into the site, it will look a little different and be more user friendly.
Do you have a question, need to edit your member profile, or would like to offer feedback? Please contact the Membership Team at membership@aacte.org.
12 Jul2021
By Caitlin Kanaly
Have you tried using video in your methodology courses? As the place where student teachers connect theory to practice, methods courses are perfect for video—whether you teach in person or online.
Many teacher ed programs relied on video for remote instruction during the pandemic, but some used it long before 2020—and for good reason. Research shows that video plus feedback improves student skills. In methods courses, video gives you a way to
- Show students what theoretical methods look like in practice.
- Enable students to practice methods in small groups.
- Record and give personalized feedback as students apply methods in the field.
12 Jul2021
By Timothy Boerst and Meghan Shaughnessy
Timothy Boerst and Meghan Shaughnessy
Working in teacher education programs at the University of Michigan and Boston University, we are well-versed with practice-based teacher education, including the usage and importance of video to connect the university classroom and K-12 schools. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, video has been crucial in engaging with our teacher candidates in practice-based work.
At the AACTE 2021 Annual Meeting in February earlier this year, we shared how we used video in our work as teacher educators over the 2020-21 academic year. Our presentation, “Using Video to Learn to Do the Work of Teaching When Schools are Closed,” highlighted the ways in which we used video at the University of Michigan to support practice-based work when methods courses were conducted online. While we have robustly used video in our programs for over a decade, the last year forced us to explore new possibilities.
12 Jul2021
By Meghan Grenda
We may be in the dog days of summer, but why not beat the heat by accessing these new AACTE resources?
ARP Funding Toolkit – Learn how members can collaborate with their local district partners to allocate ESSER funds toward strengthening the educator workforce.
Consortium for Research-Based and Equitable Assessments (CREA) – Discover how AACTE, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is evaluating cut scores and how they can be refined to attract, rather than exclude, potential candidates.
AACTE Webinars – Explore the latest in the AACTE Webinar library. In July, AACTE is featuring three webinars: “Discover How to Make the Most of AACTE Connect360,” “Growing and Sustaining White Racial Justice Allyship in Education,” and “Combating Racism in Educator Prep: Justice and Joy for BIPOC Individuals.” Did you miss a webinar? No problem! You may also explore our on-demand webinar library for any discussion you may have missed.
07 Jul2021
By Jerrica Thurman
Join AACTE for a free, members-only tutorial of AACTE’s new online community, Connect360. “
Discover How to Make the Most of AACTE Connect360” will be held Thursday,
July 8, at 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. EDT. This in-depth walkthrough will navigate how to access its many features and provide resources to better acquaint you with the online community platform. Topics covered include
- How to setup your community profile
- How to join a community and post a discussion
- How to connect with colleagues
- How to use the community libraries and explore shared resources and documents from community members
- How to engage in rich discussions with peers
- And more!
06 Jul2021
By Jacqueline Rodriguez
Don’t miss your opportunity to pilot test PlanWise™ tool, a Chrome Extension developed by ETS and focused on delivering formative assessment practices and strategies.
AACTE, in collaboration with ETS, is excited to provide all of its members with this exciting opportunity. The PlanWise™ tool meets teachers where they are in a number of ways, such as providing suggestions for formative assessment strategies to teachers and teacher candidates while they are lesson planning in Google Docs. After an initial pilot with K-12 teachers, novice teachers noted the value and the utility of the tool in identifying a variety of new formative assessment strategies and indicated that the strategies increased their use of formative assessment with students.
06 Jul2021
By Linda Minor
The deadline is approaching for the AACTE 2022 Outstanding Dissertation Award. Applications can be submitted through the online submission system now through August 20. This award includes a $1,000 cash prize, as well as special recognition at AACTE’s 74th Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA, March 4-6, 2022.
The Outstanding Dissertation Award, overseen by AACTE’s Committee on Research and Dissemination, recognizes excellence in research (or its equivalent) that contributes to the knowledge base of educator preparation or of teaching and learning with implications for educator preparation.
01 Jul2021
By Jerrica Thurman
Have Connect360 questions? The AACTE Quick Start Guide provides step-by-step instructions to maximize your experience with Connect360. Discover how to
- Set up your profile
- Make connections
- Explore communities
- Share a post
- Receive community notifications
- Follow a discussion thread
- Explore the library
- Search the member directory
View the Connect360 Quick Start Guide to get involved with AACTE’s new online community today!
Also, mark your calendar to attend AACTE’s webinar tutorial, “Discover How to Make the Most of AACTE Connect360,” on Thursday, July 8, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. EST. Explore this new members-only resource, walk through how to access its many features, and gain resources to better acquaint yourself with Connect360. Learn more about the webinar tutorial in this recent blog and register in advance to reserve your seat!
30 Jun2021
By Meghan Grenda
As a member of AACTE, you have access to discounted on Office Depot pricing wherever business takes you. Your discount never expires and can be used for personal, school, or business purchases such as ink, toner, paper, and cleaning and classroom supplies!
Find all the essential items you need to keep running as efficiently as possible. With free next-business-day shipping, AACTE make sure you have what you need, when you need it.
