Posts Tagged ‘research’

Last Call for AACTE Dissertation Award Applications

Time is running out to apply for AACTE’s 2016 Outstanding Dissertation Award! Entries must be made online by Monday, August 17. Help AACTE showcase outstanding doctoral research at your institution by encouraging your top recent graduates (or recent hires!) to apply for this prestigious award, which includes a $1,000 cash prize.

Strengthening AACTE’s Innovation Exchange

AACTE is undertaking a new effort to strengthen its Innovation Exchange by developing better navigation tools, adding fresh resources, and boosting engagement opportunities for the professional community.

“The Innovation Exchange must be an interactive platform for bringing together and amplifying the innovative work our members do,” said Rodrick Lucero, vice president of member engagement and support.

Free Webinar to Explore School Context’s Influence on Teacher Effectiveness

From their recent research on the relationship between teacher productivity and job experience, John Papay and Matthew Kraft of Brown University (RI) will share new evidence on teachers’ long-term career improvement in a free webinar for AACTE members. “Toward a Broader Conceptualization of Teacher Quality: How Schools Influence Teacher Effectiveness” will be held Wednesday, August 19, at 2:00 p.m. EDT.

Policy makers tend to think of “teacher quality” as a fixed and portable characteristic of an individual teacher – in other words, it doesn’t change over time or across school settings. In this webinar, Papay and Kraft will make the case for a broader conceptualization of “teacher effectiveness” that depends, in large part, on the school context in which a teacher works.

AACTE to Survey Principal Preparation Programs

Principals’ leadership is a critical factor in schools’ success, and school leader preparation programs play a key role in facilitating that success. But what are the components of programs that effectively prepare emerging principals to serve as leaders of learning in 21st-century schools?

AACTE, in cooperation with a national foundation, is conducting a brief survey of its members to better understand the landscape of university-based principal preparation programs: the context in which they operate; the challenges they face; and the degree to which improvements are seen as important. A report is planned for early 2016 summarizing the findings from this survey as well as others under way.

Literacy Conference Panel Weighs Quality Teacher Prep

Last weekend, I was privileged to represent AACTE on a panel at the conference of the International Literacy Association (ILA). Our session, titled “Cultivating Literacy Achievement Through Quality Teacher Preparation,” touched on current program-improvement efforts, revision of the ILA standards for program recognition, variations in licensure requirements across the country, and policy-related challenges.

Joining me for the discussion were William Teale of the University of Illinois at Chicago, Rita Bean of the University of Pittsburgh (PA), Bryan Joffe of the School Superintendents Association, Chris Koch of the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, and others.

McNeil Named June’s Holmes Scholar of the Month

Congratulations to June Holmes Scholar of the Month Terrance McNeil!

McNeil is a doctoral student at Florida A&M University (FAMU). His research interests include education policy, education technology, distance learning, professional development, and charter schools.

McNeil’s nominator had this to say about him: “Terrance has maintained an unwavering standard of excellence in his academic endeavors and is always willing to assist his cohort members to ensure that we all excel in our classes.”

Woodrow Wilson, MIT Partner on Competency-Based Educator Preparation

A new partnership between the Woodrow Wilson Foundation and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) launched last week to “transform policy and practice” in educator preparation. Announced June 16, the new Woodrow Wilson Academy of Teaching and Learning will be a graduate school of education based at MIT that conducts research and offers competency-based master’s programs in teaching and school leadership.

Foundation President Arthur Levine, former president of Teachers College at Columbia University (NY), touted the academy’s plan to “throw out the clock”—focusing on its students’ mastery of competencies rather than on credit hours—and to produce open-source course modules for ease of replication nationwide.

California Chapter Uses AACTE Grant to Boost Research

Last spring, the California Council on Teacher Education (CCTE) received an AACTE State Chapter Support Grant to fund a “Quest for Research on Teacher Education” to engage local scholars and broaden the knowledge base in California and nationally. I am delighted to report that the Quest program is achieving its goals, as well as unanticipated benefits, which will pay dividends for years to come.

Before the Quest program, CCTE’s commitment to encourage and support research on teacher education already took many forms. We sponsor two high-quality scholarly journals devoted to publication of quantitative and qualitative studies; hold semiannual conferences that include numerous concurrent research presentations and poster sessions; offer support programs for new faculty and graduate students, which include participation in the research and poster sessions at our conferences; and collaborate with Division K of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) on a national committee focusing on research in teacher education policy, which schedules a special open session on research topics at the annual AERA meetings.

Call for Entries: AACTE Outstanding Dissertation Award

AACTE is now accepting nominations for the 2016 Outstanding Dissertation Award. Applications must be uploaded through our online submission system by August 17.

The AACTE Outstanding Dissertation Award recognizes excellence in doctoral dissertation research (or its equivalent) that contributes to the knowledge base of educator preparation or of teaching and learning with implications for educator preparation. For this award, applicants must submit a 10-page narrative answering a series of questions about the dissertation, along with a letter of support from the dissertation adviser/chair. Dissertations with a completion date between January 2014 and June 2015 are eligible for consideration; see the call for entries for other requirements.

JTE Coeditor: NCTQ Appraisal of Journals Based on Narrow View of Teacher Prep Research

The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) published an article in last week’s Teacher Quality Bulletin that criticized journals with a teacher education focus for not publishing enough articles on “core techniques and skills.” Targeting AACTE’s Journal of Teacher Education (JTE) in particular, the authors report that “only” 11% of the articles published in JTE in the past 5 years address this topic. JTE Coeditor Fran Arbaugh of Pennsylvania State University sent the following response to the article’s authors:

Call for Entries: AACTE Outstanding Book Award

AACTE is now accepting nominations for the 2016 Outstanding Book Award. Nominations must be made through our online submission system by June 17.

The Outstanding Book Award recognizes books that make a significant contribution to the knowledge base of educator preparation or of teaching and learning with implications for educator preparation. Eligibility requirements include a publication date within the past 2 years (July 2013–June 2015) and a letter of nomination from a faculty member at an AACTE member institution (who is not an author or editor of the volume); see the call for entries for other requirements.

Reminder: 2015 PEDS Survey Due May 15

AACTE’s 2015 Professional Education Data System (PEDS) survey is now accessible online. If you have not already done so, please complete the survey by Friday, May 15.

As you know, AACTE members annually access this system to report their program/school data and submit Parts A and B of the PEDS survey for summary tabulations. Because these data are used by many education constituents in a variety of ways, AACTE invites all other educator preparation providers to join in the effort and do the same in order to paint a more complete picture of the field of teacher preparation.