16 Dec2014
By Omar Davis
The AACTE Holmes Scholars® Program is one of the Association’s hallmark offerings on diversity and will be featured in a variety of sessions at the 67th Annual Meeting in Atlanta, February 27-March 1.
In addition to dedicated preconference programming, attending Holmes Scholars will participate in the full range of Annual Meeting offerings under the theme Advancing the Imperative, from major forums and general and concurrent sessions to the town hall meeting and the job fair.
09 Dec2014
By Jerrica Thurman
The six major forums at AACTE’s 67th Annual Meeting will be stand-alone offerings. In each of three dedicated time slots spanning February 27-March 1, 2015, participants will choose between two cutting-edge topics to explore with leaders in the field.
25 Nov2014
By Kristin McCabe
A study of 30 teacher residency programs funded through the federal Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) Program finds that graduates of the residencies feel more prepared at the start of their careers and more supported during their time in the classroom than their same-district peers from other pathways.
25 Nov2014
By Kristin McCabe
As teacher educators wait to see the U.S. government’s latest proposal for rating their programs, a new report commissioned by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) attempts to lay out a useful framework of “key effectiveness indicators” to answer the fundamental question: How do we identify high-performing preparation programs that routinely produce effective teachers (as well as programs that do not)?
24 Nov2014
By Jerrica Thurman
AACTE has hired two new senior directors in the Department of Policy and Programs. Linda S. McKee is the Association’s senior director for performance measurement and assessment policy, and Rodrick S. Lucero will be senior director for member engagement and support.
“We are delighted to welcome Linda and Rod to AACTE,” said Mark LaCelle-Peterson, AACTE vice president for policy and programs. “Each of them brings extensive experience in education, from public schools and higher education to work with associations. They’ll add to our ability to respond to the needs of our members in an immense way.”
17 Nov2014
By Donald E. Heller
Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education and is reposted with permission. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE. See also AACTE’s statement about the Easy A’s report.
The National Council on Teacher Quality, a Washington-based think tank, has issued a number of reports in recent years on teacher preparation around the country. Its flagship effort since 2013, the Teacher Prep Review, is an annual report released in June that rates programs on how well they are preparing new teachers. In order to keep its name in front of the media between those major annual releases, the council has issued a series of studies on other aspects of teacher preparation. The latest one, Easy A’s and What’s Behind Them, came out this week. As with the organization’s other studies, this one has fatal flaws that undermine most of the conclusions articulated in it.
12 Nov2014
By AACTE
AACTE Members Leading Efforts to Develop and Rigorously Assess Teacher Candidates
In its latest effort to cast the nation’s schools of education in a negative light, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) today released a report claiming that vague, “criterion-deficient” assignments in educator preparation programs result in too many high grades among teacher candidates, compared with students in other majors at the same institutions. The report, Training Our Future Teachers: Easy A’s and What’s Behind Them, rests on the same meager evidence—mere document reviews—as NCTQ has used in past reports. One of its underlying tenets, however, is important, if not new: that teacher candidates and their readiness to practice must be developed and assessed fully and accurately, an area that is already the subject of intense focus and innovation led by the educator preparation community.
10 Nov2014
By Omar Davis
The third annual edTPA National Implementation Conference, held last month in Los Angeles, drew nearly 400 educators and policy leaders from 28 states and more than 100 universities.
Convened at the University of California Los Angeles to accommodate record attendance, this year’s conference featured 32 plenary and breakout sessions, including a panel on how to promote and sustain partnerships between teacher preparation programs and cooperating PK-12 schools.
04 Nov2014
By Zachary VanHouten and Deborah Koolbeck
As the National Council on Teaching Quality (NCTQ) steps up its document collection by communicating directly with teacher preparation programs’ PK-12 partners, AACTE encourages programs to reach out to their partner schools to raise awareness and build mutual understanding around the requests, including connecting legal counsel from both parties if appropriate.
20 Oct2014
By Lucy Berrier
Did you need extra time to submit your 2015 AACTE award application? You’re in luck!
The submission deadline for the 2015 Best Practice and Professional Achievement Awards has been extended until Friday, October 24.
Act now and nominate the innovative and exemplary program at your institution for a Best Practice Award! These awards highlight the work members are doing each day to improve the field of educator preparation:
- Best Practice Award for the Innovative Use of Technology
- Best Practice Award in Support of Global and International Teacher Education
- Best Practice Award in Support of Multicultural Education and Diversity
03 Oct2014
By Lucy Berrier
Nominations for all of the 2015 AACTE awards close FRIDAY, October 10! Submit an entry now at AACTE’s online submission site. To read detailed submission information, please refer to the official Call for Entries.
The following awards are still accepting nominations:
- Best Practice Award for the Innovative Use of Technology
- Best Practice Award in Support of Global and International Perspectives
- Best Practice Award in Support of Multicultural Education and Diversity
- Margaret B. Lindsey Award for Distinguished Research in Teacher Education
- David G. Imig Award for Distinguished Achievement in Teacher Education
- Edward C. Pomeroy Award for Outstanding Contributions to Teacher Education
23 Sep2014
By Kristin McCabe
The Innovations Inventory of AACTE’s Innovation Exchange is an online database highlighting members’ pioneering practices in educator preparation that have shown a positive impact on issues of student learning, preparation program advancement, or educator workforce needs. This blog post is one in a series highlighting entries from the inventory. For more information, contact Zach VanHouten at zvanhouten@aacte.org.
The award-winning Professional Development School (PDS) Consortium based at the State University of New York College at Buffalo (Buffalo State) offers a supportive cohort community for teacher candidates, minigrants for action research in the schools, and even international partner settings. This clinically rich network, founded in 1991, has evolved in alignment with frameworks including the 2001 NCATE PDS Standards, the National Association of Professional Development Schools Nine Essentials, and the 2012 NCATE Blue Ribbon Panel report.
19 Sep2014
By Kristin McCabe
With the school year now in full swing, we know it’s a challenge to stay on top of your professional reading. Here are a few hot assignments you won’t want to miss:
1. Journal of Teacher Education
The latest issue of AACTE’s journal offers fascinating insights into the professional development and practice of teacher educators. Based on the premise that “while research on teaching informs research on teacher education, the latter needs a specialized knowledge base of its own” (see the issue’s editorial), articles address general and specific elements of that knowledge base, professional identity, core practices, and more.
Extra credit:Read the latest research to be published in future issues of the journal! It’s posted on a rolling basis in Sage’s Online First system.
16 Sep2014
By Jerrica Thurman
AACTE Members Addressing Key Concerns Through Rigorous Programs, Partnerships, and Policy Initiatives
AACTE member institutions across the country are leading rigorous and effective teacher preparation programs that echo the priorities of those surveyed in the 46th annual PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools. The 2014 poll includes a special section released today on teacher preparation and evaluation.
The first report on the 2014 poll, released last month, showed that Americans are skeptical of federal policy influences on public schools and of the Common Core State Standards and standardized tests. The newly released second report delves into specific ways respondents think teacher quality and schools should be improved.
09 Sep2014
By Kristin McCabe
The AACTE Committee on Research and Dissemination invites proposals for a campus-based team to edit the Journal of Teacher Education (JTE) for a 3-year term, commencing with Volume 67, Issue 1 (January/February 2016). Proposals must be submitted online by November 7. Qualified individuals from schools, colleges, and departments of education at AACTE member institutions may apply.
Click here to download the complete request for proposals, or click here to enter the online submission site.
