28 Nov2017
By Renée A. Middleton
As AACTE Board Chair, I have shared and reflected monthly on several of our AACTE core values. This month, I would like to focus on one of our most important core values: professionalism.
This value calls for AACTE members to prepare teacher candidates to be not only successful educators, but also members of the larger professional community. Candidates should graduate from their programs with a clear understanding of the ethical responsibilities of being an educator and be equipped to contribute to the greater good in communities, school districts, and society.
14 Nov2017
By Shawn Karim
Three new videos are available this week on AACTE’s Research-to-Practice Spotlight Series highlighting clinical preparation and partnerships of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) College of Education. The latest videos focus on building relationships and meeting real needs throughout the community, including the need for a move diverse and culturally competent teaching workforce.
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) College of Education has carefully cultivated relationships that generate support not only for its teacher candidates but for the needs of the Clark County School District (CCSD) and the broader surrounding community. The continuously evolving partnerships thrive thanks to a culture of collaboration around solving authentic problems in the community.
10 Nov2017
By Jerrica Thurman
Today, AACTE released the second video segment of the AACTE InTouch mini-documentary series, “How Community Partnerships Can Combat Teacher Shortage." Teacher shortages are a growing concern and while there are many causes, one emerging solution is to create a supportive and collaborative environment through sustainable partnerships.
The new video educates viewers on how university, school, and community partnerships aid in creating a robust pipeline and conditions critical to recruiting and retaining teachers. It addresses three important topics: why partnerships are important to preparing good teachers; what types of partnerships can support teaching; and examples of successful partnerships.
30 Oct2017
By Rodrick Lucero
It is my pleasure to introduce a new feature in the AACTE Research-to-Practice Spotlight Series focused on clinical preparation at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) College of Education.
UNLV offers clinical experiences for educator candidates through a variety of partnerships and programs with the Clark County School District (CCSD), which College of Education Dean Kim Metcalf describes as a “natural laboratory” environment. Their thriving collaboration continues to evolve, with the latest outgrowth being a new initiative for research and clinical experience in Paradise Elementary School. The college also has a long-standing partnership with the inclusive preschool on campus, which serves the wider community and provides learning opportunities for both students and researchers across the university.
20 Oct2017
By Jemima Cabedo
In 2014, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) received a federal Teacher Quality Partnership grant for a proposal called Transforming Teaching through Technology (TTtT), winning Year 1 funding of nearly $1.7 million, renewable for up to 5 years. Now, as the partners move into their fourth year of grant-funded collaboration, I asked Principal Investigator and Project Director Christina O’Connor for an update on their work and what it takes to secure continued funding from the U.S. Department of Education year after year.
The partnership among UNCG, Guilford County Schools, and Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools aims to prepare 300 teacher candidates per year with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to incorporate technology to promote academic learning for all students. The idea is to produce teachers who can embed technology and hands-on, problem-based instruction across all content areas. By approaching this work through partnerships, O’Connor noted, the strategies and lessons benefit not only preservice teachers but also the school-based educators and UNCG faculty.
10 Oct2017
By Jerrica Thurman
AACTE celebrates National Principals Month this October! The key to student success is a great school, and the key to a great school is a great principal. Please join us in this opportunity to say “thank you” to principals across the nation and to recognize their valuable contributions in your local community.
National Principals Month gives us the chance to honor and reflect on the roles of school leaders and the importance of preparing them well. AACTE members across the country are working to advance principal preparation through a variety of initiatives and partnerships. For example, AACTE member institution Colorado State University will host a 2-day School Leadership Institute this fall to survey new principals about ways to enhance university-based preparation programs and support school leaders in their critical first year on the job. Many other institutions are participating in AACTE’s new Principal Preparation Program Learning Community Topical Action Group, a member-led collaborative exploring issues and promising practice in principal preparation.
06 Oct2017
By AACTE Committee on Membership Development and Capacity Building
AACTE members and President/CEO Lynn M. Gangone enjoy a moment at the 2017 AACTE Day on the Hill. Focus group respondents cited the Association’s advocacy work and convenings among the top member benefits.
As members of the AACTE Committee on Membership Development and Capacity Building, we are eager to learn from the results of the AACTE survey currently under way – and we thank all of you who have participated! In the meantime, we would like to highlight some insights from a recent online focus group of 26 teacher educators from colleges and universities that are current, former, or prospective members of AACTE.
This group, convened on behalf of AACTE by Marketing General Incorporated (the same agency managing the current broad-market survey), reported an almost universally positive image of AACTE’s brand and belief in its mission. But what the current members of AACTE say they value most is the organization’s advocacy work, high-quality resources, and networking connections with other professionals in the field.
19 Sep2017
By Aaron Goldstein
Today, the Education Commission of the States (ECS), a national organization of state education policy leaders, released a report that reviews state policies related to teacher license reciprocity. While states are facing educator pipeline challenges, the report finds that teacher licensure systems are intended to ensure educator quality, but have the potential of limiting cross-state mobility that could cause harm teacher attrition and retention.
The report explores teacher license reciprocity – in which a candidate who possesses an out-of-state license can earn a license in a new state based on state requirements. At the national level, the report references the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC) Interstate Agreement, which collects agreements between NASDTEC member states to understand which licenses are transferable and what additional requirements might be needed. At the state level, the report finds that since last year, 11 states have enacted new laws or regulations that facilitate teacher license reciprocity. Two states – Arizona and Nevada – became full reciprocity states by enacting new laws that remove barriers for licensure. Two additional states – Oklahoma and Delaware – passed new laws that waive certain assessment requirements for out-of-state candidates.
14 Sep2017
By Aaron Goldstein
This week, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) released Transforming Educator Preparation: Lessons Learned From Leading States, a playbook for how states can improve educator preparation based on the experience of the Network for Transforming Educator Preparation (NTEP).
States that participated in NTEP – a multiyear effort to identify policies that effectively support the preparation of profession-ready teachers – were California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, and Washington.
11 Sep2017
By Aaron Goldstein
Last month, AACTE staff hosted an exhibit at the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) Legislative Summit in Boston, Massachusetts. We also invited leaders of the local AACTE state chapter, the Massachusetts Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (MACTE), to join us in the exhibit booth to share their work with attendees. Over 5,000 state legislators, state legislative staff, and trade association representatives attended the conference.
As I learned from last year’s NCSL Legislative Summit (see my takeaways here), state legislators are eager to receive input from teacher educators. One recurring theme from my conversations with state legislators this year was that they are unfamiliar with the major state policy levers pertaining to educator preparation – accreditation, licensure, and program approval. It was good for AACTE staff and MACTE leaders to interact with attendees from dozens of states, including many members of state legislatures’ education committees.
05 Sep2017
By Amy Vessel
This article is the last in a series of three showcasing the transformation of preservice field experiences at Louisiana Tech University. Read the first article here and the second here. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
In a traditional student teaching experience, the school and mentor agree to host a teacher candidate in the classroom for 10-15 weeks, which can be viewed as a short-term accommodation that is not integral to the school community. In a full-year clinical residency, however, the importance of the mentor-resident placement is essential to the success of the school year for all involved. Therefore, the TEAM (Teacher Educators and Mentors) Model Clinical Residency Center at Louisiana Tech University has made the design of a quality placement procedure a priority.
In the TEAM Model timeline, residents and mentors apply in April/May to participate in the full-year clinical residency. Upon university, school, and district approval of the participants, an electronic clinical styles inventory is distributed to all participants in late May/June, and all placements are finalized in July. On the online inventory, mentors and residents rate their own traits around personality, planning, teaching, professionalism, and other areas in order to better identify their clinical style.
30 Aug2017
By Aaron Goldstein
Seven state chapters of AACTE will share $50,000 in funding from the 2017 State Chapter Support Grant competition.
AACTE is pleased to support these state chapters as they develop new initiatives and projects focused on advocacy, program quality, and chapter development. For the 6th year, these grants will help strengthen AACTE’s relationship with our state chapters.
29 Aug2017
By Cole Dittmer
This article, originally published here, is reposted with permission from the East Carolina University News Services.
East Carolina University’s youngest students got their first look inside the ECU Lab School during open house on Aug. 24.
“I love it, everything,” exclaimed fourth-grader Breanna Daniels after seeing her new classroom.
22 Aug2017
By Amy Vessel
This article is the second in a series of three showcasing the transformation of preservice field experiences at Louisiana Tech University. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
In fall 2016, Louisiana Tech University’s Clinical Residency Center established an 8-year partnership with the Louisiana Tech Athletics Council to collaboratively mentor students in TEAM (Teacher Educators and Mentors) Model schools, strengthening connections between the university and the community while exposing more college students to the teaching profession.
The program started after head men’s basketball coach Eric Konkol began seeking ways to plug his team into the community, followed very quickly by head baseball coach Lane Burroughs. The coaches had the desire to increase their teams’ connections with area schools and sought the expertise of the College of Education to establish quality partnerships.
To meet this goal, we developed the “Dogs With a Cause” program, which pairs athlete mentors with elementary students in a character-building literacy curriculum based on award-winning children’s books. This program is a logical extension of our TEAM Model, which engages multiple schools and districts in collaborative partnerships that support a full-year residency for teacher candidates.
15 Aug2017
By Michael Maher
The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
The Legislative Long Session in North Carolina this year was, in many ways, a productive one for education, generating a number of consequential bills that became law. Included in the slate was the reintroduction of the Teaching Fellows program, thanks to a collaborative effort led by Senator Chad Barefoot and the North Carolina Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators (NCACTE).
