Posts Tagged ‘teacher quality’

Central Michigan University: New NSF Grant For Core Teaching Practices Helps Prepare Student Teachers

A group of teacher educators from the College of Education and Human Services and College of Science and Engineering at Central Michigan University (CMU) received a grant from the National Science Foundation to help college students become familiar with the core teaching practices, which are ideas or actions teachers follow to support learning. Additionally, the core teaching practices are demonstrated to have the greatest impact on student learning and were adopted by the Michigan Department of Education several years ago.  

“We chose to focus on [the core practices of] building respectful relationships with students and modeling and explaining content. […] I would argue these are two of the more important teaching practices [because] if you’re going to teach students and have them learn effectively, you need to have a good relationship with them,” Kevin Cunningham, Ph.D, the lead principal investigator on the project said. “The ability to take what is challenging content and make that clear and intelligible to students [is important].”

Austin Peay College of Education Emphasizes Collaboration During Spring Partnership Meeting

The power of partnerships is more than a talking point for Prentice Chandler, Ph.D., dean of the Eriksson College of Education at Austin Peay State University. These partnerships are elevated, celebrated, and taken seriously, and this attitude was fully apparent as the College of Education hosted its semiannual Partnership Advisory Council Meeting on February 15. 
 
“These two meetings that we have each year are some of the most important work in the college,” Chandler said. “We can do just about anything if we work together.” 

University-district partnerships are essential and have resulted in some of the college’s nationally recognized programs, including the Grow Your Own Teacher Residency. The Partnership Advisory Council is a collaborative effort that brings together Austin Peay faculty and staff with school district leaders and stakeholders from across Tennessee. These meetings allow the college to share updates on its programs and initiatives and gather feedback from partners to help guide improvements.  

Competency-Based Education & Teacher Education: Next Steps

An #AACTE24 Session Recap and Reflection

Attending the AACTE 2024 Annual Meeting Featured Session, “Competency-Based Education & Teacher Education: Next Steps” provided invaluable insights into reimagining traditional higher education models. The presenters compellingly reasoned how competency-based programs can bolster equity and accessibility by offering flexible, personalized pathways for a diverse range of learners (Patrick, 2021). Key highlights included the backward design process for developing competency-based curricula and the significance of authentic, performance-based assessments.

The session underscored how competency-based education fundamentally shifts the focus to actual student learning and the application of knowledge. As discussed, students progress by demonstrating mastery of real-world teaching competencies, rather than by accumulating seat time or credits (Klein, 2013). This mastery-based approach accommodates individual pacing and learning needs, thereby making teacher licensure more attainable for non-traditional students.

Empowering Nevada Educators: The Impact of the Nevada STEM Co-Lab Project 

As more Nevada teachers join the workforce to shape and educate the youth in the state, and as technology continues to advance, it is important to build confidence in educators who teach STEM. Enter the Nevada STEM Co-Lab Project. 

A collaborative partnership between the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) College of Education and Center for Mathematics, Science, and Engineering; the Desert Research Institute (DRI); and the National Institute for the Advancement of Education — the Nevada STEM Co-Lab project aims to bridge formal and informal education in Nevada communities by providing access to curriculum-centered STEM activities and training for educators. 

“This project has been a nice collaboration between UNLV and DRI. It was a successful partnership and is paving the way for additional proposals and ongoing collaboration,” said Hasan Deniz, a science education professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning. 

The project comes from a congressionally directed STEM grant with three important parts. “The overall grant was to support the development of the STEM Co-Lab, or the technology learning space in our Las Vegas DRI campus, as well as the development of 16 new Green Boxes covering kindergarten through fifth grade,” said Emily McDonald-Williams, STEM Education program manager for DRI.  

Tennessee Grow Your Own Center Awarded $1.8M Grant to Tackle State’s Teacher Shortage

The Tennessee Grow Your Own Center, a partnership between the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) and the University of Tennessee System, has been awarded a $1.8 million grant over two years by Ascendium Education Group to strengthen the teacher talent development pipeline across Tennessee, by increasing the number of individuals enrolling in teacher education programs and improving the retention of existing teachers. 

The grant will fund the development of the Registered Teacher Apprenticeship Program of Study (RTAPS) which will be an online curriculum developed by faculty fellows in the Institute for Competency-Based Teacher Education (ICBTE). This program provides Educator Preparation Providers (EPPs) and Local Education Agency (LEA) leaders with secure access to standards-based curriculum, that includes topics such as planning for instruction, family and community collaboration, and learner development. 

“We are incredibly grateful for the support of Ascendium Education Group. These funds equip EPPs to create flexible, high-quality, low-cost educator preparation pathways that are accessible to aspiring educators from every community. Funding also provides opportunities to use virtual simulations to enhance teacher skill development,” said Erin Crisp, executive director of the Tennessee Grow Your Own Center. 

How Lipscomb University is Integrating Intercultural Understanding in Teacher Education

This blog article is part of the Global Education Faculty PLC Professional Development Series, sponsored by the Longview Foundation. The writing series aims to elevate the perspectives of international scholars, including teacher educators, graduate students, and alike, to offer insights into how Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs) can integrate intercultural understanding within their programs. AACTE members interested in participating in the series should contact Brooke Evans at mailto:bevans@aacte.org.

Faculty members often help candidates build intercultural understandings during individual courses. Still, embedding this into already packed teacher/leader preparation at a programmatic level can be a challenge. Those of us in educator preparation programs (EPPs) can agree with Andreas Schleicher, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) director for education and skills, who says, “It takes deliberate and systematic efforts to create the global competence through which we can share experiences, ideas, and innovation with others, and increase our radius of trust to other countries and cultures.”

Programmatic global competence requires intentional planning, consistent implementation, and thoughtful reflection to ensure candidates see these understandings as integral to teaching and leading. While every college develops these skills differently, in this blog I detail some of the ways our college works to integrate intercultural understanding, depending on the level (undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, graduate) and the program (teacher or leader).

Teacher Stories: BGSU Graduate Student Receives Statewide Recognition for Excellence in Teaching 

AACTE Teacher Stories is a series highlighting the experiences of K-12 educators who are attending or alumni of AACTE member institutions. AACTE invites preservice and in-service school teachers to reflect on how they are applying the practices, frameworks, and strategies they acquired during their educator preparation program (EPP) studies to assure student success. Please email submissions to Tyler Pointer at tpointer@aacte.org.

A Bowling Green State University (BGSU) graduate student was recently recognized for her exceptional performance in the classroom by receiving the Emerging Leader Award from the Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics — an honor given to a current mathematics pre-service teacher or a mathematics educator who has taught for five years or fewer.

Kaitlyn Solymosi ’22, who earned a bachelor’s degree in integrated mathematics education and has been involved in the University’s Math Camp, Math Emporium, and was a Thompson Family Scholar, said she found herself immersed at BGSU from the start.

“I was going to math conferences as a freshman, and I joined the math-ed community way before I was in my own classroom student teaching,” Solymosi said. “My experience at BG was definitely more than I expected to get out of a math-ed degree.”

New Mexico Receives Federal Grant for Statewide Teacher Residencies

NM Residencies Program Provides Aspiring Teachers with Classroom Experience

The New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) has been awarded a five-year, $8 million federal grant for NM Residencies, a statewide initiative to provide aspiring teachers with a year of co-teaching alongside an accomplished mentor teacher as part of their pre-service preparation program.

The grant, part of the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) Education Innovation and Research Program, will provide much-needed research, infrastructure, and implementation support for NM Residencies.

Northeastern State University Opens Center for Comprehensive Teacher Education

RCTE ribbon cutting Tahlequah: NSU officials gather to cut the ribbon on the new RiverHawk Center for Teacher Excellence in Tahlequah on November 13.

Northeastern State University celebrated the opening of the RiverHawk Center for Teacher Excellence with ribbon cuttings on the Tahlequah and Broken Arrow campuses on November 13. 

NSU was awarded a four-year grant totaling more than $1 million through the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence Program to open the centers with the goal of increasing the number of comprehensively prepared teachers from diverse backgrounds. 

Through this grant, NSU can help potential education majors, teacher candidates and current teachers be successful in their career journey to become certified, impactful and employed teachers by providing a comprehensive, positive and supportive environment for them to learn and grow.

Western Governors University School of Ed Launches Podcast on Teacher Well-Being

With more than 90,000 working educator alumni in classrooms nationwide, WGU has a deep commitment to K-12 education, and to the future teachers coming through initial licensure programs as well as master’s degree programs for educators. While much has been said in media and news outlets about the increasing needs of students, especially post-COVID-19 pandemic, some education leaders, including those at WGU, are concerned that more attention needs to be given to what teachers need after the last three challenging years. 

Sharing that concern is Utah’s First Lady Abby Cox, who recently shifted the lens of her annual Show Up for Teachers conference to focus on teacher and educator personal and professional wellness with tools and resources throughout the conference breakout sessions and keynotes including guest speaker Arthur Brooks, the Harvard University researcher on happiness. In 2023, the WGU School of Education was honored to become a major sponsor of the conference.

Safe and Productive Field Experiences for LGBTQ+ Candidates Covered in Upcoming AACTE Webinar

Growing up in a small, conservative community, I learned early on to keep my true self hidden. My sexuality was a secret I guarded fiercely, aware that in the close-knit circles of my hometown, it wouldn’t be accepted. This knowledge cast a shadow over my youth, but it also ignited a flame within me — a determination to find a path that led beyond the confines of narrow-mindedness. Education was my beacon, my compass guiding me through the fog of fear and judgment.

I clung to the belief that if I could excel in school, make it to college, and become a teacher, I could escape the suffocating atmosphere of my hometown. This goal was my lifeline, pulling me forward through years of silent struggle. And eventually, I made it. I was accepted into a teacher education program, a tangible step toward the life I yearned for — one where I could be true to myself without fear.

But the journey was far from straightforward. In one of my final field experience placements I was assigned a cooperating teacher, Mrs. H, who was known for her expertise in classroom management and innovative teaching methods but who, I soon discovered, harbored strong negative opinions about the LGBTQ community. She often made dismissive comments, cloaked in humor but cutting deep, about “people choosing to be gay.”

National Education Policy Center Reviews NCTQ Report

A recent report from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) evaluates more than half of the elementary teacher preparation programs in the United States, to gauge their effectiveness in reading instruction. A review by the National Education Policy Center finds, however, that the report lacks the rigor necessary to adequately inform policy or practice.

Paul Thomas of Furman University reviewed Teacher Prep Review: Strengthening Elementary Reading Instruction, and found it to repeat the patterns made in previous NCTQ advocacy reports, including cherry-picked citations, a failure to distinguish between scientific and non-scientific evidence, and misrepresentation and exaggeration of the research base.

The report claims to identify how well candidates are prepared to teach elementary reading based on NCTQ’s Reading Foundations standards for scientifically based reading practices. The evaluation, drawn simply from analyzing course syllabi and materials, concludes that “[only] 25% of programs adequately address all five core components of reading instruction.” Further, it outlines model programs and recommended actions for teacher preparation programs, state leaders, school districts, advocates, teachers, and parents.

College of Education and Health Professions Team Earns Grant to Start Razorback STARS Project

College of Education and Health Professions faculty and Decatur School District officials met recently to discuss their new partnership. From left, Matt Boeving, Steve Watkins, Christy Smith, Jennifer Beasley, Christine Ralston, Kevin Matthews, and Ederlee Gomez.

A faculty team in the College of Education and Health Professions was awarded a $525,013 Teacher Quality Partnership grant from the U.S. Department of Education that will help produce a pipeline of teachers in small, rural Northwest Arkansas schools.

The team is based in the college’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction, which prepares students for various careers in education. The grant team is led by Christine Ralston, a teaching associate professor, who is working closely with co-principal investigators Jennifer Beasley, Vicki Collet, and Christy Smith.

Collet will provide support for mentoring, and Smith will provide support for co-teaching, which are both pivotal to the Razorback STARS project.

Alliant University and San Diego Unified Partner Through TEACH-LEAD Program

Alliant International University and San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) have partnered through SDUSD’s TEACH-LEAD program in order to support aspiring teachers on their educational journey. With both institutions dedicated to equity in education, representation in the classroom, and providing the support that teachers need both in education and practice, the partnership was a natural step toward shared impact.

TEACH-LEAD San Diego (TLSD) is San Diego Unified’s latest endeavor focused on eliminating barriers that hold future educators back from pursuing their goals. The new program offers both financial and personalized pathway resources to individuals beginning or continuing their journey towards a career as a teacher. TEACH-LEAD San Diego is the district’s new “grow your own” teacher pipeline program, dedicated to supporting individuals in becoming teachers in their local communities.

Thomas More School of Education Launches First Dyslexia Institute

Photo by Justin Merriman

A truly one-of-a-kind initiative, Thomas More University’s School of Education launches the commonwealth’s first Dyslexia Institute. The institute supports students and the greater community through sharing resources that are intentionally designed to promote awareness and create change by highlighting the dyslexic profile. Fully understanding the impact of dyslexia enables parents, teachers, and employers to ensure dyslexic children and adults have the support needed to thrive. Programming through the institute includes assessment clinics, teacher training, direct family support, and more.

“Thomas More is the first university in the commonwealth to have a dyslexia-specific resource for our students and our community,” explains Kayla Steltenkamp, Ph.D., assistant professor in the School of Education. Steltenkamp is a renowned expert in the field of literacy and dyslexia and leads the new initiative. “The Thomas More University Dyslexia Institute is a preeminent source in Kentucky to disseminate the latest research, share practical resources with the community, and to transform the instruction and intervention for all dyslexic children and adults,” adds Steltenkamp.