02 Jun2015
By Scott Morrison, Jeff Carpenter and Michael Maher
Despite common caricatures of Twitter as the domain of callow teens and celebrity stalkers, it is a technology that should be taken seriously by teacher educators. Although social media has had a dramatic impact on communication in the modern world, the field of teacher preparation has been largely reluctant to add its voices to the mix. It is high time that we wake up to the role new media can play in our professional lives—and to the risks of remaining on the sidelines.
We have seen what can happen when we allow others to decide how our story is told, especially those who view our work with suspicion or even outright hostility. When U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said that “many if not most of the nation’s 1,450 schools, colleges, and departments of education are doing a mediocre job of preparing teachers for the realities of the 21st-century classroom,” for example, that message won broad circulation, including in social media. Today, the secretary’s and the U.S. Department of Education’s Twitter accounts reach more than 500,000 individuals. By comparison, AACTE’s Twitter account has approximately 5,600 followers.
20 Jan2015
By Sharon Robinson
This post also appears on the Public School Insights blog of the Learning First Alliance.
Last week, the White House announced a new push to protect students’ digital privacy, as ever-expanding data collection efforts heighten concerns from parents and advocacy groups about appropriate uses of the data. Institutions of higher education share the administration’s priority to protect elementary and secondary students and uphold diligent safety and privacy practices in preparing teachers for the classroom. Ultimately, safeguarding student data is everyone’s business.
04 Nov2014
By Jeffrey Carpenter
Jeffrey Carpenter is a member of AACTE’s Committee on Innovation and Technology, which selects winners for the Association’s Best Practice Award for the Innovative Use of Technology. This post highlights the work of a runner-up for the 2014 award, Saint Leo University (FL).
Last year’s submissions for the AACTE Best Practice Award for the Innovative Use of Technology included many outstanding entries that linked to the committee’s focus on technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK)-based approaches to teacher preparation. Although the committee was only able to recognize one institution with an award, it is our pleasure to share information about the effective, innovative practices described in another highly rated application.
03 Nov2014
By Teresa K. DeBacker
Teresa K. DeBacker is a member of AACTE’s Committee on Innovation and Technology, which selects winners for the Association’s Best Practice Award for the Innovative Use of Technology. This post highlights the work of the 2014 award winner, CalStateTEACH.
In 2010, CalStateTEACH launched a one-to-one mobile learning initiative using iPads. Introduction of this mobile technology led to transformation of every aspect of the program, from the reconceptualization of curriculum and redefinition of candidate outcomes to the personalization of faculty development and creation of e-supervision tools. This transformation was described in the award-winning application for the 2014 AACTE Best Practice Award for the Innovative Use of Technology. The award recognizes outstanding initiatives that are based in the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) model of teacher knowledge.
20 Oct2014
By Gloriatine Jones
The October/November 2014 issue of Educational Horizons is out!
Thanks to a partnership with Phi Delta Kappa and Pi Lambda Theta, all AACTE members receive free online access to this magazine for future teachers as a benefit of their AACTE membership. Chief Representatives also receive each issue by mail.
Here are some highlights from the current issue to share with your students:
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
18 Jun2014
By Katie Wilczak
The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
The Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE) is pleased to announce the upcoming launch of an exciting new MOOC (Massive Open Online Course), Designing for Deeper Learning: How to Develop Performance Assessments for the Common Core.
This 9-week course will build educators’ capacity to develop and use curriculum-embedded performance assessments that fit local contexts. Course activities will guide students through the development and implementation of a performance task that is aligned with a specific curricular unit and performance outcomes integral to the Common Core State Standards. The course will use a learning-centered approach in which assessments are not only of learning, but also for learning.
17 Jun2014
By Lucy Berrier
Nominations for all of the 2015 AACTE awards are now open on AACTE’s online submission site. To read detailed submission information, please refer to the official Call for Entries.
Our awards program recognizes member institutions’ exemplary programs as well as the achievements of individuals who have notably contributed to education preparation.
This year, the former Best Practice Award in Support of Global Diversity will revert to its predecessor components: one award focusing on multicultural education/diversity and another on global/international perspectives. These areas had been combined after the 2006 award cycle, but the AACTE Board of Directors voted last February to honor them separately again in order to provide distinct recognition of key practices.
04 Jun2014
By Sharon Robinson
I am pleased to announce that today marks the official launch of the redesigned AACTE.org.
In service to our members and the broader educator preparation community, AACTE undertook a major overhaul of its web site over the past year. Last August, many of you responded to our request for feedback on our web site. Based on your thoughtful input, we have transformed our information-sharing platform to be a more useful, supportive asset for our ongoing collaborative work.
In a time when information is almost exclusively created, shared, and accessed electronically, it is important that our electronic information-sharing tools be technologically current, well-designed, and user friendly. This redesign of AACTE.org serves as a smart, relevant electronic business card among power players in the greater education community—and more important, as a go-to resource for members like you.
27 May2014
By Jessica Milton
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. To request inclusion of your institution’s innovations, contact Jessica Milton at jmilton@aacte.org.
The Bradley Professional Development Schools (PDS) Partnership was established in 1995 to address the needs of the eight PDS sites affiliated with Bradley University (IL). Inspired by a full-service community schools model, the partnership extends beyond teacher education to include all five departments in Bradley’s College of Education and Health Sciences.
14 Jan2014
By Sarah Pinsky
The Education Task Force of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) met in Washington, DC, last month, considering two new model state bills: the “Student Achievement Backpack Act” and the “Course Choice Act.”
The “Student Achievement Backpack Act” creates a data “backpack” for each K-12 student in the state that would include an electronic learning profile as well as information on the student’s prior teachers, including teachers’ years of experience and licensure information. The act would also authorize parents and K-12 district employees to access these backpacks, which would be transferable between schools and districts. The bill does include provisions to safeguard students’ privacy.
27 Nov2013
By Jessica Milton
On November 20, an interactive webinar sponsored by the Midwest Regional Educational Laboratory at American Institutes for Research addressed the preparation of preservice teachers to educate PK-12 students in online, hybrid, and blended environments. Mary Herring, associate dean of the College of Education at the University of Iowa and chair of AACTE’s Committee on Innovation and Technology, and Bryan Zugelder, executive director for undergraduate affairs and partnerships at the University of Central Florida’s College of Education and Human Performance, discussed the preservice teaching landscape as it relates to online learning; the implications of virtual education on preservice teacher preparation programs; and the skills that current research and theory suggest preservice teachers should have to be successful in online and blended learning programs.
30 Oct2013
By Aimee Hall
The Midwest Regional Educational Laboratory at American Institutes for Research will host a free webinar Wednesday, November 20, 1:30-3:00 p.m. CST, to address the question of how we prepare preservice teachers to work in online and blended settings.
“Making Connections: Teaching Preservice Teachers to Teach Online” will feature Kathryn Kennedy, director of research at the International Association for K-12 Online Learning, and Leanna Archambault, assistant professor at Arizona State University, who coauthored the 2012 study Offering Preservice Teachers Field Experiences in K-12 Online Learning: A National Survey of Teacher Education Programs.
