Using Video for Teacher Education: Lessons from the Pandemic for Moving Forward

By Timothy Boerst and Meghan Shaughnessy

Timothy Boerst and Meghan Shaughnessy

Working in teacher education programs at the University of Michigan and Boston University, we are well-versed with practice-based teacher education, including the usage and importance of video to connect the university classroom and K-12 schools. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, video has been crucial in engaging with our teacher candidates in practice-based work.

At the AACTE 2021 Annual Meeting in February earlier this year, we shared how we used video in our work as teacher educators over the 2020-21 academic year. Our presentation, “Using Video to Learn to Do the Work of Teaching When Schools are Closed,” highlighted the ways in which we used video at the University of Michigan to support practice-based work when methods courses were conducted online. While we have robustly used video in our programs for over a decade, the last year forced us to explore new possibilities.

Pilot the PlanWise™ Tool That Delivers Formative Assessment Strategies

By Jacqueline Rodriguez

Don’t miss your opportunity to pilot test PlanWise™ tool, a Chrome Extension developed by ETS and focused on delivering formative assessment practices and strategies.

AACTE, in collaboration with ETS, is excited to provide all of its members with this exciting opportunity. The PlanWise™ tool meets teachers where they are in a number of ways, such as providing suggestions for formative assessment strategies to teachers and teacher candidates while they are lesson planning in Google Docs. After an initial pilot with K-12 teachers, novice teachers noted the value and the utility of the tool in identifying a variety of new formative assessment strategies and indicated that the strategies increased their use of formative assessment with students.

ETS and AACTE Seek Member Input: Pilot PlanWise™ Formative Assessment Tool

By Jacqueline Rodriguez

AACTE is excited to announce a new opportunity for members to pilot the PlanWise™ tool, a Chrome Extension developed by ETS and focused on delivering formative assessment practices and strategies. The PlanWise™ tool meets teachers where they are in a number of ways, including by providing suggestions for formative assessment strategies to teachers and teacher candidates while they are lesson planning in Google Docs. After an initial pilot with K-12 teachers, there is increased interest in expanding use of the PlanWise™ tool to teacher candidates. Many novice teachers in the initial pilot valued the utility of the tool in identifying a variety of new formative assessment strategies and indicated that the strategies increased their use of formative assessment with students.

AACTE Launches New Podcast ‘Revolutionizing Education’

By Jerrica Thurman

 
In this episode, we hear from AACTE members Kyle Harrison, Kelly Hayek, and Irene Ann Resenly from the University of Wisconsin who explore the role of joy in teacher education.

AACTE’s New Podcast ‘Revolutionizing Education’ Debuts this Month

By Jerrica Thurman

AACTE is excited to announce its first ever podcast will debut this month. The new podcast entitled, Revolutionizing Education, examines ways to innovate educator preparation and education for all learners. The first podcast series highlights case stories shared by AACTE members during the 2021 Annual Meeting. New episodes from the first series will be released throughout the summer. In the fall, the AACTE podcast will feature live interviews with members, national education leaders, students, and other influencers in the education industry.

AACTE has partnered with Resonate Recordings for high-quality podcast production that will expand the reach of members’ work in educator preparation throughout the world. AACTE’s podcast episodes are available on the following platforms: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, and Spotify. On these platforms, you can search for and access the podcast, learn about it, listen to the episodes as well as leave ratings and reviews.

Follow the AACTE Podcast on Twitter at #AACTEPodcast and #RevolutionizingEd. Be sure to tune in and spread the word!

Taking Teacher Candidate Support to the Next Level: 3 Ways to Use Video Coaching

By Kristine Schutz

Video is a powerful tool—for teacher candidates and teacher educators alike—to engage in reflective practice and accelerate professional growth. And I can say this from personal experience as it has helped me grow as an educator.   

As a proponent of video, I believed this innovative professional learning approach would be an asset to the undergraduate elementary teacher preparation program at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Our preparation program is organized around a decolonizing framework that recognizes that schools are designed for acculturation and colonization. And, as such, we prepare teachers who simultaneously teach in—and resist—that context (Trinder, 2021).  

As my colleagues and I were talking about bringing video coaching to our program, questions were raised about how to make sure that we do not lose the context-driven aspects of our program that are attended to as our faculty come to know the children, schools, and communities in which our students learn to teach. Questions often associated with any new technology implementation were also brought up: How hard is this going to be to implement? How am I going to use it? Is it going to take too much time? 

Submit Early to AACTE Awards Honoring Research, Practice and Leadership

By Linda Minor

Why wait to submit your application for the 2022 AACTE Awards? Avoid the stress of a last-minute rush and submit your entry early. AACTE Awards can be either self-nominated or nominated by a third party. To submit your nomination, visit AACTE’s online submission site.  

Winning entries will be selected by AACTE’s Programmatic Advisory Committees and recognized formally at the 2022 Annual Meeting, March 4-6, in New Orleans, LA. 

This is the 26^th year AACTE’s awards program has been recognizing member institutions’ exemplary programs as well as individuals who have made noteworthy contributions to education preparation. For an overview of the 2021 award winners, see this press release.

Students: Register for ISTELive 21 at the Discounted Rate to Learn Edtech Best Practices

By Diana Fingal

It’s not enough for educators to know how to use technology; they have to understand the pedagogical principals underpinning the tools so that tech is used effectively and gives students agency over their learning.

For example, technology should not merely be a replacement for nontech tools. An electronic whiteboard is merely an expensive chalkboard if teachers use it only to project lessons and homework assignments. But technology can transform learning when it is used in a way that allows students to collaborate with peers and experts across great distances, gather and analyze large data sets, and use creation tools to make art that can be critiqued by an engaged audience.

A Congressional Success for Rural STEM Education

By Michael Rose

Recently, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation, endorsed by AACTE—the Rural STEM Education Research Act (HR 210.) The legislation supports research and development to increase access to STEM education opportunities in rural schools and to provide teachers with the resources they need to teach more effectively.

The bill also directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop a prize competition to advance research and development of creative technologies for expanded broadband access. This bill further provides for assessments of Federal investments in rural STEM education to be conducted by the National Academies and the Government Accountability Office. The bipartisan legislation was introduced by House Science Committee Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK) and passed the House with bipartisan support.  It is unclear if the Senate will approve the bill.

Mixed Reality vs. Field Experience? Oakland University Reports Simulations are ‘Less Messy’

By Mandi Jo John

How can we train teachers to elicit student thinking in ways that position students as sense-makers without being able to place them directly in the field? 

The newest episode of Mursion’s Education Roundtable Series will dive into Oakland University’s account of how its math and social studies training program is implementing mixed reality simulations to replace and/or augment field experiences during the global coronavirus pandemic.

On June 8, Sue Wiley will be joined by Dawn Woods, Linda Doornbos, and Cynthia Carver from Oakland University in Rochester, MI. to present their findings. During the Roundtable, the team will discuss emerging themes from their research, such as how simulations supported the development of justice-oriented high-leverage practices within their teacher education program.

The Education Roundtable: The Argument for Mixed Reality Simulations in Teacher Preparation, will include a live simulation demo, as well as a Q&A session where attendees can ask questions about their findings as well as funding, vouchers, and more.

Register now for this free Roundtable.

AACTE Membership Grants You Expanded Access to GoReact Video Assessment Tool

By Meghan Grenda

AACTE and GoReact recently announced a partnership that grants members additional access to video assessment tools.  GoReact provides colleges and universities with interactive tools to facilitate video observation, coaching, and assessment for teacher educators everywhere. The software provides live and remote observation and assessment via simple, interactive tools, where candidates receive individualized feedback.

Through the partnership, all AACTE members receive complimentary usage of GoReact’s video assessment platform.

• If you are not yet a GoReact user, your AACTE membership grants you free access until July 31, 2021.
• If you are an existing GoReact user, your AACTE membership grants you expanded access until July 31, 2021.

Educator Preparation and Technology: Taking Stock and Looking Forward

By Mark J. Hofer, Teresa Foulger, Kevin J. Graziano, John K. Lee, Denise Schmidt-Crawford and David Slykhuis

AACTE is partnering with the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE) to provide AACTE members with a reduced rate for the Teacher Educator Technology Competencies (TETC) professional development modules. Learn more about the series of self-paced online courses from the TETC research team.

Looking back, it seems as if we have been on an almost impossible journey. In response to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, we faced the closure of campuses and an abrupt and extraordinarily difficult transition to remote teaching and learning. Given the relational and experiential nature of teaching, remote learning has been particularly difficult for teacher preparation programs. We found it extraordinarily difficult to replace the modeling and mentoring that our pre-service teachers needed using remote experiences. Working from home and balancing various responsibilities including caring for loved ones and supporting our own children’s learning only added to the challenge. Undoubtedly, this has been one of the most challenging times many of us have ever experienced.

And yet, despite all this, there have been some bright spots. Faculty have explored new ways of guiding learning, developed a range of new skills with educational technologies, and were reminded of the value and importance of deep human connection in teaching and learning (Ferdig et al., 2020). Some faculty have even reported that they are planning to carry over aspects of remote teaching when they transition back to the “normalcy” in our schools and classrooms; whatever that will be (also, see these hopeful posts on the AACTE blog, Clausen, et al, 2021; Hyler, 2020; Slykhuis, 2020).

NSF grant to help Kennesaw State address need for computer science teachers

By Paul Floeckher

Kennesaw State University computer science professor Dan Lo and mathematics education associate professor Brian R. Lawler have been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to help meet the increasing demand for computer science teachers in grades 6-12.

The College of Computing and Software Engineering will partner with the Bagwell College of Education, as well as with the Georgia Department of Education and local school districts, to create multiple programs to train teachers in computer science. The one-year, $75,000 NSF grant has a stated goal to “create a metro Atlanta hub for computer science teacher education at KSU.”

Call for Entries: AACTE 2022 Awards

By Linda Minor

AACTE wants to recognize individuals and institutions for significant contributions to the field of educator preparation. Applications for the 2022 AACTE awards are now open. For most of the awards, programs and individuals can be either self-nominated or nominated by a third party. To submit your nomination, visit AACTE’s online submission site.  

In identifying notable programs, practices, activities, writing, and research, these awards encourage all member institutions to strengthen the profession of teacher preparation through innovation, high standards, and leadership.

Entries for the Outstanding Book Award are due May 14 and entries for the Outstanding Dissertation Award are due August 20. The due date for all other award submissions is October 8.

University of Wyoming and Mursion Talk WYTeach and VR for Curriculum Development

By Mandi Jo John

The newest installment of the AACTE and Mursion Education Roundtable series features high school students using virtual reality (VR) to demonstrate their curriculum-building skills for a chance to earn a scholarship. The roundtable discussion, Innovative Training for Everyday Heroes: University of Wyoming on the use of Virtual Practice for the next Generation of Educators, will take place on April 13 at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Sue Wiley, business development director for education at Mursion, will host Lindsay Freeman and Colby Gull from the University of Wyoming to discuss the WYTeach Contest. During the session, the group will discuss this innovative project and how the team is using Mursion VR Simulations to recreate the classroom environment and replicate a real-world teaching experience.