GLOBAL
Centre for Innovation in Teacher Education and Development. The Power of Assessment for Learning: Twenty Years On [18 March; King’s College, London]
Education. Week. Bernie Sanders Praised Cuba’s Literacy Program. What EdWeek Saw There in 2003 Cuba’s national literacy campaign, which trained more than 200,000 volunteer reading teachers to work across the country, did dramatically raise the literacy rate: Adult illiteracy rates fell from about 20 percent to around 4 percent in just one year.
International Council on Education for Teaching. 63rd Yearbook of Teacher Education [in 2 versions]
Sydney Morning Herald. ‘Your country needs you!’ It’s high time for a drive to recruit better teachers … new report, The Profession at Risk – Trends in Standards for Admission to Teaching Degrees, makes it clear that many students are entering teacher education ill-prepared and with little prospect of completing their degree.
UNITED STATES
CantonRep.com. Science of reading changing how it is taught in Stark County Walsh University also has restructured its teacher preparation curriculum to train prospective teachers on using the science of reading principles in their future classrooms. It became the first in Northeast Ohio to become a science of reading institution in January.
Education Dive. Is edTPA standing in the way of getting more teachers into classrooms? “A portion of Connecticut’s teacher candidates continue to not fully understand what edTPA is, why it is relevant to their teaching practice and how to complete it in a timely, less stressful and efficient manner,” according to the working group’s final report, which also notes with edTPA, Connecticut is “now positioned as the most expensive state in the region to become a licensed professional educator.”
Education Week.
1) 2020 Leaders to Learn From: Gonzalo La Cava Recognized for Leadership in Human Resources La Cava is also working with a teacher-residency program this year based at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development to recruit and prepare teachers from diverse backgrounds for the district’s high-needs schools. Seven teacher-interns are working in the district this school year and are receiving $10,000 from the district to pay for their master’s degrees. In return, they have signed a contract to stay with the district for two more years.
2) The Nation’s Top Teachers on Self-Care, Student Voice, and What They Would Say to Trump
- a) Kubesch: We experience secondary trauma just like secondhand smoke. When I started out, I would go home every single day in tears. How do I handle this? … There’s no way for universities to prepare us for these challenges. … I became certified as a yoga-for-trauma [instructor], and all of a sudden, I felt like there’s clarity in my world.
- b) What advice would you give to a high school or college student who is considering becoming a teacher? Dier: Never forget the why… So never stop caring and always feel connected. The more connected you are with your students, the better they can reciprocate that connection, and the better you become at being an educator, and the better you can be an ally to students.
3) States to Schools: Teach Reading the Right Way Worried that far too many students have weak reading skills, states are passing new laws that require aspiring teachers—and, increasingly, teachers who are already in the classroom—to master reading instruction that’s solidly grounded in research. In the past three years alone, at least 11 states have enacted laws designed to expand evidence-based reading instruction in grades K-3.
4) Tough Childhood for Early Ed. Teachers Linked to Classroom Culture Difficulties Mindfulness training might help teachers modulate their responses to stress in the moment, said Hubel. The method encourages being aware of stressors and resulting emotions, without responding or reacting to those thoughts. Previous research has shown that mindfulness training helps early childhood teachers deal with stress more generally…
Forbes. Trump Budget: Slashing Public Education Is Not The Way To Remain Globally Competitive …programs that would either be eliminated or lose funds under this proposal include: Teacher Quality Partnership grants that support the development of model teacher preparation programs to grow the pool of well-prepared and diverse new teachers for high-need communities—an important strategy for ensuring all students have access to effective teachers…
Fowler Tribune. Buentello’s bills on teacher diversity, veterans’ tuition advance in Colorado Legislature Furthermore, only 46% of elementary school teachers pass the certification exams the first time despite graduating from accredited teacher preparation programs. Additionally, only 38% of black teaching candidates, 45% of Hispanic candidates and 75% of white candidates pass the licensing test.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Annual Meeting: Celebrating 100 Years, Looking Back And Moving Forward [April 1-4; Chicago]
NYTimes. These Students Are Learning About Fake News and How to Spot It: News literacy instruction is flourishing in the wake of the 2016 election as worries about fake news grow. In 2016, the News Literacy Project started offering a virtual classroom, Checkology, aimed at grades six through 12. The program offers 13 online interactive lessons that teachers can use.
US Dept. of Education. Secretary DeVos Expands Earn and Learn Opportunities for Students at 190 Schools through Federal Work-Study Reform Initiative …allow them to pay low-income students for work experiences required by their academic programs, such as student teaching and clinical rotations.
Washington Post. In a city dominated by private universities, UDC makes a pitch to District residents: ‘We are affordable and high quality.’ UDC offers dozens of degrees — from associates to doctorates — and university leaders are refining sought-after health-care, technology and teacher-training programs to respond to the city’s economic needs.
NEW YORK STATE
Gotham Gazette. After Cuomo Veto, Uncertain Future for Civic Education Fund While State Task Force Moves Ahead Currently, to graduate, students in New York State are required to get credit for a “participation in government” course. This requirement includes teaching students about current events, and a component of it has to be experiential in nature… “The reality is teachers aren’t being taught how to teach students that. So what ended up happening in most participation in government classes is the teachers bring in the news and then maybe they invite in a speaker or two and that’s it…”
NY Daily News. What our students need to learn: The state Teacher of the Year says education should be about inspiring young people to improve the world I graduated from the University of Vermont set to go to law school, but my adviser said, “If you want to empower immigrant families, law school is not the place for you. By the time you defend those kids in the courtroom, they will either be headed to jail or in the process of being deported. You should be preparing young people to avoid those outcomes.” So I became a teacher.
NYSED Office of Higher Education. February newsletter
1) Regional Educational Laboratory-Northeast & Islands (REL-NEI) second webinar in the two-part series to prepare culturally responsive, data-literate teachers [Wednesday, April 1]
2) TEACH online system can now generate reports on the certification status of their program completers
3) NYSTCE Test Development Activities: Recruiting Educators for Test Development Committees.
NEW YORK CITY
NY1. Program Recruits More Black Men to Teach in NYC Public Schools The city is doubling down on its efforts to recruit men of color to teach, with Mayor de Blasio announcing in his State of the City address a new goal of adding another 1,000 men of color to the pathway to become teachers by 2022.
