GLOBAL
Global Partnership for Education. Releasing the potential of teachers in the COVID response in low-income countries Teacher training is also needed to help teachers work with the new modalities required during the crisis… Uganda’s teacher training institutes are offering capacity building workshops to strengthen teachers’ ICT skills to use distance learning platforms during the pandemic.
International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030. Knowledge Hub The portal will facilitate information sharing on teachers and teaching issues among members and non-members of the TTF.
UNESCO. Webinars on COVID-19 education response
UNITED STATES
AACTE.
1) AACTE and Mursion Present Virtual Reality Classrooms This partnership, offered at a special rate for AACTE members, offers educators and students world-class experiential learning through simulations for long-term success.
2) State Policy Tracking Map: State Actions to Support EPPs and Teacher Candidates
3) Due Dates Extended for Annual Meeting Reviewer and Proposal Submissions
Chalkbeat.
1) Solving Illinois’ teacher shortage is complicated. These five charts explain why Research has shown that it matters where programs are located. Whalen noted that a majority of teacher candidates choose to teach near where they went to school or where they are from originally. In Illinois, nearly one in five districts is more than 30 miles from a teacher training program, hampering their ability to recruit student teachers and build pipelines to future educators.
2) Teaching reading was hard before a pandemic. Now Chicago teachers walk a tightrope of technology and attention Chicago adopted a common but controversial approach known as balanced literacy. It uses individual and group reading, context clues, some phonics, and writing practice. Critics say that method, often used in teacher training programs throughout Illinois, is not supported by science on how children learn basic literacy skills.
Connecticut State Board of Education. Temporary Flexibilities – Educator Preparation Programs
– The expectation remains that spring 2020 ‘Student Teacher’ candidates submit a completed edTPA portfolio where possible. However, the CSDE will waive the cut score for all candidates.
– EPPs will be able to submit an edTPA Waiver Request for any ‘Student Teacher’ candidate who is unable to submit a completed edTPA portfolio as a result of COVID-19 related circumstances.
Education Week. [NOTE: Full, Premium Access to TC community]
1) Educators, This Is Our Moment to Defend the Teaching Profession [OpEd by TC Prof. Amy Stuart Wells] As celebrities Tweet that teachers should be paid as much as CEOs, educators must tap into this newfound appreciation to demand policies that ensure educators are well-trained, well-supported, and well-paid for the work they do. Quick-fix, teacher-prep-lite programs—especially for those assigned to teach in the most disadvantaged schools—are not acceptable.
2) How to Teach Math to Students With Disabilities, English-Language Learners Cathery Yeh, an assistant professor of teacher education at Chapman University in Orange, Calif… said, “Math teachers—we often see ourselves as content-area teachers. Like our job is to be knowledgeable about math and not necessarily responsible for promoting language development,” Yeh said. “But we have to support learning math through language and learning language through math.”
Learning Policy Institute. Webinar: A Deeper Dive into How Educator Preparation Programs are Adapting During COVID-19 [3pm May 21]
Mursion/American Institutes for Research. Findings from a Randomized Field Study of a Teacher Professional Development Program using Classroom Simulation to Develop Mathematics Instruction. [May 14 webinar recording]
NEAToday. Five Educators Share Advice for New Teachers It’s still too early to tell what the next school year will look like post pandemic, but that doesn’t mean educators are in a holding pattern, especially those who will be newly minted teachers in the next year or so.
New Jersey Board of Education. Waiver of Performance Assessment Certification Requirements During COVID-19 Public Health Emergency The following guidance provides a description of the New Jersey Department of Education’s (NJDOE) waiver of the teacher certification performance assessment (edTPA) requirement as necessitated by the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency and related limitations. The NJDOE aims to ensure all candidates who are otherwise eligible for certification but cannot complete the edTPA due to temporary assessment disruptions caused by the pandemic can earn initial or permanent (standard) educator certification.
Washington Post. Michigan settles historic lawsuit after court rules students have a constitutional right to a ‘basic’ education, including literacy The suit argued that students blamed “substandard performance on poor conditions within their classrooms, including missing or unqualified teachers, physically dangerous facilities, and inadequate books and materials.” Conditions in the schools, the students said, had deprived them “of a basic minimum education” that allows a chance at foundational literacy.
NEW YORK STATE
NYSED. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) NYS Colleges and Universities Impacted by the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
-Update on Certification Examination Guidance
-Moving to Pass/Fail Grades for Content and Pedagogy Courses
-Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) Core
-Programs that Lead to Both Certification and Professional Licensure
-Summer 2020 EPP Clinical Experiences
-GRE Requirement for Admission to Graduate Teacher and Educational Leadership Programs
NEW YORK CITY
New York Post. NYC DOE slashes fellowship program cutting hundreds of teaching jobs A total of 475 accepted NYC Teaching Fellows applicants were slated to begin training this summer for eventual placement in the fall.
