Tag: teacher

GLOBAL
New York Times. An Expert’s View: Sir Ken Robinson   If I were secretary… I would support the comprehensive development of early-years education. I would institute a “soup to nuts” review of the selection, training and support of teachers.

Tes. How a ‘balance bike’ approach to training will give us better teachers

The Hindu. Teacher training goes digital

UNITED STATES
AACTE.
1) Call for Entries: AACTE Dissertation Award [Deadline: Aug. 20]
2) Call for Entries: AACTE Outstanding Book Award [Deadline: May 3]

Brunswick News.  Teacher education program paying local dividends College of Coastal Georgia’s impact locally is felt in many ways.

Chronicle. How Ed Schools Became a Menace [L. Asher OpEd]. Ed schools, such as Teachers College at Columbia, or Penn’s Graduate School of Education, have trained and certified most of the nation’s public-school teachers and administrators for the past half-century.

CNN. These charts show why America’s teachers are fired up and can’t take any more   Nationwide, teacher education enrollments dropped 35% between 2009 and 2014, the most recent year for which data are available

Education Week.
1) Can Hiring Ed. School Students Help Solve Substitute Teacher Shortages?   Nebraska is not alone in its attempt to leverage teacher candidates as a way to solve the substitute teacher shortage. California, for instance, also allows ed school undergraduates to earn substitute teacher certification, and for the past two years so has Pennsylvania. Illinois lawmakers are considering the idea.
2) Rauner signs law to ease licensing out-of-state teachers   Teachers must show evidence of completing a state-approved educator preparation program comparable to Illinois’.
3) Review of Graduate and Alternative Programs Finds Gaps in Teacher Prep   In graduate-level and alternative programs, there’s a mismatch between the preparation that teachers get and the real demands of teaching, according to a National Council on Teacher Quality review of 714 programs that prepare both elementary and secondary teachers.
4) South Carolina Education Department recruiting teachers  The ads come as South Carolina faces a teacher shortage, in part because fewer young people are majoring in education in college.

Hechinger Report.
1) Out of poverty, into the middle class   Five most popular career choices according to the survey of Lowell students …#5 teacher
2) Universal preschool is most cost-effective, study finds   The difference in student performance, she writes, could not be explained by differences in class size or teacher education.

InsideHigherEd.
1) Faculty Salaries Up 3%  AAUP’s annual report on faculty compensation takes on salary compression, gender inequality and more.
2) Virtual Avatars for Online Students, Too  Students in many teacher training programs for the last few years have, as a precursor to actual classroom experience, engaged with virtual avatars to simulate the experience of interacting with real-life students. Now online students can get the same opportunity.

National Association for Music Education. NAfME Honors Frederick Burrack and Kelly Parkes [TC Assoc. Prof.] as Lowell Mason Fellows  This past March at the National Association for Music Education’s (NAfME) Music Research and Teacher Education National Conference, NAfME honored exemplary leaders in music education …

NEPC. VAMboozled!: Identifying Effective Teacher Preparation Programs Using VAMs Does Not Work

NPR Education. He Was Oklahoma’s Teacher Of The Year, Then Moved To Texas For Better Pay. Now What?  Really, for our daughter… we didn’t want to gamble 12 years of her education. The likelihood that she would be with an emergency certified educator was just too high.

New York Times [PROPSPER Act OpEd]. Don’t Let the G.O.P. Dismantle Obama’s Student Loan Reforms  Under the bill, new borrowers would pay 50 percent more per month and would no longer have their loans forgiven after 20 to 25 years of repayment. The bill would also drastically cut the amount that can be borrowed for graduate school.

Washington Post. The teacher boycotts are a reminder of what Americans often get wrong about ‘class’   But the teacher walkouts are a reminder that even professionals with master’s degrees in some of the country’s largest cities endure many of the same economic challenges associated with those in blue-collar jobs.

 

NEW YORK STATE
Chalkbeat. Top New York policymakers to tackle state budget, student privacy, and teacher certification at April meeting   The state is looking to combat teacher shortages, and changes to teacher certification may be on the horizon as a result. One item up for discussion looks to expand the number of teachers who can help students with disabilities. The other is focused on early childhood education and literacy.

NYSED News. State Education Department Proposes Rule to Allow Individual Evaluation for Certain Teaching Certificate Titles  The State Education Department today proposed regulatory changes to reinstate an individual evaluation pathway in certain certificate titles for teacher candidates who have not completed an approved teacher education program but have completed coursework and field experience.

NYSED Regents April Meetings.

• Amendment to Subpart 80-3 and Section 80-4.3 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to the Creation of Limited Extensions for Teachers Holding a Students with Disabilities Generalist Certificate Who Teach a Special Class in Grades 7-12 and a Statement of Continued Eligibility for Teachers Holding a Students with Disabilities Generalist Certificate Who Teach a Special Class in Grades 7-12 and Were Previously Allowed to Teach in Another Content Area by School Districts Using the HOUSSE Rubric for Federal Aid Purposes under the No Child Left Behind Act
• Proposed Amendment to Sections 80-3.3 and 80-3.7 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education to Allow Individual Evaluation for Certain Certificate Titles in the Classroom Teaching Service
• Proposed Amendment to Section 80-4.3 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to Grade-Level Extensions for Certain Candidates Who Hold a Students with Disabilities Generalist Teaching Certificate
• Proposed Amendment to Section 52.21 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to Graduate Admission Examination Requirements to Implement Chapter 454 of the Laws of 2017. In order to implement the change in law, which has an immediate effective date, the proposed regulation amendment to §52.21 of the Commissioner’s Regulations makes it clear that the graduate admission examination requirement does not apply to certified teachers and school administrators who already hold a graduate degree.

SUNY Update on TeachNY. Presentation to the Board of Regents

WKBW Buffalo. State Education Department has plan to decrease teacher shortage   The State Education Department proposed regulatory changes to reinstate an individual evaluation pathway in certain certificate titles for teacher candidates who have not completed an approved teacher education program but have completed coursework and field experience. 

 

NEW YORK CITY
New York Times. As Tests Begin, Chancellor Comes Out Against ‘Opt Out’  “Today’s N.A.E.P. results show that we are not where we need to be on math education.” He said the city would immediately increase teacher training in elementary math…

Teachers College.
1) AERA 2018 Annual Meeting.  Who, What, When, Where: A full listing of 376 presentations by the Teachers College extended community
2) Center for Innovation in Teacher Education and Development (CITED) April 12, 13 events
3) Haeny Yoon, an Expert on Children’s Play, Receives AERA Emerging Scholar Award   Emerging Scholar Award from the Critical Perspectives of Early Childhood Education Special Interest Group

 

GLOBAL
The Irish Times. Ten ways to tackle the teacher supply crisis   In no other profession are trainees asked to deliver a service unpaid for two years, while paying fees of more than €12,000 while they do so. We don’t ask nursing students to do so, so why do we expect teachers to teach unpaid?

The Guardian. Outdoor learning grows in Scotland as grasp of benefits takes root   The rest of the UK has likewise seen a huge growth in forest nurseries, teacher training and campaigns to celebrate outdoor learning…

The New York Times.
1) An International Final Four: Which Country Handles Student Debt Best?   The judging panel, which includes… Judith Scott-Clayton, associate professor of economics and education, Teachers College, Columbia University…
2) Johan van Hulst, Who Helped Save 600 Children From the Nazis, Dies at 107   He headed a teachers’ college in Amsterdam when he came up with a plan to save hundreds of children from being sent to Nazi death camps.

Voice of America. Techno Teachers: Finnish School Tests Robot Educators  Despite their skills in language and mathematics however, the robots’ inability to maintain discipline amongst a class of primary school children means that, for the time being at least, the human teachers’ jobs are safe.

 

UNITED STATES
AACTE.
1) 2018 Annual Meeting Closing Keynote with Diane Ravitch
2) Diversifying the Teaching Workforce: An Observer’s Reflections

EdWeek.
1) ESSA Pressures States to Assure All Students Have Good Teachers   Instead, many states included lofty goals in their ESSA plans that could take a decade or more to be realized, such as improving teacher preparation…
2) How Oklahoma’s Low Pay Dashed My Hopes of Teaching in My Tribal Community   After getting my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education, I accepted a position to teach on the Gila River Indian Reservation in Laveen, Ariz…
3) New Teachers Report That They Feel Well-Prepared for Their Roles   … 80 percent of beginning teachers reported feeling most prepared to teach their subject matter, while 75 percent felt well prepared to align their instruction to content standards.
4) Tech Giants Announce New Funding for 1-to-1 Devices, Computer Science Education  Verizon Innovative Learning, the education initiative of the telecommunications company’s foundation, pledged more than $200 million Monday to furnish technology, teacher training, and internet connectivity…
5) Why One West Virginia Teacher of the Year Stood on the Picket Lines   Without competitive wages and excellent teacher preparation programs we will continue to be unable to fill the over 700 vacancies we currently have in classrooms across the state. 

Forbes. Teacher Strikes Strike Deeper Than Paychecks  Teacher education enrollment dropped by 35% between 2009 and 2014, and almost every U.S. state is experiencing teacher shortages. Several states have recently lowered certification requirements to attract people to the profession.

InsideHigherEd. More Aid for Student Parents: Congress triples federal funding for low-income student parents   … completing an online master’s degree through Grand Canyon University and expects to begin student teaching this fall before starting a career as an elementary school teacher — an outcome she said wouldn’t have been possible without the on-campus childcare.

National Center for Education Statistics. Preparation and Support for Teachers in Public Schools: Reflections on the First Year of Teaching   This Statistics in Brief investigates early-career teachers’ preparation for teaching and receipt of support by selected characteristics of the schools in which they taught during the 2011–12 school year.

NYTimes.
1) A Student Loan Fix for a Teacher, and Many Other Public Servants  “The fight isn’t over until every single nurse, teacher, police officer and firefighter gets the student loan forgiveness that they earned.”
2) Building Skills Outside the Classroom With New Ways of Learning   Lasell’s “Pathways to Teacher Diversity” — part of a statewide effort supported by a Gates Foundation grant — is a partnership with four school districts in the state intended to encourage more high school students of color to pursue careers in education.

The Nation. No Wonder Teachers Are Saying Enough Is Enough   About half of public-school teachers have a Master’s degree. For every $1 someone with a Master’s makes, a teacher with a Master’s makes 79 cents.

Washington Post. Algorithms: Why you should learn what they are, how they affect you and your kids — and whether they actually work   This post looks at this problem and argues for “algorithm transparency.” It was written by Charles Tocci, an assistant professor of social studies education at Loyola University Chicago, a parent and a former high school teacher in Chicago Public Schools.

 

NEW YORK STATE
Inside Higher Ed. New York Budget Restores Bundy Aid   Boosters of private colleges in New York are cheering after the state passed a budget including funding for a long-running program providing unrestricted aid to independent colleges based on their degree productivity.

NYS Education Dept.  April Regents meeting agenda

NYS Register. Continuous Accreditation Requirement for Educator Preparation Providers  Data, views or arguments may be submitted by April 9th to: Kelly Grace, NYS Education Department, Office of Higher Education, 89 Washington Avenue, Room 979 EBA, Albany, NY 12234, (518) 486-3633, email: [email protected]

NEW YORK CITY
Chalkbeat. ‘Connecting kids with who they are’: Why school diversity advocates are optimistic about Chancellor Richard Carranza  “There was a palpable, racist antithesis to the establishment of mariachi curriculum,” he told a documentary filmmaker. “How can you be against connecting kids with who they are?”

Diverse Issues in Higher Education. NYC Men Initiative Diversifies Teacher Workforce   “One place where we lose students in the [teacher] pipeline is actually in the K-12 setting,” said Dr. Travis Bristol…

NYTimes. Homework Therapists’ Job: Help Solve Math Problems, and Emotional Ones   Today, most educators are trained in social-emotional development, and advancements in brain imaging are increasingly indicating how closely cognition and emotions are linked.

Teachers College.
1) TR@TC2 hosts: “You Can’t Fire the Bad Ones!” – Book Talk at Teachers College [Mon, April 16, 2018 5:00 PM]  William Ayers, Crystal Laura, and Rick Ayers debunk persistent misconceptions about teachers, teachers’ unions, school “choice,”…
2) TR@TC2 AERA presentations. Teaching Residents research presentations

GLOBAL
CBC. Education minister welcomes inclusion report, warns change could take time.  A report on inclusive education in Nova Scotia is calling for…more professional development for classroom teachers who want to become specialists, and more training in general for those in education programs to prepare them for complex classrooms.

NYTimes.
1) In Sweden’s Preschools, Boys Learn to Dance and Girls Learn to Yell  … the first wave of preschoolers to attend gender-neutral preschools are now 20-somethings. Elin Gerdin, 26, part of that first wave, is studying to be a teacher… she views gender as something you could put on or take off, like a raincoat.
2) These Kids Could Tutor World Leaders   Teachers …are only barely literate themselves… The World Bank found that only 0.3 percent of teachers in Mozambique have the minimum knowledge needed to teach, along with 0.1 percent of teachers in Madagascar. In Niger, it’s just plain 0 percent.

The Straits Times. Brazilian students to get ‘Singapore-style’ education thanks to teacher training deal   NIE International (NIEI) Singapore, the business consultancy arm of the National Institute of Education, has conducted its first teacher training programme in the city of Joinville, Santa Catarina State…

UNITED STATES
AACTE.
1) March Federal Update webinar now available [login required]
2) A Retrospective Look at edTPA Implementation: 5 Years of Policy and Practice   The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.

Chalkbeat.
1) Experts question Detroit district chief’s wish to create new schools for kids with special needs   But students often are moved to segregated environments because traditional schools can’t always provide adequate specialized services and teachers may not be prepared to teach those students.
2) Five possible changes coming to the Detroit district Montessori program   The district’s Montessori program has been sending teachers out of state for training to learn Montessori techniques…The district is looking for ways to create a pool of substitute teachers trained in Montessori concepts and structure…

Education Next. Unlocking the Science of How Kids Think: A new proposal for reforming teacher education

EdWeek.
1) Arming Teachers Not a Great Idea, Says Top Republican Senator for Education   STOP School Violence Act… includes a ban on using money provided under the law to arm teachers or give them firearms training.
2) Education Research Gets a Boost in Omnibus Spending Bill
3) In Their Own Words: Teachers Share the Personal Cost of Low Pay   There are about 2,000 emergency certified teachers in Oklahoma right now… Certified educators are leaving in droves to teach in neighboring states where they can make about $15,000 more off the bat.
4) Kansas considers making schools liable for not arming staff   Rep. Blake Carpenter, a conservative Derby Republican who helped write the legislation that holds schools liable, said he is confident armed and trained teachers will save lives. 

Inside Higher Ed. When Grants Turn to Loans   More than 6 in 10 recipients of the TEACH Grant, created to attract instructors for high-need subjects in low-income schools, have seen those grants convert to loans …

NCTQ. Is NCTQ’s Teacher Prep Review actually having an impact?   While we cannot definitively assert that we caused these improvements, we think it is highly likely that the Teacher Prep Review played a substantial role in moving the ball yards–not inches–toward the goal.

NEAToday. How Independent Teacher Prep Programs Fail Our Most Vulnerable Students   Ultimately, the goal is to promote deregulation and privatization in K-12 and in teacher education so that there will be opportunities for new entrepreneur-developed programs to emerge in what would be a market economy.

NPR Ed. Dept. Of Education Fail: Teachers Lose Grants, Forced To Repay Thousands In Loans   Since 2008, the Education Department has offered these so-called TEACH grants to people studying to get a college or master’s degree. The deal is, they get to keep the grant money if they spend four years teaching a high-need subject like math or science in schools that serve low-income families.

NYTimes. When Professionals Rise Up, More Than Money Is at Stake    …many felt that the Legislature had devalued their training and certification by proposing to let people teach a subject they hadn’t studied and had no experience in.

Richmond Times-Dispatch. Preparing Teachers for School Shootings: What’s the Magic Number?  Teacher preparation programs have rarely considered these questions, but the numbers have forced this issue to the forefront.

The Washington Post. ‘This situation . . . made my first four years of teaching so much harder’: How a grant became a loan   On Wednesday, the group sued the Education Department seeking the release of records on the federal TEACH grant. Public Citizen had filed a freedom of information request with the department in 2016 for documents and reports on the program.

NEW YORK STATE
Chalkbeat. Westminster district signs agreement to better serve students learning English   Among the most detailed changes in the settlement agreement are changes to how teachers are trained to work with students who speak a language other than English.

NYSED. March Higher Education Newsletter  News includes:
1) Alternative Teacher Preparation Program Flexibility The new Trans B regulation allows candidates to be initially employed part-time and ultimately teach full-time for at least one school year under the guidance of a mentor
2) Clinical Practice Work Group update
3) edTPA Safety Net (ATS-W) expires June 30, 2018 NOTE: any teacher candidates who are planning to use the current edTPA Safety Net must submit their edTPA no later than May 24, 2018
4) New Computer Science Certificate
5) Pre-Professional Teaching Assistants Enrolled in Teacher Preparation Programs
6) Recruitment for the Educating All Students-II (EAS-II) Selected Response Item Review Committees7) School Counselor Program Registration Requirements

NEW YORK CITY
Chalkbeat.
1) Inside the ‘passion project’ Carmen Fariña can’t quit: helping New York City schools share space better   With strained resources, some co-located schools can’t provide minimum required instruction time or math, social studies and science course offerings, according to a 2014 report by the Campaign for Educational Equity at Teachers College.
2) Read the 10-page résumé incoming schools chancellor Richard Carranza sent to Mayor Bill de Blasio. B.A. in Secondary Education-University of Arizona 1991 Major: Social Studies. Minor: Bilingual Education

New York Times. Operagoers So Young, the Met Adds Changing Tables and Stroller Parking The Met’s education team will work with researchers in infant development and early childhood music education from the Rita Gold Early Childhood Center at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Teacher College. American Educational Research Association 2018 Annual Meeting, April 13-17, NYC. 250 TC-related events; 231 TC participants

GLOBAL
BBC News. Two more Scottish universities to offer teacher training

Gov.UK. Damian Hinds sets out plans to help tackle teacher workload   Teacher workload is one of the key issues of our time in education. It deters would-be teachers and makes it harder to retain good teachers.

The Irish Times. Hundreds of teacher-training places to tackle ‘crisis’   Hundreds of extra teacher-training places are to be provided this year amid concerns of a “crisis” in the supply of teachers for key subjects.

The Nation. Students’ enrollment threatens Teacher Education – Provost The Provost, Adeyemi College of Education (ACE) Ondo, Prof Olukoya Ogen on Tuesday examined critically the issue of enrolments in College of Education in Nigeria.

UNITED STATES
AACTE. In #AACTE18 Keynote, Ravitch Rebukes Detractors of Public Schools   She noted a recent surge in “phony” graduate schools of education that seem designed to produce teachers for charter schools, with a narrow focus on student discipline and test scores.

CBSNews 60 Minutes. Betsy DeVos on guns, school choice and why people don’t like her   And I hesitate to think of, like, my first-grade teacher, Mrs. Zorhoff, I couldn’t ever imagine her having a gun and being trained in that way. 

Chalkbeat. New York charter leader Eva Moskowitz: Colorado doesn’t spend enough on its students. “Our teachers come four to five weeks before the children come. And they go through a series of training including a very in-depth content institute… “

Education Week.
1) Departing N.Y.C. Schools Chief’s Advice for School Leaders We have made a big effort to recruit the best teachers—teachers who are well-trained in early childhood. We can’t teach a three-year-old the same way you teach a four-year-old. We have been very clear to teachers if they want to teach in these grades, they have to go back to school, generally during the summer, for retraining.
2) Most Teachers Oppose Arming Educators and Fear a School Shooting, Says NEA Poll   In addition, 82 percent of respondents said they would not carry a gun to school even if they had received firearms training and were allowed to do so. 

Hechinger Report. How one Mississippi college is trying to tackle teacher shortages The school has partnered with more than a dozen school districts around Mississippi to offer free or low-cost paths for aspiring teachers, career-changers, and assistant teachers who wish to become lead classroom teachers. 

InsideHigherEd ‘A Different Kind of University’ Cutting 13 majors — in any disciplinary area — is significant. Here is the full list of nixed majors: American studies, art (excluding graphic design), English (excluding English for teacher certification), French, geography, geoscience, German, history (excluding social science for teacher certification), music literature, philosophy…

National Review. Education Schools Must Improve The big problem with this “reform” is that it doesn’t do anything to address the weak knowledge many ed-school students have in general. They aren’t very sharp kids for the most part and don’t have to master any real academic discipline.

Network for Public Education Report. Online Learning: What Every Parent Should Know   It is important to note in the online learning context, the “teacher” may or may not be a certified teacher. Even if the “teacher” is certified, he or she may not have expertise in the subject matter in which the student needs assistance.

Noticel [San Juan, PR]. Profesor estadounidense aborda áreas grises de las “charters”   Samuel Abrams, quien dirige el National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education de la Facultad de Educación en Columbia University… Mejorar el adiestramiento a maestros y considerar incentivos para su reclutamiento [Eng: Improve the training of teachers and consider incentives for their recruitment]…

The Atlantic. DeVos Digs Herself Deeper The backdrop of the 60 Minutes segment was a White House announcement Sunday evening that it is supporting a Justice Department program that would facilitate state efforts to train teachers and other school employees to carry firearms…

Washington Post. Venture capitalist visits 200 schools in 50 states and says DeVos is wrong: ‘If choice and competition improve schools, I found no sign of it.’   We are demoralizing our teaching force, driving our best to early retirement and dissuading young adults from the profession that will shape our nation’s future.

NEW YORK STATE
Chalkbeat. What’s on deck at the March Regents meeting? The board is also scheduled to vote on a new teacher certification area that is specific to computer science

NYSED. March Regents Meetings. Higher Education Committee.
1) Proposed Amendments to §52.21 and 80-5.22 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to the Transitional G and Pre-Professional Certificates
2) Proposed Amendments to Part 30 of the Regents Rules and §52.21 and Part 80 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to a New Certification Area and Tenure Area for Computer Science
3) Proposed Amendment to Part 80 Related to the Creation of a Transitional Certificate for Certain Health Care Professionals to Obtain a Health Education Certificate
4) Proposed Amendment to §80-5.13 to the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education to Allow for Greater Flexibility in Alternative Teacher Preparation Programs
5) Proposed Amendment to §80-3.4 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to the Mentoring Requirement for Professional Certification

 

NEW YORK CITY
New York Daily News. City pols call for cultural sensitivity training in schools   Twenty-one City Council members have signed onto a letter calling for cultural sensitivity training for city educators in the wake of a series of racially charged incidents in public schools.

Politico New York Board of Health proposal would require preschool teachers, daycare staff to help kids brush teeth   Preschool teachers and daycare staff could soon be required to help brush children’s teeth under a new proposal from the New York City Board of Health.

Teachers College.
1) Making the Difference #TakeActionTuesday: A Civic Participation Series. March 20 5-9pm registration
2) Peace Corps Fellows Program new website launch.