A Fair Chance: Simple Steps to Strengthen and Diversify the Teacher Workforce

Posted on May 15, 2019May 12, 2019 by coreeducation

Each year a significant number of aspiring elementary teachers, having successfully completed their formal preparation, are still unable to become licensed professionals. That’s because an alarming number of candidates fail their licensing tests, far surpassing the failure rate for other professions’ entry tests, bar exams, and boards. The fact that more candidates fail than pass Read more about A Fair Chance: Simple Steps to Strengthen and Diversify the Teacher Workforce[…]

Recommendations to Strengthen Teacher Preparation & Diversity

Posted on April 4, 2019March 29, 2019 by coreeducation

A new report from Educators for Excellence New York outlines the importance of teacher preparation and offers recommendations for increasing teacher diversity. Ready for Day One and Beyond is a new paper written by teachers on the Educators for Excellence New York Policy Team. The paper starts with two important questions: 1. What Read more about Recommendations to Strengthen Teacher Preparation & Diversity[…]

Disrupting teacher prep through virtual field experiences

Posted on April 2, 2019March 29, 2019 by coreeducation

Recently, Susanne Nobles, writing for the Christensen Institute, explored the topic of virtual field experiences as a method for infusing diverse classroom experiences in all teacher preparation programs, regardless of location. Excerpts from the piece appear below: The dilemma is this: Preservice teachers need to practice teaching many times and in many places and ways. Read more about Disrupting teacher prep through virtual field experiences[…]

The Uncertain Future of Teaching

Posted on February 12, 2019February 8, 2019 by coreeducation

Writing for CRPE’s Thinking Forward collection of essays, authors Michael DeArmond, Christine Campbell and Paul Hill have published a piece that explores new teacher roles that enable teachers to focus on soft skills and personalization. Excerpts of the piece appear below: Above all, emerging ideas from the field about how to make teaching more doable Read more about The Uncertain Future of Teaching[…]

Shortage of Special Educators Adds to Classroom Pressures

Posted on January 8, 2019December 31, 2018 by coreeducation

Education Week recently released data on the nation’s shortage of special educators. Excerpts of the article appear below: The number of special education teachers nationally has dropped by more than 17 percent over the past decade, a worrisome trend in a career path that has seen chronic shortages for years. An analysis of federal data Read more about Shortage of Special Educators Adds to Classroom Pressures[…]

Staying Power: TFA Alumni in Public Education

Posted on January 3, 2019December 31, 2018 by coreeducation

Since its founding in 1990 to help staff classrooms in low-income communities, Teach For America has been attacked for devaluing public education by recruiting teachers to spend a minimum of two years in the classroom. A member of the Philadelphia City Council recently called TFA a “gimmick.” But TFA’s most recent information about its more Read more about Staying Power: TFA Alumni in Public Education[…]

ISTE Announces New Computational Thinking Standards for All Educators

Posted on October 30, 2018October 26, 2018 by coreeducation

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has announced its new ISTE Standards for Educators: Computational Thinking Competencies (CT Competencies). CT Competencies focus on the knowledge, skills and mindset needed to bring computational thinking to all K-12 content areas and are designed for all educators, including those who are new to computer science. The Read more about ISTE Announces New Computational Thinking Standards for All Educators[…]

Tools for Strong District-Teacher Preparation Program Partnerships

Posted on October 25, 2018October 23, 2018 by coreeducation

School districts and teacher preparation programs both play critical roles in setting educators up for success in the classroom. However, too often they work in isolation. By creating a partnership around shared goals, they can build a stronger, more diverse workforce–and provide a better and more equitable education experience to students. But how should they Read more about Tools for Strong District-Teacher Preparation Program Partnerships[…]

New Tools and Resources for Reimagining Teacher Preparation

Posted on October 2, 2018September 23, 2018 by coreeducation

For the past two years, Education First has facilitated a community of practice of five teacher preparation technical assistance centers–Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, National Center for Teacher Residencies, TeacherSquared, TeachingWorks and University-School Partnerships for the Renewal of Educator Prep–working to reimagine the way teachers are prepared for the classroom. As part of Read more about New Tools and Resources for Reimagining Teacher Preparation[…]

CAEP: A Bold Set of Teacher Preparation Standards Faces Challenges

Posted on September 27, 2018September 23, 2018 by coreeducation

Recently in Education Week, Madeline Will wrote about the challenges that the CAEP standards have faced in the past five years and the goal of strengthening teacher preparation. Excerpts of the piece appear below: The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, which was created by a 2010 merger between two national accrediting bodies, officially Read more about CAEP: A Bold Set of Teacher Preparation Standards Faces Challenges[…]

District Power to Fix the Student Teacher Pipeline

Posted on September 25, 2018September 23, 2018 by coreeducation

Recently in The 74, Kate Walsh wrote about the power of school districts to fix their own teacher pipeline, including the portion of the pipeline coming from traditional teacher preparation programs. Excerpts from the piece appear below: A growing number of school districts are embracing the teacher residency model as a solution to their shortage Read more about District Power to Fix the Student Teacher Pipeline[…]

Realizing the Potential of Teacher Residencies

Posted on August 14, 2018August 7, 2018 by coreeducation

Teaching is one of very few professions that expects new employees to be masters of their craft — where they handle all of the responsibilities of long-serving veterans — on their first day on the job. Historically, new teachers have received limited exposure to life in the classroom. Even today, most traditional preparation programs require Read more about Realizing the Potential of Teacher Residencies[…]

Mentors matter: Good teaching really can be passed down to student teachers, new research finds

Posted on August 9, 2018August 3, 2018 by coreeducation

Writing for Chalkbeat, Matt Barnum explores the research on the value of being mentored by an expert teacher. Excerpts from the piece appear below: Studies released this year offer real evidence that good teaching can be passed down, in a sense, from mentor teacher to student teacher. In several cases, they find that the performance Read more about Mentors matter: Good teaching really can be passed down to student teachers, new research finds[…]

Providing High-Quality Technical Assistance in Teacher Preparation

Posted on August 8, 2018August 3, 2018 by coreeducation

Many organizations offer technical assistance (TA) to teacher preparation programs seeking to improve their programming. But until recently, there was no common way to assess the impact of that technical assistance or even define what high-quality technical assistance looks like. How can TA providers better understand the impact their technical assistance actually has on teacher Read more about Providing High-Quality Technical Assistance in Teacher Preparation[…]

Don’t Rate Teaching Schools Based on Student Test Scores, Study Warns

Posted on July 3, 2018June 24, 2018 by coreeducation

In recent years, public officials have sought to determine the quality of our nation’s teacher preparation programs, both the traditional programs at colleges and universities, as well as alternative preparation programs like Teach for America. One proposed way to do this is to track graduates into the classrooms where they become teachers to see how Read more about Don’t Rate Teaching Schools Based on Student Test Scores, Study Warns[…]