Teacher Education Events

AACTE Weekly News Briefs | December 2 , 2008___________

. . . delivered to your inbox so you can enjoy up-to-date news on Colleges of Education, Teaching and the Classroom, Campaigns, Legislation, STEM Teacher Issues, International Teacher Issues, Grants, and Upcoming Events. Please click on linked headlines for full story.





AACTE ANNOUNCEMENTS



AACTE Launches Brand New Logo

The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education’s brand mark has taken on a brand new look. Though the updated mark incorporates many of the same elements as AACTE’s previous logo this redesigned version should serve to better connect AACTE’s visual image, name, and acronym with its mission and focus. It sends a clear message, to our members and the general public, that AACTE is all about and means teacher education.





AACTE Board Elections

All AACTE Institutional Representatives are eligible to vote for new members of the AACTE Board of Directors, one of the most important benefits of AACTE membership. Please take advantage of this privilege and make your voice heard. For more information please click here.



AACTE Web Conference

AACTE presents "Building an Accreditation Learning Community," a Web Conference for Deans and NCATE Coordinators. From December 2, 2008 through December 4, 2008 participate from the comfort of your own office in this multi– day web event that includes a mix of pre -recorded and live sessions, online chats, and resource sharing on topics such as Assessment Rubrics, Creating the Electronic Exhibit Room, Writing An Institutional Report and preparing for the Visit. For more information about fees and registration, please click here.





NATIONAL NEWS



Study Links Teacher Attributes to Effectiveness

From Education Week

Districts and schools wishing to hire more-effective teachers could benefit from collecting a broader set of information on their candidates, concludes a new working paper by several well-known teacher-quality researchers. The report, released by the Cambridge, Mass.-based National Bureau of Economic Research, studies certain characteristics of teachers that are not typically examined by districts—such as general cognitive ability, content knowledge, personality traits, and feelings of self-efficacy—and tries to link those characteristics to better teaching.



Professor Is Leading Ed. Policy Review

From Education Week

President-elect Barack Obama made the first significant education appointment of his transition, naming a prominent education researcher and a frequently mentioned candidate for secretary of education to lead the review of federal education policy.

The appointment of Stanford University education professor Linda Darling-Hammond to the key transition role drew praise and criticism from different quarters of the Democratic Party.



Lessons From 40 Years of Education 'Reform'

From the Wall Street Journal

While the economic news has most Americans in a state of near depression, hope abounds today that the country may use the current economic crisis as leverage to address some longstanding problems. Nowhere is that prospect for progress more worthy than the crisis in our public education system.





NEWS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY



Special needs in the lecture hall

From the Burlington Free Press

Some things in academia never change, but the big lecture is not one of them. Take Nicole Phelps’ U.S. history survey course at the University of Vermont, where the professor delivers her 50-minute monologue in a kind of 21st-century landscape that was unimaginable a generation ago.



Alternative certification programs placing more teachers in classrooms

From the Star-Telegram

If teaching is a calling that you considered when you made your original career plans, it may not be too late to heed that call. There are three usual paths to becoming a teacher. The first: earn your certificate as an undergraduate majoring in education. But if you’ve already earned a degree in something else, it’s possible to earn a teaching certificate through a university post-baccalaurate program, or by alternative certification.





It's No Secret: Progress Prized In Brownsville

From Education Week

Cromack Elementary School’s progress in helping such students illustrates the strengths of a school district where nearly half of the students are English-language learners, nearly all are from low-income families—and where students in all grades outperform those in similar districts statewide in reading and math. That performance, aided by strong teacher professional development and data-based instruction, are a key reason why the Brownsville district was awarded the prestigious 2008 Broad Prize for Urban Education for being the nation’s most improved urban school district.





Other Announcements




AERA Grants and Fellowship Programs

AERA Grants and Fellowship Programs provide funding to help graduate students and early career scholars develop research skills and conduct studies in education and related fields. Application deadlines for the 2009 competitions are fast approaching! Please follow the links below for more information.



AERA-AIR (A²) Fellows Program
Application deadline: December 15, 2008.

AERA-ETS Fellowship Program in Measurement
Application deadline: December 15, 2008.
· Minority Fellowship Program in Education Research
Application deadline: December 15, 2008.

· AERA Grants Program
The next application deadlines are August 29, 2008; January 7, 2009; and March 6, 2009.

From the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) is accepting applications to serve on committees responsible for reviewing and revising standards in two areas: English as a New Language and Social Studies-History. To access the online application click here. The application will be available through December 12, 2008, 5:00pm EST.



For assistance or additional information please contact NBPTS at nominations@nbpts.org.




AACTE 61st ANNUAL MEETING & EXHIBITS

February 6 - 9, 2009
Hyatt Regency Chicago - Virtual Tour
Chicago, IL





REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

Click Here to register for the 61st Annual Meeting & Exhibits. This will lead you through creating an account which you can use for future meetings. If you registered for the Accountability, Accreditation, and Quality Conference, Click Here to use the account you set up when registering for that meeting.



Alyssa J. Mangino

Communications Manager

AACTE

1307 New York Ave., NW Suite 300

Washington, DC 20005

(202) 478-4596 -Direct

(202) 457-8095 -Fax

amangino@aacte.org