Analysis of USAID/Georgia Supported Basic Education Program First Cycle Implementation

The article highlights Akaki Tsereteli State University's involvement and participation in wide school reforms to establish student-centered education in Georgia. School educational reform cannot proceed and succeed without the direct involvement of the universities which carry out teacher preparation programs. Unequivocally, there should be close cooperation and collaboration between these two institutions to reach the desirable and targeted outcomes. The purpose of the article was to present the results of the survey, which was intended to assess the effectiveness of training conducted by the university trainers during the first phase of the new school reform in Georgia which focused on achieving student-centered learning. The selected trainers from the eight partnering universities were supposed to cover 2075 schools throughout Georgia (373 schools in Imereti Region) to train leader teachers and help the institution to develop new instructional methods, more specifically, to develop a school curriculum based on constructivist educational principles and apply it into practice. The survey findings assisted Pedagogical faculty in identifying existing curriculum gaps and discrepancies and taking measures to bridge them by modifying and supplementing them with the necessary content.

Guiding Online Graduate Special Education Candidates Through E-Performance Assessments and edTPA

As online teacher preparation programs continue to grow, guiding the process for edTPA candidates can pose varying challenges. As such, teacher preparation programs must be equipped to provide guidance to online candidates as they complete the actionable items required for edTPA. Provided from the field supervisors' perspective, this chapter outlines the current process Western Carolina University has in place to provide effective clinical and teacher candidate experiences for students in their online program. The purpose of this chapter provides guided structure for graduate special education teachers pursing initial licensure through an online masters' program. This chapter will include 1) the challenges of guiding online students through the e-portfolio process, 2) an exploration of the provided structure for the teacher candidates to fulfill the requirements of edTPA, as well as 3) recommendations for teacher preparation programs and teacher candidate readiness in the practice and application of e-performance assessments and edTPA.

Examining Bilingual Teacher Candidates' Use of Digital Media

Digital media has transformed how we interact with each other, how we stay connected, and how we learn about the world around us. Digital media has also changed the teacher's role from knowledge provider to facilitator (Lee, 2006). Teachers however, continue to struggle with technology and curricula integration as a vehicle for engaging young learners with academics (Chen, 2010; Wachira & Keengwe, 2011). This chapter underscores the need to provide bilingual teacher candidates with specific instructional uses for digital media to increase their capacity with technology integration, pedagogy, and content knowledge (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). This chapter explores the use of digital media within an after-school technology project. This research lends additional support for teacher preparation programs to integrate the use of technology if they are to serve teachers who work with a growing culturally and linguistically diverse school-age population.

Culturally Responsive Teaching and Training for Pre-Service Special Educators in Higher Education

In the field of public education, special education teacher preparation is one of the most critical areas of teacher preparation in higher education, given the mandate of FAPE under the IDEA. Additionally, teacher preparation programming that provides pre-service teachers with the knowledge, skills, and clinical experiences that can meet the learning-diverse needs of students is of paramount importance. However, teacher preparation programs often focus on meeting accreditation standards, job placement and service opportunities while leaving the teaching of diversity in special education as an add-on to be fulfilled by service departments, humanities courses, and/or social science electives. In order for universities and institutions of higher education to fulfill its mandate of teacher-training in special education, with a focus beyond the disability, they must adopt a curricula revision that includes culturally responsive teaching and diversity.

The Challenges and Opportunities of Online Learning for Preservice Teachers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The transition to emergency remote teaching in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has opened up important problems of practice in online education to discussion. Since the start of this global health crisis, several studies have documented online education experiences. The aims of the current study were to examine the online learning experiences of preservice teachers from Turkey and the US. Survey items were designed to collect the perceptions and experiences of online learning from preservice teachers enrolled in teacher preparation programs during the 2020-2021 academic year. Statistical data analysis provided insight into participants' views and attitudes toward online learning. Additionally, three open-ended questions were analyzed qualitatively. These provided insight into participants' experiences, the challenges they faced, and the advantages of online learning. Findings suggest that preservice teachers prefer face-to-face teaching even though they recognize and appreciate the value of online learning. Findings also have important implications for future research.

Teaching Students With Specific Learning Disabilities in the General Education Classroom

In many college teacher preparation programs across the United States, students who want to become a general education teacher are required to take a course focused on teaching students who have disabilities. Typically, that course provides an overview of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the characteristics of each of the 13 categories of disabilities. That course does not present various strategies a general education classroom teacher can use to educate these students, despite the fact that more and more disabled students are being educated in a general education classroom environment. Thus, this chapter provides resources and research-based reading, math, language arts, and social skills strategies general education teachers can utilize when educating a student with a specific learning disability in their classrooms. The resources presented in this chapter are not meant to take the place of special education teachers but to supplement practices for when they are not available.

Building a Conceptual Framework for Culturally Inclusive Collaboration for Urban Practitioners

Special education teacher preparation is one of the most critical areas of teacher preparation in higher education. The field is even more complicated depending on the environment in which it takes shape given urban, high-needs, suburban, and rural school communities. Equally important in today's teacher preparation paradigm is supplying pre-service teachers with the pedagogical skills necessary to meet the needs of their 21st century learners, especially those students from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds and who attend urban schools. This chapter attempts to construct a practitioner friendly framework to examine inextricable linkages between teacher preparation and the role higher education institutions play in providing pre-service special education teachers the requisite skills necessary to become successful urban educators/practitioners. Teacher preparation programs can better support new teacher retention through CRT and family diversity training.

Evidence-Based Transition Practices

Preparing youth to become active and independent citizens is a critical goal for all societies. However, youth with disabilities are less likely to achieve the same adult outcomes as their non-disabled peers. Although there is a growing body of research that has identified best practices regarding the facilitation of youth with disabilities from school to an inclusive adult life, many teachers do not have the requisite skills or knowledge to facilitate this process. This chapter explores best practices in transition education for teachers beyond the academic content, identifying eight key strategies that should inform teacher preparation programs. Using a case study from Iran, this chapter critically reflects on the relevance of these strategies in an international context, where inclusion and education of students with disabilities is an emerging field.

Capacity Building Pedagogy for Diverse Learners

Our phenomenological study of student teachers' perceptions of special education practices identified a gap in a general education teacher preparation program, given the inclusive model of education mandated through the IDEIA (2004). We offer a 3-tiered teaching framework for teacher preparation programs to utilize capacity building differentiated pedagogy suitable for all learners, including digital learners and students with exceptionalities. The teaching skills for capacity building pedagogy, Universal Design for Learning, and Differentiated Instruction, supported through decades of special education research, will enable the next generation of teachers to effectively serve a diverse population of students (Frey, Andres, McKeeman & Lane, 2012; Hamilton-Jones & Vail, 2013; Oyler, 2011; Shepherd, Fowler, McCormick, Wilson, & Morgan, 2016).