Desperate Measures

Black male teachers are less than two percent of all current teachers in the United States. However, there has been an effort to recruit and retain Black men into the teaching profession for a number of reasons. All student benefit when they have a Black male teacher. Black boys, in particular, have markedly higher test scores and improved discipline when they have a Black male teacher. Black male adults in educational settings is essential for enhancing Black boys’ academic and social development. There is a need for Black male teachers in education. Even with nationwide recruitment efforts like My Brother's Keeper, the numbers of Black male teacher remain small. Additionally, Black male teachers leave the profession at a higher rate than other subgroups. This paper will examine one teacher preparation program's effort to increase retention of Black males in the teacher preparation program and the teaching profession.

Teacher Candidates as the Teacher of Record Assists Partner School Districts With the Teacher Shortage

This research essay examined a growing trend in a rural area of the Midwest where PK–12 school districts are partnering with a local university to hire teacher candidates (TCs) as the Teachers of Record (TORs). Many rural school districts are challenged to address the teacher shortage. As a result, many school districts are hiring TCs as the TOR during the TC’s student-teaching experience. Due to the limited research on the topic, this paper aimed to determine if appointing the TC as the TOR was an effective practice. We used three data sources to gauge the perceptions of the TC, the TC’s mentor, and the TC’s administrator. Meeting the needs of partnering districts and providing quality placements for TCs engaged in the culminating field experience can be mutually beneficial for teacher candidates, the school district, and the university.

Supporting Teacher Candidates During COVID-19

This article provides the personal account of two professors who reflect on the challenges of teacher education preparation due to COVID-19. They discuss the swift transition from face to face instruction to virtual learning and teaching including inequities faculty and teacher candidates faced during remote learning, obstacles surrounding state requirements for practicums and certification along with the social emotional impact. Suggestions for moving forward, based on the lessons learned, include additional supports for teacher candidates.

The TCSEFP Hybrid eMentoring Model

This article describes a hybrid eMentoring model used to support fellows during an 11-month fellowship program, the Teachers College Special Education Fellowship Program (TCSEFP). The TCSEFP is a residency in teaching (RIT) induction program that leads to the completion of a high incidence special education endorsement and a master’s degree in special education. During the fellowship, each participant receives extensive, explicit mentoring from onsite and off-site mentors. This hybrid eMentoring model, developed as a part of the TCSEFP, is facilitated in part via distance technologies.

#learningtoreflect

Although research on teacher reflection is vast, research on preservice teachers’ (PSTs) use of social media and multimodal reflections is minimal. This study provides greater understanding into how PSTs used Instagram as a platform for engaging in reflection. Throughout an academic year, a group of fourteen PSTs used Instagram several times each week to reflect on their field experience rather than writing a reflective paper. I propose that the participants in this study were photoreflecting, which is the process of deep consideration as one transmediates images and print language. The participants in this study photoreflected by (a) photojournaling, (b) noticing, (c) noticing and extending, (d) noticing and problem solving, and (e) noticing and changing. Participants photojournaled the most and noticed and changed the least.

“Am I Doing What I think I’m Doing?”: The Importance of a Theoretical Frame when Integrating Tablets in Teacher Education

In the following self-study, we share our investigation of the shifts in faculty pedagogical beliefs, instructional practices, and curricular decision-making while engaged in a cycle of reflection on tablet-focused teacher education course. We conducted this inquiry into our practice, using Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) and the Substitution-Augmentation-Modification-Redefinition (SAMR) model as frameworks to examine data from interviews and reflective writing. We conclude the need for the explicit connection of technology professional development, specifically tablet technology, with a meaningful theoretical framework, in order for faculty to engage in effective integration. We also share our model for examining the development of instructor’s thinking about integrating technology, including influences on thinking and classification of instructional decisions into the SAMR taxonomy.

Reaching and Teaching Students in Poverty

The second edition of Reaching and Teaching Students in Poverty: Strategies for Erasing the Opportunity Gap aims to move educators from a deficit view of students experiencing poverty to a structural view by examining the structural inequalities in the United States. This book encourages educators to develop equity literacy and provides twelve principles of equity literacy, supported by historical data and current research, to guide readers in this process. The book also offers actionable strategies to implement at the classroom, school, and district level.

Student Teacher Engagement in Co-Teaching Strategies

Recently there has been increasing emphasis on co-teaching experiences for teacher candidates. Despite the significance of collaboration between cooperating teachers and student teachers, limited empirical attention has focused on student teachers' co-teaching experiences. The following study utilized survey data to ascertain if student teachers' use of different co-teaching strategies changed over the course of their student teaching semester, as well as, compared student teacher use of co-teaching strategies in elementary, middle, and secondary program areas. Pilot Study Survey data revealed that approximately one-fourth of the student teacher's time is spent teaching alone. However, the Student Teacher Survey data indicated that the Team Teaching co-teaching strategy increased more than any other co-teaching strategy in all program areas. The study concludes that as teacher education programs seek to maximize the benefits of the co-teaching model, student teachers and cooperating teachers need additional training in ways to utilize all the co-teaching strategies to maximize student learning.

Redesigned Partnerships as a Result of Redesigned Educational Preparation Program

This study investigated the ability of a redesigned teacher preparation program to effectively meet the needs of teacher candidates and partner school districts. The study examined the effects of the redesigned school of education program on perceptions of teacher candidates, administrators, teachers in partner districts, and faculty members. Findings from school-partnership districts and the school of education were explored. The goal was to use best practices to meet the needs of teacher candidates and provide rich theoretical and clinical experiences in diverse school settings. Findings indicated a change in perceptions of teacher candidates in understanding the importance of equity in the teaching process and of the connection between theory presented in the classroom and application in settings of diverse learners. Teachers and principals indicated an appreciation for renewal through the collaborative experience with teacher candidates during field experiences.

A Way Forward Toward Professionalizing Teacher Education

Amid countless challenges faced by teacher education, public universities, preparing a large share of the nations' teachers, are called upon to a lead the charge of moving the field forward. The American Association of State Colleges and University's Teacher Education Task Force sought to examine current conditions among member institutions. Presidents, provosts and deans of education responded to a survey with their assessment of the current status of teacher education. The results yielded six recommendations for quality teacher education programs. The latter of which stresses professionalizing the field. Further examination of the recommendations reveals gaps between the current landscape and the recommendations. It is through these gaps that a strategic means to advance the professionalization of teacher education is put forth. Advancing the professionalization of teacher education is a collaborative effort of leadership. The process demonstrates and builds momentum from positive impact on communities and the profession itself. It is undergirded by an ethical imperative.