National Board Certification to Be Cheaper, Smoother

The recession, questions concerning the connection between teachers and student test scores, and the increased importance of federal grants have all combined in recent years to diminish the role of NBPTS national certification for teachers.  Currently, the number of teachers with this designation sits around 102,000. But with the recent announcement by the National Board Read more about National Board Certification to Be Cheaper, Smoother[…]

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Alliance for Excellent Education Webinar: New Teacher Accreditation

Recently, the Alliance for Excellent Education hosted a webinar, which is now available online on demand, entitled, “Next-Generation Standards and Accreditation Policies for Teacher Preparation and Development. The Alliance, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) held a webinar on the InTASC (Interstate Teacher Assessment Read more about Alliance for Excellent Education Webinar: New Teacher Accreditation[…]

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September Issue Brief – Professional Development

Improving teacher effectiveness relies on effective professional learning experiences for in-service, induction and veteran educators. With so much in flux — standards, curriculum, assessment, and evaluation — professional learning is more important than ever. In this month’s issue brief, we focus on professional learning, pulling together various resources and offering food for thought. We’d love Read more about September Issue Brief – Professional Development[…]

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Who Is In Charge of Teacher Preparation?

Jenny DeMonte of the Center for American Progress has penned a new report that calls for teacher-training programs to be more closely aligned with those organizations that actually hire and professionally develop the teachers that make such a crucial difference in the academics and lives of students. Everyone agrees that teacher quality is important and Read more about Who Is In Charge of Teacher Preparation?[…]

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5 Tips for Principals to Put New Teachers on the Right Path

This tipsheet is a complement to TNTP’s latest report, Leap Year: Assessing and Supporting Effective First-Year Teachers, which shares what TNTP learned after radically evolving the way they train and evaluate new teachers. It is based on a simple idea: The first year is the most important year of a teacher’s career—a critical window of Read more about 5 Tips for Principals to Put New Teachers on the Right Path[…]

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Restructure Compensation And Career Paths

ERS is excited to announce a new suite of tools and publications to support the design of new teacher compensation systems and career pathways that reward high-quality teaching and offer teachers opportunities to advance without leaving the classroom. Based on extensive research of current best practices within and outside of education, and funded by the Read more about Restructure Compensation And Career Paths[…]

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Coursera to Offer Free Teacher Development Classes

Coursera, one of the larger MOOC’s (massive open online courses), will begin offering free online teacher development courses this summer.  And for a set of courses that are just beginning, a rather impressive list of traditional universities including the College of Education at University of Washington and John Hopkins University School of Education as well Read more about Coursera to Offer Free Teacher Development Classes[…]

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Reflections on the 2013 International Summit on the Teaching Profession

Back in mid-March, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, hosted the third International Summit on the Teaching Profession.  This particular summit focused on teacher quality, including professional standards and teacher appraisal. The past two took place in New York City at the invitation of Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Marc Tucker of the National Center on Education and the Read more about Reflections on the 2013 International Summit on the Teaching Profession[…]

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TNTP says Teachers’ First Year is Crucial

TNTP, a national nonprofit committed to ending the injustice of educational inequality, has released a new report that seeks to help first year teachers become better teachers. TNTP was created by teachers in 1997, so the TNTP team has a vested interested in creating cohorts of new teachers who have the critical dispositions that they Read more about TNTP says Teachers’ First Year is Crucial[…]

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Education Week presents Common Core Instructional Opportunities

The Common Core State Standards are being introduced in all but five states, presenting the need for immediate and far-reaching instructional changes. This exclusive new online-only special report explores the ways classroom educators, in a variety of subjects and with a diverse range of students, are adapting to the new framework for teaching and learning.  Read more about Education Week presents Common Core Instructional Opportunities[…]

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Teachers and Common Core: An Ambivalent Relationship

As Common Core implementation deadlines approach, new surveys suggest that teachers are open to using Common Core but may not be prepared to do so. Three and a half years after the launch of the Common Core State Standards Initiative, schools nationwide continue working to implement the new standards in English/language arts and mathematics, which Read more about Teachers and Common Core: An Ambivalent Relationship[…]

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New Study Corroborates State SLO Plans

From the press release by the Boston-based Community Training and Assistance Center: As states and school districts increasingly use Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) in high stakes teacher evaluation and compensation systems to measure student academic growth, a new five-year study reports that high quality SLOs do improve teaching and bolster student growth. The national SLO Read more about New Study Corroborates State SLO Plans[…]

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New Resources for 21st Century Learning Design

In 2012, Microsoft announced a new professional development program called 21st Century Learning Design (21CLD), formerly known as “LEAP21”, that helps teachers build innovative pedagogical practices and develop resources for designing learning activities that foster higher order skills. It includes: practice-based professional development, so new ideas are used immediately in the classroom collaboration among teachers Read more about New Resources for 21st Century Learning Design[…]

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Teacher Professional Development in “Fragile Contexts”

Update: Although the forum has ended, it is worthwhile to click on each “Issue” for an archived copy of the forum, and a record of the rich discussion. Original Post: Join the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) for Teacher Professional Development in Crisis: How Can We Give Teachers in Fragile Contexts the Learning Read more about Teacher Professional Development in “Fragile Contexts”[…]

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Hilton offers Unique Teacher Travel Opportunity

Hilton will fund 15 teachers to “travel and experience first-hand the subject they teach, enriching their curriculum and inspiring students to explore the world.” Known as the Teacher Treks Travel Grant Competition, Hilton developed the program in partnership with the Institute of International Education (IIE), one of the world’s largest and most experienced international education Read more about Hilton offers Unique Teacher Travel Opportunity[…]

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Digital Learning Day 2013 is February 6

The Alliance for Excellent Education is sponsoring its second annual “Digital Learning Day 2013” on February 6 to “promote digital learning and spotlight successful instructional technology practice in the classroom.” 46 states and DC, including a total of over 16,000 teachers have signed up to participate. Bob Wise, former governor of West Virginia and current Read more about Digital Learning Day 2013 is February 6[…]

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