In Demand: The Real Teacher Shortages and How to Solve Them

Are there widespread teacher shortages in U.S. public education? Recent headlines suggest there are. But a closer look at school staffing trends in recent years yields a different story, one with important consequences for education policymakers. In a new report from FutureEd and EducationCounsel, Principal Sandi Jacobs analyzes pre-pandemic teacher supply and demand trends, identifies Read more about In Demand: The Real Teacher Shortages and How to Solve Them[…]

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Driven by Data: Using licensure tests to build a strong, diverse teacher workforce

With the release of data never before published, NCTQ focuses on a uniquely challenging point of teacher certification: licensure tests. Their report, Driven by Data: Using Licensure Tests to Build a Strong, Diverse Teacher Workforce, raises many important considerations around the use of licensure exams and their results. After a careful analysis of available data, Read more about Driven by Data: Using licensure tests to build a strong, diverse teacher workforce[…]

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A DEI Guide to Teacher Preparation Outcomes and Indicators

High-quality teacher preparation can play a critical role in dismantling inequities in education, such as disparities in student achievement and access to high-quality education, which often exist and persist along racial and ethnic lines. Black and Latinx students and students experiencing poverty – like Indigenous, Asian and other students of color – are more likely Read more about A DEI Guide to Teacher Preparation Outcomes and Indicators[…]

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Broken Pipeline: Teacher Preparation’s Diversity Problem

Closing the teacher diversity gap is one of the most important steps we can take to make public education more equitable. But as many school systems across the country have prioritized the issue, one institution has largely escaped scrutiny: teacher preparation programs. In a report from TNTP, researchers use data from the U.S. Department of Read more about Broken Pipeline: Teacher Preparation’s Diversity Problem[…]

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How Do Teacher Preparation Programs Affect a State’s Economy?

Every year, local and state governments spend billions of dollars on economic development incentives, but even though corporations regularly say that a skilled or educated workforce is more important to them than almost any other factor — including tax incentives — few state legislatures focus on the training of those who develop that workforce: teachers. Read more about How Do Teacher Preparation Programs Affect a State’s Economy?[…]

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Death by a Thousand Cuts

Colleen Flaherty, writing for Inside Higher Ed, recently wrote an article about the problems facing teacher education programs within our nation’s universities. Excerpts from the piece appear below: The University of South Florida shocked faculty members with its recent decision to close its College of Education, which has a large undergraduate population, and retain only Read more about Death by a Thousand Cuts[…]

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Educator Preparation During COVID-19: Lessons Learned

As U.S. schools closed their doors this past spring in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a little-considered effect was the impact of school closures on the preparation of the next generation of educators. Teacher and leader candidates all over the country had their field experiences abruptly cut short, and educator preparation programs (EPPs)-in partnership with Read more about Educator Preparation During COVID-19: Lessons Learned[…]

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Building a Diverse Teacher Workforce

Improving diversity among educators is one way to alleviate some of the persistent and systemic racial disparities in academic achievement and student discipline. But about 80% of the educator workforce is white, while more than half of the nation’s K-12 population is racially and ethnically diverse. A new Education Commision of the States report shows Read more about Building a Diverse Teacher Workforce[…]

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What Worked This Spring? Well-Designed and Delivered Courses

Writing for Inside Higher Ed, Doug Lederman reported on the best practices that were incorporated in virtual classes that students rated most highly. Excerpts from the piece appear below: Professors and students alike viewed their remote learning experience most favorably this spring when their courses incorporated more “best practices.” That’s the path to making the Read more about What Worked This Spring? Well-Designed and Delivered Courses[…]

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Learning to Teach Through Avatars

Writing for The Hechinger Report, Jill Barshay explores a Virginia study that shows that prospective teachers improve their handling of student misbehavior when training simulations with avatars are combined with coaching. Excerpts of the piece appear below: University of Virginia researchers are rigorously testing computerized simulations of misbehaving students to see if they help student Read more about Learning to Teach Through Avatars[…]

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Student Teaching and Initial Licensure in the Times of Coronavirus

Writing for the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), Patricia Saenz-Armstrong explores how student teaching and initial licensure practices are shifting during this time of school closures. Excerpts from the piece appear below: School closures have obvious impacts on current students and teachers and are also creating challenges for teacher candidates hoping to graduate this Read more about Student Teaching and Initial Licensure in the Times of Coronavirus[…]

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Shifting the Clinical Experience Using Virtual Formats

PK-12 districts and universities across the nation are currently challenged with social distancing measures that are limiting and, in most cases, preventing deep, authentic, and job-embedded clinical experiences that we know to be one of the cornerstones of a candidates’ effective preparation as a teacher.  In light of this reality, US PREP has assembled resources Read more about Shifting the Clinical Experience Using Virtual Formats[…]

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How Teacher Preparation Programs Can Help All Teachers Better Serve Students With Disabilities

The Center for American Progress recently released recommendations to states, teacher preparation programs, and districts to improve the preparation of teachers to serve students with disabilities. Excerpts of the piece appear below: Roughly 7 million students in the K-12 public school system–14 percent–are identified as students with disabilities. Of these, more than 62 percent spend Read more about How Teacher Preparation Programs Can Help All Teachers Better Serve Students With Disabilities[…]

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Three State Policy Priorities to Give Every Student Effective, Diverse Teachers

When it comes to ensuring every student gets great teachers, state governments play a crucial and underappreciated role. Without access to the right data, school systems will struggle to match the supply and demand for new teachers. Without certification policies that prioritize student impact over paper credentials, too many talented people will be shut out Read more about Three State Policy Priorities to Give Every Student Effective, Diverse Teachers[…]

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What University Presidents and Deans of Colleges of Education Need to Know About Modernizing the K-12 Educator Workforce

Aurora Institute (formerly iNACOL) has released a new policy brief titled Transforming Teaching: What University Presidents and Deans of Colleges of Education Need to Know about Modernizing the K-12 Educator Workforce. It is a call-to-action to higher education to play a role in bringing the teaching profession into the 21st century. Transforming K-12 education systems Read more about What University Presidents and Deans of Colleges of Education Need to Know About Modernizing the K-12 Educator Workforce[…]

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Seven Trends to Reform U.S. Teacher Education, and the Need to Address Systemic Injustices

The Education Deans for Justice and Equity in partnership with the National Education Policy Center has released a statement calling for a significant shift in teacher education programs. Over 350 deans and other leaders caution against many of the current trends for “reforming” how we prepare teachers for our nation’s public schools. They argue that Read more about Seven Trends to Reform U.S. Teacher Education, and the Need to Address Systemic Injustices[…]

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