schools of education

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Five Big Changes to the Future of Teacher Education

November 22, 2011 | 11:45 AM | By

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In the book Teaching 2030 by Barnett Berry and 12 classroom experts, the authors pinpoint specific skills educators will need to teach in the schools of tomorrow. They say teachers must be prepared to find and adapt new technologies to engage the digital generation, as well as work across traditional subject areas using project learning. They must be able to use data and evidence to inform their practice and know how to work in both virtual learning environments and brick-and-mortar schools. And they’ll need to collaborate with community-based organizations and work in schools that provide all kinds of other services for students and their families.

Along those lines, Berry has outlined five changes he believes need to be made to the future of teacher education.

  1. INFORMED BY NEED. University-based education schools currently produce about 170,000 graduates every year — but only 70 percent of those actually enter teaching. One reason is the mismatch between production and market demand. In some “teacher surplus” states, universities graduate far too many teachers prepared for subjects and areas in low demand (such as elementary, physical education, social studies), while math, science, and special education vacancies continue to frustrate school leaders as well as parents. And because of the way education schools are funded, most universities offer just about every kind of teacher Continue reading →
FILED UNDER: Culture, professional development, schools of education, teacher-training

Where Does Disruption Begin? With Teachers Who Teach Teachers

August 16, 2011 | 12:05 PM | By

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Disrupting the entrenched education system is daunting. There are 7.2 million teachers in the U.S., 76 million students, and more than 98,000 public schools, according to a government census (as of 2008).

So what’s the most effective way to unshackle the current archaic system from ineffective tactics that no longer work in the digital age?

Google, the world’s go-to for answers, has an idea for the most impactful place to start. Last week, the company’s educational overseers organized the Google Faculty Institute, to which they invited the faculty from California State University (CSU) schools of education. The mission: to show those who teach teachers the most effective, useful, and helpful digital tools.

Why the focus on CSU teachers? Simple math — 60% of teachers in California and 10% of teachers in the U.S. — are trained through the CSU system.

“You get the attention of hundreds of these faculty members, then you make a real change in California.”

“We want to make California a model for the rest of the country,” said Maggie Johnson, director of education and university relations for Google. “We wanted to find a mechanism for talking about education technology and all the ways of using it in transformational ways — not just ways to support teaching as it’s always been done.”

Over the course of three days, the 39 attendees — mostly faculty who teach at the CSU schools of education — were tasked with coming up with proposals that would demonstrate the use of technology in new and inventive ways. They had to show how the proposal could be scaled and how it could go viral. For its part, in addition to hosting the event and providing experts and resources at the workshop, Google will donate $20,000 to each group, which has six to nine months to implement their ideas.

Here’s what they came up with:

  • The Math of Khan: Documenting, testing and disseminating the process by which a teacher can flip their classroom using Khan Academy videos.
  • Making Teachers ‘Appy’: Encouraging a “maker” philosophy with pre-service educators (teachers-in-training) by teaching introduction to programming in an educational technology course. Continue reading →
FILED UNDER: Learning Methods, Teaching With Tech, California State University, Google, google apps for education, Khan Academy, schools of education

Five Progressive Schools of Education

June 29, 2011 | 8:58 AM | By

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If the way we teach and learn is changing, the way that teachers learn should be changing, too. What are schools of education doing to keep ahead?

The following is a handful of examples of teacher education schools and programs whose progressive, tech-infused approach toward 21st century teaching is helping educators enter the classroom well-prepared.

  • Teachers College of San Joaquin in Stockton, California, emphasizes “multiple learning pathways,” or the need to approach an academic subject from many different angles to accommodate different learning styles, and in linking the real world to the classroom. TCSJ was also the first college of its kind to trade textbooks for the iPad, so that all prospective teachers well-versed in using the iPad for everything from their own edification (watching instructional videos, say) and that of their students (teachers-in-training are encouraged to use the iPad as a tool in their classrooms and then bring the results back to their peers at TCSJ).
  • California State University-Fullerton has a one-to-one laptop cohort program that plunges a group of student teachers into the world of interactive whiteboards, digital media tools, and Web 2.0 teaching strategies, as well as the opportunity to teach in local one-to-one laptop schools as part of their field work. Also, CSU-Fullerton just graduated its first class of doctorates concentrating in community college leadership.
  • The University of Central Florida is one of the very small number of schools of education that offer virtual-school training options for teachers-to-be. Through a partnership with Florida Virtual School, the nation’s first public online school, UCF education students can choose the instructional technology and media track in either the master’s or PhD program and apprentice with virtual school teachers. Continue reading →
FILED UNDER: Learning Methods, California State University Fullerton, Emporia State University Teachers College, Florida Virtual School, professional development, schools of education, teacher-training, Teachers College of San Joaquin, University of Central Florida