Teacher Education

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11274/9564

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2021-2022: Year of the Pandemic
(Consortium of State Organizations for Texas Teacher Education (CSOTTE), 2022) Fredrickson, Rebecca
At the close of the 2021 CSOTTE conference, I had the opportunity to reflect upon what the experience meant to me. The fact that we were once again permitted to gather together--in the same room with Covid 19 social distancing preference color coordinated lanyards--was something marvelous I never in my wildest academic dreams ever thought would be something so treasured. It never dawned on me that people (especially educators) would not always be able to easily gather together to grow and learn. This is something that I will not take for granted again.
Adopting VR in the classroom: Perceptions of bilingual and ESL education pre-service teachers
(EDMETIC, 2022) Figueroa Flores, Jorge F.; Huffman, Lisa; Lozada, Victor; Rosa-Dávila, Emarely
Virtual reality (VR) is an immersive technology that is gaining momentum in education and has led to new teaching approaches. Moreover, it has spark interest in educator preparation programs and especially in the training of bilingual and ESL pre-service teachers. This article showcases a qualitative study conducted with n=27 undergraduate bilingual and ESL pre-service teachers. The study sought to determine the perception of bilingual and ESL pre-service teachers with VR and provide an understanding of VR mobile applications' experiences. All results were obtained from guided reflections made by pre-service teachers enrolled in the course theories of second language acquisition for ESL and bilingual teacher at a university located in north Texas. A content analysis was performed to analyze the reflections, and three categories were determined: strengths of VR, limitations of VR, and VR mobile applications. The findings revealed a positive perception towards the strengths of VR with 60%, including promotes student engagement (41%) and motivates students (29%). On the other hand, pre-service teachers perceived limitations of VR, including associated costs (44%) and the ability to access the internet (31%). Finally, VR mobile applications which offered VR tours were perceived to enhance learning experiences, including Google Expeditions (51%) and VR Tube (23%).
Augmented reality in the secondary education classroom: Teachers’ visions
(Bastas Publications, 2021-08-09) Figueroa, Jorge; Sampedro, Begoña; Marín-Díaz, Verónica
The advancement of emerging technologies in the classroom is a reality, however, the vision that teachers may have of them is essential in order for these to be incorporated. Using this as a foundation, this article’s main objective is to know the vision thatsecondary education (SE) teachers have of the use of Augmented Reality (AR) in teaching at that educational level. Through a descriptive correlational quantitative study, an ex-post facto design, and an ad-hoc questionnaire of 39 items, (N=350 teachers), this objective has been corroborated. The main conclusion that has been reached is that SE teachers consider AR as an element that will cause a change in the student’s learning methodology making it more autonomous and experiential. In addition, the teachers will need more training with AR, lower costs, and greater availability of resources to carry out the teaching process with greater ease.
Bringing together a harmony of voices: Using the Inside-Out strategy as a culturally responsive approach to intertwine knowledge from self, peer, and text
(Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts, 2019) Myers, Aimée; Hightower, Jessica
Culturally responsive teaching is often nebulous and challenging for many to integrate in an effective and intentional way. As novice teachers, we struggled with developing tangible ways to actualize culturally responsive teaching. However, through our combined experiences and research, we have gained a better understanding of culturally responsive teaching and ways to apply the concept. We hope to support other teachers who are looking for practical tools for their culturally responsive toolbox. In this article, we introduce an instructional strategy, called InsideOut, that has benefited us within our own culturally responsive approaches. By utilizing Inside-Out, teachers can use student prior knowledge and lived experiences as resources to bridge together the multiple diversities of the classroom community. For teachers to be culturally responsive to their students, it is important that students become funds of knowledge, and their voices become an essential component to the classroom curriculum. Inside-Out supports students as funds of knowledge by merging three key sources of knowledge: self, peer, and text. Through these multiple viewpoints, our classrooms can be transformed from a predisposed silo of information to an inclusive opus full of multiple harmonies.
Building and sustaining a healthy and thriving department
(New Prairie Press, 2021) Trujillo-Jenks, Laura; Anderson, Gina
Learning to delegate and build leaders among the faculty and staff, and mentoring and modeling how to manage difficult situations are integral to building and sustaining capacity within a department. Building a department culture that is healthy and thriving, while also creating a climate for faculty and staff to safely develop their own leadership potential are important characteristics of a healthy department. Also, helping faculty and staff learn to mitigate difficult situations is a powerful form of leadership development. Building a culture of success, a climate that nurtures respect, honesty, and loyalty, and engaging in Crucial Conversations© are the foci for this presentation. Activities and recommendations will be shared and discussed.
Building and sustaining a healthy and thriving department: Part 2
(New Prairie Press, 2021) Trujillo-Jenks, Laura; Anderson, Gina
Learning to delegate and build leaders among the faculty and staff, and mentoring and modeling how to manage difficult situations are integral to building and sustaining capacity within a department. Building a department culture that is healthy and thriving, while also creating a climate for faculty and staff to safely develop their own leadership potential are important characteristics of a healthy department. Also, helping faculty and staff learn to mitigate difficult situations is a powerful form of leadership development. Building a culture of success, a climate that nurtures respect, honesty, and loyalty, and engaging in Crucial Conversations© are the foci for this presentation. Activities and recommendations will be shared and discussed.
Building bridges to the world: Utilizing service learning during the senior year to develop participatory citizenship
(Dwight Schar College of Education, 2016) Myers, Aimée
The senior year of high school has the potential to be a bridge between childhood and adulthood, but senior courses are not vastly different than courses offered to freshman who are barely into their teenage years. A service learning component that is embedded throughout the senior year provides students with the space to think critically and then act, thus engaging in participatory citizenship. Teachers should, however, scaffold students’ movement toward community participation by establishing a service-learning framework that combines critical reflection with classroom community.
Building bridges: Strengthening new teacher induction through digital means
(Consortium of State Organizations for Texas Teacher Education, 2020) Hurlbut, Amanda; McMahan, Sarah
The research on new teacher induction encourages educational preparation programs and school districts to create innovative, sustainable initiatives that support new teachers and increase teacher retention in the field. While traditional mentoring programs and ongoing professional development have always been provided for new teachers, programs are beginning to experiment with digital induction tools, including asynchronous (webinars) and synchronous (blogs, websites, social media, podcasts) as a means to support new teachers. This paper details the initial steps, current findings, and future goals to establish a sustainable digital induction program that expands upon an existing one-day professional development session offered by one university-based Educator Preparation Program (EPP). Suggestions for the creation and implementation of the blog site and recruitment of author participants will be shared in addition to content from posts, working challenges, and future goals.
Campus administrators’ responses to Donald Trump’s immigration policy: Leadership during times of uncertainty
(Hipatia Press, 2018) Burkett, Jerry; Hayes, Sonya
Donald J. Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States in November 2016, after more than a year of campaigning on many major issues. Among the key issues presented during then-candidate Trump’s campaign was immigration reform. While Latinos make up the largest ethnic group of non-citizens in the U.S., most of these individuals have resided in the U.S. for a long period of time, have strong family ties, and have children who are lawful U.S. citizens (Baum, 2010; Almeida, Johnson, McNamara, & Gupta, 2011; Sharpless, 2017). The Trump administration’s early days involved a flurry of executive orders and other measures aimed at increasing the enforcement of immigration laws and blocking admission to the U.S. by individuals from specific countries. The purpose of this exploratory research study wasto interview principals who lead Hispanic-majority elementary, middle, and high schools to determine how students and school communities are reacting to President Trump’s current policy and rhetoric regarding immigration, and how these principals are responding to the students and communities they serve.
The challenges and rewards of co-chairing a department: Lessons learned from leaders in the middle
(New Prairie Press, 2021) Trujillo-Jenks, Laura; Anderson, Gina
Newly appointed Department Chairs are often on their own to learn “on the job” the knowledge and skills they will need to succeed. One way to mitigate the challenges of this high-stakes approach is to identify a second leader who can serve in the role of mentor, coach or Co-Chair alongside the new Chair. The Co-Chair may be a leader who has served as a Department Chair in the past and/or who is serving in another middle-management position such as a Chair from a different department, Director, or Associate Dean. During a time of tremendous change and uncertainty, the Co-Chair may provide additional support and stability while also helping the new Chair understand and practice their new roles and responsibilities. During this session, a Chair and Co-Chair will share their experiences, and session attendees will be invited to participate in an interactive discussion.
The challenges and rewards of co-chairing a department: Lessons learned from leaders in the middle: Part 2
(New Prairie Press, 2022) Trujillo-Jenks, Laura; Anderson, Gina
Newly appointed Department Chairs are often on their own to learn “on the job” the knowledge and skills they will need to succeed. One way to mitigate the challenges of this high-stakes approach is to identify a second leader who can serve in the role of mentor, coach or Co-Chair alongside the new Chair. The Co-Chair may be a leader who has served as a Department Chair in the past and/or who is serving in another middle-management position such as a Chair from a different department, Director, or Associate Dean. During a time of tremendous change and uncertainty, the Co-Chair may provide additional support and stability while also helping the new Chair understand and practice their new roles and responsibilities. During this session, a Chair and Co-Chair will share their experiences, and session attendees will be invited to participate in an interactive discussion.
The chameleon identity
(Texas Council of Women School Executives, 2013) Trujillo-Jenks, Laura
Traditionally, men have dominated leadership positions in the field of education, particularly the positions of principal and superintendent. However, more women are occupying these positions successfully (Mendez-Morse. 199, 2000; Skrla, 2000a. 2000b; Tallerico, 1999, 2000). Additionally, identifying with educational administrators involves accepting the responsibilities, characteristics, and attributes, assigned and ascribed to that position. An administrator has responsibilities, characteristics, and attributes of leading and caring for teachers and children, ensuring that they succeed at the appropriate level and pace. With increased opportunities in educational administration, women can have the responsibility to become successful and possibly help alter the characteristics and attributes that are assigned and ascribed.
Checking for understanding
(Magna Publications, 2018-06-01) Hurlbut, Amanda R.
Research shows that checking for understanding is perhaps one of the most important components of a teaching sequence. Most teachers provide instruction on a topic and follow up with some questions. On a good day, 4–5 students may volunteer and respond with the correct answers. The teacher then assumes that the majority of the class understands the concept and can handle a homework assignment. The teacher then moves on to the next topic.
Confronting mandated curriculum: Being a transgressive teacher and meeting the needs of our urban learners
(The University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, 2019) Myers, Aimée
Teachers in urban schools often struggle with being micro-managed by administration, especially when vertical alignment and assessment policies are heavily enforced. This study explores a culturally responsive teaching (CRT) approach to mandated curriculum within an urban classroom. By examining the teacher’s use of 19th century British literature, this study illustrates how educators can move beyond superficial cultural additives and be responsive to the needs of their learners. This study offers a unique perspective on a teacher willing to challenge the mandated curriculum by utilizing CRT with British Literature in an urban high school.
Curriculum controversy: Supporting teacher candidates in understanding politically divisive education
(Journal of Academic Perspectives, 2023) Burkett, Jerry
A suburb in north Texas recently made national news when residents elected a mayor, city council members, and school board members who spoke out against the local school district’s proposed Cultural Competence Action Plan. In this plan the district promised to emphasize cultural competence in curriculum, feature student assembly speakers specializing in cultural sensitivity and diversity, and to provide ongoing diversity training for all staff (Asmelash, 2021). Later that year, the state of Texas legislature enacted new restrictions on some types of diversity-related curricula and teacher training. Legislation has also been proposed at the federal level that would prevent federal funds from being used to teach from curricula deemed controversial (Cotton & Buck, 2021). Prospective and in-service teachers have likely seen headlines about the Critical Race Theory “battle” (Kingkade et al., 2021) and may seek professors of teacher education for guidance from their colleges or universities. It can be difficult for new teachers to navigate what could be classified by some as a divisive curriculum in their first-year in the classroom without the proper background, training, and information. It is important to explore these topics to provide an overview and background of the controversy, offer an explanation of concerns and questions parents may have about new curricula, and provide a perspective on advantages to covering racial issues in schools. This paper aims to provide an explanation for educators on some recent controversial conversations around curriculum and instruction in American schools.
Cut the busy work! Establishing clear purpose in course assignments and activities
(Association Of College And University Educators, 2018) Hurlbut, Amanda
You probably remember at some point in your childhood having a parent or adult ask you to do an errand, task, or chore that you didn’t want to do. My first thought when my mom asked me to do something was “Why do I have to do this? What for?” The analytic part of my brain wanted a purpose for the time and energy that I devoted to seemingly meaningless tasks. (And it never helped when my mom said, “Because I said so…”) Students want the same answers to these questions. If we ask them to complete a learning task or assignment, many will ask or think, “Why do I have to do this? Why is this important? What does this have to do with the learning concept? How is this going to help me achieve my learning goals?”
Defining principal effectiveness: Measuring the value of effective principals using the principal effectiveness evaluation rubric
(IMRJ, 2023) Burkett, Jerry
The evaluation of a campus principal can be a challenging process due largely to the complicated factors that exist to capture an accurate assessment of a principal’s leadership effectiveness. Generally, principal evaluations are conducted by districtlevel officials who often do not have the time or the resources to observe campus principals on a regular basis. Further, principal evaluation systems (PES) are designed to improve the practice of principals (Clifford & Ross, 2012; Davis, Kearney, Sanders, Thomas, & Leon, 2011; Fuller & Hollinsworth, 2014a; Fuller, et al., 2015), and there has historically been an acknowledgement that these evaluations do not always achieve this purpose. Therefore, the overarching purpose of an evaluation is to use defensible criteria to judge the worth or merit of a principal. Critical to this definition is “defensible criteria” as the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation (Gullickson & Howard, 2009) recommends that personnel evaluations should rely on defensible criteria to ensure such evaluations are “ethical, fair, useful, feasible, and accurate”. The Principal Effectiveness Evaluation Rubric is designed to evaluate the various themes found in the literature to help determine set criteria that is most used to measure principal effectiveness.
Developing critical consumers of knowledge: Merging critical literacy and digital tools
(Texas Association of Teacher Educators, 2018) Myers, Aimée
Moving students beyond functional literacy is needed now more than ever because of the constant influx of digital information. By merging critical literacy practices with students’ digital experiences, we can support students in becoming critical consumers and creators of information. Students’ experiences in the digital world can be an opportunity for educators to create a space for meaningful learning that develops democratic practices in the classroom. The article will explore the role of literacy in the digital age, while also offering practical examples for educators.
Digital teacher induction via webinars and social media
(Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education, 2016) Semingson, Peggy; Collins, Denise; Hungerford-Kresser, Holly; Hurlbut, Amanda; Meyers, Joyce; Owens, Dana; Robertson, Marla
This best practices paper provides advice on how to conceptualize, structure, and facilitate an open-access and mobile-accessible digital teacher induction program. The digital teacher induction program (DTIP) is used to provide support for graduates as well as preservice teachers of various degree and certification programs within a large teacher education program at a large public university in Texas. The presenters have participated in various roles in designing and facilitating an entirely online open-access DTIP. The program provides structured support via both synchronous (webinar-based) sessions on high-interest topics such as special education and behavior management, as well as asynchronous social-media based support (e.g., Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, and Slideshare). Alumni and preservice teachers are invited to attend or view the recordings of the synchronous sessions. We have recently added a blogging component to the DTIP and the program continues to change to meet the needs of our large alumni base.
Doing the work: Actualizing equity, accessibility, and inclusion for underserved students through the COPE Clothing Closet
(Magna Publications, 2022) Myers, Aimée
Equity, accessibility, and inclusion are common theoretical concepts within academic settings. While many of us support institutional progress toward these important notions, actualizing them can be challenging. We all know that actions speak louder than words, and I wan ted to make some decent noise. Therefore, during my first few years at Texas Woman’s University (TWU), I began to look for ways to engage in the actual work of equity, accessibility, and inclusion. Since we are a Hispanic serving institution (HSI), I wante d to ensure that my work supported the “serving” component of the HSI designation.

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