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Spotlight on Clinical Experiences
How State Leaders Could Support High-Quality Clinical Practice
The SREB Teacher Preparation Commission called on state leaders to consider ways to improve the quality of teacher candidates’ classroom experiences. After consulting the research, Commission members learned that the length of a clinical experience is less important than ensuring that candidates are supported by effective mentors and supervised by university faculty who have experience in the classroom.
Giving Elementary Teachers the Tools to Teach Math Well
Broad preparation can leave math-specific knowledge lacking
It’s no secret that aspiring
teachers with strong math backgrounds tend to be drawn toward the
secondary grades, where they can just teach math. In fact,
results of the 2018 National Survey of Science and Math
Education showed that just 3 percent of elementary teachers
surveyed held a degree in mathematics or math education, compared
with 45 percent of middle grades math teachers and 79 percent of
high school math teachers.
Educator Effectiveness is About Learning and Growth Opportunities
And that should never end
Lessons learned from three years of work in 8 states
Providing real-time feedback and
growth opportunities to teachers — the real purpose of educator
effectiveness systems — means that school leaders have to
understand and value the skills to be instructional leaders
and be properly trained on those skills. In any career
path, professionals need to know how they’re doing and need help
honing their craft. Teaching is no different; teachers need a
coach, they need feedback.
Why Do We Say “I’m Bad at Math”?
How math anxiety affects performance, and what we can do about it
We’ve all likely heard someone say, “I’m bad at math,” or even “I hate math.” In the United States, math is too often considered a subject that either comes naturally or doesn’t — there are “math people,” and everyone else can expect to struggle with it. If you stop and think, though, this makes as much sense as saying we’re all naturally good (or bad) at sports, or music, or writing. It’s true that becoming skilled in any of these areas may come more easily to some people than others, but we generally understand that no one becomes expert at baseball without learning the game and spending a lot of time practicing.
Fixing the Pipeline of Possibility
A recent Atlantic
article, “The
Disciplines Where No Black People Earn Ph.D.s,” is
eye-opening for its title alone. “In 2017,” author Adam Harris
says, “there were more than a dozen fields” — largely within STEM
— “in which not a single doctoral degree was awarded to a black
person anywhere in the United States.”
Update on Final Legislative Actions in VA, WV
While the first and second Legislative Report issues of the year are focused on gubernatorial budget proposals, several SREB states have already completed their 2019 regular legislative sessions — the first ones across the finish line being Virginia and West Virginia. Here is a brief summary of final actions in both states; we’ll have full write-ups on final actions in all 16 SREB states in coming blog posts and Legislative Report editions.
Getting the Balance Right
Reconsidering the Mix of Teacher Licensure Measures
The SREB Teacher Preparation Commission called on state leaders to adopt practice-based assessments. These tests assess candidates’ readiness to lead a classroom and to apply lessons learned during coursework and clinical experiences.
Practice-based assessments have diagnostic value, meaning they provide performance data that educator preparation programs can use to identify strengths and opportunities for improvement. State agencies could use the assessment data to determine how they will provide technical assistance to preparation programs.
Tips from Women of Color on Succeeding in Academia
Finishing the Ph.D. and Advancing in Higher Education
Women represent a majority of Ph.D. students nationally, but overcoming hurdles relating to both gender and race can make life in academia especially challenging for women scholars.
That was a major theme among scholars and experts at the 2018 annual Institute on Teaching and Learning, hosted by the SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program and its partner programs.
Teacher Salary Proposals
SREB states, 2019 and 2018
Teacher salaries are in the news, and we’ve been getting some questions about what actions SREB states are taking during this year’s legislative sessions. Here are proposals so far in 2019. Bonus: 2018 actions.
‘I almost wasn’t’: Ph.D. graduates, experts urge self-care
A critical topic that often gets overlooked in the drive to earn a Ph.D.: taking care of yourself.
The issue was on full, courageous display at the 2018 Institute on Teaching and Mentoring, the nation’s largest gathering of underrepresented Ph.D. students and graduates of color. At the banquet celebrating the previous year’s newly minted graduates, many spoke of their emotional and health struggles during their long journey to the doctorate.
Cyberattacks: Helping Schools Fight Back
Nearly 60 percent of U.S. school districts report cyberattacks infrequently — every month or less, according to a recent Consortium for School Networking report. But in November, David Couch, K-12 Chief Information Officer at the Kentucky Department of Education, made a startling announcement. Couch told the SREB Legislative Advisory Council that he’d seen over 4 billion attempted cyber-attacks in one year in his state.
In This Together: How States Foster Safe Learning Environments
As legislatures convene regular sessions, we at SREB have observed an uptick in bills focused on school safety. Some propose dramatic changes in the way school districts hire and train security personnel, develop emergency plans, or address students’ mental and emotional health. Others make technical changes to standing laws in order to lower the barriers districts face in creating safe learning environments.
Reflecting on 25 years
of the Institute on Teaching and Mentoring
As one of only three people who have attended every Institute on Teaching and Mentoring, Dr. Robert (Bob) Belle, the longtime associate director of the SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program, reflects on the Institute’s growth and importance, marking the 25th year of the conference.
National Cyber Security Awareness Month
Technology security is a
global issue for education, government, military, 
business and private individuals. Each October,
the topic is highlighted to bring attention to the issue.
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is celebrating its 15th year since inception. Homeland Security provides information on its website.
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
An appreciation of Dave Spence
The 10 commissions during his leadership at SREB, his ceaseless efforts to prepare high schoolers for college and college kids for graduation and graduates for careers — it was always about the students. Everything else came second.
Unsung Heroes of America’s Schools
Assistant principals are critical to school success
Assistant principals supervise the hallways and the lunchrooms. They observe teachers and coordinate testing. They serve as the first line of response for discipline referrals, guide wayward students with humor and compassion — and do their best to make their principals look good.
It’s a lot, but most assistant principals truly love their jobs and know that what they do is critical to their school’s success.
How States Can Get Teacher Evaluation Systems Right
Insights from our partners at Education First
High-quality teacher evaluations are an important component of comprehensive systems to ensure that all students are being taught by effective teachers. From evaluations, districts and states can generate data that can positively impact teachers and students in numerous ways. This is why states have invested so much in them – since 2009, 37 states have updated their evaluation systems – and why they are so important to get right.
It’s All About Community
An interview with Ansley Abraham
What’s the best advice to propel a doctoral candidate toward a successful completion of their Ph.D. goal? According to Dr. Ansley Abraham, director of the SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program, it boils down to connecting with “people who are vested in your success.”
Dr. Abraham has been doling out that advice to doctoral students for over 25 years. In the article below, originally published on the blog – Grad | Logic: Navigating the Ups and Downs of Graduate School, Dr. Abraham shared some of his wisdom in an interview with Dr. Chris Golde.
Small-Town School, A Pacesetter
Georgia Schools Sets Pace Nationally for HSTW
A small-town high school has become one of Georgia’s highest-performing schools, with graduation rates comparable to those in North Atlanta’s wealthiest suburbs.
Unlike schools in many upscale suburbs, Camden County High School in Kingsland, about 35 miles north of Jacksonville, Florida, draws 45 percent of its 2,500 students from low-income families. The school is among many across the country that have used SREB’s High Schools That Work school improvement framework — newly updated, but first introduced more than 30 years ago.
Why It’s Critical for States to Move on Educational Technology
Educational technology, once the wave of the future, is now part and parcel of modern education — it supports innovative teaching methods, personalized learning models, and data systems that lead education policy makers toward better real-time decisions.
A 21st-century education is almost unimaginable without up-to-date technology, and states that address these issues now will send their best-prepared students out into the digital world.