All posts by ckosnik

Teacher Education Reform Trends

academics, Conferences, Ethan Hawke, Teacher education, , ,

Image Univeristy of SydneyClive and I (Clare) are doing a presentation at the University of Sydney on reforms to teacher education. Along with Lin Goodwin we wrote a chapter for the upcoming Handbook on Teacher Education edited by Loughran & Hamilton (to be published by Springer). We surveyed the literature on teacher education from many countries and identified the following trends:

  • Explicit Standards
  • Minimum Requirements
  • Research Based
  • Assessment + Accountability
  • Alternative Routes
  • Subject Knowledge
  • Theory and Practice
  • Continuing PD

We did mini case studies of England, Canada, U.S., and Singapore – England where they seem to be dismantling university-based teacher education to Singapore where the government, universities, and schools work collaboratively. This research was so enlightening because we looked an many countries beyond the usual big “players” like Finland, the Netherlands …. . We included information on less reported countries like Trinidad and Tobago, Chile, Scotland, and Norway. Will keep you posted on the publication of the handbook.

Australian Teacher Education Association Conference: One Mob Different Country

celebrations, Conferences, , ,

IMG_0484We (Clare and Clive) are at ATEA in lovely Darwin. The conference has been so interesting because we are learning much about teacher education in Australia. There is a heavy emphasis on Indigenous education.

The conference started with a welcome dance by One Mob Different Country. The dancers were IMG_0486incredibly talented and set the stage for a wonderful conference.
One Mob Different Country is a program that operates out of the Berrimah Correctional Centre. The program allows low-security Indigenous prisoners to take part in performing traditional Aboriginal dances at events. The dancers have been given permission from the Elders of the Beswick and Burunga communities to perform certain dances and songs from that region. The name One Mob Different Country refers to the fact that the dancer themselves may come fom different communities (different country) but they come together as a group to dance (as one mob).

Director of the Institute of Child Studies

celebrations, education, ,

On this site we have shared many of our stories. I (Clare) am happy to share some exciting news. I have been appointed to be the Director of Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Studies at the University of Toronto.

ICSICS has a tripartite mission to bring together graduate teacher education in a 2-year Master of Arts Program, exemplary educational practices in the Laboratory School, and leading multidisciplinary research in child development at the Dr. R.G.N. Laidlaw Centre.

Faculty, lab school teacher-researchers, and staff are dedicated to setting the highest standards for children’s education and development. By connecting research, training, and practice, Jackman ICS leads the way as Canada’s foremost teaching and learning environment, with an international reputation for leadership.

Housed in an old mansion on the university grounds ICS is an outstanding educational institution. There are so many outstanding educators/researchers at ICS including Yiola who is a regular contributor to this blog. By coincidence the principal of the lab school, Richard Messina, is a former student teacher of mine. My appointment begins November 1, 2015.

Here is a link to the site:

http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/ics/

Australia Here We Come

academics, celebrations, Conferences, ,

Clive and I are off to Australia today. The impetus for the trip was an invitation to speak at the Australian Teacher Education Clive with Aussie flagAssociation Conference in Darwin. The trip then mushroomed to include visiting Clive’s family in Perth, Sydney, and Melbourne. He has lots of family!

Being in education I have long been an admirer of many Australian educators:

  • Mem Fox (children’s books)
  • First Steps (literacy program)
  • Keith Punch (research methodology)
  • John Loughran (pedagogy of teacher education)
  • Robyn Ewing (Master of Teaching program at the University of Sydney)
  • Neil Selwyn (digital technology)

And I love Tim Tams (best cookies) and the new Australian TV series A Place to Call Home (a potboiler of an evening drama).

Tim TamsSo while we are on the road we hope to do some blogs about our adventures.Image Place to Call Home

Happy Pride Weekend

celebrations, ,

This is pride weekend in Toronto. There are a huge number of activities – runs, parades, dinners …. Toronto has truly embraced pride weekend with upwards of 1,000,000 people attending the parade. My (Clare) friend Linda Kooluris Dobbs is an amazing artist and photographer. She is truly a remarkable person: Linda Dobbs

A native of New Jersey now living more than half her life in Canada, Linda has done extensive work in both painting and photography. She has had many solo exhibitions and has been featured in national and international publications. Her portraits, landscapes, still lifes, limited edition prints and photographs are found in corporate and private collections worldwide.

Check out her website at: http://www.koolurisdobbs.ca

She sent me the photo below. Happy Pride weekend Toronto.

Iage_Rainbow Colors-koolurisdobbs-15 (1)

Teacher Educators’ Perspectives

academics, AERA, teacher educators, , , , ,

At AERA this past year, Division K dramatically changed their Business Meeting. Rather than do “administrivia” they used the time to get feedback from teacher educators. In the Division K Summer Newsletter they reported on the feedback. I have copied and pasted some of the report below and included one chart on the most warranted criticisms of teacher educators. Here is the link to the newsletter so that you can read the entire report which provides good feedback for teacher educators. DivKSummer2015-1 Thanks Lin Goodwin our Division K Vice President for moving the discussion forward.

Teacher Educators Talk By: Roxanne Greitz Miller

Division K Program Co-Chair

Chapman University

At our Division K business meeting, we took things to the next level on last year’s theme – Not Business As Usual – and embarked on some original research with the members in

attendance as well additional ones who responded after the meeting electronically. Prior to the meeting, the following questions were posed by our Vice President, Lin Goodwin, as points to consider:

 Of the many criticisms leveled against university-based teacher education/teacher

educators, which do you feel is most warranted?

 Of the many criticisms leveled against university-based teacher education/teacher

educators, which do you feel is least warranted?

 What is one thing you think we should do to address the negative perceptions of university-based teacher education/teacher educators?

During our meeting, attended by 269 people (thank you!), members considered these questions and were able to enter their open ended responses via electronic polling, using either URL or QR code. After the meeting, the URL was distributed to the entire Division K membership for additional participation, and it was posted to our social media links as well. Polls were left open for a week after AERA, and, once closed, the open-ended responses were categorized into common themes and tabulated.

Most warranted criticisms of TE, poll results

DivisionKPieChart

Favourite Quotes from Literature

art as a form of communication, celebrations, communicating ideas and research, ,

spring-flowers-wallpaperflower-wallpaper-background-hd-desktop-widescreenFor my book club I (Clare) had to find some special literary quotes. Huh! Yes that is how I felt too. Well anyway I went searching on the internet and found a few sites that had collections of quotes (organized a zillion different ways – authors, themes …). I know this was cheating (sort of) but the quotes I picked were from authors and books I have read. Here they are:

·      Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same. Emily Bronte (Wuthering Heights)

·      There is a sense in which we are all each other’s consequences. Wallace Stegner

·      For poems are like rainbows: they escape you quickly. Langston Hughes

·      It does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that. J. K. Rowling

·      Let the wild rumpus start. Maurice Sendak

·      Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering. Nicole Krause (The History of Love)

Let’s Not Forget About the Teachers

celebrations, classroom teachers, master teacher, , , , , ,

I (Clare) read this tribute to teachers in the Huffington Post. Lindsay Henry got it right. If you have a minute please send to this a teacher you know – I know that I would not be where I am today if it not for the many teachers who cared about me and worked tirelessly. I bolded a few lines in Henry’s original text.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lindsay-henry/this-ones-for-the-teacher_b_7555134.html

This One Is for the Teachers By: Lindsay Henry

It’s graduation season. A time where we focus our eyes and spotlights and applause on the students who successfully pushed through the exams, the essays, the sports games, the drama, to walk across a stage and receive that diploma. To graduate. Finally.

Whew.

So we celebrate. We honor the graduates with parties and families and photos and cake. Lots of cake (preferably with heaps of frosting and rosettes and plastic graduation caps.) We write “Congratulations” on cards and give “How to Succeed in the Real World” books and write “Top 10 Things I Learned When…” blog posts. Of course the graduates deserve the praise and recognition and celebrations and cake and blog posts.

But this post isn’t for the students.

This one’s for the teachers.

This one is for the teachers who stand in front of the students every day, writing on white boards and planning lessons and doing all they can to prepare youth for the rest of their lives. This one’s for the teachers who are full of nerves and anxiety on that first day of class in the fall, then bittersweet sadness as they say goodbye in the spring. The Silent Heroes who put in the work day in and day out, sometimes viewed as the antagonist by the students for assigning those group projects, required readings, difficult tests.

But teachers face their own tests, too. So this one’s for them.

This one is for the teachers who made it through another year full of hurdles. The long days and worrisome nights, the frustrated parents, the conferences. The detentions. The decisions. The reviews. The observations.

This one’s for the teachers that blur the lines because you care so much for these students, as if they are an extension of your own family. The ones that make sure the kids have full bellies and open minds. The ones that are the only constant in some of their students’ lives, filling the void as a caretaker or pseudo parent. The ones that use their own money to pour back into the classroom with materials and books and supplies.

This one’s for the teachers that are so much more than teachers. The ones that are fighters, advocators, listeners, healers, all to reach one more.

This one is for the hard days. The days that are long and the nights are longer, your mind racing and running. The days where teachers feels unsure of themselves, the ones that go home and wonder if they are making a difference, if the lessons are sticking, if they should just pack up the apples on their desks and stop trying.

You matter. The lessons stick. Trust me.

My high school days are long behind me, but the lessons live on and those who taught me. So this one’s for them, too.

This one’s for Mrs. Kochendorfer, my first-grade teacher at Patterson Elementary in St. Charles, Michigan, who’s proud, grinning face is still etched in my memory when I read her “The Rainbow Fish,” just a shy 6-year-old back then with Keds shoes and blunt bangs.

This one’s for Miss Bell, with her huge heart and booming voice shouting throughout my high school hallways: “Practice abstinence!” We laughed with her and loved her because she laughed and loved us first.

This one’s for Mr. Brownlie, with his easy-going manner and button-down shirts and soft-spoken voice. He retired this year, and his dedication and love for his students poured back to him as his former students created a hard covered book thick with pages full stories of how he impacted their lives.

This one’s for the future teachers, the college students in classrooms of their own right now, balancing the act of being a teacher and a student, observing and soaking it all in so they are ready to change lives.

Because that’s what teachers do. They do more than teach. They shape us. They lead us….until we reach the finish line and throw our caps into the hair, grinning at the idea of the future, unsure of what’s next.

But teachers know what’s next: another school year. And so they begin another season of preparation and books and lessons and worries centered around fresh faces sitting in desks.

In this season of mortar caps and gold tassels, Dr. Seuss and “Oh The Places You Go!” lines are repeated as we stare at the backs of the graduates running forward into the so-called real world. But let’s pause for a moment and thank the teachers that helped get them to this point. Because without them — sorry Dr. Seuss — we wouldn’t have a lot of places to go. We would all be a little lost.

Congratulations, students. And congratulations, teachers. You did it. All of you