Featured News

AACTE’s New Clinical Prep Lexicon and Practice Report
 
A new report released this month by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE)’s Clinical Practice Commission (CPC) gave strong support to the residency model, finding that residencies “demonstrate a strong expectation for teacher preparation programs to establish rich clinical experiences that weave together theory and application with the goal of preparing profession-ready teachers.” The report, “A Pivot Toward Clinical Practice, Its Lexicon, and the Renewal of Educator Preparation,” recognizes the teacher residency model and professional development schools as “significant exemplars for practice because of the longevity and prevalence of these approaches as accepted frames for establishing and implementing highly effective clinical preparation programs.”
 
The report includes 10 proclamations and supporting tenets that are designed to guide and ensure high-quality clinical preparation. Proclamations include:

• The Central Proclamation: “Clinical practice is central to high-quality teacher preparation.”
• The Skills Proclamation: “Clinical practice includes, supports, and complements the innovative and requisite skills, strategies, and tools that improve teacher preparation by using high-leverage practices as part of a commitment to continuous renewal for all learning sites."
• The Partnership Proclamation: “Clinical partnerships are the foundation of highly effective clinical practice.”

The report also establishes a lexicon of terms and definitions elemental to hands-on, experiential, in-classroom training.

At a press conference last week announcing the paper’s release, AACTE CPC noted the “beneficial partnerships between educator preparation providers and PK-12,” which “can successfully create laboratories of practice for both teacher candidates and practicing teachers, providing continuous improvement for all involved.” Watch the event recording here, and then read more about the report in Education Week.