Faculty Present at California Council on Teacher Education, San Diego, October 18-20

The Fall 2018 Conference of the California Council on Teacher Education (CCTE) was held October 18-20 at the Kona Kai Resort in San Diego. The theme was "Changemaking and Teacher Education."

The fall conference brought together researchers and practitioners in presentations and workshops that focused on teacher educators, teachers, and students as agents of change, as well as on the ways that teacher education curriculum supports the development of social emotional intelligence, leadership, collaboration, and creative thinking that leads to changemaking.

Major questions posed included the following: 

1. How do we define Changemaking in  teacher education? 
2. ​In what ways and to what degree does a Changemaker lens on teaching support a teacher in  understanding their  students, subject matter, and pedagogy.
3. How can we utilize the research in social innovation and Changemaking education to plan and prepare future Changemaker teachers? 
4. What type of Changemaking teacher education programs, partnerships and consortia are in place in U. S. Schools and Colleges of Education and at an international level? And how do we bridge these consortia? 
5. How can teacher education programs provide the opportunities and experiences for teacher candidates to attain competence as Changemaker teachers in their field experiences and curriculum? 
6. How can we help support the development of teacher education faculty on their own Changemaker journeys

Presentation: Project-Based Learning (PBL): Re-Envisioning Teaching and Learning
Presenters: Virginia Panish, Acacia Warren, Susan Toma-Berge
Synopsis: Can we inspire and facilitate improvements in educational outcomes by building the capacity of pre-service teachers to design and implement high quality PBL? This roundtable explores ways to enhance equity and student agency through authentic engagement in PBL. Key objectives include: (1) the role of PBL in teacher education; (2) anticipated challenges and opportunities for candidates, instructors, and master teachers; and (3) implications of PBL for multilingual students and students with disabilities.  

Professor Judith Haymore Sandholtz and Cathy Ringstaff of WestEd presented their research in a session titled “Changing Teachers’ Science Practices in Rural Elementary Schools with High-Need Student Populations.”

Acacia Warren (l) and Virginia Panish (r) discuss project-based learning at CCTE.