Breakout Session 2

Monday, October 9

11:15 am - 12:00 pm

SESSION 2A

Veramendi Salon A

Single-Topic Session

Strand 1: Program Support

A Case for Caring and Cooperation

Melba Foster, Texas A&M University Texarkana

Khiandra Woods, US PREP

Trenice West-Raymond, US PREP

Although college-aged students are regarded as young adults, sometimes they still need gentle nudges and encouragement to continue their journey through teacher certification and graduation. Fortunately for all involved, our EPP at Texas A&M-Texarkana is situated so that we can nurture and care for our students individually as they traverse the final semesters of their teacher residencies. The transition from college to career can be challenging. However, we cannot tout that the university faculty alone achieves this act of caring and mentoring. It is with the partnership, collaboration, and continuous communication with our partnering district’s campus principals that we can meet each student’s needs holistically. The involvement of the university faculty, combined with the insights and resources from the partnering districts, creates a strong support network for each teacher resident. This is certainly the Case for Caring at TAMUT.

SESSION 2B

Spring Lake Salon C

Roundtable Session

Strand 1: Program Support

Roundtable 1: Pathways to Support Bilingual Teacher Candidates Towards Graduating as Certified Teachers in Texas

Sandra Musanti, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Michael Whitacre, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

To respond to the certified bilingual teacher shortage, this study aims at exploring how to better support bilingual teacher candidates to successfully complete the teacher preparation program and attain Texas teacher certification. Using a mixed methods design, the study investigates bilingual teacher candidates’ culturally and linguistically inclusive pedagogical experiences, the development of language competencies in Spanish, and their resilience to persist in the program and seek certification. Findings show the importance of preparing bilingual candidates to amplify their pedagogical linguistic repertoire in Spanish and English, critical to effectively teaching bilingual learners and to achieve bilingual teacher competency and state certification.

Strand 1: Program Support

Roundtable 2: CPR2: Certification, Pathways, and Residency Forward

Lisa Tieken, Texas A&M University-San Antonio

Julie Riedel, Texas A&M University-San Antonio

Teacher Education may require a bit of CPR2: Certification, Pathway, Residency to move us forward when reviving stakeholders, students, and candidates to a new way of thinking about teacher preparedness. In this session, we will unpack our collective experience of the past year of residency design. We will be answering several key questions such as, what does it take to revive and remodel traditional clinical teaching? What can our future look like with yearlong residents becoming first year teachers? Certification, Pay and Retention will be discussed as we move residency from a dream to a reality.

Strand 1: Program Support

Roundtable 3: Leading and Learning: The Story of a First Year Residency

Tiffany Farias-Sokoloski, The University of Texas at San Antonio

This presentation captures a university and district partnership’s reflection on their inaugural yearlong teacher residency. Information included in the presentation will discuss how the university and district leveraged their partnership and existing systematic structures to create the core elements of the planning and implementation for their yearlong teacher residency program. The authors will share successes, challenges, and lessons learned from their first-yearlong teacher residency. The discussion highlights the vital role that partnership and perseverance have in enacting a culture of caring by fostering teacher confidence, competence and capacity, and equitable learning opportunities for all students.

Strand 3: Policy & Leadership

Roundtable 4: Cultivating Compassionate Professionals: Reworking Accessibility and Opportunity for Specialized Training

Summer Koltonskl, Stephen F. Austin State University

Kevin Jones, Stephen F. Austin State University

Sarah Straub, Stephen F. Austin State University

The project developed two micro-credentials: "Educational Diagnostician: Equity-Based Assessment Procedures" and "Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice in the Workplace." These micro-credentials focus on fostering care, diversity, equity, and social justice in both educational and professional settings, offering specialized training to participants. Our project addresses immediate community needs while also establishing a sustainable path for long-term growth and financial stability. Aligned with the goals of the President's Innovation Fund, which prioritize student recruitment, retention, and active student involvement, our initiative empowers learners to take charge of their education. Our ultimate objective is to cultivate a culture of care and inclusivity, equipping professionals with the necessary skills to create equitable environments. Through expanded access to specialized training, individuals and institutions will be empowered to champion diversity and advocate for social justice, ultimately leading to positive societal impacts.

Strand 2: Pedagogy & Curriculum

Roundtable 5: Meeting Students Where They Are: The Power of the Individual Conference

Leah Carruth, Angelo State University

Increased student needs require faculty to develop innovative communication modes to engage with students. This presentation will expand upon the individual conference and how it is utilized for three distinct purposes. Building relationships is a foundation for educators and individual conferences assists faculty and students in building relationships. This will model for teacher candidates what caring looks like in action, allowing their future students to have success through strong, positive relationships.

SESSION 2C

Veramendi Salon C

Single-Topic Session

Strand 2: Pedagogy & Curriculum

Care for Candidates and the Curriculum

Sharon Vasser Darling, The University of Texas Permian Basin

Lorraine Spickermann, The University of Texas Permian Basin

Marsha Bridges, The University of Texas Permian Basin

The goal of this presentation focusing on pedagogy and curriculum is to highlight the yearlong field experience of our teacher residents, including how we maximize teacher quality via best practices. Course work, field work, and student teaching are aligned with T-TESS assessment and evaluation. The interactive discussion will include key takeaways from the yearlong student teaching model (residency), along with the advantages gained by students accepted into this program. We will discuss how assessment and data are being strategically used for both programmatic and individual student progress.

SESSION 2D

Veramendi Salon D

Single-Topic Session

Strand 2: Pedagogy & Curriculum

Certification Success Plan: How a Regional EPP Provides Support to Its Educational Leadership Candidates During the Principal Certification Examination Process

Joseph Austin Vasek, Texas A&M University-Central Texas

Jeff Kirk, Texas A&M University-Central Texas

Tam Jones, Texas A&M University-Central Texas

Lori Einfalt, Concordia University

Texas A&M University-Central Texas (TAMU-CT) has developed and implemented a Certification Success Plan (CSP) to support the Principal Certification experience. The CSP is a multi-step process that includes baseline/benchmark assessments, course/test alignment, targeted support seminars, data collection, and data analysis. By embedding the CSP into the Principal Preparation Program, TAMU-CT can track student performance by Principal standard/competency, identify areas for targeted enrichment or remediation, adjust program curriculum, and maximize successful certification exam performance. The purpose of the presentation is to communicate CSP components, share data collected, discuss implications, and gather insights/feedback from presentation attendees. The proposed presentation aligns with the conference theme “CSOTTE Cares” and Strand 2-Program Support-Certification Preparation.

SESSION 2E

Spring Lake Salon A

Single-Topic Session

Strand 3: Policy & Leadership

Building Collective Efficacy through Shared Leadership

Rick Garner

This session builds on the concept of shared leadership for administrators to build teacher efficacy in a way that ensures teachers deliver data-driven instruction based on effective, research-based practices that maximize student learning. Administrators are charged with being the instructional leader of their campus, but spending time in classrooms and supporting teachers often gets cut short. The session will align with the conference theme by identifying how administrators can utilize collaborative learning communities to facilitate shared leadership and enhance their role as an instructional leader, while also fostering emotional wellness for educators so that they can better support their students.

SESSION 2F

Spring Lake Salon B

Single-Topic Session

Strand 2: Pedagogy & Curriculum

Creating Caring Connections: Humanizing and Personalizing Learning for Students through Meaningful Feedback

Twyla Tasker, Angelo State University

Kim Livengood, Angelo State University

Kristen Lyons, Angelo State University

Instructors create caring connections with students through intentional communication, grace, and empathy. Whether face-to-face or online, instructors nurture students’ knowledge and skills within the discipline and guide their growth and development. As instructors model grace and empathy in feedback, students accumulate examples of caring to follow with peers. To care for students is to humanize and personalize their learning experiences. Specific feedback tools and strategies can facilitate the humanizing and personalizing of feedback into caring connections and engaging experiences. These students ultimately would learn to create caring connections with their learners and clients by providing meaningful, constructive, and personal feedback.

SESSION 2G

Veramendi Salon G

Multi-Topic Session

Strand 3: Policy & Leadership

Engaging the Community: Partnerships with Education Preparation Programs

Laura Isbell, Texas A&M University-Commerce

Abbie Strunc, Stephen F. Austin State University

Karen Dunlap, Texas Woman's University

Becky Fredrickson, Texas Woman’s University

Public education has always been a community activity. However, in the post-covid learning space, the presenters will share their lived experiences as to how community partnerships have become an essential component of the work with educator preparation. Our work shows #EducatorsCare and aligns with the conference theme #CSOTTECares because it is the work of building community that supports the #Heartwork of education. The presenters will connect the need to engage teacher candidates in the community so that they are able to understand the picture of the whole teacher: it extends beyond the classroom.

Strand 3: Policy & Leadership

Panola Pathway with SFA: Community Colleges and EPPs Removing Barriers to Degrees and Certification

Jannah Nerren, Stephen F. Austin State University

Susan Reily, Stephen F. Austin State University

Elizabeth Gound, Stephen F. Austin State University

Rebecca Morris, Panola College

Alyssa Landreneaux, Stephen F. Austin State University

Educator Preparation professionals understand the critical need to address the ongoing teacher shortage with collaborative solutions. One opportunity to bolster the teacher pipeline is to recruit candidates for university-based educator preparation programs from community colleges. Students working toward an Associate of Arts in Teaching (AAT) are often interested in a bachelor’s degree and teacher certification but may experience logistical barriers. This presentation explains how one university-based EPP and a neighboring community college created a pathway for students that includes in-place, face-to-face instruction and advising for the bachelor’s degree, as well as certification testing support on the community college campus.

SESSION 2H

Veramendi Salon H

Single-Topic Session

Strand 3: Policy & Leadership

Essential Elements of an Alternative Certification Residency Program

Haley Richardson, The University of Texas at El Paso

Jessica Pussman, The University of Texas at El Paso

Heather Click-Cuellar, The University of Texas at El Paso

Cynthia Acosta, The University of Texas at El Paso

UTEP’s Miner Teacher Residency Alternative Certification Program (ACP) is a Vetted Teacher Residency Program. ACP candidates progress from a foundational pre-residency semester of coursework, field-based observations, and certification exams into a year-long residency experience in one of three paid roles. During residency, they have the option to take additional coursework to complete an integrated, accelerated M.A. in Education. UTEP faculty Site Coordinators and ACP staff will share how this model attracts candidates and produces day-one-ready teachers by providing tailored instruction, wraparound support, and intensive pre-service and in-service coaching. Attendees will have access to resources they can adapt for use in their own programs.

SESSION 2I

Veramendi Salon I

Single-Topic Session

Strand 2: Pedagogy & Curriculum

From Teacher Candidate to Inclusive Educator: A Conceptual Framework for Training Teacher Candidates to Support Emergent Bilingual Students and Students with Disabilities in Inclusive Classrooms

William Blackwell, Sam Houston State University

Baburhan Uzum, Sam Houston State University

This session presents a conceptual framework, teacher preparation resources, and findings from a project designed to help teacher candidates make explicit connections between two research-based approaches that inform inclusive education practices, the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) model used for emergent bilingual students (Echevarria et al., 2018) and the high leverage practices for inclusive education (HLP) framework used to guide instruction for students with disabilities in inclusive classroom settings (McLeskey et al., 2019). This session aligns with the CSOTTE Cares theme by emphasizing the importance of developing teacher candidates who are more effective inclusive educators for emergent bilingual students and students with disabilities. The conceptual framework explicitly identifies instructional approaches that directly overlap between the SIOP and HLP models. The presenters will discuss the conceptual framework, highlight key findings from the project, and provide recommendations for how to support teacher candidates as they integrate this framework into their teaching practice.

SESSION 2J

Veramendi Salon J

Single-Topic Session

Strand 2: Pedagogy & Curriculum

Hub & Spoke Networks That Achieve Results: Cohering to Quality Teacher Preparation to Improve the Pipeline

Sarah Beal, Texas Tech University

Scarlet Clouse, Angelo State University

Alma Rodriguez, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Larry Daniel, The University of Texas Permian Basin

Belinda Flores, The University of Texas at San Antonio

Michael O’Malley, Texas State University

Chris Sloan, Tarleton State University

Jonathan Schwartz, University of Houston-Downtown

As states across the country grapple with growing teacher shortages and seek to build a teacher workforce that is well equipped to meet the diverse learning needs of our nation’s students, more and more school systems are turning to teacher residencies — yearlong clinical experiences that pair teacher candidates with highly effective mentor teachers in a Pk-12 classroom — as a pillar of their talent pipeline strategy. Teacher residencies have emerged as a highly successful model of teacher preparation, developing candidates who are more diverse, more likely to stay in the classroom longer, and have a greater impact on student learning outcomes.

SESSION 2K

Veramendi Salon B

Sponsor Session

Passage Preparation

Kristina Sterling, Passage Preparation

Passage Preparation™ launched a new, innovative approach to support candidates preparing for TExES™ licensure assessments. This presentation will talk about the development of the Passage Preparation™ course. The features that are embedded in the courses and the partnership benefits of working with Passage Preparation™. Passage Preparation™ intentionally designed courses that allow students to engage with the content and make the process of preparation more approachable. We will highlight how we have taken what we, as educators, have learned from being in the classroom and supporting diverse learners and applied that knowledge to supporting teachers to be successful on their TExES™ exams.