SESSION 6A                         

Veramendi Salon A

Single-Topic Session

 

Strand 3: Policy & Leadership          

Yes, but WHY are Teachers Leaving the Profession: Qualitative Answers from a Longitudinal Study

Rebecca Wentworth, Sam Houston State University

Jalene P. Potter, Sam Houston State University

Daphne D. Johnson, Sam Houston State University

Dustin M. Hebert, Sam Houston State University

 

Over the last 40+ years, researchers have asked Texas K-12 teachers if they are seriously considering leaving the teaching profession. In the context of a questionnaire concerning moonlighting practices, the underlying assumption, perhaps, has been that money is at the root of the decision-making for educators. Current researchers are taking a deeper look into the data to determine if there are other factors contributing to teacher attrition. Preliminary findings will be shared.

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SESSION 6B                         

Veramendi Salon B

Single-Topic Session

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Strand 2: Pedagogy & Curriculum          

Meeting the Needs of Districts through a University-Based Alternative Certification Program

Jane Elizabeth Casey, Texas A&M University-Central Texas

Kimberly Kuklies, Texas A&M University-Central Texas

Linda Black, Texas A&M University-Central Texas

 

As districts across Texas and the United States struggle to hire qualified, certified educators, university-based educator preparation programs (EPPs) may be able to supply certified teachers to districts through an alternative certification program (ACP). Students holding a bachelors can move more quickly through an ACP program than a four-year, undergraduate program. Unlike for-profit organizations, a university-based ACP program supports students from the moment they apply. Texas A&M University - Central Texas has had great success with their ACP program, and details about the program will be shared with interested faculty/EPPs.

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SESSION 6C                         

Veramendi Salon C

Single-Topic Session

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Strand 3: Policy & Leadership          

Is it Working? Evaluation of a Teacher Appraisal and Compensation System

Shaun Hutchins, Texas A&M University

Amie Ortiz, Austin ISD

 

A local teacher appraisal and compensation system was adopted in 2016-17. This session describes efforts to understand outcomes. Historical teacher appraisal results and salaries were examined over a 6-year period. Engagement in professional development, years of experience, and school characteristics were also evaluated. Analyses provided evidence for valid and differentiated teacher appraisal and compensation, as well as a meaningful second source of increases to teacher salaries. Implications of this work includes proving teachers, school administrators, and policymakers with information on how human capital systems can impact teacher appraisal and compensation.

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SESSION 6D                         

Veramendi Salon D

Single-Topic Session

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Strand 2: Pedagogy & Curriculum          

Defense of Degree: Performance Design and Scaffold Support for a Successful Summative Assessment

Julie Hyman, Dallas Baptist University

Debbye Garner, Dallas Baptist University

 

The Dallas Baptist University Educator Preparation Program has designed a summative Defense of Degree which includes a digital portfolio and presentation to a panel of expert practitioners in the field of education for all masters and advanced certification candidates. To support students through this process and to demonstrate caring servant leadership, the program includes a seminar class and scaffolded coaching. Feedback and performance results from the Defense of Degree are shared with students and used by the DBU EPP for continuous improvement and national certification efforts. Come learn more about this summative assessment where caring support, high rigor, and mastery learning meet.

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SESSION 6E                         

Chautauqua Salon A

Single-Topic Session

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Strand 2: Pedagogy & Curriculum          

Texas High School Health Education: An Upstream Solution for our Downstream Issues

Jeanette Jacobs, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor

 

Critical health literacy is the highest tier of health literacy. It focuses on social determinants of health. With the current state of health education in public high schools, as an inconsistent graduation requirement, coupled with health education teacher preparation that focuses on kinesiology versus health and health literacy, the overarching absence of teaching critical health literacy, thus, a null curriculum is overt for those who see health education as a component of social justice education. With the noted disparity of morbidity and mortality from injuries and violence in the adolescent population that result from their social determinants of health, the value of achieving mastery level of health literacy, thus critical health literacy, is consistent with the value of health as a human right. For social determinants of health to become tangible and actionable, students must be taught not just what they are, but how they contribute to health inequity.

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SESSION 6F                         

Chautauqua Salon B

Single-Topic Session

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Strand 2: Pedagogy & Curriculum          

Collaborating Across Departments: Creating Paths for Student Success

Rebekah Piper, Texas A&M University-San Antonio

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Do you sometimes feel like departments within your College of Education are siloed from your Office of Field Experience? We felt it and decided to do something about it! The experience took us out of our comfort zone, but we managed to reach across departments with one focus in mind: student success! We decided that we needed to create additional internal support systems to increase the number of successful students in our teacher pipeline. We brainstormed many ideas, but settled on 3 new initiatives: informational sessions, intentional curriculum, and Super Saturday review sessions coined as ROAR (Responsible, Organized, And Ready).

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SESSION 6G                        

Veramendi Salon G

Single-Topic Session

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Strand 2: Pedagogy & Curriculum          

STR: Connecting Theory, Practice, and Field Experience

Lauren Kirk, Howard Payne University

 

In this session, we will share how our program has achieved a 100% passing rate on the Science of Teaching Reading (STR) exam through a combination of curriculum alignment, high-quality resources, engaging classroom instruction, and focused field experiences. A highlight of our program is a local school partnership that incorporates extensive field experiences that are tightly integrated with the coursework. Students practice in real classroom situations with the university instructor on campus to provide coaching. We will discuss the key components that have led to success on the STR exam, but more importantly, candidates who are prepared to be effective literacy teachers.

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SESSION 6H                        

Veramendi Salon H

Single-Topic Session

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Strand 2: Pedagogy & Curriculum          

Research Based Instructional Strategies for Foundational Literacy Skills

Brette Kuretsch, Texas Teachers

Kimberly Westmoreland, Texas State University

Marcy Rose-Moehnke, University of Wisconsin, River Falls

 

Texas teachers who prepare to teach elementary school with a generalist certification may be at risk of misunderstanding how to support students with weak reading and writing skills. These skills span all core content areas, which in turn can affect mastery in any of these subjects. The Science of Reading tells us that phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, and phonics are crucial skills connected to mastery in reading and writing. Focusing on data from some of the Texas Reading Academies’ pretest scores can be enlightening. One of the largest Texas district’s data from this focus, shows over 1,500 teachers scored on average below 65% on phonological awareness pretests. Additional pretests in foundational literacy skills yielded similar results with averages falling around 70%. We will cover research based instructional strategies that span the complexity levels and structures of phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, and phonics.

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SESSION 6I                         

Veramendi Salon I

Single-Topic Session

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Strand 2: Pedagogy & Curriculum          

Transformative Teaching: Exploring Best Practices through Teaching Workshops in Alternative Certification

Stevi Norris, GoTeach11, ESC Region 11

Becky Wilder, GoTeach11, ESC Region 11

 

Our presentation focuses on Teaching Workshops and Lesson Facilitations within our alternative certification program. These workshops offer hands-on training to teacher candidates, imparting essential classroom competencies. Participants learn diverse teaching techniques, pedagogy, and classroom management strategies. A distinctive feature of our program is the integration of Lesson Facilitations, where candidates present full lessons to a live student audience. This practical assessment boosts confidence and prepares candidates for their teaching careers. We will share success stories, feedback mechanisms, and data-driven evidence of improved student outcomes. Overall, our approach nurtures skilled and caring educators, making a positive impact on student engagement and classroom dynamics. We aim to engage fellow educators in meaningful discussions about effective teacher preparation and its influence on student success.

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SESSION 6J                         

Veramendi Salon J

Single-Topic Session

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Strand 3: Policy & Leadership          

Strategic Staffing: Sustainably Growing Future Teachers

Helen Berg, Sam Houston State University

Abbie Strunc, Sam Houston State University

Stacey Edmonson, Sam Houston State University

 

Amid a national teacher shortage. Teacher residencies have emerged as an important non-traditional approach to teacher preparation. Residents engage in an apprenticeship model that exemplifies a continuous intervention, evaluation, and improvement approach with supports from highly effective mentor teachers; school-based, faculty site coordinators who serve as the liaison between the university and school; education
preparation faculty and school district leadership. Teacher residencies provide an excellent basis for teacher training and offer solutions to assist public schools during a teacher shortage. Strategic staffing has emerged out of the need to support and sustainably grow residencies through funding models for residencies.