[ Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants
(Higher Education Act Title II) ]
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[ Bilingual Professional Development Program ]
In recognition of the urgent need for technology-proficient educators, the Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology initiative awards grants to support the transformation of teacher preparation programs into 21st-century learning environments.
| This year a new competition for $48 million will fund approximately 80 Implementation grantees and 15 Catalyst grantees. |
Preparing technology proficient educators to meet the needs of 21st-century learners has emerged as a critical challenge facing teacher preparation programs across the country. Federal, state and local agencies are investing billions of dollars to equip schools with computers and modern communications networks. Despite these investments only 20 percent of the 2.5 million teachers currently working in our public schools feel comfortable using these technologies in their classrooms. In less than a decade over two million teachers must be recruited to replace retiring teachers, to meet increasing student enrollment demands, and to achieve smaller class sizes. If our information technology investments are to pay off in improved education, these future teachers must be technology proficient educators who know how to use modern learning tools to help students meet high standards.
To address the challenge of developing technology proficient future educators, grants awarded under this initiative will support innovations developed by consortia of higher education institutions, state agencies, school districts, nonprofit organizations, and others who are joining forces to transform teacher preparation programs into 21st-century learning environments. Grants will support campus-wide program improvements that transform teacher preparation by infusing technology throughout the educational experience of all future teachers. Re-engineering teacher preparation will involve comprehensive changes in: pedagogy, curriculum and faculty development, incentives and rewards, professional assessment and credentialing, budgeting and support for a new information technology infrastructure, and the formation of new organizational partnerships that transcend the boundaries of traditional classrooms and schools.
Implementation grants should support a comprehensive effort to infuse technology into the teaching and learning experiences of prospective teachers. Strong and extensive curriculum redesign and faculty development using high-quality learning resources are essential features of an Implementation Grant application. Such efforts should include cross-disciplinary collaborations and strong partnerships with K-12 schools. These partnerships should place postsecondary faculty and K-12 teachers in learning activities that improve the learning technology proficiency of future educators.
Application guidelines can be obtained by downloading them from the program Web site at http://www.ed.gov/teachtech or by contacting the Education Publications Center at: 1-877-4ED Pubs (1-877-433-7827) and at TDD: 1-877-576-7734; by fax at: 301-470-1244; by email at: edpubs@inet.ed.gov; and on the Web at: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html.
Visit the PT3 web site at: http://www.ed.gov/teachtech/, call (202) 502-7788, or send an email to teacher_technology@ed.gov
Project Abstract:
The University of Virginia's Curry School of Education and affiliated partners are undertaking five initiatives designed to build information communities among Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology (PT3) grant recipients and the larger teacher education community. Linking Innovation in Arts & Sciences to Teacher Education is an initiative that links technology-based innovations in the arts and sciences to teacher education pedagogy, and prepares future teachers to employ content-specific uses of technology in their respective disciplines. The goals of the initiative include: identification of technology-based innovations in specific academic disciplines, adaptation of these innovations for restructuring of teacher education pedagogy, transfer to other teacher education programs after pilot testing, and extension to K-12 teaching practice through graduates of teacher education programs who will receive continued support into the induction year and beyond. Bridges among Professional Associations is the second initiative. It is bringing together leaders in teacher education pedagogy to consider ways of integrating technology in each area of teacher preparation.
The objective of this initiative is the establishment of information communities among PT3 grant recipients and the larger teacher education community. This is facilitated by leadership conferences that convene leaders from teacher education professional associations in core subject areas, online seminars for teacher education faculty members, an interactive online journal, and a teacher education conferencing system. A digital library links exemplary technology-based innovations in the arts and sciences to teacher education pedagogy. These resources support efforts to prepare future teachers to employ content-specific uses of technology in their respective disciplines.
Project Abstract:
The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for Teachers: Establishing Performance-based Standards and Assessments for Improving Technology Competence in Preservice Education Project describes what all teachers should know about and be able to do with technology to improve student learning. The project focuses specifically on performance-based standards and related assessments for improving preservice preparation of teachers entering the teaching workforce. The project also identifies successful models for implementation of the standards and assessments and facilitates adoption of the standards through accreditation, certification, and additional recognition programs for preservice educators.
Project Abstract:
The UNM College of Education and its partners are conducting this project to strengthen preservice teacher preparation during their university and field experiences. The school is increasing faculty competence in using and modeling technology in teaching; using Master Technology Teachers to mentor candidates; and provide increased experience with technology through mentoring and application in the college's Technology and Education Center in collaboration with the college's Center for Teacher Education. The outcomes will be a teacher preparation curriculum enriched with the integration of technology in both content and pedagogy; improved articulation between the university setting and field-placement classrooms; increased information technology proficiency among preservice teachers and methods and content area faculty; increased access to and sharing of field-based best practices in technology integration in critical areas such as multicultural education, science, and the teaching of special populations; new research documenting comprehensive systemic reform of the major elements of the extended teacher preparation process; and the capability to research and assess cutting-edge trends in higher education, business, industry, and government; and proactively include such innovations in the development of novice and inservice teachers.
For more information on Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology, please visit: http://www.ed.gov/teachtech/resources.html
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[ Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants (Higher Education Act Title II) ] |
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[ Bilingual Professional Development Program ] |