Focus on Teacher Education:
IRA Programs and Resources

IRA offers many resources to assist college and university faculty in teacher education at undergraduate and graduate levels, and to support practicing teachers in their ongoing professional development.

Follow the links below to find more information, or use advanced search and select “Teacher education and professional development” under the Topic heading to identify even more resources.

Meetings and events

IRA’s annual convention always includes numerous sessions on teacher education. The following sessions appeared on the program for the 2007 convention.

Institute 21: “IRA/NCATE: A Partnership for Teacher Quality and Performance,” William Earl Smith et al., presenters

Symposium: “Developing Expert Teachers and Expert Readers: High Quality Tutoring From the Ground Up and Top Down,” Kathleen Heubach, et al., presenters

Special Interest Group: “Two Collaborations: Reaching Teens in Inner City Schools and Preparing Teacher Candidates to Teach Science and Content Reading in Elementary Schools,” John Hobe et al., presenters

Session: “Professional Development that Works, Part II: A Real Life Example that Has Impacted Teacher Change and Student Learning in Spelling Instruction,” Brenda Sabey and Keri Glazier, presenters

Session: “Facilitating Content Area Literacy in the Secondary Classroom Through Literacy Coaching and Embedded Professional Development,” Delores Smith and James Barton, presenters

Session: “Coaching as Part of Systematic Professional Development,” Sarah Mahurt and Ruth Metcalfe, presenters

Other IRA meetings, including the biennial world congress and annual state/provincial and regional conferences, routinely include sessions of interest to teacher educators.

Awards and grants

The Association recognizes excellence in teacher education with the

John Chorlton Manning Public School Service Award

Jerry Johns Outstanding Teacher Educator in Reading Award

Arbuthnot Award

Community

IRA is a constituent member of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), a coalition of professional associations that accredits U.S. teacher preparation programs. Find more about IRA’s role in NCATE, along with support to institutions seeking NCATE accreditation, in the Literacy Community area.

In addition, several groups of Association members have been organized to pursue a shared interest in teacher education. Individual contacts for each group can often provide information and suggest resources on the topic.

Commission: Literacy Leadership for Urban Teacher Education

Committee: Professional Standards and Ethics

Committee: National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

Special Interest Group: Leadership Education and Development for Educators in Reading

Special Interest Group: Organization of Teacher Educators in Reading

Special Interest Group: Professors of Reading Teacher Educators

For more information about teacher education initiatives, contact IRA’s Public Information Office.