Message From The President

Dear NACCTEP Members:

The work of the Board began in July 2008 with a telephone conference call of new Board members. The call was made during the Presidents’ Transition Meeting held in Phoenix with the immediate Past President, Dr. Susan Wood, the Interim NACCTEP Director, Ray Ostos, the NACCTEP Executive Assistant, Pam Asti, and myself. The resultant training and team building certainly strengthened the group and helped facilitate the Fall Board Meeting agenda. It was clear that the Board’s productivity was positively impacted by this action. READ MORE

Interim Director Welcome

In an effort to be more environmentally friendly this Newsletter is being sent to you in an electronic format. We hope that you will take advantage of this format by forwarding the Newsletter to colleagues and students.

For this edition, I would like to focus on an ongoing struggle. As the Executive Board and I have interacted with numerous groups and associations over the past year, one item continues to surface. I’m still surprised by the number of individuals who are unaware of the role community colleges play in teacher education. READ MORE

NACCTEP and AMATYC Begin Joint Venture

By Darlene Winnington, Delaware Technical Community College, and Susan Wood, Virginia Community College System

For the first time in history, eighty organizations from across the country ranging from early childhood educators to higher education representatives assembled as teams at the National Math Panel Forum in Washington, D.C., on October 6 and 7, 2008. This effort was sponsored by the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences (CBMS) and the U.S. Department of Education, and funded by the National Science Foundation and the ExxonMobil Foundation. READ MORE

Rio Salado College Receives State Approval to Offer Post Baccalaureate Early Childhood Teacher Certification

By Mary Briden, Rio Salado College, Tempe, AZ

In response to Arizona’s new Early Childhood Education Teacher Certification and Endorsement requirement, Rio Salado College (RSC) is proud to announce that its newest On-line Post Baccalaureate Teacher Preparation Program, Early Childhood Education, has been approved by the Arizona State Board of Education. It is one of only five Board approved programs in Arizona. In keeping with RSC’s state, national, and international reputation of offering high quality, accessible, flexible, and responsive programs, RSC is also offering an Early Childhood (PreK-3) Endorsement Program for certified teachers beginning in May 2009. READ MORE

Enhancing Teacher Education Preparation during the First Two Years of College within the University System of Georgia

By Donna Daugherty and Brent Griffin, Georgia Highlands College, Rome, GA

The thirty-five members of the University System of Georgia (USG) recently implemented curriculum changes designed to enhance the preparation of early childhood education (ECE) majors during the first two years of college. The revised curriculum was developed collaboratively by state-wide academic advisory committees in science, mathematics, and teacher education, with faculty representation from all system institutions. The revision process resulted in the creation of six sophomore-level courses designed specifically for ECE majors. The courses, which include nine hours of education, six hours of science, and three hours of mathematics, are now graduation requirements for all ECE majors within the USG. As part of the course development process, faculty aligned the student learning outcomes of the new courses with content knowledge required for ECE majors within the framework of the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS), a revised K-12 curriculum currently being implemented by the Georgia Department of Education. READ MORE

Community Colleges to State Colleges: A Florida Perspective

By Susan Butler, Gulf Coast Community College, Panama City, FL

The website for the American Association of Community Colleges quietly lists the following statistic: “Baccalaureates: awarded by 29 public and 66 independent colleges."

This entity, the baccalaureate-granting community college, is fast developing as a hot topic among the community college population. Further discussions on the subject have been fueled by recent Florida legislation, Senate Bill 1716. This bill created a new entity, the Florida College System, comprised of public postsecondary educational institutions that grant two- and four-year academic degrees, but are prohibited from offering graduate degree programs. The bill also created the Florida College System Task Force and the State College Pilot Project. The Task Force will develop a process by which community colleges can transition into baccalaureate-granting institutions. The Pilot Project is composed of nine Florida community colleges and will develop a program approval process to be followed by the State Board of Education when it considers proposals for new baccalaureate degree programs. The pilot institutions will also set up a funding model for the new State Colleges. READ MORE

Enhancing Teacher Education Preparation during the
First Two Millennials

By Dr. Michael Mills, Delaware Technical & Community College, Georgetown, DE

Walking into the classroom today is different than it was even five years ago. Many of our students are more technologically connected than ever before; cell phones, Ipods, and laptops all play a role in their lives.

Most of these students are the new generation on campus. Commonly known as the Millennials, they bring new challenges and new opportunities to the classroom. Born between 1980 and 2000, the Millennials have been raised in a digital world. They are the first generation to have always had the internet, home computers, instant messaging, and email. If you know a Millennial, you know he or she can participate in multiple IM sessions, check email, browse the internet, text on a cell phone, and watch television all at the same time. They give multitasking a new meaning. READ MORE

Never Say Never, Part I: Ideas Become Reality

By Kathleen Van Steenhuyse, Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids, IA

As I write, we are in the midst of moving our whole Social Sciences and Career Option Programs Department to a new academic building, the NEW Cedar Hall, on the east side of the Kirkwood Community College campus. It will house all of the Social Sciences, and eight transfer programs, in addition to the department offices. Furthermore, the whole building will have wireless Internet access. Cedar Hall is a perfect example of “Never Say Never!” The core space in the center of our floor is what we are calling the Educational Resource Center (ERC). The ERC includes two oversized classrooms with trapezoidal furniture for modeling changing the learning environment quickly and effectively to match teaching objectives, a curriculum and research laboratory with a separate room for materials storage, and eight microteaching rooms. The microteaching rooms will be equipped with data projectors, DVD/VCRs, cameras and microphones for recording the micro-teachings, computers, white boards for right handed and left-handed teachers, a document camera, and a polycom unit. There is one-way glass and audio for the instructor to observe from outside in a hallway, so as not to disrupt the flow of the presentations. Recording the micro-teachings allows the faculty, the student peers, and the pre-professional candidate all to review presentations and reflect. READ MORE