Transforming teacher preparation is a generational project, but we see more and more progress every day.
The history of the United States is a history of white supremacy, manifested in part through the use of state power to assault and terrorize Black…
How do ideas spread?
As Deans for Impact enters its fifth year of operations, I’ve been reflecting on how ideas we support – such as ensuring…
We grieve today as we remember Scott Ridley, dean of the school of education at Texas Tech University, who passed away yesterday at the age of…
Why do you have so many guns?
My heart broke the moment I was asked this question. It happened four years ago while I was on a fellowship in New Zealand, on a day where I’d driven to one of the more remote areas of an already very remote island in the South Pacific. The elementary school I was visiting, Te Kura o Hiruharama (Hiruharama School), serves Maori children living in poverty, and they weren’t used to visitors from faraway places such as America. So to kick things off, I asked them what they most wanted to know about my homeland.
The events of this past year have magnified differences in our culture, and produced conflict – but active efforts, including protest, can lead to reform. In many ways, this idea animates all of the activities we undertake at Deans for Impact. We believe in the power of helping existing and future educators practice better pedagogy with all students, so that over time, our work – and the work of so many others – will join together such that the stark racial segregation we witnessed during one school visit will seem an unconscionable aberration, rather than an accepted norm.
Two weeks ago, Deans for Impact released Building Blocks, our digital publication summarizing our research visits to 18 educator-preparation programs over the past two years. One of our goals was to make the hard work of teacher preparation more visible to the broader education community, and the early wave of enthusiasm and warm feedback suggests we may have hit our target.
Today marks a major milestone in the journey of Deans for Impact.
A little over two years ago, we set out to visit the educator-preparation…
A new report, Scaling Solutions Toward Shifting Systems, captures a subtle but important “shift in the discourse” in the philanthropic community toward supporting more sustained, deeper-level transformations in society. Benjamin Riley argues this is a very good thing, as philanthropic organizations can play key roles in transforming complex systems when they remain committed to sustained change over time.
“You can find evidence to support whatever you want.” It’s a common refrain heard in policy circles – but what happens when the evidence appears to say nothing at all? While one recent study appears to suggest that educator-preparation programs do not vary meaningfully in their performance – and thus data on performance should not be used for policy decisions – a more nuanced understanding of the interrelationship between research, policy, and practice may lead to a more nuanced conclusion.
That’s why at Deans for Impact we describe our mission – to transform the U.S. educator-preparation system to be the best in the world – in generational terms. Our members are acting now to improve their programs, to change existing policies, and to demonstrate our collective impact. But it will take years for these changes to take root and to spread to the broader field.
Today marks a day both bittersweet and joyous here in Austin, as Dr. Cassandra Herring formally launches the Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity (BranchED), a new organization devoted to building capacity at educator-preparation programs within minority-serving institutions (MSIs).
A review of Lucy Crehan’s new book Cleverlands, a tour of five of the world’s highest performing education systems.
Last month, Deans for Impact released Practice with Purpose: The Emerging Science of Teacher Expertise, our second programmatic publication. Our…
Do you know who Mary Branch was?
Until a few months ago, I had no idea myself. But a walk back from a Deans for Impact team happy hour took me and…
Deans for Impact believes that policy should provide actionable data – along with the support and tools for program improvement – to help those at…
Earlier today, the U.S. Department of Education issued guidance related to Title II of the Every Student Succeeds Act, the new law that replaces No…
Why are there teacher shortages plaguing a variety of regions in this country? And why are some colleges of education facing significant drops in…
At Deans for Impact, we believe that all educators should know important cognitive-science principles related to learning. But do education…
Beware cognitive science-y sounding snake oil.
Last month, the Federal Trade Commission announced a major settlement against Lumosity, one of many…
Should we just give up on trying to professionalize teaching?
According to a report issued today by Bellwether Education Partners, the answer is…
We are in an interesting moment in the field of educator preparation. The gaze of policymakers, foundations, and many others in the education…
Today, Deans for Impact publicly launches its first major programmatic initiative with the release of The Science of Learning. This short document is…
Teachers aren’t dumb. But are we doing enough to prepare them to be effective when they start their careers?
In a recent op-ed for the New York…
I’ve written quite a bit recently about the transformation of the medical education system in the U.S. around the turn of the century. In…
Flexner, I just can’t quit you.
A few weeks ago, Education Week was kind enough to run my op-ed on Abraham Flexner’s report on medical…
