In a rapidly changing global environment, Initial Teacher Educators (ITE) have a responsibility to role-model contemporary teaching approaches, which develop graduates who think creatively and flexibly in educational workplaces. An important aspect of this work is supporting pre-service teachers (PSTs) to understand how to design assessments which…

The appropriate use of academic language demonstrates a learner's understanding of discipline specific--arts or education--knowledge. Educators are responsible for ensuring that learners acquire and correctly apply academic language in context. Entrance into the teaching profession requires teacher candidates to develop facility with the academic…

In this article, the authors speak to the paradox of assessing transformative learning (TL) in higher education. TL theory, developed by Jack Mezirow, is a theory of learning to describe the process of change in how individuals view the world based on previous experiences. Recognizing that the 10 phases of Mezirow's TL theory are fluid and…

Once lauded for its potential to increase the quality of novice educators entering the teaching profession by representing a performance-based assessment akin to professional licensure examinations in other fields, edTPA was discontinued by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC) as a required credential for professional educator…

Portfolio assessment of teaching practice has been used in many states as one indicator to inform licensure decisions, yet the human scoring process is costly for all stakeholders. This paper documents a series of investigations of alternative scoring procedures for a state pre-service teacher performance assessment. The proposed partial double…

The edTPA, a recent example of a teacher candidate assessment, has influenced how teacher education classes are taught and how teacher candidates are learning. We describe three tensions present in candidate narratives during two separate years of edTPA implementation: attention to the edTPA rubrics vs. the student teachers' real teaching, a focus…

The requirement for all Initial Teacher Education programs in Australia to include a capstone teacher performance assessment (TPA) is relatively new. However, TPAs are common in other countries, particularly the United States. In this article, we report on a review of the literature instigated by the authors' involvement in the development of an…

This article examines an early childhood preservice teacher narrative portfolio project created by teacher educators working in a public university in the United States. We explore preservice teachers' and teacher educators' experiences with the project across four cohorts using a case study design. Data include narrative vignettes and interviews…

This dissertation explores how a group of first-year graduate teaching associates (TAs) at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) accounts for embodied performance in teaching first-year writing (FYW). Guided by a feminist community-based teacher-research methodology, I conducted a mixed-methods case study of BGSU's Fall 2017 composition practicum…

This study aimed to determine the improvement in writing skills of science teaching materials for elementary school teachers students through the Project-Based Learning (PjBL) model. This study used a quasi-experimental method with One Group Pretest-Posttest Design using portfolio assessment sheets to write science teaching materials. Data were…

This paper discusses the ways in which teacher educators can effectively engage prospective teachers (PTs) in lesson study during mathematics methods courses. Evidence from this work suggests that engagement in lesson study provides PTs with opportunities to strengthen their knowledge about mathematics, students, and pedagogy. More specifically,…

Poised at a bifurcation, the educator preparation community in Vermont faced either the adoption of a generic product for the assessment of initial educator licensure candidates or the comprehensive revision of a longstanding state-based assessment portfolio. Using a case study approach and narrative methods, specifically the Narrative Policy…

The paper presents a pilot project that explored students' perceptions regarding the implementation of ePortfolios using the online platform Mahara in an undergraduate teacher preparation course. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered through an online survey and small focus group. The findings indicate that students perceived the…

The purpose of this study was to examine our work with the edTPA while teaching 100 elementary/middle school licensure students in the College of Education at our university. This study investigated: How did the process of implementing edTPA alter our licensure program both broadly and as individual teachers during years one and two?

The student teaching seminar is a crucial component in the final course work of the music education curriculum, though research that examines the structure and content of this important course is minimal. In this article, we provide in-depth descriptions of sample seminar activities, assessments, resources, and suggestions for creating a…