The University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education is pleased to announce that René Roselle has been named to the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE)’s new Clinical Practice Commission (CPC). René Roselle joins the group of higher education and K-12 leaders from across the country, which will examine the state of clinical practice (commonly known as “field experience”) in teacher preparation. The CPC is charged with identifying a set of criteria that define clinical practice, lifting up exemplary models in the field and ultimately publishing a set of recommendations for teacher preparation programs nationwide.

“The Neag School of Education here at the University of Connecticut has a longstanding commitment to preparing top-notch, dedicated teachers who go on to provide our nation’s schoolchildren with every opportunity to thrive,” says Richard Schwab, dean of the Neag School. “Effective clinical practice is the heart and soul of successful teacher preparation programs, and we are proud that Professor Roselle is a national leader contributing to establishing a common understanding of best practices for schools and colleges of education to follow going forward.”

The CPC, which includes representation from professional associations, institutions of higher education and K-12 school districts, will work over the next six months to develop a common understanding of effective approaches to field experiences. The group will develop a white paper, to be circulated broadly this fall for input from the field, and will also recommend ways to address common roadblocks to building successful district-university partnerships, such as transportation, funding and scheduling concerns.

“In 2010, the NCATE Blue Ribbon Panel on Clinical Preparation and Partnerships found that clinical preparation was a key lever to high quality teacher preparation,” says Rodrick Lucero, AACTE’s Vice President for Member Engagement and Support, who chairs the CPC. “Although we know how essential classroom experiences are to a candidate’s preparation, we also see a broad spectrum of practices being labelled ‘clinical.’ It is high time to create a shared and actionable definition of what high-quality clinical practice looks like to be able to continually improve individual programs and the field as a whole.”

The clinical component of the Neag School of Education’s Integrated Bachelors/Master’s (IB/M) teacher preparation program prepares teacher candidates using a school/university partnership model. Each teacher candidate is provided with a variety of clinical experiences in diverse settings, in which he or she works closely with exemplary teachers in professional development schools. The Neag School of Education has collaborated with many of its partnership schools for more than 20 years, affording relationships that promote simultaneous renewal in both the school and university setting. Multiple opportunities for supervised practice, and an intensive master’s-level internship focusing on teacher leadership, are unique hallmarks of the IB/M program.

Current members of the CPC include educators involved in AACTE, the Association of Teacher Educators, the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, the National Association of Professional Development Schools, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, the National Network for Educational Renewal, and K-12 schools:

Rodrick Lucero, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (Chair)

Michael Alfano, Central Connecticut State University
Nancy Dana, University of Florida
Derek Decker, Poudre School District (Colo.)
Christine DeGregory, George Mason University
Danielle Dennis, University of South Florida
Elaine Holmes, Poudre School District (Colo.)
Marcy Keifer Kennedy, Ohio University
Amanda Lester, State University of New York
Audra Parker, George Mason University
Jennifer Robinson, Montclair State University
René Roselle, University of Connecticut
Jennifer Roth, Poudre School District (Colo.)
Lisa Stooksberry, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
Cindy Stunkard, Kutztown University
Diane Yendol-Hoppey, University of South Florida
Kristien Zenkov, George Mason University
Omar Davis and Tim Finklea, AACTE support staff

For more information, visit www.aacte.org.