FYI: Apply to be a Teaching Ambassador with the U.S. Department of EducationThe U.S. Department of Education's Teaching Ambassador Fellowship selects teachers for a year-long commitment to learn about and impact federal education policy and collaborate with a cohort of teachers from across the country. There are two options: a full-time fellowship based in Washington, D.C. and a part-time fellowship based in a teacher's home community that takes place in conjunction with his/her teaching responsibilities.Applications for the 2016-17 cohort are due December 14, 2015. As part of the application, interested teachers must respond to five short essay prompts and submit a letter of recommendation and a resume. More information about the program is available online (including a program overview and bios of previous Teaching Ambassadors). The Principal Ambassador Fellowship is also accepting applications.
Teacher Reflection: How student surveys can transform student engagement in the classroom.Aaron Stone, a high school biology teacher at Boston Day and Evening Academy and member of ESE's Teacher Advisory Cabinet, reflects on his experience using student surveys to help inform his goals. For more information on student feedback and free model surveys, visit ESE's Student and Staff Feedback webpage.I am entering my 10th year of teaching high school biology, and my biggest fears are perspective and growth. Having evaluated and reflected on my practice the last nine years, I am beginning to lose a critical eye to evaluate areas in which I need to grow as an educator. To bring a fresh, relevant perspective into my practice, I incorporated student surveys last year and this year using a survey instrument designed by Tripod. The 40 survey questions cover seven areas that help gauge student engagement: care confer, captivate, clarify, consolidate, challenge, and control.For the first time in my career, goal setting actually meant something, because I was able to connect it directly to feedback from my students, those who know best about my day-to-day practice. Equally, if not more important, however, was the process. While confident in my practice, I was anxious about the feedback. I was asking my students about many aspects of my practice. I viewed the results with my students. Transparency in my desire to reflect and grow created a powerful partnership, yielding higher-quality learning by both student and teacher. After reviewing survey data, there was an unscripted, palpable moment in which the class and I took a moment to thank one another, I for their time and feedback, and they for incorporating their voices into my practice.My areas of strength and growth are no mystery to my students. Opting to let students discuss my practice through an anonymous survey allowed me to use relevant evidence, while, most importantly, increasing the intangible — student respect and engagement.Use the hashtag #Top3from#ESE on Twitter to share how you use student feedback to help inform your practice.
In the News: Massachusetts receives $4 million to support educator preparationOn November 19, ESE announced that it will receive $4 million over three years to improve educator preparation programs across the Commonwealth. The agency is one of five entities nationwide to receive the grant, which is from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.The Department will use the grant to launch Elevate Preparation: Impact Children (EPIC), through which ESE will work the state's 71 initial teacher preparation programs with the goal that by 2022, first-year teachers prepared by those providers will show results equivalent to peers in their third year of teaching. This is especially critical given that first-year teachers are more likely to be assigned to teach the Commonwealth's most vulnerable students.With help from the grant, ESE will seek to:
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