Literacy scholars have noted the importance of drawing upon all of one's linguistic resources and experiences to make sense of texts. However, literacy instruction is often shaped by restrictive and punitive policies that limit the learning experiences and opportunities offered to racialized bi/multilingual students from low-income communities. We…

The authors' institution exceeded the Texas Science of Teaching Reading (STR) exam's passing rate of 86.6% for the 2021-2022 academic year. The authors think this success was largely due to conducting an analysis of test questions and helping preservice teachers better prepare for the exam. The authors helped preservice teachers supplement the…

The Texas A&M University System recently developed six quality standards for educator preparation programs, the Texas A&M Quality Standards for Educator Preparation, that are to be implemented and met by all system schools. These standards are: quality of selection of teacher candidates; quality of content knowledge and teaching methods;…

In this article, a first-year teacher educator reflects on the intentional design and inclusion of self-care assignments in the training of preservice teachers (PSTs). Using students' discussion posts and in-class conversations, this article explores the benefits of encouraging self-care among PSTs. Specifically, the author notes the self-reported…

This address focuses on research and practice in the preparation of preservice teachers in literacy. I begin with an examination of the constructs of practice, activism, and imagination from an historical perspective. Next, I report on two initiatives in field-based literacy teacher preparation. The first initiative engages preservice teachers…

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, almost all universities in the United States switched to online learning in March 2020. We, as educators, faced the reality of switching to online teaching using Zoom. Our approach was to use COVID-19 as the course content to help motivate preservice teachers (PSTs) and alleviate some of the challenges of online…

As teacher educators on the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, our goal is to (re)conceptualize a pedagogical approach for bilingual teacher development informed by teacher education research in the borderlands and anchored in the myriad of historical, sociopolitical, cultural, and linguistic realities of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands -- a border pedagogy.…

There is value in being a lifelong reader and writer; yet, preservice teachers frequently do not exhibit these attributes. As an educator of future teachers, the author of this article reflects on practice. One goal in working with these education students is to develop their competencies in the use of literary strategies, with a secondary goal of…

To cultivate the acceptance of the co-teaching model among preservice teachers, two of the education faculty at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, have incorporated co-teaching in several field-based literacy courses. Alongside experiencing co-teaching from their professors, preservice teachers are also provided with the opportunity to practice…

This article explores the arts-integrated approach to teaching and learning by combining the art of quilt making, technology, and research. The author challenged his students to use technology and the knowledge of their surrounding county to create a quilt that reflects a sense of community and engagement. The goal was to encourage a more engaged…

This article describes the trials and tribulations that a middle level education program faced during the global pandemic and recommendations that others can take away from these experiences. The provided suggestions for middle level teacher education programs are specifically for the current pandemic, but can be used for other disasters as well.…

Educational data offer a powerful tool for supporting equity. In this article, the authors call for a shift toward greater use of data in educator preparation programs. The authors motivate their proposal by highlighting findings from the Department of Education report released January 2018, which found that the Texas Education Agency…

The university's teacher preparation program has implemented and continually refined a professional development school program, with extended university-school relationships in its middle-level certification program. This program offers dialogue, targeted learning activities, and intensive field-based experiences to help ease preservice teachers…

As previous Texas Association for Literacy Education presenters and university instructors of literacy, the professors highlighted in this chapter knew the value of presenting at the annual conference and wanted to extend that opportunity to their students, challenging them to not only attend a state literacy conference but to also collaborate and…

The following article describes the planning and implementation of a university student recruitment event that produced a high (new) student yield. Detailed descriptions of how staff and faculty worked together to plan and implement this event are described.