MACTE MN Day at the Capital
Tentative date - February 28, 2012
Cyndy Crist email.  cyndy.crist@gmail.com

 

What is MACTE?  Many of you are familiar with MACTE. But, for new BOT members and some people observing this meeting, we would like to provide a brief introduction to our organization.  The Minnesota Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, or MACTE, is a state chapter of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.   MACTE is a voluntary organization comprised of 32 educational institutions and one affiliate member.  MACTE serves all learners in an ever-changing society through its commitment to high and consistent standards for every teacher.

MACTE represents all three Minnesota education systems, including seven Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, four University of Minnesota campuses, and 21 independent colleges. Our teacher preparation programs offer diversity in size, focus and delivery, but all are designed to prepare quality teachers for Minnesota’s schools. MACTE was founded in 1973 to clarify and address issues in teaching and learning; to promote quality teacher preparation and development; and to share the collective knowledge and data of all state-approved teacher education programs.  We are dedicated to providing leadership in the preparation and development of highly qualified professional educators. (See full position paper)

For many years, both of the major accrediting organizations in the country, the National Council for Accreditation of Colleges of Teachers Education (NCATE) and the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC), have organized its unit evaluation system around knowledge, skills, and dispositions for teaching. The new Model Core Teaching Standards from the Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC) identifies critical dispositions within each of its 10 standards for teaching. In both of these instances, the expectations of teacher candidates’ dispositions refer to their fundamental belief that all students can learn . . . and, I would add, can learn rigorous, academic content. The InTASC standards call for teachers who respect students’ differing strengths, teachers who are committed to using students’ strengths as a basis for growth, teachers who will take responsibility for promoting students’ growth and development, and teachers who value the contributions of families, colleagues and other professionals to their understanding of each student’s development. We applaud our professional field on the development of these guiding principles for our ongoing program development.  (See complete position statement)