Theory and Practice in Teacher Education

UT Helps Reduce Knox County Schools Teacher Shortage

October 4, 2024 by Douglas Edlund

UT Helps Reduce Knox County Schools Teacher Shortage

By Cara Smith, CEHHS Student Reporter, Class of 2024

Teacher shortage is an issue nationwide, but not for Knox County Schools. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences (CEHHS) is part of the reason why.

“Effectively preparing teachers involves a multifaceted approach that combines rigorous academic coursework, extensive clinical experiences, and continuous mentorship, coaching and support” said David Cihak, CEHHS Associate Dean of Professional Educator Programs and Director of the Bailey Graduate School of Education. “By integrating evidence-based, high-leverage practices with regular observations and multiple opportunities across varied school and classroom settings for actionable feedback, our aspiring teachers are well-equipped to positively impact each student’s learning and development.”

David Cihak

The hiring process for Knox County Schools begins early each year because of resources they are given through UT, including access to start interviewing upcoming graduates. This takes the stress off principals toward the end of the year.

The culminating experience for aspiring teachers in CEHHS is a yearlong professional internship. During this time, they work alongside a mentor teacher form the opening to the closing of the school year, fully immersed in all aspects of classroom life from the very beginning. The comprehensive experience provides a solid foundation for their growth as educators.

Training is important to Knox County as well as UT. Teachers continue to be trained and learn new skills throughout the year, developing a clear picture of the expectations.

Portrait photo of Alex Moseman. He has fair skin, grey hair, is wearing a white shirt and light grey sport coat. He is smiling in the photo — **Alex Moseman**

“If our teachers are doing all these things, they’re in a great position to be really successful. They’re also in a position to practice in a way that’s manageable, attainable, and sequenced to help them develop, so that we’re not asking folks to do everything all at once,” said Alex Moseman, Executive Director of Human Resources Talent Acquisition for Knox County Schools.

UT offers alternative pathways to become a teacher like UT-PLAYS (Personalized Learning At Your Speed), a program that offers initial and add-on endorsement programs in special education and mathematics for current and prospective educators in the state of Tennessee.

UT-PLAYS is also cost-effective for potential students and is a program that allows them to work at their own pace.

“It costs $2,500 to receive an initial license, which I think is one of the most affordable options in the state,” said Moseman. “It’s a really interesting model, the way in which it’s taught asynchronously, with UT faculty behind all of the instruction.”

Knox County Schools and CEHHS worked hard to dwindle vacancies for this school year. There are currently eight vacancies across 92 schools with 4,600 teachers and 58,000 students.

If students are interested in learning more about teaching in Knox County Schools, they can visit TeachKnox.org to complete a quick profile and get connected with a recruiter, and students interested in learning more about the UT teacher education program can contact BeATeacher@utk.edu.

Romero-Hall Recognized by Canadian Social Knowledge Institute

April 4, 2024 by Alyssa Seisser

Romero-Hall Recognized by Canadian Social Knowledge Institute

For many people outside of an academic environment, accessing scholarly work may appear to be outside their reach. Not everyone has access to academic journals or can attend conferences where the latest research is shared. But for Enilda Romero-Hall, an associate professor of STEM Education/Learning, Design, and Technology in the Department of Theory & Practice in Teacher Education, academic work should be shared and made more accessible to those outside of the academy.

Just recently, Romero-Hall, along with three colleagues, were named a 2024 Open Scholarship Award recipient by the Canadian Social Knowledge Institute (C-SKI). Recipients are celebrated for their exemplary open scholarship via research, projects, or initiatives. In addition to the recognition of her accomplishment, C-SKI also offers a tuition scholarship for Romero-Hall and her colleagues to the Digital Humanities Summer Institute (DHSI).

“I’m honored to be recognized, along with my co-editors, with the 2024 Open Scholarship Award,” said Romero-Hall. “Our collaboration efforts to disseminate feminist pedagogy practices and application is highly connected to a shared vision and commitment to open scholarship.”

Just visit Romero-Hall’s website and you’ll find a commitment to sharing her scholarly work with broader groups. She’s authored two edited books, over 40 journal articles, and presented in over 60 peer-reviewed presentations. A sought-after guest on numerous podcasts, Romero-Hall calls herself a “Scholar, Instructor, Learning Designer.” She’s also in demand nationwide with invitations as keynote speaker at regional and international events. Romero-Hall also serves as the Program Chair for the American Educational Research Association Instructional Technology Special Interest Group and Advising Editor to the Feminist Pedagogy for Teaching Online digital guide.

With her scholarly interest in interactive multimedia, along with digital literacy, networked learning, and online social communities, Romeo-Hall is a natural fit for her most recent C-Ski accolade. With her experience in the Panamanian, Canadian, and U.S. education systems, she understands the importance of making scholarly work and research accessible to as many as possible.

“This recognition highlights our commitment to give back to our scholarly community not only to share knowledge but also to support the open scholarship movement,” said Romero-Hall.

Are Student Consent Forms Outdated When it Comes to Privacy?

March 26, 2024 by Alyssa Seisser

Are Student Consent Forms Outdated When it Comes to Privacy?

Study Examines Media Release Policies of U.S. School Districts

It’s 2024. Do you know where your child’s private information is on the internet? The latest addition to a line of research initiated by Knox County teacher and University of Tennessee, Knoxville, alumna, Macy A. Burchfield (‘22), and co-authored by associate professor in the Department of Theory & Practice in Teacher Education, Joshua M. Rosenberg and Sondra M. Stegenga from the University of Utah, has revealed the alarming indication that, not only is private information belonging to school-aged children circulating through social media channels largely untracked and unprotected, the media release policies and parental consent forms in use among the nation’s largest school districts currently do not inform caregivers about their planned use of social media in a comprehensive way. These policies, or, lack thereof, may be where the problems and risks with student data privacy in social media are originating.

The new study, published in The Journal of Research on Technology in Education, used qualitative content analysis (QCA) to analyze district policies from the 120 largest school districts in the United States, based on enrollment. The districts contained more than 86,000 students on average, or, about 20.9 percent of students in the country.

Though 87.7 percent of informed consent/media release documents analyzed mentioned the types of media that might be shared by the school, (photos, students’ names) and where it may be shared (newspapers, school websites, social media in general), only 13.3 percent of the forms contained mention of specific social media platforms where student information may be shared, such as Facebook, X, or YouTube. Furthermore, almost no forms disclosed the potential risks of sharing students’ personal information publicly. This is concerning since we know as a society that social media use is extremely widespread and that privacy risks exist, let alone the possibility of FERPA violations from sharing student information.

One thought-provoking and actionable conclusion from the study was that the forms in question may simply be outdated and in need of revision. Many of the consent forms analyzed were created prior to today’s age of social media. These outdated forms were meant to address sharing information in non-digital media, such as school directories and yearbooks.

“We now appear to be in a time of outdated consents that lack the specificity for an authentic understanding of the consents, leading to genuine risks to the child and family,” according to the study. “We question, is it really true informed consent, even if the boxes are checked and it is signed, if the family does not have all the necessary details and information to understand what, where, and why personally identifiable information will be shared?”

In an age of increasing digital experiences across the globe, this study contributes to the larger conversation of digital data ethics and informed consent. School districts in the U.S. and the wider educational community can increase safety by examining and updating their data policies and consent forms to better protect our younger generations’ privacy.

“I must say, attention to this issue of consent is immensely important, not only related to best practices in information security, but also related to the ethical obligations we have in ensuring truly informed consent with parents and students, ” said co-author Sondra Stegena.