Demonstrating Wittenberg’s dedication to teaching excellence, Assistant Professor of Education Brian Yontz received the 2014 Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education (AILACTE) Scholar Award at the AILACTE annual meeting in Atlanta, Ga., Feb. 26, 2015.
Designed to enhance research that demonstrates the impact of teacher preparation at AILACTE institutions, the $2,500 Scholar Award will be used to support Yontz’s research on supplemental curricula for teacher preparation.
"Wittenberg has a long tradition of preparing teachers in the context of the liberal arts, and I'm honored to receive this award from a national organization that thinks about teacher education the same way we do,” Yontz said. “This award will help us continue to design multi-disciplinary curricular experiences for our students who will one day work in our nation's schools."
During his time at Wittenberg, Yontz has mentored numerous students who have become K-12 teachers without completing a licensure program at Wittenberg. Drawing on this experience, Yontz will research why an increasing number of pre-service teachers do not study Education in their undergraduate career and how that affects their career trajectory. He hopes to understand which curricular experiences would be most helpful to undergraduate students who seek licensure through alternative routes. Yontz will design a model curriculum not leading to credentialing that allows students to gain preparation that experts in the field suggest is beneficial when becoming credentialed through an alternative route.
“This project has great potential to impact independent and liberal arts colleges’ teacher education curriculum and add to the national conversation around high-impact curricular practices and continued preparation for increases in alternative credentialing programs,” Yontz explained.
“Liberal arts colleges are uniquely designed to positively impact future teachers—no matter what pathway they may go through for credentialing. With a focus on multi-disciplinary curricular partnerships, excellent teaching models, and emphasis on global understandings, these institutions have the best potential to add value to future teachers during their undergraduate careers before entering alternative teacher education programs.”
AILACTE is the major liberal arts/independent colleges' teacher education professional association. The mission of the AILACTE is to focus teacher education on the moral dimensions of schooling and education.
