Future of Higher Education

Understanding the evolution and changes taking place in Teacher Education Programs

In the next three to ten years, Teacher Education programs are going to likely experience significant changes particularly in the costs of education, access to materials, and what courses for preservice teachers needs to include to prepare students to be future teachers. 

One of the first ways change will take place will be whether Teacher Education programs can manage the costs of education. Currently, teacher certification examinations costs are rising due to the increase of required exams. Fewer students are able to afford to be able to take courses full time in addition to their student teaching experiences. Teacher education programs and higher ed institutions need to consider the financial barriers many students face.   

As Teacher Education programs hire and train course instructors, the ways students access and interact with materials needs to be considered. No longer is it feasible to expect students to only use printed version of text books or collaborate on projects in face-to-face formats. Rather, Teacher Education programs must consider how students are able to learn and access materials through digital formats. 

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Lastly, Teacher Education programs must consider how students are learning and whether they are provided enough hands on practical experience to practice their teaching craft. Teacher Education programs need to make sure that assignments and tasks for courses include opportunities for students to reflect and create products that can be applied in their future classrooms. This means stepping away from traditional lecture-based courses or final exam assessment techniques. Rather, preservice teachers need to be using reflections to assess and determine how they might learn from their experiences. 

For my own career in higher education, I am really thinking about the particular needs of my future students. I want to be responsive to the ways preservice teachers are currently learning and include course instructional approaches that offer hybrid and online models.