COE faculty represents TU at Teacher Preparation Innovation Summit

The Towson University College of Education was recently recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the ASCD for its leadership in the innovative use of technology to support the learning of pre-service teachers.

Towson University's College of Education's faculty and staff were recently recognized at the Teacher Preparation Innovation Summit in Washington, D.C., for its leadership in the innovative use of technology to support the learning of pre-service teachers.
Towson University's College of Education's faculty and staff were recently recognized at the Teacher Preparation Innovation Summit in Washington, D.C., for its leadership in the innovative use of technology to support the learning of pre-service teachers.

The Towson University College of Education was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) at a Teacher Preparation Innovation Summit in Washington, D.C. TU was selected because of its leadership in the innovative use of technology to support the learning of pre-service teachers.

“America’s pre-service teachers must be prepared to use technology effectively in the classroom,” said Joseph South, director of the ED Office of Educational Technology. “We are excited by the innovations we’re seeing at Towson University to ensure their pre-service teachers have opportunities to actively use technology to support learning and teaching through creation, collaboration, and problem solving.”

The summit brought together researchers, schools of education, district leaders, accreditors, and support organizations to advance four goals for educational technology in teacher preparation programs outlined in the 2016 National Education Technology Plan - Future Ready Learning: Reimagining the Role of Technology in Education. 

  • Focusing on the active use of technology to support learning and teaching.
  • Building sustainable, program-wide systems of professional learning for higher education instructors to strengthen their capacity to use technological tools to support learning and teaching.
  • Ensuring pre-service teachers’ experiences with educational technology are program-deep and program-wide rather than one-off courses separate from their methods courses.
  • Aligning the above efforts with research-supported standards, frameworks, and credentials recognized across the field.

As the premier teacher education institution in Maryland, TU has a more than 150-year tradition of preparing classroom teachers, education specialists and school leaders. The College of Education’s academic and research initiatives provide students with experiences as technology integration leaders. TU’s faculty members are recognized for their research and leadership and have an extraordinary commitment to improving the field of education.

TU was represented at the summit by Dean Laurie Mullen, department chair and professor David Wizer, assistant professor Liz Berquist and associate professors Laila Richman and Liyan Song.

“We were honored to attend and present at the 2016 Teacher Preparation Innovation Summit hosted by the U.S. Department of Education and ASCD,” Mullen said. “The summit was an opportunity to join educators across the country who are on the leading edge of innovation and educator preparation."