Dean Elizabeth Dinkins opens new statewide series on innovative teacher preparation
Kentucky's Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB) has added a standing agenda item to highlight Kentucky’s educator preparation programs and their innovative practices. At its
August 19 meeting, EPSB invited Dr. Elizabeth Dinkins, dean of Bellarmine’s
Annsley Frazier Thornton School of Education, to deliver the inaugural presentation.
Bellarmine educator preparation
| Strengthening partnerships to address the teacher shortage. |
| Three literacy methods courses emphasize content, assessment, and pedagogy. |
| Greater emphasis on elementary majors’ math content knowledge, pedagogy, and efficacy. |
| Expanding supports for mentorship of new teachers. |
| School-wide examination of artificial intelligence in K–12 education. |
In her remarks, Dinkins outlined Bellarmine’s recent work in literacy and numeracy. Faculty in the program completed LETRS training, and the curriculum now includes three literacy methods courses focused on building content knowledge, assessment
knowledge and pedagogy for new teachers. On numeracy, Bellarmine participates in the statewide numeracy workgroup and has increased emphasis on elementary education majors’ content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and sense of efficacy in mathematics.
“We are very mission motivated," she said. "We want educators who can teach and lead, and we really think about leading as a key component of that, because whether you're an initial certified teacher or you're a principal in training or you're a
veteran teacher who's come back to build their capacity, you're leading.”
Dinkins also noted current and planned initiatives: strengthening partnerships to address the teacher shortage, expanding supports for mentorship of new teachers, and engaging in a unit-wide examination of artificial intelligence in K–12 education.