Although there has been significant research examining the practice of culturally responsive teaching, little empirical work to date has examined the role that community-engaged, teacher preparation models play in shaping prospective teachers’ orientation toward cultural responsiveness. This study of 60 preservice teacher candidates enrolled in a program of community-engaged teacher preparation at a midsized Midwestern public university specifically examined the ways in which caring relationships between preservice teachers and volunteer community mentors scaffolded candidates’ contextualized understanding of culture, community, and identity of children and families. Findings provide evidence that as candidates experience authentic caring within the space of supportive relationships, they emerge equipped to care in more authentic, culturally responsive ways for their students.

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Technology integration within instructional practices is an essential element in the preparation of teachers. However, expectations that a single course or hopes that technology infusion will spontaneously occur are not enough to prepare teacher candidates to integrate technology in meaningful ways. In the absence of a required educational technology course for all initial licensure candidates, an educator preparation program in the Midwest sought creative solutions to meet accreditation and clinical placement expectations regarding candidate preparation to integrate technology. This report from the field discusses the iterative process to develop a comprehensive micro-credentialing system aligned with the ISTE standards for educators. The micro-credentials provide candidates opportunities to apply and model technology use within courses and throughout their program. Feedback from stakeholders indicated both possibilities and potential challenges in the adoption of the system. This feedback has led to further development of the micro-credentialing system.

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