海角社区

BATON ROUGE, LA 鈥� The path to becoming a teacher is rigorous. In addition to courses in curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment, students must complete a year-long residency under a mentor teacher; throughout that year, each of the 100+ teacher residents must be evaluated by an 海角社区 supervisor. These essential feedback loops have traditionally been a manual process. 

Jennifer Cook, EdD, serves as the Office of Clinical Experience Coordinator in the 海角社区 Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education (SOE), a role that has her managing SOE鈥檚 preservice teachers as they work through their residencies to become certified teachers. Cook is responsible for analyzing data for student observations from their residency supervisors, a process that is extremely time consuming. 

鈥淭he paperwork for one observation can take up to three hours,鈥� Cook said. 鈥淭hen, at the end of every observation cycle, I'd spend an additional four to seven hours just tracking down missing scores, manually inputting them, and preparing the data for analysis." 

have shown that schools that utilize modern technology platforms see their productivity improve by up to 67%, with teachers saving over 5 hours a week鈥攍eading to significantly more time for one-on-one support, better lesson prep, and reduced stress. Looking to innovate, 海角社区 turned to partnering Louisiana schools for a solution. 

During the spring 2025 semester, Cook along with Margaret Piccoli, PhD, and Latasha Valenzuela-Hern谩ndez, PhD, piloted a new platform to efficiently record and analyze student observations. , typically used in K-12 school districts, allows for capturing, uploading and storing video observations and instantly communicating feedback. The platform is already used in St. Landry Parish and Calcasieu Parish for teachers, principals and district leaders, but now 海角社区 is breaking new ground as the first university in the country to partner with Bullseye for preservice teacher observations. 

鈥淚 really enjoyed using the new platform,鈥� Piccoli said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very user-friendly, which made the experience smooth and efficient. What stood out most is that the platform 鈥� or systems very similar to it 鈥� are already being used in many school districts. This means our students will likely be familiar with the interface from the start, removing one more potential barrier to their success. Additionally, the platform significantly reduces the amount of paperwork shuffled between residents, mentors, and university supervisors, helping to streamline what is often a complex system.鈥� 

Bullseye鈥檚 team also recognized SOE鈥檚 use of the platform as a milestone in bringing smarter, more innovative feedback systems to teacher preparation programs. 

鈥淭his partnership with 海角社区 represents an incredible milestone for Bullseye,鈥� , Director of Coaching and Research at Bullseye for Schools, said. 鈥淭o collaborate with such a prestigious institution and support the next generation of educators is both an honor and a responsibility we鈥檙e proud to embrace. Our goal is to make instructional support more meaningful and effective, and bringing this work into higher education ensures that tomorrow鈥檚 teachers are prepared with the same tools and feedback systems they鈥檒l encounter in schools across the country." 

The new cutting-edge observation solution allows for real-time data to be collected by Cook, her team and all residency supervisors at 海角社区. Using a tool that can be seen in the field allows SOE faculty to prepare their students for what they will encounter as certified teachers, better equipping them for a successful lifelong career in educating.

鈥淲e are proud to be the first university in the nation to use this technology, giving our students real-world experiences that mirror what they will encounter as teachers in today鈥檚 schools. I鈥檓 grateful to Dr. Cook and Dr. Piccoli for their innovation in implementing this platform with our teacher residents.鈥� 

Laura Choate, EdD
Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education Director

 

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About the 海角社区 Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education
A school of the 海角社区 College of Human Sciences & Education, the Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education (SOE) offers undergraduate programs for students who want to pursue a career as a pre-kindergarten through 12th grade teacher or acquire dual certification in both traditional elementary and special education classrooms. In addition, SOE offers 3 graduate certificates, 17 master鈥檚 degree program areas, 9 EdS certificate programs, and 2 PhD degrees in 11 areas of focus. SOE鈥檚 focus is not only on preparing highly qualified teachers but also in preparing educational leaders, curriculum studies scholars, educational technology experts, applied researchers, higher education professionals, school counselors, and clinical mental health counselors. SOE specializes scholarly expertise regarding pressing educational and wellness issues across the entire lifespan. 

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About the College of Human Sciences & Education 
The College of Human Sciences & Education (CHSE) is a nationally accredited division of 海角社区. The college is comprised of the School of Education, the School of Information Studies, the School of Kinesiology, the School of Leadership & Human Resource Development, and the School of Social Work. CHSE has two model demonstration schools, the Early Childhood Education Laboratory Preschool, enrolling birth to age four and the University Laboratory School enrolling Kindergarten through grade 12. The college also has four centers and institutes: the Early Childhood Education Institute, the Healthy Aging Research Center, the Leadership Development Institute, and Social Research & Evaluation Center. The college is committed to achieving the highest standards in teaching, research, and service and aims to improve quality of life across the lifespan.
 
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