How Valdosta State Scales Teacher Prep with AI Coach and VC3 (eCampus News)
A recent article in eCampus News highlights how Valdosta State University is using Edthena’s AI Coach and VC3 platforms to meet the urgent demand for new teachers, without sacrificing quality.
Facing a shortage of qualified educators, especially in rural Georgia, the university redesigned its preparation model to be more scalable, equitable, and reflective, ensuring pre-service teachers still receive meaningful support as they enter the classroom.
How Valdosta State is innovating to meet teacher shortages:
- Launching an online program tailored to rural needs. To address the shortage of teachers, Valdosta State introduced a fully online elementary education program in 2022. Designed for paraprofessionals already working in rural schools, the program offers eight-week asynchronous courses and flat-rate tuition. This flexible model has attracted over 500 students, but it has also created challenges for supervising practicum and clinical placements spread across numerous districts.
- Leveraging video coaching to maintain observation quality. Using Edthena’s VC3 video coaching platform, pre-service teachers record their classroom instruction and receive time-stamped feedback from supervisors. This approach preserves the rigor of observation while accommodating students’ geographic spread. Still, with enrollment growth, the time demands on supervisors became increasingly difficult to manage.
- Integrating AI for scalable self-reflection. The introduction of AI Coach allowed pre-service teachers to engage in guided, self-directed reflection on their teaching videos. They set pedagogical goals, reviewed their lessons, and received targeted feedback, tips, and resources. The AI prompts help teachers think independently and take ownership of their learning while reducing the direct observation load for human supervisors.
- Maintaining rigor while pushing boundaries. While AI Coach does not replace human supervision, it complements it by streamlining feedback and freeing supervisors to focus on deeper support. This blend of technology and human expertise aligns with research on teacher noticing, improvement science, and iterative practice, enabling the program to grow without compromising standards.
By pairing AI-enabled tools with proven video coaching methods, Valdosta State is delivering on its commitment to prepare more teachers for high-need classrooms. Read the full article, Using AI to reimagine teacher preparation for scale, equity, and reflective practice, on eCampus News.
Ready to scale teacher preparation like Valdosta State? Explore AI Coach for teachers and VC3 video coaching for teachers to support reflective, feedback‑rich prep across your program.
