UNI Teacher Education News
Issue 2: April 2009
Welcome to the second edition of UNI Teacher Education News - the e-newsletter for faculty, staff and students. The Office of Teacher Education in collaboration with the College of Education will produce a bi-monthly newsletter to share with campus. The purpose of the newsletter is to share information about what UNI is doing in Pre-K through 12 education and UNI's teacher education program. For more information, contact Maxine Davis, interim director, Instructional Resources and Technology Services at maxine.davis@uni.edu or 3-3339.
FROM THE DESK OF MELISSA HESTON
Interim director of teacher education
Teacher Education Induction Convocation
Each fall and spring, we hold a special induction ceremony for all UNI students who have been newly admitted to the teacher education program. At the ceremony, family and friends watch as each participating student is individually recognized. Since teacher education is a university wide endeavor, deans from all five undergraduate colleges and a representative from the central administration (i.e., the President or Provost) are members of the platform party. Faculty participate as marshals during the procession and recession. The ceremony is held at the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center, and is followed by a reception for students and families. Our most recent convocation was held on March 31, and 165 students were formally inducted into the UNI Teacher Education Program. I invite you to join us next fall for this special event to celebrate and congratulate your own students who have entered teacher education. If you have questions about the teacher education program, e-mail me at melissa.heston@uni.edu.
NEWS
Education White Papers
Several UNI faculty have drafted white papers about state and national education issues. Recent white papers include the beginning to a series in "Closing the Achievement Gap," by Dewitt Jones, associate professor in educational leadership, counseling & postsecondary education and the "Iowa Core Curriculum," by Nadene Davidson, interim department head and assistant professor of teaching. To learn more about these issues and UNI's expertise and activities in these areas, visit http://www.uni.edu/coe/_resources/hot_topics.shtml
Faculty Secure a U.S. Department of Education Grant
Chris Kliewer, professor, Amy Staples, associate professor in special education, and Neil Clopton, information technology specialist, in UNI's College of Education, have been awarded a two-year $400,000 Steppingstones of Technology Innovation for Children with Disabilities grant from the U.S. Department of Education to develop a highly interactive software system to promote the emergent literacy and communication skills of young children with significant developmental disabilities. UNI's Computer Science Department will assist with software development.
Literacy Education Professional Development School
A growing trend in teacher education is the delivery of teacher education courses within Pre-K through 12 settings in which practice and theory can be explored and learned simultaneously. The teachers at Lincoln Elementary School in Waterloo are collaborating with members of UNI's literacy education faculty to provide an integrated semester of methods courses and field experiences focused on teaching, reading and writing. Students spend three half-days a week in the school, taking 10 credit hours of courses. They will continue their experience at Lincoln next fall. This pilot study was funded by the Schindler Endowment and has two goals: 1) enhancing reading performance among the elementary school students at Lincoln; and 2) enhancing the teaching competence of UNI elementary education students. For more information visit http://www.uni.edu/coe/ci/literacy/pds.shtml or contact Rick Traw, associate professor in curriculum & instruction at rick.traw@uni.edu.
Iowa Core Curriculum Emphasizes the Characteristics of Effective Teaching
The new Iowa Core Curriculum focuses on instruction and assessment for learning and essential skills and concepts for 21st century living. During an April 10 ICN statewide broadcast, five critical characteristics of effective teaching were outlined: 1) teaching for understanding (e.g., higher-order thinking, thinking centered process, powerful representations, and teaching for transfer); 2) rigorous and relevant curricula; 3) student-centered instruction and classrooms (e.g., students construct knowledge through personalized units of study that focus on essential concepts and skills, and that involve extensive collaboration); 4) integrated use of formative assessment as part of the instructional process; and 5) differentiated instructional decision-making. The ICN session was videotaped and will be made available to campus. For more information, contact Melissa Heston at 3-2236, or heston@uni.edu.
UNI Faculty Named to National Education Advisory Committee
Nadene Davidson, interim department head and assistant professor of teaching has been appointed to the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC), a program of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) national education committee to update the Model Core Standards used in 38 states. The committee will meet four times during the next 12 months to address 21st century teaching and to review research about best practices and student learning.
UNI Guest Opinion Pieces
Nadene Davidson, interim department head and assistant professor of teaching, wrote a guest opinion piece about the Iowa Core Curriculum for the Des Moines Register. http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090228/OPINION01/902280310/-1/ENT05
Tim Gilson, assistant professor, educational leadership, counseling & postsecondary education, wrote a guest opinion piece about school consolidation for the Des Moines Register.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090405/OPINION01/904050322/1036/Opinion
Early Childhood Movement Learning Laboratory (Kindergym)
The UNI Kindergym program has recently completed its 25th year of providing movement activities for children ranging from two to five years of age. This spring, 100 children, ten program assistants and more than 30 additional undergraduate teacher education majors participated in the Saturday morning program. For more information, contact Rip Marston, professor, in health, physical education & leisure services, at ripley.marston@uni.edu.
UNI Purple Readers Program
UNI launched a new program last fall, "UNI Purple Readers," for Des Moines alumni. Approximately 10 alumni and friends from the Des Moines area have been volunteering to read to elementary classes. Jane Warren, a "purple reader," has been reading to a first grade classroom at Westwood Elementary School in Ankeny. Warren presented a book, "Listen to the Wind," by Greg Mortenson and Susan L. Roth. This photo includes some of the first grade students from Westwood Elementary during one of Warren's recent visits.
MALCOLM PRICE LABORATORY SCHOOL (PLS)
Bridgette Wagoner has been appointed as the interim director of PLS, effective July 1. Wagoner joined PLS in 2000, and is currently the outreach, professional development and curriculum coordinator and teaches in the secondary language arts program. The current director, David Smith, has accepted a position as superintendent of the Spirit Lake School district.
EVENTS
2009 African American Read-In
On Feb. 16, the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, the College of Education, and Rod Library hosted 236 students in grades one through three from Cunningham Elementary School and Price Lab School for the National African American Read-In. The African American Read-In is a special community outreach project of the Multicultural Teaching Alliance (MTA) student organization.
UNI Distinguished Lecture with Judy Jeffrey
Judy Jeffrey visited campus March 25 and presented the "State of the State: Education in Iowa" to more than 500 faculty, staff, students and community leaders. View her presentation at http://mm1.uni.edu:8080/ramgen/1/dls/090325_jeffery.rm
Habitudes for College Students
The College of Education and the UNI Educational Technology User Group (ETUG) hosted a lecture, "Habitudes for College Students," on March 30 featuring Angela Maiers, a former teacher, author and founder of Maiers Educational Services, Inc. Her presentation focused on the difference between being creative on occasion and living each day creatively as a habit and attitude. Habitudes for successful living include courage, imagination, curiosity, perseverance, self-awareness, and adaptability.
STEM for Students with Disabilities Summit
Greg Stefanich, professor in curriculum & instruction and Audrey Rule, associate professor in curriculum & instruction, hosted a STEM for Students with Disabilities Summit on April 1 and 2. The summit was sponsored by the Iowa Mathematics & Science Education Partnership.
Northern Iowa State Education Association (NISEA), Student Conference
Eight pre-service teachers from UNI attended the spring ISEA conference on April 2 and 3 in Des Moines. UNI students participated in workshops on topics including grant writing, multi-cultural teaching strategies, classroom management, and understanding student temperament. Three UNI students and one alumna serve on the ISEA student executive committee. For information on how to get involved with the NISEA student group, contact Leigh Martin, student advisor and instructor at leigh.martin@uni.edu or Stacy Opheim, NISEA president at stacy05@uni.edu.
Hot Topics in Education Campus Series – 21st Century Learning and the Iowa Core Curriculum
Nadene Davidson, interim department head and assistant professor of teaching and Jody Stone, professor of science education, presented to faculty and staff "21st Century Learning and the Iowa Core Curriculum," April 15, at the Center for Multicultural Education. They discussed implications of 21st century skills on K-12 student learning.
Elementary Literacy Conference
UNI's Price Laboratory School presented the 41st annual Elementary Literacy Conference (formerly known as Beginning Reading Conference), on Friday, April 17, in the Schindler Education Center. This year’s keynote speaker was storyteller Herman Parish. For more information visit http://www.vpaf.uni.edu/events/brc/
Music Education Workshop
Each year, the UNI School of Music offers three music education professional development workshops for teachers in Iowa. These workshops have been hosted by the First Iowa Orff Schulwerk chapter of the American Orff Schulwerk Association (AOSA). Attendees are offered graduate credit and license renewal credit.
The most recent music education workshop, was held April 18, at the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center. Jo Ella Hug, president of AOSA presented a session entitled: “In the End, It’s all about PROCESS.”
Cooperating Teacher Round-table Forums
The Office of Student Field Experiences hosts roundtable forums annually for teachers who supervise UNI education students. The forums focus on effective student teaching supervision.
UPCOMING EVENTS
April 24, 11 a.m., U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will speak at UNI in the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center. For more information, visit http://www.uni.edu/arneduncan/
April 24, UNI Kappa Delta Pi Challenge of Teaching Conference
Iowa high school sophomores and juniors will attend the Kappa Delta Pi (KDP) Challenge of Teaching Conference on April 24. The conference is designed to help students make informed choices about their future and career opportunities in education. KDP, as an honor society, stresses the three areas around which the conference is organized: 1) excellence in the act of teaching; 2) outstanding professionalism on the job; and 3) the qualities, values, and actions required of outstanding teacher education majors.