2007–2008 Annual Report

School of Education Program Highlights The SOE is delighted to announce that have several new faces in our department. Maysee Herr will be teaching with the Block 1 faculty. Her area of specialization is Educational Psychology. She will also be teaching the ED 400 Seminar in Student Teaching, effective spring 2009. UW System is supporting two new positions in each of the campuses for the purpose of recruiting and retaining diverse students as well as promoting cultural awareness and strategies for faculty to engage students of diversity. We are delighted to have Dr. Michael Tucker join the SOE faculty as the Educational Generalist (Diversity). Michael earned his Ph.D. from UW-Madison and brings an extensive background in diversity education, including the Graduate Teacher Exchange Program in Umea University in Umea, Sweden. He will focus on teaching students and faculty about issues of diversity and will act as a consultant on issues of diversity on the campus and in the larger community. Other duties associated Dr. Tucker's position include collaborating with the SOE Recruitment/Retention Advisor, creating a UWSP presence on two-year and technical college campuses to promote teacher education for high needs areas, and working with International Programs and others to develop curriculum and instructional best practices that promote awareness of and proficiency in issues of globalization and world cultures. John Gaffney is our new recruitment/retention advisor. His role focuses on recruiting students of diversity and for future teachers in high-need areas. He will work closely with schools and organizations in our service area in his recruitment efforts. Our graduate programs continue to diversify and expand. We have several online degrees in education. We just implemented a collaborative degree in early childhood education/early childhood special education in which professors across the state teach online courses to be transferred to UWSP. We have had a strong response to our online degree, which meets the needs of our working graduate students while still maintaining high quality. Our site-based master’s program will begin in Wausau in August. We have added new courses to meet the professional interests of our students. Graduate students can choose to pursue an on-campus degree, a degree encompassing on-campus and online courses, or fully online courses. Our graduate students have interests across all professional areas and they value the choice inherent within our program. In addition, graduates have stated how they value that the online

and on-campus courses are taught by full-time faculty members having the depth and breadth of knowledge and teaching strategies. Partnerships A series of courses that will lead to licensure in Gifted and Talented Education is being developed as a joint online program between UW-Stevens Point and UW-Whitewater. This initiative has been forwarded by Christine Gould (UW-Stevens Point) and Pamela Clinkenbeard (UW-Whitewater). Both institutions will offer a foundations course. UW-Stevens Point will specialize in curriculum and practicum while UW-Whitewater will specialize in psychology. This program is designed to fill the need for courses addressing the education of gifted and talented children for teachers throughout the state of Wisconsin. The second Mentor Academy, cosponsored by the UWSP School of Education and the PK-18 Council of Central Wisconsin and also supported by CESA 5 and CESA 9, was held at UWSP on June 12–13. Nine teachers from the central Wisconsin area participated in the academy facilitated by Pat Marinac. The Academy’s purpose is to deepen understanding of quality mentoring, to develop mentoring skills, and to examine characteristics of effective mentor programs. Donna Niday, Iowa State University, was the featured speaker. The academy is supported by a generous grant from the Jeanette Fierek Fund. Site-based Master’s (submitted by Paula DeHart)

The UW-Stevens Point Site-Based Master’s Program completed its second year of a two-year program in the Wautoma School District. The 20 participants graduated with their MSE-General in the May commencement ceremony. The School of Education’s Site-Based Master’s Degree program, which is offered completely at a school district site, offers an innovative and integrative curriculum with a focus on best practice and teacher leadership. The program is cofacilitated by Paula DeHart, School of Education,

and LeAnn Chase, elementary principal in the Tomorrow River School District. The Wautoma program involved participants from the following districts: Wautoma, Montello, Princeton, Adams-Friendship, Omro, Waupaca, Green Lake, Westfield, and Stevens Point. Each participant in the program completed a portfolio that represents growth in all 10 Wisconsin Teacher Standards, as well as completing a Master Teacher Initiative, a project that is linked to school district goals and provides benefits to the district beyond the teacher’s own classroom. The next session of the program will run 2008–2010 in the Wausau School District. Awarded the winning project of 2007–2008 for the Oscar W. Neale Fellowship, Madison Elementary will partner with the SOE program, specifically EDUC 302: Materials & Methods in Reading 1, during the ’08 fall semester. As Madison Elementary continues to reshape their Family Literacy Nights, they created a plan to bridge the home culture and increase the relevancy of literacy to families that are learning English. Amber Garbe, Kao Lee Lor, and Lee Vang developed the idea of students, whom are primarily Hmong, creating their own books to help the families finding relevance and significance in literacy. Family Literacy Nights recently highlighted a family project of recording a story of significance that would be transcribed to create a bilingual book illustrated by the family. Through this adapted language experience approach, literacy becomes more culturally relevant and meaningful. Upon the completion of the project, families will each receive a copy of every bilingual book published by the families involved in the project. This fall, UWSP preservice teachers will partner with student authors, grades K–6 to focus on the most effective instructional technique(s) for the primary presentation and sharing of the book. Preservice teachers will be sensitive to culturally responsive and developmentally appropriate instruction. Throughout their coursework, preservice teachers will be introduced to culturally responsive readings, techniques, constructive feedback and self-reflection through discussion and journaling. Preservice teachers will keep an ongoing journal to improve, analyze and monitor “personal beliefs and instructional behaviors about the value of cultural diversity” (Gay & Kirkland, 2003). It is hoped that through this project, preservice teachers will come to value and know that students come to school with various cultural strengths and experiences and CAN thrive with their support (Tabachnick & Zeichner, 1993). Preservice teachers will take a cultural awareness and beliefs inventory prior to coursework and working with the authors. The inventory will again be completed at the end of the project.

In November, Madison Elementary teachers, student authors, and UWSP preservice teachers will report on the project at the fourth annual Celebration of Teaching Banquet. Focus on Teaching/Active Learning In 2007-2008, the Office of Field Experiences was responsible for the assignment and supervision of the following student and intern teachers:

Majors Semester I Semester II Totals Elementary 63 54 117 Science 1 3 4

Social Studies 14 6 20 Special Education 6 6 12 Other Majors 25 59 84 +---------- +------------ +------------ 109 128 237

Of the above, 18 were interns sponsored by the Wisconsin Improvement Program. As in years past, UWSP continued successful collaboration with more than 100 school districts, comprising nearly 1,000 qualified cooperating teachers. Liaison teachers in Stevens Point assisted with more than 500 clinical field experiences. Henry St. Maurice, with assistance from Ahmad Sultan and Babak Vaezzadeh, inaugurated a new course, Education 100, “Introduction to Education: Teaching & Schooling,” delivered on Desire 2 Learn to 26 students during the first semester. This course filled a gap in the School of Education curriculum that had been left when previous introductory courses were consolidated into block scheduling. Now, any student may become better informed about contemporary education before declaring a major. In fact, most of those enrolled to date in EDUC 100 are first-year students. St. Maurice and Vaezzadeh also completed the process of making all work paperless for Education 205, “Teaching for Pluralism.” Students in this course who enroll in teacher preparation programs are required to complete electronic portfolios, for which work in EDUC 205, archived in Desire 2 Learn, would be among the first artifacts. Diversity/International UW System is supporting two new positions in each of the campuses for the purpose of recruiting and retaining diverse students as well as promoting cultural awareness and strategies for faculty to engage students of diversity. SOE welcomes John Gaffney, a UWSP alumnus, as our new Recruitment/Retention Advisor. John will be collaborating with faculty and staff across campus to identify, recruit, and retain teachers of diversity and in high needs areas. He will also work with his counterparts throughout the state to collect and analyze data for recruitment/retention and program improvement. John will advise secondary teaching majors, especially in high-need areas. SOE also welcomes Michael Tucker, who will take the education generalist “diversity position.” He will focus on teaching both students and faculty about issues of diversity, act as a consultant on issues of diversity on the campus and in the larger community, and coordinate practicum placements, which will provide our students with experiences involving students of diversity in K–12 settings. Other duties associated with position include: collaboration with the SOE Recruitment/Retention Advisor, create a UWSP presence on two-year and technical college campuses to promote teacher education for high needs areas; and work with International Programs and others to develop curriculum and instructional best practices that promote awareness of and proficiency in issues of globalization and world cultures. Dr. JoAnne Katzmarek facilitated the International Education Programme, a week-long experience for 18 education students in London, England, during spring break in March

2008. While in London, Dr. Katzmarek and the students visited and observed educational structures and curricula in several British schools. Student-centered excellence The UWSP Pi Epsilon Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi won a second national Achieving Excellence Award which was presented to our representatives at the Biennial convocation in Louisville, KY, last November. The UWSP chapter is one of only 22 chapters (out of a total of 567 worldwide) to receive the award. The Student Wisconsin Education Association at UW-Stevens Point has once again had a fantastic year. In addition, the organization received two state awards: Maggie Beeber-Outstanding Advisor of the Year and Outstanding Newsletter of the Year (Kelly Torp-Newsletter Facilitator). Many speakers brought their expertise and knowledge back to campus to provide professional development opportunities for our students. About one hundred students attended the Annual Okray Colloquium, cosponsored by AEYC, KDP, SCEC, StWEA, and the School of Education. Cheryl Polster (Keynote Speaker-Amherst, WI), Tara Brom (Coloma, WI), Terra Farrell (Grand Marsh, WI), Erica Hendrickson (Wautoma, WI), Jamie Hughes (Schofield, WI), Tina Lotspeich (Neshkoro, WI), Lorra Metko-Walton (Wisconsin Rapids, WI), spoke to the group on the topic “Classroom Management and Study Strategies.” All seven of our local chapter officers were able to attend the National C.O.N.N.E.C.T.I.O.N.S. Leadership Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, thanks to donations from the CWUC UNISERV, CPS, and the SOE. The officers would like to thank those alumni who donate to the UW-Stevens Point Annual Campaign as some of that funding assists students in going to such conferences. Four current officers received the University Leadership Award and four current and former officers received the Chancellor Leadership Award this year. We are proud of the hard work and dedication our officers, members, and advisors contribute to this organization. Amy Davenport received one of five national KDP President’s Scholarships, a first for us. The Central Wisconsin-Association for the Education of Young Children has experienced a very successful year under the direction of dedicated and hard working officers and participants. We gained the most members so far and effectively participated in fundraising efforts, which included shoeboxes of necessities to children in foreign countries. The presentations from our guest speakers were well attended and included such topics as Autism Spectrum Disorder, New Teacher’s Guide to a Successful First Year, and School of Education Colloquium. We even presented at the Wisconsin Early Childhood Collaborative Conference, a conference representing six state organizations. We anticipate spreading our wings even further for additional presentations and volunteer efforts. The Student Council for Exceptional Children (SCEC) had a very productive year. They were involved in several activities related to supporting students with exceptional needs. Four members of SCEC attended the National Council for Exceptional Children conference in Boston, MA. They returned with new policy and instructional information, as well as the information needed for the organization to submit a presentation for the conference. SCEC completed and submitted a research based presentation for the ’09 conference. They will hear on acceptance in September 2008. SCEC grew in its

membership, activities, and commitment to students with exceptional needs in the 2007–2008 academic year. Community Service AEYC made local presentations to the Portage County Child Care Association. More importantly, our members have been active volunteers in the central Wisconsin area by helping with university outreach efforts for families. SCEC adopted a classroom in the local schools. In this classroom, they supported the teacher with supplies and taught weekly lessons with the students regarding self-advocacy (an important skill for students with disabilities). SCEC has a junior high classroom selected for their adoption in the 2008–2009 school year. In addition to the adopted classroom, SCEC members volunteered at various Special Olympics events in the local area. KDP had a successful brat sale at a local grocery store for funding their ‘adopted’ classroom. In addition to the many service and fund raising activities done this past year, KDP also received a $200 grant for its Literacy Alive project held at the local public library. This is the largest grant a chapter is able to receive and only 50 grants were awarded by the Kappa Delta Pi Education Foundation. UW and Outside Support A team of UWSP math and science faculty members as well as local high school math and science educators will participate in the second and third years of a FIPSE grant written by UW System. Perry Cook of the SOE will serve as coordinator of the UWSP team. The grant is in partnership with American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU and began in the fall of 2007. The goals of Wisconsin’s Grassroots Teacher Quality Assessment (TQA) Model project are: 1) to create a common set of valid and reliable performance assessment tools that will be used by Wisconsin’s educator preparation institutions during student teaching to document candidates’ attainment of relevant math and science content knowledge and skills; and 2) to use the information gathered through these assessments to guide on-going programmatic reforms in teacher preparation and professional development. The outcomes of this project will provide a standard, large scale measure of candidate performance for use in the assessment of teacher preparation in mathematics and science throughout the state that will also be adaptable for use in the assessment processes of colleges and universities across the country, This project will also demonstrate the effectiveness of a model for the grassroots, consensus-based design and validation of common performance assessments by state-supported and independent teacher preparation programs within a given state. A total of 36 scholarships for a total amount of $49,200 were awarded at the annual SOE Awards Banquet on May 15th. SOE Faculty and Staff Activities Lisa Bardon presented “Examining a Guiding Questions Tool for determining Disordered Behavior from Cultural Mismatch” at the Addressing Disproportionality 2007 Summer Institute in Green Bay, WI on August 8, 2007. Lisa Bardon presented “Designing Culturally Sensitive Measurement Systems for Evaluating Response to Interventions: Promising Practices for Reducing African

American overrepresentation in E/BD Programs” at the International Conference on Children and Youth with Behavioral Disorders in Dallas, Texas on October 6, 2007. Dr. Bardon also presented “Examining Issues of Disproportionality: Information and tools all districts can use, at the State Superintendent’s Conference on Special Education and Pupil Services Leadership Issues, Middleton, WI on November 14, 2007. Kym Buchanan Kym Buchanan was an invited featured speaker at the Wisconsin Council of Teachers of English (WCTE) State Convention in Middleton, WI, Nov 9, 2007. He talked about "The More Things Change: Taming the Tempest of Pop Media and Tech." Patricia Caro Dr. Patty Caro presented with the following students: Amanda Mancl, Megan Chrudimsky, Elia Olson and Chelsea Enger, at the Wisconsin Early Childhood Education and Care Conference in Wausau, WI on September 28, 2007. The purpose of the presentation was for integrated instruction and adaptation of instruction to children experiencing varying disabilities. Dr. Caro, along with Dr. Ellen Browning of Edgewood College, co-presented “Collaboration: Key Strategies that Work” – a presentation focusing on interventions and strategies to facilitate successful partnerships at the Division for Early Childhood in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada on October 27, 2007. In addition, Dr. Caro received a UW-System Administration grant for $13,363 for her Early Childhood Special Education Collaborative Online Master's. This Master's degree is a collaborative endeavor with seven UW-campuses and one private college. Graduate students choose from a list of courses taught by experts in the field of early childhood education and early childhood education within the state of Wisconsin. Dr. Caro is the principal investigator and advisor for this graduate program. Cindy Cate Ms. Cate received the University Leadership Mentor Award, April 30, 2008. Paula DeHart Dr. Paula DeHart (SOE), Niki Disterhaft and Garrett Jones (UWSP graduate student) made a presentation called “Getting Students at All Learning Levels Involved in Classroom Discussion” at the Wisconsin Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference in Madison, WI on March 31, 2008. Dr. DeHart (SOE) and Garrett Jones (UWSP graduate student) had an article called “Planning to Teach What is Most Important in Social Studies” published in the Spring 2008 issue of “The Journal,” a publication of the Wisconsin Council for the Social Studies. Dr. DeHart (SOE) had a poem called “Choices” published in the Fall, 2007 issue of the Wisconsin English Journal. Christine Gould

Dr. JoAnne Katzmarek, Dr. J. Christine Gould and Dr. Pat Shaw co-authored and had published their article “New Domains: Navigating the World of Academic Writing” in the June, 2007, issue of the Phi Delta Kappan (VOL 88 NO. 10). Dr. Gould presented “Pupils and Poets” and “A Series of Unconventional Lives” at the 17th Biennial Conference of the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children at the University of Warwick, Warwick England on August 8-9, 2007. Dr. Gould co-presented “Future Trends: Teaming for Creative Thinking” with Patricia Schoonover at the National Association for Gifted Children Conference in Minneapolis, MN on November 9, 2007. Finally, Dr. Gould co-presented with Patricia Schoonover at the National Association for Gifted Children, 54th Annual Convention in Minneapolis, MN on November 9 & 10, 2007. Her presentation was titled: “Future Trends: Teaming for Creative Thinking and the 2nd was Programs, Policies, and Best Laid Plans”. JoAnne Katzmarek Dr. JoAnne Katzmarek co-presented with Sue Slick (former faculty of UWSP; now at Florida Gulf Coast University), "Undergraduate and Graduate Student's Views of Literacy: A Comparison", at the American Reading Forum in Sanibel Island, FL on December 7, 2007. Dr. Katzmarek and Dr. Patricia Shaw co-presented “The Professional Development of Teachers at UW-Stevens Point” at the Portage County Business Council Leadership Meeting in Stevens Point, WI on December 13, 2007. Dr. Katzmarek published an article in the Summer Issue of The Reading Professor (VOL 29, No. 1): “Knowing What We See: Experiential Learning and authentic Assessment in Secondary Reading.” In addition, Dr. Katzmarek was awarded $21,792 for her PK-16 Grant Initiative: “Preparing Our Teachers; Best Practice, Leadership, Collaboration.” Leslie McClain Dr. Leslie McClain presented “Wisdom-Centered Leadership in Education: Practices of the Bodhisattva Leader” and co-presented with R. Ylimaki of SUNY-Buffalo on “Wisdom, Accountability and Leadership: Case Studies” at the University Council for Educational Administration in Washington, D.C. on November 17-18, 2007. Pat Schoonover Patricia Schoonover made four presentations at the National Association for Gifted Children Conference in Minneapolis, MN on November 9, 2007. In addition to her presentation with Dr. J. Christine Gould, Dr. Schoonover co-presented with Donald J. Treffinger and Edwin C. Selby: “Creative Problem Solving Today: A Powerful System for Managing Change”. Her third presentation was with Edwin C. Selby, Laurie Abeel and Donald J. Treffinger: “Style Preferences in Creative Problem Solving: Enhancing the Strengths of Talented Students”. In addition, she co-presented with Donald J. Treffinger: “Build it Better: Development of New Strategies for Teaching Thinking Tools”.

Pat Shaw JoAnne Katzmarek and Patricia Shaw co-presented “The Professional Development of Teachers at UW-Stevens Point” at the Portage County Business Council Leadership Meeting in Stevens Point, WI on December 13, 2007. JoAnne Katzmarek, Christine Gould and Pat Shaw co-authored and had published our article “New Domains: Navigating the World of Academic Writing” in the June 2007 issue of the Phi Delta Kappan (VOL 88 NO. 10) Pat Shaw presented “A Teacher’s Transformation: Understanding and Learning from Ethnically Diverse Student Teachers” at the 7th International Transformation Learning Conference based on findings of a research study conducted by Dayle Upham and herself in 2005-2006, Albuquerque, NM , October 24-27. Leslie Wilson Leslie Owen Wilson – Lilly North (Professional Development Conference) October 4-7 2007 Traverse City, MI. Presented a concurrent session on A Matter of Perception - What Folks in the Real World Are Finding Out About Teaching Millennial Students, and was one of the featured plenary speakers doing the general closing session The Time Is Right: Letting Go of Bloom and Embracing Newer Taxonomies of Learning. Maggie Beeber Maggie Beeber and Sue Kissinger presented "Pay it Forward – A Pre-Transfer Advising Model" at the National Academic Advising Association Region 5 Conference in Milwaukee, WI on March 5, 2007 Maggie Beeber and Sue Slick presented “Electronic Teaching Portfolios: at the National Technology and Social Science Conference in Las Vegas, NV on April 15, 2007. Maggie Beeber presented: Finding “Plan B” – Advising students in over subscribed and competitive majors at the UW-System/WACADA Advising Conference held at UW-Rivers Falls on September 20, 2007.