Creativity Found Lacking in College Admissions Process

Posted on January 28, 2016February 16, 2023 by

Editor’s Note: The following story originally appeared on UConn Today, the University of Connecticut’s news website.

This time of year, millions of high school students around the country are anxiously waiting to learn whether they will be accepted into the college or university of their choice.

For many, high school grades and standardized test scores will be the initial benchmarks that decide their fate. But UConn professor of educational psychology James C. Kaufman says traditional college admission practices are capturing only part of a student’s overall potential.

“Creativity would be great for admissions, not as a replacement for standardized tests, but as an addition to them,” says James Kaufman, professor of educational psychology. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

In a recent study with colleague Jean Pretz of Elizabethtown College, Kaufman argues that adding broader assessments of creativity to the college admissions process could help institutions of higher learning increase student diversity and enroll the kind of daring, imaginative thinkers many are searching for in today’s rapidly changing, technology-driven world.

“We’re not saying that the SATs or GREs should be thrown out. That’s not going to happen,” Kaufman explains. “What we’re suggesting is creativity assessments would be great for admissions, not as a replacement for standardized tests, but as an addition to them. We’re hoping this study and others like it will show that the SATs can predict only a certain amount of information and if we add creativity, we’ll know more.”

The pair pulled data on more than 600 college applicants to a small liberal arts college in the Mid-Atlantic region and compared that information to the applicants’ performance on a series of online tests assessing various forms of creativity. The application data included SAT scores, class rank, and college admission interview scores.

Their results showed that traditional admission criteria were only weakly related to creativity, and were failing in large part to adequately recognize such non-cognitive traits as artistic creativity, intellectual curiosity, adaptability, and perseverance.

“If higher education … seek[s] to develop critical and creative thinkers who can adapt to and innovate in a rapidly changing society, we must identify and develop creativity among our students.”

— James C. Kaufman & Jean Pretz

The findings are especially important now, Kaufman says, because of the focus many colleges and universities are placing on innovation and student learning in science, technology, engineering, and math, otherwise known as the STEM fields.

“If higher education faculty and administrators seek to develop critical and creative thinkers who can adapt to and innovate in a rapidly changing society, we must identify and develop creativity among our students,” Pretz and Kaufman wrote in the study’s conclusions. The study appears in the September 2015 issue of The Journal of Creative Behavior.

Creativity assessments are also more likely to be gender and ethnically neutral, Kaufman says, thereby avoiding the potential for bias that has been a concern on some standardized tests. Studies have shown that the most widely used standardized performance tests for college admission, the SAT, is a better predictor of college success for White students than African American, Hispanic American, and Asian American students, Kaufman says.

“If you look at creativity measures, those differences aren’t there,” says Kaufman, an internationally recognized leader in the field of creativity who has written more than 35 books on the subject. “Everyone has some capacity for creativity.”

Kaufman and Pretz acknowledge that standardized tests like the SAT have proven success in predicting college grades. The tests also, to some degree, capture academic creativity as it applies in such areas as written essays or science and math problem solving.

Many selective colleges rely on the results of personal interviews, application essays, and letters of recommendation to obtain a more holistic assessment of students, including their potential creativity. But Kaufman argues that those elements are still limiting for some students, especially those who fail to clear initial hurdles regarding their grades and test scores.

“Letters and statements are way behind test scores and GPA in terms of what matters,” he says. “And there have been a number of studies that have shown that individuals who conduct interviews, such as administrators and supervisors, are not quite as good at gleaning information from those interviews as they think they are.”

In their analysis, Kaufman and Pretz assessed different aspects of student creativity by asking them to perform a series of tests. One question asked students how they would use a $1 million donation to their college or university. Another asked them to write a caption to an ambiguous photograph. A third asked them to write an essay about a dream project in their field of study. Participants also had to complete a personal questionnaire that sought to gauge their creativity.

Kaufman concedes that the study’s reliance on self-reporting in the questionnaire is a caveat that must be considered when drawing conclusions from the results. Both he and Pretz plan to continue gathering data from the students over the course of their college careers to assess the accuracy and effectiveness of their testing.

For now, he believes that broadening the college application process to include more aspects of creativity deserves further consideration. To those who counter that testing for creativity is labor-intensive and time-consuming, Kaufman says valid tests now exist that score for creativity quickly and accurately.

“Anytime you have more information of any kind, you are going to be more accurate about figuring out the best kids to admit, and with creativity you are going to identify kids who maybe wouldn’t have stood out otherwise,” he says. “We also know from our research that if these kinds of additional traits are considered, there is a better chance you will have a more diverse group than you would have if you just considered an SAT score.”

Sexual Violence With K-12 Students in Connecticut: A Research Report

Posted on January 14, 2016February 3, 2016 by Musa Jatkowski

According to recent research, more than 40 percent of female rape victims have been assaulted before the age of 18. In the state of Connecticut in the year 2013 alone, roughly 1 in 5 of the male offenders arrested for rape were arrested at age 19 or younger.

In a new report titled “Sexual Violence with K-12 Students in Connecticut: Prevalence, Prevention, and Future Directions,” co-authors Jonathan Plucker ’91 (CLAS), ’92 MA – a Neag School alumnus and former faculty member – and current Neag School student Grace Healey share these and other recent research findings regarding the prevalence of sexual violence, with a focus on young people at both the national and state level. The brief also specifically outlines steps that the state of Connecticut is taking in response.

“Across the nation, efforts at prevention and increasing quality of services for victims have been focused largely at the college level. There is no question that institutions of higher education have to improve both prevention and victim services, but the available data make a strong case that sexual violence is not a college-only problem.”

–Sexual Violence with K-12 Students in Connecticut:
Prevalence, Prevention, and Future Directions

Policymakers, the researchers state, have sought over recent decades to reduce sexual violence by relying on a criminal justice approach, in which sexually violent acts are dealt with after they occur. Plucker and Healey discuss the implementation, over the past decade, of a “primary prevention model,” which instead seeks to prevent sexual violence. The findings, they state, “suggest that prevention of sexual violence should start at least in early adolescence.”

According to the researchers, the brief’s intention is “not only to inform readers of the prevalence of sexual violence, but also to discuss sexual violence as a multifaceted and complex public health issue, one in which public policy alone will have limited effectiveness.”

Read the report in full at s.uconn.edu/sexualviolence.

‘8 Questions’ With Neag School Alum Alicia Bowman

Posted on January 14, 2016November 25, 2024 by Musa Jatkowski

Three-time Neag School alum Alicia (Qerim) Bowman ’01 (ED), ’02 MA, ’08 6th Year is now in her sixth year serving as principal of West Woods Upper Elementary School in Farmington, Conn. This week, Teach.com — an educational web resource for information on becoming a great teacher in any state across the country — features Bowman in its “8 Questions” series, which showcases teachers who have transitioned their classroom skills into new and exciting careers in the field of education.

“From my internship experiences, my time as a student at UConn’s Neag School, and my years as a sixth-grade teacher, I understood the power of professional collaboration and shared accountability — for adults and students,” says Bowman. “My job now, as principal, is to create the culture and conditions for joint work to happen in regular, meaningful ways.”

Read Bowman’s full profile story on Teach.com here.

Reclaiming Creativity: A Conversation With Professor Ronald Beghetto

Posted on January 6, 2016December 31, 2020 by

Professor Ronald Beghetto presents during the Neag School’s Contemporary Conversations session on creativity over Huskies Forever Weekend this past fall. (Photo credit: Jennifer Doak-Mathewson/UConn Foundation)

Editor’s Note: This past fall, as part of UConn’s Huskies Forever Weekend, Neag School faculty hosted three “Contemporary Conversations” sessions — interactive discussions on such topics as creativity and innovation; diversity; and mental well-being. The following story, featuring Professor Ronald Beghetto’s session on creativity and innovation, first appeared on the UConn Huskies Forever Weekend website in October 2015.

Creativity in education has become a global priority. How can we help students explore their creative side—and empower them to solve global challenges — in an era of strict curricula, packed after-school schedules, and decreasing amounts of playtime in schools?

Ronald Beghetto, professor in the Neag School of Education, held a conversation during Huskies Forever Weekend on the nature of creativity — and how to foster it in students.

By its very nature, creativity can’t be mandated — instead, we have to reclaim it. Here’s how.

So what is creativity, anyway?

Beghetto defines it as originality expressed within task constraints in context. As Miles Davis said, “There are no wrong notes in jazz, only notes in the wrong places.” So an original expression could be seen in classwork, as you see in the image below.

But because the student didn’t complete the task, it’s not creative. “We have to help students know when and how to be creative — to think creatively within the box,” said Beghetto.

Beghetto and his colleague developed the “4-C developmental model,” where people can progress from mini-c — the germ of an idea, maybe, or a fourth-grader’s science project — to little-c, in which a person receives feedback and begins putting the idea into practice. Add 10,000 hours of practice, more or less, and you become a Pro-C (a UConn graduate researcher, maybe, or a professional chef). Time, prestige, and game-changing discoveries can elevate a very few into legendary Big-C status. Creativity thus becomes a journey, a part of everyday life for anyone.

“Context matters,” said Benghetto. “You have to mind the message. Well-intended practices can kill ideas softly. Sometimes we get in the way of creativity, even if we don’t mean to.”

You might see this in a math class, when a teacher encourages a student to solve a math problem a certain way — even if the student arrives at the correct answer. “Creativity needs difference and diversity to survive,” he said. “What if, instead, a teacher gave her class a problem and asked how many different ways they could solve it? Imagine how much more you’d understand if you saw a problem solved 15 different ways.”

How to combat the tyranny of the lesson plan

The structure of the lesson plan—or of the endless parental schedule of lessons, games, and other extracurriculars — can also get in the way of creative thinking. When we’re focused on the curriculum, or the meeting, teachable moments disappear. How can we reclaim creativity when given so many constraints?

Be present. Help kids draw out questions, whether you’re in the car or in the classroom. There are, of course, still lessons to be learned and meetings that need to be attended—the key is balance.

Replace fear of the unknown with curiosity. This might mean having a core concept on your lesson plan, but having examples and content created by students. It might mean being late to your son’s game in order to pursue a question he asked. It might be admitting you’re wrong, being transparent about it, and asking your child or student for help.

Ask, “What if?” Instead of the more controlling “You should,” asking “What if?” turns a command into a possibility — and helps the child go from what is, to what could be.

How UConn is helping reclaim creativity

To help future educators, Beghetto and fellow UConn faculty have created the interdisciplinary minor in creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship. The Neag School of Education has partnered with the School of Business, School of Engineering, and the School of Fine Arts to create the minor, which started its first classes this past semester.

The Neag School has also created an index to help schools look at opportunities for kids to generate ideas, putting them to work on their ideas, and eventually making an impact on the greater world, assessing what schools are doing and can do better.

Are Charter Schools the New Subprime Mortgages?

Posted on January 5, 2016November 25, 2024 by Musa Jatkowski

Preston Green III, John and Carla Klein Professor of Urban Education in the Neag School of Education, recently spoke with Jennifer Berkshire, author of the EduShyster blog, about a new report – titled “Are We Heading Toward a Charter School ‘Bubble’?: Lessons From the Subprime Mortgage Crisis” – for which Green is the lead author. The story has subsequently been covered by the Washington Post, Salon.com, Business Insider, and numerous other media outlets and education blogs.

Berkshire speaks with Green about the idea, posed in the report he co-authored, that a charter school “bubble” may be forming, particularly in urban communities, and about the researchers’ reasons for comparing the expansion of charter schools with the subprime mortgage crisis. Green says: “The argument that I hear all the time that drives me crazy is: ‘Obviously this is a good choice. Look at all the parents who are standing in line.’ That’s just evidence that people want a better education. That doesn’t mean that they’re actually getting it.”

Read the interview in full here.

Gladis Kersaint Named Dean of the Neag School of Education

Posted on January 4, 2016December 7, 2021 by Musa Jatkowski

(January 4, 2016, Storrs, CT) – Dr. Gladis Kersaint has been named the new dean of the University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education. Kersaint has been the associate dean of academic affairs and research for the College of Education at the University of South Florida (USF) since 2011, where she is also a professor of mathematics education.

Prior to her current role, Kersaint served as director of the David C. Anchin Center and held the David C. Anchin Endowed Chair in Education Innovation. The Center promotes alliances and leverages resources to facilitate partnership efforts that support innovation and the advancement of teaching. From 2006 to 2010, she served as coordinator of USF Undergraduate Education and chair of the General Education Council, a role with university-wide reach.

“With an exemplary record of teaching and research, coupled with her impressive experience at the administrative level, Dr. Kersaint is an ideal choice to lead UConn’s distinguished Neag School of Education, where she will work to build and maintain its academic excellence in the years ahead,” says UConn President Susan Herbst.

“Dr. Kersaint is a talented leader who has a distinguished scholarly career and clearly understands academic and educational excellence. Her skills and background are exactly what we look for in our senior leadership,” adds Provost Mun Choi.

Kersaint is also a well-respected scholar in mathematics education with an extensive publication and national and local service record. She has published four books and numerous refereed journal articles related to factors that influence mathematics teacher education and effective mathematics teaching, the mathematical teaching and learningof at-risk students, and the use of technology in teaching and learning mathematics. During her tenure at USF, she has served as the principal or co-principal investigator of approximately $30 million of National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Education, and Florida Department of Education grants.

Kersaint has engaged in a number of collaborative STEM education projects involving faculty in the College of Arts and Science and the College of Engineering. She has also provided service at the national level, including serving as a member of the Board of Directors for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the largest professional organization for mathematics educators and the Association on Mathematics Teacher Educators. Prior to her academic post at USF, Kersaint taught high school mathematics for the Miami-Dade County Public School district, the fourth-largest public school in the nation.

“I am excited to be joining the UConn team and honored to serve as the next dean of the Neag School,” Kersaint says. “It will be a privilege to lead such a prestigious school of education, and I am eager to partner with its high-caliber faculty, dedicated staff, and exceptional student body.”

She earned her BS in mathematics from the University of Miami in 1990, as well as her MS in education in 1992. She earned her Ph.D. in mathematics education from Illinois State University in 1998.

Kersaint will begin at UConn in July.

Involving All Students in Advanced Activities: The 3 E’s Inject Fun and Enrichment into Instruction to Improve Climate

Posted on January 4, 2016December 31, 2020 by

Editor’s Note: The following piece, authored by Professor Joseph Renzulli, appeared in District Administration’s January 2016 issue.

Applying the pedagogy of gifted education to all classrooms can lead to total school improvement. That is the aim of my work, an enrichment-infusion process called the “schoolwide enrichment model,” or SEM.

“Curricular infusion” simply means that we do not argue with the reality of today’s standards and test-driven approaches to school improvement. Rather, we examine materials and teaching strategies that can make the prescribed curriculum more interesting and enjoyable.

It means we provide the professional development and technology-based resources that allow teachers to promote the three goals of our model (the 3 E’s): enjoyment, engagement and enthusiasm for learning.

Happy teachers always produce the best results. They know what will work best in their classroom, and they also know that no amount of standardization, regulation or reams of supervisory paperwork have made sustainable differences in achievement scores or the culture of their school.

Common goals

Our research with schools using the schoolwide enrichment model has shown that anything that saves teachers time, promotes the 3 Es and avoids needless paperwork is more likely to be adopted and sustained.

An enrichment-based approach (rather than drill-and-practice) actually improves student achievement, improves attendance, minimizes suspensions, increases student and teacher engagement, and promotes greater job satisfaction on the part of teachers.

Our model also promotes ownership and educator involvement by providing opportunities for each school to design its unique approach to SEM. Ownership and creative involvement are what produce sustainability and pride. We believe in common goals like the 3 E’s but unique means for achieving these goals.

Advanced levels for all

Most overly prescribed “flavor-or-the-month” school improvement models lack sustainability because they are overly prescriptive. They also factor out the kinds of creative program development and joyful learning opportunities that make teaching the innovative and enjoyable process that attracts people to the profession.

Our broadened conception of total talent development advocates general enrichment opportunities for all students, and motivates them to pursue self-selected projects at advanced levels. This is a radically different approach from other models that require a student be certified as “gifted” before advanced opportunities, resources and encouragement are provided.

An emphasis in our work is on infusing highly engaging and enjoyable activities into any and all required curriculum topics. It is amazing to see how quickly students acquire analytic skills and creative and investigative mindsets—rather than simply memorizing material for the next round of tests. Our studies have shown that when teachers enjoy and are engaged in enrichment activities, the entire atmosphere and the culture of the school changes.

Individualized enrichment

Technology has made this enrichment infusion easily available to most schools and classrooms. Information about student strengths can be quickly obtained by using an electronically produced profile that documents each student’s interests, learning styles, preferred modes of expression and academic strengths.

A powerful search engine scans through thousands of enrichment activities and matches them to each student’s profile. This technology is a one-of-a-kind tool developed at the University of Connecticut (http://gifted.uconn.edu) that makes personalized learning easy. Teachers can use the same search engine to differentiate their curriculum by entering topics, events or other keywords to quickly locate enrichment activities categorized by age/grade levels, standards and interest areas.

Access this piece on the District Administration website.

Accolades: Read About the News and Accomplishments from our Students, Alumni, and Faculty/Staff

Posted on December 29, 2015November 25, 2024 by

Accolades Below are news and notes from our alumni, faculty, staff, and students. We are proud of all the amazing accomplishments by our Neag family. If you have an accolade to share, we want to hear from you! Please send any news items (and story ideas) to neag-communications@uconn.edu.

Students

Members of the student group Leadership in Diversity (L.I.D.) partnered with Neag School faculty in presenting at the 2015 National Association for Multicultural Education Conference in October in New Orleans.

Joshua Abreu, a Ph.D. student in educational leadership, was awarded UConn’s El Instituto 2015-2016 predoctoral award for his initiative to identity and develop mentoring relationships with scholars in higher education.

Jennifer Dolan, a Ph.D. student in curriculum and instruction, had her research review “Splicing the Divide: A Review of Research on the Evolving Digital Divide Among K-12 Students” published in the Journal of Research in Technology in Education (JRTE).

Laura Kern and Kate Dooley, CBER graduate students, each presented two sessions on classroom management to more than 200 educators at a professional development conference organized by the Methuen Public Schools in Massachusetts in November.

Yujin Kim, doctoral student in educational leadership, defended her dissertation entitled “Development of the Employee Expertise Development Scale (EEDS)” in November.

Taylor Koriakin, along with faculty member Michael Coyne, authored a blog post titled “Early Reading Development: What by When?” via the Kennedy Krieger Institute site in November.

Kristopher Perry, current Ph.D. student and director of Veterans Affairs and Military Programs at UConn, was one of the grand marshals for the annual Veterans Parade, held in November in Hartford, Conn.

Orlando Valentin `15 (ED) has been awarded the Alma Exley Scholarship for aspiring public school teachers of color. Valentin is currently pursuing his master’s of science in curriculum and instruction through the Neag School’s IB/M Program.

Alumni

The Neag Alumni Society Board is piloting a mentorship program for connecting Neag School graduates to current fifth-year students in the IB/M program. Twenty students were matched to mentors through the use of the ASPIRE Survey. The Neag Alumni Society Board hosted a “Meet and Greet” in November at the Alumni House.

The Neag School hosted a film screening of the 2013 documentary “Stolen Education,” followed by a panel discussion that explored racism, segregation, and the Mexican-American contribution to the civil-rights movement. Guest panelists included Cathy Schlund-Vials, director of UConn’s Asian and Asian American Studies Institute and chair of the UConn Reads program; Richard Gonzales, director of the Educational Leadership Preparation Programs in the Neag School; Blanca Rincón, Department of Educational Leadership faculty member; Erica Fernández, Department of Educational Leadership faculty member and mentee of “Stolen Education” executive producer and co-writer Enrique Alemán, professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio; Martha Perez-Pedemonti ’08 (CLAS), ’12 JD, staff attorney at Sanctuary for Families in New York City and member of the New York City Bar Association’s Committee on Women in the Legal Profession; and Sarah Hodge ’15 (ED), current fifth-year student in the IB/M Program.

More than 20 UConn alumni returned to their alma mater in October to network with current sport management students for a “Career in Sports Night.” Each alum is following a promising career path at major sports corporations, including ESPN, NBC Sports, and Major League Baseball. More than 60 undergraduates attended.

Brittany (Perotti) Agne ’11 MA serves as director of children’s education programming at New York Cares.

Fernando Carrasquillo ’13 (ED) is the Relay for Life community manager for the American Cancer Society in Winter Park, Fla.

Felice Duffy ’82, ’01 MA, ’01 Ph.D., a 2014 Neag Alumni Society Outstanding Professional Award recipient, recently retired from her position as a federal prosecutor and opened her own law practice in New Haven, Conn., focusing on state and federal criminal defense, college student defense, and Title IX actions.

Jason Foster ’00, ’01 MA, ’08 6^th Year, principal of Uncas Elementary in Norwich, Conn., has been named to Southeastern Connecticut’s 2016 “40 Under 40” list, which honors those who display excellence in their professions and service to Southeastern Connecticut. The awards will be presented in January.

Alex Friedman ’08 (ED) is working in mergers, acquisitions, and corporate development at WME/IMG in New York, N.Y.

Scott McCarthy ’08 (ED), ’09 MA, ’12 6^th Year, ’14 Ph.D. was appointed program director of special education for Darien Public Schools in Darien, Conn. McCarthy has served as a school psychologist at Central Middle School in Greenwich, Conn. As part of his current responsibilities, McCarthy supervises 27 school psychologists in his role as psychology program associate.

Jennifer Myatt ’13 (ED) is a tennis service representative for the New England branch of the United States Tennis Association, a position she was offered upon completing an internship there while she was still enrolled at UConn.

Desi Nesmith ’01 (ED), ’02 MA, ’09 UCAPP and Garth Harries ’12 ELP took to the stage in November for the Neag School’s inaugural educational leadership alumni forum. Nesmith, chief school turnaround officer for the Connecticut State Department of Education, and Harries, superintendent of New Haven Public Schools, discussed the concept of leadership and their experiences at UConn. More than 125 friends, colleagues, and Neag School students, graduates, and faculty attended the event.

Matt Ouimette ’12 (ED), who started in the football equipment room for the NCAA, the NBA and the NFL, now produces videos for the sports organizations.

Colleen Palmer ’07 Ph.D. has been named the Superintendent of the Year for 2016 by the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS). Palmer is the superintendent for Weston Public Schools, including Weston High School, the top-ranked high school in Connecticut in 2015.

Carla Preli ’00 (ED), ’01 MA is a copywriter at Mintz + Hoke in Avon, Conn. She is responsible for developing written content for a variety of print and digital marketing vehicles, as well as script development for broadcast media. Preli previously worked at LSHD Advertising in Chicopee, Mass., for seven years.

For her Classes 4 Classes initiative, Kaitlin Roig-DeBellis ’05 (ED), ’06 MA has been selected from more than 8,000 candidates worldwide as a top 50 finalist for the Global Teacher Prize. Roig-DeBellis created Classes 4 Classes to encourage kindness and compassion in children after the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012.

Robin Rose ’78 MA, ’81 Ph.D. has retired from her position as the senior associate dean for the School of Professional Studies at Brown University in Rhode Island. Rose’s career at Brown spanned 34 years.

Twin brothers Ettore and Angelo Rossetti ’92 (ED) earned a Guinness World Record for tennis volleying on Oct. 27, 2015. The rally lasted for 30,579 consecutive shots, which kept the tennis ball suspended in the air for five hours and 28 minutes. The world record attempt also served as a fundraiser for Save the Children, a worldwide organization that aims to provide education and healthy starts for young children.

Sharon J. White ’76 MA is retiring from UConn after 35 years of service, included the past six as director of UConn’s Stamford campus. A first-generation college student, she began her career in higher education, working in admissions at Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass. She later moved onto Emerson College in Boston, where she worked in admissions and academic counseling.

Jean A. Wihbey ’02 Ph.D. is a final candidate for the president position of the Community College of Rhode Island in Warwick, R.I. Wihbey currently serves as provost of Palm Beach State College in Lake Worth, Fla.

Faculty

Faculty from across the Neag School presented “Contemporary Conversations” during UConn Huskies Forever Weekend in October. Sessions included expert panels on mental well-being, diversity, and creativity and innovation. Presenters for the first session, chaired by Sandra Chafouleas, included Elizabeth Cracco, director of Counseling and Mental Health Services at UConn; Anne Farrell, director of the Center for Applied Research in Human Development and associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies in UConn’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; and Alice Forrester, executive director of the Clifford Beers Clinic. The session on diversity was presented by Milagros Castillo-Montoya, and the session on creativity was presented by Ron Beghetto.

Neag School faculty joined with student organization Leadership in Diversity (L.I.D.) to host a “Day of Equity and Social Justice” in November. The event was highlighted by special guests Bree Picower, assistant professor at Montclair State University, and Antonio Nieves Martinez, assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst. The guests discussed ways to improve equity and social justice not only on college campuses, but also in classroom and street environments worldwide.

CommPACT helped ninth-grade students at five Bridgeport schools kick off their school year in September. Kickoff day was themed “Preparing Our Youth for a Better Tomorrow” and provided programs to show students how to make good decisions, prevent violence, and take charge of their own lives.

CBER was well represented at the National PBIS Leadership Forum held in Rosemont, Ill., in October. Members who presented various breakout, roundtable, and poster sessions at the conference included George Sugai, Susannah Everett, Jennifer Freeman, Tamika La Salle, Allison Lombardi, and Brandi Simonsen.

The Department of Educational Leadership hosted an “Issues in Sport Discussion Series” in December. Karissa Niehoff ’10 Ph.D., the executive director for the Connecticut Association of Schools—Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CASCIAC), and Anne McKernan ’11 ELP, director of leadership development for the Connecticut State Department of Education, shared via WebEx the importance of the relationship between sport and academic achievement in schools.

Sandy Bell was an invited speaker last month at the 2015 Agriculture & Food Systems Inservice, sponsored by the Cornell University Cooperative Extension. Her talk was titled “Adult Learning: Considerations for Educating and Training Pesticide Applicators.” She also conducted two focus groups of current students and recent graduates of adult learning programs, who are also UConn employees, in October. The groups provided insights about the learning and degree needs and interests of other UConn employees, and suggestions for marketing such programs to various employee groups.

Patricia Bellamy completed the Middle Management Institute (MMI) training series offered by the city of Hartford’s Department of Families, Children, Youth, and Recreation. Bellamy also represented Husky Sport as a participant in two workshops facilitated by the central office of Hartford Public Schools: “K-3 Early Literacy Interventions” and “Community Partnership Alignment with Classroom Curriculum.”

Eric Bernstein was one of five finalists in the “College Professor” category of the 2015 Bammy Awards, a cross-discipline honor that recognizes teachers of all subjects and education levels nationwide. In addition, in November, Bernstein, along with a colleague, presented his research findings “Gaps in Support for Students with Disabilities: Reconceptualizing Approaches to Disabilities through Culturally Relevant Pedagogy” at the Association for the Study of Higher Education Conference in Denver.

Eric Bernstein, Laura Burton, Casey Cobb, Morgaen Donaldson, Erica Fernández, Michele Femc-Bagwell, Richard Gonzales, Jennie Weiner, Sarah Woulfin, and current doctoral student Regina Hopkins presented research papers or book chapters, participated in panel discussions, and/or chaired sessions at the 2015 University Council of Educational Administration (UCEA) annual convention earlier this month in San Diego. Cobb, member of the UCEA Executive Committee, and Gonzales, UCEA Plenum representative for the Neag School, also participated in preconference business meetings.

In October and November, Todd Campbell hosted Ian Hardy, a senior lecturer and Australian Research Council (ARC) Fellow at the University of Queensland’s School of Education. While at UConn, Hardy led a presentation called “Governing Teacher Learning: Understanding Teachers’ Capitulation to and Critique of Standardization,” based on his research on the politics of educational policy and practice.

Milagros Castillo-Montoya hosted a guest lecture in November at the Puerto Rican and Latin American Cultural Center event at the UConn Storrs campus regarding the challenges undocumented students face in obtaining a college education. The forum featured assistant professor of educational leadership H. Kenny Nienhusser from the University of Hartford and UConn members of the group CT Students for a Dream. Castillo-Montoya has also been selected as a 2016-2018 American College Personnel Association (ACPA) Emerging Scholar Designee. She will be honored at three conventions and will receive $3,000 in research funding.

Milagros Castillo-Montoya, Justin Evanovich, Jennifer McGarry, and Blanca Rincón were awarded an $8,000 research grant from the Public Discourse Project and the Humanities Institute in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Their project, titled “Asset Assessment, Campus Collaboration, and Facilitator Professional Development for Intergroup Dialogue,” examines Neag School programs that advance dialogue on social justice, equity, and intergroup differences to increase the effectiveness of these programs.

Sandra Chafouleas, along with a colleague, developed an online behavioral assessment tool to monitor student behaviors that are predictors of school success. The technology, called DBR Connect, tracks academic engagement, disruptiveness, and respectfulness, and can easily interpret results and identify at-risk students.

Casey Cobb, Richard Gonzales, and Jennie Weiner published a new article in Teaching and Teacher Education, “Historical Trends and Patterns in the Scholarship on Leadership Preparation.”

Michael Coyne and George Sugai participated in a summit at Yale University called “Early Development, Health, and Learning Among At-Risk Children: Seeing a Global Perspective” in December. The summit, hosted by Haskins Laboratories, UConn, and Yale University, sought to establish cross-national collaborations and plans for improving the health, development, and learning in young children, with a particular focus on supporting disadvantaged populations.

Morgaen Donaldson and Kim LeChasseur presented findings from year two of their evaluation of the New Haven Public Schools Professional Educator Program, funded by the Department of Education, to an audience of district and teachers union leaders in New Haven.

Morgaen Donaldson was appointed an editorial board member of Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis.

Shaun Dougherty led the Neag School in co-sponsoring the Getting CTE Right Conference at Georgia State University in October. The high-profile event, which featured more than 30 policymakers, academics, and state officials, evaluated career and technical education (CTE) and its future in the United States.

Justin Evanovich presented a workshop titled “The American Dream” at the Campus Compact “Unmasking Social Change” conference held at Wesleyan University in October.

Michele Femc-Bagwell presented at UPenn’s University-Assisted Community Schools Conference in December.

Erica Fernández was a recent contributing author to the CEPA blog, titled “The School Could Not Get Involved in Those Matters: The Intersection of Anti-Immigration Reform and Schools.” She is serving as an associate editor for Educational Administration Quarterly. Her research was highlighted in the latest issue of Equity Dispatch, in a recent theme of “Appreciating Difference: Toward Parents/Caregivers as Authentic Partners.” In addition, Fernández has served on several recent panels: One panel titled “Local Activism and Approaches to Social Justice,” held in November at UConn’s African American Cultural Center; another in December for Dorothea Anagstopoulous’ seminar on parental engagement perspectives, which targeted junior preservice teachers; and as an invited keynote for a panel titled “Pathways to College: Access and Success,” held in North Dakota in October.

Jennifer Freeman and Brandi Simonsen guest-starred in a PBIS webinar on positive classroom behavior support, which aired in October.

Preston Green, along with a colleague, released his book Censorship and Student Communication in Online and Offline Settings through IGI Global in September. The book discusses First Amendment rights and how those rights are often censored in schools, even within the realm of social media.

Robin Grenier is a co-investigator on a UConn Public Discourse project that was recently awarded $7,000 to explore public discourse in museums.

Erik Hines hosted a conversation focused on black males in higher education with James Moore of The Ohio State University at the Dodd Center in November. Moore, an urban education professor and the executive director of the Todd Anthony Bell National Resource Center, is internationally recognized for his work on black men and boys.

Josh Hyman presented “Data vs. Methods: Quasi-Experimental Evaluation of Alternative Sample Selection Corrections for Missing College Entrance Exam Score Data” at the National Bureau of Economic Research Economics of Education Fall Meeting in November in Cambridge, Mass.

Devin Kearns, along with educational psychology student Marissa Gadacy, earned a 2016 Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts Research Experience (SHARE) Award. The award will provide funding for their collaborative research project on polysyllabic word reading in elementary school children. Kearns also served as keynote speaker at this year’s Connecticut Council for Exceptional Children annual conference. The conference, held in December at Central Connecticut State University, focused on methods to help students with learning disabilities meet state core standards.

Dodd Center director and assistant professor Glenn Mitoma led a Team Social Studies alumni event, organized by Alan Marcus in October at the UConn Storrs campus. Mitoma advised alumni how to start their own human rights course or incorporate human rights into their curriculums.

Marijke Kehrhahn is representing the Neag School on the organizing committee for Connecticut’s Transportation Summit, to be held on the Storrs campus in January. The summit will explore and set a collaborative agenda for the University, the Connecticut Department of Transportation, other colleges and universities, and private business and industry in implementing the governor’s 30-year transportation vision for Connecticut. She also facilitated a strategic planning retreat for the board of the Connecticut Autism Spectrum Resource Center in November and has been appointed to the Advisory Board for the New England Board of Higher Education’s Problem-Based Learning Center.

Allison Lombardi’s article “Correlates of Critical Thinking and College and Career Readiness for Students With and Without Disabilities,” was published in the journal Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals. In addition, “College Students With Physical Disabilities: Common on Campus, Uncommon in the Literature” – co-authored with UConn colleageus including Joseph Madaus and Nicholas Gelbar – was published in Physical Disabilities: Education and Related Services. Lombardi also presented three sessions and two posters at the Division on Career Development and Transition’s Annual Conference in November in Portland, Ore.

David Moss been elected as a member of the International Academy for Intercultural Research, a professional interdisciplinary organization dedicated to the understanding and improvement of intercultural relations through social science research.

Natalie Olinghouse presented a half-day symposium as an invited speaker on a topic of writing difficulties and assessments within a multi-tiered system of supports at the International Dyslexia Association’s 2015 Annual Conference in Dallas in October.

Sally Reis is the 2015 recipient of the National Association for Gifted Children Ann F. Isaacs Founder’s Memorial Award. The NAGC award is presented to those who are leaders in the field of gifted children research, education, and development.

Brandi Simonsen and Jennifer Freeman led the development of a technical assistance document titled “Supporting and Responding to Behavior: Evidence-Based Classroom Strategies for Teachers” that was published by the United States Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan introduced the release of this document in November during a briefing at the White House as part of the 40th anniversary celebration of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Megan Staples, along with colleagues, received the 2015 Linking Research and Practice Outstanding Publication Award from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. The award was for their co-authored submission “Moving Students to ‘the Why’” in Mathematics Teacher in the Middle School. They will be formally recognized at the national conference in San Francisco in 2016.

Robert Villanova facilitated a panel discussion on “Leadership Preparation in Connecticut” at the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education and the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents in Hartford, Conn., in November.

Jennie Weiner has a new article in Teaching and Teacher Education titled “Different Location or Different Map?: Investigating Charter School Teachers’ Professional Identities.” Weiner and Sarah Woulfin presented “Diagnosing the District: How First Year Principals Frame the District” at UCEA last month.

Over the summer and fall of 2015, Sarah Woulfin advised members of Hartford Public Schools’ Department of Professional Learning and facilitated a professional development session titled “Levels of Change: From Compliance to Transformation.” Woulfin and Shaun Dougherty also co-facilitated an orientation session for 16 incoming members of the 2015 Neag School Ed.D. cohort.

Suzanne Wilson presented the white paper “How Teachers Teach: Mapping the Terrain of Practice” with co-author Gary Sykes, principal research scientist at Educational Testing Service (ETS), during the ETS Research Forum held in Washington, D.C., earlier this month.

Sarah Woulfin’s article “Highway to Reform: The Coupling of District Reading Policy and Instructional Practice” was published in the Journal of Educational Change.

In Memoriam

Ralph E. Ackerman ’60
Lt. Colonel Roger F. X. Carney, USA (Ret.) ’92
Marilyn S. Davis ’53
Arthur C. Forst Jr. ’80
Marsha A. Gunther ’69
Lynn S. Hofmeister ’70
Jan P. Holscher ’65
Linda J. Kubik ’97
Louis I. Kuslan ’43
Ellen W. Lathrop ’74
Paul H. Lheureux ’78
Joseph W. Licata ’65
Donald J. Lipsi ’72
Robert J. Mischler ’50
Paul A. Norling ’65
Valerie J. Pichette (staff)
Norine C. Nelson ’55
Irving Schein ’55
Rene T. Villeneuve ’69
Valdene A. Walker ’88
Sheila P. Wright ’89

Neag School Faculty Author Notable Academic Books: A Short Roundup

Posted on December 22, 2015February 17, 2023 by

Faculty in the Neag School of Education are frequent authors of articles, chapters, and books sharing their expertise, with publications as varied as their research specialties. In an effort to further share this information, here are highlights from a selection of three recent books published this past fall by Neag School faculty members.

Evaluating Literacy Instruction: Principles and Promising Practices

Rachael E. Gabriel, assistant professor of reading education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, along with Richard L. Allington, a professor of education and literacy studies program at the University of Tennessee, co-wrote Evaluating Literacy Instruction: Principles and Promising Practices (Taylor & Francis, 2015).

According to the publisher, the book, which illuminates the intersection of research on literacy instruction and teacher evaluation, is a “must read” for all literacy educators. Since 2009, 46 states have changed or revised policies related to evaluating teachers and school leaders. In order for these new policies to be used to support and develop effective literacy instruction, resources are needed that connect the best of what is known about teaching literacy with current evaluation policies and support practices. A major contribution to meeting this need, this volume brings together a range of perspectives on tools, systems, and policies for the evaluation of teaching.

Gabriel and Allington gather insights from expert scholars in the field who “emphasize the need for literacy professionals to do more than merely apply generic observation instruments for teacher evaluation,” and to “consider how these tools reflect professional values, how elements of effective literacy instruction can be unearthed or included within them, and how teacher evaluation systems and policies can be used to increase students’ opportunities to develop literacy.”

Censorship and Student Communication in Online and Offline Settings

Preston C. Green III, the John and Carla Klein Professor of Urban Education and professor of educational leadership and law at UConn, along with Joseph O. Oluwole, is a professor of education law at Montclar State University, co-wrote Censorship and Student Communication in Online and Offline Settings (IGI Global, 2015).

While freedom of speech is a defining characteristic of the United States, the First Amendment right is often regulated within certain environments. For years, schools have attempted to monitor and regulate student communication both within the educational environment and in student use of social media and other online communication tools.

According to the publisher, Censorship and Student Communication in Online and Offline Settings is a comprehensive reference source that addresses the issues surrounding students’ right to free speech in on- and off-campus settings. Featuring relevant coverage on the implications of digital media as well as constitutional and legal considerations, this publication serves as a resource for school administrators, educators, students, and policymakers interested in uncovering the reasons behind student censorship and the challenges associated with the regulation of students’ free speech.

Reflections on Gifted Education: Critical Works by Joseph S. Renzulli and Colleagues

In Reflections on Gifted Education: Critical Works by Joseph S. Renzulli and Colleagues (Prufrock Press, 2015), edited by his research partner, wife, and UConn’s vice provost for academic affairs, Sally Reis, more than 40 years of research and development are highlighted in a collection of articles written and published by Renzulli and his colleagues.

As recognized by the publisher, Renzulli’s work has had an impact on gifted education and enrichment pedagogy across the globe, based on the general theme of the need to apply more flexible approaches to identifying and developing giftedness and talents in young people.

This collection of articles and chapters has strong foundational research support focusing on practical applications that teachers can use to create and differentiate learning and enrichment experiences for high-potential and gifted and talented students.

Renzilli’s work has “transformed the field of giftedness and has been more influential by far than the work of anyone else in the field,” says Robert J. Sternberg, professor of human development at Cornell University. “This book will be required reading for anyone interested in the best the field has to offer.”

Future Educator Gets Early Lessons in Leadership

Posted on December 8, 2015December 7, 2021 by

As early as her freshman year, Neag School junior Emily Baseler ’17 (ED, CLAS), ’18 MA has been coaching college students to be exceptional teachers and leaders. Volunteering with UConn Jumpstart – a national early education organization that offers UConn students the chance to engage in meaningful service while receiving extensive early childhood and professional development training – Baseler served as team leader her freshman year and is now in her second year as student program director.

Jumpstart helps children develop the language and literacy skills they will need to thrive in school and in life. Through UConn, Jumpstart has preschool partners located in the Vernon-Rockville and Windham-Willimantic areas of Connecticut. Nationally, the organization partners with 6,100 college students and community volunteers, who work with preschool children in low-income communities for a full school year.

Baseler, a Spanish and elementary education double major, applied to be a corps member in the Jumpstart program as a freshman, prepared to take on the 300-hour term-of-service commitment. Despite her inexperience, she made an impression on the Jumpstart senior site manager and program coordinator, Kelly Zimmerman.

“Although she was only a freshman, her professionalism, passion, and commitment to service was far beyond other students applying for the same position,” Zimmerman said in her nomination letter for Baseler. “While it’s extremely rare for us to have a freshman in a student leadership role, I strongly believed that Emily would be the best fit.”

Baseler took a few weeks at the beginning of her Jumpstart experience to train and pick the brains of her upperclassmen colleagues. In no time, she was excelling at teaching and classroom management, engaging the children in the community, providing family resources in English and Spanish, and encouraging her UConn Jumpstart peers to take an active role in their service. As a student leader, she says she learned to set clear expectations from the beginning. It was weeks before the team even asked how old she was, assuming she was an upperclassman like them.

“My corps members and I met, and we bonded as a professional team and grew to be friends with a great respect for one another,” says Baseler. “Each of us brought a completely different experience to the table and recognized each other’s strengths.”

During her sophomore year, Baseler became the UConn Jumpstart student program director. While the position did not diminish her direct service with the preschool children, in this role – for which she was rehired this fall – she is responsible not only for helping to recruit, interview, and hire all 80 members of the program, but also ensuring they are on track to finish the program successfully. She also meets with the program’s student leaders about supervision of their teams and the curriculum guidance and support they offer to their preschool classrooms.

Baseler’s leadership experience during her time at UConn extends beyond the Jumpstart program. In addition to having gained experience as a resident assistant, a day camp head counselor, a community outreach relief worker, a local shelter volunteer, a student ambassador, and a service learning committee chair, she spent a summer abroad at the Universidad San Ignacio de Loyolo in Cusco, Peru, tutoring high school students.

According to Zimmerman, Baseler’s student program director duties are similar to those she fulfilled in the role last year; however, five bilingual teams have been added to the program. “Emily is now working with students who will be speaking both English and Spanish in the preschools, and is learning about curriculum adaptions to help assist these student leaders on this unique journey,” Zimmerman says.

Last month, Baseler’s hard work, leadership, and dedication in the classroom and across campus was recognized with a 2015 Provost’s Undergraduate Student Award for Excellence in Public Engagement. Baseler was one of only five individuals chosen to receive the award, which celebrates those who successfully integrate public engagement into their academic, research, and service programs.

“I am honored to be recognized with the Provost Award for Public Engagement,” says Baseler. “To me, excellence in civic engagement means that one has a commitment to service and a passion to create social change. A public servant seeks to engage with their local community and provide support in whatever they can – for me, I do so through my passion for education.”

According to Gina DeVivo Brassaw, associate director of the Office of Community Outreach where Jumpstart is housed, “As a Neag student, Emily embodies a future teacher. She is the perfect example of a student combining their future career with their community service experience and taking the steps to also build her personal leadership along the way.”

After graduation, Baseler plans on working in a STEM-focused school in an urban area to encourage low-income students to “fall in love with learning,” while her longer-term ambitions include entering school administration to become a coach and support her peers – much like she has already learned in her Jumpstart experience at UConn.

“If higher education … seek[s] to develop critical and creative thinkers who can adapt to and innovate in a rapidly changing society, we must identify and develop creativity among our students.”

— James C. Kaufman & Jean Pretz

–Sexual Violence with K-12 Students in Connecticut: Prevalence, Prevention, and Future Directions