Neag School Faculty, Local Educators Celebrate Bridging Practices Among Connecticut Math Educators Project

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Editor’s Note: Neag School faculty and local educators recently celebrated a two-year project with local school districts to provide professional development on math instruction in response to new Common Core standards. The following story covering the celebration first appeared on the Manchester (Conn.) Public Schools website in September 2015.

Arguments in school are not always appropriate and thus not always encouraged.

But some math teachers in Manchester, Conn., are insisting that their students thoughtfully and deliberately construct arguments as they analyze and defend their classwork.

“The ability to justify conclusions with evidence and critique the reasoning of others is critical for proficiency in mathematics,” said Dr. Santosha Oliver, Manchester’s director of teaching and learning for science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics.

Oliver was among a group of educators from Manchester and two other school districts who joined representatives from the University of Connecticut on Monday for an event celebrating a yearlong project focused on using argumentation in math instruction.

The program, officially called “Bridging Practices Among Connecticut Math Educators,” was a Math-Science Partnership grant funded by the state Department of Education and also involved schools in Mansfield and Hartford.

“I think it’s very appropriate that we celebrate,” said Oliver, who said she “truly believes” that teachers and numeracy coaches involved in the project are now among the best in the state as far as developing students’ capacity to engage in active mathematical discourse through the lens of argumentation.

Mathematical Practice 3 (MP3) is part of the Common Core and refers to “constructing viable arguments and critiquing the reasoning of others” in mathematics.

“Argumentation is really about vetting ideas,” said Megan Staples, an associate professor of mathematics education at UConn’s Neag School of Education, who gave an initial overview to the crowd gathered at MCC on Main.

She said argumentation also involves coming to consensus, evaluating arguments and deciding about the truth of mathematical claims.

(Incidentally, Staples is married to Parag Joshi, who is a Social Studies teacher at MHS and was the creator last year of a popular Truth Seminar course.)

After Staples’ overview, there were a series of workshops and presentations, during which time teachers shared stories and student work from the 2014-15 school year.

Last year, 13 master’s students from UConn’s Neag School of Education had internships in the partnering schools, where they worked with math teachers. UConn also had doctoral candidate students involved in the program.

Laura Kowaleski, a fifth-grade teacher at Highland Park, said she and others in her professional learning community met about once a week with Steve LeMay, who is pursuing his PhD in the mathematics department.

“We looked at student work, and developed a lot of tools and tasks,” said Kowaleski.

LeMay noted that these “mutual discussions” gave him insights that have informed his graduate work. He said that historically, there has been a great deal of attention paid to pedagogy – that is, the practice of teaching – but not as much to actual content itself. He added that he is intrigued by the gap that exists between what students know and can do after they graduate high school, compared to the challenges that await in higher education – and he believes that collaborative ventures such as this one can help bridge that gap.

As for the presentations?

Kowaleski and Highland Park colleague Grace DeAngelis gave one called “Showcasing 5th-Grade Tasks and Student Work.”

Other presenters from Manchester were:

  • Diane Ozmun of Martin: “Utilizing the Talk Frame to Promote Student Discourse.”
  • Kylie Hoke, Buckley: “Posing a Question to Promote Argumentation.”
  • Sarah Brown, Buckley: “Argumentation in the Fractions Unit.”
  • Cathy Mazzotta, Jenn Downes and Jeana Favat, MHS: “High School Argumentation Process.”
  • Colleen Litwin (Bowers), Lisa Miner (Buckley) and Kristin Smith (District Numeracy Specialist): “Argumentation Resource Packets.”
  • Wendy Vincens (Martin) and Kathleen Hackett (Verplanck): “Second Grade Argues.”
  • An’drea Flynn and Christine Giaquinto (Washington), “Introducing Argumentation to Staff”

Oliver said she is hoping that Manchester will be able to extend its affiliation with the UConn project, but noted that in the meantime there are over 200 resources available for teachers to use at bridges.education.uconn.edu.  The UConn project artifacts are also available in the K-5 Math Launch Unit Resources.

Are Charter Schools “Public” for Funding Purposes? Not According to the Washington Supreme Court

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Editor’s Note: This September, Washington state’s Supreme Court ruled that taxpayer-funded charter schools are unconstitutional. Preston Green, the John and Carla Klein Professor of Urban Education in the Neag School and an expert on charter school law, penned this piece, summarizing the ruling and its implications:

In 2014, there were more than 6,400 charter schools serving more than 2.5 million students. Charter schools are commonly defined as public schools that receive greater freedom in their operations, while being held accountable for student achievement.

Legal scholars have countered that charter schools are really hybrid institutions that possess both private and public characteristics. For instance, charter schools are like public schools in that they are funded by state and local taxes, cannot discriminate on the basis of race or religion, and cannot charge tuition. By contrast, charter schools are similar to private schools in that they are “schools of choice” and are run by independent school boards.

Because of the hybrid nature of charter schools, courts have a difficult time determining whether they are public or private. Indeed, charter schools have argued that they are private in order to evade state and federal laws that they do not like.

One question that courts have had to address is whether charter schools are too privately governed to be eligible for funding under state constitutional law. This question is significant because 18 charter school states have constitutional provisions that prohibit such funding.

“Charter schools have argued that they are private in order to evade state and federal laws they do not like.”

—Preston Green, John and Carla Klein Professor
of Urban Education, Neag School of Education

Courts in California and Michigan rejected state constitutional challenges that charter schools were too privately governed to be eligible for public funding. In both cases, the courts observed that state agencies and charter school authorizers exercised control over charter schools from the approval of applications to decisions to revoke charters. Because of this authority, the courts found that they were public schools even though private boards of directors operated them.

However, in League of Women Voters v. State, the Washington Supreme Court has just ruled that charter schools are not “common” or public schools under the state constitution. This is the first case in which a state supreme court has ruled in this manner.

The court based its ruling on a 1909 decision in which it defined a common school, in part, as being under the “complete control” of the “qualified voters of the school district.” Such control included the power to elect members of school boards as well as the power to discharge them if the voters were so inclined.

Because appointed boards or nonprofit organizations ran the state’s charter schools, the court ruled in the League of Women Voters case that charter schools could not qualify as common schools under the state constitution. Because charter schools were not common schools, the court further concluded state could not use the “common school fund” to fund charter schools.

League of Women Voters is significant because so many charter school states have constitutional provisions that are similar to that of Washington’s. While it is impossible to determine how other courts would interpret their constitutional provisions in light of League of Women Voters, it is safe to say that there will be more state constitutional challenges in the future.

Preston Green, JD, Ed.D., whose research has focused on legal issues related to charter schools, is the John and Carla Klein Professor of Urban Education at UConn’s Neag School of Education, as well as a professor of educational leadership and law. Contact him at preston.green@uconn.edu.

Nominations Open for Neag Alumni Awards

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The Neag School of Education is seeking nominations for the Annual Neag Alumni Society Awards. You are invited to nominate individuals for any of the six prestigious awards.

Learn more about specific award criteria, and see videos of last year’s winners.

Submit your nomination today in one or more of the following award categories:

  • Outstanding Higher Education Professional – A faculty member or administrator at a college or university
  • Outstanding School Superintendent – A leader of a public or private school system
  • Outstanding School Administrator – A principal, assistant principal, central office administrator or director
  • Outstanding School Educator – Pre-K through 12th grade educators, including classroom, reading, technology, ELL, school counselors, school psychologists, etc.
  • Outstanding Professional – A professional working within the public or private sector
  • Outstanding Early Career Professional – A promising young professional in the first five years of his/her career in education

All nominations are due no later than Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015. Online submission preferred.

Awardees will be honored at the 18th annual awards celebration on the evening of Saturday, March 19, 2016. All Neag alumni are invited, so mark your calendars now and come celebrate with us as we honor our outstanding alumni. Event information coming in January.

Become a Teacher in One Year

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Neag alumnus, Zato Kadambaya, teaches a math lesson at New London High School in New London, Conn.
Coming to the U.S. from Africa, Zato Kadambaya wanted to go into electrical engineering. Returning to Africa, he was inspired to help people receive a better education and decided to become a teacher through Neag School of Education’s Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates. He currently teaches math and is the department chair at New London High School in New London, Conn.

Change Lives.

Become a Teacher.

Fall Open House Sessions for UConn’s One-Year Teacher Certification Program

Inspire the next generation. Make a lasting impact on students’ lives. Find a rewarding career. If you’ve ever thought about becoming a teacher – or know of someone who should – now is the time to do something about it.

Earn an MA and teacher certification in one year through UConn’s Neag School of Education Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates.

RSVP TODAY for an Upcoming Session

Avery Point (math and science focus)

Sept. 22 or Oct. 22, 6 p.m.
Community and Professional Building, Room 302
RSVP to megan.pichette@uconn.edu or (860) 405-9302

Greater Hartford Campus, West Hartford (all subject areas)
Sept. 22 or Oct. 22, 6:30 p.m.
Library Building Auditorium
RSVP to monica.gat@uconn.edu or (860) 570-9283

Waterbury Campus (all subject areas)
Sept. 15 or Oct. 15, 6:30 p.m.
Multi-purpose Room 113
RSVP to ann_marie.niesobecki@uconn.edu or (203) 236-9926

Storrs Campus (information only, not a TCPCG site)
Tuesday, Oct. 27, 5 p.m.
Gentry Building, Room 144
RSVP to to monica.gat@uconn.edu or 860.570.9283

 

For more information, visit here

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

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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

Alumni 

Kerri (Haynes) Adakonis `88 (ED) was appointed assistant principal of Schaghticoke Middle School in New Milford, Conn. Previously she was the administrative intern at Sarah Noble Intermediate School in New Milford where she was involved with student placement and scheduling, discipline, special education, and planning of special school events. Prior to coming to New Milford, she worked in the Fairfield Public Schools as a fourth and fifth grade teacher and the district’s instructional improvement teacher.

Edward Boynton Jr. `11 (ED), `12 MA married Kayleigh MacRae in Plymouth, Mass., in June. They met at the University of Connecticut. Boynton is a special education math teacher in Massachusetts.

Jay P. Cahalan `88 MA was appointed president and chief executive officer of Columbia Memorial Health, of Hudson, N.Y., and worked with the hospital for the past 20 years in several executive positions. Previously, he worked for Windham Community Memorial Hospital in Willimantic, Conn., and was also president and part owner of Hudson Health & Fitness in Hudson. Cahalan has been a member of The Bank of Greene County’s advisory board of directors since 2012. Cahalan is president of the Greene County Rural Health Network, and serves on the boards of the Iroquois Healthcare Alliance, United Iroquois Shared Services, and the United Iroquois Select.

Shelbi Cole `02 (ED), `03 MA, `11 Ph.D. visited the UConn campus in May, along with educators from the across the country, to write and refine test questions to enhance Smarter Balanced assessments. Seventy educators, including instructional coaches, national experts, teachers, and preservice teachers representing 13 states, worked collaboratively first at UCLA, and then UConn. Cole is the deputy director of content for Smarter Balanced.

John Cormier `88, `91 MA, `93 6th Year was named Teacher of the Year for the Norwich School District in Norwich, Conn. He is a school psychologist at Griswold High School and was the fifth non-classroom educator the district has selected for the honor. A large part of his job involves assessing students with learning disabilities and consulting with his teachers to develop learning plans tailored to help them succeed. 

Brian Jehning `06 (ED), `07 MA was selected as Region 15’s Teacher of the Year. He teaches science at Pomperaug High School, which serves students in the towns of Middlebury and Southbury, Conn. He is also a site director for athletic games and announces football games. Jehning has been a teacher at the school for seven years.

Stephen Kilgus `06, `07 MA, `11 6th Year, `11 Ph.D. won Article of the Year from the Journal of School Psychology. He was recognized at the Society of School Psychology’s annual meeting in August.

Eleanor Lee `78 MA, `83 6th Year is a real estate agent at Hammond Realty in Hartford, Conn. Lee was an educator and administrator with the South Windsor school system for 24 years, including 13 years as principal of Eli Terry Elementary School. Prior to working for South Windsor schools, she was an early childhood and special education teacher. Early in her career, Lee founded and managed Stepping Stones Early Learning Center in Enfield. Most recently, she worked as a job coach for the Connecticut Bureau of Rehabilitative Services.

Jason Lehmann `08 MA was named middle school principal at East Hampton Middle School in Hampton, Conn. Lehmann has been assistant principal at the middle school for the past four years.

Kimberly Loveland `12 6th Year was hired as principal of Waddell School in Manchester, Conn. For the past two years, Loveland was the supervisor of mathematics in the Suffield school district. Before that, she was a math teacher in the Glastonbury school district.

Kelly M. Lyman `88 MA, `01 6th Year was appointed school superintendent of Mansfield Schools, in Mansfield, Conn. Lyman, of West Simsbury, was previously the assistant superintendent of Regional School District 15, serving Southbury and Middlebury. She also has served as a lead professor of practice in the Neag School’s educational leadership program, as an administrator-in-residence for the Connecticut State Department of Education, and as a director of studies for an alternative education experience conducted in partnership with UConn and the Hartford Public Schools.

Rachel McAnallen `11 Ph.D. has co-written Awesome Alex, Math Detective (48 Hour Books, 2015). Known simply as “Ms. Math” to children across the country, McAnallen has devoted her life to sharing the joy and beauty of mathematics with learners of all ages. A lifelong learner, she approaches the world around her with a boundless curiosity and a playful sense of humor that is reflected in her teaching style. The book is about a precocious fifth-grade math detective embarking on a guided number mystery. McAnallen has been a faculty member with Confratute for a number of years and teaches at the Renzulli Academy in Hartford, Conn.

Jennifer Miller `15 6th Year has been hired as principal for the Prudence Crandall School in Enfield, Conn. Miller most recently was a resident principal at Maple Street School in Vernon and also has experience as an instructional coach in numeracy and literacy, and was a fifth- and second-grade teacher.

Christina Nadeau ’13 (ED), ’14 MA, is the high school music teacher at New London High School in New London, Conn., where she teaches band, chorus, percussion, and general music.

Diana Payne `07 Ph.D. was presented with the Dr. Sigmund Abeles Science Advocate Award at the annual Connecticut Science Teachers Association (CSTA) and Connecticut Science Supervisors Association (CSSA) awards banquet in May at the New Haven Lawn Club in New Haven, Conn. Payne was also recognized for her regional, national, and international service. She is the regional co-coordinator of the Quahog Bowl (CT-RI regional of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl) and has been involved in aquatic invasive species programs with Sea Grant colleagues nationally. Most recently, she was named a Fulbright Scholar and will spend part of the fall of 2015 in Denmark.

Amy H. (Jackson) Reising `91 MA was appointed deputy director of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Reising has been the director of credentialing and teacher development at High Tech High in San Diego since 2008. She was deputy director at the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality from 2006 to 2008 and worked at the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing as an administrator for examinations, research, and teacher development from 1998 to 2006. She was project manager and consultant at Educational Testing Service from 1997 to 1998 and a research consultant at WestEd from 1990 to 1997.

Kaitlin Roig-DeBellis `05 (ED), `06 MA is the author of Choosing Hope (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2015) and will be participating with a book tour starting in October, including one at the UConn Co-op bookstore in Storrs. She is the founder and executive director of Class 4 Classes, which recently received a $27,500 grant from Unite4Good.

Ken Roy, `81 6th Year, `85 Ph.D., a 1989 Milken Award Recipient, director of Environmental Health & Safety for Glastonbury, Conn., and chief science safety compliance advisor for the National Science Teachers Association, was recently awarded the Prakken Professional Cooperation Award at the 77th annual International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA) conference in Milwaukee, Wis. The award recognized his tireless efforts to help ITEEA and NSTA collaborate in ensuring safer STEM education laboratory practices. He co-authored a book on laboratory safety for ITEEA in 2014 and has also published and presented on technology and engineering education safety to help address the recently released Next Generation Science Standards.

Maureen Ruby `77 (ED) was appointed as assistant superintendent for Brookfield Public Schools in Brookfield, Conn. Most recently, she was the director of personnel services at Norwalk Public Schools. Before joining the central office in Norwalk, Ruby was the supervisor of professional development and career management for New London Public Schools. She started her career as an elementary school teacher in North Branford where she was named the District Teacher of the Year. After teaching, she became a literacy facilitator for several grant initiatives and is also a professor at Eastern Connecticut State University.

Matthew J. Salvestrini `03 6th Year is director of digital learning at New Canaan Public Schools in New Canaan, Conn. For the past six years, Salvestrini has served as principal at Gainfield Elementary School in Regional School District 15 for Southbury and Middlebury. While at Gainfield, he successfully implemented a program to upgrade the school’s instructional technology, resulting in the availability of SMART Boards, document cameras, and iPads in all classrooms. Salvestrini has served as an elementary assistant principal in both Brookfield and Darien, and has taught at the elementary and high school levels.

Lois Greene Stone `55 and her husband, Dr. Gerald E. Stone, MD, recently celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary. They have 15 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Stone is a writer and poet, and has been syndicated worldwide, with her poetry and personal essays having been included in hard and softcover book anthologies. Collections of her personal items, photos, and memorabilia are in major museums, including 12 different divisions of The Smithsonian.

Martin Summa `12 (ED), as a member of the University of Maryland’s digital marketing and social media unit, was named one of three finalists for the 2015 Marketing Team of the Year Award (MTOYA), presented by SuperFanU.

Carole Swift `14 Executive Leadership Program was named director of special education for Milford Public Schools in Milford, Conn. Swift has been an educator for more than 25 years. Her career in special education began in 1992 at Benhaven School, a private school in Wallingford, Conn., for children with autism. In 1998, Swift was hired in Milford as a special education teacher at Pumpkin Delight Elementary School. Eight years later, she was asked to serve as a special education teacher leader for the middle schools and as a K-12 special education reading coach. In 2010, Swift was appointed principal of Orange Avenue School, where she served for five years, working with staff and families to create a culture wherein every child is embraced.

Katie Uriano `15 6th Year was named principal of Hebron Elementary School in Hebron, Conn. Most recently, she was a staff member at Gilead Hill Elementary. Uriano has spent her teaching career of more than a decade in Hebron. She has taught first and second grades, served as head teacher, and most recently was employed as the school math specialist, developing best practices for the instruction of mathematics and providing professional development for teachers. At Hebron Elementary, Uriano has also been a master mentor, a coach for the positive behavioral intervention and support program, and the director of the summer school.

Joshua Wilson `14 Ph.D. was appointed an assistant professor of special education at the University of Delaware’s School of Education. He has continued research work that he started during his doctoral program with his advisor, Natalie Olinghouse, which most recently appeared in the University of Delaware’s UDaily.

Mary Yakimowski `82 MA, `84 6th Year, `86 Ph.D. was named assistant dean for assessment at Sacred Heart University’s Isabelle Farrington College of Education (FCE). In this new role, Yakimowski will provide leadership in the development, implementation, and administration of a comprehensive assessment system for FCE students and programs. Most recently, she served as an assistant professor within the FCE’s Department of Educational Leadership and Literacy. Before arriving at FCE, she was an associate professor-in-residence for nine years at the Neag School of Education, serving as director of assessment. In her nearly 30 years in education, Yakimowski has worked in urban pre-K-12 public schools in Connecticut, Virginia and Maryland, served as an adjunct at UConn, Virginia Tech and Johns Hopkins and worked for the Connecticut Department of Education and Council of Chief School Officials.

Faculty

Erica Fernández and Tutita Casa were recipients of the UConn Office of the Vice President for Research’s Scholarship Facilitation Fund (SFF) Awards for Fall 2015. The SFF is designed to assist faculty in the initiation, completion, or advancement of research projects, scholarly activities, creative works, or interdisciplinary initiatives that are critical to advancing the faculty member’s scholarship and/or creative projects.

Preston Green will serve as a panelist for The Connecticut Mirror’s second statewide public policy event, “Small State, Big Debate: Race,” in October at Fairfield University as well as an invited speaker at the Northeastern Educational Research Association Conference in October in Trumbull, Conn., where he will talk about the legal status of charter schools. Green is the co-author of forthcoming book Censorship and Student Communication in Online and Offline Settings (IGI Global, 2015), a reference source that addresses the issues surrounding students’ right to free speech in on- and off-campus settings. He also co-wrote a commentary that was published in the West’s Education Law Reporter advance sheet.

Jae-Eun Joo served as the co-guest editor of The Curriculum Journal special issue titled “Innovation in Learning and Teaching Toward the New Global Village: International Perspectives on Transforming Curriculum with Emerging Technologies.” The special issue offers a comprehensive international picture of new online learning and teaching and contains studies about digital literacy in New Zealand; an online game-based learning in Hong Kong; an African dance class in New York City; an NSF project with students from Greenland, Denmark, and the U.S.; and Scott Brown’s GlobalEd Project.

James Kaufman and his wife, Allison B. Kaufman, recently published Animal Creativity and Innovation (Academic Press, 2015). The book is a comprehensive review of what we know about animal creativity and how research findings inform our understanding of human creativity.

Bianca Montrosse-Moorhead was selected to attend EvalPartners Global Evaluation Week to be held in Nepal in November, where she participating in at least three different ways. First, she has just been appointed to the steering committee of EvalYouth, a new EvalPartners global initiative to promote young and emerging evaluators to be leaders in the evaluation field, and she will help to formally launch this initiative. Second, she will help celebrate EvalYear 2015 and attend the global Parliamentarians Forum for Development Evaluation, both sessions to be held in the Parliament of Nepal. Finally, she will share her expertise on “Building Evaluation Skills in Government” during the Third Conclave of the Community of Evaluators-South Asia, which will be held in conjunction with the Global Forum.

Jonathan Plucker was recognized by Noodle as one of “67 Influential Educators Who Are Changing the Way We Learn in 2015.” He has also been a participant with the Patent and Trademark Office’s Patents for Humanity program for several years. The work has been widely praised for its dedication to helping humanity through innovative technology. Plucker was also named the Curry School 2015 Distinguished Alumnus by University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education Foundation.

Joseph Renzulli and Ronald Beghetto received a $175,000 grant from the Imagination Institute at the University of Pennsylvania to examine the importance of imagination, creativity, and innovation (ICI) – considered essential qualities for the cultural, social, and economic growth of nations – as vital outcomes of schooling. The study will include the development of a series of validated instruments, a portfolio that documents a school’s outcomes, and a guidebook for schools to develop and extend their ICI resources.

George Sugai spoke during a breakout session at a supportive school discipline daylong conversation at the White House in July. The White House brought together teams of superintendents, principals, and teachers from school districts across the country, as well as stakeholders, researchers, and corporate and philanthropic partners.

Richard Schwab has been an active commissioner with the National Commission on Teaching & America’s Future’s (NCTAF) Great Teaching Initiative. The three-year initiative includes hosting joint convenings around key issues that impact the teaching profession; establishing a collective research agenda; developing tools and strategies to support teachers, both in their classrooms and careers; and building a repository of best practices, case studies, and positive examples of components of great teaching to highlight what is working well in schools.

Suzanne Wilson has been appointed to the new co-editor team of the newly integrated American Educational Research Journal (AERJ). She will serve as a co-editor with faculty members from five other universities for the 2016-2018 volume years.

In Memoriam

Thomas F. Andrews `75
Earnest Bottomley Jr. `51
Hollace P. Brooks `71
John A. Burns `67
Mario A. Campos `58
Elizabeth Q. Corbett `67
Thomas E. Daley `72
Dick Dempsey, faculty emeritus
Thomas G. Dean `53
Ben L. Edwards `70
Ray E. Fabian, Jr. `54
Carolyn R. Falk `86
Joseph G. Gabriele `67
John D. Hogan `54
Rosemary M. Jejer `46
Paul F. Joyce `69
Donald W. King `79
John H. Kivela `74
Michael M. Lavigne `06
Joan M. Lichtenfels `69
Marjorie L. Luce `91
Carol P. Makara `67
Janet H. Mansfield `85
Viola F. Margarones `55
Glenn V. McLellan `59
Anne V. Nolan `67
Marie A. Piccoli `78
Carol A. Shea `64
Esther W. Shoup `76
Joseph F. Spada `60
Robert R. Spillane `67
Marshall H. Tourtellotte `81
Patricia A. Young `73

Neag School Team and P21 Partner to Release Research Briefs on 4Cs: Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication, and Collaboration

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P21, a leading organization bringing together business, education, and policymakers around the common goal of 21st-century readiness – in collaboration with research partners at the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut – releases a series of research briefs today on key aspects of conceptualizing, developing, and assessing each of the 4Cs: Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, and Creativity. The briefs outline key research findings and best practices focused on embedding the 4Cs into practice in classrooms and beyond in order to boost 21st-century learning acquisition.4Cs

Intended as a guiding tool for education practitioners as well as policymakers, the 4Cs Research Briefs provide plain-language descriptions of current research in practice, successful interventions, assessments, recommendations, and more.

“Our goal with these research briefs was to determine what we really know about helping students develop these critical skills, and the good news is that the research base on enhancing students’ 21st-century competencies is rich and thriving,” says Jonathan Plucker, Neag School of Education professor of educational leadership at the University of Connecticut and leading author of the 4Cs Research Brief Series. “Though more research is needed in certain areas, we found considerable evidence of strong conceptual, intervention, and assessment work that can guide our efforts to foster creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and communication in our children.”

“We know that educators are eager for proven methodologies to engage students and bring the 4Cs to life in the classroom,” says Dr. Helen Soulé, P21 executive director. “These briefs provide insight into what the research tells us about best 4Cs practices and will inform and inspire educators so that more students are able to reap the benefits of a 21st-century learning experience.”

Available online at P21.org/4CsResearch, this free set of resources also includes perspectives from experts in the field, including P21 members and exemplary schools, and districts around the country.

Learn more at: P21.org/4CsResearch

Renzulli’s Gifted Education Programming Has Positive Impact in D.C.

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Cedric Scott facilitates an enrichment cluster focused on cooking, nutrition, and food safety. He was conferencing one-on-one with a student to give her pointers on a project she was working on.
Cedric Scott facilitates an enrichment cluster focused on cooking, nutrition, and food safety during the summer program at DCPS. He was conferencing one-on-one with a student to give her pointers on a project she was working on. (Photo source: D.C. Public Schools)

The District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) discontinued their gifted education programs in 2005 – and had no plans to serve the city’s most talented learners. But when high-performing students started leaving DCPS for private schools in the suburbs or area charter schools in search of gifted programs, DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson began searching for a gifted education program.

“A lot of feedback that the chancellor heard was that the students would like to stay in the district,” says Matthew Reif, director of advanced and enriched education at DCPS. “But the schools didn’t really have anything in gifted education to offer our children.”

In 2012, DCPS turned to Professor Joseph Renzulli, Neag School of Education researcher and internationally known expert in gifted education, for help. Renzulli, who developed the schoolwide enrichment model (SEM), already had a positive reputation in the school district with some key individuals.

Dr. Carey White, for one, who was serving as Henderson’s chief academic officer at the time, had been tasked with putting together the plan to bring back gifted education. White had experience, in a previous job, with SEM – a model designed to maximize the development of students’ abilities while helping to keep teachers engaged. The model includes everything from weekly sessions on special topics for teachers to the use of cutting-edge learning software.

Based in part on White’s recommendation, Reif says, “we decided we wanted to invest into Renzulli’s particular program.”

The Start of Something Special

Nicole Waicunas `06, program outreach coordinator with the Neag Center for Creativity, Gifted Education, and Talent Development, leads a discussion during a workshop for the Renzulli Academy in Connecticut. (Photo credit: Shawn Kornegay)
Nicole Waicunas `06, program outreach coordinator with the Neag Center for Creativity, Gifted Education, and Talent Development, leads a discussion during a workshop for the Renzulli Academy in Connecticut. (Photo credit: Shawn Kornegay)

DCPS implemented SEM with three schools that year, which has since expanded to about a dozen schools. Each of the participating schools has one dedicated SEM enrichment resource teacher who also helps with scheduling that enables the rest of the teachers in the school to offer enrichment clusters as well.

Enrichment clusters, Renzulli says, bring together “nongraded” groups of students for a half-day per week “to work cooperatively within a relatively unstructured learning environment that focuses on higher level thinking skills, creativity, and investigative modes of learning.”

“Our experience with schools has shown that we can guarantee authentic learning experiences for students if the overall weekly schedule devotes some time focused exclusively on this kind of learning,” he says.

DCPS worked with Renzulli and Nicole Waicunas – the program outreach coordinator with the Neag Center for Creativity, Gifted Education, and Talent Development and a former teacher at E.O. Smith High School in Storrs, Conn. – to facilitate on-site training at each of the schools. The first year, Waicunas visited several times, sometimes with Renzulli, to familiarize teachers with SEM and, as Waicunas says, to “help them figure out their students’ strengths and gifts – and to see where that might go.”

DCPS Expands Summer Programming for Gifted Education

Ms. Kim Bigelow facilitated an enrichment cluster on social justice. They were having a discussion on the "Black Lives Matter" movement and how that is or is not a example of a social justice movement, how it compares to ones in the past, etc. (Photo credit: D.C. Public Schools)
Kim Bigelow facilitated an enrichment cluster on social justice during the summer program at DCPS. They were having a discussion on the “Black Lives Matter” movement and how that is or is not a example of a social justice movement, how it compares to ones in the past, etc. (Photo credit: D.C. Public Schools)

When Chancellor Henderson more recently asked DCPS administrators to look next into implementing a summer program – one that was “outside the box” and that would enhance the gifted education opportunities even further for the school district – Renzulli introduced the district to the Renzulli Academy in Hartford.

Modeling its summer program after the Renzulli Academy, DCPS again partnered with Waicunas – along with Lisa Muller, executive program director in the Neag Center for Creativity, Gifted Education, and Talent Development – to design and implement the program.

This past summer, DCPS ran the four-week summer program for the second time, opening it up to students who, during the academic year, attend schools that may not yet have embraced SEM. Participants this past summer included 120 students, eight teachers, and two site coordinators at two schools.

The DCPS summer program has proven successful, with positive feedback from parents and teachers alike, Reif says.

“We know the SEM model is not some flash-in-the-pan, come-and-go kind of fad. It’s really helped us,” says Reif. “The bleeding of our students going to other schools has stopped.” At the same time, he says, “What we have noticed is the parents have been clamoring for these programs.”

Going forward, he adds, DPCS administrators are interested in capturing more in-depth data around measures of satisfaction with the program and are also seeking potential research opportunities with the Neag School of Education to further determine the programs’ effectiveness.

“Previously, we’ve had to close schools because of [lack of] student enrollment,” says Reif. “SEM has definitely helped us to market the schools to prospective students. We try other things to market our schools, but we have come to realize that it’s not just smoke and mirrors with SEM schools. There really is depth behind it.”

 

 

Neag School’s New PreK-3 Leadership Program Highlights Importance of Early Childhood Education

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Children who take part in early childhood education programs, research shows, are apt to reap the benefits for years to come. Not only are these children more likely to be more successful throughout their years in school, but also “to have jobs and to be contributing members of society” later in life, says Karen List ’83 Ph.D., project director for a new Neag School program designed to help school principals, superintendents, other administrators, teachers, and community members lead their schools, districts, and communities in investing in early childhood education.

In fact, for every dollar invested in early childhood education, there is a $7 return – “much better than returns on Wall Street,” says List, citing findings from James Heckman, American economist and Nobel laureate at the University of Chicago.

PreK-3 Leadership
The first cohort of the Neag School’s PK-3 Leadership Program sits in on a session this past July, led by Kristie Kauerz, research assistant professor of P-3 Policy and Leadership at the University of Washington. (Stefanie Dion Jones/Neag School of Education)

And yet many people, List notes, mistakenly equate preschool – particularly in public settings – with daycare. “They don’t see the intentional nature of quality preschool learning or the value in keeping intentional play in a curriculum for kindergartners or first-graders,” she says. “Those opportunities really help kids develop social skills, think creatively, and problem-solve. The capacity that young children have is extraordinary.”

PK-3 Leadership Program
Launched through the Neag School of Education this past summer in partnership with Connecticut’s Office of Early Childhood (OEC), the new PK-3 Leadership Program welcomed 18 educational leaders from districts across Connecticut, including Bridgeport, Torrington, Manchester, Meriden, Norwich, Plainville, and East Hartford, among others.

“If we’re really going to change the outcomes for children, we need more and more people to be knowledgeable about why [early childhood education] is so important – and to have the language to be able to talk about it with credibility.”

—Karen List ’83 Ph.D., project director, PK-3 Leadership Program 

The program is specifically designed for elementary school and pre-K school principals and assistant principals; early learning directors and program managers, including child care center directors; and school superintendents, assistant superintendents, and central office directors. A three-year grant through the OEC has helped to assist with development costs and reduce tuition for participants.

Amidst reading assignments, lectures by guest speakers, and classroom discussion, participants in the 10-month program will also spend time collaborating closely with one another to develop early childhood education action plans that they will ultimately endeavor to bring to fruition in their respective communities. The program comprises three focused modules: curriculum and instruction; assessment and evaluation; and leadership for excellence, equity, and early success. While the first component, for instance, centers in part on growing participants’ knowledge base about recent research on brain development in young children, the third component on leadership aims to prepare participants with the ability to communicate the value of early childhood education to stakeholders and to gain consensus.

PreK-3 Leadership Kauerz
Kristie Kauerz, research assistant professor of P-3 Policy and Leadership at the University of Washington, leads a session for the first cohort of the PK-3 Leadership Program, held in Middletown, Conn., in July. (Stefanie Dion Jones/Neag School of Education)

At the same time, List says, the program engages the participants in considering how they might go on to apply the lessons from each module most effectively in their own districts. “We’re asking them constantly: How does this apply to you? How will you help your community understand that you need to invest in pre-K?” she says. “It’s about having a plan [but also about] how to bring about changes systemically, how to bring people on board, and knowing where to start.”

List, who worked in West Hartford (Conn.) Public Schools for more than 30 years before retiring last year, has long been dedicated to expanding public prekindergarten programs in her former district. Under her leadership as superintendent, the West Hartford district opened preschools in neighborhoods with high poverty rates and the community’s lowest percentage of children participating in early childhood education. As a direct result of List’s advocacy work, West Hartford now has four public, full-day preschools, with five more slated to open in 2016.

Going Beyond Pre-K
Yet quality early childhood education does not stop with preschool. “One of the things we’ve learned over time is that preschool isn’t enough,” List says. “It’s what happens in the preschool as well the alignment, at least through third grade. A preschool teacher needs to understand what a child needs to know by the end of third grade – just as a third-grade teacher needs to know how a young child learns and what is being focused on at a young level with children. So that continuum of learning is very important to sustain the gains made in pre-K. That’s one of the reasons there is this focus [in our program] on the pre-K through 3rd-grade continuum.”

Ultimately, List says she hopes the PK-3 Leadership Program will develop strong leaders who can continue to advocate for the value of early childhood education. “We want the program to be meaningful for our participants,” she says. “We need them to be ambassadors for this work. If we’re really going to change the outcomes for children, we need more and more people to be knowledgeable about why it’s so important – and to have the language to be able to talk about it with credibility.”

“This program is designed to give leaders the skills to help reduce inequities in educational outcomes that occur at the earliest stages of public education,” adds Casey Cobb, associate dean for academic affairs at the Neag School of Education. “Connecticut knows that to redress opportunity gaps, early intervention is critical.”

Sue Fergusson
Susan Fergusson, a principal in Torrington, Conn., joins other members of first cohort of the Neag School’s PK-3 Leadership Program for on a session this July. (Stefanie Dion Jones/Neag School of Education)

Cobb is part of a core development team that helped develop the program over the course of the past several years and that includes representatives from the OEC, the Connecticut Association of Schools, the Neag School, and the Connecticut State Department of Education. In addition, List and her team consult with a panel of advisors, composed of experts in the field hailing from the Neag School, as well as other leading research universities nationwide.

“For me, it’s always about what’s in the best interest of children,” List says. “I don’t remember who said it, but in Connecticut, children are approximately 25 percent of our population – and 100 percent of our future. I’ve always wanted to have pre-K to be part of what we do, and now it’s finally happening.”

For more information on the PK-3 Leadership Program, visit pk3leadership.uconn.edu.

Neag School Explores Greater Internationalization of Teacher Education With Visit to Germany

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Few would likely dispute the enormous impact that globalization has had in recent decades on every aspect of civilization, from international commerce to technology to concerns about the environment. But where might education fit into this equation?

University of Tubingen Germany
As part of an ongoing effort to internationalize the Neag School’s IB/M teacher education program going forward, a delegation of seven UConn faculty and administrators connected this past July with school of education colleagues at University of Tübingen as well as three universities in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. (Photo courtesy of Yuhang Rong)

Perhaps more than ever before, the idea of shaping students into thoughtful, responsible global citizens has become a priority for many of today’s higher education institutions. As a member of Universitas 21 – a network comprising prestigious research-intensive universities around the world – and as a land-grant university offering more than 300 study abroad programs on six continents, UConn is certainly no exception.

Within the Neag School of Education, that concept of global citizenship, which has been a part of the School’s teacher preparation program for more than a decade, has the opportunity to expand further. For future schoolteachers who will go on to educate a generation coming of age in an increasingly multicultural, interconnected society, having a certain level of global competence may prove more important than ever before.

And yet, traditionally, “the current American teaching force has not been very global,” says Yuhang Rong, assistant vice provost for global affairs at UConn. “Teacher preparation in the United States, on a national level, has been very domestic-oriented.”

“We are out in front here, at the moment, in terms of internationalizing our teacher education programs.”

—Associate Professor David Moss

The Neag School’s integrated bachelor’s/master’s (IB/M) program is, in fact, one of the few education programs in the country that currently offers a semester-long component dedicated to school-based research abroad, in London. Next year, the School will also launch a similar opportunity in Nottingham, England.

Ensuring that all educators prepared by the Neag School have global competence built into their curriculum is, ultimately, part of the School’s vision for its IB/M students, Rong says.

‘Taking a Step Forward’
In an effort to explore this dynamic further, Rong, along with a delegation of six Neag School faculty members and administrators, including Neag School Dean Richard Schwab, connected this past July with school of education colleagues at four German universities.

The visit took UConn’s seven delegates to the German state of Baden-Württemberg, a region with which Connecticut has a longstanding partnership, having established a student exchange program there in 1991. Hundreds of students from Connecticut have traveled to Baden-Württemberg to study over the past 20-plus years – many of them through UConn’s Eurotech engineering program, for example. However, according to data from UConn’s Office of Global Affairs – which took over administration of the state partnership with Baden-Württemberg this past summer – not one of those students traveling to Germany over the past decade was in the field of education.

Germany Visit
Neag School delegates meet with colleagues at Heidelberg University of Education this July to share best practices in teach preparation, discuss education reform in each country, and look forward to student and faculty exchange opportunities in the future. (Photo courtesy of Yuhang Rong)

The Neag School is seeking to change that.

With their counterparts at the University of Education Ludwigsburg, University of Education Weingarten, University of Tübingen, and Heidelburg University of Education, UConn’s delegates spent time discussing each country’s approach to teacher preparation, recent developments in education reform, and lessons learned – as well as ways to provide meaningful exchange opportunities for students and faculty going forward.

“We are out in front here, at the moment, in terms of internationalizing our teacher education programs,” says Associate Professor David Moss, one of UConn’s visiting delegates. “There are many more perspectives on research and practice in education – beyond the U.S. perspective – that can add value and capacity to the way we do our everyday work. For me, this trip to Germany was catalytic in taking a step forward to internationalize the work we do at the Neag School.”

Onto the World Stage
Currently, the Neag School sends a number of its IB/M students abroad – a number that will nearly double with the Nottingham program. In addition, the IB/M program’s international component is unique in that it is designed for fifth-year students who have already completed student teaching.

“We send our students on an international teaching internship, and that is an entirely different ballgame than sending somebody abroad to learn basic practices of teaching,” says Moss, who has directed the Education in London Study Abroad Teaching Internship Program for the past 15 years. “It is a real value-added component that they arrive abroad, ready to look at different things than they would if they were still trying to develop basic competencies in teaching.”

And while “taking them out of their comfort zones … can help them develop the empathy and understanding of what it’s like for students in their own classes,” he says, that is only part of it. The real focus – at least with the London program – is on intercultural competence; in other words, as Moss says, ensuring that students gain “the skill sets to negotiate with parents, communities, and students who have viable cultural norms and systems other than their own.”

Moss is confident that the demand will remain high among IB/M students for even more study abroad offerings. In fostering partnerships with German universities as well as other institutions worldwide, he and others from the Neag School hope to see global teacher education at UConn expand even further.

“I think and we’re ready to step out on the world stage as a great international program,” Moss says. “The systemic internationalization work that we’re doing now in the School of Education is wholly consistent with the strategic plan and the research and teaching mission of our research university. I think it serves the state and the citizens well. It enhances scholarship; it enhances teaching. It’s not a nice thing to have in the year 2015 – it’s an essential component of a research university.”