After-School Exercise and Nutrition Program Reaches Out to Urban School Children

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Photo Caption: The USDA’s food plate makes it easy for children to understand healthy eating. (Photo courtesy of Meriden Board of Education)

CT FANs in Motion, a collaborative effort between the Department of Extension in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Department of Kinesiology in the Neag School of Education, has been funded through a $2.5 million competitive grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

The grant is being used to enhance an existing 4-H youth development program called Fitness and Nutrition Cubs (FANs) that is designed to help reduce obesity in 9 to 14 year-old children. Initially, the expanded program will take place in five schools where students meet health and income guidelines. It was started at the Roger Sherman Elementary School in Meriden this fall, and will be rolled out over the next five years in schools in New Haven, Fairfield, and Windham counties.

“People continue to be surprised that we have active 4-H programs in urban centers,” says Wanda Hamilton, 4-H urban program coordinator for the New Haven County Extension Center, “but city programs are always very popular. School-based activities give these kids a familiar place to gather, they have older teens as positive role models, and they have fun at the same time they’re learning new things.”

Ana Gómez Volek, assistant research professor in the Department of Kinesiology, says the factors that contribute to childhood obesity are complex. “Poor food choices and physical inactivity are behaviors that we can target,” she says, “and the expanded program aims to educate children and parents by using innovative approaches to improve knowledge of nutrition and exercise.

Gómez Volek says one of the things that is different about this program is the addition of a research component that will track over time how the program affects the participants’ knowledge and attitude about diet and exercise. Researchers will also be obtaining non-invasive physiological measurements. Eventually, a smaller cohort of the children will be selected to come to campus to participate in specialized physical fitness testing using sophisticated equipment in the Department of Kinesiology’s Human Performance Laboratory.

Sustainable gardening

Umekia Taylor, associate cooperative extension educator-in-residence adds that CT FANs In Motion is designed to be a year-round program that will reach children and their families by providing activities that are both fun and educational. She is particularly enthusiastic about the addition of a gardening component.

“We have a commitment from the state’s Master Gardeners to work with the children, showing them how to plant sustainable gardens,” says Taylor. “This is helpful in teaching about nutrition, but it also involves the physical aspects of gardening … it’s exercise with an end result you can eat!”

Once the food that is grown in the gardens is harvested, the plan is to have a community night where children will bring their families to enjoy a meal prepared by local chefs who will use the fresh produce as a key component of the menu. At the end of the night, each family will get a bag of groceries that will enable them to replicate what they have just eaten when they return home.

Adding exergaming

CT FANs In Motion boasts another feature that makes it appealing to its youthful audience, and that’s the inclusion of ‘exergaming’ with Wii and Xbox. While children get to play traditional games involving such things as balls and hula hoops, the computer-generated activities that get them up and moving include a wide array of sports, dance, and exercises they might not otherwise encounter.

Taylor says, “A colleague of ours is one of the foremost gurus of exergaming in the United States. She is affiliated with the Learning Gaming Lab at New Mexico State University, which is one of the premier sites in the US studying the effects of interactive video games on children’s health.” Through that contact, the UConn researchers applied for grants that enabled them to purchase gaming equipment that will remain in the schools for use by the entire school population.

Hamilton, Gómez Volek, and Taylor all say the ultimate goal is to deliver year-round programming within a school setting that is beneficial to the children, their families, and their communities.

“We’re committed to making a sustained positive impact on the lives of children by implementing fun and creative programs that empower children and their parents to make more informed healthy lifestyle choices,” says Gómez Volek. “A side benefit is that we will expose families to cutting-edge science on diet and exercise, while we demystify the research process within these vulnerable communities.

“All of this should be instrumental in helping these children determine what makes a healthy lifestyle as they transition into adulthood.

For more information on supporting Neag School programs like these, and others, contact Heather McDonald at 860-486-4530, via email at hmcdonald@foundation.uconn.edu. 

Education Professor Speaks on School Safety at Major National Conference

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sugai panelGeorge Sugai, a professor in UConn’s Neag School of Education and an expert on school climate and student behavior, addressed a conference in February that included Vice President Joe Biden on the topic of making schools safer in the wake of the Sandy Hook School tragedy.

Sugai, who in December co-authored a national position paper on school violence following Newtown, told the invitation-only crowd of lawmakers, educators, political leaders, law enforcement officials, and others that preventing school violence at every level requires better communication between parents, students, teachers, and administrators.

“In most violent acts that occurred at school, somebody knew about the act before it occurred,” Sugai said, citing a recent Secret Service report that found at least one person knew beforehand of 80 percent of episodes of school violence.

“If we don’t have a means for communication, we’re not going to have the ability to put in place the things that are being discussed at this conference,” he said.

The conference was convened at Western Connecticut State University, with panel discussions moderated by U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy. Also speaking at the conference were Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty, and experts on topics ranging from police work to psychology.

The keynote address was delivered by Biden, who called for stronger gun control laws and expanded attention to mental health care, saying the future will judge harshly if the country fails to act in the wake of Newtown.

“I cannot predict what will be written about us 20 or 30 years from now if we don’t act,” he said. “There’s a moral price to be paid for inaction.”

Sugai won applause from the attendees when he said the issue had to be taken as a whole, and that factors like communication and interpersonal relationships are critical to preventing school violence whether on the level of a Newtown or more commonplace incidents of bullying and related behavior.

The most important thing parents and educators can do, Sugai said, is make sure they’re involved with their children, to prevent a sense of isolation and the breakdown in communication channels that can lead to violence.

“I’m an optimist, and I really believe we can create a civil society, civil cultures, and civil neighborhoods,” he added. “We as individuals can actively do something today and tomorrow to change things for the better.”

Neag International Professor Shares Experiences with Students

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1304_2-1023Fresh from a sabbatical to Thailand, Neag Professor Xae Alicia Reyes has always found her life to be international.

“My interest in strengthening our sense of being part of the international community is a strong part of my identity as a military dependent,” says Reyes. “My mother was also a military dependent born in the Panama Canal Zone, so schooling throughout the world has always interested me and fostered a passion for learning something from everyone.”

Reyes began her international higher education in Puerto Rico where she received both a B.A. in Economics and M.A. in translation from the University of Puerto Rico. Before earning a Ph.D. in social, multicultural, bilingual foundations of education from the University of Colorado – Boulder, Reyes returned to the University of Puerto Rico as a teacher.

“Education was emphasized in my family since I can remember,” says Reyes. “Teaching teachers became a passion of mine while directing Student Support Services (a TRIO program) at the University of Puerto Rico in the late 80s.” The TRIO program that Reyes mentions is a part of a set of federal programs that reach out to individuals that are first generation college students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Programs are designed to help participants navigate the college experience and succeed in their academic pursuits.

In the fall of 1999, Reyes arrived at UConn and developed a course for Neag that drew from her experiences in the TRIO programs, research on migration issues, and the socio-cultural and historical frameworks of Latino education in the US. The course integrated Reyes’ work with the Institute of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies (IPRLS) with her work at Neag and the cross-listed course became “Latinos and US Education.”

Along with teaching, Reyes became the Interim Director of the Puerto Rican and Latino American Cultural Center (PRLACC) for a little over a year. Reyes represented and advocated for PRLACC interests throughout UConn, reporting directly to the vice president of diversity and equity. Reyes also coordinated a mentoring program called “METAS” that involved the teaching of the Latino Leadership and Mentoring course, which she revised during her tenure there by adding a field internship for coordinators to the program. “I reconfigured the academic mission and linkages to the IPRLS and emphasized academic and career opportunities at the University and beyond,” says Reyes.

Reyes’ international style on education has always been a reflection of her past experiences learning languages and interacting with people with different backgrounds from a variety of countries and throughout the Unites States.

“I love conveying the power of these experiences to my students and exploring how our backgrounds intersect,” says Reyes. “I also encourage learning other languages and experiencing other cultures by taking my students to events in Windham and Hartford that give them opportunities to interact with families outside of the school setting.”

Past and current students have a deep appreciation for the ideals that Reyes’ classes have taught them and for Reyes as a teacher, says Mary Anne Doyle, Department Chair of Curriculum and Instruction at the Neag School of Education. According to Doyle, Reyes is very passionate about teaching and committed to her students by having them broaden their experience. Each graduate course is taught the same ideas but the courses are shaped depending on the students within it.

“Everything Reyes experiences, she shares with her students through teaching,” says Doyle “Her students value her expertise, breadth of knowledge and interest in their studies.”

Recently, Reyes returned from her second trip to Burapha University in Thailand where Reyes expanded on her previous Fulbright project from 2009. The Fulbright project mentored new faculty members in Burapha University on the “best practices for college teaching with diverse populations, and development of individual and collaborative research and scholarship,” says Reyes. Reyes also assisted the International College by providing training for math and science high school teachers that teach their content in English (which are a part of a Regional Association of South East Asian Nations-ASEAN economic exchange initiative).

“My four month stay reaffirmed my belief in experiencing languages and cultures on site to broaden our perspectives and relate more effectively to people who may not share our backgrounds,” says Reyes. “I continue to encourage these dispositions among my Neag and UConn students so that we can truly become citizens of the world and more effective practitioners.”

Due to Reyes’ involvement with Burapha University, university officials from Thailand are exploring partnerships with UConn in areas with some compatibility with their programs. Marine Sciences at the Avery Point campus and science research labs are areas of interest due to similarity in the programs between the two Universities. Burapha officials will be visiting UCONN in late March.

For Reyes, seeing her students broaden their experiences, views of the world and the people in it, is a job well done.  Reyes wants to see her students come out of her classes with these new ideals and to succeed in infusing them throughout their lives.

 

“Nothing is more gratifying than to see former students become excellent teachers and professionals who are open to continued learning by broadening their world views, and learning from their own students, and from each other,” says Reyes.

 

 

 

 

 

Renzulli Academy Model Expands to Three New Connecticut School Districts

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Fourth-graders working on experiment with teacher
Fourth-graders perform an experiment with the help of their teacher Freddie DeJesus at the Renzulli Gifted and Talented Academy in Hartford, Conn., in 2011. (Photo Credit: Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

After four years of changing the face of education in Hartford, the Renzulli Academy is expanding its nationally renowned model of gifted-and-talented schooling to three new districts in Connecticut.

Starting this fall, students in Bridgeport, New London, and Windham will be able to attend schools for fourth-through-sixth graders modeled on the Hartford program, which has won plaudits for putting into practice the ideas of Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Education Joseph Renzulli, and his wife, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Sally Reis. Renzulli and Reis are both faculty members in the Neag School of Education who have long championed the education of gifted students.

“It’s very exciting to see this,” says Renzulli. “This has always been the core of my work – kids who are going on to be inventors, designers, entrepreneurs.”

The three districts will fund the new schools, which may in the future expand beyond the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades, but the expansion was made possible by a $500,000 grant from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, Renzulli said.

“We know that high-potential, low-income students do best at schools that both challenge and support them,” says Lawrence Kutner, executive director of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. “Along with Hartford, these three districts are taking a significant step towards ensuring that children’s potential is not wasted.”

The Renzulli Academy in Hartford is based on the schoolwide enrichment model, which maximizes students’ potential and keeps teachers engaged and excited. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

The academies in the new cities, like the original in Hartford, will follow a “schoolwide enrichment model” designed by Renzulli to maximize the development of students’ abilities and help keep teachers engaged and excited about their classes. The model includes everything from weekly sessions on special topics for teachers to the use of cutting-edge learning software.

“You can’t do the kind of teaching I advocate without the very best of technology,” Renzulli says.

The model has already reaped rewards in Hartford, where about 115 students attend the academy. As measured in both Connecticut Mastery Test scores and the state’s new School Performance Index, the Renzulli Academy routinely outperforms not only its peers in the district, but also many schools in affluent suburbs.

In 2012, for example, the Renzulli Academy was the only school in Hartford to surpass the state’s desired School Performance Index rating of 88, scoring 92.8 out of 100 – fully 10 points higher than the second highest performing school.

“The test scores are important, but the thing I’m proudest about in the academy is our kids entering and placing and winning in things like the National History Day contest, the Invention Convention, robotics competitions, and the like,” Renzulli says.

Along with the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, Renzulli also credits Bridgeport Superintendent of Schools Paul Vallas, New London Superintendent Nicholas Fischer, and Windham Superintendent Ana Ortiz with their willingness to embrace the model, along with Steven Adamowski, the former Hartford superintendent who has been appointed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to be Special Master of the Windham and New London districts.

While some details remain to be worked out before class starts in the fall, including what selection criteria will be used and how many students will be accepted, Renzulli says he’s just excited to see the model expand, the first step in what he hopes will eventually be a roll out in districts across the country.

“In the real world, it’s the creative, productive kids who make a difference,” he says. “These kids clearly have that potential, which is why this is so important.”

For more information on supporting Neag School programs like these, and others, contact Heather McDonald at 860-486-4530, via email at hmcdonald@foundation.uconn.edu.

Graduate Students Hosting Sport Management Alumni Event

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Mingle with Sport Management alumni, graduate students, and current undergrads in a family-friendly environment! Enjoy the 2013 UConn football spring game while expanding your network. Don’t forget to bring a business card or contact information to exchange with people you meet.Light fare will be provided, including sandwiches, fruit and veggie platters, and other snacks. Family tailgating games like beanbag toss and ladderball, special guest appearances, and free giveaways are just a few more fun activities taking place. Jonathan the Husky Dog will be visiting as well! If you have any questions regarding this event, please email us at uconnsportmanagement@gmail.com 

For more information and to RSVP, click here. Please RSVP by April 10.

 

Grateful: Alumna who believes in the power of public universities gives back

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Yvonne Condell stands before her collection of paintings, drawings, watercolors and wood carvings by Minnesota artist Charles Beck, which she loaned to the Plains Art Museum in North Dakota for a special exhibit. Dr. Condell proudly owns the largest private collection of Beck’s work.

When 81-year-old Yvonne Condell entered the University of Connecticut in 1956 to begin work toward a master’s of Education, African-Americans like her “weren’t welcome everywhere.” Despite what then were improved U.S. civil rights laws and changing attitudes, segregation still existed in many restaurants, parks and schools, but not at UConn, Condell asserted.

“From the first day, my experience was nothing but wonderful,” said Condell, who after completing her master’s in 1958 spent four additional years at UConn, first teaching there and then earning a doctorate in education with a concentration in biology. “I earned my bachelor’s degree at Florida A&M and knew I wanted to also do my graduate work at a public university, where the student body would be diverse, the atmosphere dynamic, and I felt sure would be an opportunity to learn about not just my interests, but myself.”

UConn was ideal, she said, because it was large enough to offer a broad range of educational and social experiences, but small enough to ensure that her professors not just knew her name, but had a desire to help her achieve her dreams: “The Storrs campus is also just so picturesque. But most importantly, I received a high-quality education from professors who were truly interested in helping me succeed. Looking back, I think of how fortunate I was to choose UConn, and how fortunate students are to have UConn as an option today.

“It was a top school when I attended, and it’s even more of a top school now,” Condell continued, referring to UConn’s many national rankings, which include the Neag School of Education being chosen as the No. 28 graduate school of education in the nation and No. 17 among all public graduate schools of education in the nation according to the U.S. News & World Report.

The Neag School of Education also houses the nation’s No. 1 doctoral program in kinesiology, as ranked by the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education.

“Those of us who’ve benefitted from receiving the kind of quality, affordable education UConn provides have an obligation to make sure that public universities not just continue to exist, but that they provide even better opportunities to the next generation,” Condell said.

Toward this end, Condell has made a point of giving to UConn for each of the past 27 years, becoming one of the school’s most faithful and generous donors.

Her belief in public education—coupled with a desire to be the kind of passionate, knowledgeable and enthusiastic professor she worked with at UConn—also led her to spend 30 of her 40 years as a life science and biology teacher at the public Minnesota State University, Moorhead. She retired in 1995.

“Not too long ago, I looked back at my life and realized that from age 4 to 63, I was always in school, either as a student or teacher,” Condell laughed. “But it was at UConn that I learned the most, because there I saw what it takes to be a great teacher.

“Over the years, at various places, I’ve met a lot of Ph.D. students, from a lot of different universities, who knew everything about their subject area, but nothing about what it takes to teach it. They didn’t get the kind of wisdom, attention and care that I got at UConn, where the professors teach by example. Being a professor is about more than knowing what to teach. It’s about knowing how to teach. It’s about being reliable, dependable and caring. It’s about being an exemplar for the practices and values you believe in.”

Today, giving—of time and finances, when possible—are among the practices and values she strives to live by, and that she encourages others to consider as well.

“State budget cuts have put many public universities throughout the United States in very difficult straits, which means that other ways of raising funds are needed, especially if we want to make sure our flagship universities stay great and become even greater,” said Condell, adding that she gets excited each time she sees UConn earn a new title or ranking, such as its recent listing in Kiplinger’s Personal Finance as one of the 25 best values in public colleges in the U.S., and its election into Universitas 21, an international network made up of the leading research-intensive universities from 16 countries.

“Justice, equality and fairness come from education, and without public universities, many people wouldn’t have educations today,” Condell said. “Public universities play a vital role in our world, and it’s the responsibility of all of us who benefitted from them to support them.”

 

Neag School Hosts “Media Literacy in a Digital Information Age” Conference on April 19

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media literacyThe Neag School of Education will host the 11th annual Northeast Media Literacy Conference, “Media Literacy in a Digital Information Age” on Friday, April 19 in the Rome Ballroom, South Campus, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. This year’s event will emphasize closely examining the key relationship between today’s digital media, the impact of new technology, the need to help youth develop skills to understand and interpret media, and other important digital media issues affecting schools, communities, and youth-oriented organization

“The Northeast Media Literacy Conference has been recognized for over a decade as a key annual meeting of media literacy leaders and enthusiasts to learn and share with each other,” said Dr. Thomas B. Goodkind, conference creator and coordinator and a Neag School of Education professor of curriculum and instruction. “The program usually features two keynote speakers — recognized national experts in the field — as well as over a dozen workshops led by innovative theorists, practitioners and researchers in media literacy and technology.”

For the third year in a row, a special feature of the conference will be the participation of 25 media leaders representing 25 nations, sponsored by the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program.

“The participation of these leaders in this distinguished State Department program at our conference is significant in that it appears to tie in directly with the continued, timely U.S. government recognition of the international interest and importance of media literacy,” said Goodkind.

The international visits to UConn also boosts the visibility and image of both the University and the Neag School of Education, while providing the potential for important world-wide contacts in media literacy and related fields.

Keynote speakers are Cyndy Scheibe, nationally recognized media literacy leader, executive director and founder of Project Look Sharp, and co-author of The Teacher’s Guide to Media Literacy; and Chris Sperry, director, curriculum and staff development for Project Look Sharp, teacher of social studies, English and media studies for over 30 years, and author of innovative curriculum kits on global studies.

“Both will bring leadership, knowledge and experience in media literacy to the conference,” Goodkind said.

The conference will also feature 15 workshops, exhibitors and film showings. Registration includes a continental breakfast, buffet lunch, refreshments throughout the day, social hour, conference-related handouts and discounts on media literacy products. Cost to attend is $95 per person; $45 for students (with ID).

For more information and to register, visit the Northeast Media Literacy Conference website at http://medialiteracy.education.uconn.edu or contact Dr. Thomas B. Goodkind at t.goodkind@uconn.edu or (860) 486-0290.

 

Implementing Systemic Approaches to High Quality Online Education at Neag

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Jae-Eun Joo edited IMG_0815As the new director of Online Programs at the Neag School of Education, it’s Jae-Eun Joo’s job to ensure students taking online classes—or pursing an entirely online degree—have an experience as rich, educational and meaningful as those who sit in traditional UConn classrooms.

Joo’s role is to “integrate effective pedagogy with new technologies” she said, creating interactive online learning environments that enact best research and practices proven to help students learn most effectively and improve their performances. “It’s both a conceptual and practical role that has me working very closely with faculty to identify how to best use emerging technologies to convey the content and the pedagogy they want to provide,” said Joo, Ed.D., who’s spent much of the past 20 years as a online education researcher, teacher, and consultant, designing, managing and evaluating online programs for the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the Open University in the United Kingdom, World Bank, and other organizations. “We also want to provide students with the best possible—and an enjoyable—learning experience.”

A Neag associate professor, Joo also teaches classes like the graduate-level Interactive Learning Environments and serves as the Neag liaison to the University of Connecticut’s growing, multidisciplinary e-Campus program, which currently offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate online classes, including Educational Leadership, Educational Psychology and others taught by Neag faculty.

Joo’s priorities include helping Neag faculty develop new online courses and programs; expanding Neag’s online degree offerings; and streamlining and strengthening Neag’s three existing online programs in the Gifted and Talented Education (MA & 6th year), the Certificate in Postsecondary Disability Services, and the Educational Technology (MA).

She is also be leading and conducting research designed to advance and establish online and blended learning best practices, as well as disseminating findings to increase the Neag’s visibility in the field of online education. Joo has just received the Education Research Service Projects (ERSP) Award from the American Education Research Association (AERA) to create a participatory evaluation study on a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education program for Boston’s urban youth and their communities. Though some are still hesitant to embrace online learning, a U.S. Department of Education survey, Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies, found that students taught in well-constructed online courses learn as much or exceed, as well as interact with their professors as much, as those taught in face-to-face instruction (2010).

“One of my goals is to construct a common framework for Neag online programs, which will help alleviate some of the misconceptions and unease feeling about teaching and learning online. I’m going to be talking and reaching out to colleagues, alumni and students—potential students—to explain the innovative work we’re doing, show the benefits of online learning, and give people the education and encouragement they need to hopefully step out of their comfort zone and take a positive step into the online education world. It opens so many possibilities,” said Joo, who has a doctorate in learning and teaching and a master’s in human development and psychology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

One of the many benefits of online teaching, she added, is that it provides people with open access and flexible schedule to overcome physical disabilities, transportation issues and other challenges to earn a UConn degree that might otherwise not be possible.  “Online courses and programs turn obstacles into opportunities,” Joo said, “which is one of the reasons that makes my job so exciting and rewarding.”

Down the road, she envisions the Neag School of Education at the center of a “online contents and resource superhighway,” providing Connecticut schools, libraries, teachers, administrators and others with research data, a best practice library, classroom help and the “many other much-needed supports and services that advance education and that Neag is known for. I’d love to build a connected, interactive, and robust online education platform that capitalizes on, and shares, all we’re doing to help teachers, education leaders, and their students.”

 

Neag’s Moss a Champion for the Globally Literacy Skills That Teachers and Students Need

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The fact that today’s students are graduating into a global society where, at work, employees come in daily contact with people from around the world and, at home, neighborhoods are becoming more diverse, means that today’s teachers need to show students how to better collaborate and live in this increasingly interdependent world.

“The issue of creating globally competent educators wasn’t something previous generations had to face, but it’s a very real issue now, and its importance is only growing,” said David M. Moss, Ph.D., interim director of Teacher Educator at the University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education. “Our goal as teachers is to prepare students for all aspects of life—for personal, social and professional success—and today, that means preparing them to be global citizens.”

Considered an expert in the field, Moss has spent the past few years speaking at conferences like those hosted by the American Association of College of Teacher Education and Society for International Educators about the need for greater cultural responsiveness in education. An associate professor in Curriculum and Instruction, he’s also played a key role in establishing programs that have caused the Neag School of Education to become a “top-tier leader” in the U.S. in global literacy and in training teachers how to lead multi-cultural classrooms.

“Student bodies have become so diverse that creating globally competent educators has really become a fundamental element of quality teaching,” Moss said.

Toward this end, the Neag School, with support from the Carnegie Corporation’s Teachers for a New Era project, established Project PREPARE-ELLs (Preparing Responsive Educators to Promote Access and Realize Excellence with English Language Learners). The program involved brining nationally recognized ELL experts to UConn’s Storrs campus to teach faculty in the Integrated Bachelor’s/Master’s Teacher Education and Teacher Certification for College Graduates programs how to infuse cultural and linguistic diversity into all disciplines.

The program has quickly become a national model. Inquiries from other universities have led to Project PREPARE co-directors Thomas Levine, Ph.D., and Elizabeth Howard, Ed.D. to craft a book about the program’s implementation and successes, with chapters written by various Neag faculty members. “One of the points it stresses is that every classroom, even those without ELL students, is culturally diverse,” Moss said.

While on the Education Program in London, Neag students visited Maritime Greenwich.
While on the Education Program in London, Neag students visited Maritime Greenwich.

Other Neag programs focused on global competence include:

  • Education in London — a fall, semester-long study abroad program open to fifth-year Integrated Bachelor’s/Master’s students. Students live in London and work at international middle and secondary schools—many of which expose Neag students to as many as 40 diverse ethnicities and 50 spoken languages on any given day, including those from Africa and the Middle East.
  • Developing Global Teachers — a two-week study abroad program open to fifth-year Integrated Bachelor’s/Master’s students with a history/social studies concentration that focuses on “Teaching World War II: Multiple Perspectives on the War in Europe.” Offered every other May, it’s geared toward students who plan to teach in middle or high school and teaches the war from the European perspective. Students visit historic sites and meet survivors and scholars in Great Britain, France, Holland and Germany.

“In the U.S., we forget that by the time America entered the war, European countries were already four years in,” Moss said, “so this class provides a very different look at the war overall and how other countries view our participation. At the end of the program, most students say it was transformational.”

His passion and belief in the importance of developing global literacy has led Moss to not just write articles for the Journal of Teacher Education, among other publications, but to join forces with the Society for International Educators to develop a new academic journal called Global Teacher Education. He’ll be founding editor.

“It’s a niche, and there’s a real gap out there,” Moss said.

He’s also in the final stages of evaluating a self-reflection tool called My Cultural Awareness Profile, or myCAP, that’s already been used by thousands of students at dozen of U.S. universities. Created with Neag Teacher Education doctoral graduate Helen Marx, an assistant professor at Southern Connecticut State University, the survey is designed to provide higher education faculty with a better understanding of preservice teachers’ current degree of cultural awareness, as well as areas to challenge and support continued growth.

“So far, the response has been wildly positive, and we hope to have it being used by even more colleges and universities in the fall,” said Moss.

“There’s a statistic that says if you look at the types of jobs available today, half of them didn’t exist 20 years ago,” Moss continued. “So what does that mean for our kids 20 years from now? What kinds of opportunities and jobs will be available to them when they become adults? None of us knows for sure, though clearly they’ll have a global perspective. Teaching global literacy today gives students an intellectual foundation they’ll be able to build on in the years to come.”

 

Autism Researcher to Focus on Music-Based Intervention

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autism grantAutism Speaks, the world’s leading autism science and advocacy organization, recently awarded CHIP Principal Investigator (PI) Anjana Bhat a grant to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a novel music-based intervention for children with autism.

Dr. Bhat, an assistant professor of kinesiology in UConn’s Neag School of Education and a pediatric physical therapist, will use the two-year, $120,000 pilot treatment grant to design and test an intervention to improve the motor, social, and communication skills of low- to moderate-functioning children with autism between the ages of 3 and 14.

The grant is especially significant because there is little to no evidence on the effectiveness of music-based interventions for children with autism, despite the growing popularity of such interventions in recent years, Dr. Bhat said. Additionally, none of the existing music-based interventions for children with autism incorporate movement activities, which are often impaired, and none of the music interventions are offered more than once or twice a week, which is not often enough for this population to truly benefit, she said.

“Children with autism have great difficulty coordinating complex movements such as planning to dress or tie their shoe laces or dribble a ball due to the abnormalities affecting long-range communication between brain areas,” Dr. Bhat explained. “Movement-based activities within the music-based intervention address these difficulties.”

Most children with autism enjoy music, Dr. Bhat said. In fact, two of Dr. Bhat’s colleagues in autism research at UConn, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Psychology Deborah Fein and Associate Professor of Psychology Inge-Marie Eigsti, have documented that children with autism have enhanced musical abilities, such as pitch perception.

“Embedding an intervention in a music class should make it more appealing to children with autism,” Dr. Bhat said. “We will be addressing impairments of a child with autism within a non-intimidating, enjoyable context.”

The intervention, which Dr. Bhat is developing in collaboration with Associate Professor of Music Education Linda Neelly, will include a hello song, beat keeping activities, music making with different instruments, whole body movements, such as marching, and a calming, farewell song.

The study will involve 24 children with autism, half of whom will receive the music-based movement intervention and half of whom will be assigned to a control group.

Children in the intervention arm will attend two sessions a week led by an expert trainer in a classroom setting and three sessions a week led by a parent or caregiver at home.

“Having the parents supplement the intervention at home will enhance its likelihood of success, because children with autism need repeated practice to master new skills,” Dr. Bhat said.

Parents will receive a training manual and a CD with all of the songs to use at home. They will keep diaries tracking the sessions they conduct at home and will be required to conduct at least 75 percent of the recommended sessions to participate in the study, Dr. Bhat explained.

Dr. Bhat’s team will match the level of parent training (and other factors, including the severity of the disorder and other therapies being received) when comparing results. The research team also will video tape some of the parent-led sessions and evaluate for fidelity of the training protocol. For instance, researchers will look for parents to make a certain number of bids for social interaction per session.

Twenty families with children with autism already have been recruited to participate in the study, Dr. Bhat said, and the parents are very motivated to participate because they believe their children will enjoy and respond to this type of intervention.

The intervention includes 40 sessions total and takes 8 weeks. Pre-test measures the first week and post-test measures the final week will include standardized tests of participants’ Joint Attention (JA), turn taking, imitation, praxis, coordination, and balance. The research team will obtain video data during pre- and post-test of synchrony during walking, marching, clapping, and drumming motions, and the researchers also will use eye tracking equipment – bands on participating children’s foreheads that record to backpacks with camcorders in them – to show the focus of the participants’ attention.

Dr. Bhat expects children in the intervention arm will demonstrate improved social performance, such as rates of JA bids, rates of turn taking, and duration of verbalization, as well as improved motor performance, such as rhythmic action praxis, motor coordination, and movement synchrony with the other participants.

“Music-based interventions for children with autism are being used but, due to lack of evidence for their effectiveness, they are still not considered within the standard of care and they are not typically covered by insurance,” Dr. Bhat said. “We are hoping to develop and document an effective music-based movement intervention and ultimately bring it into the mainstream so that it is made more readily available to children with autism who could benefit from them.”