Two School of Kinesiology undergraduates are featured in this week’s online issue of City Pages. Brad Neumann (left in photo) and Justin Rabon are friends and teammates on the Gopher track team, but their story is more than that — a gratifying tale of two people who had the good fortune to find each other at just the right time.
Learn more in Outsports (coming-out stories from Brad and Justin), the Pioneer Press, USAToday, WCCO TV, Fox9, Kare11, and the Minnesota Daily.
Zan Gao, Ph.D., Kinesiology associate professor and director of the Physical Activity and Epidemiology Laboratory (PAEL), and members of his lab will be presenting at the American College of Sport Medicine (ACSM) Annual Meeting and Exercise is Medicine World Congress held jointly in Boston, MA, this week through June 4.
Angela Fenoglio, a Ph.D. candidate in the Institute of Child Development (ICD), recently received an award from the College of Education and Human Development’s Women’s Philanthropic Leadership Circle (WPLC).
Founded in 2002, WPLC aims to raise visibility of women leaders in education and human development and provide financial support to women in educational leadership positions. Each year, WPLC makes several awards of up to $2,500 to graduate students to honor their achievement and leadership.
Fenoglio is currently a doctoral candidate working with ICD faculty Jed Elison, Ph.D., and Michael Georgieff, M.D. Her research focuses on the development of the “social brain.” In her work, she examines how atypical early experiences, such as premature birth, might affect the development of brain circuits involved in social skills like following a caregiver’s gaze or thinking about the beliefs and desires of others. The long-term goal of her research is to contribute to strategic prevention and intervention in pre-term infants and other populations at an increased risk of mental illness.
School of Kinesiology associate professor Zan Gao, Ph.D., has written an article on his work related to the positive health outcomes of fitness technology and exergaming on the CEHD Vision 2020 blog.
His research shows that replacing younger students’ “screen time” on tablets or computers with apps for exercise games can be as effective as physical education classes.
Gao emphasizes that exercise games on the computer do not replace time playing outside or the traditional physical education curriculum. Instead, he says, “we hope that active, fitness-oriented apps and games can replace sedentary time young people spend using tablets, watching television or playing traditional games – not physical activities like sports, biking or outside play.”
“Exercise games are not just a fad,” says Gao, “and can be part of our approach to capturing the attention of students who are not drawn to athletics and physical education.”
Gao is director of the School’s Physical Activity Epidemiology Laboratory.
The Center for Early Education and Development (CEED) in the Institute of Child Development has received a $1 million grant from the Lynne & Andrew Redleaf Foundation to establish a center that will focus on reflective practice in infant and early childhood mental health.
Reflective practice is a professional development approach that encourages individuals to pay attention to relationships as they examine behavior and their responses to behavior. In the infant and early childhood mental health field, reflective practice asks practitioners to explore how they relate to the children and families they work with, who may be facing multiple challenges and risks. Practitioners engage in reflective practice in partnership with a supervisor or consultant.
The new CEED center will serve as an intellectual home for high-quality, cutting-edge research in reflective practice. It will also disseminate knowledge about reflective practice, help professionals incorporate reflective practice principles into their work, and inform policy dealing with infant and early childhood mental health. The center will be the first of its kind internationally.
“We are grateful to the Lynne & Andrew Redleaf Foundation for their support as we work to impact infant and early childhood programs and providers, both in Minnesota and across the country,” says Christopher Watson, Ph.D., IMH-E®[IV], director of the new center at CEED. “This generous gift will allow CEED to bolster its work in reflective supervision and to better support staff who serve families facing complex challenges. We look forward to carrying out this work in an effort to improve developmental outcomes for infants and young children.”
Donald R. Dengel, Ph.D., professor in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Laboratory of Integrative Human Physiology was recently quoted in the June issue of Experience Life, an online health and fitness magazine, on how exercise improves circulation. “The circulatory system loves exercise,” Dengel says in the article, and explains that exercise makes the circulatory system stronger, more flexible, and more expansive, which in turn boosts athletic performance. The article can be accessed here.
On May 23, 2017, students, staff, faculty, and alumni gathered to celebrate the accomplishments of the school psychology program at an annual recognition ceremony. Dr. Sandy Christenson, alumna and emeritus professor, was honored as the 2017 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient.
Other school psychology students, faculty, and instructors awarded throughout the year:
A new report from SR (Student Review) Education Group has the University of Minnesota’s College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) at the top of the college rankings in student satisfaction for education schools. Based on the reviews of current and former students, CEHD was rated 8th best among 19 ranked education colleges offering master’s of education degrees in the United States.
SR Education has created a standardized method to assess institutions based on student satisfaction data. The goal of SR Education is to help prospective students find a college suited to their individual needs.
Steven O. Roberts, Ph.D. received his undergraduate degree in Applied Psychology from New York University (NYU) in 2012. It was there he first worked with Rose Vukovic, current director of undergraduate studies and associate professor in the special education program in the Department of Educational Psychology. Robert’s experience with Vukovic inspired him to pursue more research opportunities and earn a Ph.D. in developmental psychology at University of Michigan. In July, Roberts will begin work at Stanford University as an assistant professor of psychology.
In an interview by NYU, Roberts highlights his undergraduate experience working with Vukovic.
“My experience at NYU was fabulous. I had the wonderful opportunity of working with Rose K. Vukovic. We did work on low-income minority children and their mathematics achievements. I was very involved in the process, by working closely with the schools in New York City. Eventually, Rose gave me the opportunity to work on an honors thesis on the topic, which introduced me to the research process,” says Roberts.
Through research, Roberts learned valuable skills to be successful in this field.
“The research process helped me learn how to engage with children while collecting data and conducting interviews. It taught me about data entry, management, and analysis. More importantly, the research process taught me how to write up scientific work. I presented my thesis at a few conferences, which helped teach me how to share my research with the scientific community.”
Corey Bulman (M. Ed ’06), was named the 2017 Minnesota Teacher of the Year. Bulman teaches high school language arts at Mound Westonka High school. Bulman is the 53rd recipient of the prestigious award, and the first from the Westonka district. In his teacher of the year portfolio, Bulman said he struggled as a young student, but then he met a group of dedicated teachers who saw his potential. “This educational experience has taught me an important lesson: education is a gift that is renewed every time it is shared” Bulman said. Bulman has taught at Mound Westonka High school since 2000 and he holds a master’s degree in education for the University of Minnesota.
Mitchell Pearlstein (Ph.D ’80), delivered his 2017 talk, “Great Jobs Without A Four-Year Degree- What it Means for Students, Parents, and Employers.” This discussion was to address the mistake that many students make when choosing to pursue a degree. Pearlstein earned his doctorate in educational administration with an emphasis on higher education policy from the University of Minnesota. He was named one of the 100 of CEHD’s 2006 Distinguished Alumni.
Daniel (Dan) Persons (B.S. ’84), has been hired as the first vice president of customer experience at Sisu Healthcare IT solutions in 2017. Sisu Healthcare IT Solutions is a company that “specializes in delivering the IT solutions and services community healthcare facilities need to survive”. Dan has over 25 years of experience in senior level positions in healthcare and financial services.
Duane J. Hannan (B.S. ’85), retires in 2017, after 32 years of teaching. Duane grew up in St. Paul and graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in English after returning home from serving overseas in Germany. Hannan started teaching at Westbrook High school in Westbrook, MN. There he taught English, German, speech, and English social projects. Over the years, Hannan has become the technology person at the school and has built and developed both hardwire and wireless networks in the High school and tech campus. As well as doing administrative and development of new networks, Hannan has also set up several portable computer labs.
Jill Watson (Ph.D ’10), has been recognized at St. Olaf College as an extraordinary faculty member. At St. Olaf College, Jill serves as an advisor for English Secondary Language Club, a teacher for the ESL Licensure, and an educator for Principles of Education. As she serves in these multiple roles she also is co-authoring a book that will help raise awareness, on St. Olaf’s campus, of students who have limited or interrupted formal education. Her passion for connecting people across languages and cultures have made her a person to remember.
Jeanna Wieselmann, a doctoral candidate in STEM Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction was selected for the 2017 Women’s Philanthropic Leadership Award (WPLC) as a “Rising Star” graduate student.
Wieselmann’s research is focused on gender equity in STEM education at the elementary school level. She is interested in gender equity in STEM, particularly in maintaining girls’ interest in STEM in the elementary years and beyond.
Wieselmann will be traveling to Japan this fall to work with colleagues there as they begin to introduce integrated STEM instruction in the classroom.
“I’ll help with STEM curriculum development and implementation, and I’ll study student perceptions of self and STEM, likely examining differences across contexts,” she says, including both different settings within Japan and as compared to the U.S.”
“I’m fortunate be at institution where women are well represented in the STEM fields, in my department in particular,” Wieselmann says of Department of Curriculum & Instruction where both of her advisors, Gillian Roehrig and Julie Brown, are female STEM faculty. “I would like to be a professor at a research institution, so seeing women in that role has definitely inspired me.”
Find out more about the Department of Curriculum & Instruction and the doctoral program in STEM Education.
Laura Bloomberg (Ph.D ’97), has been appointed as the dean of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs for a two-year term. Since the winter of 2013, Laura has served as the associate dean of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. During her tenure as associate dean, Laura helped advance the school’s mission through her involvement in multiple programs and school initiatives. Just to name a few, Bloomberg led in the efforts in developing a Master of Human Rights degree program, helped develop a new certificate in election administration, and the developing the Humphrey summer institute for underrepresented college students who have interest in public affairs. Congratulations again, on the new position as the dean of Humphrey School of Public Affairs!
Since graduating with a Masters of Social Work degree from the University of Minnesota’s School of Social Work in 2015, Christina Melander has worked as a research fellow at Robert J. Jones Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center (UROC) to identify sex trafficking trends throughout Minnesota. She hopes to expand her work to lead independent research that furthers scholarship for social justice. Read more about Melander on the UROC website.
Recently, Elsevier Connect highlighted research conducted by students in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Minnesota. The article, “The effects of participation in school sports on academic and social functioning,” was one of three featured in the piece, “Thriving or surviving? Taking a wide angle on mental health.”1 According to the Elsevier Connect, this free article collection explored what’s behind good mental health for Mental Health Awareness Week.
The students examined 2010 Minnesota Student Survey data and found 12th graders who participated in sports had higher GPAs, more favorable perceptions of school safety, and increased perceptions of family and teacher/community support. Psychological foundations of education student (now alumni), Martin Van Boekel, led the project. Quantitative methods in education students, Luke Stanke, Jose R. Palma Zamora, Yoojeong Jang, Youngsoon Kang, and Kyle Nickodem collaborated with Van Boekel on the study. Okan Bulut, assistant professor in the Department of Educational Psychology and member of the Centre for Research in Applied Measurement and Evaluation (CRAME) at the University of Alberta, helped guide the students’ work.
The researchers met and began work on the project through the Minnesota Youth Development Research Group (MYDRG) which is led by Michael Rodriguez, Campbell Leadership Chair in Education and Human Development and professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Minnesota. MYDRG explores methodological and substantive challenges in youth development through positive psychology, ecological perspectives of youth development, and the translation of research to practice.
Read the Elsevier Connect piece.
Madeleine Orr, Ph.D. student in the School of Kinesiology, advised by Dr. Yuhei Inoue, assistant professor of sport management, has been awarded a Council of Graduate Students travel grant for $600 to attend and present at the North America Society for Sport Management Conference. Orr’s presentation is titled: “Toward a Practitioner-Oriented Framework of Event Legacy: A Case Study of Toronto 2015.”
Several other Kinesiology faculty members and graduate students are participating in the conference, held in Denver, CO from May 30 until June 2.
The detailed conference program is available online.
Asha Jitendra, professor in the Department of Educational Psychology’s special education program recently authored an article in CEHD Vision 20:20 about her work with schema-based instruction, which teaches students to focus on the underlying structure of math word problems.
“I became interested in looking for better ways to teach math problems because of my daughter, who suffered brain damage in early childhood which inhibited her development of language skills. Despite this delay in developing language, she showed great understanding of mathematical concepts at an early age…However, she continued to have a difficult time solving math word problems,” says Jitendra.
