Alison Link (graduate student in PsTL’s Multicultural College Teaching and Learning MA program) provided a poster presentation, “Geeking out with iPads: Undergraduate instructors discuss their experiences during the first year of a large-scale tablet initiative,” at the AACE eLearn conference in Montreal, Canada. Link represented PsTL and CEHD at the conference, presenting on the various approaches PsTL instructors took in learning to use and integrate iPads into undergraduate-level courses.
Link worked with two other graduate students — Alfonso Sintjago (OLPD) and Mary McKay (PsTL) — to code interview data and conduct a qualitative analysis highlighting the ideas and innovations, as well as concerns and frustrations instructors raised during the first year of this tablet initiative. This is a rich look at what it takes to get this kind of initiative off the ground, with good lessons to share with colleagues from across the globe. See more on the CEHD iPad initiative.
DOE awards $1 million to train teachers of children with disabilities
The U.S. Department of Education has awarded $1 million over five years to the Department of Educational Psychology to support training of teachers who work with deaf children who have additional disabilities. The funds will support 15 students by covering tuition and fees, plus a stipend, according to associate professor and coordinator of special education programs Susan Rose.
“Ultimately this will help improve services and support to children with special needs across the state of Minnesota,” said Rose.
The DOE announced the award to the University as part of 38 grants totaling $9 million given to institutions of higher education in 21 states for training educators to improve the services and results for children with disabilities.
“Our success in building a better America is measured in terms of helping all children reach their full potential,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “These grants will support training for early learning providers and educators to make sure that infants, toddlers, children, and young people with disabilities are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed and transition to living independent and fulfilling lives.”
C&I Diversity Dialogue: Kate Bornstein and Gender Outlaws
The Department of Curriculum and Instruction presents Kate Bornstein in the first Diversity Dialogue event of the year, “Gender Outlaws.”
Kate Bornstein is a performance artist and playwright who has authored several award-winning books in the field of Women and Gender Studies, including Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women, and The Rest of Us, and My Gender Workbook, which she is currently updating for a second edition after 15 years.
Her 2006 book, Hello, Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks, and Other Outlaws, propelled Kate into an international position of anti-bully advocacy for marginalized youth which has earned her two citations of honor from the New York City Council and garnered praise from civil rights groups around the globe.
Gender Outlaws
October 12, 2012
1:20 pm – Public Talk
2:50 pm – Performance
at the Avalon School
700 Glendale Street
Saint Paul, MN 55114
Please find directions here.
This Diversity Dialogue event is co-sponsored by the C&I Diversity Committee, the Graduate Student Group for Sexuality Studies and the Avalon School.
C&I’s J.B. Mayo, Jr. receives the 2012 Lillian Williams Award
J. B. Mayo, Jr. (Department of Curriculum and Instruction) has been selected by the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action as a recipient of the Lillian Williams Award for 2012. The award is named in honor of the founding director of the office and was established in 1986 to recognize University units and individuals who exemplify her spirit and commitment to equal opportunity and affirmative action. Mayo will be presented the award at the Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Liaison Conference on Oct. 9, approx.11:40 a.m., Coffman Memorial Union President’s Room.
Stoffregen’s study finds link between body sway and nausea
Pre-bout standing body sway in boxers predicts the feeling of sickness or nausea after the bout, School of Kinesiology researchers found in a study published Oct. 3 in PLOS ONE.
Thomas Stoffregen, director of the Affordance Perception-Action Laboratory, and his team measured body sway — defined as the slight postural movements made by an individual to maintain a balanced position — of 15 adult boxers before warming-up for a bout and after the warm-up session, immediately before they entered the ring.
After the bout, each boxer was asked whether or not they felt sick.
The study found that those with more body sway before the bout reported feeling sick after the bout, win or lose.
“We naturally think that everyone is the ‘same’ before competition and that it is how hard you’re hit during the bout that determines how ‘sick’ a boxer feels afterwards,” said Stoffregen. “However, in this case, we found that movement before the bout is actually what predicts a feeling of sickness afterward.”
Continue reading “Stoffregen’s study finds link between body sway and nausea”
STEM Education Seminar Series features Professor Thomas Post
This Wednesday, October 3rd, the STEM Education Center will present Curriculum and Instruction Professor Thomas Post in the latest STEM Education Seminar Series event. Professor Post will speak on the Minnesota Mathematics Achievement Project.
Thomas Post
Professor of Mathematics Education
University of Minnesota
The Minnesota Mathematics Achievement Project: Design, Implementation and Implications
October 3, 2012 from 11:30 am – 1 pm
in McNeal Hall, Room 216
The Minnesota Mathematics Achievement Project:
The Minnesota Mathematics Achievement Project (MNMAP) has examined the relationship between high school mathematics curricula and college level mathematics performance. The MNMAP papers have addressed this issue from a variety of perspectives. A key feature of these studies is that their sequential nature provides complementary evidence of the impact of high school mathematics curricula on college mathematics performance across a wide variety of dependent variables. This presentation will provide an overview of the design, implementation and implications of the studies completed in this program of research.
About Thomas Post
Thomas Post is currently professor of mathematics education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and is an affiliate at the STEM Education Center. He has taught courses and written materials focused on mathematics methods, research, manipulative materials, remedial instruction, and the psychology of mathematical conceptual development. He has conducted research dealing with mathematical learning and concept development and is interested in the relationship between theoretically based instructional activities, and the nature of the resulting student conceptual development.
C&I’s Misty Sato to give address at the Epsilon Chapter’s fall program.
The Epsilon Chapter of Pi Lambda Theta (PLT), international honorary professional organization for educators, is holding its fall program on Oct. 6, 9-11 a.m., in 227 Burton Hall. The Department of Curriculum and Instruction’s Misty Sato will talk on The Teacher Education Redesign Initiative: Preparing Teachers who will Change the World. Following the program, CEHD student members will be initiated into the chapter. The CEHD community is invited to attend this free event. RSVPs are requested to thel.kocher@gmail.com.
For information about PLT, which is a part of the Phi Delta Kappa family of organizations, go to pilambda.org or contact Raleigh Kaminsky.
Ed Psychology produces e-book for undergrad statistics course
Andrew Zieffler, Joan Garfield, Robert delMas, Rebekah Isaak, Laura Le, and Laura Ziegler of Educational Psychology, have responded to concerns about high textbook prices for students enrolled in classroom sections of an undergraduate course, Basic and Applied Statistics (EPsy 3264), by producing an e-book entitled Statistical Thinking: A Simulation Approach to Modeling Uncertainty. It is available through amazon.com; the combined price of the textbook and software required for the course costs students as little as $15. (In previous semesters the textbook alone cost student $95.)
To lower the cost for students, these statistics educators self-published a textbook based on work they completed as part of a four-year National Science Foundation grant (Change Agents for Teaching and Learning Statistics). By self-publishing a textbook, and distributing it through CreateSpace and Amazon, they have removed the publishing company from the equation, keeping the costs for students at a minimum. In addition, the content students read is directly associated with the content they are learning and experiencing in the classroom.
Students can opt to purchase a PDF copy of the book for a mere $5. For those students who would prefer a physical copy of the book, a full-color paperback version is available for a price of $48 (a $47 savings from the previous paperback option).
Keeping the course cost lower for students is also achieved by giving students the option to “rent” the software program used in the course. Students can purchase a non-expiring license for $25 or obtain a one-year license for under $10. Having options not only ensures the additional costs associated with taking university courses are more affordable, but also enables students to make their own decisions about the format they prefer for the textbook and the software.
Concerns about the prices of textbooks have been a rising concern for students and the broader educational community. [Read the Minnesota Daily Op-Ed.] These concerns have even prompted the state legislature to consider a bill requiring MnSCU schools to make the prices of textbooks available in course catalogs. [Read the Minnesota Daily article.]
Hsu receives NSF grant for creating computer problem-solving coaches
Leon Hsu, associate professor in the Department of Postsecondary Teaching and Learning and Ken Heller, professor in physics, received a $310,000 grant from the National Science Foundation’s Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science (TUES) program to continue their work developing computer programs that provide students with individualized coaching in solving problems in introductory physics.
The goal of the project is to provide students with on-demand guidance and feedback as they practice the decision-making processes critical to effective problem-solving. This grant supports further development and testing of the coaches, prototypes of which have thus far been met with enthusiasm by students.
STEM Education Center receives $8M National Science Foundation grant
The STEM Education Center has received an $8 million, five-year grant from the National Science Foundation, to partner with 200 Twin Cities metro area teachers to increase science and math learning through engineering for 15,000 students in fourth through eighth grades.
Listen to the KFAI Radio interview with Tamara Moore. Broadcast date: Oct. 4, 2012
The center, with the largest grant it has ever received, will lead an engineering, design-based approach to teacher professional development that will help teachers design curricular units for science topic areas within the Minnesota State Academic Science Standards.
The project will include summer professional development and curriculum writing workshops, paired with a cognitive and content coaching model, to allow teachers to design curricular units focused on science concepts, meaningful data analysis and measurement. Each unit will go through an extensive design research cycle to ensure its quality and then will be submitted to TeachEngineering.org, an online peer-reviewed digital library, for use across the United States and beyond.
“The project has the potential to change the way partner schools implement STEM education, as well as be a model for other schools globally,” says Tamara Moore, project principal investigator and co-director of the STEM Education Center.
“The work of the project is critical to the work of the STEM Education Center,” says Moore. “The ideas that have come together for this project represent a holistic view of the best work that we as a team have done so far. Our past research on STEM integration curricular and teacher development is the heart of this project.”
Project partners include the University’s Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power and Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, the St. Paul Public Schools, the North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale School District, the South Washington County Schools, the Metropolitan Cooperative Service Unit, and the Grants and Research Office of Intermediate Districts 287 and 916.
Continue reading “STEM Education Center receives $8M National Science Foundation grant”
C&I Speaker Series presents Dr. Helen Doerr on September 27
The Department of Curriculum and Instruction’s Speaker Series brings nationally recognized researchers to CEHD to engage faculty and students in discussions on the most pressing issues in teaching and learning. On September 27, C&I presents Dr. Helen Doerr from Syracuse University who will offer a public talk open to all.
Dr. Helen M. Doerr
Professor of Teaching and Leadership Programs Professor of Mathematics
Syracuse University
What does mathematical modeling imply for practices of teaching?
Modeling approaches to the teaching and learning of mathematics encompass a wide range of theoretical and practical perspectives. Much research has focused on the teaching and learning with single modeling tasks, such as a model-eliciting activity. However, for many years, I have been interested in moving beyond single modeling tasks to the design of model development sequences. In this seminar, I will describe the design of one such sequence from upper secondary mathematics and outline some ideas about a corresponding model of teaching such sequences. I will then present findings about the kinds of teaching practices that can emerge in the classroom. I will conclude with some of the teaching challenges that arise and implications for future directions.
September 27, 2012 at 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
In the Learning & Environmental Sciences Building, Room 139A
Lunch will be served. RSVP to stem@umn.edu by September 25th.
About Dr. Doerr: Helen M. Doerr is a dual professor of teaching and leadership programs and mathematics at Syracuse University. She specializes in secondary mathematics education, with particular interests in teacher learning, mathematical communication, and mathematical modeling.
For more information about Dr. Doerr and her research please visit her Syracuse University faculty page.
CEHD Alumni Society Welcomes New Board Members
Since 1956, the College of Education & Human Development Alumni Society has created lifelong connections with alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends of the college. We welcomed seven new members to our board this summer. Pictured, left to right, are:
Mala Ugargol
Career Program Advisor, Inver Hills Community College
M.Ed. 2003 – Curriculum & Instruction
Amy Barton
Interactive Media Analyst at Campbell Mithun
B.S. 2007 – Family Social Science
Cheryl Reid
Minnesota Reading Corps, Master Coach Coordinator
M.A. 1995, Ed.S. 1996 – Educational Psychology
Zer Vang
Program Coordinator, College Possible
B.S. 2007 – Family Social Science
Tommy Watson
President/CEO, T. A. Watson Speaking Coaching & Consulting
B.S. 1997 – College of Human Ecology
Liz Melcher
Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, Jewish Family Service of St. Paul
M.S.W 2007 – School of Social Work
Brenda Hartman
Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, Healing Through Life
M.S.W 1989 – School of Social Work
Pazurek featured on American RadioWorks for innovative online classroom
“Keyboard College: How Technology is Revolutionizing Higher Education,” the latest documentary program produced by American RadioWorks and airing on American Public Radio throughout the country, features the Learning Technology Media Lab‘s innovative approach to online learning by integrating social media. Stephen Smith, program editor and author, spent a great deal of time with members of the LT team investigating their work for the documentary. American RadioWorks highlights C&I’s Angel Pazurek in its accompanying feature, “Social Media in the Classroom.”
To access the documentary and spotlights, visit American RadioWorks’ Keyboard College story.
Race, Affirmative Action, and the Courts
The Department of Postsecondary Teaching and Learning kicked off their 2012-2013 Research Series with Associate Professor Karen Miksch presenting on “Race, Affirmative Action, and the Courts: Bridging the Legal Community and Social Scientists.” Miksch’s talk focused on race-conscious admission policies and the U.S. Supreme Court case “Fisher v. UT Austin.”
Miksch summarized the social science research that was provided to the Court, including a brief she was involved with filed by the Civil Rights Project and submitted on behalf of 444 social scientists.The brief details the social science evidence in support of the University of Texas consideration of race as one factor to ensure the educational benefits of a diverse student body. According to Gary Orfield, co-director of the Civil Rights Project, the Fisher v. UT Austin case could “influence the future of racial equality… [and] affect every selective college in the U.S.”
The event was well attended by undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty from across the University. Participants engaged in lively conversation about the significance of this case and its potential to impact a diverse and integrated educational community. The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on October 10, 2012.
CEHD hosted sixth Thailand-U.S. Education Roundtable
Building on decades of partnership, 25 high-level Thai government and higher-education leaders came to Minnesota for the sixth Thailand-U.S. Education Roundtable September 13-14. The Kingdom of Thailand and CEHD co-hosted the event.
“The 21st Century Global University” was the topic. Sessions focused on the role of liberal arts, science-technology-engineering-mathematics (STEM) education, leadership, partnerships, and multiculturalism in universities. Participants from Hennepin Technical College, Intermediate School District 287, and other U of M units joined in. The conversation will continue at the seventh forum, to be held in Thailand in 2014.
CEHD has a history of strong and ongoing ties in Thailand. In 2011, it reaffirmed a long-standing exchange agreement with Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, the first university in Southeast Asia to use a distance teaching-and-learning system.
This was the first forum to be held in Minnesota. For more information, contact associate professor Fred Finley in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, finle001@umn.edu.
Engaging Diversity in Undergraduate Classrooms
Amy Lee (Associate Professor), Robert Poch (Senior Fellow), Rhiannon D. Williams (Director of Assessment), and Marta Shaw (Research Assistant) from the Department of Postsecondary Teaching and Learning recently published Engaging Diversity in Undergraduate Classrooms: A Pedagogy for Developing Intercultural Competence. Published by the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) in the Higher Education Report Series, the book aims to provide an empirically-based guide to developing students’ intercultural competence by engaging the diversity already present in university classrooms. The monograph provides a bridge between existing educational research and classroom practice across the disciplines. The book is available at the Wilson Online Library and major book outlets.
Pellegrini quoted in Huffington Post and Slate Magazine
Educational Psychology professor Anthony Pellegrini’s research on the importance of recess and its effect on learning was referenced in recent articles in both the Huffington Post and Slate Magazine.
U.S. Department of Education renews TRiO McNair Scholars grant
The TRiO Ronald E. McNair Scholars program has been awarded a new five-year grant (2012-2017) by the U.S. Department of Education. The McNair Scholars program seeks to increase doctoral program application, matriculation, and degree attainment by underrepresented and first-generation college students. Through this experience, McNair Scholars develop higher-level academic and research skills necessary to gain admission to and successfully complete graduate study. The University of Minnesota program began in 1991 and is one of the longest running programs in the country.
This fall the program is supporting the 2012 cohort as they study for the GRE, prepare additional research project proposals, and apply to graduate school. The program is also recruiting scholars for summer 2013. However, this is a challenging time, says McNair Scholars director Anthony Albecker, as the U.S. Department of Education cut $10 million in funding for the McNair programs.
“This dramatic cut eliminated a third of all McNair programs across the country. Minnesota lost two of six programs. While I am ecstatic that the U of M McNair program will continue its strong tradition, I am mindful of the continued advocacy needed to restore McNair funding,” says Albecker.
Information about the efforts to restore McNair funding can be found here.
C&I kicks off first Speaker Series event of the year with Dr. Kris Gutierrez
The Department of Curriculum and Instruction’s Speaker Series brings nationally recognized researchers to CEHD to engage faculty and students in discussions on the most pressing issues in teaching and learning. Next week, C&I presents Dr. Kris Gutiérrez who will offer a workshop for CI graduate students and a public talk open to all.
Dr. Kris Gutiérrez
Professor of Literacy and Learning sciences
At the University of Colorado in Boulder
September 20, 2012
New Directions in Literacy Research: Methodological and Theoretical Considerations
workshop for graduate students
9 – 11:30 am in Peik Hall, Room 355
(Space is limited. Please register with Beth Dillard,dilla043@umn.edu)
When Everyday and School-based Learning Grow into One Another
public talk
12 – 1 pm in Fraser Hall, Room 102 *
Dr. Gutiérrez serves as the Inaugural Provost’s Chair at the University of Colorado, Boulder and is the past president of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). Her research interests address the relationship between literacy, culture and learning, and target how students appropriate cultural concepts. Specifically, her work focuses on the processes by which people negotiate meaning in culturally organized contexts, using language and literacies that are embedded within socio-historical traditions. Issues of equity and excellence are recurrent themes in her work.
For more information about Dr. Gutiérrez and her research, please see her faculty profile page.
* Note: The public talk has been moved to Fraser Hall since the first announcement to accommodate a larger audience.
NFL Charities awards concussion research grant to kinesiology team
Researchers at the University of Minnesota’s School of Kinesiology have been awarded a $100,000 medical research grant by NFL Charities.
Led by associate professor Donald Dengel, Ph.D., a team at the U of M, will study the effects of multiple sports-related concussions on neurocognition and cerebral vascular function.
“We have developed a new ability for an MRI to show us how blood vessels in the brain are functioning in individuals who have suffered multiple sports-related concussions,” said Dengel. “Understanding the function level of the blood vessels allows us to correlate that to cognitive function. This grant is a stepping stone to move this research to the next level.”
Those who have suffered multiple concussions often complain of having trouble concentrating during work or have trouble reading. While these individuals don’t show signs of structural damage, the concussions may actually affect the performance of the blood vessels in the brain, thereby altering the brain’s cognitive function abilities.
This is the first study conducted by U of M researchers that has been awarded a grant by NFL Charities.
This grant is among 15 given out by NFL Charities this year to support sports-related medical research, totaling more than $1.5 million. Of those funds, more than $950,000 is dedicated to concussion prevention and treatment.
“We are proud to support sports-related medical research through NFL Charities Medical Research Grants,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, president of the NFL Charities Board. “These research projects have implications far beyond football, and we are committed to playing a role in helping make sports safer.”
NFL Charities has actively solicited and placed emphasis on research proposals focused on areas including concussion/traumatic brain injury research and cardiovascular research. Three separate NFL Charities Medical Grant review committees evaluated the 2011 grant proposals based on each committee’s area of expertise. Recommendations were submitted to the NFL Charities Board of Directors for approval.
Continue reading “NFL Charities awards concussion research grant to kinesiology team”