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Research and Creativity Activities Questions about newsletter? Please contact David Stoloff, email: stoloffd@easternct.edu |
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
NEWS Fifth Week of Classes
Fall 2002 Edition - best viewed at http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/news/020930.html
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Please see the University Disclaimer. |
*****
Words of Inspiration
the
collection appears at http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/news/words.html
The Blueberry Story: The teacher gives the
businessman a lesson
Contributed by
Ruth Ettenberg Freeman, M.S.W. – mailto:positiveparent@earthlink.net
by Jamie Robert
Vollmer - http://teachers.net/gazette/JUN02/vollmer.html
"If I ran
my business the way you people operate your schools, I wouldn't be in business
very long!"
I stood before
an auditorium filled with outraged teachers who were becoming angrier by the
minute. My speech had entirely consumed their precious 90 minutes of
in-service. Their initial icy glares had turned to restless agitation. You
could cut the hostility with a knife.
I represented a
group of business people dedicated to improving public schools.
I was an
executive at an ice cream company that became famous in the middle1980s when
People Magazine chose our blueberry as the "Best Ice Cream in
America."
I was convinced
of two things. First, public schools needed to change; they were archaic selecting and sorting
mechanisms designed for the industrial age and out of step with the needs of
our emerging "knowledge society".
Second,
educators were a major part of the problem: they resisted change, hunkered down
in their feathered nests, protected by tenure and shielded by a bureaucratic
monopoly.
They needed to
look to business. We knew how to produce quality. Zero defects! TQM! Continuous
improvement! In retrospect, the speech was perfectly balanced - equal parts
ignorance and arrogance.
As soon as I
finished, a woman's hand shot up. She appeared polite, pleasant -- she was, in
fact, a razor-edged, veteran, high school English teacher who had been waiting
to unload.
She began
quietly, "We are told, sir, that you manage a company that makes good ice
cream."
I smugly
replied, "Best ice cream in America, Ma'am."
"How
nice," she said. "Is it rich and smooth?"
"Sixteen
percent butterfat," I crowed.
"Premium
ingredients?" she inquired.
"Super-premium!
Nothing but triple A." I was on a roll. I never saw the next line coming.
"Mr.
Vollmer," she said, leaning forward with a wicked eyebrow raised to the
sky, "when you are standing on your receiving dock and you see an inferior
shipment of blueberries arrive, what do you do?"
In the silence
of that room, I could hear the trap snap?. I was dead meat, but I wasn't going
to lie.
"I send
them back."
"That's
right!" she barked, "and we can never send back our blueberries. We
take them big, small, rich, poor, gifted, exceptional, abused, frightened,
confident, homeless, rude, and brilliant. We take them with ADHD, junior
rheumatoid arthritis, and English as their second language.
We take them
all! Every one! And that, Mr. Vollmer, is why it's not a business.
It's
school!"
In an explosion,
all 290 teachers, principals, bus drivers, aides, custodians and secretaries
jumped to their feet and yelled, "Yeah! Blueberries! Blueberries!"
And so began my
long transformation. Since then, I have visited hundreds of schools. I have
learned that a school is not a business. Schools are unable to control the
quality of their raw material, they are dependent upon the vagaries of politics
for a reliable revenue stream, and they are constantly mauled by a howling
horde of disparate, competing customer groups that would send the best CEO
screaming into the night.
None of this
negates the need for change. We must change what, when, and how we teach to
give all children maximum opportunity to thrive in a post-industrial society.
But educators cannot do this alone; these changes can occur only with the
understanding, trust, permission and active support of the surrounding
community.
For the most
important thing I have learned is that schools reflect the attitudes, beliefs
and health of the communities they serve, and therefore, to improve public
education means more than changing our schools, it means changing America.
SEND THIS TO A
TEACHER!
Deb
Posted
on September 27, 2002
Announcement from Dimitrios S. Pachis, Vice
President for Academic Affairs, 9/18/02
Announcements
usually on Thursdays, 12:30 - 1:45 in Webb Hall 115.
Education
Department Faculty Meeting – October 3, 2002
Please submit
agenda items. Here are some topics
we should discuss –
1) Approval of Minutes of September 5, 2002 meeting; review of departmental goals
2)
Unit,
committee reports; conference report;
other special events – annual report information
a)
University
Certificate program in Educational Technology
b)
Team
teaching courses
3) University committee reports
4) Discussion of the General Education
Program proposal
5) Spring 2003 schedule discussion,
Intersession schedule, Summer 2003
6) State/national
committees and organization
7) Project
involvement
Teacher Cadet Program
Tech4PreK
Summer Institute for Future Teachers/Institute for Future Teachers Using
Technology (SIFT/IFTUT)
PDS relationships
ASEER/NASA/CNEC projects
8) Initiatives – General Science, online certificate programs
9) Chair
evaluation comment - open invitation for lunch with the chair
10) Other topics
*****
*****
A message from Hope Cook, Curriculum Center Librarian -
“Hi David and Education Faculty,
Just wanted to let you know that the
Curriculum Center Computer Lab, Room 145 of the Eugene Smith Library is now
open for your use!
Here are some of the
highlights added to the Computer Lab:
·6 new PC's with Internet Access and equipped with
educational and presentational software titles
·1 of the 6 PC's is setup as an instructor station. This
station includes a projector that will allow the instructor the
opportunity to project information to a screen, or if one prefers to the white
board.
·We have also retained 1 Macintosh machine that is loaded
with software and has Internet access.
·The computer lab also includes a VCR, Slide Projector, and
Overhead Projector
·Additionally, students can use this room to work on
classroom projects as we now have 2 Ellison Machines and several dies to cut
letters, borders, etc.The lab is also equipped with a sink.
·The lab can seat up to 20 people and would be ideal for
those teaching courses that contain some component of children's literature or
the use of educational software.
Thank you!
Hope”
Dr. Jeanelle Bland has been
appointed Curriculum Center Computer Lab liaison from the Education Department.
****
News from state sources and NCATE via Dean
Kleine –
http://www.ecs.org/ecsmain.asp?page=/html/newsMedia/e-Connection.asp%23gr
Jim McKenna, Director of the CT Alternative Route to
Certification program, sends this link to an article that he found encouraging:
A report by the National Association of State Boards
of Education concludes
that ALTERNATIVE TEACHER CERTIFICATION programs can
be effective tools for
addressing both teacher shortages and teacher quality
concerns. The report
recommends that state policymakers ensure standards
for alternative programs
are linked to academic standards for students.
http://www.nasbe.org/Front_Page/Press_Release2.html
****
NCATE news –
Here is a very useful collection of material responding
to the demands for
"highly qualified teachers" coming from the
White House, while the Secretary
of Education continues to bombard us with demands to
let highly qualified
non-teachers into the classrooms! These notes and articles are from Jane
Leibbrand, Vice President for Communications,
NCATE.
**************************************************
Dear Colleagues:
I know you are in the midst of a busy
fall. Here are some items which
could be of help as you speak as an advocate for
rigorous teacher
preparation requirements which help ensure highly
qualified teachers.
Quality Teaching
I'm enclosing the fall issue of Quality Teaching,
NCATE's newsletter. As
part of a cost-savings plan, it's now online:
http://www.ncate.org/pubs/qt_f02.pdf
. I hope you will enjoy reading
it.
Contents include the following:
Art discusses the increasing focus on teacher retention;
a
new report provides an overview of teacher training requirements in
eight other industrialized countries--all require preparation in both
content and pedagogy--policy that stands in contrast to the
recommendations in the U.S. Department report on Title II, "Meeting the
Highly Qualified Teachers Challenge";
an educator responds to the U.S. Department of Education report,
"Meeting the Highly Qualfied Teachers Challenge," and
Donna Gollnick, Carol Vukelich, and Kathy Lake discuss performance
assessment practice.
News Clips
Next, I'd like to share some recent news
clips with you. They are
representative of the media's focus on education this
fall. The first clip
is especially disturbing. It shows that the No Child
Left Behind Act
creates the paradoxical possiblity that its
requirement for 'highly
qualified' teachers may actually lower standards for
teachers. As
appropriate, please share your analysis of recent
reports and news with
policymakers, along with a personal note from you.
It's important to stay
in touch with your state and federal representatives
to let them hear your
voice on the importance of strong state teacher
preparation and licensing
requirements for teachers.
August-September Press Round Up
http://www.sacbee.com/content/opinion/story/3884224p-4909966c.html
"CA's 40,000 new 'highly qualified'
teachers" Sacramento Bee 8/7
This article is priceless. The editorial exposes how inexperienced
teachers
are being hired in California as a means to satisfy
the terms of the No
Child Left Behind Act, and thus continue to receive
federal funds. Under
the new definition, quietly adopted by the State
Board of Education in May,
a teacher can be listed as 'highly qualified' even
though he or she has yet
to earn a California teaching credential.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/22/education/22TEAC.html
1 in 4
Teachers Is Not Trained in Field
NY Times 8/22
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20020903/4412401s.htm
Standardize teachers before standardizing tests
USA Today 9/3
Editorial on the need for qualified teachers;
highlights Ed Trust finding
that funding gap persists in low-income schools
from the August 26, 2002 edition of the Christian
Science Monitor -
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0826/p01s01-usgn.htm
As standards rise, too few teachers
As American schools reopen, a 15-year effort to
"professionalize" the job
of teacher is running up against a strong
counterforce ? the urgent need to
fill classroom vacancies.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4380-2002Aug27.html
More Md.
Teachers Not Fully Certified
Washington Post 8/27
Teachers without full certification were hired in
increasing numbers by
Maryland's 24 public school districts this year ? a
trend running counter
to a new federal law.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59173-2002Sep9.html
Top Teachers Rare in Poor Schools Washington Post
9/10
Highly Qualified Instructors Quickly Move On, Hurting
Education of
Low-Income Children. studies find several new studies
note that the poorest
children are hurt by having the least experienced,
and often the least
effective, instructors.
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20020827/4393996s.htm
"Principals too quick to use 'teacher shortage' as
excuse" USA Today 8/27
One-fourth of the teachers lack full credentials. The
shortages are common
in big urban districts, where school leaders say
they're often forced to
lower their standards when filling teaching jobs. USA
Today mistakenly
blames administrators for placing teachers out of
field.
NASSP
responds:
Principals' Hands Are Tied
"It
defies logic to propose that principals do not want fully credentialed teachers
in every classroom, especially in a climate of rigorous academic standards and
high-stakes testing."
Gerry
Tirozzi
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2002-08-26-oppose_x.htm
Education secretary: Non-teachers could alleviate
teacher shortage
Education Secretary Rod Paige yesterday said the
teacher shortage could be
resolved by letting 'qualified non-teachers' into
classrooms. Reg Weaver
takes exception and says he wants well prepared
teachers for all students.
USA Today (9/17)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2002-09-16-education_x.htm
Minority teacher training stressed
Challenge made to black colleges
Rod Paige yesterday urged black college and
university leaders to prepare
education students more thoroughly for teaching
disadvantaged children.
Journal and Constitution (Atlanta) (9/17)
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/epaper/editions/today/news_d3686c0db126e17d00bc.html
I thought you'd enjoy seeing the last two clips
together; both appeared on
the same day.
Use the NCATE Speakers Guide,
http://www.ncate.org/2000/speaker%27s%20guide%20nov2000.pdf to provide
assistance as you formulate editorials. The Guide contains
NCATE's
messages, tips on writing editorials, and sample
articles. Send us
published articles so that we can share them.
Jane
Leibbrand
Vice
President for Communications
NCATE
2010
Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Suite 500
Washington, D.C.
20036
tel.
202/466-7496
fax:
202/296-6620
e-mail:
jane@ncate.org
website: http://www.ncate.org
****
An interesting resource shared by Dean Kleine –
Schools are under increasing pressure to use practices based
on scientific evidence (e.g., evidence-based programs). Our colleagues at the
Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) have
developed a helpful guide for evaluating curricula that foster and promote
social and emotional learning. Safe and Sound: An Educational Leader's Guide
to Evidence-Based Social and Emotional Learning Programs will be published
sometime in late October but you can review and download a pre-publication copy
at their website: www.casel.org. An
accompanying CD will provide comprehensive descriptions and ordering
information for all of the programs reviewed. This will be an invaluable guide
for school districts.
****
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Announcement
from Neil Williams, HPE Dept Chair
Please alert Ed Dept faculty and
students:
HPE 210 (3 credits) does NOT
satisfy the GER V.B. physical education requirement in any manner; nor does HPE
201(1 credit).
Thanks for your assistance in this
matter. Several EDU students have called about this in just the first two
days of the term.
Neil
****
****
A message from
Professor Ross E. Koning, PhD
Chapter President ECSU-AAUP
Biology Department - Goddard Hall
email: Koning@EasternCT.edu
http://Koning.EasternCT.edu/
Greetings ECSU-AAUP Faculty,
I am pleased to announce that our
on-line (html) version
of the 2002-2006 CSU AAUP-BOT Collective Bargaining
Agreement is on-line at the usual URL:
http://www.easternct.edu/aaup/cba.html
This version is, of course,
unofficial...but we have worked
hard to make it identical with the printed version in content,
and have hopefully corrected most of the printed version's
flaws.
We encourage you to try it
out. All internal and some external
references are linked so navigation is better than in the print
version. You can also use the find and find-again feature of
your browser to search for words in the contract...so finding
items is perhaps easier. On the down-side, the contract is now
in a single file that is sometimes slow to open if you are on a
modem connection...but we think your patience will be rewarded.
I also encourage you to
right-click (PC USERS) or click-hold-drag
(Mac USERS) on the CBA link on the home page to DOWNLOAD
the contract to your hard-drive for improved loading times. Our
home-page is:
Best wishes for the fall semester.
ross
Professor Ross E. Koning, PhD
Chapter President ECSU-AAUP
Biology Department - Goddard Hall
****
message from Bernetta
Steadman, Assistant Director, Admissions, ECSU:
I came across this website (http://www.nasbe.org/) and thought you might
be interested in the Minority Teacher Recruitment Conference/Exhibition.
It would be a good opportunity to
attract qualified minority individuals to our grad and certification
programs. Let me know what you think. Perhaps this is something you could
coordinate in conjunction with the Admissions Office if you feel it is a
worthwhile endeavor
I would suggest reading about the
exhibitor info.
****
Call for Graduating Senior Information
A request from Institutional
Research -
Please share news about the plans
of graduating seniors.
If they are going on to graduate
school, please provide the graduate's name, undergraduate major,
graduate university, location (city, state), field of study and degree program
sought, and any information
on scholarships and/or fellowships.
If they have been accepted for
employment positions, please provide the graduate's name,
undergraduate major, company, location (city, state), position, salary.
Please email the information to
David, who will compile it for the department. Thanks.
****
Take a look at the Education Department Photo Gallery at
http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/news/photos2002.html
*****
Other Events
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****
ECSU - ThinkQuest for Tomorrow's Teachers Projects
Faculty members and students from
Eastern Connecticut State University are participating in a US Department of
Education grant to Prepare Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology with
ThinkQuest
[ http://www.thinkquest.org] and 13
other universities throughout the US. This project's homepage may be at http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/dept/pt3.html
.
back to top
****
Long Term Announcements
Alumni news may be found at http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/news/alumninews.html.
Planning
back to top
Past surveys of our graduates are
available on the WWW -
an analysis of the survey of
teacher education program graduates 1996-98
http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/assessment/survey9698.htm
results of the survey of teacher
education program graduates - 1996-1998 -
http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/assessment/surveyresults9698.htm,
and
results of the survey of teacher
education program graduates - 1998-2000 -
http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/assessment/gradsurvey2001.htm
survey of interests in graduate
programs -1999,
http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/assessment/gradinterestsurvey1999.htm
survey of interests in graduate
programs - 2001
http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/assessment/gradinterestsurvey2001.htm
Planning forms for field
experiences and student teaching for Spring 2003 are now posted at
http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/dept/stinfo.doc
*****
Research and Creativity Activities -
chronicling the ongoing progress of the Education Department at
Eastern Connecticut State University
also found at http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/news/rca.html
Fifth Report
July 11, 2002
Our Graduates Speak
An analysis of survey data provided by ECSU program completers
concerning their professional preparation and Connecticut’s
Common Core of Teaching
An
Eastern Connecticut State University
Research Brief
Prepared by
Mitchell Sakofs
Director of Educational Experience
Spring 2002
Introduction
As part of an ongoing effort to
improve program quality in the Eastern Connecticut State University
Education Unit, a survey was sent to ECSU graduates who were recommended for
teaching certification
from 1999 through 2001. This survey was designed to explore two main
issues, i.e.,
· their assessment of the BEST
program and
· their assessment of the professional preparation they received at Eastern in
terms of Connecticut’s
Common Core of Teaching.
Questions concerning BEST were
modeled after a state survey designed to probe how certified teachers
assess the professional preparation they received through institutions of
higher learning; questions
concerning Connecticut’s Common Core of Teaching were taken from the Common
Core documentation
found on the Connecticut State Education Department’s website. Questions
probing our graduates’
assessment of BEST as well as the professional preparation provided by the ECSU
Education Unit were
structured to allow for responses on a 5-point Likert Scale with 5 = Strongly
Agree, 4 = Agree, 3 =
Undecided, 2 = Disagree, and 1 = Strongly Disagree. See Exhibit 1, page
4.
This report presents student
assessment data of the professional preparation provided by ECSU’s
Education Unit. An analysis of BEST data will be reported in another
document.
Procedure
Three hundred and forty surveys
were mailed to students who were recommended for teaching
certification from 1999 through 2001.
Data were analyzed using
SPSS. Data transformations from interval to categorical data were
performed so percentages in the following categories for each question could be
calculated: Negative,
Undecided and Positive. The procedure to create these
categories was as follows: if a respondent
indicated a negative response to a question, e.g., in response to a question
they scored a 1 or 2, the
variable was recoded into a Negative category. Likewise if they scored a
question 4 or 5, the variable
was recoded into a Positive category. A response of 3 was recoded as
Undecided.
Results
· 340 surveys mailed, 20 were
returned as undeliverable and 95 were returned with completed surveys.
This is a 30% response rate.
· Percent of respondents within each program were as follows: 45% Early
Childhood, 17% Elementary,
8% Middle, 12% Secondary and 18% HPE.
· Percent of respondents within each degree category offered were as follows:
76% Undergraduate, 10%
Post-baccalaureate and 14% Graduate.
· Mean scores on the 18 aspects of Connecticut’s Common Core of Teaching ranged
from a low of 3.5 to a
high of 4.2. See Exhibit 2, page 10.
· Percentages for the recoded data concerning Connecticut’s Common Core of
Teaching in the POSITIVE
category ranged from a high of 91.5% to a low of 59%. See Exhibit 3, page
17.
o The areas scoring 90% or above positive were:
§ Q21B, how students learn and develop
§ Q34B, share responsibility for student achievement
§ Q38B, demonstrate a commitment to students
o The areas scoring 80% to 89% positive were:
§ Q22B, Understand how students differ
§ Q26B, Recognize need to vary instructional methods
§ Q27B, Select learning tasks to make subject meaningful
§ Q29B, Instructional opportunities support academic, social and personal
development
§ Q30B, Use of verbal and non verbal media/foster individual and collaborative
inquiry
§ Q33B, Conduct as a professional
§ Q35B, Continually engaged in self-evaluation
o The areas scoring 70% to 79%
positive were:
§ Q24B, Understand the central concepts of the discipline I teach
§ Q25B, Know how to design and deliver instruction
§ Q28B, Establish and maintain appropriate standards of behavior
§ Q31B, Employ a variety of instructional strategies
§ Q32B, Use of various assessment techniques
§ Q36B, Seek out opportunities to grow professionally
§ Q37B, Serve as a leader in the school
o The areas scoring below 70%
positive were:
§ Q23B, Proficient in reading, writing and mathematics
Conclusions and Recommendations
This research reveals how
graduates of the ECSU teacher certification programs view the efficacy of
their professional preparation within the context of Connecticut’s Common Core
of Teaching.
For these findings to meaningfully
guide programmatic changes, it is recommended that:
1. faculty review their course
syllabi to better understand how the dimensions of the Common Core are
expressed in course content, and
2. review the data provided here to determine which elements of the Common Core
need to be more
substantively addressed in courses. While it may seem reasonable to look
to strengthen aspects of the
program that students found wanting, it may be that faculty chose to strengthen
areas of strength, as
they are deemed central and appropriate for pre-service teacher preparation.
This document may also be
downloaded from
http://www.easternct.edu/depts/edu/news/graduatesspeak02.doc
as a WORD document.
Searches
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searches pending approval -
we had request an additional faculty member in Elementary Education.
Jamie Hendricks shared this link
to the Mansfield Schools employment website -
http://www.mansfieldct.org/MBOE/Employ/docs/Web%20Posting%206.02B.doc
*****
Recently acquired media - in the Chair's Office or on the Web
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Teaching Our Youngest: A
Guide for Preschool Teachers and Child-Care and Family Providers. (2002)
Early Childhood-Head Start Task Force, US Dept. of Education and US Dept. of
Health and Human Services.
America's Children: Key
National Indicators of Well-Being 2002. Federal Interagency Forum on
Child and Family Statistics.
Notes from the 2002 Creative
Advance - "Creativity Through Diversity" - Thursday, August 22, 2002,
Eastern Connecticut State University.
Evaluator's Report on the May
State On-Site Review of ECSU's Teacher Education Programs. Received May
31, 2002.
Institutional Overview and
Response to Standards, Self-examination report on Teacher Preparation
Programs at ECSU, March 2002.
Portfolio Responses for BEST
program, 2001-2002.
Precondition Report for the
Education Unit - April 2002, NCATE document
Handbooks for the Development of
Teaching Portfolios 2001-2002 - Connecticut State Department of
Education - most subjects
General Education Committee's
General Education Program Proposal
Wednesdays - A Compilation of
Short Stories written by Eastern Connecticut State University
Graduate Students
Educational Technology Resource
Documents from the Connecticut State Department of Education.
American Association of State
Colleges and Universities (AASCU) Public Policy Agenda - 2002.
The BEST Program Portfolio
Resources 2001-2002: School Year
BEST 2001-2002 Rubrics.
Faculty Handbook.
Our Reading/Language Arts room,
Webb Hall 113, has been enriched with past issues of Phi Delta Kappan, Academe,
Syllabus, Converge, Governmental Technology, Journal of Teacher Education, and
other resources. Please feel free to use and encourage your students to
use these materials.
*********
Please contact David Stoloff at (860) 465-5501, email: stoloffd@easternct.edu if you have any
questions or comments on this newsletter. Please invite others to receive
this newsletter and be added
to the Education Department e-mailing list by contacting David Stoloff.