| Volume
3 Issue 2 Spring 2001 |
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| Schools Host University Methods Courses |
| Why move a whole university class out to a school? Bringing education students to school can allow for teaching through example. Language Arts methods at Midvale School offers a great example of the school/university partnership. |
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These
opportunities to see teachers in action, and to talk with
teachers in detail are at the heart of holding university
methods classes in the schools. The partnership between the
university and the Midvale/Lincoln pair of Professional Development
Schools makes a difference for pre-service teachers in
the Literacy practicum. |
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On Mondays at Midvale and Lincoln schools, some of the students are a lot taller than others. In addition to a full house of elementary school students, both Professional Development Schools also host methods courses from the university. The courses offered are part of the Literacy practicum for education students. Lincoln hosts a Reading Methods class, taught by Amy Sousnouski and Midvale has opened its doors to the Language Arts methods course, taught by Dawnene Hammerberg.
In a recent class at Midvale, the education students welcomed Tammy Boyd, their guest speaker for the day. Tammy, who teaches second grade at Midvale, joined the class to teach about Running Records. While Tammy's class was covered for the hour, she thoroughly explained the tool for assessing student reading skills and comprehension, using examples of Running Records she took while working with her own students. The Language Arts students asked many questions about teaching and assessing reading, and Tammy's discussions with students ran right through the break. After the guest speaker, students broke into small groups to observe actual classroom teaching. A major benefit of holding classes in the Professional Development Schools is the opportunity education students have to observe teachers at work. Classroom observations are scheduled during literacy time in Midvale classrooms so the education students can see the practical application of methods and techniques that are discussed in their course. Many kindergarten, first and second grade teachers opened their classrooms to the education students' visits. The students then returned to their own classroom to discuss their observations. Sara Gramer, first grade teacher at Midvale, commented that the methods courses in the schools really help to bridge the gap between theoretical ideas in university courses and the practical use of ideas by teachers. These opportunities to see teachers in action, and to talk with teachers in detail are at the heart of holding university methods classes in the schools. The partnership between the university and the Midvale/Lincoln pair of Professional Development Schools makes a difference for pre-service teachers in the Literacy practicum. |
| PDS Student Teachers and Their Cooperating Teachers Develop Collaborative Classroom Activities. |
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The National Professional Development School conference provided an opportunity for the Madison representatives to interact with representatives from other PDS partnerships around the country. |
| The class wants everyone to know that as the worm crop grows, the worms will be for sale! |
| "For me, this is the best statement about the PDS program. By being here at Lincoln for a full year, I knew who could help, and they know me—I couldnŐt have done this project without the experience and contacts that I have here." |
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"Be safe. Be appropriate. Be unusual." |
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Worms
for Sale
The worm idea was a natural one for Marc after his experiences during fall semester when he worked with Claire Seguin, Lincoln's REACH teacher. Claire taught an activity about worms, stemming from her own vermiculture project at home. As Marc developed his in-class project, Claire provided support. Marc commented, "For me, this is the best statement about the PDS program. By being here at Lincoln for a full year, I knew who could help, and they know me—I couldn't have done this project without the experience and contacts that I have here."
Kim O'Donahue has been generous in her support of the project considering that she hates worms, but her personal stance on the subject has put all the responsibility for the project on Marc. This trust was clearly warranted; students were excited about the worms, learned their Latin names, and were inspired to ask further scientific questions. The class wants everyone to know that as the worm crop grows, the worms will be for sale! Students say that the worms will make fine bait or helpers for your garden compost pile. Please contact Marc Kornblatt or Kim O'Donahue for all your worm needs this spring, to support the class trip, and to get those worms out of Kim's room! Cross
Cultural Connections When Irene was a practicum student at Cherokee last semester she assisted with the ESL program and got to know the students and teachers. This semester, she was able to take advantage of her connections. She designed a project for her seventh grade students to develop interviews to use with the ESL students to find out what it's like to go to school in a place where the language and culture are different from one's own. Mary and Irene's class met with the ESL students and their teachers in the cafeteria, and the seventh graders interviewed and chatted with the ESL students. The 7th graders tabulated the results of their interviews, and their efforts were on display both in the classroom and in the CitiArts gallery downtown. Irene reported that students were influenced by the interview meeting. "They tell me that they have started saying 'hi' and hanging out with the students they interviewed—they would have never bothered before." Be
Unusual One young student turns and makes a face at the student beside him. She turns and reproduces the face to the student beside her. Even the teacher is making faces in student teacher Joel Blecha's after school Improv Comedy Club. Joel's background in theater has enhanced his developing teaching practice in a variety of ways. The Improv Comedy Club is one of them, providing him the opportunity to work with students in small groups and in a context that focuses on movement and expression. Thoreau School offers after-school clubs for students to pursue a variety of interests and Joel's Improv club is one of them. The school provides late busses to transport students home at four p.m. and scholarships for the nominal fee so that everyone can participate. Joel's club meets in his cooperating teacher's classroom. Several students from their class are in the club on Tuesdays, along with other third and second graders. On Thursdays, the club is for fourth and fifth graders. When Joel was a practicum
student at Cherokee, he established a similar club for middle school
students. This experience helped him in establishing the Clubs at
Thoreau where he is completing his student teaching. |
| Madison Memorial Joins PDS Partnership |
| The U.W.-Madison School of Education has entered into a new partnership with Madison Memorial High School. Beginning next fall, Memorial will become the fifth school in the Madison Professional Development School Partnership. |
| The U.W.-Madison School
of Education has entered into a new partnership with Madison Memorial
High School. Beginning in fall 2001, Memorial will become the fifth
school in the Madison Professional Development School Partnership.
This spring U.W.-Madison faculty and Memorial staff have been planning
for the implementation of the partnership. Barbara Smith, a Memorial
teacher, and Peter Hewson and Alan Lockwood, U.W.-Madison Professors
in secondary teacher education have been coordinating the planning
activities.
U.W.-Madison students in several secondary teacher education areas will spend two semesters at the school in a practicum and student teaching experience and will be participating in new school-based seminars where they have opportunities to interact with Memorial staff. These prospective teachers and other U.W.-Madison students will also be providing tutoring to Memorial pupils as part of their teacher education experience. The new partnership will provide enhanced professional development activities for Memorial's staff. Memorial's new relationship with the School of Education is part of a larger and more comprehensive effort to improve the school's programs and climate and to lessen the gap between high-achieving students and those who are struggling academically. The effort is funded by a grant from the US Department of Education. |
| Technology Grant Renewed for Third Year |
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The Midvale-Lincoln Pair will enjoy a third year of funding for technology development... |
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The Midvale-Lincoln School pair will enjoy a third year of funding for technology development through a UW-Madison System grant, with the support of the Center for Instructional Materials and Computing (CIMC) and the C&I Department. The first funding year focused on developing basic technology skills and the second explored collaborative curriculum development. In the coming year, the funding will be used to extend the new knowledge to more teachers at each school site. A half-time position will be created for a new computer lab support person to assist teachers in integrating technology into their curriculum. |
| Spanish for Teachers |
| Both Lincoln and Midvale schools offer weekly after school Spanish instruction to teachers. |
| The school professionals in the classes are all stretching their abilities and taking risks in composing sentences and speaking in a nonnative language. They are also practicing listening and understanding the Spanish they hear to better support the needs of their Spanish-speaking students. Overall, they are taking advantage of an important professional development opportunity. |
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It's after four p.m. and some Lincoln teachers are just getting started with another activity. The professional development hour is off to an unusual start—three people are at the front of the group in the LRC, serenading the other teachers with a lovely rendition of "Los Colores." After the applause, Nydia Rojas, a Bilingual Resource Specialist for Lincoln, begins the day's Spanish for Teachers class. Both Lincoln and Midvale schools offer weekly after school Spanish instruction to teachers. The course, supported in part by the Professional Development Schools program, is attended by teachers, principals, and student teachers. In an early class at Lincoln, Nydia started the lesson off with a review of the names for colors. Part of Nydia's pedagogy is to give the teachers instructions in Spanish, so they need to "decode" these, as well as answer questions. One teacher reflected on the immersion into a language she didn't know, "Wow—now I know what that feels like!" The course at Midvale is taught by Susan Covarrubias, a first grade Midvale teacher and an experienced Spanish speaker and instructor. In both classes, the direction of the course is influenced by the attendees. Teachers request particular topics such as vocabulary for different emotional states or typical classroom instructions—things they use many times a day in a multilingual classroom.
At Midvale, one class session focused on words for body parts and feelings. Principal Jennie Allen and several teachers commented about how important these vocabulary words can be at school. The school professionals in the classes are all stretching their abilities and taking risks in composing sentences and speaking in a nonnative language. They are also practicing listening and understanding the Spanish they hear to better support the needs of their Spanish-speaking students. Overall, they are taking advantage of an important professional development opportunity. |
| Spanish for Kids! |
| Four afternoons per week, the teaching of Social Studies and Science in fourteen different classrooms at Midvale is done in Spanish. |
| Since Spanish instruction is used in different classrooms all over the building, the four Foreign Language student teachers have been outfitted with curriculum carts. |
| So far, the response of Midvale's teachers has been positive. |
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Multilingual elementary students and UW student teachers with foreign language teaching requirements are benefiting from a project designed by two UW graduate students and Midvale Elementary School. Four afternoons per week, the teaching of Social Studies and Science in fourteen different classrooms at Midvale is done in Spanish. The students, in kindergarten, first and second grades, are joined by one of four student teachers, who are sure to answer every question in Spanish. These student teachers have already completed their teaching certification, but took the opportunity to stay for another semester to achieve their elementary Foreign Language Teaching Certification. The teachers who have chosen to host Spanish instruction in their classes act as "mentor teachers." Mentor teachers are asked to keep a feedback journal with the student teacher. The mentor teacher role is different from that of a cooperating teacher. The program is designed to maximize the experience for the Foreign Language student teacher and minimize the demands upon the classroom teacher. This consideration is an important aspect of the program as designed by UW grad students Mary Thompson and Denise Hanson. In pursuing their interests in language issues in schools, they received a grant from the school district to launch a Spanish language program. Their program involves a language pedagogy model developed by Helena Curtis, a teacher in Milwaukee. The method relies upon songs, motion, and hands-on interaction with objects to learn vocabulary. Since Spanish instruction is used in different classrooms all over the building, the four Foreign Language student teachers have been outfitted with curriculum carts. These carts for hanging chart paper now carry calendars, felt, Velcro and many pouches to contain the tools necessary for each day's instruction. Afternoons at Midvale now include the sound of quick-moving carts being wheeled down the hall or carried up and down the stairs to the next class. The Foreign Language student teacher wheels the cart into a participating classroom to begin the half-hour lesson in which only Spanish will be spoken. So far, the response of Midvale's teachers has been positive. While student teacher Carolyn Michaelis led students in song, classroom teacher Becky Oakes commented upon the program's benefits for her students. The other three Foreign Language student teachers, Heidi Salzman, Karie Feldman and Julie Harris, have also been well-received. Mary and Denise hope
to expand the project for next year, and to work with the student
teachers to create videos about teaching Spanish. |
| Teaching Portfolios |
| ...Teaching portfolios need to show concrete, specific evidence of compliance with certain standards... |
| The teaching portfolio, which has always been part of the PDS certification process, will be required of all education students by 2004. |
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Teaching portfolios are becoming increasingly important as Wisconsin develops a performance-based assessment system for its teacher education programs, and electronic portfolios present new possibilities for education students tracking their accomplishments. Creating a tool to link the new teaching standards with student portfolios in an easy to use web-based format has been a challenge that Professor Michael Streibel and Steve Head, director of Educational Placement and Career Services, have been working on with faculty, staff and students. The portfolio development experience of PDS supervisors and IRTs has enabled them to contribute extensively to this process also. IRTs Cookie Miller and Nancy Booth and Supervisors Mary Klehr and Michele Genor met with Steve Head on several occasions to discuss the development of the portfolio tool. Throughout the process of matching the use of the electronic tool with the new teacher preparation standards, the supervisors and IRTs have had to wrestle with the question of "evidence" in portfolios. Teaching portfolios need to show concrete, specific evidence of compliance with certain standards, and the PDS team is participating in developing clear ways of accomplishing this. The supervisors and IRTs have thoroughly researched the use of portfolios and have held open forums with their students in the PDS seminars. The student teachers at Midvale and Lincoln are participating in a portfolio study group with UW graduate student Susan Wray this semester. Susan is researching ways to support teachers’ development and has designed the group to explore how discussion might support student teachers as they grasp the concepts behind meaningful portfolio development. One student commented: "I had a phone conversation with a parent that really made a difference. I’m proud of that, but how do I ‘show’ this in my portfolio?" Questions like these are in the air for PDS professionals and as they explore their ideas on portfolios, these educators continue to enhance their own professional development. The teaching portfolio, which has always been a part of the PDS certification process, will be required of all education students by 2004. |
| Visitors to the Madison PDS Partnership |
| The Madison Professional Development Schools Program attracts nationwide and worldwide attention and PDS schools hosted several visiting professionals this spring. Deborah Elliott, from Christchurch Polytechnic in New Zealand...and Patti Thornton and Julie Kalnin of the University of Minnesota {visited}. |
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The Madison Professional Development Schools program attracts nationwide and worldwide attention and the PDS schools hosted several visiting professionals this spring. Deborah Elliott, from Christchurch Polytechnic in New Zealand, enjoyed cordial hospitality and a whirlwind tour at the PDS sites. Deborah supervises student teachers, including UW students in the overseas student teaching program. While in town to meet her new spring semester students, she requested a visit to the PDS schools. Cherokee Middle School accommodated her visit with a tour and classroom observations. The Madison PDS program also hosted a two-day visit from Patti Thornton and Julie Kalnin of the University of Minnesota. They work with Patrick Henry High School, a Professional Development School in Minneapolis. Both Madison and Minneapolis PDS programs belong to the Holmes Partnership, which works with educators to improve teacher training for urban schools.The Holmes Partnership is encouraging PDS groups to share knowledge. The Madison PDS program and the University of Minnesota/Patrick Henry partnership have been paired as learning partners this year. This collaboration includes writing descriptive case studies of each program for publication by the Holmes Partnership. Patti and Julie were provided with extensive tours and meetings in all four Professional Development Schools. At Thoreau, student teacher Joel Blecha, cooperating teacher Jone Kiefer and the principal, Margaret Planner met with Patti and Julie to discuss how the program influences their school. Nancy Booth, Thoreau’s Instructional Resource Teacher who coordinated the visit, reports that Julie and Patti were very impressed with their experience.
Our visitors were treated to a lunch at Midvale school organized by IRT Mary Kay Johnson. Many teachers, including several former PDS students who now teach at Midvale, were present. Sara Gramer, Wendy Kendeigh, Staci Zembrycki, Catherine Gronemus, and Maureen Ritter all attended, along with Principal Jennie Allen, Midvale’s PDS supervisor, Mary Klehr, and Lincoln School’s IRT, Cookie Miller. At Cherokee, the guests were provided with tours by students, and were able to visit many classrooms. Cherokee IRT Jessica Doyle and Cherokee PDS supervisor Michele Genor spoke at length with Patti and Julie. Lincoln IRT, Cookie Miller, arranged numerous interactions with teachers and student teachers to provide insight into the program at Lincoln. Members of the Madison PDS group will travel to Minneapolis this May to visit the University of Minnesota partnership with Patrick Henry High School. Ken Zeichner and Peter Hewson from UW, Jennie Allen, Mary Kay Johnson and Mary Klehr from Midvale Elementary, and Pam Nash, Barbara Smith and Kelly Pochop from Memorial High School will all visit the Minnesota partnership. |
| Have you seen These Web sites? |
| Visit the Web sites of the participants in the Madison PDS community. |
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Cherokee
School The
Cherokee cyberzine: Thoreau
School Madison
Metropolitan School District: Madison
Teachers Incorporated(MTI) PK16
Project
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For more information about the Madison PDS: UW Contact.....Ken Zeichner Lincoln...........Cookie Miller Midvale...........Mary Kay Johnson .......................Mary Khler Thoreau.......... Nancy Booth Cherokee.........Jessica Doyle UW Supervisor..Michele Genor PLEASE
NOTE |
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Links Send your feedback and/or submissions to: crausenberger@education.wisc.edu or
mail to: |