Greenhow was initially recruited for the position by Division C Vice President Gale Sinatra, who had closely followed Greenhow’s extensive research about social media and learning in a digital era. After her nomination, Division C members voted on her appointment, and she was approved for the position.

Stressing the unique opportunity to share research with the public by using popular social media outlets, Greenhow said she plans to create a new communications strategy for the division.

“We will be surveying our 4,000 members on their use of the Internet and social media in their professional and personal lives to get a sense of what their practices already look like, and what we might do to build on and leverage that,” Greenhow said.

“I envision that our strategy will include better ways to measure the impact and reach of our communications, such as how well we are recruiting members and helping them interact with one another before, during and after the annual face-to-face meeting.”

The two-day “State Symposium on African-American Male Youth” is the first Michigan event of its kind, and organizers hope the ideas and solutions discussed will lead to the creation of a state commission focused specifically the success of African-American boys.

MSU professor of educational administration Christopher Dunbar will be a facilitator. He is member of the Lansing Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity Alpha Chi Boule, which is presenting the event.

“Some have described this as a crisis,” Dunbar said, referring to the disproportionately low high school graduation rates and high incarceration rates of African American males. “On the heels of Trayvon (Martin’s) untimely death and youth being targeted because of what they wear, we are at a critical point where those of us who are responsible adults have to come together to figure out what should be done to support these kids.”

The first day of the symposium will give high school males — up to 60 invited from across the state — an opportunity to discuss the issues themselves, with breakout sessions focused on education, health, juvenile justice and employment. The second day will bring together key leaders such as State Superintendent Michael Flanagan and Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee to continue exploring solutions in those areas.

Other MSU scholars are expected to participate or make presentations, including College of Education doctoral student Eric Thomas, a motivational speaker and author.

The symposium is co-sponsored by the MSU Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives, the Ingham County Health Department, the Uplift Our Youth Foundation, the Michigan Association of School Administrators, the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Michigan Association of School Boards.

It starts at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, May 10  and ends at 5 p.m. Friday, May 11.

For more information, contact Larry Leatherwood at LarrLth@aol.com or 517-285-9373, or Kelly Voisinest, kv@mcwilliams4law.com, or 517-485-0573.

College of Education Dean Donald Heller is the co-author of a new report recommending changes to those state-based student financial aid programs. “Beyond Need and Merit: Strengthening State Grant Programs” was released May 8, 2012 by the Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings.

Its 14 authors include higher education scholars and policy leaders from across the country who were part of State Grant Aid Study Group organized by the Brooking Institution.

They argue that, although there is no one model that works best for all, states should move away from the dichotomy between “need-based” and merit-based” aid. Programs should be designed so that they target students with financial need while also providing appropriate expectations and support for college success.

Among the group’s other recommendations, the authors emphasize focusing resources on students whose chances of college success will be most improved by receiving state resources and simplifying  aid programs to make them more easily understood by all parents and families.

Visit the Brookings website to read more and download the full report.

The study, led by Tracey Covassin of MSU’s Department of Kinesiology, found females performed worse than males on visual memory tests and reported more symptoms postconcussion.

Additionally, high school athletes performed worse than college athletes on verbal and visual memory tests, and some of the younger athletes still were impaired up to two weeks after their injuries.

“While previous research suggests younger athletes and females may take longer to recover from a concussion, little was known about the interactive effects of age and sex on symptoms, cognitive testing and postural stability,” said Covassin, a certified athletic trainer at MSU.

“This study confirms that age and sex have an impact on recovery, and future research should focus on developing treatments tailored to those differences.”

The research, funded by a two-year grant from the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, appears in the current edition of the American Journal of Sports Medicine.

Between 2001 and 2005, federal statistics reveal more than 150,000 sport-related concussions occurred among youth ages 14 to 19. However, the actual number is likely much higher, as current statistics reflects only concussions that involved visits to the emergency departments.

The study led by Covassin looked at nearly 300 concussed athletes from multiple states over two years. All of the athletes had previously completed a baseline test before taking three different postconcussion tests, the same ones used in professional sports, after being injured.

Read more in the MSU News release.

The scholarship is annually awarded to recognize students who have achieved academic excellence, showcased leadership in the profession of physical education and a commitment to their school and community through professional activities or volunteer services. The award includes $1,750 and a three-year membership to AAHPERD.

Having already received her master’s in counseling from the College of Education and currently pursuing a doctoral degree, Voelker has maintained a 4.0 grade point average in her four years at Michigan State. She also has become a university fellow, and served on more than 10 committees and boards, including the executive board for the Association for Applied Sports Psychology.  Her work, focusing on the promotion of positive youth development through sport from a life skills and health perspective, has been featured in eight conference presentations, four refereed publications, four book chapters and 20 workshops.

Voelker has also recently received the 2011 Outstanding Doctoral Degree Student Award, the Kinesiology Endowed Fellowship and the William Wohlgamuth Memorial Fellowship, which is given to graduate students pursuing youth sports research.

Voelker received her AAHPERD scholarship at the organization’s national convention from March 13-17, 2012 in Boston, Mass.

The Highest Academic Achievement Award winners are:

• Amy Dunn, 4.0 GPA, secondary education in biology (major) and integrated science (minor).
• Ryan Duffy, 4.0 GPA, secondary education in mathematics (major) and psychology (minor).
• Jamie Goetz, 3.94 GPA, child development (major) and social studies (minor).
• Elizabeth Gutowski, 4.0 GPA, elementary education in early childhood education and social studies.
• Charlotte Helminiak, 3.979 GPA, kinesiology.
• Eric LaNoue, 4.0 GPA, secondary education in music.
• Darcey Noska, 4.0 GPA, special education-learning disabilities and language arts.
• Drew Parkhurst, 3.957 GPA, athletic training.

Three students also received the College of Education Service Award:

• Adam Clements, elementary education
• Ashley Maloff, special education-learning disabilities
• Joshua Perusse, special education-learning disabilities

Schmidt explained during the event that the CCSS for mathematics strongly resemble the standards of the highest-achieving nations, and that they have more focus, coherence and rigor than most of the state standards they replaced. He also found states with standards most like the CCSS for mathematics have higher scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), demonstrating that standards – and implementing them well – matter.

“What is clear in the research is that the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics are an important improvement over the state standards that they replaced and that to see their full potential realized, they must be implemented well,” said Schmidt. “Their consistency with the international benchmark set by top-achieving countries shows that the CCSS are coherent, focused and rigorous, key attributes of math standards from countries that outperform the U.S. on international assessments.”

Schmidt used existing research on international mathematics standards that identified the key characteristics possessed by the world’s top performing “A+” countries. Research on the standards of the “A+” countries, whose eighth graders performed at the top of the international distribution, indicated three key features of strong mathematics standards: focus, coherence, and rigor. A statistical analysis of the CCSS for mathematics found a 90% overlap between the CCSS and the “A+” standards.

Furthermore, Schmidt’s research reviewed all 50 states’ previous math standards and compared them to the focus and coherence found in the CCSS for mathematics.

Read the full release from Achieve.

The CREATE for STEM Institute is holding the mini-conference on campus in an effort to connect and build stronger collaborations among the many MSU researchers working on projects related to teaching and learning in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math), at the K-12 and college levels.

The event begins with an evening reception at the Spartan Club in Spartan Stadium featuring a panel discussion and remarks from Dean James Kirkpatrick of the College of Natural Science and Dean Donald Heller of the College of Education. CREATE for STEM, a new research center focused on growing the university’s impact in STEM education, is a joint venture of the two colleges with funding from the Office of the Provost.

The second day of the CREATEing the Future of STEM Education conference, held in the Breslin Center’s lower level, will include several poster sessions intended to help scholars explore opportunities to work together, followed by a final general discussion about what’s happening with math and science education at MSU — and what can happen in the future.

“My hope is the conference will help faculty learn about the exciting and diverse work that faculty at MSU are doing to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics and science K-16 through innovation and research,” said Joseph Krajcik, director of the institute and a professor in the College of Education. “I also hope that faculty will build new collaborations to support their work.”

Visit create4stem.msu.edu/conference to register online and get more information, including the conference schedule.

She received the organization’s Outstanding Dissertation of the Year Award – an honor shared by many of the field’s most prominent researchers — for her research on early vocabulary during the IRA Annual Convention in Chicago this week.

Wright, now an assistant professor of teacher education at Michigan State University, looked at vocabulary instruction in 55 kindergarten classrooms across Michigan while she was a doctoral student at University of Michigan. She found that few teachers use formal methods known to be effective with young children, and that schools serving low-income students explain new words to children even less than educators serving higher-income populations.

Previous research has shown the early “word gap” experienced by children growing up in poverty correlates with poor reading comprehension later in life.

“It’s particularly important that adults — teachers and family members –take an active role in exposing children to opportunities to develop their vocabulary at a young age,” said Wright, who was a kindergarten teacher in New York City. ” Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be happening, at least not in the school systems.”

As a new faculty member at MSU, Wright plans to take her research further by exploring the barriers that may be preventing vocabulary instruction from happening in schools.

She collaborated with Professor Susan B. Neuman while at U-M.

Highly successful during his internship year at Bates Academy in Detroit Public Schools, Waston was encouraged by his mentor teacher, Robin Howard, to enter the 2012 Michigan Student Teacher/Intern of the Year competition from the Michigan Association of Teacher Educators (MATE). Although hundreds of student teachers across the state enter the competition, only one was selected to win — and this year, it was Waston.

Waston’s winning lesson plan, which aimed to teach third-graders about action verbs, incorporated a variety of different elements, including visual presentations, worksheets and even a rap song that involved actions and movements. When Waston put his lesson plan into action, he said that his class thoroughly enjoyed it — especially when it came to jumping and clapping to the song.

“It’s important to make teaching interactive and fun because kids don’t want to do things that don’t interest them,” Waston said. “They’re able to grasp a deeper understanding of the material if it’s memorable and relevant to their lives.”
Giving Back

Before coming to MSU, Waston himself attended Detroit Public Schools. As a student at Renaissance High School, he volunteered as a math tutor for sixth and seventh grade students. Waston said that math was always his strong point, but that the best part of tutoring was to see students understand the material based on what he told them. This sparked his interest in teaching, coupled with teachers that had inspired him in the past.

But it wasn’t until he participated in MSU’s Summer High School Scholars Program — a four-week retreat to the MSU campus that helps prospective students gain college academic skills and information about careers in education — that Waston realized his potential to become an agent of change in urban education.

“When I went to the program, it was the first time I was able to look critically at education as a whole, or see the faults,” Waston said. “I was fortunate enough to attend a school in which 95 percent of the students went on to college, but I was also frustrated how these experiences weren’t being translated to everyone, especially in urban areas. Between standardized testing and an unfair achievement gap, I knew I needed to do something about this.”

And he did.

Only a year into his education at MSU, Waston co-founded the Black Males in Education Network (BMEN), in which members conduct research, create outreach programs and serve as mentors for young black males in urban areas. The members of BMEN realized that there was a need for this level of engagement based on their finding that less than two percent of teachers in the U.S. are black males.

Now an award-winning student organization, BMEN has built several relationships, including partnerships with the MSU University Outreach and Engagement Department and the Young Educators Society (YES) of Michigan, for which they make regular presentations around the state.

The Spartan Years

Waston also went through MSU’s Urban Educators Cohort Program, and completed the Urban Immersion Fellowship. A recipient of the Broad Future Teacher Award, Waston has also committed himself to teaching in Detroit for at least three years after his internship year.

Reflecting on his experiences at MSU, Waston said that the rigorous coursework of the education program, the opportunities to teach in urban areas and the encouragement from his own mentors – including Dr. Sonya Gunnings-Moton, Dr. Curtis Lewis and his field instructor Grace Vereen – contributed greatly to the shaping of his teaching pedagogy.

Gunnings-Moton, assistant dean for student support services and recruitment in the MSU College of Education, first met Waston when he was a scholar in the summer high school program. Looking back, she says that Waston is a constant reminder of why the college’s work is so critical.

“Chris is an exemplary model of what we hoped we would accomplish in our Urban Education pipeline initiative,” Gunnings-Moton said. “He’s been one of those young men whose success is not only about a pride we have within the college, but he represents a personal pride as well. With my role in the college, I’ve been fortunate to see students move through the program — but Chris is one of those students who has moved me.”

Photo courtesy of Michigan State Athletic Communications

Laura Heyboer, all-time leading scorer in Michigan State Women’s Soccer history, went from being drafted into the professional leagues in January, to being told that the women’s American pro season had been cancelled for the year only two weeks later.

In her third year as a kinesiology student in the College of Education, Heyboer was drafted by Sky Blue FC, one of the nation’s five Womens’ Professional Soccer (WPS) leagues. The season cancellation came after the WPS Board of Directors announced they would be suspending play for the 2012 season due to “existing legal and operational issues,” according to a news release on their website.

“I was extremely disappointed, not only for myself, but for the other players,” Heyboer said. “I went from the high of reaching a goal that I had set for myself when I was a little girl, to a low seeing that the dream I had may not be happening the way that I had imagined.”

She didn’t let the bad news drag her down, though. Originally scheduled as a pre-season exercise, Heyboer accompanied a team of WPS players to Japan on March 15, 2012 for a 10-day visit to match-off with one of the nation’s two teams, INAC Kobe Leonessa.

“My trip to Japan with Sky Blue FC was a truly amazing experience. I got to experience what it was like to be a professional athlete with respects of practices, games and new teammates,” Heyboer remarked. “Women’s soccer is heavily supported in Japan, so getting to play against the best team in the country, Kobe INAC, was fun because of the high quality of the soccer.”

The competition was tough, though. Kobe INAC hadn’t lost a match in over two years, and their players weren’t planning on changing that statistic.

“Great effort and fight by the team but came up a little short. Lost 2-1 but played extremely well for just getting together!” Forward-positioned Heyboer tweeted after the March 20, 2012 match. The team took a second loss, this time 3-0, four days later.

Amid the hustle of getting to and from games, Heyboer said one of her favorite parts of the trip was visiting the U.S. military base there.

“We ran a practice for the local girls and boys high school teams on base,” she said. “These kids and their families give us so much by protecting and allowing our freedom every single day, so knowing that we, Sky Blue, could give back to some of the kids on base, even if it is just a smile or high five, was truly gratifying.”

So what’s next for the young pro, budding with potential.

Jennifer O’Sullivan, WPS CEO said that, “With our supporters and athletes in mind, we are committed to complete the hard work necessary to resume play in 2013 and reestablish WPS as the premiere women’s professional soccer league in the world.”

If that’s the case, Heyboer says she may look into the league again, but for now she’s looking into a couple summer teams and seeing what experiences they have to offer.

Beginning her senior year at Michigan State in the fall, Heyboer will finish up her undergraduate degree in kinesiology, specializing in health promotions and coaching.

“For my future career I would love to be a collegiate coach and/or work in a collegiate setting with athletes. I’m a huge sports fan and love the atmosphere of college athletics.”

The annual Awards Competition in Instructional Technology is generously funded by AT&T and organized by Michigan State University’s office of Libraries, Computing and Technology.

This year, the award reception took place on April 17, 2012 at the Kellogg Center. Three faculty members in the College of Education were honored along with other team members who helped design and deliver the courses.

Cary Roseth – CEP 910, “Best Blended Course”

Cary Roseth, assistant professor of educational psychology, doesn’t have the traditional class. His students in CEP 910: “Motivation and Learning” aren’t traditional, either; they’re both on-campus students and online (hybrid) students, brought together via technology into one classroom at one time.

To make this possible, technology is a must. Roseth has his students use Google Hangout, an application that allows for not only video calls, but also screen sharing so students can work together through small-group discussion, participate in seminar-like discussion and make online students an active part of class for lecture.

Roseth says he also employs Google Forms and Etherpad on-screen writing technology, further reducing any barriers of being an online student. WordPress was used to generate the class website and Piazza gave students the ability to ask each other questions, with the capabilities of tagging students directly and linking to email.

Throughout the course, students conducted their own research rather than just reading about it, and used a Java-based survey tool to help measure their motivation during class once per hour, contributing data to supplement their research findings.

Learn more about the course (and watch a video about it).

Leigh Graves Wolf – CEP 820, Honorable Mention

Google Docs and Google Spreadsheets are some of the main tools used in CEP 820: ‘Teaching K-12 Online Students.’ These tools are similar to their desktop counterparts, but offer the perk of being able to be viewed and edited simultaneously online by multiple members of a group. Among other things, Wolf also used “Video Voicemails,” podcasts and screencasts as feedback mechanisms and even created a Pinterest board showcasing her students exemplary work.

Wolf is an instructor and coordinator of the Master of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) programs.

Learn more.

Evelyn Oka – CEP 260, Honorable Mention

CEP 260: “Dynamics of Personal Adjustment” is a course that values a diversity of learning for its students. Each week, coursework consists of three sections: (1) Exploring the Big Ideas – each individual’s own assigned work and readings, (2) Digging Deeper – the small group discussion built around it and (3) Testing Your Knowledge – the assessment portion, complete with timely feedback.

Students are always informed of how what they are learning fits into the course objectives via use of a visually-friendly concept map and course presentations are given by seven instructors throughout the course to provide a variety of perspectives and teaching styles.

Learn more.

http://attawards.msu.edu/home/cep-820

This seminar is part of a larger series organized by the committee, which advises Congress and the Secretary of Education on financial aid policy. The goal of each seminar is to highlight recent research or policy issues related to five areas of the access and success spectrum: early information and awareness, college preparation and readiness, access and choice, transfer and persistence, and success and completion.

The proceedings of the seminars will be used to prepare a primer on access and success for federal policymakers.

To attend, RSVPs must be received by April 25, 2012. Click here to register.

Raised in New Jersey and North Carolina, Nolan joined the United States Marine Corps and served his country in the South Pacific in WWII. He was retired due to disability in 1946, and continued his education until ultimately earning a position at Michigan State University in the College of Education. He was faculty member in teacher education for 33 years, from 1952 to 1984. He earned his Ed. D in 1965. At the time of his retirement in 1985, he was the director of the Highway Traffic Safety Center at MSU. Nolan was an avid Spartan fan.

To view service arrangements, see the full obituary.

Noted educator evaluation expert Charlotte Danielson presented strategies for developing an effective evaluation model. Danielson, who has written extensively about teacher leadership and school improvement, also offered a framework for professional conversations about teaching. The Talk About Teaching conference was presented by the Office of K-12 Outreach.

“Teaching is intellectually demanding and hard to do. Teachers have to make literally hundreds of decisions—under conditions of urgency—every single day,” Danielson said. “Because this is a thinking person’s profession, its evaluation has to be thoughtful as well. We must use observation and dialogue in very positive ways, to build strong teachers who effectively support student learning.”

Under Michigan law, all teachers are now required to receive annual performance evaluations that include student growth as a factor.

Danielson presented strategies that support compliance with state law and allow teachers to grow professionally as a result of the evaluation process. During the day, event participants had opportunities to practice and discuss the types of on-the-job conversations that work.

The event also explored the use of video as a tool for observing teachers. Mark Atkinson, founder and CEO of Teachscape Inc., presented information about technological resources that allow schools to capture and reflect upon teacher performance.

“It’s really exciting to put these kinds of practical solutions behind our teachers, to help them become more effective,” said Lori Phillips, principal of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Middle School in Traverse City. “The tools are fascinating and will really allow us to share and get feedback. What I love best about this entire day is that the processes we’re discussing are not punitive—they’re really aimed at helping teachers be more effective in the classroom.”

Deborah Clemmons, executive director of the Michigan School Reform Office, agreed. “Today’s event is providing specific tools and a way to talk about teaching that is more objective than subjective. Teaching is a very complex process. What we need is a vocabulary to talk about teaching and a way to give people feedback based on a common set of criteria.”

Participants spent the afternoon reviewing current issues and discussing what’s on the horizon for state policymakers. Educational consultant Bob Harris and Nate Walker of the American Federation of Teachers-Michigan offered their perspectives on the continuing implementation of Michigan’s teacher evaluation law.

“The Governor’s Council on Educator Effectiveness is going to play a key role in this work,” Walker said. “They’ll likely be releasing some of their results by the end of April.”