Archive for January, 2012

Reflections on a very special event

Every once in a while, there are moments in my job that seem to transcend time and even Curry itself. Monday night we hosted a panel of four educators, three of whom were smack in the middle of the turmoil of desegregating schools in Virginia.  For those of you not familiar with the story of desegregation in Virginia, the resistance to desegregation was so prolific and fierce that it actually has a name: Massive Resistance.

Mrs. Branch was a principal of an all black elementary school.  She was one of the very few (perhaps the only one; we can’t be sure) not demoted during the implementation of the desegregation policies and retained her principalship at an integrated school.  Drs. Hank Allen (who is now 92!) and Jim Bash helped create and run Curry’s Desegregation Center, a resource for schools, administrators and teachers during desegregation.  The fourth panelist, Dr. Rosa Atkins, is the current superintendent of Charlottesville City Schools, who was an elementary school student during desegregation.

It is difficult to describe the power of having all 4 of them share their memories and reflections of that time.  But there was one moment I will never forget.

Mrs. Branch spoke so beautifully about the teachers at her school, both the white and black teachers.  She spoke about the “tenderness” with which the teachers engaged their students.

What a beautiful word.  Tenderness.

I imagine their acts of tenderness served as a sponge, soaking up the pervasive hate around them.  Their tenderness with their students eventually turning into tenderness toward one another.

Then, as if in speaking about tenderness Mrs. Branch was able to wrap those of us in the room with it, Dr. Atkins reached out and held onto Mrs. Branch’s hand with a tremendous tenderness.

Dr. Atkins thanked Mrs. Branch for her tenderness.  She recalled how, as a little girl, the tenderness and quiet strength she saw in her own teachers served as a model for her.

“Listening to her, I know that is where I developed my love and passion for education,” she said.

Dr. Atkins and Mrs. Branch looked directly at one another.  Dr. Atkins smiled and Mrs. Branch nodded.

Tenderness.

I can’t help but think about how striking that word was to me in the context of education, teachers and students, in classrooms.  Perhaps we should add that back into our lexicon as we continue to examine equal education for all children.

Audrey Breen

Audrey Breen

Director of Communications

Her portfolio includes writing and editing, media relations, advertising, internal communication, web and social media communications and reputation-building for the Curry School.

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  • Posted on:
  • January 27, 2012

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Guest Post: Alumna Lynne Noble

Today’s guest post is by Lynne Streyer Noble (M.Ed. ’74, Ed.D. ’80 Elem Ed), professor of early childhood education at Columbia College in South Carolina. Noble is a Fulbright Scholar. Read her blog about her 2011 trip to Mongolia.

Become A Global Citizen

J. William Fulbright wrote, “In the long course of history, having people who understand your thought is much greater security than another submarine.”  His legacy is a myriad of programs all designed to provide that global understanding.  I would commend to all Curry School grads any of the Fulbright programs available to you.  As graduates of UVa, I know you are life-long learners, full of curiosity about the wider world, and you have a lot to share, as well.  Fulbright programs offer you the opportunity to satisfy all these characteristics.

As I write this, I am sitting in my apartment in Ulaanbaatar (UB), Mongolia nearing the end of my six-month tenure as a Fulbright Scholar at the Mongolian State University of Education.  This has been an amazing adventure – each day brings new places, new people, new ideas, new possibilities. My colleagues and I revel in the opportunities to teach each other.  Together, we work on English and Mongolian.  I introduce new teaching methods and they “Mongolize” them, as they call it. I show them how to teach the application of theory to the classroom, and they then eagerly develop their own activities.  I try to get them to plan ahead, and they try to get me to go with the flow.  We have accomplished a lot, including signing a five-year agreement to exchange faculty and students between my Columbia College and the MSUE.

I have been involved in teaching, research, writing and, of course, learning.   I have been able to travel to the north, south, east and west of UB – sometimes for business (teaching) and always for pleasure.  Family, friends, colleagues and students have visited me here – after it warmed up, of course! They share my love of Mongolia.

I have also had the chance to see other Fulbright programs in action.  There are a number of Fulbright English Teaching Assistants here in UB, recent college grads who are able to live abroad and teach English, while honing language skills, increasing knowledge of the host country and continuing their own research and study.   In addition, our Embassy me to participate in reading applications from and conducting interviews with Mongolian professionals wishing to pursue a Master’s degree at an American institution.  I know that the women and men we chose for this opportunity will make a positive impact on their American hosts, and will come to be important players in Mongolia’s future when they return.

All educators have the opportunity to participate in the Fulbright-Hays program.  In 2004, I was fortunate to be chosen as a group member for a month in Lithuania, Latvia and St. Petersburg.  In our group were faculty from several colleges and universities, and many public school classroom teachers – all grades, as well as school administrators.  Faculty from local universities in the cities we visited delivered lectures, hosts arranged wonderful traveling experiences, and we made connections to our own fields of study as we went.  Some were gathering folk tales, some were accumulating musical instruments, and others were focusing on the history or current social status as fodder for courses.  I pursued the current role of women in these countries in order to develop a seminar for our honors program. And, of course, I took special note of educational policy and practice in each place.

School teachers, in particular, have the opportunity to participate in the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program.  This is a direct exchange of job, house, etc. While living in Northern Ireland in 1996, I met a teacher from New York who had “exchanged” with a teacher in NI.  We were both taking bodhran (drum) lessons, and she was thoroughly enjoying and being challenged by her new teaching and living situation, as was her exchange mate, then in America.

Fulbright was clearly ahead of his time.  He recognized the need for global understanding – real hands-on experiences, not just academic knowledge.  He made it possible for, by now, thousands of educators to be exposed to new and inspiring cultures, forge strong and lasting relationships across the world, and use knowledge of these places and people in their work. You already have the distinction of being a Curry School graduate.  Now, I strongly encourage you to take the opportunity to become a global citizen and pursue participation in a Fulbright program.

Lynne’s post was submitted last June to the Fall 2011 Curry Alumni Writing Contest. To submit an entry in the next contest round, go to curry.virginia.edu/writing-contest

Lynn Bell

Lynn Bell

Director of Development Communication

Lynn writes and produces communications for the Curry School Foundation. She keeps alumni and friends informed about the great things happening in the Curry School.

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  • Posted on:
  • January 25, 2012

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Curry Faculty on Effective Postsecondary Teaching

Since our new president Teresa Sullivan is such an avid proponent of the scholarship of postsecondary teaching and learning, it’s a hot topic around U.Va these days (see recent newsletter article).

We decided to check in with some Curry faculty members who are recognized as good teachers. You may enjoy some useful insights from these familiar scholars who know about and contribute to the literature on teaching/learning and who work hard to practice what they teach. (Read who participated and how they were selected here.)

At the end of this post, if you are a teacher, trainer, or coach, please tell us how you evaluate your efforts.

Influences on Postsecondary Teaching

Seven of the eight faculty respondents have worked either as K-12 teachers or administrators. Most responded that the school setting had the greatest influence on how and what they teach now. Here are a few of their responses on the subject:

As a mathematics teacher educator, I believe…doing mathematics requires learners to explore, investigate, represent, use, describe, justify, and verify. This list of verbs represents mathematics teaching and learning as a process of “making sense” and requires active participation among learners.  In order to “do” mathematics in my elementary mathematics methods course, I employ instructional strategies that require students to work collaboratively, reflect on their experiences as learners of mathematics, and think critically about the act of teaching mathematics.
Robert Berry

Research in social studies education indicates that effective social studies teachers know their students well, know how to connect social studies content to students’ lives and make it relevant, understand the nature of the discipline, and teach in engaging ways that teach students more than content, but also the skills necessary for active, engaged citizenship in a multicultural democracy.  That research informs my practice – I try to model what that looks like in practical terms on a day-to-day basis with 6-12 students.
Stephanie Van Hover

My special education background and training developed my understanding that you don’t teach until you understand students, so I always begin my classes by getting to know the interests and backgrounds of my students so that I can match readings/projects/assignments to their unique circumstances. I try to individualize my course for every student.
Pam Tucker

 I learned while teaching high school science that respect for your students and high expectations go a long way. It’s also important to make sure every class is engaging at some level. If I don’t find a lesson I’m teaching to be interesting and engaging, there’s no way my students will find it that way. I work hard at finding ways to make the less exciting topics more engaging and fun.
Randy Bell

 Many of the ideas I teach in public schools, such as cooperative learning strategies and project-based learning, I also used in my classes at the university…. [For example] in preparing principals, I was able to take assessment data from various schools, using pseudonyms, and have students take the common set of data given them, prepare school improvement plans, and then defend their plans in various small groups in class.
Robert Lynn Canady

Assessing and Improving Their Teaching

Ann Boyce said she assesses her teaching “through systematic and peer input from doc students and BSEd/MT and PGMT students.” Most of the professors said they consider student evaluations to be one helpful form of assessment of their teaching but not the only one. Sara Rimm-Kaufman and Robert Berry have worked with the University Teaching Resource Center. Several professors have had their teaching observed and videotaped.

“I look for ways I engage students,” Berry said about videotaping himself. “That is, I observe my movement during instruction, observe whether I dominate in one space of the classroom with my questioning and interactions, and observe to see if I use questions both for conceptual and procedural understanding.”

Our professors reflect on their teaching in other ways as well:

I’ve used mid-semester assessments of my teaching strategies and explicitly asked students if the strategies are working or how I might improve them. I also use end of course feedback on assignments, pacing, and activities to constantly revise and improve my courses.
Pam Tucker

Assessment of my teaching consisted primarily of informal assessments made by talking with students, often after they had completed their program and were employed in an administrative position.
Robert Lynn Canady

 These professors assess their teaching indirectly through their students’ learning. As they observe student teaching, Ann Boyce noted, our teacher ed professors have opportunities to see how preservice teachers are applying their learning in the classroom. Professors also receive feedback about how their students are doing from clinical instructors, graduate student supervisors, and school administrators. Mentors and school administrators provide feedback on students in our administration & supervision program, as well.

Here are some of other ways professors assess student learning:

I observe their engagement and consider the way that they describe the material to me.
Sara Rimm-Kaufman

In addition to classroom assignments and tests, I have conducted research on students’ learning of certain overarching scientific concepts, such as the nature of science, and their ability to teach those concepts in the classroom.
Randy Bell

I use case studies quite a bit, which require explicit application of concepts introduced in class discussions and readings.
Pam Tucker

I follow backwards design when I put together a course – develop objectives, design assessments that show me how students are progressing (or not progressing) toward those objectives, then plan the weekly class meetings. I have a big final project but break it into “chunks,” so I can give in-depth, ongoing feedback so students have a chance to resubmit work until it meets or exceeds expectations.  Learning to teach is a complex process involving continuous reflection and change–I want my class and assignments to show that.
Stephanie Van Hover

One way I know students learn is when they have an “aha” moment…. Often students come to learn mathematical procedures but do not conceptually understand why procedures work.  A classic example is when we do division of fractions; many students know to invert and multiply but do not understand why they invert in multiply. ”Aha” moments often occur when they discover why things work mathematically.
Robert Berry

I’m a fan of formative assessment.  We try to ask students to apply ideas regularly.  Then we review their work, provide feedback, make opportunities for students to revise work that’s not quite on target, and change classroom instruction as a result of what we see. Simple things like exit cards provide a useful window into student understanding.  Of course, good classroom conversations can be really instructive about student understanding as well.
Carol Tomlinson

Secrets of Good Teaching

Finally, in a nutshell, here are some ways our professors characterize good postsecondary teaching:

Knowing the material. Knowing the students you’re teaching.

The best lesson I learned was from [recently retired professor] Jerry Short: Teach just a few key principles with many, many examples of each principle.  (The tendency is to do the reverse—teach lots of principles with one example each.)
Sara Rimm-Kaufman

Success comes from teaching human beings, not from teaching content.
Carol Tomlinson

Conceptual anchors, connecting knowledge for deep understanding, and engaging multiple perspectives.
Robert Berry

Caring about your students.  Organization.  Preparation.  Reflection.
Stephanie Van Hover

Respecting students as adult learners who can define their own learning objectives if you give them the structure and support.
Pam Tucker

Being very knowledgeable of content, including having more than textbook knowledge; being able to make the content relevant; having the ability to engage students during class.
Robert Lynn Canady

Please join the conversation! Go to the reply box below and tell us how you assess your own teaching/training/coaching.


Participants:

We invited Curry professors who have received an All-University Teaching Award to participate, as well as those who have received a Curry Foundation Outstanding Faculty Award in recent years. Eight professors responded, including one professor emeritus.

All-University Teaching Award Recipients who responded:

2010-11 Robert Q. Berry, III, Elementary Mathematics Education
2008-09 Stephanie D. van Hover, Secondary Social Studies Education
2007-08 Carol Tomlinson, Educational Psychology/Gifted Education
2006-07 Randy L. Bell, Secondary Science Education
1990-91 Robert Lynn Canady, Professor Emeritus, Administration & Supervision

Curry School Foundation Outstanding Faculty Award Recipients who responded:

2011 Sara Rimm-Kaufman, Educational Psychology/Applied Developmental Science
2008 Pamela D. Tucker, Administration & Supervision
2007 Barbara Ann Boyce, Health and Physical Education

Lynn Bell

Lynn Bell

Director of Development Communication

Lynn writes and produces communications for the Curry School Foundation. She keeps alumni and friends informed about the great things happening in the Curry School.

More Posts by Lynn

  • Posted on:
  • January 13, 2012

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Introductions

Welcome to the new Curry Blog. Our goal here is to give you a little bit of insight into the goings on here in a casual, personal way.  We know.  There already are press releases, articles, magazines, newsletters and a website full of information about Curry.

But here, we want you to know us: those of us writing those stories, how we stumble across the compelling stories of our alumni, those of us teaching and researching.  You’ll find a variety of voices here, a picture of this complex place.

I’m one of those voices.  So, I suppose I ought to introduce myself.

‪I think my first crush on U.Va. happened in 1993…yes, I mean a crush on the University.  My brother was the first one in my family to go to college and he arrived on Grounds ‬as a first year in the fall of 1993.  I was starting my senior in high school and, shockingly, my brother and I were (and still are) pretty close buddies.  So he generously shared his college experience with me, welcoming me on Grounds to visit whenever I could.  U.Va. is a breathtaking place and seemed like a dreamland to a 17 year old.

Then, just when I thought things couldn’t get better, my brother joined an a cappella group.  It was at that point, I know, that my crush turned into a long term love.

Sure enough, nearly twenty years later (twenty! ouch!), I still adore this place.  My husband is an alumnus and our two-year old is beginning his U.Va. career very early at the U.Va. child development center.  We are a bone fide U.Va. family!

It should then come as no surprise that I count it a great privilege to work at this great institution.  And not just at U.Va., but at the Curry School of Education.

It was an accidental turn of events that brought out my passion for education.  After graduate school, I returned to my alma mater, Furman University in SC, to be a part of an institute that was created by fellow Furman alumnus and former U.S. Secretary of Education, Richard Riley.  Secretary Riley’s passion for improving education for all children in the United States was contagious and spurred in me a commitment to work toward that goal.

At Curry, we are all working to improve the lives of students of every age, through teaching and learning, physical therapy or speech therapy, through counseling and mentoring.  It so exciting to work at a place where research and scholarship turns into tangible improvements in so many lives.

I look forward to sharing these stories with you.

Audrey Breen

Audrey Breen

Director of Communications

Her portfolio includes writing and editing, media relations, advertising, internal communication, web and social media communications and reputation-building for the Curry School.

More Posts by Audrey

  • Posted on:
  • January 10, 2012

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