Coming Events and Activities
Workshops & Events for Students, Teachers, Alumni & SOE Faculty
Learning From Japanese Schools
Tuesday, February 28, 5:00-7:00 p.m. NAC 4/220B
What can we learn from Japanese schools? Are there practices we might bring to our teaching and our schools? How does schooling in Japan reflect Japanese culture and values? Professor Emeritus James Shields, author of "Japanese Schooling, Patterns of Socialization, Equality and Political Control", Fulbright Visiting Professor Toshikazu Kikuchi and Dr. Steven Chemsak both from Teachers College Columbia University will discuss these topics and answer your questions about Japanese schooling. All are invited. Refreshments will be served. This event is being sponsored by the Department of Teaching, Learning & Culture.
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Using SmartBoards in the Classroom
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Doris Grasserbauer |
This hands-on workshop is for School of Education students, faculty, alumni and cooperating teachers. The workshops are structured around the experience level and the specific subject matter taught by the participants. For entry level, we will start with the basics and then dive into the interactive classroom possibilities depending on the needs and interests of the participants. During the advanced workshop you will work with the instructor to create your own classroom material. No matter what your level of experience, you will get a chance to use the SmartBoard.
You are welcome to attend more than one workshop.
Dates:
- Feb 28, 2012, 3-4pm, NAC room 4/221
- Mar 20, 2012, 3-4pm, NAC room 4/221
- Apr 24, 2012, 3-4pm, NAC room 4/221
- May 22, 2012, 3-4pm, NAC room 4/221
Click here to register for one of the workshops:
If a workshop has to be canceled you will be contacted via email. Assume your registration is confirmed unless you hear otherwise. Please note the session(s) you sign up for as reminders will not be sent out. |
Two Major Events in March Celebrate The City College School of Education's 90th Anniversary
Distinguished Speaker Series in Urban Education
Monday, March 5th at 5PM
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Dr. Arnetha F. Ball |
The Doyle and Alba Bortner Distinguished Speaker Series in Urban Education invites students, faculty, alumni and the education community to its third annual event on Monday, March 5th in the Faculty Dining Room of the NAC building. This year's distinguished guest speaker is Dr. Arnetha F. Ball who will be speaking on the topic "Reform of Urban Teacher Education Programs: Expanding Upon a Model of Generative Change". Dr. Ball is a Professor of Education at Stanford University in the Curriculum Studies, Teacher Education, and Educational Linguistics Programs. She is the President of the American Educational Research Association, Director of the Program in African and African American Studies at Stanford University, and Consultant to the Sizemore Initiative in Urban Education at Duquesne University. Winner of the 2009 AERA Palmer O. Johnson Award and author/co-editor of six books, Arnetha Ball is a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association and has served as a trustee of the Research Foundation of the National Council of Teachers of English. All are welcome, admission is free and refreshments will be served.
And
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In Defense of Childhood: Keeping the Joy of Learning Alive
A City College Conference Saturday, March 10th
Saturday, March 10th The Great Hall (of Shepard Hall)
The widening gap in our society between children of low-income backgrounds their more affluent peers, along with new insights gained from an explosion of research in the neurobiological, behavioral, and social sciences, have captured the public's attention about the importance of childhood and the need for high quality education. The means to achieving these goals, however, has recently focused on preparing children for school success primarily through an emphasis on standardized testing. This has been done at the expense of what research and educators' experience tell us: Optimal learning results when the whole child is supported in his or her cultural context; when teaching fosters active engagement, is responsive to diverse cultures and languages, supports family involvement in learning, and develops not only cognitive skills but other human attributes such as curiosity, perseverance, empathy, flexibility, resilience, and social awareness.
It is in the context of these issues that this conference addresses how educators and schools can nurture children in accordance with their developmental needs and teach them in the ways that they learn. Presenters will share effective practices and make recommendations for how school and societal challenges can be negotiated to create more effective and more equitable learning environments to enhance the life chances of our youngest citizens.
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9:00-10:15: |
Plenary in the Great Hall (of Shepard Hall) with keynote speaker, Nancy Carlsson-Paige (author of Taking Back Childhood) |
10:30-12:00: |
Workshops |
12:00-2:00: |
Lunch and Cultural Arts Fair with featured speaker |
1:45-3:00: |
Workshops |
3:15-4:30: |
Closing Plenary and performance |
Nancy Carlsson-Paige,
Keynote Speaker |
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ADMISSION IS FREE
Register here
Sponsoring organizations: The City College of New York's Graduate Programs in Early Childhood Education, Psychology Department, Educational Theater Program, Colin Powell Center for Leadership and Service, Auxiliary Enterprise Corporation, Office of Student Services, New Educator journal, School of Education and School of Education's Retired Faculty Association, and the Lillian Weber Fund.
Supporting organizations: Alliance for Childhood, American Museum of Natural History, Bank Street College of Education, Child Care Council at CUNY, Child Development Institute at Sarah Lawrence College, City College Child Development Center, Community Playthings, New York City Early Childhood Professional Development Institute of CUNY, SciPlay Center of the New York Hall of Science, and the UFT Teacher Center.
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Principals Panel: Interviewing Skills for
Teaching
and Leadership Positions
Thursday, March 22 4:30-7:00 p.m.
The City College Education Alumni and the School of Education are co-sponsoring a "repeat" of last semester's outstanding Principals' Panel event on March 22, 2012 from 4:30 PM - 7:00 PM in the NAC (3rd Floor, Faculty Dining Room). The principals will be addressing the typical interview questions that applicants will be facing and expectations for commendable responses. There will be a Q & A session as well as an opportunity to meet in small groups for role playing. You do not want to miss this one if you are, or plan to be, involved in any interviews for upcoming teaching or leadership positions. The Principals Panel will be held on the 3rd floor of the NAC Building in the Faculty Dining Room.
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The Educational Theatre Program's
Community Events for the Spring
Mark your Calendars!

The Family Arts Saturday Program will begin on March 3rd and be offered on the following dates: March 3, 17, 24, 31 April 14, 21. The Family Arts Saturday program will offer arts activities including, puppetry, mask making, storytelling, improvisation, music and movement and much more. For children ages 2-5 from at 10am to10:45; for ages 6-10 from 11-11:45. All siblings are welcome to join! Please email educationaltheatre@ccny.cuny.edu if you are interested with your name, name of child, age of child, contact email and phone # and which class you would like to join. Check out our website for more info - www.ccny.cuny.edu/education/edtheatre. We hope to see you there!
Our Second Annual Family Arts Day on April 28th from 10-1pm at Aaron Davis Hall will be fun for all ages!. Stay tuned for more info on our website www.ccny.cuny.edu/education/edtheatre or follow us on twitter@ccnyedtheatre or like us on facebook!
Spring 2012 marks the first ever Educational Theatre Newsletter. See it at: www1.ccny.cuny.edu/prospective/education/educationaltheatre/about_us.cfm
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Library Hour for SOE Students & Faculty
Our SOE Library hour this spring will be every Tuesday from 5 to 6pm in NA 2/204 (2nd floor of Cohen Library). The first session for this semester will be on February 7th, 2012. You do not have to make arrangements, just drop in.
During that hour the Information Literacy Coordinator Prof. Jacqueline A. Gill will be available for faculty, staff and students to answer questions about the library and research within the library resources. Should you not be able to come during that hour, Prof. Gill is also available via blog at http://soelibraryhour.wordpress.com/, via email at jgill@ccny.cuny.edu and via phone at 212-650-6089.
Faculty can discuss and arrange library visits and workshops. Prof. Gill can be invited to education classes to introduce herself and provide an overview of how the library can help students meet their research needs. Furthermore she conducts workshops each semester to introduce faculty and staff to the Library resources. For the list of her workshop topics see:
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News & Notes
Student Notes
Mr. Will Johnson, a Master of Science in Education degree candidate in the program in Special Education, was one of three Teacher Essay Contest winners from NBC News' Education Nation. You may access Mr. Johnson's essay, "Teaching at the Edge of Reason", by clicking here (where you can also view the video).
Mr. Johnson is a special education teacher at Leon M. Goldstein High School for the Sciences in Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn. On a daily basis, he collaborates and team-teaches with other members of the faculty and staff within integrated co-teaching (ICT) classrooms. One of Mr. Johnson's favorite things about teaching special education is the multiple, varied opportunities he has to learn from and reflect with colleagues about the learning opportunities they provide to all students, especially students with exceptional learning needs. At Goldstein, special education teachers' assignments are based on their academic backgrounds. For Mr. Johnson, his knowledge and skills in content and strategy instruction in English and Global History resulted in him being assigned to the humanities department. His active participation in the humanities department has opened doors for him to advocate for the academic and social supports his students need during curriculum planning meetings.
Submitted by Professor Yvel C. Crevecoeur
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Faculty Notes
Professor Maria Castiglioni Summarized Her Remarks on Receiving the 2011 Weiss Award for Excellence in Teaching
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Prof. Maria Castiglioni receiving award from Alfred Weiss. Photo credit H.Wong |
Professor Maria Castiglioni of the Department of Leadership and Special Education summarized the remarks she made on the occasion of receiving the Weiss Award for Excellence in Teaching as follows:
"The three major elements that have influenced my teaching since I've been a full-time faculty member were: students' advisement, my participation in the Lincoln Center Institute and Yoga practice.
As an adjunct for many years, I met students only for class requirements. Because I did not always have an office, the meetings were short. That changed when I became full-time. Because of my training as a psychologist heavy on Freud and Jung among others, students feel very comfortable talking to me. I love to talk but I also love to listen. I learned that the need for differentiated instruction does not end with high school: I changed the deadlines for my assignments so that some candidates can submit their work in progress, while others can work more independently.
The most important lesson I have learned from my participation with Lincoln Center Institute was to say goodbye to lectures. For years I used lectures as my main teaching strategy. I knew the material, I had prepared it, I had my notes, and I knew that I could present it to the students in an interesting way. Why change?
Now, whenever possible, I try to incorporate the activities I learned through my participation in the Lincoln Center Institute's aesthetic education workshops into my classes. The LCI capacities for imaginative learning, noticing deeply, embodying, questioning, making connections, identifying patterns, exhibiting empathy, among others, have become my commandments and I stress them in my teaching.
Three years ago I developed a Freshman Inquiry Writing Seminar - Young at Art -Development of Creativity in Children, loosely based on the graduate Child Development course I teach. This semester the students and I already visited the Greek and Roman wing, the Oceanic and African Wing, the Egyptian Wing and the Far East Wing at the Metropolitan Museum; we went to the Museum of Modern Art to have a scavenger hunt - not an aesthetic experience in the strict sense – but one that served as an introduction to the museum and we will go back to see Diego Rivera's murales.
Following the visit to the Metropolitan Museum the students learned the meaning of "style". They designed and created masks inspired by styles they had admired during their visit. They interviewed each other about their artistic creations and will curate an exhibition of their pieces and write critical reviews of the exhibition.
Finally the last element that I believe influences my teaching is Yoga. I started practicing twelve years ago; I became a certified Yoga teacher six years ago. I practice every day. Yoga gives me strength, awareness, and patience in preparation for and during my classes. Just yesterday I learned a new pose. It is one simplified version of the Elephant pose. Stand up and do it with me. Join your hands together and say along with me: I am a powerful, wise, intelligent being. I remember everything!"
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Professor Shira Eve Epstein, of the Department of Secondary Education, co-authored a paper with Jessica Lipschultz that explores how youth can be supported to talk about race and racism. "Getting personal? Student talk about racism" was accepted for publication in the international journal " Race, Ethnicity, and Education". It was made available
online in late November 2011 and is due to be published shortly. Epstein and Lipschultz discuss the value of students making personal connections to past and present day examples of racism and inequity. Then, to aid teachers, they review pedagogical moves that promote student story telling about race and racism in their lives.
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Professor Jan Valle of the Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture sent five articles published in 2011 which she authored, co-authored or co-edited. These were all in the area of special education and were :
Valle, J. W. (2011). Down the rabbit hole: A commentary about research on parents and special education. Learning Disability Quarterly, 34(3), 183-190.
Baglieri, S., Bejoian, L., Broderick, A., Connor, D. J., & Valle, J. W. (2011). Inviting interdisciplinary alliances around inclusive education reform: Introduction to special issue on disability studies in education. Teachers College Record, 113(10), 2115-2121. To read see http://www.tcrecord.org/content.asp?contentid=16427.
Baglieri, S., Bejoian, L., Broderick, A., Connor, D. J., & Valle, J. W. (2011). Reclaiming "inclusive education" toward cohesion in educational reform: Disability studies unravels the myth of the normal child. Teachers College Record, 113(10), 2122-2154. To read see http://www.tcrecord.org/content.asp?contentid=16428.
Valle, J. W., Connor, D. J., Broderick, A., Bejoian, L., & Baglieri, S. (2011). Creating alliances against exclusivity: A pathway to inclusive educational reform. Teachers College Record, 113(10), 2283-2308. To read see http://www.tcrecord.org/content.asp?contentid=16434
Baglieri, S., Valle, J.W., Connor, D. J., & Gallagher, D. J. (2011). Disability studies in education: The need for a plurality of perspectives on disability. Remedial and Special Education, 32(4), 267-278.
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Professor Lenwood Gibson of the Department of Leadership and Special Education co-authored "A Preliminary Investigation of Supplemental Computer-Assisted Reading Instruction on the Oral Reading Fluency and Comprehension of First-Grade African American Urban Students" which was published in the Journal of Behavioral Education, Vol. 20, Issue 4 (Dec., 2011). To read an abstract of this study click here.
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Professor Laura Gellert of the Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture reported on two articles published in 2011 both of which come from her doctoral fellowship research at MetroMath. Professor Beverly S. Smith of the Department of Secondary Education was a co-author of the second article below.
Gellert, L. & Gonzalez, L. (2011). Teacher Collaboration: Implications for New Mathematics Teachers. Current Issues in Education, 14(1). To access the abstract and full text of these articles go to: http://cie.asu.edu/ojs/index.php/cieatasu/article/view/
Foote, M.Q, Smith, B.S., and Gellert, L.M. (2011) Evolution of (Urban) Mathematics Teachers' Identity. Journal of Urban Mathematics Education, December 2011, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 67–95. To access the full text of this article go to http://education.gsu.edu/JUME
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Bilingual Education in El Salvador:
CCNY Faculty Evaluate and Collaborate
By Jesus Fraga, Tatyana Kleyn and Nancy Stern
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Ena de Henriquez (EBM Director) Tatyana Kleyn, Nancy Stern, and Jesus Fraga in front of EMB's entrance. |
There are hundreds of bilingual programs in New York City, in which students learn in two different languages. Escuela Bilingüe Maquilishuat, founded in 1990 in El Salvador, Central America, also runs a bilingual program for students in Kindergarten through Grade 12 in which instruction is provided 50% in Spanish, and 50% in English. This January, three faculty members from the CCNY Bilingual Education & TESOL Program visited the school in San Salvador, the country's capital.
Escuela Bilingue Maquilishuat (EBM) invited Tatyana Kleyn, Jesus Fraga, and Nancy Stern of the Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture to review their program in order to offer ideas for improving pedagogy and English instruction, and to consider opportunities for future collaboration with CCNY. During their visit, Professors Kleyn, Fraga, and Stern held focus groups with teachers, students, parents, and administrators; observed classes at every grade level; and provided preliminary feedback to teachers and school administration. The CCNY team will work with EBM to strengthen the English program and to provide opportunities for CCNY students to participate in a vibrant bilingual program in Latin America with students who are eager to learn and teachers who wish to improve their own practice.
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Pre-K through 12th grade students and School of Education faculty members. |
By providing instruction in both English and Spanish, EBM offers students not only the opportunity to become proficient in English, but also to strengthen their academic uses of their home language, Spanish, and to remain connected to their language, history, and culture. This philosophy closely matches the values of the Bilingual Education & TESOL Program at the CCNY School of Education, which aims to help students develop proficiency and literacy in both their home and additional languages. Specific ideas for future collaborations between CCNY and EBM are still in development, but the partnership is expected to be of benefit to both schools. The CCNY faculty members welcome the opportunity to support EBM in enriching their bilingual program and promoting bilingual and bicultural teaching and learning in other countries of the hemisphere.
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Professor Lynn Tarlow of the Department of Secondary Education reported on two articles and a refereed presentation in 2010 that have not previously been noted in CONNECTED.
Tarlow, L. D. (2010). Pizzas, towers, and binomials. In C. A. Maher, A. B. Powell, & E. B. Uptegrove (Eds.) Combinatorics and Reasoning: Representing, Justifying and Building Isomorphisms. (pp. 123-134). New York:
Springer.
Tarlow, L. D. & Uptegrove, E. B. (2010). Block towers: Co-construction of proof. In C. A. Maher, A. B. Powell, & E. B. Uptegrove (Eds.) Combinatorics and Reasoning: Representing, Justifying and Building Isomorphisms. (pp. 97-106). New York: Springer.
Tarlow, L. D. (2010, October). Sense-able symbols: Algebra for all students. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics 2010 Regional Conference. Baltimore, MD.
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ALUMNI PLEASE TAKE NOTE
Outstanding Teacher and Outstanding Administrator Awards
If you know a CCNY graduate who is an "Outstanding Teacher" or an "Outstanding Administrator" please consider nominating him/her for our 2012 Outstanding Teacher or Outstanding Administrator Award. Applications are available from Dr. Bruce Billig via email (bbillig@ccny.cuny.edu). All award winners will be honored at the May 3, 2012 Education Alumni Awards Ceremony and Reception at The National Arts Club in NYC. |
Events Held Earlier
CCNY and NYSABE Highlight Gregorio Luperon High School
from Various Angles
by Tatyana Kleyn
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NYSABE President Maria Angelica Meyer gives opening remarks. Photo credit H. Wong. |
On Thursday, December 8, 2011 over 100 people came together to learn about Gregorio Luperon High School and its successful approach to the education of Dominican immigrants through a bilingual approach. The panel brought together the diverse yet inter-connected views of researchers, the school principal, an ESL teacher, an alumna and a current CCNY undergraduate student. The event began with welcoming remarks by Doris Cintron, School of Education Dean, and by NYSABE President Maria Angelica Meyer, who also highlighted the organization's new initiatives, including its redesigned and multilingual website: www.nysabe.net.
The panel began with the authors of "Additive Schooling in Subtractive Times: Bilingual education and Dominican immigrant youth in the Heights" (Vanderbilt University Press, 2011). See (http://www.vanderbiltuniversitypress.com/books/403/additive-schooling-in-subtractive-times). Lesley Bartlett, Associate Professor at Teachers College and the book's co-author, outlined the theoretical underpinnings of the book and the reasons for the focus on this specific school. Next, Ofelia Garcia, Professor at the CUNY Graduate Center and the book's second author, spoke about the importance of reconceptualizing bilingualism in education through a dynamic approach. Luperon's co-founding principal, Juan Villar, spoke about the school's primary mission of educating the whole child as something that comes before any externally imposed mandates or focus on standardized tests. Next, ESL teacher Jakob Clausen shared his experiences at Luperon and his realization that the students' home language - Spanish - is a valuable resource to be used in his ESL classes. Lastly, Emelyn Carpio, a 2011 graduate of Luperon and a freshman at CCNY who has been awarded the President's Community Scholarship, shared her challenges of leaving her mother in the Dominican Republic and coming to NYC to live with her father, whom she barely knew. She credits the staff at Luperon for her academic successes as they supported her both academically and personally as she learned the English language and mastered high school level academic content. Her goal is to work hard and eventually bring her mother to the U.S.
The panelists provided a holistic and multi-perspective window into the ways Luperon High School succeeds with Dominican youth, a matter of critical importance given the high drop-out rates among Latinos in New York City schools. The event was both educational and inspirational for those who attended.
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Websites of Interest
 
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eSchool News identified several interesting educational web sites including:
www.artsonia.com Visit this site and watch the video to see how it works. It will store your students' (or your childrens') artwork and keep it online for parents or the world to see. Users are also invited to
view millions of pieces of students' showcased artwork and to submit student artwork and/or lesson plans.
www.mangahigh.com is a free games-based math teaching resource from our friends across the pond. Is it really free? Is it really good? We would welcome comments from math teachers who check it out. Write to normanccny@aol.com and tell us what you think.
www.youtube.com/education Although there are lots of educational videos on YouTube, there are also many inappropriate videos for students; the reason many schools block access to YouTube from their networks. According to eSchool News this is why YouTube created a special section for schools, filled with age-appropriate educational content. YouTube for Schools at http://www.youtube.com/schools "gives users access to the hundreds of thousands of educational videos, includes short lessons from top teachers around the world, full courses from the world's best universities, professional development from fellow educators, and inspiring videos from thought leaders".
"Educators also can customize the content that is available from the site. Though all schools receive access to all of the content on YouTube EDU, teachers and administrators can log in to YouTube.com and create playlists of videos that will be available at their school".
"School teachers and administrators can log in and watch any video, but students cannot log in and can only watch YouTube EDU videos and videos their school has added. All comments and related videos are disabled, and search is limited to YouTube EDU videos".
YouTube also has created a page for teachers, YouTube.com/Teachers, to help them learn to use the site as a powerful educational tool. See also http://www.eschoolnews.com/2011/12/14/youtube-launches-a-section-just-for-schools/
http://www.goorulearning.org "Gooru is a free platform for students and teachers to access standards-based online resources in organized "playlists" for learning. Created by a Google employee, it's run by a nonprofit group called Ednovo. Students can access "ClassBooks"-collections of textbooks, videos, and assessments-on any topic, and they can interact with their peers and teachers while studying. Teachers can search for standards-aligned web resources organized into "ClassPlans," which they can customize and share with the larger community. In short, educators can use the site to search and teach, while students can use it to search and study; the website's tagline is "learning is social."
http://education.usgs.gov/ Free resources from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) help teachers and students explore different lessons and topics. Students can watch videos and animations, access online lectures, find maps and images, connect via social media, and learn about topics such as water science and climate change. The site offers resources for primary, secondary, and undergraduate levels. BioData, a new website from the USGS, provides access to aquatic biological community and physical habitat data collected from stream ecosystems across the nation. Users can read an overview of the website and watch a 7-minute video about how scientists study stream ecology
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http://new.schoolnotes.com and http://www.educationworld.com/ merged in 2006- joining two of the most powerful educator sites on the Internet. Education World has one of the most extensive collections of original, practical educator content (lesson plans, professional development articles, tips for classroom management and for integrating technology into teaching) and SchoolNotes has one of the most widely used and (they claim) easiest to use school-to-home communication pieces of software.
- http://www.eschoolnews.com/current-issue/?pagenumber=107 1,400 Readers' of eSchool News top picks for school hardware, software, websites and services. See the 50 best resources which appear alphabetically by product name grouped in two categories k-12 and Higher Ed.
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http://schoolfundingcenter.net/ Their database contains every grant available to every school in the U.S. "If your school really needs money, you need to subscribe to our school grant database. It contains every federal, state, foundation, and corporate grant available. We update it every day to provide you the freshest links and the most current information possible. We now offer more than 125,000 school grants worth over $12 billion dollars. Sorry, but the grants in our database are for schools, not individuals seeking financial aid for private schools or college." Note that there is a fee to subscribe.
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Some School of Education Faculty Developed Resource Sites are http://www.schoollink.org/twin/ Dr. Sheila Gersh, formerly at City College's Center for School Development and currently at Mercy College (sgersh@mercy.edu) has collected resources in education for many years. Her portal has been used by many.
http://www.ccny.cuny.edu/education/techresources/ POST IT/ADD IT was created when the Center for School Development at the School of Education worked with CSD #6 on a grant funded project. After the grant ended the site was no longer maintained. We show this to you and invite you to use the site. If you find a link no longer working, please let us know and we will remove it or change the address. We would appreciate any links you can add and we will put your additions up. This is the way that the site was supposed to work in the first place. Send any changes to normanccny@aol.com . Maybe we can revive this site.
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Articles of Interest
This section provides links to some ideas, issues and practices in current educational publications. Keeping in mind how busy our readers are, nearly all of the articles are generally no more than one to three pages long.
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Education is also doing. An article in The Economist describes a new model for Harvard Business School that is being tested. "Young mums shopping in the Copley Mall in downtown Boston last month found themselves being questioned about their use of soap by students from Harvard Business School. The students were not doing odd jobs to earn beer money. They were preparing to help a firm in Brazil launch an antibacterial cleanser. Fieldwork - ie, going out and talking to people-is a big change for HBS. Its students used to sit in a classroom and discuss case studies written by professors. Now they may also work in a developing country and launch a start-up. "Learning by doing" will become the norm, if a radical overhaul of the MBA curriculum succeeds". Read more at www.economist.com/node/21541045. So what are the implications of this program for teacher education at City College and elsewhere?
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Go to Public Education Network's (PEN) Weekly Newsblast at http://www.publiceducation.org/newsblast_current.asp and get the January 6th issue. There are several short items of interest.
First, "Prep For Success", is about reform in teacher education and includes the idea that "The reforms(in teacher education) must also give teachers opportunities for continuous professional development. Successful teacher preparation programs facilitate mentoring relationships with veteran teachers during student teaching, and encourage ongoing professional development opportunities for graduates". See also http://tinyurl.com/798t7df.
Another item "This is the way we do it here" is taken from an article in New York magazine, Robert Kolker looks at the upheaval and exodus of teachers from the Bronx School of Science over the past ten years that Valerie Reidy has been principal". See http://nymag.com/news/features/bronx-high-school-of-science-2011-12/.
The next PEN item looks at The National Education Policy Center's recent report which "reviews high-quality empirical evidence from the last several years on the test score effects of three approaches to modifying the organization of schools: (1) starting schools later in the morning, (2) favoring K-8 grade configuration instead of junior high or middle school configurations, and (3) increasing teacher specialization by grade and subject". To learn what they found see http://nepc.colorado.edu/thinktank/review-organizing-schools.
Finally, "New York State's education commissioner has threatened to withhold tens of millions of dollars in federal grants to struggling schools in New York City and nine other districts statewide if they do not prove that they will carry out new evaluation systems for teachers and principals". http://tinyurl.com/84223zj
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Many More Children in Poverty from the Great Recession. From an Education Week Blog we find that The "Great Recession" and its aftermath "have taken a severe toll on the nation's children, with poverty rates among young people having increased in each of the last four years and likely to continue to climb in the near term, a recent report shows. The nation's child poverty rate rose from 18 percent to 22 percent from 2007 to 2010, according the report from the Brookings Institution at http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2011/1220_children_wellbeing_isaacs.aspx
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Teacher Evaluations. Once-a-year evaluations aren't enough to help teachers improve, says a report by the Gates Foundation at http://www.metproject.org/. School districts using infrequent classroom observations to decide who are their best-and their worst-teachers could be making some big mistakes, according to the second part of a multi-year study from the foundation. The most common teacher evaluation method used by school districts today-a single classroom observation once every few years has only a 33 percent chance of resulting in an accurate assessment of a teacher, the researchers found after nationwide experiments involving thousands of teachers. Good teacher evaluations require multiple nuanced observations by trained evaluators. Those results should be combined with other measures, such as student test scores and classroom surveys, to gather enough information to both evaluate teachers and help them improve.
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Wisdom from Alfie Kohn. Read Nicole Van Gasse's short review of progressive educator Alfie Kohn's twelfth book "Feel Bad Education". It is a quick read and will motivate you to get and read the book itself. She concludes the review by saying "Feel Bad Education opens our eyes to the reality of our current school system and the unfortunate consequences of many of the current practices we are using each day. This is a must read book for anyone who is involved in education... It allows education professionals to question their current practices and beliefs and make a clear decision about what they are doing to make a safe and challenging school environment for children". http://www.edrev.info/reviews/rev1136.pdf
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Schools in Finland. "When it comes to the lessons that Finnish schools offer, American discussions seem to be missing the point", writes Anu Partanen in The Atlantic magazine. "A key, overlooked facet of Finland's education system is that there are no private schools. A small number of independent schools exist in the country, but these are publicly financed and do not charge tuition. Finland has no private universities, so practically every Finn attends public school, pre-K to Ph.D. Finland also has no standardized tests except the National Matriculation Exam, which everyone takes at the end of a voluntary upper-secondary school, Finland's rough equivalent to high school". Read more at http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/12/what-americans-keep-ignoring-about-finlands-school-success/250564/. If the url given is not displayed go to http://www.theatlantic.com/ and in the search box type in "Finland's schools".
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We just got this notice from Edible Schoolyard NYC:
Edible Schoolyard NYC is a nonprofit organization that partners with public schools to build gardens and kitchen classrooms where children can engage in hands-on learning. Edible Schoolyard NYC is currently accepting applications from Title 1 elementary schools in the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island that would like to become the next Edible Schoolyard NYC Showcase School. To learn more about becoming a Showcase School and to download an application, go to www.esynyc.org/becomeashowcaseschool. And if you know of a school that is ripe for an edible education, please forward this information. Applications due at the end of February.
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Sponsor a Student Award or Scholarship
In recognition of the School of Education's 90 years of service to its students, schools and community we invite alumni and retired faculty to consider establishing an award or a scholarship for a School of Education student. The award or scholarship may be in your name or in the name of a loved one. You can imagine how needed, how important and how meaningful these awards and scholarships are to our students and how much encouragement it gives them to continue their careers in education. For further information contact Elena Sturman, Executive Director of The City College Fund at 212-491-2622 or at elena@citycollegefund.org
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Please Note Change: Effective 1/1/12, four issues of CONNECTED will be published each academic year as follows: September/October, November/December, February/March and April/May. |
CONNECTED Committee: Bruce Billig, Doris Grasserbauer, Leonard Lewis, Stacia Pusey, Gareth Williams, Lisa Yu and Norman Shapiro, editor. |
Send your comments on CONNECTED to connected@ccny.cuny.edu
Calendar of Events at City College
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