NEWSVolume 1, Issue 1Spring 2016

Another Successful Partnership

What started as a quiet sabbatical for Professor Christine M. Imbra during spring semester 2010, has evolved into an exciting, international exchange of students, administrators and faculty members between St. Cloud State University and the University of Macerata (UNIMC), Italy.

Imbra, the Higher Education Administration (HIED) program, and the School of Education hosted a group of seven UNIMC administrators and students from Oct. 4-Oct. 11. During their time on campus, the five doctoral students and two administrators participated in a variety of events and activities.

Six members of the group participated in 20-hour internships at six different St. Cloud State offices: the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, First Year and Transitions Program, the LGBT Resources Center, Disability Services, Career Services and Huskies Athletics.

The two UNIMC administrators presented a lecture for the School of Education, toured several St. Cloud businesses and participated in meetings on campus with a variety of individuals and groups.

As a sign of their appreciation for SCSU’s generosity, warm welcome, and hospitality, the Italian group thanked everyone involved in their visit by providing an authentic, home-cooked, Italian meal before they said their goodbyes and parted ways.

In May, Imbra will bring a St. Cloud State delegation to UNIMC, including 10 graduate and doctoral students.

Expansion of the partnership is currently being planned. Currently in discussion is long-term student exchanges and internships, and business exchanges.

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University of Macerata, Italy, delegates visit St. Cloud State.

MakerSpace movement lands at Curriculum and Technology CenterThe Vera W. Russell Curriculum and Technology Center is moving into an exciting phase of content creation for faculty and students.

Under the guidance of graduate assistant Tiffany Miley and the center’s coordinator and information media faculty Marcia Thompson, the makerspace movement has come to the Discovery Lab (formerly the Instructional Technology Discovery Lab) adjacent to the main Curriculum and Technology Center.

During the first months of fall semester, research and exploration on the makerspace world was done. The real fun began in late November with a shopping trip to the local Barnes & Noble to find hands-on resources for this DIY space for gathering, creating, inventing and learning.

In the store, Ozobots, Spheros, littleBits, Makey Makey kits, Arduino, educational games and other resources took on a real identity and created the dilemma: Where to begin? Careful stewardship of the Vera Russell funds and an educational discount offered by Barnes & Noble led to the purchase

http://scsu.mn/1Ks9yys

Read more about the Italian delegations experiences at St. Cloud State:

2 St. Cloud State University / School of Education

of “starter resources” including a Sphero SPRK, two Ozobots, a littleBits Arduino coding kit, an Extraordinaires Design Studio kit, Brain Fitness games and books to inspire creativity, such as “What Do You Do With an Idea” by Kobi Yamada. These resources were piloted by students in Mert Thompson’s Information, Technology and Learning for K-12/5-12 class (IM 422) in early December.

The Discovery Lab is now up and fully functioning, with the mission of promoting exploration and creativity in teaching and learning. More resources will be acquired, including a 3D printer, as well as traditional paper, pencil and fabric supplies.

Stop by to see what is happening in the Education Building room A126. If you can’t stop by in person, follow the Curriculum and Technology Center on Facebook: http://scsu.mn/1TsVbwz.

Co-teaching is ‘A Better Model for Student Teaching’Nancy Bacharach and Teresa Washut Heck, co-directors of The Academy for Co-Teaching and Collaboration, were published nationally in the December 2015 issue of EL (Educational Leadership), volume 73, number 4.

The multipage article “A Better Model for Student Teaching” dives into the art of co-teaching in the classroom. Simply put, co-teaching avoids the “dump and run” or “sink or swim” strategy that so many universities had implemented on student teachers.

With more than 15 years of exploration and development at their disposal, Bacharach and Washut Heck reshaped that solidified, antiquated model into an exciting, helpful collaboration between the experienced educator and the hopeful beginner.

“Co-teaching is one of the first national movements that has happened in the country in over 100 years,” Washut Heck said. Just sit with her for 5 minutes and her excitement about the topic will rub off on you. And she has a right to be excited about it, because she’s right.

Co-teaching has its roots with special education. Because of the unique requirements for those particular classrooms, student teachers and seasoned instructors often worked together during the school

year to avoid burnout and enhance the experience. That effective classroom partnership became the source for Bacharach and Washut Heck’s inquiry, and their decade-long culmination of data that put St. Cloud State University on the map as the birthplace of the co-teaching model for the country.

The gears of change are slow in the educational field. We want to see the results before we commit. Well, Bacharach and Washut Heck have the results, and 43 states have heard the news, have seen St. Cloud State’s national awards about the subject, and have implemented the strategy. What began in 2003 as a research partnership with the St. Cloud School District and a $5 million grant exploded into a head-turning practice. Bacharach and Washut Heck can proudly claim the rights to co-teaching strategies like 1-teacher-1-observer, 1-teacher-1-assisant, station teaching and parallel teaching.

The study is over. The results are wonderful. But these two aren’t done yet. Besides presenting at national conferences around the country and publishing research for prestigious magazines, Bacharach and Washut Heck are in the process of creating a co-teaching train-the-trainer model for districts and faculties.

When they’re not focused on changing the world of student teaching, you can find Washut Heck with a bird-watching book and Bacharach, well, she’s retired. She’ll be in Florida this winter if you need her.

Nancy Bacharach

Teresa Washut Heck

http://www.stcloudstate.edu/soe/coteaching

Find more information about The Academy for Co-Teaching and Collaboration:

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St. Cloud State University / School of Education 3

Dean Steve Hoover

Welcome to the first issue of the School of Education Newsletter!

The School of Education is waving goodbye to a dear friend. After 12 years of dedication and service, Kathy Dahlberg, director of assessment and accreditation for the School of Education, is hanging her hat and passing the torch.

Dahlberg grew up in Rochester and got her undergrad here at St. Cloud State, but she hasn’t always lived in Minnesota.

After graduating with a degree in social work, she took a position with a juvenile detention center in Colorado. Dahlberg blossomed in her career, got married and had twins. But home has a way of calling us back.

After 20 years in Colorado, she moved back to St. Cloud as a grant writer with Catholic Charities. She followed that by taking her seasoned grant writing abilities to School District 742. Her writing abilities earned the district a whopping $20 million over 5 years. Through working at District 742, Kathy also collaborated with St. Cloud State.

One of the School of Education partnerships she’s most fond of is the co-teaching program, funded by the Teacher Quality Enhancement grant. That grant opened new doors for Dahlberg. The grant allowed for a data collection specialist positon to open at St. Cloud State so Kathy applied, and got the job.

She stayed in that positon for five years, but the itch for something different needed to be scratched, so she transferred to a role with Special Projects and Applied Research division at the University.

2010 was a year of change for Kathy. After reorganization in the School of Education, Dahlberg was reassigned from Special Projects to Student Services, where she carried out her responsibilities until fall 2015.

Instead of retiring, she’s moving forward with her with her dreams and ambitions.

Kathy has never settled. She’s ambitious. She studied in Spain and spent part of her master’s program in Poland. She’s been a social worker and a grant writer. She obtained her graduate degree in public administration. The art work on the walls within the School of Education building – you can thank Kathy for that. She was part of a small team that put together a biannual art show which features drawings from kids in the St. Cloud area.

Despite her new position and numerous accomplishments, Kathy is most excited about spending more time with her family. She can’t talk about her twins without smiling. “My family is my hobby,” she said.

People come and go, but the people who are rich in character are the hardest to keep.

Kathy Dahlberg

Kathy Dahlberg’s 12 years of dedication and service

As I reflect on fall 2015 we accomplished a number of significant items. This past summer, the School of Education received one of two grants from the MnSCU System Office to develop and pilot a year-long student teaching model. Faculty and staff in the school came together to work with three of our school district partners – Rocori, Monticello and St. Cloud – to place student teachers in Special Education and Early Childhood in the classroom for a full school year. The students will have the opportunity to student teach this spring 2016 as well as fall 2016.

Upon completion of the pilot, project members will provide feedback to MnSCU and Minnesota Legislature on the future of year-long schooling. Many thanks go out to faculty and staff in Special Education, Early Childhood, Office of Clinical Experiences and Teacher Development who made this happen.

This fall, we had the pleasure of introducing the class of 2019 to the School of Education. As this class graduates they will be the 150th class of teachers we have developed here at St. Cloud State. We are proud of the long tradition we have of producing the finest teachers in the upper Midwest!

As we look forward to an exciting and productive spring, I want to thank Mert Thompson in the Department of Information Media, along with Robert Kaphammer, Aminata Diakite and University Communications for bringing this first newsletter to press.

Best,Steve

“We are very sad to see Kathy go as she has made significant contributions to our assessment and accreditation efforts. Kathy was instrumental in insuring our successful NCATE/CAEP accreditation outcome this past year. The School of Education will miss you.”

- Dean Steve Hoover

720 4th Avenue SouthSt. Cloud, Minnesota 56301-4498

St. Cloud State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, creed, religion, age, national origin, disability, marital status, status with regards to public assistance, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or status as a U.S. veteran. The Title IX coordinator at SCSU is Ellyn Bartges. For additional information, contact the Office of Equity & Affirmative Action, (320) 308-5123, Admin. Services Bldg. Rm 102.

Looking forward to our 150th anniversaryA modest beginning

Founded in 1869, St Cloud State University was the third normal school in the state of Minnesota. In its first year it was a modest campus of fifty-three students training to become teachers.

Over the years, the campus has grown to become among the largest public universities in Minnesota, going from fifty-three students to about 9,000 students in 1969 and more than 15,000 students in 2015.

The changes

This phenomenal growth was due to the addition of new majors, the extension from a two-year college to a four-year university and the introduction of new master’s and eventually applied doctorate programs.

For instance, in the summer of 1953 a graduate program leading to the degree Master of Science in Education was initiated. Authority to offer this program was granted by the 1953 Legislature of the State of Minnesota with the whole-hearted and active support of the teachers of the state represented by their professional organization, the Minnesota Education Association. Similar programs were initiated in other academic areas boosting the University’s growth over the years.

Robert W. Kapfhammer – Writer and editor

Aminata Diakite – Writer

Contributors

Class of 2019

The group of students who have started their four-year program in the fall of 2015 to become teachers will be the 150th group to graduate as teachers from the School of Education. This special

group will graduate in 2019. They will be the product of 150 years of dedication, hard work, and passion in training qualified teachers for the state of Minnesota.