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UW-Madison School of Education Online News - February 2007
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Welcome to the UW-Madison School of Education Online News, a monthly update on School and campus news and resources.

IN THIS ISSUE: February 2007

• Assessing English Language Learners
• Using Data-Driven Instructional Systems to Meet NCLB Goals
• CCBC Librarian Discusses ALA’s 2007 Award-Winning Books
• Spoken Word and Hip-Hop Series Sure to Energize the Campus
• Kinesiology Website Showcases Research
• Faculty Artists Awarded Baldwin Endowment
• School’s Data Digest Is Now Online
• UW-Madison Summer Timetable Is Now Online
• WISCAPE Announces Spring Semester Events
• Art Department CAA Reception in New York City - February 15
• Social Justice Conference - March 9-10
• School’s Events Calendar Foretells a Busy Spring Semester
• Academy to Focus on Doubling Student Performance - July 8-12
• Webgem: What is Sculpture? See for Yourself!
• Kudos to . . .

ASSESSING ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS
By the year 2010, more than 30 percent of all school-age children are likely to come from homes in which the primary language is not English. While the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires states to identify and test all English language learners, most commercially available tests do not meet NCLB’s stringent requirements. Help is on the way, thanks to the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment Consortium, housed in the Wisconsin Center for Education Research. The consortium’s five English language proficiency standards and more than 800 model performance indicators provide educators with the means to gauge students’ language proficiencies and determine how to challenge them to reach the next levels.
Read more

USING DATA-DRIVEN INSTRUCTIONAL SYSTEMS TO MEET NCLB GOALS
Meeting adequate yearly progress goals as delineated by the No Child Left Behind Act is forcing school leaders to use data to improve teaching and learning in their schools. A recent study by Richard Halverson and colleagues in the Wisconsin Center for Education Research has found that school leaders are turning to student-service staff – school psychologists, Title I teachers, special educators, and social workers – as local experts in analyzing and using data to meet the demands of high-stakes accountability. (Select “Resources” on the website - Halverson’s study is the first listed under “Working Papers.”)
Read more

CCBC LIBRARIAN DISCUSSES ALA’S 2007 AWARD-WINNING BOOKS
Pour yourself a cup of tea, settle into a comfy chair at your computer, and enjoy quality time with CCBC librarian Megan Schliesman as she discusses the recently announced American Library Association’s (ALA) 2007 book award winners. Schliesman’s talk, presented by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) for the Four Lakes Distance Education Network, is now available online as an archived video titled “Children and Young Adult Literature, January 24, 2007.”
Check it out

SPOKEN WORD AND HIP-HOP SERIES SURE TO ENERGIZE THE CAMPUS
It’s a safe bet the campus energy level will go up a notch on Saturday, February 24, when renowned spoken word artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph kicks off his arts residency by hosting the Youth Speaks Wisconsin Teen Poetry Finals at the Wisconsin Union Theater, to be followed by his presentation of “An Evening with Marc Bamuthi Joseph.” Bamuthi, an inaugural recipient of the U.S. Artists Rockefeller Fellowship, is serving as an Arts Institute Spring 2007 Artist-in-Residence. Starting February 26, he will host a free public series of weekly events, “Line Breaks: A Lecture and Performance Series on Spoken Word and Hip-Hop Featuring Marc Bamuthi Joseph and Friends,” that will run through April 26.
Get the details

KINESIOLOGY WEBSITE SHOWCASES RESEARCH
That the Department of Kinesiology houses eight research laboratories is good measure of the value it places on research, and studies conducted in those labs promise to improve the quality of life for many people. Among current projects, researchers are exploring the relationship physical activity has to aging, to health problems such as high blood pressure and glucose control, and to pain in cancer survivors. These are just a few of the studies highlighted in the “research” section of the department’s website.
Check it out

FACULTY ARTISTS AWARDED BALDWIN ENDOWMENT
Led by art professor Laurie Beth Clark, a group of faculty artists has received a prestigious 2007 Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment to support a “Native Invasive: Forest Art Wisconsin” project. The artists will work to draw greater attention to Wisconsin’s 16 million acres of forest, as well as some environmental threats to the resource. Partnering with the Department of Natural Resources and others, the project will develop works of art that can be showcased within the forest itself, along some of the heavily used trails on public land.
Read the news article

SCHOOL’S DATA DIGEST IS NOW ONLINE
For the number crunchers among us, the School’s Data Digest provides fascinating statistics on students (enrollment trends, degrees conferred, etc.), instruction (credit production by department), faculty and staff, finance, and extramural funding. Kudos to the School’s Business Office for pulling it all together.
Check it out

UW-MADISON SUMMER TIMETABLE IS NOW ONLINE
February can be a trying month for those of us in chillier climes, so reminders of summer are always welcome. UW’s online summer timetable conjures up images of a sun-drenched Union Terrace, as well as stimulating classroom discussions, of course. If you’re thinking of taking classes this summer, now’s the time to make those plans.
Check out the timetable

WISCAPE ANNOUNCES SPRING SEMESTER EVENTS
The Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education (WISCAPE) has planned a spring semester of stimulating public forums, seminars, and other programs. Among the topics of upcoming presentations are “Low-Income Student Access at UW-Madison and Beyond: Problems and Solutions,” “The Expected Economic Returns of a UW-Madison Undergraduate Degree,” and “Creating a Shared Vision: The Future of the UW Colleges and UW-Extension.” A full schedule is available on the WISCAPE calendar.
Check it out

ART DEPARTMENT CAA RECEPTION IN NEW YORK CITY - FEBRUARY 15
Art faculty invite alumni and friends of the UW Art Department to join them for a reception during the 95th Annual College Art Association (CAA) Conference in New York City. The reception will be held Thursday, February 15, 5:30–7 p.m. at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers (Riverside Ballroom), 811 Seventh Avenue. RSVPs are not needed.
Read more

SOCIAL JUSTICE CONFERENCE - MARCH 9-10
“Building the City upon the Hill: Working with the Modern Immigrant” is the theme of the 2007 Social Justice Conference sponsored by the Department of Counseling Psychology. The conference will explore the many ways that social science professionals and educators can transform their practices to make the benefits of our nation and culture more accessible to recent immigrants. The featured speaker is Christine Yeh, associate professor of psychology and education at Teachers College, Columbia University.
Get the details

SCHOOL’S EVENTS CALENDAR FORETELLS A BUSY SPRING SEMESTER
What a great problem to have – there’s simply too much going on in the School of Education this semester to highlight each event individually in the monthly Online News. From art and dance presentations to higher-education forums to continuing-education opportunities, there’s a flurry of activity in the School. If you’re from the surrounding area, we urge you to frequently check the School’s online calendar, which lists events about six weeks out.
Check it out

ACADEMY TO FOCUS ON DOUBLING STUDENT PERFORMANCE - JULY 8-12
It’s not too early to make plans to attend this premier gathering of education leaders. The Wisconsin Idea Leadership Academy will feature in-depth presentations by leaders of 10 schools and districts from around the country that have doubled student performance on state tests over the past five to seven years and, in the process, closed the achievement gap. Kati Haycock, founder and president of Education Trust, will give the keynote address, and members of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, the academy’s sponsor, will discuss their research on successful schools. Attendance is limited to 100; teams are encouraged.
Get the details

WEBGEM: WHAT IS SCULPTURE? SEE FOR YOURSELF!
The Saint Louis Art Museum and Laumeier Sculpture Park co-sponsor this website which provides interactive learning experiences about sculpture and an introduction to selected works of art from the two institutions. The website includes a teacher’s guide developed for grades 5-8 and an online student sculpture gallery.
Check it out

KUDOS TO . . .

• Director Willie Ney and the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives, which has received a North American Association of Summer Sessions Creative and Innovative Program Award for its summer institute, “The Art and Science of Using Spoken Word and Hip-Hop in the Classroom and Community.”
• Jacqueline DeWalt, who has been named director of the School’s Pre-College Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence (PEOPLE).
• Amy Feiker, RPSE doctoral student, who has been awarded a 2006 Teaching Assistant Award by the campus-wide TA Award Committee.

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