**************************************************
UW-Madison School of Education Online News - February 2008
**************************************************

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

IN THIS ISSUE: February 2008

• Kinesiology Professor Offers Summer Study Program in China

• ELPA Focuses on Putting Research into Hands of Practitioners

• Education Professor Urges Parents: Don’t Delay School Entry

• Researchers Aim to Identify and Improve Teacher Quality

• CIRTL Offers Diversity Resource Book Online

• Transitioning Students with Disabilities from Middle to High School

• Visiting-Artist Lecture Series Brightens Spring Semester

• Campus: Summer Timetable Is Now Online

• Spring Student Dance Concert: Feb. 21-23

• Workshop Encourages Teachers to Think like Historians: Mar. 4

• School’s Calendar Highlights Upcoming Events

• Faculty & Staff Distinguished Achievement Award Nominations Due Feb. 26

KINESIOLOGY PROFESSOR OFFERS SUMMER STUDY PROGRAM IN CHINA
“An amazing experience,” says a past participant in Professor Li Li Ji’s summer program in China. Ji will again lead a two-week trip to China, May 27 to June 9, with the focus this summer on “Health, Medicine, and Physical Activity: A Chinese Tradition.” The program features lectures at selective Chinese universities and visits to three major cities, and is open to graduate and undergraduate students, faculty and staff, and K-12 educators. Application deadline is Feb. 15.
Get the details

ELPA FOCUSES ON PUTTING RESEARCH INTO HANDS OF PRACTITIONERS
Educational researchers at UW-Madison and elsewhere have been closely examining successful schools that have increased student performance and closed achievement gaps. The Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis (ELPA) is putting that research to good use via two initiatives: a summer conference for practitioners that presents the latest research and showcases successful schools, and a new cohort approach to ELPA’s existing Ph.D. program that’s designed to prepare educational leaders to dramatically improve public schools.
Read more

EDUCATION PROFESSOR URGES PARENTS: DON’T DELAY SCHOOL ENTRY
Many parents have reservations about whether their son or daughter is ready for kindergarten, wrestling with doubts about their child’s social, emotional or academic readiness. For those considering delaying a child’s entry into kindergarten for another year, Professor Beth Graue has simple advice: Don’t.
Read more

RESEARCHERS AIM TO IDENTIFY AND IMPROVE TEACHER QUALITY
Researchers in the Teacher Quality Research (TQR) partnership between Florida State University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison are examining the characteristics and training of effective teachers, with the aim of developing policies to improve K-12 teaching. To that end, TQR has begun to disseminate its research results via a series of online publications that include “The ‘Policy Validity’ of Teacher Quality Measures” and “Teacher Training, Teacher Quality and Student Achievement,” among others.
Read more

CIRTL OFFERS DIVERSITY RESOURCE BOOK ONLINE
Reaching All Students: A Resource Book for Teaching in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) contains a wealth of articles for instructors in STEM fields. The bulk of the articles are collected or adapted from teacher education materials from universities across the U.S. The Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL), which is housed at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, developed the resource, now available as a free PDF download.
Get the details

TRANSITIONING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES FROM MIDDLE TO HIGH SCHOOL
In a recent article in Teaching Exceptional Children, James Frasier describes collaborative efforts at a Los Angeles high school that have helped students with disabilities transition from middle school to high school. Frasier is a researcher at the School’s Center on Education and Work.
Read the article

VISITING-ARTIST LECTURE SERIES BRIGHTENS SPRING SEMESTER
Conceptual-installation artist J. Morgan Puett, painter Cristi Rinklin, and sculptor Andrew Mowbray are among the professional artists traveling to campus this semester to participate in the Art Department’s visiting-artist program. A highlight of the program is the visiting-artist lecture series, which offers presentations nearly every Tuesday throughout the semester, from 5:40 to 6:30 p.m. in Room 204 of the Educational Sciences Building. All are free and open to the public and are listed on the Art Department’s calendar of events.
Check out the calendar

Read an article about the lecture series

CAMPUS: SUMMER TIMETABLE IS NOW ONLINE
If you’ve been thinking about taking classes at UW-Madison this summer (which, of course, requires considerable study time on the Union Terrace), now is the time to get serious – the University just released online its summer timetable.
Check it out

SPRING STUDENT DANCE CONCERT: FEB. 21-23
This student showcase offers a variety of new and original works performed and choreographed by Dance Program students. Concerts begin at 8:00 p.m. in the Margaret H’Doubler Performance Space in Lathrop Hall. Ticket information is available online.
Read more

WORKSHOP ENCOURAGES TEACHERS TO THINK LIKE HISTORIANS: MAR. 4
Teachers seeking to rejuvenate their history curriculum and reinvigorate student learning are encouraged to register online for the seventh annual Wisconsin Treasures workshop, “Thinking like a Historian.”  The all-day workshop will be held at the Memorial Union on campus and is co-sponsored by the School’s Office of Education Outreach.
Get the details

ONLINE MASTER’S PROGRAM TAKING REGISTRATIONS NOW FOR SUMMER COHORT
K-12 professionals who are interested in joining the next cohort of the Master of Science for Professional Educator’s program (MSPE) are encouraged to register as soon as possible.  MSPE combines online coursework with brief on-campus summer sessions, giving teachers the flexibility they need to complete a high-quality advanced degree while continuing their teaching.
Get the details

SCHOOL’S CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS UPCOMING EVENTS
As always, there’s more happening in the School than the online news can describe individually. Upcoming events, for example, include the CCBC spring book sale, the Third Annual Conference on Interdisciplinarity, WISCAPE forums on issues in higher education, a series of Spoken Word & Hip Hop Open Mic programs, and much more.
Check out the events calendar

FACULTY & STAFF DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD NOMINATIONS DUE FEB. 26
Here’s an opportunity to recognize that extraordinary colleague who regularly goes above and beyond the call of duty. Nominations for the School of Education Distinguished Achievement Awards for faculty and staff are due Feb. 26. Guidelines and a list of past recipients are available online.
Get the details

If you would like to subscribe to this listserv, CLICK HERE.

WE WELCOME YOUR FEEDBACK
Thank you for reading the SoE Online News. If you would like to comment on this service, please send a message to: soeonline@education.wisc.edu.