UW-Madison School of Education Online News - October 2008

Welcome to the UW–Madison School of Education Online News, a monthly update on School and campus news and resources.  If you do not wish to receive this publication, you may opt out by following the directions at the end.  If this page is not displaying properly, please visit the web version:

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Kendall Pursues Her Cause in Africa

“My sisters and I grew up feeling that the way to make our lives meaningful was to make a life where you work in service to others,” says Nancy Kendall, assistant professor of educational policy studies.  That service commitment spurred Kendall to take her family – including 3-month-old Gabriel – to Mozambique, where she will spend the year conducting research that aims to improve the lives of schoolchildren affected by HIV/AIDS. Read more.

Comparing Job Content: Teachers and Similar Occupations

Teacher salaries have historically been modest – nobody goes into teaching to get rich.  But exactly how do K–12 teacher salaries compare with those of similar occupations? WCER researcher Tony Milanowski recently mined the Department of Labor’s database of information on more than 1,100 occupations in order to identify those that most closely resemble teaching in skills and work activities, and to determine how salaries for those occupations compare to teacher salaries. Check it out.

K–12 Students Respond to Solidarity in Community

Recent efforts to close the achievement gap between African American and White students have often produced disappointing results.  But some classrooms are quite successful in helping young students succeed.  How do they do it?  According to researcher Jeffrey Lewis and colleagues at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, the key seems to be “solidarity in community” – a phrase that refers to the collective classroom characteristics, teaching practices, and disciplinary practices that promote positive school outcomes for African American children. Learn more.

Educators Share Their Strategies for Doubling Student Performance

Successful school leaders from across the country met in Madison this summer to share their strategies for doubling student performance in K–12 schools.  They participated in the 2008 Wisconsin Idea Leadership Conference, sponsored by the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis (ELPA), and their PowerPoint presentations are now available on the ELPA website. Find out the details.

Virtual Technology Can Ease Adolescents' Transition to Life on Campus

College students have moved way beyond email these days, especially when communicating with each other and exploring new relationships.  And for first-year students, new technologies such as social websites can ease the transition from high school to campus life.  Professor Brad Brown and graduate student Chia-Chen Yang, Department of Educational Psychology, discuss their research on this topic in the feature article on the department’s recently redesigned website. Read more.

OT Newsletter Is Available Online

The fall issue of “Occupational Therapy Update” is now available online as a PDF file, with news about faculty research, students’ service activities, community collaborations, plans to renovate an assistive technology lab, and much more. Open the PDF file.

CCBC Brings Judy Blume to Campus: Oct. 15

Lovers of Superfudge, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and all the other classic Judy Blume books will want to mark their calendars for Oct. 15, when Blume will deliver the 2008 Charlotte Zolotow Lecture at 7:30 p.m. at the Wisconsin Union Theater.  The event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required and may be picked up at the Memorial Union box office.  Blume’s talk, which is part of the Wisconsin Book Festival, is sponsored  by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC). Learn more about the event.

UW Campus Welcomes Chancellor Martin: Oct. 23

The public is invited to “On Wisconsin! A Great University and Its Friends Welcome Chancellor Martin,” on Oct. 23, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Kohl Center.  The celebration will feature Chancellor Carolyn “Biddy” Martin’s first public address about university priorities and the UW’s future.  Doors open at 3:30 for food, music and celebration; Chancellor Martin’s address is expected to begin at 4:30 p.m.  Questions?  Contact the Wisconsin Alumni Association at chancellorwelcome@uwalumni.com or (888) WIS-ALUM.

Art Day for High School & Transfer Students:  Nov. 1

The UW–Madison Art Department will hold its 2nd Annual ART DAY: High School & Transfer Student Invitational on November 1. During this open-house event, students, parents, and teachers are welcome to visit the department anytime from noon until 3:00 p.m. Current UW–Madison students who are interested in investigating the art major are also encouraged to visit during this time. Find out more information.

WISCAPE Invites Public to Forums on Issues in Higher Education

The Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education (WISCAPE) offers a full schedule of public forums this fall, including “Recognizing Commitment to Community: UW–Madison and Carnegie’s Engagement Classification,” “Characteristics of Successful Leaders in Higher Education,” and “Beneficent Beauty: Refining the UW-Madison Campus,” among others. Get the details.

School Calendar Highlights Upcoming Events

The Dance Program’s Friday Forums, the Art Department’s Tuesday Talks, a performance by Jin-Wen Yu Dance, the 4th Annual Integrated Spoken Word Series, the 2nd Annual UW–Madison Collegiate Slam Semi Finals  – details about all these and more can be found on the School’s web calendar. Check out more events.

WebGem:  UW–Madison Payback Calculator

Just launched by UW–Madison, this website gives perspective and current students, along with their families and high school counselors, some answers related to the financial investment in a university degree.  The site combines information the user supplies with data from Census Bureau research to give a personalized answer to the question:  How much better off financially are you likely to be if you graduate college, as opposed to just high school? Calculate your payback.

Kudos to Faculty and Staff

• Ruth Benedict (Assoc. Professor, Kinesiology/Occupational Therapy) received a two-year grant from the Cerebral Palsy International Research Foundation to conduct a pilot study of the use of the Intrathecal Baclofen Pump for the management of spasticity and dystonia in children and young adults.

• Mark Connolly (WCER Researcher and Evaluator and WISCAPE Staff Affiliate) has received a five-year $1.7 million grant from the National Science Foundation for a project titled “A Longitudinal Study of Future Faculty.”

• Dane Cook (Asst. Professor, Kinesiology) recently received a four-year grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs to study chronic pain in veterans returning from the Gulf War.

• Steven Driscoll Hixson (Asst. Professor, Art) won a Silver Design Award in the 2008 Create Awards Competition for environmental graphics. 

• Susan Millar (Senior Scientist, WCER), Matthew Hora (Associate Researcher, WCER), and Chuck Kalish (Professor, Educational Psychology) have been awarded a three-year $797,747 grant from the National Science Foundation entitled “Culture, Cognition, and Evaluation of STEM Higher Education Reform: A Mixed-Methods Longitudinal Study.”

• Christine Olgren (Outreach Manager, Distance Education Professional Development) received the 2008 Wedemeyer Award for Outstanding Practitioner in Distance Education.

Next Issue

The next issue of the School of Education Online News will be delivered in November.

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