EDUCATION UWYO UW COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
2020 EDITION
NEW LEADERSHIP WILL CONTINUE TO GUIDE THE COLLEGE TOWARDS PREEMINENCE (PAGE 4)
LEARN ABOUT OUR RESPONSE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC (PAGES 10, 18 & 22) NIKKI BALDWIN’S FUTURE VISION FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION (PAGE 14) INTEGRATING TEI INNOVATIONS (PAGE 16)
3 | Evolving with the Times 4 | New Leadership: Same Path to Preeminence 6 | What a Ride! Reflections as a Dean 8 | Student Teaching Goes Global 10 | Skills for the Future of Education 12 | Professional Development Works Best Through Collaboration 14 | A Future Vision: Improving Early Childhood Education in Wyoming 16 | E4 Integration: How TEI is Reshaping Educator Preparation at UW 18 | Making Connections & Finding Solutions 19 | Education Needs More Cowboys 21 | Lenguaje que Abre Puertas: Language that Opens Doors 22 | Being Present: Fostering Relationships and Providing Support Online ON THE COVER: Top left: Associate Dean of Graduate Programs, Jenna Shim; top right: Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs, Andrea Burrows; bottom left: Director of the School of Counseling Leadership Advocacy and Design, Pete Moran; bottom center: Interim College Dean, Leslie Rush; bottom right: Director of the School of Teacher Education, Alan Buss.
Education@UWYO uwyo.edu/education The Magazine for Alumni and Friends of the University of Wyoming College of Education Interim College Dean Leslie Rush Associate Dean, Undergraduate Programs Andrea Burrows Associate Dean, Graduate Programs Jenna Shim Editor Jason Harper Design Michelle Eberle, Emily Edgar, Brittny Wroblewski Photography All photos by Ted Brummond and Kyle Spradley unless otherwise noted. ©2020 by the University of Wyoming College of Education. All rights reserved. Excerpts from this magazine may be reprinted with permission, provided appropriate credit is given to the University of Wyoming and copies of reprinted materials are provided to the editor.
Education@UWYO Dept. 3374 1000 E. University Ave., Laramie, WY 82071 (307) 766-3145 | edmrktng@uwyo.edu The University is committed to equal opportunity for all persons in all facets of the University’s operations. All qualified applicants for employment and educational programs, benefits, and services will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, creed, ancestry, political belief or any other applicable category protected by law and University policy.
Dean’s Update Greetings from the University of Wyoming’s College of Education. As a long-time faculty member and administrator, I was honored and humbled to be asked to serve as interim dean upon the retirement of Ray Reutzel, who had served as Dean from 2015-2020. Read a farewell note from Dean Reutzel on page 6. Interim College Dean, With Dean Reutzel’s retirement at the end of Leslie Rush last June came some significant changes in the administrative leadership of the college. Several experienced faculty members have stepped up to take on the challenge of leading the college through these turbulent times. Learn more about the new members of this high-quality leadership team on page 4. During the ’20-21 academic year, a nationwide search will take place to secure the next dean of the College of Education. Faculty and staff in the College of Education continue their high-quality work to provide top-notch courses and programs, while also conducting cutting-edge research and scholarly endeavors, and providing critical service to the state. Their work cannot be taken lightly, particularly as they are now responding to the needs of the state in the midst of a global pandemic. In this time of great need, the college continues to impact educational institutions across the state to fulfill UW’s mission as a land-grant university. Read more about efforts to provide support to Wyoming teachers as many pivoted to online instruction on page 18. You can also learn how the college has supported the mental health needs of Wyoming’s citizens while also giving our students an authentic experience in tele-mental health counseling on page 22. Gain insight into the critical literacy work completed in Pinedale on page 12. Additionally, find out how faculty members have partnered with state agencies to guide educational policy and to serve Wyoming communities and families on page 14. During these difficult times, the college continues to provide the best quality programs for its students. You can learn about the experience of three students who completed a portion of their student teaching internationally on page 8, our efforts to offer our graduate coursework to any student throughout the world via distance technologies on page 3, and how our educational leadership faculty provided flexibility in their internship program to support their students during the pandemic on page 10. Undergirding the impressive work of the College of Education is the UW Trustees Education Initiative (TEI), which continues to support ongoing improvement in our educator preparation programs and innovation throughout the college. See page 16 for an update on TEI innovations and how they are being integrated into the curriculum in the college and in high schools throughout the state. Of course, the work of the College of Education could not continue without support and partnership from our colleagues in education across the state of Wyoming and beyond. Many of these supporters are past students. Read about two alumni who are making a difference in their communities on page 19. I treasure the opportunity to provide support and leadership to the college in these difficult times, and I value the contributions made for education by our Wyoming educators, as well as the communities, families and individuals of Wyoming.
EVOLVING
WITH THE TIMES
By Jason Harper
The College of Education has always been a leader on campus in finding innovative ways to provide our programs to the far reaches of Wyoming. In the past, the college has offered courses by telephone, by compressed video broadcast to community colleges, and by flying professors to different towns throughout the state. Our methods have evolved with the times but our goal has always been to best serve our students and the state’s education system. “We discovered early on that the prime candidates for our programs are teachers and administrators who are working full time throughout the state. They can’t uproot their lives and move to Laramie for two years to take courses face-toface,” says Director of the School of Counseling, Leadership, Advocacy and Design Pete Moran. “We knew it would be in best service to the state and would support our enrollment goals if we made our programs available online.” Many of our programs started as 100 percent online asynchronous courses that could be taken completely independently. As technology has evolved, the courses have changed into hybrid experiences that give students a richer, more connected experience. Many courses are now offered through a blend of asynchronous online content and scheduled online experiences that happen in real-time. Students gather for these presentations or guest speakers in a virtual environment via Zoom where they can see and interact with each other. Many faculty members even hold Zoom “office hours” to ensure online students get a high level of personal support. Faculty in the College of Education have gone to great lengths to develop these hybrid scenarios to provide opportunities to build enduring relationships with students
around the state. Our students are the best ambassadors and supporters of the college and university because of the personal connection and excellent mentorship they receive. This level of student support and the desire to provide rich online experiences for our students has resulted the Masters in Education program being ranked in the top 100 online Masters in Education programs in the country by U.S. News and World Reports. Intelligent.com has also ranked The Learning, Design and Technology concentration of the Masters in Education 18th on its list of best online masters in online teaching programs in the nation. Excellence doesn’t come at a premium price at UW. Instate students have always enjoyed an excellent return on their investment in their education. Now, thanks to a decision by the UW Board of Trustees in 2018, out-of-state students who take courses online can also take advantage of UW’s low cost, high-quality programs. “The programs that we have made available entirely online are able to take advantage of a reduced tuition rate for out of state students,” says Associate Dean of Graduate Programs Jenna Shim. “This reduces the cost for out-of-state students and makes our programs very competitive — oftentimes our online tuition is lower than in-state tuition for students in other states.” Programs delivered entirely online via various distance technologies have had consistently strong enrollment, which has helped secure the financial sustainability of the college. Most importantly, efforts to increase the access to our graduate programs have helped provide a steady stream of highly qualified educators to meet the demands of the state’s education system. Education@UWYO 2020 Edition • 3
New Leadership
Same Path to Preeminence By Jason Harper
2020 is shaping up to be a noteworthy year for the College of Education. Our students, faculty and staff have had to adapt to tremendous changes to both their education and their lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the midst of global turmoil, our faculty and staff worked to allow for a seamless transition as a new administrative team assumed charge of the college this summer. These changes were brought on by the retirement of College Dean D. Ray Reutzel and Associate Dean and School Director Suzanne Young.
Reutzel and Young served during a time of great change on campus, and although we celebrate their retirement with joy, these two dedicated administrators and educators will be dearly missed by those who have passionately worked alongside them for many years. Both administrators were dedicated and passionate leaders. They helped to hold the college together during severe budget reductions and organizational changes that deteriorated morale and created challenges to funding programs and operations. They sacrificed hours planning how to keep jobs while saving money and downsizing the operations. All of this, while also being tasked with improving the college’s programs to more effectively serve the state and its educational needs. The change in leadership, however, should not be seen as a change in direction, but rather a continued path towards preeminence in educator preparation. Five experienced and dedicated faculty members and administrators with a collective 80 years of experience at UW have assumed the leadership reins of the college this summer. A longtime College of Education faculty member and administrator has been named interim dean of the college. Leslie Rush, who has been at UW since 2002 and previously served as associate dean for Interim College Dean, undergraduate programs and director of the School of Leslie Rush Teacher Education since 2017, assumed responsibility from Reutzel on July 1. “I owe so much to the college and university for the support I have received over the years, and was both honored and humbled when I was requested to serve as interim dean of the College of Education,” says Rush. “My goal over the next year as interim dean is to provide collegial and transparent leadership during these very difficult times, and to ensure that the faculty, staff and students in the College of Education are well positioned for the future.” Joining Rush at the helm of the college are two new associate
4 • Education@UWYO 2020 Edition
New director of the School of Teacher Education, Alan Buss (right) and new director of the School of Counseling, Leadership, Advocacy and Design, Peter Moran (left).
deans, Andrea Burrows and Jenna Shim. Burrows, a faculty member in the School of Teacher Education since 2011 has been selected as associate dean for undergraduate programs. Her four-year term started on Aug. 1. Shim, who has been a committed faculty member since 2009 is serving as associate dean for graduate programs. She will serve in this new capacity for four years, beginning July 1. These two capable and inspired leaders will fill roles previously held by Rush and Young. As associate deans, these women will lead efforts to develop new programs and ensure the college meets the needs of its students as well as the demands of the education and counseling fields. Additionally, these leaders prepare reports to update college rankings and maintain the college’s national accreditation credentials. “I have a long-term vision to both anchor the college in its core mission while propelling the college in new directions,” says Burrows. “I am dedicated to working with all stakeholders in any situation that arises, and I’m committed to achieving as much as possible for the College of Education and the people that make it function well every day.” “In this role I will be committed to fostering the professional and personal growth of all students and fellow colleagues by promoting lifelong and reflective learning and leadership development,” says Shim. “I hope to build upon the work of our previous leadership, to strive for excellence, and to identify and address critical issues related to education in order to build a better future for individuals, our state, our nation and our world.” Professors Alan Buss and Peter Moran took over leadership of the college’s two schools on July 1. These roles were vacated by Rush and Young. Buss will serve as the director of the School of Teacher Education and Moran as the director
of the School of Counseling, Leadership, Advocacy and Design (CLAD). They will both work in this new capacity for four years. School directors, the administrative equivalent of a department head for larger units, assume the day-to-day responsibilities of supporting the faculty and students of each school. These tasks include budgeting, course scheduling, faculty evaluation, tenure and promotion, program improvement and revision, and most importantly, making sure that the college is preparing highly effective educators. “I am happy to serve in this role because I love working with students who want to succeed, with faculty who want to be a force for good in this world, and with fantastic staff and colleagues. It will be an opportunity and challenge to grow, give and serve,” says Buss. “It is a great privilege to serve in this role, and I am pleased to be in a position where I can support our faculty and students, and promote the teaching, research and service mission of the institution,” says Moran. Buss is a UW alumnus with connections dating back to 1995 as a doctoral student and has been a full-time faculty member since 1997. Moran is also a UW graduate who earned B.A. degrees in elementary education and history in 1987. He has been a College of Education faculty member in elementary education since 2001.
New Associate Deans Jenna Shim (left) and Andrea Burrows (right)
Wh at a Ride!
Ray Reutzel leads the College of Education processional during the 2019 Winter Commencement Ceremony. PHOTO BY JASON HARPER
REFLECTIONS AS DEAN 6 • Education@UWYO 2020 Edition
Little did I know when I became dean of the College of Education in 2015 that the state’s moniker was sending me a not-so-subtle warning as I crossed the state line again for the third time that a wild, Steamboat-like, ride was in store. Let’er buck means more to me now than ever! When I took the job, Wyoming was enjoying a strong recovery from the 2008 economic crash and promised both resources and opportunity in spades. The state seemed to be well positioned financially, and the college was ready for some stability stemming from years of administrative turmoil. I was so pleased to be coming back to my alma mater for the final phase of my 40-year career in higher education. It was just the way I had dreamed of ending my career since
Ray Reutzel brings the popcorn cart around the building as a fun surprise for students and faculty. He is joined here by counseling students and faculty. PHOTO BY JASON HARPER
I began teaching at UW in 1980 as a graduate assistant and later as a lecturer. So, to say I was happy to be back at UW was an understatement. The UW Board of Trustees had just passed a forward looking and ambitious resolution to embark on a program to bring the College of Education programs to a level of “preeminence” known as the Trustees Education Initiative (TEI). The Daniels Fund was eyeing a large potential grant to the university to seed this initiative. I, along with two trustees, worked throughout my first summer to write a $5M grant proposal to the Daniels Fund and prepare a presentation to the organization’s board. We were thrilled when their belief in our vision resulted in the college being awarded the seed grant. As I dove into the college budget, I found adequate reserves in both the unrestricted operating and designated operating budgets. I was thrilled that we were so well positioned. Then, an emergency meeting of central administration was called. As I entered the Old Main boardroom, “UW WILL NEVER BE THE SAME,” was written on a white board. That day, we began the wild ride of a $42M budget reduction effort under two presidents. The college suffered a severe loss in faculty and staff positions due to the budget reductions and faced further struggles when the board decided to sweep much of the college reserve funds across campus into a central trustees reserve account. Taken together, this served as a devastating blow to the morale and operational funding of the college. We soldiered through this Herculean task together. We re-organized the college’s four departments into two schools to save administrative overhead costs. My associate deans, Suzie Young and Leslie Rush, continued in those roles and stepped up to take on an additional role as school directors.
I will always love and appreciate these two for their dedication and sacrifice for the greater good during this period of unrelenting change. During this time, I was also asked to serve as executive director of the Trustees Education Initiative, taking on a dual role of my own. Despite the challenges that laid ahead, TEI and the college have achieved remarkable progress in designing and implementing the UWE4 model of educator preparation. Several TEI innovations are already being implemented in the college. These transformational initiatives will help recruit highly qualified teachers into the profession, will provide pre-service teachers with quality experiences throughout their teacher preparation experience to ensure they are ready to enter the profession and allow for continued support for teachers as they progress in their careers. The new curricula in elementary education and new programs ensure the college is responding to and meeting the needs of our state and its students. We are able to deliver many of our programs to every corner of the state and beyond due to efforts to convert our courses to online delivery. This decision also positioned the college to be able to quickly adapt and support others across campus and in the state as classes were moved to online course delivery to slow the spread of COVID-19 in spring 2020. As I leave this final chapter in my career, I would never had dreamed it would be under such strange circumstances, largely due to COVID-19. Despite all of these challenges, I salute my College of Education colleagues and friends as the hardest working, most resilient and wonderful group of people I have ever had the pleasure of working with and serving. My hopes and prayers will always attend the University of Wyoming, the College of Education, and the great people I’ve come to know and love at this great institution. D. Ray Reutzel, Dean College of Education Dean, 2015-2020
IRELAND
Student Teaching Goes Global
AFRICA SOUTH NEW ZEALAND
During the 2020 spring semester, before international travel was restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of University of Wyoming students were deep into the experience of student teaching abroad. UW is a member of the Consortium of Overseas Student Teaching (COST), which allows our pre-service teachers to complete a portion of their student teaching requirement outside of the United States. “Each student teacher has two placements, one in Wyoming or Colorado and one in another country. The student teacher works with both mentor teachers to schedule eight weeks of student teaching over the course of the semester,” says associate professor and UW COST program coordinator, Kate Welsh. “Each placement is a bit different based on the schools, the countries and their respective calendars.” So far, 14 UW students have been able to experience what it is like to teach abroad in countries such as: Australia, Ecuador, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa and Spain. Unfortunately, three students who were set to begin teaching in the program this spring have been unable to teach abroad due to the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic. Two students are currently preparing to participate in the program next fall. Three students who participated in the program last spring shared their experience with us. Learn how their time teaching outside the U.S. has helped to shape their perspective and molded them into better teachers.
8 • Education@UWYO 2020 Edition
KE ISL WAIHE
AND
KNYSNA
LON DON ••• Etta Flock •••
Maria Assumpta Girls National School, Cork, Ireland Junior Infants (4 and 5 years old) The curriculum was much different in Ireland than it is here in the United States. I believe the teachers are given a lot more freedom and trust in their classrooms, so it was a little difficult for me to plan lessons because the requirements and standards were so broad. I believe that my experience teaching abroad has taught be to think more about whole child development than simply meeting the standards. I learned the importance of taking the moment to teach students life lessons and have real discussions about caring for others, rather than teaching the exact planned lesson. It is OK to be flexible and let the discussion lead you in different directions. Some may think that they are not experienced enough to teach abroad; however, at UW you have plenty of opportunities to be in the classroom before entering student teaching. Anytime you go abroad, your eyes are opened to so many things you didn’t even know exist. It is an amazing experience where you are forced to grow individually and as an educator.
••• Autumn DePorter •••
Owairoa Primary School, Howick, Auckland New Zealand Year 2 I enjoyed learning how the primary school operates in comparison to the United States. The experience has made me a better educator because it has allowed me to realize how important classroom management is and how it should be implemented and changed based off the kinds of students you have. Every weekend other COST participants that I met from other universities and I would do a trip. We went to Cape Reinga, which is the northern most point of New Zealand; we went to Pauanui, a gorgeous beach town; and we went to Waiheke island, which is called the island of wine. We went to the beach a lot! The friends that I made through the COST program while in New Zealand have turned into some of my best friends! This experience taught me that I am more independent than I thought, and that I can make friends no matter where in the world I am.
••• Kaitlin McGovern •••
Oakhill School, Knysna, South Africa Grade R (Kindergarten) This experience has shown me that if you put in the effort to build a relationship with your students, you can overcome a lot of other barriers that may present themselves. I spent my first couple of weeks in the classroom devoted to getting to know those kids. I got to know their families, their favorite snacks, their favorite games to play outside, what they did on the weekends, and basically anything and everything about them. I believe that this experience widened my comfort zone. I know as a teacher I will continually have to expand that, and now I know that I am capable of stepping outside of it. I learned that if you just dive right in and trust yourself, the end result is going to be amazing. I also learned that I really like ostrich steak, and I do not have a career as a professional surfer! I felt really supported by UW and Oakhill School in Knysna. I knew that if something went wrong I could get in touch with someone immediately, and I’d be OK. It truly was one of the best decisions I ever made, and I would do it a million times over!
Education@UWYO 2020 Edition • 9
These changes add more flexibility to our programs and make it easier for working teachers to have a really good internship experience. – Margaret Hudson
SKILLS FOR THE
FUTURE OF EDUCATION An internship is a capstone requirement for students in UW’s principal and superintendent certificate programs. The opportunity serves as a bridge between the scholarly work with which students engage during their classes and the practice-based leadership that they will encounter in their careers. The goal of the internship is to equip students with relevant, site-based experiences with the many challenges and opportunities in current leadership roles. During their internship, students are placed in schools and district offices with administrators and work alongside them for a period of time. This allows interns to experience the dayto-day situations a school administrator encounters and gives them an opportunity to apply lessons learned in the classroom to real-life scenarios. “An important part of the internship is when the mentor thinks aloud and helps the intern understand why they are making the decisions they are making and sharing the context and history that helped them arrive at the decision or plan they made,” says UW Principal and Superintendent Internship Coordinator Margaret Hudson. When the COVID-19 pandemic sent schools online, principal and superintendent interns figured out ways to complete many of their requirements virtually. “This experience has challenged everyone to be flexible in a changing landscape. We don’t want to pause the internship, it is a critical part of our program and there are valuable skills to learn in this new environment,” says Assistant Professor and educational leadership degree Program Coordinator Barbara Hickman. Luckily, Hickman and Hudson were able to work with the students and district partners to help find creative solutions to ensure their experiences would be meaningful and productive. Although neither Hickman or Hudson would call the current situation ideal, the new virtual world has helped the interns get different and perhaps more varied experiences than the traditional program. The pandemic has also provided an opportunity for students to learn at the cutting edge while experiencing the challenges of leading and managing different forms of distance learning for K12 systems. “In some ways, these experiences are preparing me for what the future of education might look like — at least the idea that remote learning, Zoom teaching, and online classes will probably become a regular part of our everyday world,” says Amy Kassel, a student
in the program. “In other ways, I feel like I have not had the full experiences of discipline and instructional leadership during my internship because we are dealing with many pandemic issues.” “It is a give and take situation. The interns might not be getting those traditional experiences, but they’re getting to experience something new and different instead,” says Hudson. “For example, online discipline problems arise, and we have an increased amount of attendance related discipline issues to deal with in the virtual school setting.” Using distance technologies has also allowed interns to collaborate with their mentors at any time, increasing their opportunities to learn. For example, an intern is now able to join a district board meeting via Zoom instead of traveling to that meeting, and could attend those types of events in more than one district, providing an expanded scope of experiences. “I had students who were going to start their internship at the UW Lab School just as we shut down last spring for COVID,” says Hudson. “Since they weren’t able to work with me in person for the week, we worked virtually for the remainder of the year. This extended learning experience during a crisis situation would not have been possible during a normal internship experience.” Although their meetings have shifted to virtual, the students still work closely with their mentors. Collaboration to make plans or to debrief and discuss what worked during the activity or alternative ways they could have approached different situations all happens over Zoom and email. “I think some of the new ways of doing things will stick around. These changes add more flexibility to our programs and make it easier for working teachers to have a really good internship experience,” says Hudson. “There are a lot of skillsets our administrators are learning as they navigate the virtual environment that help prepare them for the next century of education,” says Hickman. “From running a school entirely online or hybrid format, to keeping your staff supported and engaged while being physically disconnected from them. I think these are important skills for us to teach and focus on.” Although the last several months have been unpredictable, our students have continued to receive an authentic experience during their internship. They have even gained new skills during the pandemic that will help them adapt to future changes in education and give them the confidence to overcome any challenge they face. Education@UWYO 2020 Edition • 11
By Jason Harper
Wyoming Excellence in Higher Education Endowed Chairs in Literacy Education in the University of Wyoming School of Teacher Education Leigh Hall and Cynthia Brock, Big Piney High School (BPHS) Principal Jeff Makelky and UW School of Counseling, Leadership, Advocacy and Design Assistant Professor William Holmes published an article describing a collaborative professional development process UW undertook with Makelky and his staff at BPHS in the April 2020 edition of Principal Leadership Magazine. The project was initiated when Makelky sought out the expertise of Hall and Brock through the University of Wyoming’s Literacy Research Center and Clinic (LRCC), hoping they could help improve the abilities of the students in his school to read and comprehend informational text. He understood that he and his staff would need to learn new techniques to help them foster a participatory culture of reading in their school, and he knew the UW professors could provide the expertise that would be required to implement these new teaching practices. “The LRCC led a professional development session with our district staff the spring prior to my contacting them,” says Makelky. “I was intrigued and thought by relying on the expertise of the LRCC, we could work together to improve our reading proficiency levels, which have historically been below the state average on standardized assessments.” “A central aspect of our mission at the UW LRCC is to meet the specific needs of each school we work with and to collaboratively construct the framework we develop with the educators and administrators at each school,” says Brock. “The 12 • Education@UWYO 2020 Edition
focus for this project was determined by the teachers and principal, and the implementation plan for the work was co-constructed between BPHS and UW.” The LRCC group first collected information from students and teachers to assess how reading was taught at the school. Online micro-courses designed by Hall guided the professional learning for the educators and served as the backbone of the project. Courses were crafted to be completed in one to three weeks, and each course was aligned with the professional learning needs of the teachers at the school. “Micro-courses are short, focused courses on a very narrow topic. They can be completed in 5-15 hours,” says Hall. “Teachers did a pre- and post-survey for each course. They also had optional challenges they could complete, which allowed them to apply what they were learning to their instruction. They could then share what they learned and experienced with their colleagues as part of that work.” The teachers had access to 15 courses, titles included: Disciplinary Literacy, Vocabulary Instruction, Instagram for Literacy Development: Participatory Culture, Relationships for Literacy Development, and Introduction to Dialogic Teaching. Each course presented the teachers with new methods and ideas to incorporate a participatory culture of reading into their classrooms. Over the course of two years, Makelky and his staff worked as a team to improve their collective abilities utilizing the courses and professional learning plans Hall and Brock co-developed with Makelky and BPHS teachers. Undertaking the project as a school allowed the educators to discuss the successes and challenges they faced and to adjust
their plans as the project unfolded and the group’s goals became more focused. “The teachers shared what was working in their instruction with one another during staff PD sessions,” says Brock. “The group collaboratively determined what was working and not working in order to make adjustments to the overall professional development plan as needed.” The pace of the learning enabled teachers to continuously build off knowledge from previous courses and quickly grow in their skills. Teachers were empowered to utilize their classrooms as living laboratories and were able to immediately implement the new methods they were learning in their daily teaching practice. As principal, Makelky’s charismatic and team-oriented leadership style played a huge role in the success of the collaborative work. Not only did he take the courses alongside his staff, he set aside time to meet with the teachers and discuss their learning. This helped him connect with his staff in meaningful ways when observing and providing feedback, and it allowed the staff to start building a shared knowledge for effectively providing informational text-reading approaches across the school. “To bring about the change we were looking for, we had to employ all hands-on deck. I am a huge proponent of setting common goals and then working with each other to achieve those goals. I felt it was important to learn along with our teachers, as I had not received any formal training in literacy practices and strategies. And of course, if I wanted to assist and give my teachers feedback, it was important for me to understand what I should be looking for,” says Makelky. Makelky was recently named the 2020 Wyoming State Principal of the Year by the Wyoming Association of Secondary School Principals. The organization cited Makelky’s collaborative work with the LRCC as one of the reasons for his winning the award. “It’s hard work, it takes time to see results, but the Literacy Center is a great resource to employ if you truly want to improve literacy education amongst your staff and, in the end, improve the literacy skills of your students” says Makelky. “Cynthia and Leigh are super to work with in developing a plan that works for your individual situation.”
A FUTURE VISION
Improving early childhood education in Wyoming UW Associate Lecturer and Early Childhood Outreach Network Director Nikki Baldwin works with a young child named Carter Carlisle.
By Jason Harper
University of Wyoming Senior Lecturer and Wyoming Early Childhood Outreach Network (WYECON) Director Nikki Baldwin is a passionate advocate for early childhood education. She not only inspires future educators in her role at UW, but has also worked tirelessly to help lay the foundation for an improved early childhood education infrastructure in Wyoming. 14 • Education@UWYO 2020 Edition
“Families, young children and early childhood educators in Wyoming have experienced the negative impacts of a lack of funding and disconnected or nonexistent systems of support for too long,” says Baldwin. “Research has long recognized how vital early experiences are in shaping children’s lives, and now leaders in Wyoming acknowledge that we must create a new vision for
supporting our youngest children, their families and those who care for and educate them.” Student achievement is closely linked to the knowledge and skills of their teachers. Baldwin’s aim is to improve the knowledge and abilities of future and current early childhood professionals throughout the state, so their students might experience greater
confidence and success throughout their education. Baldwin is utilizing her expertise to serve as a member of the Wyoming Early Childhood State Advisory Council. She was appointed to the role by Gov. Mark Gordon. The group is working to develop an in-depth strategic plan and a comprehensive statewide birth to age five needs assessment that will guide the state’s decisions around early childhood education. The group hopes to utilize existing early childhood resources more efficiently; encourage partnerships among child care and prekindergarten providers, Head Start programs and state and local governments; and also improve transitions between early childhood programs and school systems. “I hope to access the expertise of the early childhood faculty in the College of Education to help inform the work of the council and ensure our decisions are informed by a strong evidence base,” says Baldwin. “Faculty knowledge can guide the council’s efforts to identify and share best practices that support the education of early childhood teachers as they progress in their careers.” The council will be sharing important resources in a new online portal, which Baldwin is currently leading development of. The portal includes a resource library, original professional learning content, blog posts and a new podcast “Voices from the Village”. “We are so excited to be in production of our new podcast, which will link the voices of national experts with the wisdom and experience of
Wyoming early childhood educators,” Baldwin says. Baldwin also served as a member of the grant-writing team whose efforts successfully obtained $2 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families to support the council’s work. The team is currently writing a three-year renewal grant that will be awarded this December, built upon the work of the original Preschool Development Grant. Baldwin is also a crucial leader of the Wyoming Early Child hood Professional Learning Collaborative. This group is working to improve the education of Wyoming’s youngest learners, at a critical stage in their development, by bringing professional learning opportunities to their teachers. “Early childhood educators overwhelmingly list isolation and lack of resources as their biggest challenges. In a profession that is so physically, emotionally and cognitively draining, these professionals need connections with one another, opportunities to collaborate, and resources they can access locally to help them gain knowledge and grow as professionals,” Baldwin says. “This model brings training, mentoring and coaching opportunities directly to early childhood professionals.” The model developed by the collaborative uses seven regional learning facilitators, serving every peak and valley in the state, to deliver content directly to educators via local STARS trainings, online learning communities and individualized learning tools such as on-site mentoring and coaching. “Our professional learning facilitators are not only providing these opportunities locally, but also are elevating early childhood
leaders in programs and communities to build their capacity to support their own professional learning efforts,” Baldwin says. “This is about raising up the entire early childhood profession one teacher, leader and program at a time.” Now in its second year, the Professional Learning Collaborative delivers content aligned with the NAEYC Professional Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators, which define the essential body of knowledge, skills, dispositions and practice required of all early childhood educators. These standards are also guiding the development of a Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education degree at UW. “We are being very intentional about aligning the professional learning offered through the collaborative with our new degree so that any early childhood educator in the state who is interested will have a clear pathway to higher education,” says Baldwin.
E4 Integration:
How TEI is Reshaping Educator Preparation at UW
By Jason Harper
Years of hard work and planning came together this fall when entering elementary education students became the first to start their journey toward becoming career-ready teachers under the UW-E4 educator preparation model. This model is reshaping College of Education programs and is the centerpiece of TEI’s work. TEI has been engaged with college leadership and faculty to integrate programmatic changes and additions that will attract more educators into the field, ensure they are better prepared, enhance their opportunities for student teaching and other field clinical placements, and offer early-career professional support. “It’s quite thrilling to see the stages of the TEI student journey not only materializing, but now engaging and serving our prospective students, current students, and faculty,” says UW-E4 Director Curtis Biggs. “Just as exciting is the challenge for TEI and the college to remain nimble and adaptable to the needs and ideas of our faculty, students and school partners. As education continues to evolve, our educator preparation programs mustn’t stand still.” The following is a quick overview of what students and partners throughout the state can look forward to with this year’s initial implementation of the of UW-E4 model.
Exploration of the Career Six Wyoming high schools are the first to participate in the Teacher Cadet pilot program. This opportunity combines activities, internships and coursework to give students a jumpstart to becoming a teacher. The initial cadre of high school and community college faculty and advisors that will support these groups throughout Wyoming were trained and certified during summer 2020.
E2
Experiential Learning
Whether it’s observing experienced teachers in a school setting or using the Mursion augmented reality program to teach avatar students, UW elementary teacher candidates now get more field experiences starting earlier and with a solid grounding in professional ethics. Site-based practice has been expanded and aligned with coursework, so students hone their teaching skills through every phase of the program. Access to the elementary education program is also expanded, with many of the courses now redesigned for the online environment, with the rest to be built and online in the coming year. A combination of effective course structure, cutting edge course design, and current content make these courses an exemplar of engaged learning.
E4 E3
Embedded Practice
In the past, student teaching was limited to nine Wyoming districts during the spring semester. Now, students have more options, and more schools are getting the student teachers they want. Expanded placement options last spring resulted in UW student teachers in 27 Wyoming districts; plus, there were an additional 11 out-of-state and six international placements. Better mentors make better teachers. TEI is also supporting classroom teachers who supervise, assess and mentor UW student teachers. New online training modules will be introduced in the 2021 to guide K-12 mentor teachers in best practices for supervising and co-teaching. Consistent observation, feedback and intervention during student teaching is crucial. Seven UW faculty and staff members were trained and certified over the last year in the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), a research-based tool that helps observers provide uniform scoring of student teacher observations. CLASS focuses on the quality of classroom interactional processes, and results help ensure that student teachers who need additional support can get it before graduation and certification. These certified trainers can now train additional UW faculty and teacher observers throughout the state. CLASS is one of four tools in the Common Indicators System (CIS) compiled for a national initiative by Deans for Impact, a national organization working to improve student-learning outcomes by transforming educator preparation.
Entry into the Profession
Are our new teachers effective when they start their careers? How do you even measure that? E4 aims to measure the effectiveness of teachers and integrate new and evolved ideas into both the teacher preparation program and onboarding support systems. The CIS tools were launched at UW this year to collect baseline data to gather student’s perceptions about their teaching knowledge and abilities early in the teacher preparation program, in their final semester before student teaching, and at the end of their first year of classroom teaching. A separate survey tool collects feedback from the principals who employ recent UW graduates. The Common Indicators tools will provide administrators and faculty leaders with a comprehensive data collections suite to supply insights on teacher candidate development and to guide continued program improvement.
New Executive Director Leslie Rush, interim dean of the College of Education, assumed the role of TEI executive director upon the planned retirement of D. Ray Reutzel as dean of the College of Education this summer. Rush has already been embedded in the work of TEI after previously serving as associate dean of undergraduate programs and director of the School of Teacher Education since 2017.
Education@UWYO 2020 Edition • 17
By Jason Harper
University of Wyoming Trustees Education Initiative (TEI) has a long vision to continuously improve educator preparation, but also strives to connect resources and create solutions to solve immediate needs for the state’s educational system. Last spring teachers made a quick 180-degree turn as schools transitioned to online delivery to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. UW-E4 Director Curtis Biggs and TEI Managing Director Colby Gull pivoted TEI’s short-term focus to UW faculty and P-12 teachers in Wyoming to support them as they quickly adapted to teaching online. The two TEI masterminds orchestrated a multi-partner solution to connect expertise from across the state to meet the immediate needs of educators. “TEI teamed up with College of Education faculty members, the Ellbogen Center for Teaching and Learning (ECTL), the Wyoming Department of Education and our partner K-12 school districts to get this professional development (PD) to our state’s educators,” says Leslie Rush, UW College of Education interim dean and TEI executive director. TEI worked with two UW College of Education faculty, Assistant Professional Lecturer Joseph Schroer and Assistant Professor Mia Kim Williams, both online teaching experts, to virtually present the K-12 Digital Teaching and Learning Workshop to teachers in Wyoming at no cost to participants or their districts. Teachers from all 48 school districts and other K-12 schools in Wyoming were invited to take part in the five-day intensive course that took place in August via videoconferencing and other technologies. “The entire focus of TEI is to love, support and advance the work of education, both inside the college and across the state,” says Gull. “ECTL really laid a powerful foundation for 18 • Education@UWYO 2020 Edition
the Digital Teaching and Learning Workshop and doctors Schroer and Williams built on that foundation to create an extremely timely and engaging learning opportunity.” Williams and Schroer have worked to customize Digital Teaching and Learning, a course previously developed by the ECTL for college-level teaching, to apply to current best practices in K-12 education. The two faculty members demonstrated innovative technologies that assist and enhance online learning, and shared strategies to design online experiences that are rich and engaging for all students. Participants worked to develop their online teaching presence and learned strategies to motivate students in the online environment. During the workshop, each educator worked to develop a lesson plan that is designed to be delivered online. Williams and Schroer assisted each participant in identifying and creating priority learning objectives; designing activities that effectively use media and other digital tools to support learning; and creating highquality assessments to measure student learning. At the end of the workshop, participants were able to bring a complete lesson plan that has been designed to be taught online back to their home districts to implement and lead their own online teaching workshops with their colleagues. The work of TEI and the College of Education in supporting educators does not end with the summer workshop. Ongoing PD courses to support K-12 online teaching are being built in preparation for rollout early in 2021. The continued PD will include online teaching pedagogy, assessment in online coursework, and digital teaching and learning tools.
Watch this video to learn more about the impact Bertine is making!
Bertine Bahige working with a student at Rawhide Elementary in Gillette
By Jason Harper
College of Education alumni are integral to the state of Wyoming and beyond. They ensure our youngest citizens are given the best chance for their future and also work to support the mental health and wellness of all our citizens. Aside from their careers, our alumni are also local leaders whose everyday actions elevate everyone around them. Bertine Bahige, principal at Rawhide Elementary in Gillette and co-director of the school’s dual-immersion (DLI) program;
and Kristi Von Krosigk, UW pre-service teacher program facilitator in Sheridan county, are two UW College of Education alumni who showcase their Cowboy values by playing key roles in their communities. “There is nothing compared to the resiliency and the hard work of a Cowboy. Understanding that nothing will come easy but through hard work, perseverance and commitment to problem solving, everything is possible,” Bahige says. Education@UWYO 2020 Edition • 19
at CCHS and is a board member for both the John Paul II Catholic School in Gillette and Children’s Developmental Services. He has also coached cross-country and volunteered to help prepare high school students for the ACT. Von Krosigk is a second-generation UW graduate and her daughter will become the third generation to graduate a Cowboy. Although originally reluctant to attend college in her home state, Von Krosigk found a sense of family in the small community at UW.
“I think what I’ve learned most is that building relationships is critical in any field or committee I have been involved in.”
Kristi Von Krosigk in front of the College of Education Building
His story starts in the Democratic Republic of Congo and his journey to his newfound home in Wyoming took an immense amount of resilience. After escaping a rebel group that kidnapped him at 13 to become a child solder, he found himself a refugee. He arrived to the U.S. as part of a resettlement program. A determined Bahige worked three jobs and attended a community college in hopes that his efforts would provide him with a better future. His grit paid off and his performance in community college earned him a scholarship to UW. “The University of Wyoming gave me a chance to dream about a quality education. As a refugee who arrived in this country that I now call home with virtually nothing, I knew deep inside that education was a key to a successful future — but most importantly to an opportunity to give back to this great state and community that welcomed me,” says Bahige. Bahige would earn his bachelors degree in mathematics and mathematics education in 2009 from UW before obtaining his master’s degree in education leadership from South Dakota State. His teaching career began at Campbell County High School (CCHS) before becoming the principal at Rawhide Elementary. Bahige utilizes his experience as an English Language Learner (ELL) to help support ELLs at his school attain a quality education through his guidance of the DLI program. His efforts have been so successful and the demand for the program is so high, there is a lottery and waitlist for students to be admitted. In addition to his work as principal, Bahige coaches soccer 20 • Education@UWYO 2020 Edition
“The value of dedication and a sense of belonging are what ties me to the University of Wyoming. I have always felt like I am part of UW — from a graduate, educator, alumni to parent, there is a sense of tradition,” says Von Krosigk. A UW graduate three times over, Von Krosigk, earned her bachelor’s degree in education in 1991, then graduated with her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction in 1997 before attaining an administration endorsement in 2001. In one of her professional roles, she supervises and supports UW student teachers during their teaching practicum and helps prepare them for job interviews. She aims to extend the community atmosphere she found on campus into her home. She regularly hosts dinners and informal get-togethers so the student-teachers she supervises retain a sense of community during the most challenging time in their education. “Teaching is sometimes an isolating profession, so I want the student teachers to feel like they always have a place to network,” says Von Krosigk. “They are always invited to my house because relationships are the key to growing and contributing to any community.” Von Krosigk is also an entrepreneur who owns a retail store in Sheridan with her husband. The store is a creative space for people to share their products and also offers classes to support the entrepreneurial and personal growth of youth in the community. She has served on boards for the Sheridan Memorial Hospital Foundation, Center for Vital Community, Big Horn Education Fund, Sheridan County School District 1, Sheridan Senior Center endowment and Family Planning of the Big Horns (now Reproductive Healthcare of the Big Horns).
Watch this interview to see how Kristi is elevating those around her!
By Jason Harper
Wyoming is home to a growing number of English Language Learners (ELL). Additionally, as the state continues to grow globally, educators have an obligation to support students who are native English speakers learn a new language. This demand is driving an urgent need for teachers who are qualified to teach in English as a Second Language (ESL) or Dual Language Immersion (DLI) classrooms. ESL programs focus on supporting ELLs acquire a proficiency in English so they can be successful in traditional classrooms. DLI programs support native speakers of English gain the competence to speak a new language while allowing students who speak the new target language (ELLs) to gain confidence by supporting their peers. We spoke to two principals in Gillette with ESL and DLI programs at their schools. Bertine Bahige (B.A. mathematics and mathematics education ’09), principal at Rawhide Elementary, and Keri Shannon, principal at Stocktrail Elementary share why these programs are important to their community. “Research has shown that students who learn to speak another language create new synapses within their brain that make their brain much more malleable in their ability to learn,” says Bahige. “You also look at the culturally responsive community and citizen you are going to become when you learn a new language. You can approach someone much easier if you can speak their language. You can understand where a person is coming from if you have an appreciation for their culture.”
“We have international companies that do business in Wyoming,” says Shannon. “If we are going to expand that, we have to be able to have citizens that can speak multiple languages.” The programs in Gillette started four years ago and are already experiencing overwhelming demand. Nearly a quarter of kindergarten-aged students in the district, around 100 students, are currently in these programs. With nearly 50 students on wait lists, the district has had to start admitting based on a lottery system. Unfortunately, these programs have been struggling to find Spanish-speaking teachers. The schools in Gillette have forged a partnership with the Ministry of Education in Spain to recruit Spanish-speaking teachers to their districts. “It is really important for our state to grow our own teachers to come back to their own communities,” says Shannon. “In Wyoming we have a university with a great ESL program that will teach you the strategies and methodology you will need to succeed.” “I would like to call out current and future students at the University of Wyoming who are looking for practicum or student teaching placements to consider being placed in these programs,” says Bahige. “Students currently gaining an ESL endorsement at UW can be great candidates to teach in ESL and DLI classrooms. After graduation, this type of background will open more opportunities for them.” Learn more by watching an interview with Bahige and Shannon.
Education@UWYO 2020 Edition • 21
Being Present Fostering Relationships and Providing Support Online
UW WellSpring counseling is a mental health clinic that provides counseling services to both students and community members. Advanced graduate students who are in training to become licensed professional counselors gain experience providing counseling under the supervision of counseling Ph.D. students and faculty. The facility is currently unable to receive clients in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has moved to a tele-mental health counseling format to continue being present for their students and clients. The team labored to find technology that would allow the counselors and clients to meet and see each other via a secure live video stream. Additionally, the system had to provide a way for other counseling students and supervisors to observe sessions and discuss what they are seeing in real-time while ensuring the privacy of the client. “Research shows that what helps clients most is the ability to build a relationship with their counselor in which they feel deeply understood, 22 • Education@UWYO 2020 Edition
valued and supported. The shift to an online format had us concerned about our ability to maintain a focus on building these relationships,” says Associate Professor Michael Morgan. “I think our team developed systems that function smoothly and create a virtual space that works for our students and clients.” It is also crucial that students have opportunities to bond with and build close connections with each other. Having a trusting relationship allows them to be honest and vulnerable when discussing and reflecting on each other’s practice. “Fostering these relationships organically when students are physically separated can be difficult to achieve,” says Ph.D. candidate and Clinic Coordinator Kody Roper. “Thankfully, our students are finding ways to build deep relationships with each other. We are seeing them show up 20-30 minutes early for Zoom sessions just to connect and talk.” Using a secure chat feature during observations, students can discuss what they are seeing during the session, a
supervisor can highlight different micro skills a counselor is using, or students can be pulled aside in break-out rooms to further discuss specific topics. The technology has helped replicate the in-person experience students normally have during clinical observations and has provided a virtual space for deep reflection amongst the students. Both students and faculty had to get up-to-speed on how to run an online clinic. Trainings were provided to teach everyone how to utilize the new technological components. They also learned best practices such as how to set up a space in their homes to conduct sessions and to interpret non-verbal cues from their clients without having a complete picture over a video feed. Another priority was helping students develop strategies to support their own mental health. “Our program has always emphasized that students need to have a plan to support their own wellness. That effort became even more important now,” says Morgan. “Since counseling is occurring in our students’ homes, we teach strategies to develop and maintain routines and help them find ways separate their emotionally taxing professional careers and personal lives.” Although tele-mental health counseling is providing a different experience, their training is still rooted in Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) standards.
These standards ensure the coursework and skill development students experience meets strict standards set by the profession. “We are following a well-researched approach to training counselors. The knowledge and skills we are providing haven’t changed one bit, all that has changed is the format we are using to deliver it,” says Morgan. “Even though the current experience might be different than normal, our students still have a strong generalist foundation that matches our CACREP standards,” says Roper. “Students in another program experiencing these changes during the pandemic might not have that foundation and stability.” Relying 100 percent on telemental health counseling during the pandemic isn’t ideal, but is providing
“Thankfully, our students are finding ways to build deep relationships with each other.” – Kody Ropern
an opportunity for our students and faculty to learn new skills and respond to a crisis situation as it unfolds “Now that we are more experienced with telemental health, we can better prepare our students to offer these services. We would be failing in our duty to the profession, the students and the public if we didn’t continue to embed this training in our program,” says Morgan. Although things might seem bleak, if we are resilient and compassionate towards each other, we can overcome this challenging time. If your mental wellness has been impacted by the pandemic, visit http://bit.ly/ wellspring-counseling for resources and information on how you can apply for counseling services when the clinic resumes operation in January 2021. Education@UWYO 2020 Edition • 23
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Thank You! IN ONLY 24 HOURS DURING UW GIVING DAY, 48 DONORS CONTRIBUTED $12,620 TO THE COLLEGE!
Your gifts make a big impact on our students lives and the state’s education system. Below are just a few examples of the important work we’ve accomplished thanks to the generosity of donors like you.
t h a nk you!
The Dean’s Excellence Fund supported the 4th Annual English as a Second Language Conference, which had over 200 attendees last year. Contributions to the Literacy Research Center and Clinic support professional development for in-service and preservice teachers, as well as outreach, tutoring, and other forms of literacy support throughout Wyoming. The Honor a Teacher Scholarship Fund provided over $30,000 in the last three years to freshmen students in the College of Education who are preparing to become teachers. The CoE Innovation Fund supports innovations underway through the Trustees Education Initiative, which engages in exciting, innovative approaches to support Wyoming students, families, and communities.
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