AEIN

East High Integrates Technology
by Sue Holway

This fall and winter twenty-seven members of the East High School staff Members of the East High School Staff engaged in a Technology Integration class were involved in a Technology Integration class where they learned how to use various applications available to them on their laptop computers.

East High School used their AEIN grant funds to offer these types of staff development classes for their teachers. Their grant funds were also used to provide coverage time for teachers to observe their peers working with technology in their classes.

Members of the East High School Staff engaged in a Technology Integration class Teachers in the class formed smaller groups that continue to meet outside of class time to support each other, and learn from each other, as they create class projects. They use these projects in their classes, and then present them to the rest of the class. It has been a great experience learning from one another and sharing their learning with our students.

Here are some of the projects the teachers did with their students:

Pictured above, members of the East High School Staff are engaged in the Technology Integration class. Photos courtesy of Sue Holway.

Blackboard and Elluminate Exceptional Tools For Distance Delivery

As an Adjunct with the Education Leadership Department (EDL) I have found Blackboard and Elluminate to be exceptional tools for the delivery of course work to administration candidates throughout the state. Being on the “senior” end of the age continuum I sometimes have difficulty learning certain aspects of technology and putting the concepts to work. Fortunately the support for folks such as myself is outstanding.

There are too many positive aspects to try to cover but I would like to mention just a few. I would be the first to support the need for face-to-face interaction whenever practicable. It is, however, a fact of Alaska life that in order to have access to continuing professional and personal growth one must take advantage of technology at every turn. Education Leadership is no exception.

We all remember, and still utilize, simple teleconference courses where the instructor can guide discussion and hopefully generate participation of those online. The reality is that often times we have all sorts of interference over the line, someone forgets to mute and the kids and dogs overpower the content of the evening, and so on. If the options are no availability for those in rural communities and the audio-conference, then this is highly preferable to nothing.

With the advent of Blackboard and the value of posting material, assignments, grades, discussion boards and the like, our horizons were greatly broadened. With the inclusion of Elluminate we have, in my humble opinion, the closest thing to one-on-one classroom instruction. Depending on the bandwidth (whoa, rather technical term for a dog very long in the tooth) of my students it is possible for me to actually have video to go along with very clear, on-demand audio, as well as share all sorts of presentation material on the whiteboard.

I am still learning and getting familiar with all of the tremendous tools Blackboard and Elluminate provide, but I am confident in my opinion that they have made me a much more valuable asset to my students and the University in general. Generating discussion, tracking attention and participation, and just the feeling of being really connected with my students has been tremendously gratifying and my principal candidates have expressed the same opinion many times.

Is there a better way to deliver services to our rural communities? Maybe...but when one compares the cost of NOT providing the services then we can’t even begin to place a value on the opportunity Distance Delivery has provided.

MAT Intern Matt Gho teaches in 5th grade class in Tuluksak, Alaska

One of the highlights of my recent trip to Tuluksak, Alaska was joining the community in Slavic.

Tuluksak is a Yup'ik community located about 50 miles up the river from Bethel, Alaska. Slavic is a Russian Orthodox Christmas celebration and, since there are only a few Russian Orthodox members in town, the Moravian church helps the orthodox celebrate their holiday. There were about 70 of us going house to house singing Christmas songs.

Another highlight of the trip was teaching in the school. Out of the fifty high school/middle school students, only two of them are non-Native. My first few days there I introduced myself to the students and mentioned that my grandmother was one of the Natives that went to the boarding schools of Alaska. I related to the students what the schools were like in my grandmother's generation.

I mentioned that the Western education system has significantly improved since then, and that in order to get good Western jobs the students needed to show potential employers that they successfully went through the Western education system by receiving their diploma. One of the students was not sure what I meant by saying the "Western education system." I explained to her that a long time ago, before large schools such as this one existed, youth received education from their parents and the elders of the community. They would teach the youth how to be good providers for their family, and how to be good community members.

Today, youth can not only learn from their parents and elders, but there are MAT Intern Matthew Gho and student Jerah enjoy their lunch time together

MAT Intern Matthew Gho and student Jerah enjoy their lunch time together

schools such as this one to teach math, science, history and English. The education that students receive in this school is primarily a Western education.

One of the reasons why I am really excited to be in a village is that there are more opportunities to learn about and live the Iñupiaq and Yup'ik ways of life. Through my years of college I have become well versed in the Western education; now I have been given the opportunity to learn more about the Iñupiaq/Yup'ik education system.

I really enjoyed and appreciated my experience in Tuluksak. It has made me excited about the prospect of teaching in a village. I believe that teaching in a village will be one of the highlights of my teaching career.

I appreciate the AEIN grant and the UAA College of Education for sponsoring my trip to Tuluksak.

Pictured above left, MAT Intern Matt Gho teaches in Nancy Wood's 5th grade class in Tuluksak, Alaska. Photo courtesy of Nancy Wood. Pictured above right, MAT Intern Matt Gho with Tuluksak School student, Jerah, in the school cafeteria. Photo courtesy of Matthew Witthoeft.

Nobody said I should take several hats when I headed off to Port Lions, Alaska, but everyone there wears at least a dozen!

In Anchorage, my content area is Language Arts, but in Port Lions, I taught ping pong, double-dutch jump rope, and searched the internet for the rules for cricket. I happily organized a school Geography Bee, and attempted an overview of Russia's history in a community rich with a Russian history of their own. It was also fun to teach character development and to edit good mystery writing with the eight middle school students - my favorite hats to wear.

I was so highly impressed with the quality and dedication of the teachers and staff at Port Lions. It is a wonderful school!

Pictured above left, MAT Intern Shirley Mickelson has a moment of relaxation during her Port Lions rural visit. Photo courtesy of Nicole Martin.

Scenic photos of Port Lions Bay and Port Lions Ferry terminal are courtesy of Shirley Mickelson.

MAT Intern Matthew Witthoeft teaching in Dianne Sullivan's 8th grade class in Tuluksak, Alaska.

The rural exchange offered through the AEIN grant and the UAA College of Education gave me the opportunity to have an authentic experience of teaching and learning in rural Alaska.

Two weeks was a good amount of time. It allowed me to get in and really get to know some of the staff and students on a more personal level, and to teach some content-specific lessons. A shorter trip of only a few days that involved strictly observation would not have been nearly as beneficial to me as a prospective public teacher in rural Alaska. I felt that, by the end of my two weeks, I had a good pulse on the dynamics of Tuluksak School.

One of the highlights for me was the time spent with the elementary and junior high students. They are so innocent and so excited to learn and meet new people. More than one of these young students offered to cut my hair or have their “auntie” do it so they could see what my hair “really looks like.” Later I realized these students (they were probably six or seven years old) had never seen anyone with light hair that wasn't dyed that way. One student in particular was very nice to Matt Gho (the other intern) and me, taking us out Manaq’ing on a few occasions. "Manaq" is the Yup'ik word for ice-fishing. Although we didn’t catch anything while we were there, the experience alone was well worth it. I also enjoyed seeing the excitement of high school basketball in Bush Alaska. It seemed the entire village of Tuluksak showed up Friday night for the game against Aniak School.

I was also given the opportunity the first week to go dog mushing with some MAT Intern Matthew Witthoeft with the Tuluksak dog team in Tuluksak, Alaska

MAT Intern Matthew Witthoeft with the Tuluksak dog team in Tuluksak, Alaska

of the other teachers. I even got to drive the sled a few miles on the way back, up a hill, and on some rough trail. It was a lot like waterskiing, except, of course, with snow and dogs. I would never have gotten the opportunity to do this on my own in Anchorage.

The biggest highlight was seeing the night sky in Southwest Alaska. Living in the city, I don't get the chance to see the stars as clearly as I could in Tuluksak by just walking a few hundred yards from the school. It was so beautiful!!! I was literally staring up at the sky for at least thirty minutes every night that it wasn’t cloudy. The big dipper and little dipper were both low on the horizon and the moon was nowhere to be seen. The giant, beautiful, Alaska night sky is one thing about Tuluksak I will not forget.

I think if there’s one word to describe the trip it would be authentic. I have a much better idea of what to ask potential principals and districts if I consider teaching in a rural area. The experience was truly invaluable to my overall growth and transition into becoming an Alaska public school teacher.

Above left, MAT Intern Matt Witthoeft teaches in Dianne Sullivan's 8trh grade class. Above right, Matt enjoys time with the Tuluksak dog team. Photos courtesy of Matthew Gho.

Throughout this year, faculty at the UAA College of Education has focused on improving our teaching and assessment systems. The dialogue has been lively and enlightening.

The first area of concern was writing. What kinds of writing do we ask of our students? What criteria do we use to evaluate the writing? What processes do we employ to improve student writing? In answer to these questions, faculty met monthly during first semester to devise college-wide writing standards. Currently, faculty members are piloting the writing guide and reviewing A Writer’s Resource, A Handbook for Writing and Research, by Elaine Maimon, Janice Peritz, and Kathleen Yancey, for an April discussion.

This semester, the topic has broadened into the many facets of assessment. Dr. Gary Whiteley facilitated January’s initial discussion. Dr. Whiteley reminded us of the importance of effective assessment systems, especially the value of formative assessments. February’s work generated areas of interest around our current systems of assessing students. In March, we will discuss assessments that guide program improvement.

Pictured above, left to right, Jennifer Harty and Liz Boario assist retreat facilitator in reconvening the group at the College of Education Retreat. Photo courtesy of Lee Henrikson.

The 33rd Bilingual Multicultural Education and Equity Conference took place in Anchorage, Alaska January 29-31, 2007. This year’s conference theme was “Honoring Culture, Language, and Learning.”

The statewide conference was divided into three main areas: culturally responsive schooling, services for English Language Learners (ELL)/Limited English Proficient (LEP) students, and equity and safe schools. Keynote speakers and the topics they addressed included Brett Dillingham, “Culturally Responsive Literacy”, Dr. Catherine Collier, “Equity for All: Balancing Equity and Diversity”, Dr. Walter Sobeloff, “The Progression of Education for Native Alaskans”, and Norwood Eggling and Shirley Mae Springer Staten, “Healing Racism in Anchorage”.

Five faculty from AEIN’s Culturally Responsive Study Group facilitated by Dr. Tim Jester with the UAA College of Education, co-presented a panel workshop entitled, “Exploring Culturally Responsive Teaching at UAA College of Education." The panel shared their understanding of culturally responsive teaching and ideas for preparing educators for work in Alaska’s diverse settings. Dr. Jester provided an overview of the draft culturally responsive framework the study group is in the process of developing, which included indicators of culturally responsive practices. During the panel presentation, rich, engaging dialogue ensued between the attendees and the panelists regarding the nature and meaning of culture.

The BMEEC panel is pictured above. From left to right, Susan Garton, Ann McCoy, Alice Hisamoto, Cleo Burgett, Ilka Paniptchuk, and Tim Jester. Photo courtesy of Nancy Boxler.

Professional Development Symposium Around the Corner!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW!

"Evaluating and Assessing the Impact of Professional Development: An Ongoing Dialogue"

Registration is NOW OPEN to all interested educators for the upcoming Professional Development Symposium II being held at the Hotel Captain Cook on March 12-13, 2007. Don't Miss this valuable opportunity! Teams are encouraged. Registration fees, materials, and meals (breakfast and lunch) will be covered by AEIN and the Alaska Comprehensive Center (ACC).

This interactive session will focus on ways to evaluate how professional development affects student achievement. Participants will use the National Staff Development Council (NSDC) publication by Joellen Killion, "Assessing Impact: Evaluating Staff Development" as a stepping off point for contextual discovery, dialogue, and action. Together, participants will begin considering how “evaluation can strengthen their work and ultimately the impact that work has on education and their students.” (Killion, 2002, p. 1).

For more information, please email Janette Thornton, Professional and Continuing Education (PACE) Professional Programs Assistant, or call her at (907) 786-1933.

Why would Akiak School teachers want additional headsets from the AEIN grant?

Because they want to attend the next online Elluminate meeting of the math mini network. At our January Elluminate meeting, we talked about what we need and want as math teachers in our various school settings. Expertise in the form of Cleo Burgett, elementary math methods professor at the UAA College of Education and Chip McMillan from the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) provided good insights into some of the issues surrounding math instruction in schools.

We decided on two school exchanges in April: Chinook Elementary School teachers and Cleo Burgett will visit Akiak and Perryville Schools. I will support the teachers from all the schools in determining how to work together on math instruction. I will also videotape one of the exchanges to provide resources for further professional development.

We hope to bring university math instructors into the network as we look toward working with secondary math teachers.

The network is our way to build a community of practice to improve math instruction at all levels for all students. We are excited about the potential as we share and grow together.

Culturally Responsive Teaching: Classroom Discussion and Working with the Unanticipated
by Timothy Jester

Culturally responsive teaching aims to engage students in learning activities connected to their real-life experiences. Implementing this approach may trigger discussions around sensitive or controversial issues, such as personal values and beliefs or examples of social conflict. At such times, we may experience a tension between wanting to encourage engaging, learning-centered discussion while feeling unsure about how to constructively manage the conversation.

The University of Michigan’s Center for Research on Learning and Teaching provides four guidelines for handling these types of unanticipated conversations in the classroom: