The U.S. Department of Education has invited leaders from the National Center for Research on Rural Education (R²Ed) to conduct a webinar on effective strategies for fostering partnerships between parents and educators in rural communities.
R²Ed Director Susan Sheridan, R²Ed Project Manager Amanda Witte and Crete Elementary School principal Bret Schroder will present "Family-School Partnerships in Rural Schools: Engaging Families to Promote School Success" May 21 from 2:30-4 p.m. CST.
As an official partner school of R²Ed, Crete Elementary is one of many throughout Nebraska that has participated in R²Ed's Conjoint Behavioral Consultation (CBC) in Rural Communities project. The project aligns home and classroom efforts to help students overcome developmental difficulties.
"Partnerships between families and schools are increasingly recognized as the linchpin for promoting learning and achievement for all students, particularly those who struggle to stay ahead," Sheridan said. "Increasingly, educators in rural schools are finding it essential to engage families as both a resource and an essential partner in learning. This webinar represents an excellent example of the value of family engagement to ensure positive school outcomes – indeed, to turn schools around – in rural communities."
The presentation will be part of a four-webinar series organized by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of School Turnaround / School Support and Rural Programs.
By studying the instruction and learning of K-12 students in rural communities, the National Center for Research on Rural Education strives to shape the future – and recently joined others intent on doing the same.
R2Ed presented its work to policymakers, administrators, researchers and community members from across Nebraska at the Rural Futures Conference, held May 8-10 in Lincoln, Neb.
The inaugural conference derived its name from the Rural Futures Institute, a University of Nebraska collective that aims to assist rural Nebraska and the Great Plains in creating a resilient and sustainable future built upon a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.
Gina Kunz, director of R²Ed's rural outreach and coordination, was among those representing the center at the conference. In addition to providing perspectives on Nebraska's rural education landscape, Kunz informed conference participants and attendees about R²Ed's research projects, collaborative initiatives and overall mission.
The U.S. Department of Education and Jobs for the Future (JFF) will conduct a webinar on dropout prevention in rural areas Thursday, May 3 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. CST.
"Utilizing the Village: Building Community Support for Dropout Prevention and Recovery Work in Rural Communities" will present the scope of the dropout problem in rural localities and feature two community mobilization strategies that have proven effective in addressing the issue. The webinar will provide participants with new ideas for launching or strengthening local re-engagement efforts; practical resources for planning community conversations to build a shared focus on dropout prevention; and examples of model practices and considerations for working with rural communities.
The webinar will be led by Doris Terry Williams, executive director of the Rural School and Community Trust, and Linda Carrillo, principal of the College, Career, and Technology Academy at Pharr-San Juan-Alamo School District in Pharr, Texas.
To register for the May 3 webinar, visit http://ruraldropoutprevention.weebly.com.
The webinar will be the first of three in a Rural Webinar Series sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and JFF. The remaining two webinars are tentatively scheduled for early October 2012 and early 2013.
The National Center for Research on Rural Education (R2Ed) recently added several project directors to help manage some of the center's most prominent ongoing studies.
Jim Houston was named project director for CSI: Coaching Science Inquiry in Rural Schools, which is examining how professional development and coaching efforts influence teachers' knowledge and implementation of guided scientific inquiry.
As director, Houston manages various research activities and oversees the involvement of personnel that include research assistants and instructional coaches. Houston previously spent more than a decade in the Nebraska public school system, serving as a teacher and dean of students at the junior high and high school levels. He holds master's and educational specialist degrees in educational administration from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Michelle Hammack is filling the same role for Project READERS, which seeks to compare the effectiveness of teacher professional development and follow-up coaching provided either on-site or through Web-based distance technology.
Hammack works with principal investigators, interventionists, instructional coaches, data collectors and research assistants to carry out randomized-trial evaluations of the response-to-intervention (RTI) reading approach in rural classrooms. She earned her educational specialist degree in school psychology from the University of Cincinnati, previously working as a school psychologist in Ohio and a fifth-grade teacher in New York.
Hammack shares oversight of Project READERS with Frances Chumney, who also recently became the research director for Conjoint Behavioral Consultation (CBC) in Rural Communities. The project is analyzing CBC's ability to foster teacher-parent collaborations that positively influence the behavior of K-3 students in rural schools.
In addition to coordinating the collection, entry and analysis of data, Chumney supervises the training of data collectors and distributes collection protocols to appropriate personnel. Chumney is a doctoral student in quantitative, qualitative and psychometric methods with UNL's Educational Psychology Program.
The Nebraska State Education Association has published a feature on R2Ed's CSI: Coaching Science Inquiry in Rural Schools project for the December issue of its monthly newsletter, "The Voice."
The story can be found on page 23. Click here to view the issue.
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln recently presented the 2011 Outstanding Postdoc Award to Ji Hoon Ryoo, a postdoctoral research associate with the CYFS-housed National Center for Research on Rural Education (R2Ed).
The award recognizes exceptional postdoctoral scholars for their comprehensive efforts in research, teaching, mentoring, innovation and service to UNL or the community. Ryoo received the honor during the Nov. 2 UNL Research Fair. He was nominated by mentor James Bovaird, director of the CYFS Statistics and Research Methodology Unit and associate professor with UNL's Department of Educational Psychology.
Ryoo earned his doctorate in quantitative methods in education from the University of Minnesota's Department of Educational Psychology in June 2010. Since joining R2Ed in August 2010, he has applied his expertise in psychometrics, longitudinal modeling and educational evaluation as a methodologist and data analyst on numerous research projects.
Ryoo has published three peer-reviewed journal articles in the last year, including a solely authored paper in the top-tier journal Multivariate Behavioral Research. As a postdoctoral researcher, he has also presented eight papers at numerous conferences, including the International Meeting of the Psychometric Society and the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association.
In late 2010, Ryoo presented on the concept of longitudinal measurement invariance as part of the CYFS Research Methodology Series. During the spring 2012 semester, he will teach a longitudinal data analysis course for the Department of Educational Psychology.
Ryoo expressed gratitude for the professional guidance provided by Bovaird, CYFS Director Susan Sheridan and CYFS Research Assistant Professor Greg Welch, who also endorsed Ryoo's nomination.
"Personally, this award is a milestone indicating a starting point for my research career," Ryoo said. "But it would not have been possible without tremendous support from my mentors, as well as other members of CYFS. I ascribe this honor to all of them and thank them for that support."
Welch noted that Ryoo's stellar performance should herald even greater achievements down the line.
"The sky is the limit for Ji Hoon, and he has demonstrated this through his work in the center," Welch said. "He is the epitome of what a postdoctoral researcher should be."
The University of Florida's Cathy Cavanaugh revealed a decade of research-based lessons in online teacher professional development when she participated in the Creating Rural Connections Speaker Series on Oct. 3.
Hosted by the National Center for Research on Rural Education (R²Ed), Cavanaugh's presentation addressed educator-centered applications of distance technology and the qualities inherent to successful professional development.
Cavanaugh, an associate professor of educational technology who previously taught at rural schools in Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands, began by discussing teachers' ever-growing need for accessible programming.
"We think about the demands on teachers as increasing. But the capacity of teachers to participate in what has traditionally been thought of as professional development – workshops and programs and opportunities that are largely outside of their practice context – those capacities are decreasing," Cavanaugh said. "So we have to think differently about what professional development means, and I think we've got lots of opportunities now to think differently using the range of [technological] tools that are available to us."
Cavanaugh proceeded to briefly outline several elements found in many effective professional development initiatives. She specifically asserted that most successful programs are sustained rather than segmented; build support around a learning community of facilitators and fellow educators; allow teachers to apply what they learn to challenges they regularly encounter; and focus on student outcomes while giving teachers time for reflection.
Cavanaugh then summarized case studies of four professional development projects, each of which featured distinct configurations and services for participating teachers.
The first took the form of an online workshop for teachers of students with special needs. Cavanaugh discussed the importance of ensuring that workshops maintain enough flexibility to serve both individual teachers and communities of educators. She also spoke about the benefits of catering to educators' diverse learning styles, noting that while some teachers prefer the real-time communication of video or audio media, others favor discussion boards and other asynchronous channels.
"The nature of the human interaction will vary according to the needs that it's meeting," Cavanaugh said.
In addition, Cavanaugh emphasized the value of giving teachers opportunities to consider new information within the context of their own classrooms. She noted that virtual workshops seem to work especially well for establishing a common knowledge base and helping teachers generate ideas for course design.
The second case study addressed the mentoring of new K-12 educators to prepare them for teaching students in a virtual environment. Cavanaugh observed that giving new teachers access to an authentic online course environment was critical, particularly because few had taken online classes as students. She also noted that introducing small doses of new information at a reasonable pace proved particularly useful.
According to Cavanaugh, even participants who decided not to teach in a virtual setting reported learning much that they would later apply in traditional classrooms.
"We feel strongly that there are some universals about teaching and learning, and [that] there's [much] transfer between learning environments," Cavanaugh said. "There are also unique [characteristics] about virtual, physical and blended learning environments. What you learn about one will help you in the other, but what you learn about one will not necessarily completely prepare you for the other."
Cavanaugh's third example described the formation of an online professional learning community centered on inquiry-based instruction. Because teachers with previous inquiry training mentored those who had none, Cavanaugh stated that leadership quality largely dictated the success of the program.
"The person who is communicating with the teachers … makes the difference," Cavanaugh said. "You can set up the community; you can set up the activity; you can set up the environment – [but] if that facilitator isn't effective, warm [and] engaging, then the rest of it will have very limited use."
Moreover, Cavanaugh observed that teachers who actively engaged in the program benefited far more than those who did not. Consequently, she advocated encouraging participants to embrace the communal aspects of such programs.
"It was powerful for the teacher to have dialogue with the facilitators, but it multiplied that power when they were engaged with each other in the community," Cavanaugh said. "They learned at least as much from each other as they did from the facilitator."
The presentation concluded with Cavanaugh's recap of a more expansive teacher inquiry effort that recruited 20,000 educators from across Florida. With the guidance of university experts, seasoned teachers served as coaches for their less experienced counterparts. The project utilized an online system that gave mentors and their fellow teachers numerous opportunities to submit feedback about inquiry strategies and corresponding changes in student behavior. Participants reported greater professional satisfaction and a desire to sustain newly learned techniques.
As a result, Cavanaugh stressed the importance of job-embedded professional development that allows educators to examine the impacts of teacher reforms on student learning. In the same vein, she called for the incorporation of methods and tools that evaluate technology's long-term influence on teacher practice. Cavanaugh closed by expressing her hope that local and statewide administrators will employ such efforts to inform future school improvement plans.
View Dr. Cavanaugh's Presentation
With Nebraska farmers preparing for the annual harvesting of crops, the National Center for Research on Rural Education (R2Ed) recently took the opportunity to share its own yield with residents from across the state.
R2Ed researchers and staff shared information about the center's efforts to improve rural education during the 34th Annual Husker Harvest Days, held Sept. 13-15 on the outskirts of Grand Island, Neb. The center made its inaugural appearance at the invitation of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR), which coordinated a collection of nine booths around the theme of "Inspiring Young Nebraskans."
In addition to providing an overview of the center's mission and programs, R2Ed personnel organized interactive activities and distributed prizes to hundreds of visitors throughout the three-day event. Though most spectators hailed from the Cornhusker State, R2Ed also hosted sightseers from Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Texas and Washington. Travelers from such far-flung locales as Canada, Germany and Russia also made appearances.
The visitors to R2Ed's booth – who ran the gamut from farmers to first-graders – included Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman, University of Nebraska President J.B. Milliken and NU Vice President / Harlan Vice Chancellor for IANR Ronnie Green. R2Ed's Director of Rural Outreach and Coordination, Gina Kunz, spoke with them all – and was grateful for the opportunity to spend a day at the event.
"It was a privilege and pleasure to be a part of Husker Harvest Days," Kunz said. "It afforded us, as university personnel, a wonderful opportunity to interact with the very people we strive to impact – students, families, educators and community leaders. Meeting with people from across Nebraska and beyond made the time we spent there both fun and memorable."
View Slideshow
Gina Kunz, director of R²Ed's rural outreach and coordination, participated in the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE)'s Southeast Regional Rural Education Summit held July 19-20 in Nashville, Tenn.
Kunz presented at two panels during the summit, addressing R²Ed research on teacher professional development and parent engagement strategies. The summit focused on themes that included preparing students in rural communities for post-high school success, delivering professional support for K-12 teachers, and implementing classroom technology to level the playing field for rural students.
"I thought the summit was a huge success," Kunz said. "You could feel the passion and commitment to high-quality rural education from the presenters and the participants. It was a truly energizing event, and I felt honored to be part of it!"
Kunz's presentations on teacher professional development and parent engagement can be found here and here, respectively. For more information on the summit, click here.
R2Ed Rural Outreach and Coordination Director Gina Kunz and R2Ed Director Susan Sheridan have contributed a blog post to the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) website. The post comes ahead of Kunz's participation in the Southeast Regional Rural Education Summit, which is co-hosted by SCORE and will take place July 19-20 at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn.
Click here to read the blog post, which summarizes R²Ed's efforts to enhance the quality of teaching and improve student outcomes in rural school communities.
The July edition of the National Center for Research on Rural Education (R2Ed)'s Rural360° e-newsletter features an interview with Dr. Patti Chance, professor and chair of the Educational Leadership Department at San Diego State University. She is a member of R2Ed's National Leadership Advisory Board.
Chance discusses her professional experiences in rural communities, shares her perspectives on the merits of small schools, and offers suggestions for the future of rural education research in the interview.
Chance has published articles, chapters and books on instructional leadership, supervision, school and curriculum development, organizational behavior and leadership theory. She served as editor of The Rural Educator for seven years and sits on editorial boards for several national journals dedicated to educational leadership.
To hear the interview, click here.
The National Center for Research on Rural Education (R2Ed) recently spoke with Nebraska Commissioner of Education Dr. Roger Breed in an interview exclusive to July's Rural360° e-newsletter.
In the interview, Breed discusses the strengths and challenges of rural communities, similarities and differences between rural and non-rural schools, and Nebraska's role as the seat of R2Ed.
Breed has served as the Nebraska Commissioner of Education since 2009. Prior to joining the Nebraska Department of Education, he was as an educator and administrator in Nebraska's rural and suburban school districts for nearly 40 years.
To watch the interview, click here.
John White, U.S. Department of Education Deputy Assistant Secretary for Rural Outreach, visited the National Center for Research on Rural Education (R²Ed) April 29 to address challenges, opportunities and teacher development in rural schools.
White discussed these issues with R²Ed Director Susan Sheridan, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Chancellor Harvey Perlman and College of Education and Human Sciences Dean Marjorie Kostelnik. The R²Ed Core Leadership Team of Sheridan, Todd Glover, Gwen Nugent, Gina Kunz and James Bovaird also informed White of the Center's ongoing research programs.
Faculty affiliates Nancy Engen-Wedin and Christine Marvin contributed insights regarding innovative teacher development programs designed to help rural school communities "grow their own" personnel resources related to classroom teaching, school leadership and special education services.
On April 28, White visited rural Nebraska's Winnebago High School and Madison Elementary School, both of which have participated in research affiliated with R²Ed and the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools. The schools are among those recently awarded School Improvement Grants from the U.S. Department of Education.
Dr. Elizabeth Moorman Kim, a postdoctoral fellow with the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools, concluded the R2Ed-co-sponsored 2011 Research Methodology Series with an April 22 presentation on meta-analysis.
Moorman Kim opened by defining meta-analysis, explaining its rationale and differentiating it from other forms of research-based reviews. She then laid out several scenarios conducive to meta-analyses and described conditions necessary for successfully conducting them.
After covering these foundations, Moorman Kim delved into the steps of the meta-analytic process, from specifying a problem and searching literature to developing coding protocols, analyzing data and presenting results. She concluded with an overview of resources essential for researchers interested in meta-analysis.
View Dr. Moorman's Presentation
The National Center for Research on Rural Education commenced its 2011 Creating Rural Connections Speaker Series with an April 21 visit from Dr. Jim Knight, research associate with the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning.
The presentation, "Leveraging Coaching for School Improvement: Theory and Practice of Instructional Coaching," focused on the titular form of teacher professional development that Knight has dedicated more than a decade to studying. Approximately 60 teachers, coaches and researchers attended.
Knight opened the presentation by discussing the difficulties and potential pitfalls of professional development efforts. Having interviewed many teachers over the years, he shared quotes from those who expressed frustration with the limitations and impracticality of traditional professional development workshops.
"What we see, again and again, is that a workshop, by itself, doesn't do much in terms of changing teaching practices," Knight said.
Knight then explained the process of developing a response to these frustrations – a response that would eventually become Instructional Coaching. That process began with the advent of the Partnership Learning Approach, a forerunner of Instructional Coaching that emphasized principles such as equality, choice, dialogue and reciprocity.
"It's my belief that we will never get the kind of schools we want unless the professional learning we [implement] creates this opportunity for a mutually humanizing conversation," said Knight, "[in which] all parties feel like they've been heard."
Though Partnership Learning improved teachers' comprehension of and engagement with professional development, Knight said participants often failed to implement the strategies they gleaned from it. This realization led him to develop Instructional Coaching, which emphasizes modeling, observation and teacher-directed goals to encourage buy-in from participants.
"For us, Instructional Coaching is a way of helping people learn proven practices," Knight said. "We're all about learning a practice to change beliefs [about teaching]."
After reviewing the essential components and demonstrated impacts of Instructional Coaching, Knight summarized efforts to continually refine and modify the approach according to feedback from coaches, teachers and students. He concluded by outlining plans for future publications and studies that will further evaluate and augment Instructional Coaching. A 20-minute question-and-answer session followed the presentation.
Click here to view the presentation and download Knight's PowerPoint slides.
