innovator vol. 39, fall 2008. literacies in the 21st century

8/14/2019 Innovator vol. 39, Fall 2008. Literacies in the 21st century

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INNOVATORFALL 2008

LITERACIES

IN THE 21ST

CENTURY


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On the cover: An Ann Arbor third-grader records predicted

locations o animal habitats on a map o her schoolyard

by traditional methods: crayon and paper. Is a switch to

higher-tech methods such as GPS tracking in her uture?

Photo by Mike Gould

Deans note 1

Literacies

in the 21st century 2

Learning sciences creating FLow 6

experiences with games -

Barry Fishman

common myths aBout

21st-century Literacies 8

higher eDucation anD new

technoLogies - eric Dey 10

scaFFoLDing minDFuLness -

chris Quintana 12

preparing

tech-savvy teachers 14

aLumni

DaviD BranDon

(aBeD 74, certt 74) 16

aLumni

gwenDoLyn caLvert Baker

(Ba 64, ma 67, pD 72) 18

snapshots 20

awarDs

cLass notes 26

DeveLopment report 28

in thiS iSSue

2

6

16

20


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U N I V E R S I T Y O F M I C H I G A N S C H O O L O F E D U C A T I O N 1

When I began teaching elementary school more than 30

years ago, our working denition o literacy was simple.

I children could read and write basic texts, then we

considered them literate. oday things are dierent. In

order to be successul, students must command many

dierent aspects o literacy. Tey must do more than read

in the traditional sense, they must also be able to interpret

a vast array o text, images, and graphics.

odays young people are bombarded with inormation

everywhere they turn: books, graphic novels, websites,

television, blogs, newspapers, CD liner notes, text

messages, magazines, email, and instant messages. Te

list goes on and on. How do we prepare these children

to navigate this overwhelming quantity o inormation

and both ocus and interpret careully? How do children

manage the avalanche o words and data they encounter in

and out o school? How do they decide what is legitimate

and useul inormation?

Faculty and students at the University o Michigan School

o Education are exploring questions like these in eorts

to improve teaching and learning o literacy or the

twenty-rst century. We have an ongoing commitment to

understanding and ostering literacy, broadly dened, or

DeanS note

individuals o dierent backgrounds and capabilities. Our

research and teaching ocuses on students rom preschool

through college. It takes place both in and out o school and

it is motivated by a range o theoretical, methodological, and

practical perspectives. What ocuses our collective work is

the commitment to understandingand improvinghow

young people interpret and communicate meaning.

In addition, we are preparing tomorrows teachers with

the orientations and skills to be able to respond to and

deploy the ever-changing tools that may well become

requirements or modern education and which will enable

the creation o new educational methods. Our curriculum

evolves, as does the schools physical space. We are creating

an inrastructure or projects and curriculum that utilize

digital texts, graphics, video, animations, computer games,

and other high-tech tools to represent, study, and research

learning and instruction, as well as to engage in specially-

enabled orms o learning and teaching literacies.

Tis issue o Innovator, with its theme Literacies in the

wenty-First Century, explores what literacy means in a

quickly evolving, technology-reliant world, how meaning

is made and conveyed, and what teachers and students

need to thrive in this ever-changing landscape.

Deborah Loewenberg baLL


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w w w. S O E . U M I C H . E D U F A L L 2 0 0 8 U N I V E R S I T Y O F M I C H I G A N S C H O O L O F E D U C A T

messages, inomercials, and pseudo-acts. It is important

or young people (and their elders) to ask a series o hard

questions as they read or view:

Who created this message?

What creative techniques are used to attract

my attention?

How might dierent people understand this

message dierently?

What values, liestyles, and points o view are

represented in, or omitted rom, this message?

Why is this message being s ent?

(Center or Media Literacy, 2002/2008)

L Ss c Fl

exps gs - b Fs

Barry Fishman has words o warning or anyone considering

his upcoming undergraduate course on video games and

learning.

Students looking or a gut course might want to check out the

syllabus in advance, he says, because learning about games

isnt all un and games.

An associate proessor in the School o Education and School o

Inormation, Fishman taught a similar class at Harvard last year

when he was a visiting proessor there. People who take this

course either have an enthusiasm or video games and want to

legitimize that enthusiasm, he says, or have an enthusiasm

or learning, know that games are really popular, and want to

gure out how they can use that to help kids learn. Either way,

students learn about learning, motivation, teaching, and even a

bit about school reorm.

Learning sciences, Fishmans specialty, is a relatively new eld.

It draws rom education, cognitive science, computer science,

psychology, neuroscience, and anthropology to study learning

in real-world settings and, he says, bring together the best o

what we understand about learning and apply it to the design

and study o more eective learning environments.

One thing we understand clearly is that much learning occurs

through play in various orms, which makes studying video

games worthwhile. Its not about using games in school, or

turning ormal school learning into a video game. Its about

identiying eatures in good games that can be adopted

by educators.

Highlight

What isnt new? One o the challenges I think we need

to grapple with is dening what this new literacy is, what

makes it new, says Moje. Is it really new or do we just

think its new because the tool or communicating is

new? We have this notion that literacy is a linear process;

thats part o what makes old literacies old. Te question

about whats new is less about whether its more possible

to jump around and take a non-linear pathpeople can

skip around in books, toobut that its more accepted, and

even prompted, in and by these digital contexts. Tats the

dierence. What is new and dierent are our approaches

to texts, to inormation, and to interaction around texts

and inormation.

Te delivery systems notwithstanding, literacy is still

what society expects literate individuals to do, argue

researchers Donald Leu, Charles Kinzer, Julie Coiro, and

Dana Cammack in a chapter entitled oward a Teory

o New Literacies Emerging rom the Internet and Other

Inormation and Communication echnologies in

T eoretical Models and Processes o Reading (2004). But

power, identities, and agency crucially shape which literate

behaviors count. Individuals will need to be lighter on

their eet because social expectations can change as swily

and prooundly as the systems, but people cant dance

without a foor beneath them.

building on foundationS

Mojes comments suggest that learning how to lear

taking on even greater signicance. Leu, Kinzer, C

and Cammack also wrote new literacies almost a

build on oundational literacies rather than replace t

In act, it could be argued that they will become

more essential because reading and writing become

important in an inormation age. And, according t

National Council o eachers o English policy

Studies o workorce readiness show that employer

written and oral communication skills very highly

collaboration, work ethic, critical thinking , and leade

all rank higher than prociency in i normation techno

Continued on page 9

Were trying to understand how games, when theyre

successul, create true fow experiences, where learners are

optimally engaged in the task at hand, he says. When kids

play these games, theyre doing all the things we hope people

will do in a high-perormance learning environment. What i

school had those same qualities? Challenges that kids want to

engage with, challenges at just the right level or each learner,

and learning environments that teach you what you need to

know to succeed just when you need to know it? What can

we learn rom this to redesign the way school is put together,

so that kids come to school wanting to engage and nding it

to be a challenge that they choose to take on believing they

will succeed?

Im very interested on the whole in what makes learning

and reorm successul, he says. A huge part o what I do is

gure out how to design environments that use technology in

transormational ways, not just recreating what we already do.

A lot o people bring technology into schools and wonder why

scores dont improve. But i its just more o the same, theres

no reason to expect an improvement in outcomes.


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Te evidence that employing these tools in teaching strengthens the oundations required to take ull advantage o

is more than anecdotal. Gere and company tell us that research shows that digital technology enhances writin

interaction in several ways. K-12 students who write with computers produce compositions o greater length and h

quality and are more engaged with and motivated toward writing than their peers. College students who keep e-port

have a higher rate o academic achievement and a higher overall retention rate than their peers. Tey also demons

greater capacity or metacognition, refection, and audience awareness.

Te role o the teacher embodies both what changes and what doesnt. Te teacher still must be the classroom leade

acilitator and that now entails orchestrating complex contexts or literacy and learning, not just simple dispensing

Te good news is that the instructor need not be a geek to achieve this; in act, it can oster collaboration i the teacher

At the end o the day, modeling critical thinking and refection matter at least as much as technological expertise.

We try to emphasize that its okay to say to your students, I dont know, or Im not sure, Liz Keren-Kolb, doc

student in learning technologies, says o the course in classroom technology that she and Lecturer Je Stanzler teach

the next step is always to say, Lets nd out.

Tere are, to be sure, serpents in the garden.

Continued on page 11

1Myth

wenty-rst-century literacy is about technology only.

Reality

Although technology is important to literacy in the

new century, other dimensions o learning are essential.

Studies o workorce readiness show that employers

rate written and oral communication skills very highly,and collaboration, work ethic, critical thinking, and

leadership all rank higher than prociency in inormation

technology. Te Partnership or 21st-Century Skills

(www.21stcenturyskills.org) advocates or core academic

subjects, learning and innovation skills, and lie and

career skills, along with technology skills. Even a

standardized measure like the iSkills Inormation

and Communication echnology Literacy est gives

signicant attention to organization, evaluation,

critical thinking, and problem solving.

2Myth

Te digital divide is closed because schools provide

computer and Internet access.

Reality

Te digital dividethe gap in access to and quality otechnologystill exists. In 2005, nearly 100 p ercent o

public schools in the United States had access to the

Internet, but student-to-computer ratios and access to

broadband service vary widely across socio-economic

levels. Furthermore, available computers are oen not

used eectively or ully; the national average o students

school use o computers is 12 minutes per week.

3Myth

eachers who use technology in their personal lives will

use it in their classes.

Reality

Research shows that teachers who use word processing,

spreadsheets, presentation soware, and web browsers athome do not bring that knowledge into the classroom.

Furthermore, two-thirds o all teachers report eeling

under-prepared to use technology in teaching, even i

they use computers to plan lessons, access model lesson

plans, and create activities.

4Myth

eachers need to be experts in technology i n order to use

it eectively in instruction.

Reality

Research shows that eective teachers collaborate with

students to understand the inormation landscape

and think about its use. Since success with technology

depends largely upon critical thinking and refection,even teachers with relatively little technological skill

can provide useul instruction.

National Council of Teachers of English

Policy Research Brief

common mythSa 21s-c Ls

K-12 students who write with computers produce

compositions of greater length and higher quality and are

more engaged with and motivated toward writing than

their peers. Anne Ruggles Gere

Speed of access is a truly new component of new

literacies that puts an even higher premium on knowing

how to sort information, how to evaluate it, and how to

read it critically. Elizabeth Moje


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Its ironic, says Associate Proessor Eric Dey: A lot o theIts ironic, says Associate Proessor Eric Dey: A lot o the

technologies we think about deploying in educational settingstechnologies we think about deploying in educational settings

were invented in universities and at the same time college acultywere invented in universities and at the same time college aculty

re trying to gure out how to use them.re trying to gure out how to use them.

For all its shortcomings, the K-12 system has generally been anFor all its shortcomings, the K-12 system has generally been an

arlier adopter o those technologies than has higher education.arlier adopter o those technologies than has higher education.

Dey, whose research is concerned with the infuence thatDey, whose research is concerned with the infuence thatolleges and universities have on their students and aculty,olleges and universities have on their students and aculty,

points out an organizational reason or that:points out an organizational reason or that:

hh eed dd d nn ttlsls

-- ee D D

Highlight

For More Info

One thing thats very dierent in higher education is that thereOne thing thats very dierent in higher education is that there

isnt a traditional command-and-control structure, he says.isnt a traditional command-and-control structure, he says.

The organic experimentation o individual aculty membersThe organic experimentation o individual aculty members

drives this kind o innovation. In some cases this leads to adrives this kind o innovation. In some cases this leads to a

critical mass o adoption where suddenly everybodys doing it.critical mass o adoption where suddenly everybodys doing it.

That was the story with CTools, the University o Michigans web-That was the story with CTools, the University o Michigans web-

based environment or creating course and project websites. Itsbased environment or creating course and project websites. Itsgrowth has been almost viral.growth has been almost viral.

This was an initiative that hardly anyone used ve or six yearsThis was an initiative that hardly anyone used ve or six years

ago, says Dey, and literally almost everyone on campus usesago, says Dey, and literally almost everyone on campus uses

it now.it now.

Student resistance and the physical inrastructure o campusesStudent resistance and the physical inrastructure o campuses

have also militated against the incorporation o morehave also militated against the incorporation o more

technology, according to Dey. A lot o students want to usetechnology, according to Dey. A lot o students want to use

some technology, but they also want ace-to-ace contactsome technology, but they also want ace-to-ace contact

and traditional learning environments, in part because they areand traditional learning environments, in part because they are

amiliar with and successul in such settings, he says. So youamiliar with and successul in such settings, he says. So you

get some pushback.get some pushback.

Dey uses a quotation rom Winston Churchill, we shapeDey uses a quotation rom Winston Churchill, we shape

our buildings, and aterwards our buildings shape us, in theour buildings, and aterwards our buildings shape us, in the

syllabus or Ed 860, his course on how the use o technologysyllabus or Ed 860, his course on how the use o technology

aects stakeholders in the higher education enterprise.aects stakeholders in the higher education enterprise.

Especially in large universities or colleges that have a longEspecially in large universities or colleges that have a long

history, the hidden technology we have to deal with is thehistory, the hidden technology we have to deal with is the

classroom, he says. Lecture halls typically have xed seatingclassroom, he says. Lecture halls typically have xed seating

arrangements which encourage aculty lecturing, and i wearrangements which encourage aculty lecturing, and i we

dont have an available internet connection, were not going todont have an available internet connection, were not going to

be using computers, which also slows down aculty adoption.be using computers, which also slows down aculty adoption.

As or Deys own adoption rate, he used basically standardAs or Deys own adoption rate, he used basically standard

technology in Ed 860, principally CTools and sometechnology in Ed 860, principally CTools and some

videoconerencing. When I looked at my teaching evaluations,videoconerencing. When I looked at my teaching evaluations,

he says, I, ironically, got a ew dings or not doing morehe says, I, ironically, got a ew dings or not doing more

with technology.with technology.

Anne Ruggles geRes ReseARch

www-personal.umich.edu/~argere

BARRy FishmAns ReseARch

www-personal.umich.edu/~fshman

chRis QuintAnAs ReseARch

sitemaker.soe.umich.edu/soe/

aculty_introduction&mode=single

&recordID=50928

elizABeth mojes ReseARch

www-personal.umich.edu/~moje

no QuiCk fixeS to

aCCoMpanying pRobleMS

Almost every public school in the United States now

access to the Internet, but student-to-computer r

and access to broadband service vary widely a

socioeconomic levels, and inadequate or nonexistent a

to technology at home is just another orm o pover

disadvantaged youth. New literacies mean even gr

challenges or students who are already struggling

traditional orms. So-called monastic learners, those

t the stereotype o the solitary scholar ensconced i

library, will also have diculties. And it didnt take

or ChaCha, a cell-phone service launched last Ja

that promises to give ree answers to virtually any que

within minutes, to be used or cheating.

Tese problems are all too amiliar. rying to solve

is what the noblest educational enterprises have long

about: leveling the playing eld, disseminating a sh

intellectual and ethical oundation, insuring tha

students learn despite disparate gis, and preparing

or success in all their worlds. It behooves teachers to

up the powerul tools that are now at hand and reme

the ends that they serve.

Story by Jef Mortimer

Photos by Mike Gouldaa Cole is a graduate student in mathematics education at the School o Edcuation.

liz KolBs Toys To Tools: ConneCTing

sTudenT Cell Phones To eduCaTionwww.cellphonesinlearning.com

centeR FoRmediA liteRAcy

www.medialit.org

nAtionAl council oFteAcheRs

oF english sQuiRe oFFice oF

Policy ReseARch

www.ncte.org/edpolicy?source=gs

digitAl ideAKeePeR

www.hi-ce.org/digitalideakeep

Toward a Theory

of new liTeraCies

www.readingonline.org/

newliteracies/leu

inteRnAtionAl society FoR

technology in educAtion

www.iste.org


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Highlight

ldld dlss -dlss - ccs Qs Q Teachers provide scaolding all the time when dealing with Teachers provide scaolding all the time when dealing with

their students, says Assistant Proessor Chris Quintana. Whattheir students, says Assistant Proessor Chris Quintana. What

oes it mean to provide that kind o support in technology?oes it mean to provide that kind o support in technology?

How to design those kinds o technologies is what Ive beenHow to design those kinds o technologies is what Ive been

looking at.looking at.

Thats the overall ocus o Quintanas work, but the value oThats the overall ocus o Quintanas work, but the value o

ne project in particular will be instantly recognizable tone project in particular will be instantly recognizable to

nyone who has ever done research on the Web. Called thenyone who has ever done research on the Web. Called the

Digital IdeaKeeper, he describes it as a sotware environmentDigital IdeaKeeper, he describes it as a sotware environment

to help kids with online inquiry by providing them with toolsto help kids with online inquiry by providing them with tools

to help them locate, assess, and synthesize inormation onto help them locate, assess, and synthesize inormation on

the Internet.the Internet.

When he and his colleagues learned o the National ScienceWhen he and his colleagues learned o the National Science

Foundations interest in building a digital inrastructure or K-12Foundations interest in building a digital inrastructure or K-12

students, all o their ideas were either lets make it easier orstudents, all o their ideas were either lets make it easier or

kids to search digital libraries, or lets build specic librarykids to search digital libraries, or lets build specic library

collections that are aimed at kids, he says. But we thoughtcollections that are aimed at kids, he says. But we thought

that nding inormation on the Web was not necessarily thethat nding inormation on the Web was not necessarily the

problem. Once you nd the inormation, what do you do with it?problem. Once you nd the inormation, what do you do with it?

How do you make sense o it? How do you synthesize it?How do you make sense o it? How do you synthesize it?

Research shows that when most students use the InternetResearch shows that when most students use the Internet

to investigate a problem, they enter a ew words in a searchto investigate a problem, they enter a ew words in a search

engine, click on some o the websites displayed, scan orengine, click on some o the websites displayed, scan or

sentences that seem to t a potential answer, and copy andsentences that seem to t a potential answer, and copy and

paste. Its the sort o behavior that eeds the ears o technologypaste. Its the sort o behavior that eeds the ears o technology

skeptics, but technology can also solve the problem it seemsskeptics, but technology can also solve the problem it seems

to have created.to have created.

How can we develop tools to help kids put the brakes onHow can we develop tools to help kids put the brakes on

and be more mindul and read these things in more detail?and be more mindul and read these things in more detail?

says Quintana. Thats what we were aiming at with thesays Quintana. Thats what we were aiming at with the

IdeaKeepera sotware environment that would not just haveIdeaKeepera sotware environment that would not just have

access to search engines but would support phases o theaccess to search engines but would support phases o the

online inquiry process.online inquiry process.

Online inquiry is an important way o engaging learners inOnline inquiry is an important way o engaging learners in

inormation-rich activities using online inormation collectionsinormation-rich activities using online inormation collections

to explore questions in dierent elds, such as science. Onlineto explore questions in dierent elds, such as science. Online

inquiry involves a set o interrelated activities, such as planninginquiry involves a set o interrelated activities, such as planning

an investigation; seeking, analyzing, and making sense o onlinean investigation; seeking, analyzing, and making sense o online

inormation; and synthesizing inormation into a nal argument.inormation; and synthesizing inormation into a nal argument.

However, learners may encounter several obstacles inHowever, learners may encounter several obstacles in

trying to tackle an open-ended, complex process like onlinetrying to tackle an open-ended, complex process like online

inquiry. Many digital library services support inormation seekinginquiry. Many digital library services support inormation seeking

but they do not necessarily support the ull range o onlinebut they do not necessarily support the ull range o onlineinquiry activities.inquiry activities.

The IdeaKeeper extends digital library services by integratingThe IdeaKeeper extends digital library services by integrating

dierent tools and scaolding approaches to help learnersdierent tools and scaolding approaches to help learners

eectively engage in all the process o online inquiry. The maineectively engage in all the process o online inquiry. The main

IdeaKeeper screen illustrates student inquiry activities withIdeaKeeper screen illustrates student inquiry activities with

a sidebar o tasks in student language: Figuring out what Ia sidebar o tasks in student language: Figuring out what I

need, nding what I need, reading what I ound, and puttingneed, nding what I need, reading what I ound, and putting

it all together into a nal answer. IdeaKeeper also displaysit all together into a nal answer. IdeaKeeper also displays

ierent questions or students to think about and spaces orierent questions or students to think about and spaces or

responses: What is my driving question? What do I know aboutresponses: What is my driving question? What do I know about

this topic? What do I want to know about this topic? What arethis topic? What do I want to know about this topic? What are

some possible search keywords?some possible search keywords?

When students open an article retrieved rom the digitalWhen students open an article retrieved rom the digital

library, IdeaKeeper displays it in a browser window ramed bylibrary, IdeaKeeper displays it in a browser window ramed by

scaolded notepad that contains prompts and note-takingscaolded notepad that contains prompts and note-taking

reas or analysis. Students are asked to say something in theirreas or analysis. Students are asked to say something in their

wn words rather than copy and paste, Quintana says. Thatswn words rather than copy and paste, Quintana says. Thats

whats been lackingmindulness.whats been lackingmindulness.

The sotware was used by sixth and seventh graders and theThe sotware was used by sixth and seventh graders and the

results were encouraging. Kids that used IdeaKeeper wereresults were encouraging. Kids that used IdeaKeeper were

taking more notes than the kids who were not and looktaking more notes than the kids who were not and look

ewer websites but spending more time on each, which iewer websites but spending more time on each, which i

o what we were wanting to see, he says. It worked no what we were wanting to see, he says. It worked n

small sample.small sample.

Sadly, the NSF grant that supported the project has ruSadly, the NSF grant that supported the project has ru

Further study is needed may be a clich, but its rustraFurther study is needed may be a clich, but its rustra

true in this case.true in this case.

Id like to do a larger trial, say a hundred kids, says QuiId like to do a larger trial, say a hundred kids, says Qui

and wed have to make the sotware less brittle. Its techand wed have to make the sotware less brittle. Its tech

a little more complex when you want to scale it rom a ca little more complex when you want to scale it rom a c

o classrooms to hundreds o classrooms. But such so classrooms to hundreds o classrooms. But such s

requires another round o unding. Quintana is explorrequires another round o unding. Quintana is explor

variety o avenues to update and distribute the sotwarevariety o avenues to update and distribute the sotware

wider audience.wider audience.

The Digital IdeaKeeperThe Digital IdeaKeeper

includes dierentincludes dierent

upportive eaturesupportive eatures

or students who areor students who are

ngaging in onlinengaging in online

inquiry. For example,inquiry. For example,

hen students openhen students open

eb-based articles (sucheb-based articles (such

s this article rom thes this article rom the

Environmental ProtectionEnvironmental Protection

Agency), the IdeaKeeperAgency), the IdeaKeeper

onnects a scaoldedonnects a scaolded

notepad to the article tonotepad to the article to

uide students in readinguide students in reading

nd taking notes aboutnd taking notes about

the article. Not onlythe article. Not only

oes the notepad giveoes the notepad give

tudents a place to taketudents a place to take

notes about the article,notes about the article,

ut it includes dierentut it includes dierent

prompts to describe whatprompts to describe what

they should think aboutthey should think about

s they skim, read, ands they skim, read, and

ummarize the article.ummarize the article.

There are similarThere are similar

prompts and eatures inprompts and eatures in

IdeaKeeper to supportIdeaKeeper to supporttudents throughtudents through

ierent aspects o theierent aspects o the

nline inquiry processnline inquiry process

to make explicit theto make explicit the

act that online inquiryact that online inquiry

involves a wide range oinvolves a wide range o

onstructive, refective,onstructive, refective,

nd analytical activity.nd analytical activity.


10/19


And even some twentysomething students in

technology course were as wary as their elders o K

Kolbs ideas.

Teyd say, What are you talking about, using

phones? says Stanzler. Tere was a lot o resistan

lot o conusion. Schools are only gradually seeing

possibilities and Liz is on the leading edge o that

whole question o whether blogs or cell phones h

place is an abstraction, but the experience o working

them helps our students get in touch with who they

teachers, whats important to them, and what experi

aspects they want to encourage.

So, given her views, why did Keren-Kolb produce a

instead o a digital stream? Because Im trying to

old-ashioned teachers, she says. You cant reach

through a cell phone.

Story by Jef Mortimer

Photos by Mike Gould

PreParing tech-

Savvy teacherSSd ms

as cf

P

Students in last years Secondary Master o Arts with

Certication program got technology coming and going.

Tey learned how to embed video and photos in text

to create multimedia papers. Tey used BlueStream, a

University o Michigan server designed or archiving and

sharing large les, or their classroom assignments. For the

rst time, under a pilot project sponsored by the eacher

Education Initiative, each student coming into the program

was equipped with a laptop computer, a video camera,

and audio-recording devices to chronicleand study and

analyze and sharetheir pre-service practice.

And going out to do that practice, they were urther

equipped with the ideas and insig hts they gained rom the

echnology in Education course taught by Je Stanzler

and Elizabeth Keren-Kolb.

In at least one important regard, the results are already in.

Teyve done really well getting teaching positions, says

Lecturer Deanna Birdyshaw, who led the pilot project along

with Clinical Proessor Charles Peters. Teir ability to

design learning experiences using instructional technology

became something that people interviewing them thought

would be important or their school districts. Te level

o their knowledge about technology was denitely

an advantage.

One o those students was Katie Z awacki, who now teaches

English at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, IL. My

mentor teacher was at the end o her career and basically

used next to n o technology, she says. I noticed the ways

that students reacted to my lessons in contrast to hers.

In teaching Pride and Prejudice, or example, she had

students create a Facebook page or a character o their

choosing and then write and post blog entries in the

guise o that character. I know how interesting things

like Facebook and MySpace are to students these days

so I wanted to integrate those into the classroom, Zawacki

says. Tat helped them be able to understand the

character better.

Tats exactly what the tech-

nology course is ocused on,

says Keren-Kolb: When you

walk into that classroom,

how are you going to use

technology to meet your cur-ricular goals?

As a high-school social stud-

ies teacher and technology

coordinator, Keren-Kolb was

among those who wanted to

keep personal digital devic-

es out o schools. Now, shes

the author o oys to ools:

Connecting Student Cell Phones

to Education, which will be

published this all.

I you have an overhead pro-

jector and thats it, she says,

turn to the students and

say, What do you have? Cell

phones, iPods, mp3 players

theyre not just great tools you can use to enhance learn-

ing, but also tools that will connect student learning in the

classroom with what theyre doing in their lives.

Students can be as oblivious as their teachers to these

technologies potential. Its not about teaching them how

to use the tool, Keren-Kolb says. Teyre already better

than we are. Its about showing them how to use the tool

eectively or their proessional growth instead o looking

at it as a toy.


11/19


Sl ed Dls Sss Pzz-Dl ceo

Te best teachers are oen those who combine a knack or teaching with creative application

o their ormal training. David Brandon, who came to the University o Michigan on an

athletic scholarship, has truly pushed the envelope with his use o his School o Education

experiencehe entered the world o business. As CEO o Dominos Pizza, Inc., he leads over

145,000 team members in over 60 countries. And he credits much o his success to what he

learned at the School o Education.

Brandon came to the school intent on becoming a teacher. Besides his amily, he said, the

people who had made an impact on his lie had been teachers and coaches and he wanted

to have a similar infuence on other young people. In his senior year at SOE, he was student-

teaching at a local high school and was in discussions to continue at the school aer graduation.

Tats when opportunity knocked.

Actually, opportunity called on the telephone, and it was a

he and he w as a recruiter rom Procter & Gamble. Brandons

ootball coach, Bo Schembechler, had given the recruiter

Brandons name. Tinking it unlikely that hed be interested,

Brandon agreed nonetheless to meet with the recruiter, who

was hiring or the companys sales team in the Food Products

Division. As he learned about how Procter & Gambles sales

team worked and thought about his own abilities, he began to

eel that a position in the business world might make sense:

It wasnt as large a leap as some people might think, he said.

Many o the skills and much o the training I received at the

School o Education were really applicable to the jobs I have

had in the business world. My career has been spent teaching

and coaching people how to maximize their potential and

how to succeed in business.

When someone graduates rom the School o Education,theyve learned a lot about eective teaching and learning, the

dynamics o what occurs in a classroom, how to prepare a

curriculum, how to set objectives and measure perormance,

how to motivate people to want to learn, and how to make

learning a positive experience. All o those skills I learned at

the school are just as applicable in the world o business as

they are in the classroom.

DaviD branDon (abeD 74, certt 74)

aLumni Making a Difference Brandon later moved to Valassis Inserts, a company inthe sales promotion and coupon industries. Te companybecame Valassis Communications, Inc., aer Brandon led

the process o taking the company public. Over the course

o 20 years at Valassis, Brandon took it rom a company o 75

employees to a rm with 1,300 employees that was acclaimed

as one o the 100 Best Companies to Work or in America.

In 1998, he was elected to the universitys Board o Regents.

He says he was interested in this position so that he could

give back to the school that had played such a major, positive

role in his lie. He was recruited to his current position at

Dominos Pizza, Inc. the ollowing year.

Brandon and his wie Jan have recently ounded the Brandon

Proessional Resource Center and Archive at SOE. In his

experience, he said, or leaders to be successul, they need

appropriate resources that they can leverage to achieve

results. Te Brandon Center will house and oer access

to inormation, to resources that students need to be as

successul as they can be, in an ecient and technologically

advanced way.

Nearly our decades ago, Brandon came to SOE to learn how

to teach. Now, as CEO o the largest pizza delivery company

in the world, he says he continues to use his education:

Primarily what CEOs do is they teach and they coach.

I surround mysel with terric peoplea great team

and I coach them to be the best they can be. I teach and

communicate those things that I think are most important

or us to achieve as an organization. Te core skills that

I think are necessary to success I can trace back to my

education at the School o Education.

Story by Robert Brustman

The core skills that I think are necessary to

success I can trace back to my education at

the School of Education. David Brandon

UMPhotoServices,MartinVloet

UM Photo Services, Paul Jaronski


12/19


13/19


ypSilanti Middle SChool StudentS attend nanoSCienCe aCadeMy

For the third summer in a row, Ypsilanti sixth through eighth graders attended a two-week Nanoscience Academy designed by the or Highly Interactive Computing, Classrooms, and Curricula in Education on the University o Michigan campus. Te program intrstudents to the science o small. In the process, students conducted investigations, met practicing scientists who used nanoscience work, and toured university labs and acilities.

leadeRShip inStitute

For the second year, the Education Leadership Center held severalseminars on issues important to school leaders. Tis year, topicsincluded Current Legal and Political Issues and OrganizingSchools to Develop eaching Expertise.

aluMni CelebRate hoMeCoMing

On October 4, 2008, alumni enjoyed the chance to get reacqu

ed with each other and catch up with former t eachers and me

at Fall Gathering, the schools annual homecoming reunion lu

and football game.

inStitute paRtiCipantS CelebRate theMe, living Wide aWake

Participants in Oakland Writing Projects Invitational Summer Institute, a our-week, intensive, literacy-ocused workshop or excellent K-12teachers o all disciplines, were inspired to pose or a photograph by the institute theme Living Wide Awake. During June and July, teachersprobed their classroom practice and interior lives through writing, studying, and proessional inquiry. Te National Writing Project site iscosponsored by the U-M School o Education, Oakland Schools, and Adrian College.

SnaPShotS

eleMentaRy MatheMatiCS laboRatoRy addS neW tWiStS

In its second summer, the Elementary Mathematics Laboratory, a unique two-week program or Ypsilanti h graders taught by Dean DeborahLoewenberg Ball and documented extensively by multiple research teams, added several layers in 2008: a ull-day program or the childrenincluding arts-based work and a mathematics clinic, proessional development or Ypsilanti teachers, and a course or mathematics educatorstaught by National Medal o Science winner and SOE Proessor Hyman Bass.


14/19


Over the last several years, important U-M programs with and

or members o the Chinese education community have eatured

participation rom the School o Education. Tere have been

both university-level orums as well as programs that originate

rom SOE.

Last May, the Michigan-China University Leadership Forum

included 23 educational and government leaders rom China and

took place on the campuses now considered part o the University

Research Corridor: University o Michigan, Michigan State

University, and Wayne State University. Te orum built on a history

o engagement that began with a 2005 visit to China by President

Mary Sue Coleman where she met with ocials rom the Chinese

Ministry o Education. Chinese leaders requested that t he University

o Michigan host a two-week orum or Chinese higher education

leaders on the management o world-class research universities. One

orum was held in 2006, ollowed by this years orum.

SOE aculty member Constance Cook, who is also Executive

Director o the U-M Center or Research on Learning and eaching

and Associate Vice Provost or Academic Aairs, directed this yearsorum. Nine students rom the Center or the Study o Higher and

Postsecondary Education (CSHPE) assisted with this orum as

translators, drivers, and event planners.

Challenges identied by Chinese leaders included problems that

emerge with rapid expansion o a higher education system: the

need to develop ethical codes, standards or teaching and learning,

and additional revenue streams besides government budget lines

and tuition.

SnaPShotS

idea inStitute opened and dediCated

Te IDEA Institute was dedicated on October 14, 2008, with an opening symposium and dedication ceremony. IDEA is a collabobetween the College o Literature, Science, and the Arts and the School o Education and ormalizes long-term interdisciplinary partnIt is ocused on the improvement o undergraduate science and mathematics instruction, the recruitment to K-12 science and mathteaching, the improvement o 7-12 science and mathematics education, and the development o uture aculty.

building RenovationS undeRWay

Renovations are underway in key spaces within the School o Education. Tese will improve the look o the school and its collaborativeand welcoming atmosphere. Above is a rendering o the Deans Conerence Room, renovations o which were made possible by a gegi rom Judith A. (ABED 62, CER 62) and Verne G. (AB 62, MBA 63) Istock. In addition to this space, planning is underwayBrandon Proessional Resource Center and Archive, a twenty-rst-century education library.

At the school-level, the School o Educations CSHPE, in an eort led

by aculty member Janet Lawrence, began oering intensive executive

education programs or Chinese higher education administrators in

the summer o 2000. Between 2000 - 2005, the provincial educational

department o ianjing sent 80 university administrators to

participate in 16-week executive education programs that included

lectures, discussions, and visits to postsecondary institutions in

Southeast Michigan.

Since 2006, CSHPE has oered a three-week executive education

program or higher education administrators rom Liaoning

province in China. Te content has been developed in collaboration

with provincial government personnel and is revised annually

based on evaluations by participants and input rom the provincial

government. Between 20-25 individuals come to Ann Arbor each

all or a program consisting o lectures, group exercises, and site

visits. Certain topics vary; or instance, last October the group

wanted inormation about the management o endowments and

about creating university oundations while continuing past

interest in sessions that establish a oundational knowledge o

U.S. higher education (e.g., organization and governance andacademic programming).

Te Liaoning provincial government also supports our individuals

each year who spend six months in residence as visiting scholars

with CSHPE. Tese visitors unction as members o our academic

community, attending classes, social and proessional events, and

meeting individually with aculty on research or administrative

issues. Te latest delegation, which arrived on October 13, 2008,

included 21 higher education administrators rom universities and

the provincial government department o education.

SChool of eduCation a key paRtiCipant in u-M RelationShipS With China


15/19


16/19


cLaSS noteS

stephen a. anDerson

(AB 71, CER EDUC 71) has received numerous

career awards including: International Educators to Japan

Fellowship (2008); Michigan Elementary Principal o the

Year (2008); membership in the Michigan Network o

Educators (2008); Michigan Science eachers Association

Administrator o the Year (2005); and National

Science eachers Association/Council or Elementary

Science International Award or Elementary Science

Administration Excellence (2004).

amy kLiJanowicz campBeLL

(ABED 99, CER 99) received her National Board

Certication as an early childhood generalist aer having

taught in Fairax County, VA, and then in Carteret

County, NC, most recently team teaching a rst/second

multi-age class there. She is currently in Newport, Rhode

Island, where she tutors privately. She and her husband,

roy, are expecting their second daughter this all.

kate (BuDzinski) Druchniak

(ABED 00, CER EDUC 00) just nished her

seventh year o teaching second and third grade. She is

looking orward to completing her masters in reading

in December. She married Eric Druchniak (another

teacher!) in 2003 and had a son in December 2006.

Josephine eLizaBeth Fermanian

(AB 94, CER EDUC 98) has developed a line o

organic products aimed at saeguarding childrens health.

As she tells her story: I never imagined that one day I

would be an inventor o organic/green goods. I launched

an organic cleaner, Germs Begone, in 2005 when I

reused to bring chemicals into our home or cleaning

because my son and I both have Multiple Chemical

Sensitivity. More recently, she worked with a group o

organic manuacturers and, aer two years o intense

product development, launched PediaOrganic, natures

oral electrolyte. Te product contains no articial colors,

no articial favors, and no preservatives. I simply reuse

to give up on an idea that can make a dierence in our

childrens health, says Fermanian.

nataLia Forrat

(MA 08) was the winner o the article competition or

young scholars in the journal Voprosy obrazovaniya

(Educational Issues), published by State University -

Higher School o Economics, Moscow, Russia.

BarBara kuhn heerman

(AB 69, CER EDUC 69) retired in June 2007 aer 37

years o teaching. She was the Social Science departmentchair at Maine East High School in Park Ridge, IL. Her

retirement plans include travel and supervising student

teachers or Northwestern University.

pauL krieger

(BS 86, CER EDUC 86) just published his second

book,A Visual Analogy Guide to Human Physiology.

Tis is a companion book to his rst national publication,

A Visual Analogy Guide to Human Anatomy. Both books

are unique stand-alone supplements or which Krieger

is both the author and illustrator. His rst book is now

sold throughout the U.S. and Canada and is one o his

publishers best selling titles. More inormation on both

books can be vi ewed at the Morton Publishing website:

www.morton-pub.com. Krieger has been teaching as a

proessor o biology at Grand Rapids Community College

or the past 16 years.

cLaire cameron ponitz

(AB 02, MS 05, PhD 07) received the American

Psychological Associations Educational Psychology Early

Career Research Award. Tis accomplishment is due in

large part to my wonderul training in CPEP!

waLLace c. schLoerke

(ABED 47, CER EDUC 47, MS 50, EdS 62, EdD 64)

is proessor emeritus at Iowa State University and was

inducted into the Michigan Interscholastic rack Coaches

Association Hall o Fame recently or his successul

coaching at Pontiac High Sc hool (47-56). In May 2008,

he was honored to be selected as Grand Marshall at the

State o Iowa Special Olympics Summer Games, where he

has volunteered or over 20 years.

wed love to hear rom you.

Send us nes about your

achievements and experiences.

Send us your comments and advice.

Our address is:

Ofce o Development & Alumni Relations

U-M School o Education

610 East University, Suite 1001

Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1259

email: b@.

seung-hee son

(AM 01, AM 03, PhD 06), now an assistant proess

at Purdue University, received the 2008 Outstanding

Dissertation Award in Human Development rom

American Educational Research Association Divisio

E. Her dissertation also won the 2007 Outstanding

Dissertation Award rom American Educational Res

Association Early Education Special Interest Group.

mengLi song anD tamara young

Mengli Song (AM 01, PhD 03) and amara Young

(AM 01, PhD 05) recently published a book, Readin

Politics, Policies, and Processes. Tis book is based on

graduate research with the School o Educations Rea

Policy Project lead by proessor emeritus and ormer

Cecil Miskel. In 2005, Song, along with Miskel,

won the University Council or EducationalAdministrations William J. Davis Award or most

outstanding article in Educational Administration

Quarterly. In 2006, amara Young was a nalist or

the Politics o Education Associations Outstanding

Dissertation Award. Song is a research s cientist at

American Institutes or Research in Washington, DC

and Young is an assistant proessor at North Carolina

State University in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Staying in touchhsin-yi chang

(PhD 07) is now an

assistant proessor at

the Graduate Institute

o Science Education

at National Kaohsiung

Normal University in

Kaohsiung, aiwan. She

received the Dimond

Outstanding Dissertation

Award or 2008.

Spotlight


17/19

2 8 w w w . S O E . U M I C H . E D U F A L L 2 0 0 8

David Brandons (ABED 74 CER 74) prole on page16 and highlighted in the Fall 2007 issue oInnovator.

Te renovation o the Deans Conerence Room, made

possible by a gi rom Verne (AB 62, MBA 63) and Judy

Istock (ABED 62, CER 62), is underway as I write this.

Improvements to the technological capabilities and the

aesthetics and comort will enable productive meetings

and seminars.

Tese improvements are to shared spaces in which

members o the school community meet to work and thinkwith one another. As we have discussed and planned these

improvements, we have begun rethinking the ways in which

we interact with each other and we value the synthesis

that results rom the sharing o intellect and experience.

Were going to continue envisioning how we can best work

togetherand how our physical environment can nurture

productive collaboration.

Other school activities made possible by this campaign

include the signicant expansion o our K-12 summer

outreach activities, ellowship support, and gis or

the Center or the Study o Higher and Postsecondary

Education (which has again been rated the #1 higher

education program in the country).

Your gis, large and small, enable the school to continue

to lead the way in transorming educational practice and

policy in the state, the nation, and the world.

As always, i you are in the area, we encourage you to come

back and visit the school. See where youve been. And see

where were going. Well be happy to take you on a tour

and show you the exciting things happening at the Schoolo Education.

Tank you or all o your support.

Sincerely,

Michael S. Dubin

Director o Development and Alumni Relations

As the clocks tick down to midnight and reworksare launched to welcome the New Year, we will be drawing

the curtain on the Michigan Dierence Campaign. We

wont mark this conclusion with our own pyrotechnics, but

i we did shoot o a ew rockets or light a Roman Candle,

it would be entirely appropriatethis has been the

biggest, the best, and the most successul campaign in our

schools history.

Tis success is a result o the generosity and aith o you: our

loyal alumni and riends. You have been here. You know

that the schools work builds upon more than 125 years opreparing teachers, o pioneering research, and o working

with communities to persistently improve education and

meet new challenges.

Our goal or this eight-year campaign was to raise $30

million. Tanks to the enthusiastic support o our alumni

and riends, we have surpassed that goal and have raised

over $35 million.

More than 13 million o these dollars are designated or

student scholarships. Helping our students with the expense

o their education enables many bright and passionate

people to enter the teaching proession or improve their

abilities. While the university does its utmost to keep

tuition reasonable, it is still a signicant expense. Your

gis or tuition assistance help to remove the barriers that

might otherwise prevent gied students rom entering the

critical eld o education.

We have also received gis or use in improving our

physical resources. While our building is dear to us and

provides a meaningul heritage, its spaces need to evolve

to meet current and uture needs.

We are particularly grateul or the unding that enabled

us to renovate areas o our school. Improvements are quite

noticeable in the rst-foor public areas o our school with

brighter hallways and inspirational artwork.

Tis winter we plan to break ground on the Brandon

Proessional Resource Center and Archive, described in

DeveLoPmentrePort


18/19

o blf f d, ff, d fl, ld l , t !

The most successul capital campaign in our schools history is approaching its conclusion and the benets o your

largesse are already being realized.

You have given over $13 million or scholarships and student support

You have provided unds to retain and recruit the nations leading education scholars

You have made possible physical improvements, including those to public spaces and conerence rooms, as well

as the creation o a new proessional resource center

You have supported academic programs and seminar series

w blf d bl d l f f

f , f ddl lf , f lbl , d f

f d d d . w l fl f .

t ts w h g S gsl

School of Education


19/19

INNOVATORUniversity o Michigan School o Education

610 East University Avenue

Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1259

the regentS

oF the univerSity oF michigan

Julia Donovan Darlow, Ann ArborLaurence B. Deitch, Bingham Farms

Olivia P. Maynard, Goodrich

Rebecca McGowan, Ann Arbor

Andrea Fischer Newman, Ann Arbor

Andrew C. Richner, Grosse Pointe Park

S. Martin Taylor, Grosse Pointe Farms

Katherine E. White, Ann Arbor

Mary Sue Coleman, ex ofcio

nds Pl SThe University o Michigan, as an equal opportunity/afrmative action employer, complies

ith all applicable ederal and state las regarding nondiscrimination and afrmative action,including Title IX o the Education Amendments o 1972 and Section 504 o the Rehabilita-

tion Act o 1973. The University o Michigan is committed to a policy o nondiscrimination

and equal opportunity or all persons regardless o race, sex, color, religion, creed, national

origin or ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression,

disability, or Vietnam-era veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities,

and admissions. Inquiries or complaints may be addressed to the Senior Director or

Institutional Equity and Title IX/Section 504 Coordinator, Ofce o Institutional Equity, 2072

Administrative Services Building, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1432, 734-763-0235, TTY

734-647-1388. For other University o Michigan inormation call 734-764-1817.

INNOVATOR is published by the

University o Michigan School o Education

Oce o Outreach and Communications

LeaDerShiP team

oF the SchooL oF eDucation

Deborah Loewenberg Ball, Dean

Joseph Krajcik, Associate Dean, Research

Annemarie Sullivan Palincsar, Associate Dean,

Academic Aairs

Henry Meares, Assistant Dean

communicationS team

oF the SchooL oF eDucation

Robert Brustman, Writer/Editor

Elena Godina, Designer

Mike Gould, Photographer

Je Mortimer, Writer

Yvonne Pappas, Designer/Art Director

Laura Roop, Writer/Editor

Kathryn Taylor, Interim Communications Director

innovator vol. 39, fall 2008. literacies in the 21st century

Documents