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Institute for Education

Adrian College February 21, 2014 Volume 3, Issue 3

Dr. Andrea R. Milner, Director

Assistant Professor, Teacher Education

amilner@adrian.edu, 517.265.5161 ext 4625

Amila Zecevic, Administrative Assistant

azecevic@adrian.edu, 517.265.5161 ext 3880

http://adrian.edu/academics/institutes/education/

In This Issue:

o Track and Explore Presentation for Board of Trustees

o Skating with Bulldogs

o Workshop Wonders

o Guest Speaker from Haiti

o Faculty Research Grant Award to Professor Christina Mirtes

o Adrian College Welcomed to the IB Educator Certificate Network

o Track and Explore Receives Campus- Community Partnership Award

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Track and Explore Presentation to Board of Trustees

On October 25, 2013, students and faculty who participated

in the Track and Explore MIS/AC partnership created a presentation

for the Adrian College Board of Trustees. Professor Penny Cobau-

Smith and Teacher Education students Aubrey Quinlan, Brittany

Basch, and Morgan Pendleton provided a summary of the program in

addition to providing mini lessons on Water Quality and Animal

Exploration for the Board members. Dr. Jeff Lake and Biology students

Matt Konieczki, Gabby Dixon, Lily Sagers, and Erin Bisco shared

research and teaching experiences. Furthermore, Brittany Basch

shared the website developed for Track and Explore that provides a

virtual experience for K-12 students and teachers who are not able to

attend the outdoor education field trips at MIS. To explore the

website simply click the link:

http://virtualtrackandexplore.weebly.com/

Several of the Teacher Education students participating on our various hockey teams had a "Skate with the Bulldogs" night after a home hockey game on November 30, 2013. Pictured: Teacher Education student, Brett Pinkerton, focusing on Physical Education and minoring in Health, with the K-12 students.

Skating with Bulldogs

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Workshop Wonders

R.J Rios, a Teacher Education student

majoring in Physical Education with a minor

in Health, and Assistant Professor Al Craven

taught Adrian High School students about the

life of an athlete and the latest brain research

related to their overall health. R.J is pictured

here teaching one of the six classes in

December of 2013.

In Assistant Professor Al Craven’s The Role of the Health Educator course a guest consultant, Mary Ann Rickens, past president of the

Michigan Association for Health, taught students about the laws surrounding the Safe Delivery Act in Michigan on January 13, 2014. Pictured: Adrian College students Duston Hebebrand and Josh Cousiniu focused on her presentation.

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Guest Speaker from Haiti

Mr. Ismaille (Smiley) Thiogene from Cayes, Haiti was on campus on January 15th

, 2014. He spoke with Dr. Andrea R. Milner’s Child Development class about some important contemporary educational issues. He expressed the importance of education for the people of Haiti and how many children are unable to attend school. Students who have been lucky enough to receive a public education often take for granted the opportunity and it was quite eye opening to hear someone marvel at how lucky U.S. students.

Smiley also has a large interest in bringing students together, similar to what AC student organizations are like. Having clubs available to students that have a positive purpose would create a wonderful and educational experience that would benefit them for years to come.

Teacher Education student, Morgan Pendleton, reflected on the experience, “I really liked Smiley's presentation about the education in Haiti. It was crazy to learn about how different it is there compared to here. I liked that we learned about the different ways they are trying to improve the education system in Haiti. Even though it may cost a lot, it's still worth it. It impacted me by helping me realize how fortunate we are to have a chance to achieve an awesome education. I think Smiley was trying to get that point across too. We need to be grateful for the education we have, and take that and instill it into our future students.”

Pictured: Ismaille Thiogene, Dr. Andrea R. Milner, and her Child Development class.

If you are interested in helping to support his cause please e-mail Dr. Milner at

amilner@adrian.edu or KDP President, Taylor Hudson, at thudson@adrian.edu.

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Faculty Research Grant Awarded to Professor Mirtes

In January 2014, Professor Mirtes was awarded a Faculty Research Grant by Adrian College. The research interest Professor

Mirtes has is in the area of contemporary play behaviors among today's preschool children. For this study, she will examine the

language of young children while engaged in play situations with traditional materials (i.e. wooden building blocks) as compared to

technology-rich play (i.e. using a block building application on iPads®). It has been established that technology tools are being used

in the majority of early childhood education environments today. However, with such a rapid influx in the use of technology, there is a very limited data on the short term and long term effects of the use

of technology during in the formative years.

Since August, Professor Mirtes has been visiting the Mini Maples Preschool at Lincoln and collaborating with the preschool

teacher, Sara Rober, on this project. According to Professor Mirtes, “This is a very exciting study which has the potential to offer new

data and inform practice in early childhood education!”

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Adrian College Welcomed to the International Baccalaureate

Educator Certificate Network

January 2014 marked an important recognition for Adrian College and its Teacher

Education Department. From their website:

“The IB is pleased to announce that Adrian College may now offer the IB certificate in

teaching and learning. The IB recognition team visited the Adrian College campus to analyze

the proposed courses and how they align with the IB standards and practices. The team

approved two courses, including a Post Graduate Certification with Concentration in the

International Baccalaureate Organization Primary Years Programme and a Master of

Education.

The recognition team was impressed with the commitment of the college’s leadership

to the planning and development of the IB related course of study. Additionally, the

recognition team applauded the demonstration and presentation of the strong alignment of

the ribbons of excellence with the values of the IB. The recognition team commended the

university for building links with Lincoln Elementary School and the YMCA Little Maples

Preschool as this showed recognition of the need and the desirability to investigate out of

state and international cooperative relationships with schools.

The IB looks forward to a long and productive relationship with Adrian College.”

http://www.ibo.org/programmes/pd/qualifications/universityannouncements.cfm

Sara Rober with preschool students.

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BROOKLYN, Mich. (Feb. 4, 2014) —

Track and Explore – a joint program between Adrian College and Michigan International Speedway (MIS) offering K-12 students a place to learn about science, technology and math at NASCAR’s fastest track – has won the Campus-Community Partnership Award by Michigan Campus Compact (MiCC). The award recognizes an outstanding partnership that produces measurable improvements in the community, while also demonstrating a commitment to higher education. The award is designed to increase the number and effectiveness of other campus-community partnerships and enhance public awareness of and support for campus-community service programs.

As part of the honor, Adrian College and MIS were awarded $10,000 to continue to develop the Track and Explore program.

“Adrian College is thrilled with the recognition of Track and Explore, a truly unique partnership, and our work with MIS,” Adrian College Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs, Dr. Agnes I. Caldwell said. “Our mutual goal of preparing future scientists and stewards of the Irish Hills makes our work gratifying and exciting. I look forward to the expansion of Track and Explore with MIS’ help.”

The Campus-Community Partnership Award is given biennially by MiCC to one exceptional partnership involving a Michigan college or university and a community group; the monetary prize will be divided equally between campus and

community partners. In its second year in 2013, 1,300 local students toured MIS as part of Track and Explore to learn about the area’s ecosystem. The feedback has shown that the program has been an overwhelming success. The students are already gearing up for a successful 2014 season.

Adrian College has reserved numerous dates in May to introduce more students to the program

“It is honor to be recognized by Michigan Campus Compact for our work with Adrian College and the Track and Explore program,” MIS President Roger Curtis said. “The Campus-Community Partnership Award is something we are honored to win as we look for ways to bring educational experiences to MIS. We are proud to showcase both Adrian College and MIS in a way that might surprise a lot of people by providing outdoor educational programs and experiences such as Track and Explore for all of the children in our area.”

The program offers four educational components with the goal of connecting the experiences and

environment of MIS with the Michigan Benchmarks for grades four through eight.

How’s the Water: Scientific Testing of Water Quality and Why it Matters – Students will test the Graves pond water for chlorine, phosphates and nitrates. Students will compare results with a small group at their table and with the group at large. They will compare the pond water quality with that of distilled and tap water. Students in seventh and eighth grade will also test the pH of the water.

Likely Suspects: Identifying Flora and Fauna of the Irish Hills – A walk through an MIS nature trail and identifying different tree and plant life.

Critter Encounter – The students will study the animals encountered at MIS. The purpose of this activity is to use an inquiry process to encourage students to think about the characteristics of the animals and the environment in which they live. Track Tour – A tour of NASCAR’s fastest racetrack and the science behind its speed.

For full article.

Track and Explore Receives Campus- Community Partnership Award

Adrian College and Michigan International Speedway Honored.

Dr. Jeff Lake, Janna Damico,

Professor Penny Cobau- Smith and Robin Grinnell