News and Events - Elementary Education and Reading

The Serious Business of Play

norrisma1 — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:40:36 +0000

Author:

Mary A. Durlak

Published Date:

May 16, 2013

Parents who want their children to succeed in school might help them more by encouraging them to play rather than to study academic subjects.

Reva Fish, assistant professor of social and psychological foundations of education, and Laura Klenk, assistant professor of elementary education and reading, are observing activities in pre-K classrooms. What they see is limited time for free play, and they share a concern: the importance of play is not understood by parents and educators.

“We are trying to find a way to talk about play that encourages people to take children’s play seriously,” said Klenk. Both educators agree that play—free, unstructured activity that children choose to engage in—is, among preschoolers, a developmentally appropriate way to learn. Substituting developmentally inappropriate activities may undermine children’s ability to develop the skills that underlie academic success: engagement, persistence, and stamina.

The focus on measuring academic achievement—testing—is occurring even among children ages 3 and 4. “We’re assessing reading and math skills at younger and younger ages,” Fish said. “We’re changing the activities, the lessons, the goals. But the problem is that children haven’t changed. Developmental milestones haven’t changed—drawing a straight line, drawing a figure.”

Klenk said that children engaging in play are developing academic skills as well as the emotional and behavioral skills that will enable them to succeed as they continue through childhood. “If they are playing among themselves, they have to learn how to talk to each other, and that’s developing language skills,” she said. Klenk, who has studied play for 25 years, added that the concept of quantity—counting—also develops through group play. “And play also has strong emotional and social development components,” she said.

Both educators agree that children who are engaged in unstructured, creative, self-chosen activities develop stamina for learning. Because they have freedom to choose, they stick with their play longer. “Learning is deeper, and it lasts longer,” said Fish. “This pattern is important as children move up through the grades.”

On the other hand, if teachers direct children’s learning too much, even through play, with directions such as “Make this,” or “Show me what you can make,” the learning is shallow and easily forgotten.

It’s not just educators or even testing, however, according to Fish and Klenk. “Parents are pressuring their pre-K classrooms and even day care centers to teach academic skills like word recognition,” said Fish. “It’s as if we’ve lost our faith that kids are born wanting to learn.”

Fish and Klenk were featured presenters at the 2013 Conference on the Value of Play held at Clemson University in February. The U.S. Play Coalition awarded them a seed grant to continue their research on the importance of play. They are meeting with other faculty members from the School of Education to discuss ways to persuade educators and parents to provide developmentally appropriate learning activities in pre-K classrooms. “Play is so important,” said Fish. “It’s short-sighted to take it away.”

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Insertion Date for Daily Bulletin Feature:

May 20, 2013

Western New York Foundation Enables Expansion of Global Book Hour

norrisma1 — Tue, 07 May 2013 16:42:00 +0000

Author:

Laurie Kaiser

Published Date:

May 8, 2013

On Saturday mornings every fall and spring semester since 2010, Buffalo State teacher candidates have used the café at the Wegmans on Amherst Street as a launching pad to literacy.

Through the college’s innovative Global Book Hour (GBH), led by faculty members Kim Truesdell and Pixita del Prado Hill, teacher candidates connect Buffalo schoolchildren, many of them immigrants and refugees, with high-quality books. Along with reading aloud to the children, teacher candidates in elementary education, music, and art integrate geography, music, art, and food into the hour by focusing on a different part of the world each week. All children who attend GBH receive a copy of that week’s book to take home.

The books are not cheap. Thus, the project depends on grants and donations to survive. Thanks to a recent $2,500 grant from the Western New York Foundation, the project not only will be able to continue but also expand to an additional location this fall. On Monday evenings beginning September 30, Buffalo State will host another GBH at the Westside Value Laundromat, 417 Massachusetts Ave., as part of the Westside Art Strategic Happenings (WASH) Project.

“Our teacher candidates are very excited about this,” Truesdell said.

The book project will join other community-driven, cultural activities at the laundromat where neighborhood residents gather to play music, create art, read books, and learn languages.

“This location is a nice fit for our project,” said Truesdell. “Our goal is to promote family literacy and involve the parents.”

This has proven successful at Wegmans where parents bring infants through 12-year-olds for the Saturday morning gatherings and interact during the lessons.

In order to involve older children who have aged out of the picture books the teacher candidates typically read, the GBH has recently added chapter books for them.

“They get so engrossed in the books, it’s sometimes hard to get them to stop,” del Prado Hill said.

While Buffalo State students are required to attend five out of the 10 Saturdays per semester, many come more frequently simply because they enjoy the project.

“We even have former students who keep coming back to help,” Truesdell said.

For the teacher candidates, GBH exposes them to literature they might not otherwise read and gives them a unique opportunity to work with parents, del Prado Hill noted.

Truesdell said students have told her that the GBH experience has changed their approach to teaching and made them look at social justice issues more closely.

“Students are also more willing to go into urban schools,” she added. “They don’t have fear (of the unknown).”

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EOP Honors Convocation: May 9

norrisma1 — Tue, 07 May 2013 14:02:45 +0000

Published Date:

May 7, 2013

The Educational Opportunity Program honors convocation will be held on Thursday, May 9, at 3:30 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center at Rockwell Hall. The program celebrates the success of all EOP students who attained an average of 3.0 on a scale of 4.0 during the spring or fall 2012 semesters.

The Arthur O. Eve Educational Opportunity Program started at Buffalo State in 1967 to give promising students from low-income families a chance to attend college.

The honors convocation will also present the following awards:

EOP Distinguished Alumnus Award: Christopher St. Vil, ’00
Alumni Association awards: Christal Guthrie, Class of 2013; and Anthony Frank, Class of 2013
EOP Staff Merit Award: Kenneth Giangreco, multimedia specialist in Instructional Resources
Annie Joe Memorial Award: Melissa Stallings, Class of 2013
Martha Pierce Student Recognition Award: Annabelle Wardzala, Class of 2013
Theresa A. Shepard Advocacy Award: Ezekiel Samuel, Class of 2013
Arthur O. Eve Distinguished Student Achievement Award: Gabriel Casillas, Class of 2013
EOP Director’s Award: Yanell Brown, Class of 2014; and Muhammed Sumbundu, Class of 2013
EOP Faculty Merit Award: Gary Welborn, associate professor of sociology

The EOP Honors Convocation also recognizes the graduating seniors who have the highest grade-point averages. In addition to their academic achievement, each student has demonstrated service to the college, the community, and fellow EOP students while overcoming significant personal difficulties.

Christal Guthrie, who majored in social work and has a current cumulative GPA of 3.95, has been accepted into the master of social work program, advanced standing, at the University at Buffalo, which awarded her the Arthur A. Schomburg Fellowship.

Anthony Frank, who majored in political science and has a current cumulative GPA of 3.93, has been accepted to the University at Dayton Law School.

Atisha Lacey, who majored in childhood education with a concentration in social studies and has a current cumulative GPA of 3.77, plans to pursue a master’s degree in career and technical education at Buffalo State.

Annabelle Wardzala, who majored in earth sciences and science education with a concentration and minor in environmental science and has a current cumulative GPA of 3.75, . has earned numerous awards for her academic excellence.

Cindra Mendonca, who will hold a dual degree in art and art education and has a current cumulative GPA of 3.75, returned to Buffalo State to complete her degree after beginning her study in the 1980s.

The convocation will also honor the student in each year with the highest average. Besides Guthrie, those students are first-year student Jazlyn Porter; sophomore Diamond Briggs; and junior Joanelly Fermin.

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Faculty and Staff Appeal 2013 Donor Profile: Nancy Chicola

norrisma1 — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:59:46 +0000

Published Date:

April 17, 2013

Nancy Chicola, associate professor and chair of the Elementary Education and Reading Department, has committed her life to education—first teaching in elementary and middle school classrooms, then educating the next generation of teachers. Along with sharing her knowledge, Chicola demonstrates her ongoing commitment to the profession by contributing to Buffalo State’s annual Faculty and Staff Appeal.

The appeal funnels dedicated dollars from faculty and staff members into numerous scholarships and departmental funds through one-time gifts and payroll deductions.

“We have a rich history of teacher education here at Buffalo State,” said Chicola, who chose the latter method. “I would like to maintain that,”

Her contributions support student research and travel, an opportunity she would like more education students to have. Through the Professional Development School Consortium, several elementary education teacher candidates traveled to Zambia and Chile last year to work alongside educators there. It was so rewarding that Chicola is working to expand the program into other countries.

Despite the rich background such an experience provides, international travel is not a possibility for many students due to financial constraints. As it is, a number of students are holding down full-time jobs while carrying a full load of classes, Chicola said. And she understands how challenging that particular equation is, having balanced full-time work with school while earning her bachelor’s degree at Buffalo State (then called the New York State College for Teachers at Buffalo) in the mid-1960s.

“It’s not easy,” she said.

What has been easy is contributing to the Faculty and Staff Appeal every year through payroll deduction, which enables contributors to spread their gifts over the year.

“It’s like giving to yourself,” Chicola said of giving to her department’s fund. “Anything we can do to enhance the profession and the future of the profession, enhances our own position as educators.”

To learn how you can contribute to the 2013 Faculty and Staff Appeal, contact Louis Noce, annual fund officer, at (716) 878-3467. Download a complete list of funds.

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April 18, 2013

Year of the City: March in Review

norrisma1 — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 19:36:49 +0000

Author:

Mary A. Durlak

Published Date:

April 9, 2013

During March, the synergy between Buffalo State and the city of Buffalo was evident in many ways.

On March 20, “Voices of the Arts in Education” took place at Buffalo State’s Community Academic Center on Grant Street. The event featured a panel of speakers discussing art in the community. Artist Augustina Droze, who will work with the community to create a four-story mural on Lorigo’s Meating Place this summer, was a panel member.

Author Thomas Reigstad, professor emeritus of English, presented Buffalo to the world through his biography of Twain’s time in the city, Scribblin’ for a Livin'. Jeff Simon, arts editor at the Buffalo News arts editor, called it “…the exhaustive, extraordinary history of Mark Twain in Buffalo that so many have wanted for so long.” Reigstad notes that it was during his time in Buffalo that Twain decided to turn from newspaper writing to novel writing, a decision that gave America one of its most important authors.

M&T established a $250,000 endowed fund for the new Science and Mathematics Complex, which will go toward the repair and replacement of science equipment used by students in the new building.

Jevon D. Hunter, assistant professor of elementary education and reading, presented “Situating Community Relevant Learning: Toward the Development of a Pedagogy of Urban Promise.” His presentation, part of the Year of the City Emerging Scholars Lecture Series, argued for “the importance of identifying and incorporating community assets” into the learning experiences of youth attending urban elementary and secondary schools.

While the presentations, panels, and publications demonstrate the ongoing symbiotic relationship between the institution and the community to which it belongs, the heart of that relationship is Buffalo State’s student body. Buffalo State students and Western New York give and take, back and forth, in thousands of ways As more than 11,000 students pursue higher education on this campus.

For example, 16 of those students—seniors in the coordinated dietetics program—are completing their senior practica in dietetics this semester in Western New York; two more are out of state. “These students provide nutritional counseling to clients in a variety of settings,” explained Donna Hayes, assistant professor of dietetics and nutrition. “They work under the supervision of a registered dietician, doing what he or she does.”

This semester, dietetics students worked at ECMC’s kidney transplant center and HIV clinic, at Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo’s general pediatric and intensive care units, and at Buffalo General Hospital’s bariatric unit. In the community, they did nutritional analysis for Meals on Wheels recipients and presentations on nutrition in the Buffalo Public Schools through Kaleida Health. “Juniors do clinical rotations, at different sites, working with children in daycare, people with diabetes, and people undergoing dialysis,” said Hayes.

In the community, they did nutritional analysis for Meals on Wheels recipients and presentations on nutrition in the Buffalo Public Schools through Kaleida Health. “Juniors do clinical rotations at different sites working with children in daycare, people with diabetes, and people undergoing dialysis,” said Hayes.

Synergy comes from the Greek word for “working together.” It’s hard to imagine a better example than Buffalo State and Western New York.

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PDS Consortium Receives National Award

norrisma1 — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 13:52:54 +0000

Author:

Mary A. Durlak

Published Date:

March 14, 2013

The Professional Development School (PDS) Consortium at Buffalo State received the 2013 Spirit of Partnership Award at the annual conference of the National Association of Professional Development Schools (NAPDS).

“This is our second award from NAPDS,” said Wendy Paterson, dean of the School of Education. “Buffalo State’s national reputation in this organization has brought us recognition as one of the country’s most vital and vibrant school-college partnerships.”

In presenting the award, Bruce E. Field, executive director of School-University Partnerships and Clinical Experiences at the University of South Carolina, said that Buffalo State has had a meaningful effect on building and sustaining the PDS model.

“Your partnership’s work through the years has been impressive, but I think in recent years you have gone above and beyond in what you provide the national—and international—PDS community,” he said. “Your focus on preparing the next generation of educators for the global community has Buffalo State out front in our collective effort to carry the PDS message across international boundaries.”

Field also recognized Buffalo State’s faculty members for involving students in the annual conference, saying “they will not only be prepared for the ever-changing world but will also step into leadership roles when our generation passes on the torch of collaboration.”

The hallmark of a successful PDS is a high degree of collaboration between the schools where, under the guidance of both faculty and master teachers, students develop their professional teaching skills. Buffalo State faculty work closely with the teachers in PDS schools, providing professional development opportunities and conducting research to develop best practices for the education of all partners. Buffalo State’s PDS also offers action research grants to address the needs of PDS schools.

“Our PDS offers clinically rich practice in preparing teachers,” said Paterson, “and that is exactly what the governor, the state commissioner of education, and SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher, are asking all colleges to develop.” Buffalo State’s PDS has been showcased at several SUNY conferences in Albany.

“We are also very proud of the presentations our students made at the conference,” said Paterson. “Several of them received job offers.”

PDS International

Buffalo State’s international PDS efforts include the work of Hibajene Shandomo and Pixita del Prado Hill, both associate professors of elementary education and reading, and Nancy Chicola, associate professor and chair of elementary education and reading, who spearheaded internationalization efforts.

Shandomo and Chicola have worked with a PDS in Lusaka, Africa, and del Prado Hill has developed a strong collaboration with a PDS in Santiago, Chile. Students and faculty members from Universidad Mayor in Chile recently visited Buffalo State where they attended classes, participated in the Global Book Project, and completed a 25-hour practicum at the Herman Badillo Bilingual Academy.

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March 18, 2013

Alumni Student Teachers Go to Head of the Class

norrisma1 — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 21:47:35 +0000

Author:

Mary A. Durlak

Published Date:

February 21, 2013

While meeting with her current students at Henry Hudson School 28 in the Rochester City School District (RCSD), Rosemary Arioli, lecturer with the Elementary Education and Reading Department, had a very pleasant surprise: four of her former students stopped in to say "Hi." Even better, all four have been hired recently by the RCSD, three in School 28.

“How often does that happen?” marveled Arioli, who serves as assistant coordinator of student-teaching placement as well as supervisor of student teachers at School 28, a pre-K through sixth grade school.

All four—Shalyn Kanaley, ’11; Jason Legrett, ’09; Tellis Lott, ’10; and Samantha Ramsey, ‘12—belonged to cohorts who completed their student teaching at School 28. Arioli piloted the cohort model, which is now common in the School of Education. “A group of students teach in one school, and their supervisor is in the school at least twice a week,” explained Arioli. “It works well because the students and supervisor become connected to the school.”

Arioli also helped bring School 28 into the Professional Development Schools Consortium, adding to the rich collaboration that benefits both the school and the Buffalo State teacher candidates.

“All four of the students did their student teaching at School 28,” said Arioli. “And three of them now work there.” Ramsey was hired last fall to teach sixth grade; Legrett and Kanaley were hired this semester as response-to-intervention teaching specialists. Tellis Lott was hired at RCSD School 4. “When he stopped in to see me, he was at School 28 for a professional development workshop,” said Arioli.

“Grow our own teachers” is a concept that Arioli has heard at several schools. It refers to the idea of not only supervising student teachers, but also mentoring them, so that they become a part of the school and a good fit for any openings that may occur.

It’s a two-way street that depends on dedicated, cooperating teachers. “The cooperating teachers in School 28 are all very strong,” said Arioli. “And our students stand out, because they have a great work ethic and a lot of classroom experience before they start student teaching.”

Jeremy Ventura, a cooperating teacher at School 28 who mentored three of the four students, praised Buffalo State’s teacher candidates. “I have worked with probably every campus in the surrounding area…and your school is the exemplar," Venture wrote to Arioli. "Your students are the utmost professionals and their preparation is second to none.”

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February 25, 2013

Education’s Globalization Efforts Continue through Buffalo Public Schools

norrisma1 — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 18:35:00 +0000

Author:

Mary A. Durlak

Published Date:

February 14, 2013

Two education students and one faculty member from the Universidad Mayor in Chile will be on campus from February 18 through March 5. Their visit is part of an exchange program that began when Pixita del Prado Hill, associate professor of elementary education and reading, visited the Universidad Mayor as a Fulbright scholar in 2011. She worked with Universidad Mayor’s English pedagogy program, which prepares Chilean students to teach English.

In June 2012, a group of Buffalo State teacher candidates traveled to Chile to take part in a Spanish-intensive program and participate in a service project in Santiago. “That project was modeled on our own Global Book Project,” said del Prado Hill. The Global Book Project takes place on Saturday mornings during the fall and spring semesters at the Wegmans on Amherst Street.

The visitors—students Josefa Castro and Ada Miranda, and program coordinator Lorena Soto—are interested in developing their English pedagogy program. “One aspect of our program that interests them very much is our Professional Development Schools (PDS) Consortium,” said del Prado Hill. “It provides our students with extensive classroom experience beginning early in their college career, and that’s a model they would like to emulate.”

With Castro and Miranda, Soto will give a presentation, “Educational Changes in Chile,” on Thursday, February 28, at 12:15 p.m. in Bacon Hall 117. All members of the campus community are invited to attend.

Castro and Miranda will both complete a 25-hour practicum at the Herman Badillo Bilingual Academy, a Buffalo Public School that partners with the PDS Consortium. “Each student will have the opportunity to work in a dual-language kindergarten and in an eighth-grade Spanish class,” said del Prado Hill. She added that the school is excited to have the guests in the classroom. “It will introduce the young students to people from Chile whose native language is Spanish,” said del Prado Hill.

The Universidad Mayor students will also attend both undergraduate and graduate methods classes here. “Their participation will promote further discussion about working effectively with English language learners,” said del Prado Hill. “This also globalizes the learning experience for our students and faculty, so that we are better able to meet the needs of changing demographics in U.S. public schools.”

Soto will spend most of her time getting a behind-the-scenes tour of Buffalo State in general and the School of Education in particular by attending meetings, visiting PDS partners, addressing student clubs, and taking part in several activities.

“We’re very excited about this visit,” said del Prado Hill. “We all share an interest in language and in effective pedagogy for language learning.”

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February 15, 2013

Teachers from China Visit Buffalo Schools

norrisma1 — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 18:18:40 +0000

Author:

Mark Norris

Published Date:

December 12, 2012

School of Education Coordinates Tours

The School of Education hosted a delegation of kindergarten teachers from China last week.

The educators passed through Buffalo as part of a wider national tour that included stops in Long Beach, Las Vegas, and Washington, DC.

Wendy McLeish, lecturer in the Elementary Education and Reading Department, coordinated the group’s site visit to two local elementary schools, Windermere Boulevard Elementary and Bennett Park Montessori. The teachers visited kindergarten and first-grade rooms, observed English-language-learner sessions, and spent time in universal pre-kindergarten classes.

“One of the highlights for the group was meeting a young boy from China at Windermere,” said McLeish. “He arrived here last year speaking very little English. The boy is now quite fluent and wrote a six-page story which he read aloud.”

At Bennett Park Montessori, the visiting educators went to classrooms for 3-5 and 5-7 year-olds and also toured several upper-grade classes. The teachers were surprised to see instructional activities taking place in playful learning spaces, like activity tables and on the floor, far different from the structured format to which they are accustomed.

“One teacher said, ‘This would never happen in China,” said McLeish. “Class sizes are much larger there and the students sit at desks with their hands folded.”

However, part of the visiting teachers’ agenda was to observe alternative education methods, such as learning through play, to take back to their own schools.

“Apparently the parents of younger children in China are looking for change in the education system,” said McLeish.

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Insertion Date for Daily Bulletin Feature:

December 17, 2012