Newsletter - Winter 2015
Record Attendance Exceeds 650 at UCI Writing Project's 21st Annual Conference
Over 650 educators attended the UCI Writing Project's 21st Annual Conference for Teachers, held December 11, 2014, at the UCI Irvine Student Center.
The 2015 theme was Helping Students Read and Write about Complex Literary and Nonfiction Texts in the Era of the Common Core.
Conference events included two keynote addresses and numerous workshops. The first keynote, titled "Upon a Painted Ocean: Helping Students Navigate Complex Literature and Literary Nonfiction," was delivered by Carol Jago, author and director of the California Reading and Literature Project at UCLA. The post-luncheon keynote, "Common Core CPR: What about Adolescents Who Struggle ...Or Just Don't Care?," was presented jointly by Barry Gilmore, Ed.D., Head of School at Hutchinson Middle School in Memphis Tennessee, and ReLeah Cossett Lent, founding member of the statewide literacy project at the University of Central Florida.
Workshop topics varied from exploring synthesis, ongoing assessment, and reading through multiple lenses to kernal essays, evidence-based writing, and metacognitive revision.
Among the attendees were K-12 teachers from throughout Southern California, members of the UCI Writing Project Fellows Learning Community; and collaborating K-12 and university partners on Associate Professor Carol Booth Olson's Investing in Innovation Grant.
Community sponsors included AT&T, Houghton-Mifflin, Lightside Labs, and Scholastic.
Conference Program
Over 650 educators attended the UCI Writing Project's 21st Annual Conference for Teachers, held December 11, 2014, at the UCI Irvine Student Center.
The 2015 theme was Helping Students Read and Write about Complex Literary and Nonfiction Texts in the Era of the Common Core.
Conference events included two keynote addresses and numerous workshops. The first keynote, titled "Upon a Painted Ocean: Helping Students Navigate Complex Literature and Literary Nonfiction," was delivered by Carol Jago, author and director of the California Reading and Literature Project at UCLA. The post-luncheon keynote, "Common Core CPR: What about Adolescents Who Struggle ...Or Just Don't Care?," was presented jointly by Barry Gilmore, Ed.D., Head of School at Hutchinson Middle School in Memphis Tennessee, and ReLeah Cossett Lent, founding member of the statewide literacy project at the University of Central Florida.
Workshop topics varied from exploring synthesis, ongoing assessment, and reading through multiple lenses to kernal essays, evidence-based writing, and metacognitive revision.
Among the attendees were K-12 teachers from throughout Southern California, members of the UCI Writing Project Fellows Learning Community; and collaborating K-12 and university partners on Associate Professor Carol Booth Olson's Investing in Innovation Grant.
Community sponsors included AT&T, Houghton-Mifflin, Lightside Labs, and Scholastic.
Conference Program
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Faculty Collaborate on Virtual Inclusion for Chronically Ill Children
School of Education faculty and doctoral students, in collaboration with UCI researchers and specialists at Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC), are piloting a new effort to support chronically ill children with “telepresence robots.”
The project, called Virtual Inclusion, was initiated to counter the isolation that chronically ill children experience when they are not able to interact
with their teachers and peers. Research has established that isolating children who have cancer, heart disease, autoimmune deficiency, and other chronic diseases contributes to poor medical, academic, and social outcomes.
Telepresence robots are controlled by the children from their home. The children move the robots around the classroom and school, listen and talk to teachers and students, and even participate in extra-curricular activities such as choir, Boy Scouts, and field trips. Initial research suggests that use of telepresence robots leads to greatly improved morale, improved opportunities to keep up with schoolwork, and greater social and emotional well-being.
In commenting on the project, one parent reported
Children readily embrace the opportunity to utilize the robot to engage with their classmates. For example, one child with cancer commented:
The virtual inclusion concept has received recognition beyond Orange County. For example, a presentation by doctoral students working on Virtual Inclusion was awarded 2nd place in the student research competition at the 2014 Computer Human Interaction (CHI) conference in Toronto.
Researchers have identified two types of program needs for the Virtual Inclusion project:
Additional information about the Virtual Inclusion project: http://www.digitallearninglab.org/interactive-mobile-robots-in-the-classroom/
Information about the Digital Learning Lab: http://digitallearninglab.org
School of Education faculty and doctoral students, in collaboration with UCI researchers and specialists at Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC), are piloting a new effort to support chronically ill children with “telepresence robots.”
The project, called Virtual Inclusion, was initiated to counter the isolation that chronically ill children experience when they are not able to interact
with their teachers and peers. Research has established that isolating children who have cancer, heart disease, autoimmune deficiency, and other chronic diseases contributes to poor medical, academic, and social outcomes.
Telepresence robots are controlled by the children from their home. The children move the robots around the classroom and school, listen and talk to teachers and students, and even participate in extra-curricular activities such as choir, Boy Scouts, and field trips. Initial research suggests that use of telepresence robots leads to greatly improved morale, improved opportunities to keep up with schoolwork, and greater social and emotional well-being.
In commenting on the project, one parent reported
- "There were a lot of things that I didn’t think he could…you know, with the progression of the heart condition, we kinda thought…his ability to do things was lessening... And once he got the robot, I mean I never in a million years expected him to be able to go to school all day. I mean, I just did not expect it and he went the first day and went all day."
Children readily embrace the opportunity to utilize the robot to engage with their classmates. For example, one child with cancer commented:
- "It would be pretty bad if I didn’t have the robot. I couldn’t talk to my friends and I would have to do 2nd grade all over again."
The virtual inclusion concept has received recognition beyond Orange County. For example, a presentation by doctoral students working on Virtual Inclusion was awarded 2nd place in the student research competition at the 2014 Computer Human Interaction (CHI) conference in Toronto.
Researchers have identified two types of program needs for the Virtual Inclusion project:
- Startup funds to expand pilot studies of the project
- Matching funds for hardware and software to provide additional robots for chronically ill children
Additional information about the Virtual Inclusion project: http://www.digitallearninglab.org/interactive-mobile-robots-in-the-classroom/
Information about the Digital Learning Lab: http://digitallearninglab.org
Afterschool Programs; Expanding Learning Opportunities, Reducing Achievement Gaps
Dean Deborah Lowe Vandell will deliver the Invited Address on March 19th at the 2015 Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD).
Abstract
Over a 25-year period, key ingredients of impactful afterschool programs have been identified. In this presentation, I’ll consider robust short-term effects of quality, intensity, and duration of afterschool programs on social and academic development as well as evidence of meaningful long-term effects in these domains. Findings that low-income children may benefit the most from afterschool programs are presented along with emerging evidence that early child care and afterschool programs play unique and complementary roles. Collectively, these findings underscore the importance of out-of-school time as a developmental context that warrants further attention by researchers, educators, and policy makers.
Program Bio
Deborah Lowe Vandell is Professor and Dean of Education at the University of California, Irvine where she also holds an appointment as Professor of Psychology and Social Behavior. The author of more than 150 articles and three books, Vandell studies the short-term and long-term effects of developmental contexts (early child care, out-of-school settings, families, schools) on children’s social, behavioral, and academic functioning. Her out-of-school work includes studies of afterschool and summer programs, extracurricular activities, and unsupervised settings, with a particular focus on the effects of these contexts on low-income children of color. Vandell has been elected to the National Academy of Education and to SRCD’s Governing Council. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, and the American Educational Research Association.
Dean Deborah Lowe Vandell will deliver the Invited Address on March 19th at the 2015 Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD).
Abstract
Over a 25-year period, key ingredients of impactful afterschool programs have been identified. In this presentation, I’ll consider robust short-term effects of quality, intensity, and duration of afterschool programs on social and academic development as well as evidence of meaningful long-term effects in these domains. Findings that low-income children may benefit the most from afterschool programs are presented along with emerging evidence that early child care and afterschool programs play unique and complementary roles. Collectively, these findings underscore the importance of out-of-school time as a developmental context that warrants further attention by researchers, educators, and policy makers.
Program Bio
Deborah Lowe Vandell is Professor and Dean of Education at the University of California, Irvine where she also holds an appointment as Professor of Psychology and Social Behavior. The author of more than 150 articles and three books, Vandell studies the short-term and long-term effects of developmental contexts (early child care, out-of-school settings, families, schools) on children’s social, behavioral, and academic functioning. Her out-of-school work includes studies of afterschool and summer programs, extracurricular activities, and unsupervised settings, with a particular focus on the effects of these contexts on low-income children of color. Vandell has been elected to the National Academy of Education and to SRCD’s Governing Council. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, and the American Educational Research Association.
2015 School of Education SRCD Symposia Titles and Presenters
Associate Professor Stephanie Reich is chairing Educational Affordances of Interactive Technology for Children.
Assistant Professor Susanne Jaeggi is chairing The Role of Working Memory in Children’s Mathematical Achievement.
(Session titles arranged alphabetically by session)
Session Title: Comparing Effectiveness of Head Start and Pre-K Programs
"Can Research Design Explain Variation in Head Start Research Results? A Meta-Analysis of Cognitive and Achievement Outcomes"
Presenters: Katherine Magnuson, Hilary Shager, Holly S. Schindler, Greg J. Duncan, Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Cassandra Hart
Session Title: Educational Affordances of Interactive Technology for Children
"Preschoolers’ Learning From Enhanced eBooks versus Traditional Books"
Presenters: Stephanie Reich, Tallin Muskat, Jessica Campbell, Daniela Cannata
Session Title: Educational Affordances of Interactive Technology for Children
"Educational Affordances of Online Games for Preschoolers"
Presenters: Mariya Nikolayev, Stephanie Reich, Tallin Muskat, Nazanin Tadjbakhsh
Session Title: Head Start’s Direct Impacts on Parent and Indirect Impacts on Children
"Two-Generation Programs and Parenting Practices; The Effect of Services and Supports on Parenting and the Home Environment"
Presenter: Anamarie Auger
Session Title: Improving School Readiness through Preschool Curricula: Roles of Curricula Type, Coaching, Instructional Practices, and Scale-Up
"Boosting School Readiness with Preschool Curricula and Quality"
Presenters: Greg J. Duncan, Jade V. Marcus Jenkins, Anamarie Auger, Margaret Burchinal, Thurston Domina, Marianne Bitler
Session Title: Kindergarten in Transition: School Readiness, Instructional Practices, and Student Outcomes
"Kindergarten Mathematics Instruction and the Common Core"
Presenters: Tyler Watts, George Farkas, Greg J. Duncan
Session Title: Patterns of Childcare and Economically Disadvantaged Children’s School Readiness
"Head Start at Ages 3 and 4 Versus Head Start Followed by State Pre-K; Which is More Effective?"
Presenters: Jade V. Marcus Jenkins, George Farkas, Greg J. Duncan, Margaret Burchinal, Deborah Lowe Vandell
Session Title: Patterns of Childcare and Economically Disadvantaged Children’s School Readiness
"Testing for Dosage-Outcome Relationships Using the Head Start Impact Study"
Presenters: Elizabeth B. Miller, Yi Pan, Margaret Burchinal
Session Title: The Role of Working Memory in Children’s Mathematical Achievement
"Domain-General and Domain-Specific Training to Improve Low-Income Children’s Mathematics"
Presenters: Geetha B. Ramani, Susanne Jaeggi, Emily Daubert, Martin Buschkuehl
Session Title: The Role of Working Memory in Children’s Mathematical Achievement
"Keeping Track of the Numbers: The Effects of Working Memory Capacity and Load on Mathematics Performance and Learning"
Presenters: Amira F. Ibrahim, Martin Buschkuehl, Susanne Jaeggi, Priti Shah
Session Title: School Achievement: Race, Ethnicity, and Urban Correlates
"Examining the Impact of Math Motivation on the Course-Taking and High School Success of Low-Income Hispanic Youth"
Presenter: Nayssan Safavian
Session Title: Strengthening Developmental Science with the Use of Innovative Methods
"Early Math Skills and Later Achievement: Which Kindergarten Common Core Domains Most Predict Fifth Grade Math Achievement?
Presenters: Tyler Watts, Greg J. Duncan, Douglas H. Clements, Julie Saram, Christopher B. Wolfe, Mary Elaine Spitler
SRCD Online Program
Associate Professor Stephanie Reich is chairing Educational Affordances of Interactive Technology for Children.
Assistant Professor Susanne Jaeggi is chairing The Role of Working Memory in Children’s Mathematical Achievement.
(Session titles arranged alphabetically by session)
Session Title: Comparing Effectiveness of Head Start and Pre-K Programs
"Can Research Design Explain Variation in Head Start Research Results? A Meta-Analysis of Cognitive and Achievement Outcomes"
Presenters: Katherine Magnuson, Hilary Shager, Holly S. Schindler, Greg J. Duncan, Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Cassandra Hart
Session Title: Educational Affordances of Interactive Technology for Children
"Preschoolers’ Learning From Enhanced eBooks versus Traditional Books"
Presenters: Stephanie Reich, Tallin Muskat, Jessica Campbell, Daniela Cannata
Session Title: Educational Affordances of Interactive Technology for Children
"Educational Affordances of Online Games for Preschoolers"
Presenters: Mariya Nikolayev, Stephanie Reich, Tallin Muskat, Nazanin Tadjbakhsh
Session Title: Head Start’s Direct Impacts on Parent and Indirect Impacts on Children
"Two-Generation Programs and Parenting Practices; The Effect of Services and Supports on Parenting and the Home Environment"
Presenter: Anamarie Auger
Session Title: Improving School Readiness through Preschool Curricula: Roles of Curricula Type, Coaching, Instructional Practices, and Scale-Up
"Boosting School Readiness with Preschool Curricula and Quality"
Presenters: Greg J. Duncan, Jade V. Marcus Jenkins, Anamarie Auger, Margaret Burchinal, Thurston Domina, Marianne Bitler
Session Title: Kindergarten in Transition: School Readiness, Instructional Practices, and Student Outcomes
"Kindergarten Mathematics Instruction and the Common Core"
Presenters: Tyler Watts, George Farkas, Greg J. Duncan
Session Title: Patterns of Childcare and Economically Disadvantaged Children’s School Readiness
"Head Start at Ages 3 and 4 Versus Head Start Followed by State Pre-K; Which is More Effective?"
Presenters: Jade V. Marcus Jenkins, George Farkas, Greg J. Duncan, Margaret Burchinal, Deborah Lowe Vandell
Session Title: Patterns of Childcare and Economically Disadvantaged Children’s School Readiness
"Testing for Dosage-Outcome Relationships Using the Head Start Impact Study"
Presenters: Elizabeth B. Miller, Yi Pan, Margaret Burchinal
Session Title: The Role of Working Memory in Children’s Mathematical Achievement
"Domain-General and Domain-Specific Training to Improve Low-Income Children’s Mathematics"
Presenters: Geetha B. Ramani, Susanne Jaeggi, Emily Daubert, Martin Buschkuehl
Session Title: The Role of Working Memory in Children’s Mathematical Achievement
"Keeping Track of the Numbers: The Effects of Working Memory Capacity and Load on Mathematics Performance and Learning"
Presenters: Amira F. Ibrahim, Martin Buschkuehl, Susanne Jaeggi, Priti Shah
Session Title: School Achievement: Race, Ethnicity, and Urban Correlates
"Examining the Impact of Math Motivation on the Course-Taking and High School Success of Low-Income Hispanic Youth"
Presenter: Nayssan Safavian
Session Title: Strengthening Developmental Science with the Use of Innovative Methods
"Early Math Skills and Later Achievement: Which Kindergarten Common Core Domains Most Predict Fifth Grade Math Achievement?
Presenters: Tyler Watts, Greg J. Duncan, Douglas H. Clements, Julie Saram, Christopher B. Wolfe, Mary Elaine Spitler
SRCD Online Program
2015 SRCD Poster Title and Presenters
(Presented alphabetically by poster title)
* Academic Self-Concept and Achievement in High School and Risky Sexual Behavior in College-Aged Females Over Time
Audrey Wittrup, Jacquelynne Eccles, Meeta Banerjee
* Children’s Oral Vocabulary Size Predicts their Academic and Behavioral Readiness for Kindergarten
Paul Morgan, George Farkas, Marianne Hillemeier, Carol Scheffner Hammer, Steve Maczuga
* Health Disparities, Health Trajectories and their Sources in a Diverse Sample
Oksana Malanchuk, Stephen C. Peck, Meeta Banerjee, Jacquelynne Eccles
* “I don’t really post”: Comparing Actual and Reported Facebook Use Among Emerging Adults
Melissa Niiya, Stephanie Reich, Yiran Wang, Gloria Mark, Mark Warschauer
* The Impact of Integrating Arts Activities with Literacy Lessons on the Oral Language of K-12 Spanish-English Bilingual Students
Christa Mulker Greenfader, Lane Brouillette
* Individual Differences in Inhibitory Control and Misconceptions in Instructional Analogy
Kreshnik Begolli
* Kindergarten Mathematics Instruction and the Common Core
Tyler Watts, George Farkas, Greg Duncan
* Kindergarten Risk Factors for Comorbid Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity and Conduyct Disorder Symptomatology in Adolescence
Paul Morgan, Hui Li, Michael Cook, George Farkas, Marianne Hillemeier, Yu-chu Lin
* Learning, Play, and Identity in Gendered Lego Franchises
Tammie Foliaki, Stephanie Reich, Rebeca Black, Ksenia Korobkova
* “Membership Has its Priviliges”: Student Incentives and Stigmatized Identities in the Accountability Era
Thurston Domina, Andrew Penner, Emily Penner
* Organized and Unsupervised Out-of-School Activity Participation Predicting Behavior at the End of High School
Kirstie Hewson, Kenneth Tae Han Lee, Sabrina Kataoka, Ryan Lewis, Deborah Lowe Vandell
* A Population-Based Study of Late Talkers’ Development during the Preschool Years
Carol Scheffner Hammer, Paul L. Morgan, George Farkas, Steve Maczuga, Marianne Hillemeier, Dana Bitetti
* Relating Participation in various Activities During Afterschool Hours and Risk-Taking Behaviors in Late Adolescence
Ryan Lewis, Sabrina Kataoka, Kenneth Tae Han Lee, Kirstie Hewson, Deborah Lowe Vandell
* The Role of Spanish in Head Start for Dual Language Learners’ Achievement
Elizabeth B. Miller
* When Students Perceive Teachers to be Responsive to Help Seeking: A Multi-Method Study
Erik Ruzek, Jason Downer, Katerina Schenke
* Working Memory and Self-Concept as Determinants of Achievement in Elementary Mathematics: Reciprocal Relations Across Three Years
Katerina Schenke, Teomara Rutherford, Arena Chang, David Lee
SRCD Program
(Presented alphabetically by poster title)
* Academic Self-Concept and Achievement in High School and Risky Sexual Behavior in College-Aged Females Over Time
Audrey Wittrup, Jacquelynne Eccles, Meeta Banerjee
* Children’s Oral Vocabulary Size Predicts their Academic and Behavioral Readiness for Kindergarten
Paul Morgan, George Farkas, Marianne Hillemeier, Carol Scheffner Hammer, Steve Maczuga
* Health Disparities, Health Trajectories and their Sources in a Diverse Sample
Oksana Malanchuk, Stephen C. Peck, Meeta Banerjee, Jacquelynne Eccles
* “I don’t really post”: Comparing Actual and Reported Facebook Use Among Emerging Adults
Melissa Niiya, Stephanie Reich, Yiran Wang, Gloria Mark, Mark Warschauer
* The Impact of Integrating Arts Activities with Literacy Lessons on the Oral Language of K-12 Spanish-English Bilingual Students
Christa Mulker Greenfader, Lane Brouillette
* Individual Differences in Inhibitory Control and Misconceptions in Instructional Analogy
Kreshnik Begolli
* Kindergarten Mathematics Instruction and the Common Core
Tyler Watts, George Farkas, Greg Duncan
* Kindergarten Risk Factors for Comorbid Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity and Conduyct Disorder Symptomatology in Adolescence
Paul Morgan, Hui Li, Michael Cook, George Farkas, Marianne Hillemeier, Yu-chu Lin
* Learning, Play, and Identity in Gendered Lego Franchises
Tammie Foliaki, Stephanie Reich, Rebeca Black, Ksenia Korobkova
* “Membership Has its Priviliges”: Student Incentives and Stigmatized Identities in the Accountability Era
Thurston Domina, Andrew Penner, Emily Penner
* Organized and Unsupervised Out-of-School Activity Participation Predicting Behavior at the End of High School
Kirstie Hewson, Kenneth Tae Han Lee, Sabrina Kataoka, Ryan Lewis, Deborah Lowe Vandell
* A Population-Based Study of Late Talkers’ Development during the Preschool Years
Carol Scheffner Hammer, Paul L. Morgan, George Farkas, Steve Maczuga, Marianne Hillemeier, Dana Bitetti
* Relating Participation in various Activities During Afterschool Hours and Risk-Taking Behaviors in Late Adolescence
Ryan Lewis, Sabrina Kataoka, Kenneth Tae Han Lee, Kirstie Hewson, Deborah Lowe Vandell
* The Role of Spanish in Head Start for Dual Language Learners’ Achievement
Elizabeth B. Miller
* When Students Perceive Teachers to be Responsive to Help Seeking: A Multi-Method Study
Erik Ruzek, Jason Downer, Katerina Schenke
* Working Memory and Self-Concept as Determinants of Achievement in Elementary Mathematics: Reciprocal Relations Across Three Years
Katerina Schenke, Teomara Rutherford, Arena Chang, David Lee
SRCD Program
Leadership Council Holds Inaugural Meeting
The newly-formed School of Education Leadership Council held its first meeting on January 28th.
Council members are community and business leaders with strong interest in improving P-20 education and furthering the School's mission and vision. Each member will serve a two-year term, which may be renewed by consensus of the Governance Committee.
During the inaugural meeting, Dean Vandell explained the Council's four-fold mission:
The newly-formed School of Education Leadership Council held its first meeting on January 28th.
Council members are community and business leaders with strong interest in improving P-20 education and furthering the School's mission and vision. Each member will serve a two-year term, which may be renewed by consensus of the Governance Committee.
During the inaugural meeting, Dean Vandell explained the Council's four-fold mission:
- Serve as a senior leadership group to the Dean and to the faculty in their strategic planning and fundraising efforts
- Advocate for the School and promote the interests of the UC Irvine campus in the local, national, and global education arenas
- Promote the recruitment of outstanding faculty and students to further the School's mission
- Provide philanthropic support to assist the School in successfully meeting its goals
School of Education Hosts Open House During UCI's 50th Anniversary Homecoming
On January 31, The School of Education joined UC Irvine in the 2015 50th Anniversary Homecoming Celebration.
Activities in the school included a welcome from Dean Deborah Lowe Vandell, an open house in Student Affairs, information from representatives of the Cal Teach Science and Math program, and three workshops, attended by both children and adults:
Activities at the School of Education booth in Aldrich Park included a bean bag toss featuring the School's six programs (UG Major, Cal Teach Math & Science Program, Certificate in Afterschool Education, Credential Programs, Master of Arts in Teaching, and Ph.D. in Education). In addition, visitors to the booth had an opportunity to don graduation regalia and have a photograph taken with Dean Vandell.
Both sites showcased the School's 8 initiatives, which guide the School's research, teaching, and service activities:
On January 31, The School of Education joined UC Irvine in the 2015 50th Anniversary Homecoming Celebration.
Activities in the school included a welcome from Dean Deborah Lowe Vandell, an open house in Student Affairs, information from representatives of the Cal Teach Science and Math program, and three workshops, attended by both children and adults:
- Boost Your Memory, led by Assistant Professor Susanne Jaeggi
- How Baby Books Foster Learning, led by Associate Professor Stephanie Reich
- Write Your Own Valentine, led by Dale Sprowl of the UCI Writing Project Team
Activities at the School of Education booth in Aldrich Park included a bean bag toss featuring the School's six programs (UG Major, Cal Teach Math & Science Program, Certificate in Afterschool Education, Credential Programs, Master of Arts in Teaching, and Ph.D. in Education). In addition, visitors to the booth had an opportunity to don graduation regalia and have a photograph taken with Dean Vandell.
Both sites showcased the School's 8 initiatives, which guide the School's research, teaching, and service activities:
- Using Technology to Transform Learning
- Fostering Literacy in a Diverse Society
- Researching K-12 Brain Processes, Motivation, & Development
- Transforming Education of Tomorrow’s Teachers
- Promoting Early Childhood Learning & Development
- Expanding Learning Opportunities: Afterschool & Summer Programs
- Supporting Community Partnerships
- Remaking the University
Faculty Art Featured at California Art Education Association Juried Exhibit
School of Education alumni and lecturers Liz Greeban and Kim Burge showed their recent paintings at the California Art Education Association juried exhibit “Artists Who Teach.” Their work was displayed in the Santa Ana College Gallery in the Santora Building in the Artists’ Village, Santa Ana, from November to January.
Dr. Burge, who earned her doctoral degree in 1999 from the UCI/UCLA Joint Ed.D., teaches Education 104E: Multimedia in Education. Ms. Greeban, who earned her BA in Film and Media Studies in 2005 and her Master of Arts in Teaching in 2012, teaches Education 137: Art in the Elementary School. In addition to her teaching, Ms. Greeban has been volunteering with two classes of children at Canyon View Elementary School to provide enrichment in both arts and literacy.
Santa Ana College operates two premier art galleries: the main campus gallery located at 1530 W. 17th Street, established in the early 1970's, and the SAC Arts Gallery at the Santora Building which has been the satellite gallery since 1996.
The gallery programs provide students and visitors with world-class art shows of prominent national and international artists, to encourage participation and discussion in the art viewing community at large and to further enrich the cultural landscape of Santa Ana.
School of Education alumni and lecturers Liz Greeban and Kim Burge showed their recent paintings at the California Art Education Association juried exhibit “Artists Who Teach.” Their work was displayed in the Santa Ana College Gallery in the Santora Building in the Artists’ Village, Santa Ana, from November to January.
Dr. Burge, who earned her doctoral degree in 1999 from the UCI/UCLA Joint Ed.D., teaches Education 104E: Multimedia in Education. Ms. Greeban, who earned her BA in Film and Media Studies in 2005 and her Master of Arts in Teaching in 2012, teaches Education 137: Art in the Elementary School. In addition to her teaching, Ms. Greeban has been volunteering with two classes of children at Canyon View Elementary School to provide enrichment in both arts and literacy.
Santa Ana College operates two premier art galleries: the main campus gallery located at 1530 W. 17th Street, established in the early 1970's, and the SAC Arts Gallery at the Santora Building which has been the satellite gallery since 1996.
The gallery programs provide students and visitors with world-class art shows of prominent national and international artists, to encourage participation and discussion in the art viewing community at large and to further enrich the cultural landscape of Santa Ana.
"Teaching Out of a Suitcase"
During her childhood Sunday school classes at a Methodist Church in a little English village in the 1940s. Mary Roosevelt decided to become a missionary and work in Africa, teaching African children. It was many years later that she went to Africa, but as a teacher, not a missionary.
Her village also had a home for abandoned boys. They were housed in the old manor house, a huge property near her home. As a little girl she played with these boys of many, mixed nationalities. They had been abandoned on the docks of Liverpool, England, by their British mothers and foreign sailor fathers. As a teenager she took them on trips to local places of interest, and when she decided to train to be a teacher, the new generation of little boys became the subject of her education thesis "The Deprived Child in the Community." She followed many of these children into their adulthood, with their successes and failures. She realized that teachers play a "make or break" role in the lives of these children. This began her lifelong passion for children, especially those who struggled to deal with the world that they were living in.
Mary did her teacher training at the Froebel Educational Institute, in Roehampton, London. Her training followed the principles of Friedrich Froebel, the founder of the kindergarten programs in Germany. He believed that children learned through discovering their own environment through play activities. Mary embraced this philosophy and based her own teaching on working with individually prescribed instruction for the children she taught, within a child orientated, planned environment in her classrooms.
Her first teaching position was in a beautiful new London school in Brixton. The surrounding area was dirty and poverty ridden. Most of her students had parents who were in jail in the nearby prison. Out of forty-eight fourth graders, four were not on probation. (They had eluded prosecution for juvenile crimes). Mary felt that they needed to see a world away from the dreary area of London, so she got permission and funding to take them to the seaside in Devon. Forty-eight boarded the train in London with a project built around the ocean to keep them busy for two weeks, bound for a hotel willing to take them. It was an eye opening experience for everyone.
However, Mary had decided that after two years teaching in London, and a year teaching in the private school where she had been educated, it was time to venture overseas. She applied to the International School of Geneva, in Switzerland, and there began an adventure in educating children, which was to last a lifetime. She packed her suitcases, and all her teaching materials. (Froebel teachers make their own equipment, be it musical instruments or math scales, measuring rods, etc.)
Geneva was beautiful and she loved her lakeside apartment, but the school curriculum devastated her -- American work books and ditto sheets. She complained to the director of the school, and he reminded her that he had hired her to introduce her teaching style to the school, and it was up to her to work with the parents and demonstrate how her methods were appropriate for their children. It was the first of many challenges that she faced in her professional life overseas. She had to convince the parents that she was not going to give grades, but very detailed report cards on their students' progress.
One Sunday evening after a very cold day skiing in the Alps, a group of the "Ecolint" teachers gathered in a little mountain restaurant for cheese fondue. Mary was the only elementary teacher in the gathering. They were all complaining about the restrictions of children being forced into studying for national examinations, English GCE, French Baccalaureate, German Abeitur, Swiss Matriculation, and American College Boards -- hardly the goal of international educators. That evening an idea that had been created in UNESCO, before World War II, and was the dream of the director, Desmond Cole Baker, started to come to fruition.
Twenty five of the Ecolint teachers spent a summer visiting schools and universities across the United States of America, sounding out American teachers and universities about a possible international school curriculum. This was in 1965. In 1966, Mary was sent back to the USA, to study New Math and New Science, visiting all the Ivy League colleges and several in the UC system. She subsequently visited schools in England working on the "Nuffield Experiment" in math and science.
It was decided that she would explore the possibility of an international elementary school curriculum that would precede the planned secondary school program, now being funded by the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations. The French would only cooperate if the word "Baccalaureate" was in the title of the new program. This meant that the dreams of many educators all over Europe, starting in the 1930s, were finally coming to fruition.
The International Baccalaureate had a name and an office in Geneva. Many people were now working on the logistics of producing an International K-12 curriculum, with appropriate methods of examination, acceptable world wide. Quite a challenge!
Mary was also working with a different kind of "Deprived Child in the Community." These children were economically stable but living in unfamiliar countries, in rental homes, with pets and grandparents at home in their countries of origin. Often their parents traveled extensively, and they were left with housekeepers, au pair girls. She developed strong relationships with these children and their families, and is still in touch with many of them today.
In 1966, Mary was asked to put together an international conference in Geneva to draft an international elementary curriculum. She had explored different ideas in the USA and Europe. Now she was sent to Africa to share ideas and listen to the teachers in international schools there. Once again she packed her materials, ready to demonstrate materials and ideas that she had acquired from all her other overseas travels. She traveled from west to east, under less than perfect conditions, with many adventures along the way.
That summer the conference took place in Geneva, and the first draft of the international elementary school curriculum came into being.
In 1968 Mary was asked to become the Principal of the Junior House of the United Nations International School of New York. Again she packed her suitcases and her teaching equipment.
This school was another challenge. The school was housed in an old New York school, PS 40. It was a temporary home while the new U.N. school was being planned, designed, and built on land fill in the East River. There were challenges protecting the children of diplomats and working with a very diversified faculty. She worked on fine tuning the new elementary school curriculum and introducing the first grade bilingual classroom, which was taught in English and French by herself and a French teacher. Again, this involved individualized instruction for children who, like the children in Geneva, were challenged by living and moving all over the world with irregular visits to a home base.
The International Baccalaureate Curriculum started to meet some of those challenges. The UN secondary school only offered the IB, and a world wide movement had begun. Students could change countries and schools but their study program went with them
Then Mary's world of international education came to an abrupt halt when she married James Roosevelt in 1969, and returned to Switzerland.
It was several years before she thought about working in the educational field again. Her daughter Rebecca had been born in Geneva in 1971, and the family moved to California a few months later. In 1974 Mary completed an American California Teaching Credential in the Office of Teacher Education at UC Irvine.
She was offered a job supervising student teachers at UCI. When she became the Coordinator for the Multiple Subject Credential Program, she spent many years helping to build an effective teacher training program where schools, districts, specially trained teachers, the student teachers, and students all worked together to help children learn effectively, no matter what their background. This was called the Professional Development School Program, and was explained in the October 2009 profile of Dr. Linda Clinard.
During her years at UCI, Mary saw the "Office" become the Department of Education and with this, the expansion of its faculty and programs.
Mary happily retired in 1999, after forty years in the world of education. Today she continues her very busy life, as shown in the attached resume. Most of all she loves being with her two grandchildren.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Text of 2010 Keynote Address, UC Irvine Department of Education Master of Arts in Teaching and Teacher Credential Programs Commencement
June 3, 2010
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Gottfredson, Dean Coutin, Dr. Vandell, (thank you for your warm introduction), special guests, distinguished faculty, families, and graduates, thank you very much for inviting me to give this first commencement address for the Department of Education.
This is a great honor for me, and also quite a challenge, especially when I started to think about a relevant topic.
I thought that maybe sharing some of my life experiences would be helpful to you, as you move into your professional worlds. I chose one theme, pertinent to me, and hopefully, to you too: "Choices in the job market from the 20th to the 21st century, and how to capitalize on them today."
In 1960 I thought that I had won the lottery when I completed my Froebel Teaching Certificate, in London, England. In those days it was a golden passport to teaching almost anywhere in the world. However, I needed to define what I expected from a teaching career, and more important, what it could expect from me. Today you are facing that decision.
Providing children with relevant learning experiences fascinated me. This has led me on an educational journey across the world.
I graduated when there was a hiring freeze in London. I had done my final student teaching in a beautiful new school in a very, dirty, dangerous, slum area of the city. Most of the 48 students in my 3rd grade class had police records. They had already demolished a teacher before I arrived. It was a challenging experience, and I learnt as much as I taught.
The principal wrote me a great letter of recommendation, and after a grueling interview with the London city school inspectors, I had my first job, with those same children, in spite of the hiring freeze.
My parents were delighted. Their investment in me was coming to fruition. That year the city of London became my classroom, and I was the queen of field trips for those students.
Three years later I was ready to spread my teaching wings, and I applied to the International School of Geneva, Switzerland. My parents were horrified. They could not believe that I would abandon my British career, to go to a foreign country.
During my interview, which I felt had gone very well, I negotiated moving my furniture to an apartment that I assumed the school would find for me. The director just looked at me. "We don't do that for single people", he said. "Then maybe I don't want this job," I replied. End of interview.
However, six months later I received an elegant package containing the plans for a beautiful brand new apartment, on the shores of Lake Geneva. There was no contract, just my new Swiss address.
You can imagine what my father had to say! What kind of a job was based on an address written on an apartment brochure?
I was excited. Although I did not know a soul in Switzerland, this was a great opportunity to take my teaching to a different level, working with children from all over the world, using two languages.
Six years later I was invited to New York, to become the principal of the Junior House of the United Nations International School.
Why would anyone want to leave the Swiss Alps to go to New York, especially when it meant leaving a wonderful support group of friends and colleagues? I was really fascinated by taking on the role of an administrator in a different international educational environment. I was also able to continue my work on an international teaching, learning curriculum, and yes, my furniture went with me, and yes, my father thought I was making another huge mistake.
By 1972 I was married, and living in California, when I learnt that my earlier training and my international teaching experiences meant nothing to the folks in Sacramento. So much for the golden passport! I was back to square one.
Fourteen years, after I had graduated in London, I walked out of the UCI Office of Teacher Education, having completed the requirements for a standard California Teaching Credential. There was no ceremony that I remember.
A few days later I was offered a full time job supervising in the multiple subject credential program. This was a new opportunity for me to work with teachers in training, and it kept me here, until I really retired in 2002.
These combined experiences, many of them before I was 28 years old, gave me a career that I have cherished.
It definitely was not about being hired for a local teaching or research position, but I know this is what many of you are hoping for.
No one needs an advanced degree to know that this is a tough job market, but we have chosen a profession that guarantees a job somewhere, because there are students everywhere.
I believe that there are three C's to success -- confidence, communication, and collaboration.
In the Sound of Music, Julie Andrews sang "I have confidence in me" when she was really shaking in her shoes. But she made it, using common sense, her talents, and a sense of humor.
Be creative in the choice of places that you apply to. In an interview you should be prepared to communicate your educational philosophy, be it based on Froebel, Montessori, Socrates, Piaget, or anyone else that you are passionate about.
In his book "Three Cups of Tea", Greg Mortenson did the impossible, setting up schools for girls in remote and dangerous parts of the world.
I worked with Greg's father in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania, East Africa, in the mid 1960s, and they are a "can do" family. Greg's philosophy is to start at the end of the road, not the beginning, and work his way back.
You may need to start at the end of your road and communicate your way back to the beginning, when jobs return to your comfort zone.
This job crisis is not a disaster. It is an opportunity to collaborate, adapt, and share your skills, wherever they are needed.
Take a look at organizations that will sponsor you to go to parts of the country, or world, where you can use your teaching skills, until things turn around. They will.
If you are not able to relocate, try to find work that will put food on the table, and volunteer in the places where you would like to work. You will have experiences, and a resume, to treasure, making you very interesting candidates for prospective employers.
Graduates, today you owe a big "thank you" to your families, and to your dedicated UCI faculty, some of whom years ago fought to retain this Department of Education when it was threatened with closure.
They have been joined by a new generation of the finest professors and researchers, shaping the department into what it is today. Dr Vandell and your faculty are constantly being recognized for their outstanding achievements in education.
In turn they have you - a wonderful graduating class. You now have degrees and credentials from an institution that has national and international recognition. Use them proudly; they are a wonderful asset.
As you embark on your own teaching journey, never abandon your life's dreams. Remember where there's a will, believe me, there's a way.
Congratulations to you all, the class of 2010.
Good luck.
During her childhood Sunday school classes at a Methodist Church in a little English village in the 1940s. Mary Roosevelt decided to become a missionary and work in Africa, teaching African children. It was many years later that she went to Africa, but as a teacher, not a missionary.
Her village also had a home for abandoned boys. They were housed in the old manor house, a huge property near her home. As a little girl she played with these boys of many, mixed nationalities. They had been abandoned on the docks of Liverpool, England, by their British mothers and foreign sailor fathers. As a teenager she took them on trips to local places of interest, and when she decided to train to be a teacher, the new generation of little boys became the subject of her education thesis "The Deprived Child in the Community." She followed many of these children into their adulthood, with their successes and failures. She realized that teachers play a "make or break" role in the lives of these children. This began her lifelong passion for children, especially those who struggled to deal with the world that they were living in.
Mary did her teacher training at the Froebel Educational Institute, in Roehampton, London. Her training followed the principles of Friedrich Froebel, the founder of the kindergarten programs in Germany. He believed that children learned through discovering their own environment through play activities. Mary embraced this philosophy and based her own teaching on working with individually prescribed instruction for the children she taught, within a child orientated, planned environment in her classrooms.
Her first teaching position was in a beautiful new London school in Brixton. The surrounding area was dirty and poverty ridden. Most of her students had parents who were in jail in the nearby prison. Out of forty-eight fourth graders, four were not on probation. (They had eluded prosecution for juvenile crimes). Mary felt that they needed to see a world away from the dreary area of London, so she got permission and funding to take them to the seaside in Devon. Forty-eight boarded the train in London with a project built around the ocean to keep them busy for two weeks, bound for a hotel willing to take them. It was an eye opening experience for everyone.
However, Mary had decided that after two years teaching in London, and a year teaching in the private school where she had been educated, it was time to venture overseas. She applied to the International School of Geneva, in Switzerland, and there began an adventure in educating children, which was to last a lifetime. She packed her suitcases, and all her teaching materials. (Froebel teachers make their own equipment, be it musical instruments or math scales, measuring rods, etc.)
Geneva was beautiful and she loved her lakeside apartment, but the school curriculum devastated her -- American work books and ditto sheets. She complained to the director of the school, and he reminded her that he had hired her to introduce her teaching style to the school, and it was up to her to work with the parents and demonstrate how her methods were appropriate for their children. It was the first of many challenges that she faced in her professional life overseas. She had to convince the parents that she was not going to give grades, but very detailed report cards on their students' progress.
One Sunday evening after a very cold day skiing in the Alps, a group of the "Ecolint" teachers gathered in a little mountain restaurant for cheese fondue. Mary was the only elementary teacher in the gathering. They were all complaining about the restrictions of children being forced into studying for national examinations, English GCE, French Baccalaureate, German Abeitur, Swiss Matriculation, and American College Boards -- hardly the goal of international educators. That evening an idea that had been created in UNESCO, before World War II, and was the dream of the director, Desmond Cole Baker, started to come to fruition.
Twenty five of the Ecolint teachers spent a summer visiting schools and universities across the United States of America, sounding out American teachers and universities about a possible international school curriculum. This was in 1965. In 1966, Mary was sent back to the USA, to study New Math and New Science, visiting all the Ivy League colleges and several in the UC system. She subsequently visited schools in England working on the "Nuffield Experiment" in math and science.
It was decided that she would explore the possibility of an international elementary school curriculum that would precede the planned secondary school program, now being funded by the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations. The French would only cooperate if the word "Baccalaureate" was in the title of the new program. This meant that the dreams of many educators all over Europe, starting in the 1930s, were finally coming to fruition.
The International Baccalaureate had a name and an office in Geneva. Many people were now working on the logistics of producing an International K-12 curriculum, with appropriate methods of examination, acceptable world wide. Quite a challenge!
Mary was also working with a different kind of "Deprived Child in the Community." These children were economically stable but living in unfamiliar countries, in rental homes, with pets and grandparents at home in their countries of origin. Often their parents traveled extensively, and they were left with housekeepers, au pair girls. She developed strong relationships with these children and their families, and is still in touch with many of them today.
In 1966, Mary was asked to put together an international conference in Geneva to draft an international elementary curriculum. She had explored different ideas in the USA and Europe. Now she was sent to Africa to share ideas and listen to the teachers in international schools there. Once again she packed her materials, ready to demonstrate materials and ideas that she had acquired from all her other overseas travels. She traveled from west to east, under less than perfect conditions, with many adventures along the way.
That summer the conference took place in Geneva, and the first draft of the international elementary school curriculum came into being.
In 1968 Mary was asked to become the Principal of the Junior House of the United Nations International School of New York. Again she packed her suitcases and her teaching equipment.
This school was another challenge. The school was housed in an old New York school, PS 40. It was a temporary home while the new U.N. school was being planned, designed, and built on land fill in the East River. There were challenges protecting the children of diplomats and working with a very diversified faculty. She worked on fine tuning the new elementary school curriculum and introducing the first grade bilingual classroom, which was taught in English and French by herself and a French teacher. Again, this involved individualized instruction for children who, like the children in Geneva, were challenged by living and moving all over the world with irregular visits to a home base.
The International Baccalaureate Curriculum started to meet some of those challenges. The UN secondary school only offered the IB, and a world wide movement had begun. Students could change countries and schools but their study program went with them
Then Mary's world of international education came to an abrupt halt when she married James Roosevelt in 1969, and returned to Switzerland.
It was several years before she thought about working in the educational field again. Her daughter Rebecca had been born in Geneva in 1971, and the family moved to California a few months later. In 1974 Mary completed an American California Teaching Credential in the Office of Teacher Education at UC Irvine.
She was offered a job supervising student teachers at UCI. When she became the Coordinator for the Multiple Subject Credential Program, she spent many years helping to build an effective teacher training program where schools, districts, specially trained teachers, the student teachers, and students all worked together to help children learn effectively, no matter what their background. This was called the Professional Development School Program, and was explained in the October 2009 profile of Dr. Linda Clinard.
During her years at UCI, Mary saw the "Office" become the Department of Education and with this, the expansion of its faculty and programs.
Mary happily retired in 1999, after forty years in the world of education. Today she continues her very busy life, as shown in the attached resume. Most of all she loves being with her two grandchildren.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Text of 2010 Keynote Address, UC Irvine Department of Education Master of Arts in Teaching and Teacher Credential Programs Commencement
June 3, 2010
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Gottfredson, Dean Coutin, Dr. Vandell, (thank you for your warm introduction), special guests, distinguished faculty, families, and graduates, thank you very much for inviting me to give this first commencement address for the Department of Education.
This is a great honor for me, and also quite a challenge, especially when I started to think about a relevant topic.
I thought that maybe sharing some of my life experiences would be helpful to you, as you move into your professional worlds. I chose one theme, pertinent to me, and hopefully, to you too: "Choices in the job market from the 20th to the 21st century, and how to capitalize on them today."
In 1960 I thought that I had won the lottery when I completed my Froebel Teaching Certificate, in London, England. In those days it was a golden passport to teaching almost anywhere in the world. However, I needed to define what I expected from a teaching career, and more important, what it could expect from me. Today you are facing that decision.
Providing children with relevant learning experiences fascinated me. This has led me on an educational journey across the world.
I graduated when there was a hiring freeze in London. I had done my final student teaching in a beautiful new school in a very, dirty, dangerous, slum area of the city. Most of the 48 students in my 3rd grade class had police records. They had already demolished a teacher before I arrived. It was a challenging experience, and I learnt as much as I taught.
The principal wrote me a great letter of recommendation, and after a grueling interview with the London city school inspectors, I had my first job, with those same children, in spite of the hiring freeze.
My parents were delighted. Their investment in me was coming to fruition. That year the city of London became my classroom, and I was the queen of field trips for those students.
Three years later I was ready to spread my teaching wings, and I applied to the International School of Geneva, Switzerland. My parents were horrified. They could not believe that I would abandon my British career, to go to a foreign country.
During my interview, which I felt had gone very well, I negotiated moving my furniture to an apartment that I assumed the school would find for me. The director just looked at me. "We don't do that for single people", he said. "Then maybe I don't want this job," I replied. End of interview.
However, six months later I received an elegant package containing the plans for a beautiful brand new apartment, on the shores of Lake Geneva. There was no contract, just my new Swiss address.
You can imagine what my father had to say! What kind of a job was based on an address written on an apartment brochure?
I was excited. Although I did not know a soul in Switzerland, this was a great opportunity to take my teaching to a different level, working with children from all over the world, using two languages.
Six years later I was invited to New York, to become the principal of the Junior House of the United Nations International School.
Why would anyone want to leave the Swiss Alps to go to New York, especially when it meant leaving a wonderful support group of friends and colleagues? I was really fascinated by taking on the role of an administrator in a different international educational environment. I was also able to continue my work on an international teaching, learning curriculum, and yes, my furniture went with me, and yes, my father thought I was making another huge mistake.
By 1972 I was married, and living in California, when I learnt that my earlier training and my international teaching experiences meant nothing to the folks in Sacramento. So much for the golden passport! I was back to square one.
Fourteen years, after I had graduated in London, I walked out of the UCI Office of Teacher Education, having completed the requirements for a standard California Teaching Credential. There was no ceremony that I remember.
A few days later I was offered a full time job supervising in the multiple subject credential program. This was a new opportunity for me to work with teachers in training, and it kept me here, until I really retired in 2002.
These combined experiences, many of them before I was 28 years old, gave me a career that I have cherished.
It definitely was not about being hired for a local teaching or research position, but I know this is what many of you are hoping for.
No one needs an advanced degree to know that this is a tough job market, but we have chosen a profession that guarantees a job somewhere, because there are students everywhere.
I believe that there are three C's to success -- confidence, communication, and collaboration.
In the Sound of Music, Julie Andrews sang "I have confidence in me" when she was really shaking in her shoes. But she made it, using common sense, her talents, and a sense of humor.
Be creative in the choice of places that you apply to. In an interview you should be prepared to communicate your educational philosophy, be it based on Froebel, Montessori, Socrates, Piaget, or anyone else that you are passionate about.
In his book "Three Cups of Tea", Greg Mortenson did the impossible, setting up schools for girls in remote and dangerous parts of the world.
I worked with Greg's father in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania, East Africa, in the mid 1960s, and they are a "can do" family. Greg's philosophy is to start at the end of the road, not the beginning, and work his way back.
You may need to start at the end of your road and communicate your way back to the beginning, when jobs return to your comfort zone.
This job crisis is not a disaster. It is an opportunity to collaborate, adapt, and share your skills, wherever they are needed.
Take a look at organizations that will sponsor you to go to parts of the country, or world, where you can use your teaching skills, until things turn around. They will.
If you are not able to relocate, try to find work that will put food on the table, and volunteer in the places where you would like to work. You will have experiences, and a resume, to treasure, making you very interesting candidates for prospective employers.
Graduates, today you owe a big "thank you" to your families, and to your dedicated UCI faculty, some of whom years ago fought to retain this Department of Education when it was threatened with closure.
They have been joined by a new generation of the finest professors and researchers, shaping the department into what it is today. Dr Vandell and your faculty are constantly being recognized for their outstanding achievements in education.
In turn they have you - a wonderful graduating class. You now have degrees and credentials from an institution that has national and international recognition. Use them proudly; they are a wonderful asset.
As you embark on your own teaching journey, never abandon your life's dreams. Remember where there's a will, believe me, there's a way.
Congratulations to you all, the class of 2010.
Good luck.
UCI Extended Day Care Students "Yarn Bomb" School of Education Entry
Interview with Veronika Vicqueneau, Lead Teacher, Atelierista
The UCI Extended Day Center is an after school program that serves 50 children between the ages of 5 and 12, whose parents are students, staff, and faculty at UCI.
The inspiration to “yarn bomb” grew from seeing yarn bombing at The LAB and The CAMP in Costa Mesa. I was searching for a new medium to explore to go along with our new curriculum, which was inspired by the Dr. Seuss book The Lorax. I thought it was a great idea to yarn bomb Extended Day because the children were already very interested in weaving friendship bracelets and finger knitting. It seemed a great opportunity to bring this interest to another level and to expose children to a different type of art with knitting and crocheting. Because we had read the book The Lorax, and were creating a musical play based on the book, working with textiles (especially yarn) was a wonderful medium because knitting is a big part of The Lorax story.
Professor Dorothy Fujita-Rony, who is the parent of one of our children, discovered a book, Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes, by Daina Taimina. Dorothy started to teach crochet to students, teachers, and teacher assistants, coming in to volunteer several afternoons each week. She showed the children how to crochet with plastic grocery bags and crocheted all the beanies for our Lorax musical.
The children were very engaged in the project from the beginning (last summer). One of our second grade students, Lincoln, even developed his own patterns, bringing in additional books about crochet, and designing interesting and unique planes. Paul, Andy, and Anthony soon followed.
Knitting and crocheting incorporated many learning elements, including
After the children had yarn-bombed the Extended Day Center, UCI Professor Stephanie Reich helped us receive permission from Dean Deborah Lowe Vandell to yarn bomb the School of Education. Children visited the Education building twice, selecting the area they wanted to cover and measuring the surface. They then recycled the pieces used to yarn bomb Extended Day to create pieces for the new site. The children were free to select the shapes they want to create, and a large selection of colors was available.
Team participants:
Hyperbolic Planes Designers: Lincoln, Paul, Bernat, Andy, Tasha, Molly, Matteo, Natalie, Sara, Serafina, Jean, Luisa, Anthony, Violet, Garet, Dylan, Rohan
Yarn Bombing Designers: Bernat, Luisa, Arthur, Teo, Violet, Andy, Rohan, Chloe, Caitlyn
The UCI Extended Day Center is an after school program that serves 50 children between the ages of 5 and 12, whose parents are students, staff, and faculty at UCI.
The inspiration to “yarn bomb” grew from seeing yarn bombing at The LAB and The CAMP in Costa Mesa. I was searching for a new medium to explore to go along with our new curriculum, which was inspired by the Dr. Seuss book The Lorax. I thought it was a great idea to yarn bomb Extended Day because the children were already very interested in weaving friendship bracelets and finger knitting. It seemed a great opportunity to bring this interest to another level and to expose children to a different type of art with knitting and crocheting. Because we had read the book The Lorax, and were creating a musical play based on the book, working with textiles (especially yarn) was a wonderful medium because knitting is a big part of The Lorax story.
Professor Dorothy Fujita-Rony, who is the parent of one of our children, discovered a book, Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes, by Daina Taimina. Dorothy started to teach crochet to students, teachers, and teacher assistants, coming in to volunteer several afternoons each week. She showed the children how to crochet with plastic grocery bags and crocheted all the beanies for our Lorax musical.
The children were very engaged in the project from the beginning (last summer). One of our second grade students, Lincoln, even developed his own patterns, bringing in additional books about crochet, and designing interesting and unique planes. Paul, Andy, and Anthony soon followed.
Knitting and crocheting incorporated many learning elements, including
- Math (specifically geometry): Children learned about making simple shapes and hyperbolic planes, and had to learn to add and subtract with each row they crocheted in order to make the shapes they wanted.
- Language: Many new words were added to their vocabulary, such as hyperbolic, plane, spiral, increasing, decreasing, pattern, and stitches
- Social Studies/ Science: As a group, we discussed why it is important to reduce, reuse, recycle, conserve, and care for the environment.
- Social Skills: The cooperative aspect of the project (working on individual pieces that will become part of a larger project) reinforced social skills such as communication, cooperation, citizenship, creativity, curiosity, and conflict resolution.
After the children had yarn-bombed the Extended Day Center, UCI Professor Stephanie Reich helped us receive permission from Dean Deborah Lowe Vandell to yarn bomb the School of Education. Children visited the Education building twice, selecting the area they wanted to cover and measuring the surface. They then recycled the pieces used to yarn bomb Extended Day to create pieces for the new site. The children were free to select the shapes they want to create, and a large selection of colors was available.
Team participants:
- Director: Julie Bookwalter
- Lead teacher/ Atelierista: Veronika Vicqueneau
- Teacher: Yunchun Liao
- Teacher Assistant: Erika Espinoza
- Teacher Assistant: Carina Larios
- Professor: Dorothy Fujita-Rony
Hyperbolic Planes Designers: Lincoln, Paul, Bernat, Andy, Tasha, Molly, Matteo, Natalie, Sara, Serafina, Jean, Luisa, Anthony, Violet, Garet, Dylan, Rohan
Yarn Bombing Designers: Bernat, Luisa, Arthur, Teo, Violet, Andy, Rohan, Chloe, Caitlyn
