Part 2 all articles and inside_outside of back cover

1 Suzanne Miller, 2007 Recipient of the Charles C Mackay, Jr Excellence in Service Leadership Award Connie Feldt-Golden SUNY College at Oneonta Dr Suzanne Miller, Associate Professor of Education at the State University of New York College at Oneonta, was awarded the 2007 Charles C Mackay, Jr Excellence in Service Leadership Award She was presented with the award at the fall 2007 annual conference in Albany Dr Suzanne Miller has been a faculty member in the Division of Education at SUNY Oneonta for the past 27 years She is the early childhood specialist and coordinator of the Birth through Grade and Birth through Grade early childhood teacher education programs Dr Miller’s focus has been on educating the whole child and every child This is evident from her experiences working as a Head Start teacher in the Lower East Side of New York City, co-directing a semester in India that resulted in starting of a school for underprivileged children, serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Micronesia, and returning to Micronesia to teach an early childhood course for the College of Micronesia Dr Miller embodies the words service and advocacy, integrating them into her life and her teaching, and modeling them as a teacher educator She developed a course— Issues and Advocacy in Early Childhood Education—that involves candidates in handson advocacy Over the years, teacher candidates in this course have advocated for issues of childcare and foster care They have rallied support for the End Child Poverty Act and the United Nations Convention on Rights of the Child Their posters were recently displayed at the New York Association for the Education of Young Children Conference In fall 2006, candidates met with State Senator Jim Seward to discuss issues related to Insert footer: _ _Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning Volume 2, Number Spring/Summer 2008 RUNNING HEAD: Service Leadership Award children and their families, specifically, child care, universal pre-kindergarten, and lowincome housing In addition, they advocated for the local Oneonta homeless shelter, Opportunity House, to remain open For several semesters, candidates in the course had worked at the shelter and participated in fundraising as a service-learning project In her work, Dr Miller brings a global perspective to child development and learning, as well as the role of the teacher, family, and community For Dr Miller, all of these issues embrace the idea of diversity This dynamic humanitarian has presented her global experiences at international, national, state, and local conferences celebrating the child, diversity, service learning, and global peace Her publications include “Building a Peaceful World—Beginning with the Children” in Childhood Education and “Service Learning as a Pathway to Insight and Advocacy” in the Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education In sharing her service work and passion for advocacy for the underprivileged with teacher candidates, she empowers these future teachers to make a difference Her teacher education classroom experiences are authenticated through her extensive service at home and abroad in working with diverse children, families, and teachers For example, in 2007 Dr Miller visited three Indo-International Schools in India, including the one that she helped to start 10 years ago when she was Assistant Director of the SUNY Semester in India program Also in 2007, she visited NativeAmerican classrooms at the Santo Domingo Pueblo Elementary School and at the Head Start Center at the Pueblo In 1999, 2000, and 2004 Dr Miller returned to Chuuk State in Micronesia where she had served as a Peace Corps Volunteer, and conducted research on “The Strengths and Struggles of a Pacific Island People.” Dr Miller also visited schools in Chile and Denmark as part of the World Conference for Early Childhood Education – OMEP in 2000 and 1999 Dr Miller brings these experiences to her students Dr Miller’s presentations are compelling, motivating, and empowering experiences As students experience her work, a transition takes place: they become immersed in the cultures and begin to ask how they might make a difference Dr Miller has contributed her expertise by serving as a teacher for an early childhood education course for the College of Micronesia This course was offered to the indigenous Head Start staff of Chuuk State, in the Federated States of Micronesia It should also be noted that Dr Miller started the first Head Start program in Chuuk, Micronesia, as a Peace Corps Volunteer in 1968 She and her SUNY Oneonta students continue to contribute to the Chuuk Head Start program by donating learning materials that have been made in the preschool education course Dr Miller believes that collaboration among teacher educators and professional agencies is critical to help ensure teacher quality As a result, she has involved her early childhood teacher candidates in collaborations with the following local agencies and organizations: Family Service Association – Students have one class on site with the staff Follow-up service learning projects have included collecting hygiene products as part of “Hygiene Helpers” drive Opportunities for Otsego (an agency responsible for Opportunity House, a homeless shelter)–Students have a class on site with the staff and have participated in follow-up service learning projects Oneonta Farmer’s Market—Students have set up booths to collect money for the homeless shelter, for backpacks for the Katrina victims, and for UNICEF They also collected over 400 signatures on a petition in support of the Global Poverty Act of 2007 Saturday’s Bread—Students have worked at this local soup kitchen Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy—Students have learned about successful advocacy efforts related to children and families and have participated on the Winning Beginning listserv Clearly, Dr Miller’s practice, scholarship, and collaboration are all marked by an active involvement and commitment to service and advocacy for children and their families As a teacher educator, she not only models her commitment but engages teacher candidates in multiple service experiences as part of their development as teachers The result is more than awareness Her efforts initiate a sense of empowerment and an expanded view of the role of the teacher Her drive to empower teacher candidates to become active and knowledgeable advocates ready to make their contributions to classrooms and communities is truly a service to the teaching profession Congratulations, Suzanne, on a lifetime of service to the teaching profession The world is a better place because of your commitment and service Author Biography Connie Feldt-Golden, Ph.D., is Associate Professor and Chair of the Elementary Education and Reading Department at SUNY College at Oneonta Her research interests are in mathematics, science, and inservice education Email: feldtcc@oneonta.edu SUNY Oneonta early childhood teacher education students Chelsea Ruff, Nancy Datz, Carey Williams, and Patricia Patrissi participate in a student poster session at the 2007 New York State Association for the Education of Young Children Conference to raise awareness on local poverty issues SUNY Oneonta early childhood teacher education students Cheri Blauer and Joelle Ashline participate in the global Stand Up and Speak Out action in support of nations honoring their commitments to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and collect money for UNICEF at the Oneonta Farmer’s Market Early childhood teacher education students Susan Gutmaker and Daniella Quirion collect signatures on a petition in support of the Global Poverty Act of 2007 and raise money for UNICEF on the SUNY Oneonta quad on campus Developing Advocates for Change Suzanne Miller SUNY College at Oneonta I am deeply honored to have received the 2007 Charles C Mackey, Jr Award for Excellence in Service Leadership from the New York State Association of Colleges of Teacher Education I want to thank those who nominated me, the selection committee, and NYACTE for recognizing my work with this award I am retiring at the end of this school year and the beautiful plaque is both an affirmation as well as an inspiration when I think of Charles Mackey, Jr and what he represents In a world in which over billion people are forced to survive on less than a dollar a day and million children die every year as a result of hunger, in which thousands are dying as a result of conflict and war, and the planet earth is struggling to survive, it is essential that our teacher candidates are not only well informed on important issues, but also have a desire to work for the changes needed and feel empowered to make a difference! In my acceptance speech for the award I talked about the Head, Hands, Heart and Hope paradigm as a way to reflect on how to work with our students on critical issues we face today Head, hands, and heart comes from a service-learning model (Sigmon, 1996) I have added the word hope, which I feel is a critical component to developing leaders who are inspired to be advocates for the changes needed If we are going to save our world from disaster, it is imperative that teachers in turn help the students in their classrooms use their heads, hands, hearts, and hope to create the kind of world we envision The head represents the knowledge and critical thinking needed to understand the issues It is important that students have knowledge of key issues facing our world, and that their knowledge includes a variety of perspectives, not just the mainstream one For example texts such as Rethinking Globalization—Teaching for Justice in an Unjust World (Bigelow & Peterson, 2003) give a different perspective regarding global poverty and its solutions Hands represent the work that students and all of us can to contribute Handson work through service learning gives students direct experience with the issues Working in a soup kitchen, helping build a house for Habitat for Humanity, providing child care at a homeless shelter, organizing a recycling program, taking action to reduce global warming, raising money for Heifer International to buy an animal for a struggling family, and trick or treating for UNICEF are just a few of the many ways to be involved Heart stands for the experiences that touch us emotionally and move us to compassion and action Here are some stories and scenes from the field that have touched me: children living in upstate New York without running water, families choosing between heat and food, children waiting for a parent to come home from Iraq unharmed, five people including two children dying in my little family compound in Micronesia since I was there several years ago, the tent cities we saw in India, and the newborn with Insert footer: _ _Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning Volume 2, Number Spring/Summer 2008 XX RUNNING HEAD: Developing Advocates for Change his mother under a blanket in a mud hut in a poor rural village Through books such as Beatrice’s Goat (McBrier, 2001), the true story of a child in Uganda who is able to go to school after her family receives a goat from Heifer International, through DVDs such as those made available through UNICEF, and through films such as Al Gore’s “Inconvenient Truth” (Guggenheim, 2007) and Michael Moore’s (2006 ) “Sicko,” our hearts are also touched These affective experiences have a definite place in our learning They make the issues come alive and give them a human face Hope is the vision of a better world and the advocacy needed to make the needed changes Given the problems that face our world, we need to envision how it could be different and have hope that by working together it can happen Volunteerism alone may help maintain the status quo without making the core changes needed Service learning differs from volunteerism: students not only contribute in helpful ways, but they reflect on the issues that the service learning addresses They can become advocates for some of the changes needed In October 2007, SUNY Oneonta early childhood teacher education students participated in Stand Up and Speak Out Against Poverty days in which 43.7 million people around the world in 127 countries demanded their leaders keep the commitments made to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals The Oneonta students collected over 400 signatures on a petition in support of the Global Poverty Act of 2007 in the US Congress Our collective voices can and make a difference In summary, with knowledge and critical thinking about the issues, hands-on service to directly help, an open heart to learn from the inside out, and our collective voices to advocate for the changes needed, our teacher education students, their future students, and teacher educators can truly make a difference in our hope for a better world References and Resources Bigelow, B., & Peterson, B (2002) Rethinking globalization: Teaching for justice in an unjust world Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Rethinking Schools Press Facts about children and poverty retrieved from http://www.care.org/campaigns/childrenpoverty/facts.asp, Dec 24, 2007 Global Poverty Act of 2007 Information available online at http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/110_SN_2433.html Guggenheim D (Director) ( 2006) An inconvenient truth [Motion Picture] USA: Paramount Classics and Participant Productions Heifer International Information available online at http://www.heifer.org McBrier, P (2001) Beatrice’s goat New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers Miller, S (2000) Service learning as a pathway to insight and advocacy Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 21(2), pp 225-260 Moore, M (Producer/Director) (2007) Sicko [Motion Picture] USA: Lionsgate Entertainment Corporation Stand Up and Speak Out Information available online at http://www.standagainstpoverty.org Sigmon, R (1996) Intercultural service competencies: Connecting head, heart and hands Journey to Service Learning Washington, DC: Council of Independent Colleges UNICEF-United Nations Children’s Fund Information available online at www.unicef.org United Nations Millennium Development Goals Available online at http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/ Author Biography Suzanne Miller, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Early Childhood and Elementary Education at SUNY College at Oneonta Email: Millerss@oneonta.edu Reports of Research and Self-Study ESOL Teacher Candidates’ Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions as Reflected in Oneon-One Tutoring of English Language Learners Vicky Giouroukakis Andrea Honigsfeld Molloy College Abstract This study examined the impact of one-on-one tutoring of English language learners (ELLs) on English to speakers of other languages (ESOL) teacher candidates’ knowledge, skills, and dispositions The participants were 12 teacher candidates enrolled in the graduate course Second Language Acquisition and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), which required one-on-one tutoring to ELLs as a servicelearning field component Data suggested that teacher candidates’ content knowledge, pedagogical skills, and dispositions were enhanced during the eight-hour one-on-one tutoring program of ELLs Insert footer: _ _Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning Volume 2, Number Spring/Summer 2008 XX 10 RUNNING HEAD: ESOL Teacher Candidates’ Tutoring of ELLs Vignette #1 First session of the graduate education course, Second Language Acquisition and TESOL The professor of the course (first author) reviews the course outline and requirements As she discusses the field component of this course, the tutoring project, which requires students to tutor an ELL for a minimum of eight hours and reflect on their experiences, she is met with sighs and looks of disbelief and exasperation Her ESOL teacher candidates complain that they are overwhelmed with coursework, field observations—a general program requirement—and the obligations in their own busy personal lives (work, family, children, etc) A few students are apprehensive since they claim they have never tutored before The professor reassures them that the tutoring experience will not only prepare them to become teaching professionals, especially of diverse students, but also provide them with personal fulfillment as they contribute to the community It takes a few more sessions to get them to embrace the assignment Vignette #2 Last session of the same course The teacher candidates share with the class and the course professor their overall experiences with the tutoring project Four out of the twelve teacher candidates plan to continue tutoring their ELL students even after the course is over and they have satisfied all the requirements Every single teacher candidate has something positive to say about the tutoring experience Here is one comment: I enjoyed the experience overall because I created a relationship with a student that I would have never had if I hadn’t taken this course I have learned to be patient, talk slowly, and explain with more details (Sarah) One of the biggest challenges in teacher education is providing ample opportunities to teacher candidates to engage in meaningful, authentic learning/teaching experiences before the completion of their degree requirements To allow for this type of authentic learning to take place, our teacher education program implements a tutoring project in Second Language Acquisition and TESOL, one of the core TESOL courses Course participants are required to offer an ELL a minimum of eight hours of one-on-one tutoring as a service-learning field component that we firmly believe constitutes such an authentic learning experience for our candidates See Figure for a complete description As vignette #1 indicates, teacher candidates in the course are initially apprehensive of tutoring as service learning Some express concern about the time constraints of the project while others feel insecure about tutoring a student for the first time As the semester progresses and they settle into their tutoring situations, the tutors become less apprehensive and more comfortable in their roles In the end, they report the benefits of this type of service-learning experience, as vignette #2 reveals The purpose of this article is to offer a documentary account of teacher candidates’ experiences with one-on-one tutoring as a service-learning opportunity The underlying premise of this project is that as teacher candidates are exposed to the linguistic, cognitive, affective, 107 Annie R Jennings, Ed.D., is an administrator for the New York City Department of Education serving as an expert instructional resource on regulations, polices, and best practices Email: ajennin@schools.nyc.gov Frances E Clemente, Ed.D., is the principal of Nemark High School in Central New Jersey, an out-of-district, State-approved high school that serves students with social and emotional disabilities Her research in the field of resiliency informs her work with students, staff, and families Email: fclemente@newmarkeducation.com 108 109 Nota Bene: Reviews Book Review of On Education By Harry Brighouse (2006) New York: Routledge Jason Blokhuis University of Rochester Authors of textbooks specifically designed for foundational courses in teacher education programs typically begin by asking whether teaching is a profession They then devote a chapter to defining what a profession is, using medicine or law as a frame of reference They then generate a checklist of characteristics of a profession such as the following (Ornstein & Levine, 2006, p 31): A sense of public service; a lifetime commitment to career A defined body of knowledge and skills beyond that grasped by a layperson A lengthy period of specialized training Control over licensing standards and/or entry requirements Autonomy in making decisions about selected spheres of work An acceptance of responsibility for judgments made and acts performed related to services rendered; a set of performance standards A self-governing organization composed of members of the profession Professional organizations and/or elite groups to provide recognition for individual achievements A code of ethics to help clarify ambiguous matters or doubtful points related to services rendered 10 High prestige and economic standing Whether teaching is a profession will then be answered using this checklist Often, the answer will be ‘no’ or ‘almost’ or even ‘not yet’ because some items will not receive a checkmark According to Ornstein and Levine, for example, teaching is a ‘semiprofession’ or ‘emerging profession’ because items 2, 4, and 10 not readily apply There is no obvious problem with using medicine or law as a paradigmatic profession, but using a simple checklist to determine whether teaching is a profession is a deeply flawed approach (see Haller and Strike, 1986; Strike, 2007) Even if we were to agree that a given list is exhaustive, it would not follow that each item on the list should carry equal weight Insert footer: _ _Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning Volume 2, Number Spring/Summer 2008 XX 110 RUNNING HEAD FROM HERE TO END OF JOURNAL: Nota Bene: Reviews Some things matter more than others When a person decides to become a teacher, she doesn’t ask herself if she wants to be a generic professional She asks, “Do I want to be a professional teacher?” Since everyone in a teacher education program has already answered that question in the affirmative by paying tuition and showing up for class, it would be reasonable to believe they already associate teaching with goodness A professional is a highly educated person who has committed her life to some fundamental good Fundamental goods are interests that all persons, regardless time or place or circumstance, would reasonably regard as desirable They are universally desirable because they are necessary for human flourishing Having made a commitment to and assumed the concomitant responsibility for some aspect of human well-being, the professional becomes a fiduciary, the holder of a public trust This is, to my mind, the most important characteristic of a true professional We all have an interest in remaining healthy, for example Indeed, we all have an interest in remaining alive and well because we cannot flourish otherwise Because doctors have committed their lives to protecting these fundamental interests, we trust them They are true professionals We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of our persons and our property Indeed, we have a fundamental interest in remaining members of a well-ordered society in which these rights are secure because we cannot flourish otherwise Because lawyers have committed their lives to protecting these fundamental interests, we trust them They are true professionals In On Education, Harry Brighouse presents a compelling argument that would put teachers on the same professional footing as doctors and lawyers “Education,” he says, “should aim at enabling people to lead flourishing lives” (p 15) People need more than objective goods (such as health and liberty) to flourish; they also need to exercise good judgment This requires an education that promotes autonomy, the ability to choose for oneself how best to live This is most likely to occur if a) their critical thinking and reflective skills have been cultivated; and b) they have been presented with a variety of conceptions of what constitutes a quality life To the extent that teachers help children to make well-informed and reasonable decisions and present them with a variety of conceptions of the best kind of life, they help each child to flourish as an autonomous adult If consumerist messages are pervasive within a particular community, teachers can promote autonomy by not repeating them If most women within a particular community not work outside the home, teachers can promote autonomy by introducing students to females in a variety of professional roles Educators help maximize opportunities for children by cultivating their capacity to make good choices in terms of work, leisure activities, and civic affairs In chapter two, Brighouse points out that people need “to integrate themselves to a certain degree in the existing economy in order to flourish” (p 28) People need to be economically selfreliant to the greatest possible extent It is difficult for an able person to flourish in a state of total dependency on others And, as Brighouse points out, “Income is not the only valuable reward that work brings People attain status through their work…” (p 29) Teachers can promote human flourishing by preparing their students for a wide variety of meaningful, rewarding careers 111 In chapter three, Brighouse cites a study by Orlando Patterson in which the Harvard sociologist found that a large percentage of American women, when asked what made them feel most free, replied “shopping.” Most men, on the other hand, replied “driving” (Patterson, 2007; cited at p 51) Brighouse notes that such activities are not conducive to long-term well-being, not only because they are expensive (requiring that more time to be spent at work to defray the costs), but also because drivers and shoppers not develop or exercise complex skills or engage in intimate ways with others Teachers can promote human flourishing by encouraging students to become involved in a variety of activities and to cultivate close relationships with their family and friends In chapter four, Brighouse describes how reflective, self-governing individuals who see their lives as the product of their own good choices can contribute to a well-ordered society, enhancing the well-being of all Essentially, if a person’s rational capacities are well-cultivated, he or she will be willing and able to engage in public reason Laws are reasonable only if they can be rationally justified, and as Brighouse correctly points out, “Opponents of some law or policy have more reason to consent to it when it has been justified to them in terms they could, in principle, come to share than if no effort has been made to engage their own values in the justification” (p.68) Teachers can promote the norm of reason-giving (or ‘reciprocity’) by helping students to recognize how classroom rules work to everyone’s benefit Clearly, On Education is a valuable addition to any teacher education program It provides a succinct, eminently readable, and philosophically rich account of human flourishing as a fundamental aim of education On Education accordingly provides a solid rationale for viewing teachers as professionals, giving prospective teachers an encouraging and refreshingly clear sense of what it means to be a professional educator – far more than what foundations textbooks alone typically provide Educators, like doctors and lawyers, share a commitment to some fundamental good While doctors are committed to life and lawyers are committed to liberty, teachers are committed to the pursuit of happiness References Haller, E J., & Strike, K A (1986) An introduction to educational administration New York: McGraw-Hill Ornstein, A C., & Levine, D U (2006) Foundations of education (9th ed) Boston: Houghton Mifflin Patterson, O (2007) Freedom in the modern world New York: Basic Books Strike, K A (2007) Is teaching a profession: How would we know? In Randall Curren, (Ed.) Philosophy of Education: An Anthology Malden, MA: Blackwell Author Biography Jason Blokhuis holds degrees in History, Law, and Education He is currently working on a Ph.D in Educational Thought and Policy at the Warner School, University of Rochester He also serves as Student Representative on the Executive Board of the New York State Association of Teacher Educators Email: jblokhuis@warner.rochester.edu 112 113 Book Review of Intercultural Student Teaching: A Bridge to Global Competence Edited by K Cushner and S Brennan (2007) Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Education Barbara Garii SUNY College at Oswego Kenneth Cushman and Sharon Brennan, in their recent edited book Intercultural Student Teaching: A Bridge to Global Competence (Cushner & Brennan, 2007), recognize that teachers bring to the classroom the power to transform the world, child by child Teachers’ philosophies toward teaching, curriculum, and pedagogy, and their abilities to connect with students, give these teachers the strength and flexibility to create meaningful educational opportunities that allow and encourage students to question, wonder, imagine, and thrive Simultaneously, teachers themselves are transformed by their interactions with their world, their classrooms, and their students Yet changing demographics in the United States (Planty et al., 2007) suggest that as classrooms become more ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse, teachers continue to reflect a “traditional” picture of American educators: White, female, living within 100 miles of their hometown Teachers no longer look like their students For teachers to retain their flexible strength, they need to cultivate an openness to and acceptance of the unexpected possibilities within their evolving classrooms Artifacts of the world enter classrooms in many ways Not only are students bringing their own diversity to school, but television, radio, and the internet bring new cultures, alternative perspectives, and international media into our daily reality, both in and out of school Students and teachers have become integral members of the global community, even though they may not be aware of their membership This multifaceted introduction of local and global diversity into US schools requires that teachers be able to respond to and respect the diversity of needs and expectations of students who come to the classroom juggling multiple identities based on family background and community expectations with the culture of the US school system Additionally, preservice teachers take much of the profession of education for granted, because as students themselves, they spent 12 years intimately associated with the process of “school.” They assume that the work of a teacher is straightforward because “everyone knows” what schools are all about; they not immediately recognize that schools continuously evolve to reflect changes in society Cushner and Brennan recognize the underlying question that arises from these concerns and assumptions: How we, as teachers of teachers, support preservice teachers as they prepare to negotiate the changing face of the American educational system? Insert footer: _ _Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning Volume 2, Number Spring/Summer 2008 XX 114 Cushner and colleagues (Cushner & Brennan, 2007) suggest a radical departure for traditional teacher education programs: introduce preservice teachers to elements of the profession by encouraging them to complete some of their practicum or student teaching experiences in international settings Take new teachers out of their comfort zones, support them in an overseas classroom, and ask them to reflect on the role of school in society and what it means to be a teacher International opportunities offer new teachers a space in which to ponder who they are while they confront their own unseen and unexamined biases, assumptions, and beliefs Overseas teaching assignments give preservice teachers time to stretch themselves while they discover how attention to diversity, in all of its many forms in classrooms and schools, strengthens their ability to teach Teaching internationally allows them to reconsider the meaning of curriculum and the impact of the academic content on the individual students in the classroom Intercultural Student Teaching is a book that asks us, as teacher educators, to explore possibilities, both for ourselves and for the preservice teachers with whom we work In its ten chapters, the contributing authors challenge our notion of what constitutes the social justice pedagogy that supports multicultural education and diversity in classrooms The underlying argument suggests that bridging cultural boundaries, acknowledging and responding to ethnocentricism, and participating in cultural and/or language-based immersion opportunities are the key elements of “transformative teachereducation program[s]”(Quezada & Alfaro, 2007, p 124) In the first four chapters, the role of diversity in schools and teaching is addressed, placing diversity within the context of the NCATE standards (National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, 2007) International student teaching is contextualized as a viable practice that offers a myriad of professional and personal opportunities that impacts and strengthens new teachers’ professional identities and pedagogical practices In the next five chapters, several case studies are presented that explore different aspects of the international student teaching experience, including preparing preservice teachers for the overseas experience, the realities of teaching in an intercultural environment, and the importance of active and ongoing interaction reflections as a sense-making tool While the overall professional and personal outcomes are recognized as positive, there are a variety of aspects, such as professional disagreements and culture shock, that are challenging, difficult, and in constant flux Thus, the overseas experience becomes an integral element of teacher education because it is realistic, reflective, and reciprocal (Stachowski, 2007) The final chapter addresses critical pedagogy within the context of international teaching and places these experiences within the sociopolitical context of education Ultimately, Cushner and Brennan recognize that these overseas experiences give preservice teachers the reflective skills and specific vocabulary with which to articulate their questions and concerns about the underlying assumptions of education Simultaneously, the preservice teachers gather and use a variety of pedagogical tools to create classrooms that integrate the true diversity of all their students The preservice teachers who took the leap and completed their student teaching outside of the United States reported a loosening of personal boundaries, an increased comfort when working with ambiguity, and a better sense of their roles as teachers, mentors, and learning facilitators In other words, they recognized that the values and expectations they bring to the table are not ubiquitous and all-encompassing, but are 115 culturally specific When the variety of values and expectations are recognized and embraced, they bring added value to the classroom learning community The incorporation of overseas student teaching possibilities into traditional teacher education programs is a strong and viable way for preservice teachers to truly understand how to be an educator in a global classroom Cushner, Brennan, and their coauthors offer a clear rationale for making such opportunities readily available to all student teachers While the challenges of such programs are articulated, they recognize that the strengths of these programs offer added significance and importance to the student teaching experiences As professional education programs continue to grapple with how to ensure that preservice teachers become true professionals who value and work successfully with the diversity in their classrooms, schools, and communities, Cushner and Brennan suggest that widening the student teaching lens is a practical and reasonable solution to reaching that goal 116 References Cushner, K., & Brennan, S (Eds.) (2007) Intercultural Student Teaching: A Bridge to Global Competence Lanham MD: Rowman and Littlefield Education National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (2007) The NCATE Unit Standards Retrieved June 14, 2007, from http://www.ncate.org/documents/standards/UnitStandardsMay07.pdf Planty, M., Provasnik, S., Hussar, W., Snyder, T., Kena, G., Hampden-Thompson, G., et al (2007) The Condition of Education 2007 Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S Department of Education Quezada, R L., & Alfaro, C (2007) Developing biliteracy teachers: moving toward culture and linguistic global competence in teacher education In K Cushner & S Brennan (Eds.), Intercultural Student Teaching: A Bridge to Global Competency Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education Stachowski, L L (2007) A world of possibilities within the United States: integrating meaningful domestic intercultural teaching experiences into teacher education In K Cushner & S Brennan (Eds.), Intercultural Student Teaching: A Bridge to Global Competence Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Author Biography Barbara Garii, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Education at the State University of New York at Oswego Her research interests include mathematical literacy of K-6 teachers, social justice practices and processes in schools and classrooms, and international and cross-cultural teacher education Email: garii@oswego.edu 117 118 Website Critique of Explorations in Learning and Instruction: The Theory into Practice Database Danilyn Foreman Laurens Central School The website titled Explorations in Learning and Instruction: The Theory into Practice (TIP) Database, found at http://tip.psychology.org/ , is a tool intended to make learning theories and instructional theories highly accessible to educators The database contains brief summaries of 50 major learning theories and instructional theories In addition, the database has several different educational links to help researchers find the information for which they are looking This database is easy to navigate and the data is presented in a very straightforward fashion One will find the data (e.g., overviews of concepts and theories) to be concise and articulate The data appears to have some validity based on the fact that the author provided numerous references Compared to a similar site, this one was more appealing At the bottom of each page, viewers can move easily between the different links The six different links this webpage offers are as follows: About TIP, The Theories, Learning Domains, Learning Concepts, About the Author, and Other Related Sites This database also has an additional link to an Encyclopedia of Psychology website where researchers can get additional information This site was designed especially with educators/educational researchers in mind The information given about the theories is divided into subheadings: Overview, Application, Examples, Principals, References, and Relevant Websites The subheads help to guide the readers One very attractive feature of this site is that it is a noncommercial site There are no distracting advertisements or pop-ups presented while navigating the site or reading the content This, too, is a way to keep the viewer focused on the information It also suggests to me that the information in the database may be free of any bias Without advertisements, the database designer is free to present the information to best benefit the target audience This database was created by Dr Greg Kearsley Kearsley has a Ph.D in educational psychology from the University of Alberta and has written many books and articles about technology and education Dr Kearsley is currently an independent consultant specializing in online education He has designed online courses for NCREL, Walden Institute, and the University of Wisconsin He has taught at several universities; was the Chief Executive Officer of Park Row, Inc., a software publishing company in San Diego; was chief scientist of Courseware, Inc., a training development firm based in San Diego; and is a senior scientist at the Human Resources Research Organization Dr Kearsley’s database is similar to www.learning-theories.com While the learning theories site is a database featuring learning theories also, it targets educators in Insert footer: _ _Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning Volume 2, Number Spring/Summer 2008 XX 119 the fields of educational psychology and instructional design This database site is not as easy or direct to navigate as http://tip.psychology.org/ The Learning Theories database has many advertisements on it that one finds distracting One very nice feature on the Learning Theories database is that there is a Discussion Board on the bottom of the page where visitors can add comments, questions, or insights about the learning theories This feature can be helpful because it allows viewers to interact with others and share thoughts and ideas I would recommend Dr Kearsley’s database website http://tip.psychology.org/ to colleagues who are looking to learn more about different learning and instructional theories The information this database presents is very informative and direct The site is a no-frills, simple presentation of useful data I would use this database as an educator/educational researcher to defend and enrich my curriculum Author Biography Danilyn E Foreman is a recent graduate of the Master’s program in Education at SUNY College at Oneonta She is a first-grade teacher at Laurens Central School in Laurens, New York Her research interests include early childhood literacy, reading comprehension, and vocabulary development Email: kforeman@laurenscs.org 120 FOR INSIDE BACK COVER—NOTE THIS HAS BEEN EDITED SINCE LAST EDITION Institutional membership in NYACTE combined with individual membership in NYSATE is the synergistic relationship that gives our voices the strength and credibility to have an impact on teacher education policy Each year all NYS institutions of higher education receive an invitation to join NYACTE Each institution designates a representative Annual institutional dues are $275 Visit www.NYACTE.org Individual educators are invited to join NYSATE NYSATE Annual dues are $35 (student dues, $20) Visit www.NYS-ATE.org for more information, NYACTE and NYSATE Together, NYACTE and NYSATE        Sponsor two state-wide annual conferences Voice positions on important educational issues to NYS policy makers Share membership on the Teacher Education Advisory Group to the New York State Commissioner of Education Represent each organization at NYS Board of Regents meetings Hold joint Executive Board Planning Meetings Share membership on Excelsior’s Editorial Board Select and present the Teacher Education Distinguished Program Award …and more 121 For back cover COVER PAPER MUST NOT BE VARNISHED AS ADDRESSES WILL BE TYPED ON WITH AN INKJET PRINTER ½ INCHES FROM BOTTOM SHOULD BE BLANK JUST ABOVE THIS BLANK SPACE, TYPE THIS: Cynthia A Lassonde, Ph.D Editor, Excelsior Division of Education SUNY College at Oneonta 501 Fitzelle Hall Oneonta, NY 13820-4015 Pre-sorted Standard US Postage Paid #422 Oneonta, NY ... DR 20 Dominican 19 F Honduras 10 Honduran 20 M Guatemala 24 Guatemalan 2? ? 21 F DR 31 Dominican 22 F DR 24 Dominican 23 F Costa Rica 18 Costa Rican 24 F PR Puerto Rican 25 F NYC Puerto Rican Participant... Reflective Practice 28 23 12 28 12 16 14 23 100 82 43 100 43 57 50 82 Validating The most basic level of response, and one that occurred in all cases, was the validating of preservice teacher... Report: Parts I and II Dimensions Focus of Project Clearly identifies salient communicative needs and goals of student Partially or generally identifies communicative needs and goals of student