Journeys Magazine 2010

A magazine of the SIUC College of Education and Human Services

Explore possibilities, fulfill dreams, change lives.

inside:

SAND, SNOW, SOLITUDE

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SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY CARBONDALE

Contents Extra Credit 2

SAND, SNOW, SOLITUDE

Unique “classroom” develops and tests leadership skills

PARENTING 101

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Project 12-Ways celebrates 30 years of service to region’s families

COLLEGE APTITUDE

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Students from the College introduce high school students to SIUC

PLAYING TO LEARN

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Software helps teachers correct student errors in real time

BLINDSIDED

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When it comes to sports, some girls letter in “Mean”

IF SHE ONLY HAD A BRAIN

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Filmmakers like their celluloid coeds one-dimensional

WHINER, CLASS CLOWN, DAYDREAMER Trying to stop them before they get started

LIKE MONEY IN THE BANK

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Social capital can improve mental and physical health

Gold Stars

Outstanding Teacher 12 Outstanding Scholar 13 Top NTT Faculty Member 14 Top Graduate Teaching Assistant 15 Outstanding Alumnus 16

Assignments

Education of a Teacher 18 New Faces-New Hires 20

A+ Departmental Highlights 22

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COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND HUMAN SERVICES Kenneth Teitelbaum, Dean W. Bradley Colwell, Associate Dean (2008-10) Jan E. Waggoner, Director of Teacher Education Curriculum and Instruction

Lynn C. Smith, Chair Educational Administration and Higher Education

Kathryn A. Hytten, Chair (2008-10)

Andrea E. Evans, Chair (2010-) Educational Psychology and Special Education

Lyle J. White, Chair Health Education and Recreation

Joyce V. Fetro, Chair Kinesiology

Elaine M. Blinde, Chair Rehabilitation Institute

John J. Benshoff, Director Social Work

Mizanur R. Miah, Director Workforce Education and Development

Elizabeth W. Freeburg, Chair Visit us on the Web at www.ehs.siu.edu JOURNEYS 2009-10 UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS Director: Mike Ruiz Editor, Writer: K.C. Jaehnig Art Director: Jay Bruce Designer: Nathan Krummel Photography: Rusty Bailey, Steve Buhman, Shutterstock.com

Golden Apples Gifted 24 School Supplies 25 The Front Cover: Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, Utah.

Photography by Shutterstock.com.

College of Education and Human Services

Printed by the authority of the State of Illinois, X/XX, XM, XX-XXXX. Produced by University Communications, Southern Illinois University Carbondale 618.453.2276, www.siu.edu/uc

A Note From The Dean

With this second issue of our Journeys magazine, it is beginning to feel more like an important tradition in our College, an opportunity to share a few highlights from this past academic year with our many alumni, emeriti faculty, other friends and current faculty, staff and students.

Included in this magazine are reasons for all of us to feel Saluki pride. Besides the activities of faculty and students in our eight academic units, you’ll also learn more about our award-winning teachers and scholars, our distinguished and generous alumni, and our new faculty colleagues.

Our College continues to be successful in our efforts, as seen by the numerous books, chapters and articles we author; the many journals and magazines we edit and review manuscripts for; the international, national, regional and state professional associations in which we hold offices and with which we share our work; the honors and awards we have earned; the grant proposals we have had funded; and the strong and sustained community and school partnerships we have maintained. Look for specifics on our College website, www.ehs.siu.edu, for example in the COEHS Update newsletters and “College Highlights” summary.

In addition, our academic programs are accredited by a host of national organizations, an endorsement provided only to programs that meet significant standards and are viewed as highly effective. While we recognize there is always room for improvement, it is clear that we offer the upto-date knowledge, cutting-edge skill training and dispositional approaches needed to successfully prepare educators and human services personnel.

Our efforts have been recognized nationally in other ways as well. For example, U.S. News and World Report ranks our Rehabilitation Counseling program No. 6 in the country, Workforce Education as No. 8, Communications Disorders and Sciences as No. 72 and Social Work No. 82. Most recently, our Graduate Education program rose dramatically from a ranking of No. 100 to No. 71. To fully appreciate these rankings, consider how many programs are ranked by the magazine (in the case of Education, almost 300) and how many are not (in Education, probably many hundreds), as well as those ranked lower than us (including many high-

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profile state flagship institutions). Obviously we are doing something very right.

Relevant as well are the verbal and non-verbal expressions of the several hundred graduates who walked across the Shryock Auditorium stage during our two undergraduate ceremonies on May 15, as well as from our doctoral and master’s students who participated at the Graduate School ceremony on May 14. The smiles, the tears of joy, the very positive comments . . . while we cannot necessarily take them as evidence of our success as a College, the graduation of our students is clearly an indication of their success. As their faculty and mentors, advisors and support staff, we congratulate them and allow ourselves a pat on the back for the help we gave them during their years at SIUC. People at the university talk a lot about Saluki pride and encouraging our current and former students to embrace the feeling. For those who work directly with students and see them successfully complete their studies, well, we couldn’t be prouder.

We very much appreciate your interest in the College and welcome your feedback about our many activities and accomplishments as well as brief testimonials that address how the College provided good preparation for your future lives as professionals. Please feel free to contact me if you have comments or stories to share. I can be reached at kteitelb@siu.edu or 618-453-2415.

Best wishes,

Kenneth Teitelbaum, Dean

Extra Credit

Unique “classroom” develop

Whitney C. Ward’s research interests include adventure leadership, group dynamics and development, outdoor recreation, wilderness and wilderness medicine.

In his spare time he likes to “practice what he preaches” with his family.

FOR THE LAST THREE SUMMERS, STUDENTS

enrolled in Recreation 431 have journeyed to Utah’s high desert and mountains to discover if they have the right stuff to survive in the wilderness. “The formal goal is to help students develop into effective outdoor leaders — to manage a camp or lead trips,” said Utah native Whitney C. Ward, an assistant professor in the Department of Health Education and Recreation.

“A lot of other things happen in the process — increases in self-confidence, a clearer understanding of where they want to go in life, the bonds that happen with other class members through being together 24 hours a day for three weeks. You see the good, the bad, the clean, the sticky….”

The 2009 group — three graduate students, one senior, seven juniors and a sophomore — spent late May and early June exploring parts of the San Rafael Swell, a vast, dry sweep of mesas, cliffs, buttes and canyons, and the craggy La Sal mountains, Utah’s second tallest range. The trip’s literal high point included a climb to the top of Mount Peale, at 12,721 feet, the range’s uppermost peak.

“The reason we chose these areas is because there are different skills and different knowledge the students have to utilize,” Ward said. “When they leave SIUC, they will be able to transfer the knowledge they gained in these diverse environments into their jobs.

It’s also a lot of fun.”

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Students developed the course budget, planned travel and hiking routes, figured out ration needs, and prepared and taught class sections based on an 18-point curriculum developed by the Wilderness Education Association. That curriculum aims to hone competence in judgment, outdoor living skills, planning and logistics, risk management, leadership, environmental literacy and teaching ability.

Successful completion can lead to the wilderness group’s outdoor leader certification, a key credential for those planning a career in the field.

Students also took turns guiding the expedition.

“They have the opportunity to exercise and experiment with their leadership style, and they get feedback not only from their instructors but from each of the students evaluating things that went well and things they could improve,” Ward said.

Samantha J. Cooke, a 26-year-old graduate student originally from Manteca, Calif., got first crack at what they call “leader of the day.” “I took it so seriously — it was my day to show everyone what I could do,” she remembered. “I dressed the part: I wore a skirt, my hair was pulled back, my glasses were on, I was ready to go. We had debriefings every night. Those were the moments I learned the most.

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s and tests leadership skills

You could see through the trip that people started to change, to take the constructive criticism they got and implement it.”

James E. Wieman, a 21-year-old junior from Roscoe, “where the tallest thing is a corn stalk,” shared leader-of-the-day duties with Cooke the day they climbed Mount Peale. “None of us had ever climbed a mountain so there was an element of not knowing that played into it,” Wieman recalled. “We did this as a group, moved at a pace everyone in the group could handle. Patience is a great thing I learned. I still struggle with it, but I know that’s a problem I need to face. At the top, I had a natural high. It was such a great feeling to be up there.

Looking down at our bus that said SIU and seeing it look smaller than my thumb — that was pretty cool.”

Ward requires students to keep journals while on the trip and to write in them at least once a day. These journals play a key role during the solo experience, where students spend a night in the desert alone. “I reflected a lot on my life, what I am doing, where I am going in the future,” Cooke said.

For Wieman, this opportunity for introspection proved a peak experience. “I found myself journaling about how much I had grown,” he said.

“I found myself crying with all the emotion going through me. And then to come from that high point back to the group — to my friends who were there to pick me up and be with me. Everyone I went on the trip with I still keep in contact with — it’s a pretty amazing group of friends.”

Looking back several months later, both students said their experience in Utah transformed them. “I am not the same person I was when I left Carbondale,” Cooke said. “I am a lot more confident and a lot more sure about myself and my decision-making and thought processes. I trust myself a lot more. I have a better grasp of who Samantha J. Cooke is. I can do anything.”

Said Wieman, “It’s had an effect for the good on every aspect of my life — job performance, friends, relationships, school work. I don’t watch TV much any more; I would rather be outside if I have free time. I’m more concerned about others now. I’m wanting to talk things out; I don’t let issues sit any more. As a result of feedback, I’m more able to see faults in myself and grow from them. I’m more positive; I have more initiative.

I’m more of a person who will do things, where before I wouldn’t have stepped up to a challenge.

I think if someone asked me to do pretty much anything, I could do it. Bottom line: This course changes your life.”

College of Education and Human Services

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Extra Credit

PARENTING 101 Project 12-Ways celebrates 30 years of service to region’s families

Brandon Greene’s 30-plus years as a behavioral psychologist have included serving as special master in a federal class action suit in child welfare and a stint working with Ralph Nader.

He is a pilot, equine enthusiast and erstwhile martial artist.

SCOLDED HARSHLY BY HIS MOM FOR A scuffle with his sister, the 7-year-old boy in the diaper wouldn’t say “Sorry” — wouldn’t say anything, in fact. Prodded by their mom, the little girl hugged the boy, who stood woodenly, arms hanging stiffly at his sides. Finally, in a burst of swear words, the mother sent him out of the kitchen so she could fix dinner. As the camera panned in, a silent tear slid down his face. He never said a word.

Brandon Greene sees progress in this heartrending film clip, produced to illustrate the work of a groundbreaking venture called Project 12-Ways.

Housed in the Rehabilitation Institute, the project focuses on helping families where abuse or neglect are taking place. “She’s making dinner,” said Greene, an Institute professor who has been with Project 12-Ways since its beginning. “When we first started working with them, nobody made dinner. In fact, the family was referred to us because the children were drinking from the toilet.”

Project 12-Ways, a training ground for students in the Institute’s Behavior Analysis and Therapy program, receives federal funds to work with families referred by state and family service agencies from 11 counties in Southern Illinois.

“When we get referrals, there’s pretty compelling evidence that something has happened, and in some cases it’s been happening for many years — the family has been in the system for awhile,” Greene said. “Our goal has always been to keep the family together. They’re in the system because the family has crossed some amorphous line that separates acceptable from unacceptable parenting. If we can get them to become minimally

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adequate at parenting — that means providing eats, sheets and a modicum of socialization — their parental rights remain intact. That’s a modest goal, but it’s attainable.”

To help parents move toward that goal, graduate students, who form the core of the project’s clinical staff, teach a range of skills — from cleaning and cooking to money management and problem solving to dealing with children in public and relating to

“If there’s a serious problem in the home, you’re probably not going to fix it in an office, so we don’t work bankers’ hours.” them in positive ways. They start with the basics.

“There has to be physical adequacy in the home,” Greene said. “It doesn’t have to pass a white-glove test, it just needs to be uncluttered enough to get things done. You can’t send a child to bed if you can’t get to the bed.”

They also emphasize setting up routines — steps that take place to accomplish child-care tasks such as dressing, meals and baths. “The daily lives of our families are not anchored by the basic and essential activities that make up daily life for most of us,” Greene said. “Often the parents are not working, so there’s no need to sleep or awaken or bathe or eat at any particular time. TV can be on throughout the day and night. It all exacts a toll on the children’s development. Therefore, an important

09 10 order of business for us is to help the family establish predictable routines of care for their children.

“Once you have the routines in place, you can deal with how children and adults interact with each other, get to the things the parents are distressed about, which, in the parents’ view, frequently involve the ‘bad’ behavior of their children — parents often complain that the kids don’t mind. If we can help establish routines and show the parent how to enjoy the children in the process, then getting the kids to mind isn’t that hard.”

While abuse and neglect cases have common elements, each family is unique, so project staff tailor training to meet specific needs. To do that, they watch to see what happens normally. But watching for 12-Ways involves more than just looking around. Before they begin working with families, students have learned how to recognize and record behavior in more than a dozen predefined categories. They gather this information in a series of pre-training home visits (generally made at times where conflict is more likely to occur, such as mealor bedtime) to establish a “baseline” — the everyday ways in which family members usually interact. During some of these visits, they may record exactly which categories of behavior occur every 15 seconds. They turn these records — 240 of them over the course of an hour — into bar graphs that clearly show where parents need training.

“Not only does this show exactly what occurred during the session, but these observations don’t reflect the arbitrary opinion or interpretation of a particular worker about what occurred — they are standardized from one staff member to the next,” Greene said. “In addition, as training proceeds, the analysis provides a clear indication of whether and how the family’s behavior is changing or whether the program is having its intended effect.”

Parent training consists of a series of steps, called protocols, which students themselves must master before they begin working with parents.

“There’s a clear specification of what needs to be done, when to do it and how,” Greene said. “For example, there are steps you can follow in putting kids to bed at night to make it happen peaceably.

Our students go through a tremendous amount

of realistically simulated practice. They have to demonstrate to my satisfaction that they’re competent to work hands-on with families.” Freshly trained students don’t face their first “real” parents alone, however. “The new student is paired with the more seasoned, who is supervised by the even more seasoned, who is supervised by me,” Greene said.

“No 23-year-old is left alone to be in charge.”

Parent training in some programs takes place in classrooms or clinics. That’s not the 12-Ways model. “It’s difficult to change behavior outside the environment where you want the behavior to occur,” Greene said. “If there’s a serious problem in the home, you’re probably not going to fix it in an office, so we don’t work bankers’ hours. We work when the need is there — early in the morning and after school and into the night. It’s labor intensive.”

Working with some 100 families each year, Greene estimates the project has assisted more than 6,000 children since its start-up in 1979 and trained between 400 and 500 professionals. “We’re proud of what we can accomplish,” Greene said.

“At follow-up we see significant reductions, for

A new skill — Supervised by Project 12-Ways staff (off camera), a father practices a physical therapy technique with his severely disabled son.

The father learned enough to make his son’s last years more comfortable.

example, in the recurrence of child maltreatment among families we serve.

“However, we also have come to realize that child abuse and neglect are actually part of a larger social problem that we haven’t satisfactorily addressed or even accurately labeled. When you see, time and again, an employment system that doesn’t hire many of our parents and an educational system that too often fails our children, there’s more than just ‘poverty’ at work there. Until we make progress on those systemic problems, abuse and neglect will continue.”

College of Education and Human Services

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Extra Credit

COLLEGE APTITUDE

Students from the College introduce high school students to SIUC

Cynthia H. Sims is interested in mentoring for college career preparation and leadership development; recruitment and retention of minorities in higher education; and adult learning, education, and program development. She enjoys spending time with her two teenage daughters.

THEY REALLY WANTED TO SEE THE bodies, but handling the brain was almost as good.

“I thought it would be soft and somewhat squishy, but it was hard, and it smelled like the sore throat medicine Chloraseptic,” said Darlene Sao, a junior at Carbondale Community High School, after touring the cadaver lab in Lindegren Hall. “It was pretty cool knowing that I was holding an organ that at one time had controlled functions in the body.”

Sao was one of 14 area high-schoolers who took part in a four-day program near the end of March aimed at introducing them to college life and career choices. Matched with graduate and undergraduate mentors from the College, the students sat in on classes, listened to presentations, toured the campus, saw some residence halls and got a taste of university cooking.

Their visit came about as part of Assistant Professor Cynthia H. Sims’ efforts to foster the leadership skills of her own students in workforce education and development. “Research suggests that many college graduates are proficient in technology but lack the requisite ‘soft skills’ to make them effective employees and managers,” Sims said. “My graduate students were responsible for recruiting and training the mentors and developing the program, and they had to make sure it wasn’t just about the high school students — the mentors had to get something out of it, too.”

Sims, whose research focus includes minorities in higher education, also had a particular interest in

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bringing in high school students who would enhance the diversity of whichever universities they attend.

Most who took part in this project came from minority backgrounds, and one-third of them were enrolled in G.E.D. programs.

“As the country’s diversity increases, workplaces also will become more diverse,” Sims said. “College campuses must become the ‘lab’ where future workers can learn to appreciate the diverse backgrounds of others as well as practice working with those who are different from themselves.

Diversity enriches both the college campus and the workplace, so we must prepare our future leaders to view diversity as an asset.”

Safiya D. McNeese, now a first-year medical student, took part in an earlier, more extended version of Sims’ mentorship program in 2007. She was keen on being asked again. “For impressionable youth, it is necessary to have positive influences to counteract the many negative influences regarding what’s important and the paths to take in life,” said McNeese, a single mother of two and a U.S. Navy officer who plans on becoming a Navy physician.

“This program provides that.”

It was McNeese who took her mentees through the cadaver lab. The room grew quiet as she carefully withdrew a brain from a jar of preservative and set it gently in a pair of gloved hands. There was a moment of silence, then a softly murmured, “Wow.”

Thirteen of the 14 high school students taking part in the program turned in evaluations, and nearly all of them rated the experience a “10.” They said such things as, “I liked it a lot. I learned a lot of stuff I didn’t know,” and “It was an awesome experience.

Gave me a lot of valuable information,” and “It gave me an extra shove to want to experience more and learn new things.”

But it also convinced them to take a closer look at SIUC. “It made me realize how fun and exciting SIU is,” wrote one. “This made me realize how nice a campus SIUC provides — I am now considering it more seriously than I was before,” wrote another. “It’s now one of my top options for college,” wrote a third.

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THE MORE YOU MAKE A MISTAKE, THE harder it is to fix. C. Sebastian Loh, who teaches in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, has taken that idea into games used for learning and training. He has developed software that can track players within the game world, showing where they are and what they are doing there. “As a result, an instructor can be notified about a mistake early

enough to help trainees correct any mistakes before they become habits,” he said.

Loh’s research focuses on his twin interests in performance assessment and the fantastical, computer-generated worlds where millions of alteregos, known as avatars, live — and oft times die.

While many of these cyperspaces came into being to entertain — think “World of Warcraft” or “Second Life” — some virtual environments serve as training schools where players learn and practice new skills.

As with any kind of training, the key question in computer-aided instruction is: What did the student actually learn? Most assessments come when training ends. Loh himself has developed software that pulls data from gaming sessions once they’re done to pinpoint performance progress, strengths and weaknesses. But because these tools come into play at the end of the training, trainees may have spent as much as 60 hours making mistakes and worse, repeating them.

“That time is wasted,” Loh said. “My idea is to find out what they’re learning as they go along, in real time or as near as I can make it. If I know they’re coming over the wall and then going through the wrong door, I can help them, guide them right

Software helps teachers correct student errors in real time then without having to wait for the game to be over.”

This sounded like a good idea to the U.S. Army Research Office; its Defense University Research Instrumentation Program has given Loh a $70,000 grant to pay for virtual environment equipment that will allow him to develop and test these real-time assessment tools.

Loh calls his new assessment space, a small, windowless room in Pulliam Hall decked out with dozens of posters depicting a range of computer games, the V-Lab. It contains a 72-inch liquid plasma, high-definition, rear-projector TV that can operate in 3-D and an Alienware gaming computer.

Before games start, players will don a headset with sensors that can scan and store brainwave readings, revealing the mood states, such as excitement, calm and fear, they experience as the games progress. “That will tell me how engaged the player is,” Loh said. “Emotions are often tied to action. One of the things I want to find out is whether they do blend together in the game.”

Loh already has created a game environment scaled to the V-Lab’s large screen and is now designing scenarios for the avatars who will play there. “The game is the platform that lets me find out how people learn when they use it,” Loh said.

He also has developed the software that will let instructors follow players as they move through the game. On down the line, Loh hopes to share it with other researchers interested in game-based learning and assessment.

C. Sebastian Loh is interested in “multi-user virtual environments” — computer games — as performance assessment tools. He has written widely on assessment using serious games and the impacts of those games on education.

College of Education and Human Services

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Extra Credit

BLINDSIDED When it comes to sports, some girls letter in “Mean”

Julie A. Partridge’s research interests in sport and physical activity include the social influence of peers and parents on children and adolescents, and emotional coping (specifically with shame and embarrassment).

JUST BECAUSE GIRLS PLAY TOGETHER doesn’t mean they like each other. “I’m finding girls are just as mean to each other in sports as anywhere else,” said Julie A. Partridge, an assistant professor of kinesiology. “One thing that seems to be a little bit different is that there can be more of a physical component. I’ve heard stories of players intentionally hitting someone with a ball and acing like it was an accident. But making fun of people behind their backs, giving dirty looks, excluding them — all the mean girls’ ‘greatest hits’ — happen regularly on girls’ teams.”

Partridge has been conducting individual interviews with teenage girls about their experiences with their teammates. This project grew out of an earlier survey of 105 young athletes (most of them female), which included questions aimed at uncovering whether the players had been victims of physical or verbal bullying or other hostile acts.

“I just didn’t find much so I thought maybe because sport is a physical endeavor there wasn’t as much of it going on, but the coaches were telling me it was happening even though I didn’t see it,” Partridge said. “I thought, ‘Maybe I’m just not asking the right questions,’ so I decided to take a more qualitative

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approach — do interviews rather than using the pencil-and-paper tests.”

Partridge began interviewing last fall and to date has talked with 10 girls ages 15 to 17, most of whom play a team sport. She plans to talk with another 15 athletes, including younger girls and those in individual sports, before the study ends.

“The girls have been very interested in talking about this issue,” Partridge said. “They’ve all had experience with it, either as observers, victims, or in one case, as a perpetrator. What I’m finding is that it affects everyone one way or another. The team environment is negatively affected — as the girls would say, ‘There’s a lot of drama’ — and it affects performance, too. If you have people who don’t speak to each other, you don’t do well.”

In sport, jealousy triggers mean-girl behavior, Partridge said, with girls on the bench likely the meanest of them all. “They talk about the players, they laugh if they make mistakes,” she noted.

But players have their own mean streaks. “A girl will exclude someone else on a play, even if that person is the best on the team, just because she doesn’t like her,” Partridge said. “Or she won’t pass her the ball or she’ll roll the ball at the other player to make her trip. It makes no sense — it decreases your chance of winning. The functional response to jealousy should be, ‘What do I need to do better? What can I learn from watching this player?’ Instead, we see this bizarre coping response: ‘I’m going to take her down.’

That doesn’t help anyone improve.”

Several of the girls interviewed said mean behavior occurred most often at practice rather than

“I’m finding girls are just as mean to each other in sports as anywhere else.” during games. “The irony is if you do that in practice, you’re not going to do as well in the game,” Partridge said. “When the time comes, will you really trust that person who’s been mean to you? Probably not.”

While many dismiss feminine meanness — “Girls will be girls,” they say — Partridge thinks it should be confronted. She says coaches have the power to put a stop to it, but the girls reported that only the female coaches seemed willing to do so. “I think the male coaches hope if they don’t say anything, it will go away, where the female coaches have had the experience that it just gets worse,” Partridge said.

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Y L N O E H IF S BRAIN! A D A H Filmmakers like their celluloid coeds one-dimensional, researchers say

IN COLLEGE, THE WOMEN ARE PRETTY, and they major in men. At least, that’s the way it is in the movies. “All these movies about college women focus on their appearance and their ability to land a man,” said Tamara L. Yakaboski, an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Administration and Higher Education. “They’re set up with women as objects, and while women might be the ‘leads,’ they’re on the periphery, secondary to the male characters.”

Yakaboski and her research partner, Saran Donahoo (also an assistant professor in EAHE), decided to have a closer look at the movies after taking in a matinee of the 2008 film “House Bunny” at their local mall. The screenplay’s plot turns on a former Playboy bunny who becomes housemother to a sorority of Plain-Jane nerdettes.

“It’s basically an ugly duckling story,” Yakaboski said. “The smart women have to get physically and socially transformed by the former bunny in order to get male attention.” She and Donahoo hated it.

“After we left, I spent the next hour writing about it, I was so mad,” Donahoo recalled. “We said, ‘There have to be some good films about college women.’”

That quest led them to “Sydney White,” a retelling of the old fairytale “Snow White,” complete with seven dorks, a wicked Rachel Witchburn, a campus “Hot or Not” Web site reflecting the hottest of them all and a poisoned Apple computer. As with the original, Sydney finally winds up with the aptly dubbed (Tyler) Prince.

“The film shows that sex appeal is the main thing that women have to offer in a college environment,” said Yakaboski. “Rachel has it and uses it to ‘rule’ campus prior to Sydney’s arrival, though as a powerful woman, she has to be taken

down at the end.” Added Donahoo, “And Sydney gets the guy. The goal of college in this movie is still getting that MRS degree.”

So why does it matter — it’s just a movie, right? Wrong, say the pair. “Before students come to college, they get certain cultural messages about what it’s all about, and many of these come from films — movies have an impact on beliefs and perceptions,” said Yakaboski. “‘Animal House,’ for example, has taught generations about what college is and how they should behave.”

That media impact on beliefs and behavior particularly affects the present generation, which is more connected than any that went before, said Donahoo, whose research partly focuses on media.

“The Millenials [a designation encompassing those ranging in age from 13 to 29] are much more media savvy and media directed, but ‘savvy’ doesn’t mean ‘critical thinking,’” she noted. “They know how to use and access the material, but they don’t stop to analyze it. Furthermore, woman are more prone to see themselves through the media lens, so when movies completely erase academics and tell women their role is to get married, it’s a concern.”

Millenials also tend to believe that sexism no longer exists, Yakaboski said, and because it’s now largely underground, they have trouble recognizing it. “They don’t see that these movies are telling them their options lie in their looks and getting a man.”

As women begin to outnumber men on college campuses, university officials must counteract the pressures these students face. “It used to be that women came to get husbands and happened to get degrees,” Donahoo said. “But these days, we have to do more to support those who come for the education and who may or may not get husbands.”

Saran Donahoo’s research interests include legal issues affecting education, educational policy, international/ comparative education, and educational diversity and equity for both K-12 and postsecondary education.

Tamara Yakaboski’s research interests include women (students, staff and faculty) in higher education and international higher education, specifically Asia. She is currently working on research related to a studyabroad trip to Kenya undertaken this past summer.

College of Education and Human Services

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ER

CLA SS C

before they get started

Morgan Chitiyo’s research interests include applied behavior analysis, positive behavior supports and their applications across settings, populations and cultures. He also is interested in special education issues in his native country, Zimbabwe.

A TECHNIQUE THAT focuses on supporting positive behavior can keep kids from acting up, yet even teachers trained in the technique can’t always make it work for them. “Teachers we surveyed didn’t have any difficulty in understanding positive behavior supports, but they did report having a major problem with teaching replacement behaviors,” said Morgan Chitiyo, an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education. “We weren’t expecting that. If they understand the basic principles, they should be able to understand teaching the replacement behaviors.

That’s a concern — and a puzzling one.”

The concept of positive behavior supports draws on the knowledge and techniques of applied behavior analysis, which employs rewards to achieve desired outcomes. Teachers using this system first observe a troublesome situation, record and graph data regarding the circumstances affecting the behavior, analyze that information and then use it to redesign the environment and teach more desirable responses to that environment.

“It’s not just one strategy — it’s a philosophy, a way of managing behavior that avoids the punitive, like suspensions or expulsions,” said Chitiyo. “For example, you may have a student engaging in problem behavior. You observe and see that the function of this behavior is to get attention from a peer, so you adjust the seating arrangement by moving the peer away from the student, preventing the problem because you removed the reinforcement. Or, if you have students with attention deficit, they may engage in problem behavior because they are uncomfortable.

Redesigning the tasks so they’re not as long may prevent that behavior.”

Chitiyo said he began noticing reports in professional journals of difficulties teachers faced in

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DA YD RE A

W LOW HINER, N, Trying to stop them

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Extra Credit

trying to adopt the method in class. He heard the same thing in informal discussions with teachers, so he and his mentor, John J. Wheeler, decided to look into the experiences of some Southern Illinois teachers trained in the technique. Twenty-one Southern Illinois teachers responded. They said time constraints proved their thorniest problem, though they also cited lack of resources and getting the students’ families on board, in addition to the difficulties in teaching replacement behaviors mentioned earlier. “Collecting data, analyzing it and graphing it does take time,” Chitiyo acknowledged.

“But if it is done well, over the long term it will actually save time by reducing the problem behaviors, leaving more time for teaching.”

Schools might address the problems with resources and the need to learn how to teach replacement behaviors through partnerships with nearby universities, he suggested, while building rapport with families often helped in obtaining those families’ support. “Families are important because you need to establish consistency between the school and home so the new behavior will generalize across all environments,” Chitiyo said.

Chitiyo and Wheeler wrote an article on their results for Remedial and Special Education. In 2009, it was the online journal’s most frequently read article for several months’ running and is still in the top 10. “We were thrilled,” Chitiyo said. “I’ve had e-mails from people inquiring about it, including requests for the survey instrument we used.” Chitiyo and Wheeler are now doing a follow-up study with teachers in Southern Illinois and Middle Tennessee.

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LIKE MONEY IN THE BANK Social capital can improve mental and physical health

STANDARD RX FOR SENIORS: eat better, exercise more and

get regular medical check-ups.

But a College gerontologist wouldn’t stop there. He prescribes friendly faces and a healthy dose of community service, too. “The extents to which you have a network of people you regularly communicate with and are engaged in the life of the community affect your sense of well-being,” said Dhrubodhi Mukherjee, an assistant professor of social work. “The more isolated you are, the more likely you are to suffer chronic illness.”

Harvard political scientist Robert D. Putnam popularized the term “social capital” in his 2000 non-fiction bestseller, “Bowling Alone.” It refers to the web of both individual and community connections that produce emotional support, trust, a sense of belonging and meaning, and a willingness to help each other.

Mukherjee started thinking about the relationship between social capital and health after reading that in 2003, largely due to the aging Baby Boomers, one of every five Americans would be 65 or older. “Medicare and Social Security programs are underfunded, so I began to ask myself how we could improve their health and stave off their physical ailments,” Mukherjee said.

In his study, Mukherjee drew upon the Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey, data collected in 2000 by a team from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Nearly 30,000 people from 29 states contributed, answering a series of questions aimed at uncovering the depth and breadth of their community ties.

Concentrating on a subset of 471 people between the ages of 55 and 79, Mukherjee tried to find out whether having a lot of social capital — measured by such factors as the presence of friends who provide emotional support, social outings,

participation in church activities and a sense of trust, among others — leads to a sense of physical well-being. He focused on how healthy these folks thought they were rather than on their medical records because other researchers have found links between such perceptions and actual health. In addition, when people believe they’re basically healthy, they generally cope better with any illness they might have. He found statistically significant correlations between the factors he selected and the perception of health.

But if connections equal good health, the Baby Boomers may have some trouble plugging in. “They are more likely to have children settling far away from them, so their risk of social isolation is higher,” Mukherjee said, and they’re not likely to go in much for church-related activities, either. “The big question is how to get them involved.”

Mukherjee believes part of the answer lies in the Internet. “Virtual volunteering — whether it’s serving as a mentor or preparing materials for non-profit organizations — lets you help someone without even leaving the house,” he said.

The Internet also hosts blogs, chat rooms, forums and such that bring like-minded souls together, and Boomers are well situated to take advantage of that. “They have lived much of their active lives in the Internet age — they’re not afraid of it,” Mukherjee said.

For social workers in the coming decades, Mukherjee believes the implications of his study are clear. “We have always focused on the client, but I think the network model is important, too,” he said.

“We need to look at relationships the client has and how active those relationships are. We should focus on methods of nurturing the relationships and on helping clients reach out and form new ones with both people and institutions.”

Dhrubodhi Mukherjee’s research interests include social gerontology, social network analysis, elder abuse and elder justice laws, use of technology in social services, and impact of globalization on aging population worldwide.

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Gold Stars

OUTSTANDING TEACHER Classroom or coffee shop, she’s there for her students

Supportive — (from left) Deborah Bruns and students Brittany Bellamy and Sara West demonstrate proper carrying techniques during class.

IN TEACHING STUDENTS TO WORK with young children with disabilities, Deborah A. Bruns aims to develop both professional skills and personal growth.

Joan A. Weber, now a developmental therapist in West Frankfort, said that approach worked for her. “I gained more knowledge and more personal growth through Dr. Bruns’ classes than I had in any other class,” she said. “She asked questions and started class discussions concerned not only with textbook information, but also about her students’ experiences, beliefs, strengths and challenges. Her assignments were real and meaningful because they went beyond the classroom. As I gained experience and confidence, she slowly gave me more and more responsibility and freedom.”

Andrea D. Morris, now a teacher at Red Bud Elementary, said, “She allowed us to think for ourselves on assignments and tests rather than forcing us to rely so much on what was in our required text. She also utilized interactive classroom activities that required us to use some of the same techniques on each other that we would soon use in our own classrooms.”

Despite consistently high marks from student evaluations, Bruns is no easy “A.” “I expect a great deal from my students,” she said. “I provide detailed

12 Southern Illinois University Carbondale

feedback on assignments and projects because I want students to know that I value the effort they put into their work.”.

Bruns also encourages students to go beyond the classroom door and attend conferences, read professional journals and dig into meaty research topics. Weber, who joined Bruns as an undergraduate in a research project assessing developmental screening tools, said it shaped her College experience more than any other class or job she had as a student. “The research allowed me to pursue new information and also gave me the opportunity to meet new people,” she said Another student researcher, Evelyn Barrientos-Perkins, said, “During the time that I worked for her as a research assistant, I learned more about how to do educational research than I ever did in any of my classes. I learned research can be fun if you know how to do it right.”

Believing that mentoring is a valuable part of her role as a teacher, Bruns is available to students outside of course sessions and office hours.

Weber recalled that she and Bruns would work on the research project at Bruns’ home after Bruns had put her children to bed or on Sunday mornings at a local coffee shop. Both Morris and Melanie Hamilton, a communication development teacher with Tri-County Special Education, said that though they had graduated, Bruns still keeps in touch.

“She assists in clarification of questions, helps me find the balance in meeting student needs and helps me become better prepared and a more effective teacher,” Hamilton said. “She has made a great difference in my professional life and as a result, a positive influence in the lives of all the children with whom I directly work.”

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OUTSTANDING SCHOLAR Breadth, depth, rigor and insight mark young researcher’s work as world class

RUTH ANNE REHFELDT, A BOARDcertified behavior analyst and professor in the Rehabilitation Institute, draws on the principles of behavior analysis to understand how people learn to think and speak. She focuses on a specific learning process dubbed “derived relational responding,” which suggests that learning a set of basic language skills often leads to the emergence of a wide range of new verbal skills that did not have to be taught.

By using this process early on with children who have severe intellectual disorders, therapists can enhance the children’s language and thinking skills, Rehfeldt believes. She has co-edited a book, Derived Relational Responding: Applications for Learners with Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, aimed at helping them do just that.

“Her book was eagerly anticipated and is now being enthusiastically welcomed by leaders in the field,” said Dermot Barnes-Holmes, research director at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth.

“I intend to use it myself as the core text in both my undergraduate and postgraduate courses in behavior analysis.”

Describing the book as a serious contribution to the field, R. Douglas Greer of Columbia University said, “This is not just another collection of variations on old tunes; rather it is a compendium of papers

devoted to the next step in the evolution of applied behavior analysis.”

Greer counts Rehfeldt in the top 1 percent of young scholars in the field in quantity and quality of research.

“Rather than investigating minor variations of welltested procedures, she has taken on cutting-edge topics — remarkable for a scholar of her age,” he said. “Her understanding and analyses are in the vanguard of behavior analysis — true examples of Card cue — real scientific inquiry with Under the watchful exemplary methodology — eye of 4-year-old and a model of what scholars need to be doing.”

Mariah (right), Ruth

Rehfeldt has published more than 75 articles Anne Rehfeldt and (most in the field’s premier journals) and 12 book 5-year-old Monica chapters in addition to her book. Harry A. MacKay, show how working senior scientist at the University of Massachusetts with this flash card Medical School’s Shriver Center, said he was pack can help children impressed by the number of her publications and the with developmental breadth and excellence of her activity. “The papers problems such provide well-written accounts of carefully designed as autism. experiments and studies that deal with innovative approaches to important problems,” he said.

In addition to serving as editor of The Psychological Record, known for its diverse topics and modes of inquiry, Rehfeldt serves on the editorial board of eight other prestigious journals, including her field’s flagship publication, Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Rehfeldt’s colleagues in the field use words such as “outstanding,” “remarkable,” “topnotch,” “astonishingly rigorous,” “insightful,” “world-class,” “energetic,” “intelligent” and “extraordinarily prolific” to describe her. Summing up, Greer said, “No one in her age group in our field is doing better work, and her work is better than that of many more senior scientists. It is also in the finest tradition of behavior analysis at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, which has made major contributions to our field.

She is carrying the torch.”

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Gold Stars

TOP NTT FACULTY MEMBER An active learner models a mindset for students

Thumbs up — Students of Deborah Burris (center) indicate their feelings about the choice of this year’s winner of the top nontenure track teaching award.

DEBORAH L. BURRIS’ RELATIONSHIPS with her students don’t end when they walk across the stage and collect their diplomas. “The time we spent as teacher and student will forever connect me to their failure or success,” explained Burris, a clinical instructor and center coordinator in the Office of Teacher Education. That degree of dedication, noted not only by her students but by colleagues, too, led to her selection as the College’s top non-tenure track teacher this academic year.

Former student Sonya R. Wattles experienced that connection firsthand. “When I asked to consult with her while working on my Gateway Portfolio a few weeks ago, she did not hesitate to set a time in which we could meet and talk,” Wattles said.

“This meant so much to me. Dr. Burris could have simply brushed me off, not thinking twice about any students other than those whom she is teaching right now, but she did not. She took time out of her busy schedule to do what she could to be there and help me.”

Former student Lauren A. Lena said, “Her help and guidance as an instructor does not stop when she leaves the classroom. Dr. Burris is one

14 Southern Illinois University Carbondale

instructor who always encourages students, past or present, to contact her.”

Burris believes the most effective work assessment comes from within. She strives to help students look at their own efforts with both courage and honesty. Nicholas R. Wilford recalled a class session he taught while she observed. “After, the first thing she asked was, ‘How do you think you did?’” he said. “Meeting with her after I taught that lesson was one of the greatest times so far in my college career. I think we talked for a half hour as to what I did well, what I needed to improve, what I could have done differently to improve or just to vary the instruction. It was a great learning experience.”

When Burris does assess student work, she is never harsh, Wattles said. “She made sure we understood her feedback, having us think and answer our own questions as well as hers.”

Both students and colleagues commented on her classroom style, which involves cell phone texting, educational networking sites and creative use of software programs in addition to the more traditional lectures and discussion.

“In the classroom, Dr. Burris is a force to be reckoned with,” Lena said. “Using her technology skills, Dr. Burris creates informative lectures and weekly activities to teach and reinforce education concepts.” Noting that the class period was crammed with activities and discussion, Wilford said, “I am constantly thinking and writing down how the material we learn could be used a couple years from now when I am on my own and teaching.” Wattles said the mix of teaching methods kept students interested and engaged during the lesson. “Classes were always enjoyable and inspired, never dull,” she said.

Faculty colleagues John McIntyre and Jan Waggoner said Burris also had made lasting contributions to teacher education in general, helping develop a foundation course required for all majors, revising a course on classroom management and discipline and designing ways teacher education can meet national and state accreditation standards.

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TOP GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANT Graduate student brings real-world experience to her teaching

A CHAMPAIGN NATIVE WHO TAUGHT middle school students with emotional and behavioral problems and also worked as a respite care provider before entering graduate school in 2009 is this year’s top graduate assistant.

Rachel C. Blockman teaches a general procedures course for the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education.

Her faculty mentor, Michael E. May, believes her professional background enhances her effectiveness in the classroom. “She is familiar with Illinois policies and regulations pertaining to children with disabilities, understands the legal and social ramifications for families and the challenges teachers face with transitioning students back into a general education setting,” he wrote in a letter supporting her candidacy for the award. Her students agreed.

“Ms. Blockman shared her experience as a special education teacher with us, bringing a sense of reality to the theoretical constructs that we were learning,” said Joseph Bohannan.

Describing Blockman as “the most conscientious and professional graduate assistant I have had the opportunity to be taught by,” Bohannan praised her enthusiasm for learning and her availability to her students as priceless assets. “She was always willing to meet to go over an assignment or to help students study for a mid-term exam,” he said.

May said Blockman understands that students have different learning styles and so tailored her presentations to include visual aids, video clips and demonstrations projects and encouraged class participation. “She frequently checked for student understanding by asking open and/or closed-ended questions,” he noted.

All this produced a learning environment that student Alicia G. McIntosh described as “positive and productive.” “She would stop to explain something or demonstrate how something was done,” McIntosh said.

May praised Blockman’s “excellent and exhaustive feedback” that let students know where

they stood in terms of performance, an aspect of her teaching that student Vernetta L. Wright also appreciated. “She really put in time and effort, going over mistakes we made in our assignments to help us get a better understanding of what was being taught,” Wright said.

It’s all part of her teaching philosophy, Blockman said in a statement laying out her ideas on instruction. “I enjoy teaching others and am motivated to make sure that students comprehend and apply the material learned in classroom and actual school-based situations,” she wrote. “All students have the potential to master content on some level and contribute to the world of education.

My goal is to help all students in my courses achieve the highest level of their capabilities. To ignite a passion among students to get excited about their education and the future education they will provide to their students is my ultimate objective.”

To a T — Life as a grad assistant suits Rachel Blockman, who not only takes classes and teaches but also mentors members of the Student Council for Exceptional Children.

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Gold Stars

Outstanding Alumnus Training and chance lead statistics expert to unexpected career Going places — With the Great Pyramids as a backdrop, Rob Lyerla hops the nearest camel. Lyerla, a twodegree graduate of the College and this year’s outstanding alumnus, delivered the commencement address May 15.

“SERENDIPITY” — THE APTITUDE FOR unintentionally making desirable discoveries — could be Rob Lyerla’s middle name.

“A lot of things just happened — they weren’t planned,” said Lyerla, a captain in the U.S. Public Health Service and the College’s pick for this year’s outstanding alumnus. A two-degree graduate — he earned a master’s in educational psychology in 1984 and a doctorate in educational measurement and statistics in 1994 — Lyerla specializes in studying and fighting epidemics.

While focusing largely on hepatitis and HIV/ AIDS, he’s also tracked dengue fever and diphtheria, among other diseases, in a career that began with the Centers for Disease Control, moved on to the United Nations and has currently landed him at the National Institutes of Health, where he serves as acting director of the Fogarty International Center’s Division of International Relations.

Along the way he’s worked with dialysis patients, the homeless, drug users, prisoners, college students, Native Americans, gay men, and the heavily tattooed and pierced. He’s traveled from Iceland to India, Moldova to Morocco, Scotland to Siberia. “It’s been a path for me to go to different parts of the world, and I’ve done that quite a lot,” said Lyerla, who grew up

16 Southern Illinois University Carbondale

in Columbia. “When I’m in the Kremlin or Kathmandu, I’m still kind of stunned by it. I never thought I would go there.”

A go-getter from the get-go, Lyerla left Bradley University with undergraduate degrees in both biology and chemistry — he’d been thinking medical school when he made those choices — and a minor case of burnout. He spent some time working at an archaeological dig as a chemist, had a gig as a camp counselor in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and took a sort of sabbatical in Ann Arbor, working just enough to pay the bills.

“But I knew I wasn’t done, though I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Lyerla said. “I could have gone to the University of Michigan, but I still had my Illinois residency and my parents were living in Alto Pass, so I thought, ‘I could go to SIU, get my academic chops back and apply to medical school there — and I’d have a place to live.’”

Shortly after he arrived at SIUC, Lyerla landed a job as a residence hall director. Experiences there triggered a switch in interest from med school to ed psych. With his master’s complete, that “not done” feeling struck again. He decided to pursue a doctorate.

“I’d heard that statistics and measurement was a tough degree, so I thought, ‘Why not? Let’s see if it’s as tough as they say,’” he said. “It was the next big opportunity.” While working on his doctorate, he decided to study Russian as a sort of break from the labor of his dissertation. “I was within six credits of having a bachelor’s degree in Russian when I graduated, and that’s led into other things,” Lyerla said. “When I got to the CDC, my first assignment was to go to Russia because I had that background.”

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Serendipity had cropped up in getting Lyerla to the CDC in the first place. An SIUC grad who worked there encouraged him to apply for a staff job. While that job was not, after all, available, his resume brought him to the attention of the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service — the U.S. Health Service’s “disease detectives” — who showed particular interest in his unusual doctorate. Six months later, he was among the 60 applicants they accepted that year. “I was the first person to enter EIS in 20 years with statistics as my Ph.D.,” he said. “I learned after the fact that people apply for upwards of seven years to get in.”

In Russia, Lyerla was one of a team of four trying to discover why diphtheria, a bacterial respiratory infection rarely seen in this country, had struck nearly a quarter of a million people. The team discovered that many of the country’s doctors, in the interests of developing natural immunity, were telling their patients to avoid vaccines. “Once they re-energized their immunization program, they got diphtheria under control,” said Lyerla, whose team won a government commendation for its work there.

After completing his two-year epidemiology training with the Intelligence Service, Lyerla joined the CDC’s Division of Viral Hepatitis,

“When I’m in the Kremlin or Kathmandu, I’m still kind of stunned by it. I never thought I would go there.” where he focused on identifying gaps in hepatitis immunization and management in those particularly at risk for contracting the disease. “I was the prison guy, the drug injection guy, the homeless guy,” Lyerla said. “I worked with marginalized groups. They weren’t the people with the loudest voices, but they were vulnerable. I had to convince people that providing a basic standard of care for them was the right thing to do.”

He was, he said, quite happy with this work, when the CDC asked him if he wanted to take over a slot in the Epidemiology and Analysis Division of the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS based in Geneva, Switzerland. “I didn’t apply for

the job, but I couldn’t think of any reason to not do it, and my friends said they’d jump at it, so I went,” Lyerla recalled.

During his five-year posting, Lyerla helped health officials in other countries improve their abilities to predict how, when and where HIV/AIDS would strike, to keep track of the disease as it progressed and to assess its potential and actual impacts.

“In many parts of the world, HIV/AIDS is still largely a disease affecting marginalized people, such as sex workers, drug users and homosexual men,” Lyerla said. “There are countries where these marginalized groups aren’t just incarcerated, they risk being put to death, so it felt like pretty important work.”

At the end of his stint with the U.N., Lyerla returned to the States, wondering about the next step. He knew statistics, he had epidemiology training, he had international experience. Was there some way he could combine the three, he wondered. Yes, there was, at a place called the Fogarty International Center, a Lyndon Johnson-era institution that focuses on global health research and initiatives. And a job was opening.

Lyerla got that job and after four months at the center was tapped as its acting division director for international relations. While he continues to serve on U.N. working groups concerned with HIV/ AIDS, the new job has him working on ways to foster collaboration among international scientists interested in biomedical and behavior research and basic scientific discovery.

Though he’s years away from his school days, that old “not done” feeling has stuck around. “The job has been a good fit so far, but I’m not comfortable with administration being the only thing in my portfolio,” Lyerla said. He’s particularly interested in President Obama’s global health initiative and his plan for AIDS relief. “That’s kind of at the forefront of my thinking now,” Lyerla said. “The world is a small place — how can we make it better for everybody? Global health is a part of that. HIV/AIDS is a big issue for everyone.

More people are living longer with their disease, so the number of people who are sick is increasing. That means we have to find a way of getting a handle on how many new infections there are.”

While he has yet to settle on a particular direction, he has only to wait. No doubt serendipity, as it has so many times before, will take him there.

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Assignments

Education Of A Teacher Student learns how to manage the other side of the desk

Final “exam” — In her Capstone presentation, teacher candidate Ryan Martinez sums up what she learned during her student teaching assignment.

Such talks serve as the focal point for the Week of Transition, which acts as a bridge between school and work.

THE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT WITH dyslexia looked glum. On a test given at the beginning of the unit on human biology and reproduction, he’d gotten a D with a score of 38.

After weeks of study, he got a D on the final, too.

“Well, yes, it’s still a D, ‘ said his student teacher, Ryan N. Martinez. “But you scored 64 — look how far you’ve come!”

Martinez, who says she herself doesn’t test well, is no stranger to bad grades. In fact, she earned straight Ds in one of her semesters at a community college up north. “I would sit at the back of the class, look at my watch, text and count down the seconds until it was time to get out of there,” recalled the Barrington native, a dual major in elementary and special education who now has an overall GPA of 3.4.

So Martinez felt some sympathy for that student right from the start. But she also has come to believe, as a result of her student teaching experience, that her job is to discover what her students can do and build on that. “You can

18 Southern Illinois University Carbondale

always find something good about them — you focus on their strengths,” she said in her Capstone presentation, summing up what she has learned on the other side of the desk.

Given her family background, Martinez seemed destined to do well in school. Her father came to the United States at the age of 10 barely able to speak English yet managed to graduate from college with a business degree. Her older sister is a registered nurse. But Martinez found class work dull. When she finished high school with a lackluster 2.6, her parents quashed her plans to attend Western Illinois University, insisting she prove herself in community college first.

But while Martinez continued slacking off in community college, she pushed herself in her off-campus job at a facility for children and adults with developmental disabilities, working first as an activity aide, then as a nursing assistant and finally as a developmental trainer. “I loved it there — it was like a second home,” she said. She then discovered, during visits to friends attending SIUC, that the

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College had a well-regarded undergraduate program in special education. With her eye on that degree, she got her community college grades up to a respectable 3.0 and transferred to Carbondale.

Nonetheless, those early bad grades followed her, bringing down her cumulative GPA and initially keeping her out of the teacher education program.

Stuck with a load of general classes, Martinez began falling back into her slacker habits. Her first course in special education, taken during her second semester on campus, proved her saving grace.

“It was lively; it helped me see myself as a teacher even before I got into the classroom,” Martinez recalled. “I realized if I really wanted to be a teacher, I needed to get my act together, to buckle down.

I started reading research articles, engaging in conversation in class. I started sitting up front, raising my hand, asking questions. In every class, I studied hard, I went in for extra help. I now have As in all my education courses but two — I have Bs in them.”

Martinez got into the teacher education program in her fourth semester. While the program usually moves students gradually from weekly observations to daily instruction, the schoolteachers Martinez worked with involved her fully right from

the start. She taught reading skills once a week to gradeschoolers in a special education classroom in Murphysboro. In Herrin, she taught high school students with behavioral and emotional disorders three days a week, which sharpened both her classroom management skills and her compassion.

“Everyone warned me that these were the kids you had to watch out for, but from my first day on, that wasn’t the case,” Martinez said. “They had their bad days, just like everybody else, but they were really sweet. I enjoyed that experience.”

Both settings brought home to her the worth of “co-teaching,” which teams special education teachers with their general education counterparts to keep students with special needs in classrooms with their peers. “Nobody should have to go to the basement for an education,” Martinez said with some passion.

Martinez’ full-time student teaching assignment took her to Johnston City, a town of fewer than 3,500 lying 17 miles northeast of Carbondale. “I was a little nervous — there’s not a lot of diversity there,” she said. “But everyone was so nice, there was so much support from the teachers, and the students were wonderful. There was a mix of general students and special education students. It was just what I was waiting for. I’m hoping every classroom will be like that.”

Martinez credits the teacher education program faculty for the success she had as a student teacher. “Their doors were always open. I could call and e-mail them. It was like a family — very close, very encouraging — and each one opened a door of opportunity for me. Without their mentoring and help, I think I would still have been that student at the back, counting down the seconds.”

Holds, barred — Fred Heinz, clinical instructor and center coordinator in the Teacher Education Program, shows Ryan Martinez how to deal with aggressive students during a Week of Transition seminar.

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Assignments

NEW FACES IN 2009-10 Seven new faculty members enriched the College’s academic and research capacity in 2009-10. We introduce you briefly to each.

• Educational Psychology and Special Education

• Curriculum and Instruction

Assistant Professor Crystal Shelby-Caffey, who has taught upper elementary grade students in both Chicago and Carbondale, focuses on elementary and early childhood literacy as part of the College’s Teacher Education Program. Her research focuses on bilingual education with an emphasis on two-way immersion programs, access to education, family literacy practices and literacy development. ShelbyCaffey earned her doctorate from SIUC in 2008.

20 Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Assistant Professor Michelle Salazar Perez teaches courses in cultural diversity in education and family services and the history and philosophy of early childhood education. Her research focuses on power structures that affect access of disadvantaged children to public education.

Before entering graduate school, she coordinated a Texas A&M University student teaching program called Learning to Teach in Inner City Schools, based in Houston. Perez earned her doctorate in 2009 from Arizona State University.

Assistant Professor Terri S. Wilson teaches courses in qualitative research methods and the foundations of education. Her research interests focus on the moral and political significance of school choice, for example, how and why parents choose schools that focus on the interests and identities of particular ethnic and linguistic communities.

Wilson earned her doctorate this spring from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Assistant Professor Jennifer Koran teaches graduate courses in applied statistics and will teach factor analysis next year. With research interests in measurement and statistics applied to the behavioral and social sciences, Koran focuses on methodological issues with latent growth models and categorical measures with illustrations of these methods in such areas as children’s early reading behavior and educational achievement. Koran earned her doctorate in 2008 from the University of Maryland, College Park.

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In the Wings We welcome four new faculty members in 2010-11

• Kinesiology

— Joel Agate, assistant professor, Department of Health Education and Recreation, with a doctoral degree expected from Clemson University

• Rehabilitation Institute

— Cameron B. Carlson, assistant professor, Department of Educational Administration and Higher Education, with a doctoral degree from Wichita State University

Assistant Professor Bobbi A. Knapp’s teaching focuses on sociology of sport, gender and sport, and diversity issues. Her research interests include the use of sport in the creation of collective memories after tragedy strikes, quality of life issues for intercollegiate athletes, gender and sport injuries, and the dynamics of gender and sexuality in sport. Knapp played professional football for a year and has spent more than four years conducting research on issues involved in the sport. She previously taught for Northern Illinois University and online for California State University East Bay. Knapp earned her doctorate at the University of Iowa in 2008.

Assistant Professor Jonathan C. Baker, a board-certified behavior analyst, teaches courses in aging and behavior analysis.

A specialist in behavioral gerontology, he is author or co-author of four articles, with a manuscript in press and two other manuscripts under review.

Baker earned his doctorate in psychology in 2009 at Western Michigan University, where he taught graduate courses in behavior analysis.

Assistant Professor Valerie E. Boyer, a clinically certified and licensed speech pathologist, teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in communication disorders and sciences; she also provides clinical instruction and supervision. Her research focuses on children and social communication. She has served as a clinical instructor and lecturer at the University and has worked as a speech pathologist in a Carterville learning center and with Southern Illinois Healthcare. Boyer earned her doctorate from SIUC in 2006.

— Andrea E. Evans, chair and associate professor, Department of Educational Administration and Higher Education, with a doctoral degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago

— Kerrie N. Kardatzke, assistant professor, Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education, with a doctoral degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro

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A+ Departmental Highlights

Kudos

Our faculty, staff and students have garnered national, state and local awards and honors in recent years, including…

• Award for Innovation, Illinois University Council for Career and Technical Education: Barbara E. Hagler, Cynthia H. Sims, Tasha L. Coney (all WED) • Champions Award, Southern Illinois Men’s Health Conference: Tony Calabrese (KIN) • Dare to be Great Award, Illinois Women Administrators: Jan E. Waggoner (Dean’s Office)

• Living Legend Award, National Rehabilitation Association: William V. Crimando (RI) • Most Distinguished Seniors (2010), SIU Alumni Association: Anthony N. Colletti (HER), Kristin P. Defiore (RI), Jessica K. Herring (CI), Jennifer D. Tanner (EPSE) • Multi-Ethnic [Student] Academic Excellence Award, Office of Student Development, Southern Illinois University Carbondale: Alec R. Perry (RI) • Outstanding Health Educator Service Award, Illinois Society for Public Health Education: Roberta J. Ogletree (HER)

• Delbert Oberteuffer [Student] Scholarship, American Association for Health Education: Darson L. Rhodes (HER)

• Outstanding Mentor Award, North Central Association for Counselor Education and Supervision: Kim Asner-Self (EPSE)

• Distinguished Life Achievement in Mathematics Award, Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics: Jackie L. Cox (TEP)

• Outstanding Scholar Award, American Association for Health Education: Joyce V. Fetro, Mark J. Kittleson (both HER)

• Distinguished Program in Teacher Education, Association of Teacher Educators: Teaching Fellows Program (COEHS)

• Outstanding Supervisor Award, North Central Association for Counselor Education and Supervision: Tracy Stinchfield (EPSE)

• Distinguished Teacher Educator, Association of Teacher Educators: D. John McIntyre (CI) • Diversity Champion Award, American Speech-Language Hearing Association: Maria Claudia Franca (RI)

• Outstanding Teacher Award, North Central Association for Counselor Education and Supervision: Brett E. Zyromski (EPSE)

• Dr. James Gillihan Servant Leadership Award, Teachers of Experiential Adventure Methodology: Tony Calabrese (KIN)

• Partners in International Education Award, Global Commission of the Council on Social Work Education: School of Social Work

• Fellow, American Association for Health Education: Mark J. Kittleson (HER)

• Service to Student Affairs Award, Southern Illinois University Carbondale: Tamara L. Yakaboski (EAHE)

• Fellow, American College of Sports Medicine: Juliane P. Wallace (KIN)

• Student Chapter Recognition Award, American School Health Association: Alpha Alpha chapter of Eta Sigma Gamma (HER)

• Fellow, American Counseling Association; Fellow, American Educational Research Association: Patricia B. Elmore (EPSE)

• Teacher of the Year, Southern Illinois Business Education Association: Barbara E. Hagler (WED)

• Fellow, Association of Career and Technical Education: Paul A. Asunda (WED)

• University Women of Distinction Award, Southern Illinois University Carbondale: Kathryn A. Hytten (EAHE)

• International Development Grant Award, Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis: Morgan Chitiyo (EPSE)

Our faculty members hold professional association offices, among them…

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• President, American Educational Studies Association: Kathryn A. Hytten (EAHE)

• Member, Board of Directors for the National Alliance for Youth Sports: Julie Partridge (KIN)

• President, Board of Directors for Southern Illinois Regional Social Services: Elizabeth I. Lewin (EAHE)

• Members, group invited to White House to meet with Presidential Advisory on Disability Issues: Carl R. Flowers, Stacia Robertson (RI)

• President, Education Law Association: W. Bradley Colwell (Dean’s Office/EAHE) • President, Illinois High School and College Driver Education Association: Dale O. Ritzel (HER) • President, Midwest Association for Behavior Analysts: Mark A. Dixon (RI) • President, Multimedia Production Division, Association for Educational and Communication Technology: C. Sebastian Loh (CI) • President, National Association for Multicultural Education: Deborah Johnson-Jones (TEP) • President, National Association of Multicultural Rehabilitation Concerns: Stacia Robertson (RI)

• Member, Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service: Cynthia H. Sims (WED) • Member, Illinois team for the Educational Leaders Institute sponsored by the National Endowment of the Arts: Elizabeth I. Lewin (EAHE) • Member, Professional Development Curriculum Committee, U.S. Library of Congress: Jerry C. Hostetler (Dean’s Office) Our faculty and staff serve as associate and assistant editors, editorial advisory and review board members, and manuscript reviewers for many international, national, regional and state professional journals. A sampling of these journals and their editors or co-editors…

• Analysis of Gambling Behavior: Mark A. Dixon (RI)

• Executive Director, Illinois Council for the Social Studies: Robert P. Nimtz (TEP) • Vice President, Association for Career and Technical Education: A. Robert Putnam (WED) • Vice President, World Organization of Early Childhood Education – U.S. National Committee: Cathy C. Mogharreban (CI) • Chair, Communications Committee, Association for Career and Technical Education: Barbara E. Hagler (WED)

• Critical Issues in Teacher Education: Edward G. Pultorak (CI) • Educational Researcher: Patricia B. Elmore (EPSE) • Health Educator (The): Roberta J. Ogletree (HER) • Journal of the International Association of Special Education: Morgan Chitiyo (EPSE) • Journal of Rehabilitation Administration: William V. Crimando (RI)

• Chair, Governmental Relations Committee, Division for Early Childhood, Council for Exceptional Children: Deborah A. Bruns (EPSE)

• Journal of Teaching in the Addictions; Rehabilitation Counselors’ and Educators’ Journal: D. Shane Koch (RI)

• Chair, Illinois School Counseling Standards Task Force: Brett E. Zyromski (EPSE)

• Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development: A. Robert Putnam (WED)

• Chair, Spirituality and Education Special Interest Group, American Educational Research Association: Saran Donahoo (EAHE)

• Psychological Record (The): Ruth Anne Rehfeldt (RI) • Reading Teacher (The): Marla H. Mallette (CI) • School Law Reporter: W. Bradley Colwell (Dean’s Office/EAHE)

College of Education and Human Services

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Golden Apples

GIFTED

Alumni couple underwrite support for professor, students

By Emily Hunsaker

Alumni Mark and Susan Ashley, have chosen to create endowed professorship and scholarship funds within the Rehabilitation Institute as a way of saying thank you for the start they got at SIUC. “My education and training encouraged me to be well-read in and outside my discipline,” Mark Ashley said. “That orientation has enabled me to tackle topics germane to neurological rehabilitation in the manner required to provide comprehensive treatment solutions to patients with catastrophic brain injury. My training was founded in a firm understanding of anatomy and physiology that enabled the best preparation for the myriad of conditions and diseases encountered following brain injury. My faculty advisors were engaged and so very open-minded, encouraging creativity in my thesis design and its subsequent publication.”

The Ashley endowment, for a professor in the Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences, is the first of its kind for the College.

The fund will support the professor’s expenses for research, travel and other needs.

“The Centre for Neuro Skills has an international reputation for excellence in rehabilitation services,

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and the Ashleys are well known for their commitment to high-quality, innovative and state-of-the-art care,” Rehabilitation Institute Director John Benshoff said.

“Their national leadership and service in the area of brain injury rehabilitation and their generosity embody the best traditions of the Institute and the university.”

The couple also designated funds to be used for a scholarship aimed at assisting graduate students majoring in communication disorders and sciences.

Mark Ashley founded and serves as president of the Centre for Neuro Skills, which has operated postacute brain injury rehabilitation programs at facilities in Bakersfield, Calif., Encino, Calif., and Irving, Texas, since 1980. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Brain Injury Association of America, is its immediate past chair and serves on the Chairman’s Circle. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the California Brain Injury Association and is the current chair.

A prolific researcher, he founded the Centre for Neuro Skills® Clinical Research and Education Foundation. His work has been published in numerous professional journals, and he has written two books: Working with Behavior Disorders: Strategies for Traumatic Brain Injury and Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation, now being prepared for its third edition.

Mark Ashley received his master’s degree in communication disorders and sciences. He was the SIU Alumni Association’s 1995 Distinguished Alumnus of the Year and received an honorary doctorate in 2002. Susan Ashley, vice president of the Centre for Neuro Skills, also earned her master’s degree in communication disorders and sciences from the College.

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A professor gives back Patricia Borgsmiller Elmore feels a strong connection to the College. She earned three degrees here and has been a professor in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education for more than 30 years.

She and her husband, Donald, have endowed an annual scholarship in her home department for doctoral students specializing in educational measurement and statistics.

Two doctoral students, Flaviu Hodis and Mohan Pant, already have benefited from the award. “It provides students the opportunity to conduct research and present findings at national and international meetings,” Patti Elmore said. “I had an opportunity to interact with both Dr. Hodis and Mr. Pant at various sessions at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association in early May when each presented his research findings to educational researchers from around the world.”

Patti Elmore earned her bachelor’s in mathematics and chemistry, her master’s in educational psychology and her doctorate in educational psychology. Before her June 30 retirement, she served in the College as associate dean for administration and interim dean and as the university’s interim associate provost for academic affairs. She is a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association and the American Counseling Association. Don Elmore, an attorney, earned his bachelor’s in history at SIUC and his law degree from the University of Illinois.

School Supplies

At no time in the history of the university, the College and higher education in general has private support through grants and charitable giving from alumni and friends been so vital. During these challenging times, we realize people must make tough decisions about giving. You have responded admirably in supporting our students, faculty and academic programs. No matter what size your gift, your generosity advances the College; we are indebted to you.

As we look toward the future, here are a few needs you may wish to consider. Contributions through our Annual Fund provide regular ongoing support to our many programs and departments.

Funding our scholarship program, critical to attracting and retaining top-caliber students, can be accomplished through annual scholarships and/or an endowment. Supporting faculty members and their research benefits our students by enabling us to hire and keep strong faculty.

Again, thanks to each of you for your continued support.

David M. Ardrey, Director of Development For information about how to give to the College of Education and Human Services, contact David M. Ardrey at

dardrey@siu.edu or at 618.453.4083.

To make an online gift to the College of Education and Human Services go to www.siuf.org and click on “make a gift.”

College of Education and Human Services

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College of Education and Human Services Wham Building - Mail Code 4624 Southern Illinois University Carbondale 625 Wham Drive Carbondale, Illinois 62901

Shortly before her graduation from the College, Ryan N. Martinez talks about her hopes for a teaching job. Read her story on page 18.

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