School of Education | EdLine | 2024

Letter from the Dean

THROUGH THE DEDICATION AND IMPACT of faculty, staff and students, this year at the School of Education at the University of WisconsinMilwaukee was filled with impressive accomplishments. As we celebrate our achievements and outline our future directions in this newsletter, I am both proud and excited to share several pivotal developments and transitions within our school.

We are excited to announce the summer 2024 launch of our new graduate program in Applied Behavior Analysis. This program aims to address the critical shortage of board-certified analysts who apply a culturally relevant perspective to their work, aligning with our mission to enhance inclusivity in educational practices.

than 17,500 times. She has been a mentor to many, earned national awards, and provided invaluable service to our university and the wider academic community.

In addition, our Mathematics Teacher Leadership graduate cohort made a significant impact at the Wisconsin Mathematics Council conference, where they presented their pioneering work. This represents our ongoing commitment to leadership in educational excellence.

To support our students in navigating academic challenges, the Department of Educational Psychology has enhanced a onecredit course to encourage students who are facing academic probation. This course is focused on improving study skills, setting strategic goals, and broadening awareness of campus resources, which are crucial for academic and personal success.

Our American Sign Language Studies program is expanding, marked by extensive renovations that significantly enhance our laboratory space. This expansion will better serve our students and support superior educational experiences.

This year, we bid a fond farewell to Professor Nadya Fouad, a distinguished figure in educational psychology who is retiring in June after 40 remarkable years at UWM. As the Mary and Ted Kellner Endowed Chair of Educational Psychology and director of the counseling psychology program, Professor Fouad has published over 150 peer-reviewed articles, chapters, and books. Her influential research has been cited more

Craig Berg, now a professor emeritus, retired earlier this year after 35 years with the School of Education. He directed the Milwaukee Collaborative Science and Mathematics Teacher Education Program (MACSTEP), an innovative approach to producing exemplary science teachers. In addition to helping prepare science teachers, he collaborated with other areas and researchers in the use of technology in teaching. In 2011, he received the UW Regents Excellence in Teaching award. He was past co-editor of the Journal of Science Teacher Education and published numerous articles on science education and the use of technology in preparing teachers.

We also welcome Andrew Davis, who joined us in July from Ball State University as the head of the School of Education and associate dean in the College of Community Engagement and Professions. An interview with him in this edition sheds light on his perspectives regarding the key issues facing education today and his vision for our School of Education.

Associate Professor Leah Rouse continues her impactful work with the Oneida and Menominee nations to enhance access to mental health and wellness in tribal lands, underscoring our commitment to meaningful community engagement.

These stories are just a snapshot of the vibrant life and transformation happening within our school. I am grateful for your continued support and enthusiasm for our collective mission. Together, we are forging pathways that will lead to profound impacts on education and community well-being.

Tina L. Freiburger, Ph.D Dean and Professor College of Community Engagement and Professions

Mark Mone, Chancellor

Andrew Daire, Provost

Tina Freiburger, Dean CCEP

Andrew Davis, Associate Dean

Jeremy Page, Assistant Dean

Jessica Russell, Assistant Dean

Kathy Quirk, Editor and Writer

Rebecca Hall, Marketing Director, CCEP

Alissa Mathison, Communications Manager, CCEP

Photographers

Troye Fox

Elora Hennessey

Graphic Designer

Allie Kilmer

On the cover

Recently completed renovations to the UWM Student Union have opened up new spaces for students to gather and collaborate.

SOE Program Seeks to Address National Need for Applied Behavior Analysts

APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSTS WORK CLOSELY WITH individuals to improve their abilities. The School of Education is introducing a new graduate program in applied behavior analysis (ABA) during the summer of 2024 to help fill a nationwide need for board certified applied behavior analysts who employ a culturally relevant lens in their practice.

The Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) graduate program will be available online and can be completed as a standalone certificate, in which 22 credits are spread across four consecutive semesters. All credits from the certificate program can also be applied toward a 30-credit, online master’s degree in exceptional education, which can be completed online.

Coursework in the ABA certificate program and the exceptional education master’s degree program emphasizes social justice while addressing issues and trends related to equitable service delivery, according to Sara Jozwik, associate professor of teaching and learning. She co-led development of the ABA program with Elizabeth Drame, professor of teaching and learning and special assistant to the vice chancellor of the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Denise RossPage, chair of inclusive education at Kennesaw State University. UWM doctoral candidate Carisa Johnson also plays a critical role in the ongoing coordination and management of the ABA graduate program.

As a form of therapy, applied behavior analysis is evidencebased and focuses on building social skills, communication skills, academic skills, self-care skills and motor dexterity. Principles of applied behavioral analysis are used in practice to increase helpful behaviors while decreasing harmful behaviors, where the categories of “helpful” and “harmful” are described with input from individuals with disability labels and/or their caregivers. The broader goal of applied behavior analysis is to change socially significant behavior to a degree deemed meaningful to respective stakeholders, including individuals and caregivers.

The curriculum for UWM’s graduate ABA program includes the Applied Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) Verified Course Sequence. Along with coursework, candidates can complete experience hours and must pass a culminating exam to become board certified behavior analysts (BCBAs). BCBAs can meet community needs in a wide range of settings.

“BCBAs provide behavioral health support for children and youth with various support needs while working in school settings, health care agencies or nonprofit organizations,” Jozwik said.

Through skilled collaboration and the application of scientifically based principles, BCBAs can help individuals and families to set goals, implement supports and establish routines that lead to socially significant changes in behavior, she added.

There is an increasing demand for behavioral health services, which may be covered through insurance. “Insurance requires evidence-based practice, and applied behavior analysis is evidence-based,” Jozwik said.

Families often rely on private insurance to access evidencebased services for children and youth with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities. The demand for BCBAs exceeds the supply available in public sectors, therefore “access to behavioral health support is often restricted along the lines of race and socioeconomic status,” Jozwik said.

One community partner with whom the UWM program is working offers comprehensive and specialized applied behavioral analysis therapy services. The partner’s location is accessible by public transit, and their services are covered through Wisconsin’s Forward Health/Medicaid program. However, the agency currently has a long waiting list because of staffing shortages.

UWM’s program is working to address such shortages while infusing its curriculum with a focus fostering cultural humility and addressing knowledge gaps related to race and cultural factors, according to Jozwik.

The goal, she added, is to develop applied behavior analysts who use communication skills and demonstrate competencies that serve the needs of our broader community while practicing with cultural humility.

Because the courses for the certificate or degree program are all online, working professionals can self-pace their learning, according to Jozwik. “The advantage of this cost-effective program is that people can complete coursework anywhere, in any time zone.”

A chat with Andrew Davis

ANDREW DAVIS ARRIVED AT UWM July 17 from Ball State University to serve as the School of Education’s head of school and associate dean in the College of Community Engagement and Professions. He discusses what he sees as key issues facing education and the School of Education.

Q. What made you decide to come to UWM?

A. I was very excited when I saw the position appear. UWM has this great combination of being an access university, but also an R1. They have a mission to help serve the community, providing quality education in a high needs area, but they also have a set of world-class researchers in fields that are represented by the School of Education. Their mission of research, urban education, diversity, equity and inclusion, and community engagement fits really well with my personal values as well.

I think another thing that was very appealing to me was the diversity in terms of programs, departments and faculty. People who come here can wind up being teachers, or counselors or psychologists; they can become researchers; they can become administrators. They can become leaders in their communities. And we also have excellent American Sign Language (ASL) and ASL/ English interpreting programs, which is a very exciting area for the school.

I was also really impressed with the institutes that the school has. In addition to the Institute for Urban Education, there is also the Consulting Office for Research and Evaluation and the Center for Mathematics and Science Education.

Q. What originally inspired you to go into the field of education, particularly educational psychology?

A. What initially drew me to this field was a combination of clinical neuropsychology and school psychology. What got me more towards the field of education was the ability to integrate my knowledge of the biological basis of behavior and its relationship to how children learn, develop and, hopefully, thrive in their communities, particularly in educational settings.

Another thing about educational psychology specifically is that it’s a wonderful integration of research design, statistics, development, learning theory and applied practices that we can use to provide evidence-based best practices in the field of education.

Q. Why do we have trouble recruiting teachers?

A. It’s a really hard time to be a teacher right now. There are some teachers out there that feel a lack of support. That lack of support may not be enough mentorship, it may be a lack of support from the

community, it could be a lack of support from parents and administrators.

Other headwinds to people considering the field of education are low pay – teachers are not compensated appropriately for the level of education they have and particularly the level of importance they should have in our society.

Part of our role as a school of education is to not only train teachers from a pedagogical and content perspective, but we want to make sure we’re preparing them to stay in the profession and deal with these headwinds that we know exist.

In regards to the lack of minoritized students in our teacher pipeline, this is a longstanding and very serious issue in education. We know that the vast majority of teachers are white, so many minoritized students don’t see themselves in their teachers. If they don’t see their culture reflected in the school, they are less likely to go into education.

Q. What can be done about this?

A. I think schools and colleges of education are increasingly considering culturally responsive teaching and making sure that we are moving away from a deficit-based approach towards an assetbased approach as we consider working with a diverse group of students.

There are a number of things we need to do. This could be looking at nontraditional students who have some college credit experience and seeing what we can do to get them back; looking at post-baccalaureate programs for people with other experiences; looking at alternative delivery through online and alternative sites off campus. And, of course, growing your own programs.

We can have students visit the university and do a better job of listening to the community and see what they need and how we can work together.

Q. How do you think the pandemic has affected children’s learning – both from a teaching and educational psychology perspective? How can SOE help teachers respond?

A. We don’t yet know the long-term impact of the pandemic, and we may not know the true impact for many years.

For school-age children who lived through the pandemic, I think this has the potential to significantly alter what we have always considered to be a traditional developmental trajectory. The people I’m most concerned about are people

who were disadvantaged from a socioeconomic perspective. They may have had less exposure to learning opportunities during the pandemic. We know that when you have less exposure to learning opportunities at a younger age, this can have a pretty significant impact on development from an academic, social and emotional perspective.

One of the things we are seeing emerge is a significant growth in mental health concerns with increased levels of stress, anxiety and depression. When children are experiencing mental health concerns, it’s a significant barrier to their ability to learn.

One of the nice things about this school of education is that when you look across our programs, we’re really well suited to help educators. We are preparing teachers, psychologists, school counselors, researchers, and we’re preparing school administrators.

Q. What keeps you committed to what you’re doing?

A. I am a strong believer that this school of education is uniquely suited to help address an array of societal issues from an evidence-based science perspective. I think education has the potential to address long-standing issues like intergenerational poverty, implicit bias and societal inequities. Being part of that mission to address and trying to resolve these longstanding issues is incredibly important to me. There is no panacea to address all these concerns, but I think education is one of the best vehicles we have to address these societal issues.

“I think education has the potential to address long-standing issues like intergenerational poverty, implicit bias and societal inequities.

Being part of that mission to address and trying to resolve these long-standing issues is incredibly important to me.”

Q. Could you tell us about your family and your hobbies?

A. Well, we were raising alpacas back in Indiana, but don’t have the space to do that here. My wife has been an orchestra director at the elementary, middle and high school levels as well as being a professional musician. She has degrees in violin and viola performance, and has stayed behind for a year to continue her work in a lab school at Ball State. We’re both very mission driven about improving education, both at the K-12 level and the university level, and understanding the power education has to address societal problems.

How UWM prepares future educators to teach reading

EVERYBODY AGREES THAT TEACHING CHILDREN

TO READ is important. That’s why it is a key focus in the School of Education’s literacy programs.

Leanne Evans and Annie Marcks of UWM’s Department of Teaching and Learning lead the efforts to prepare students to use evidence-based practices to teach reading.

Evans, an associate professor and Inclusive Early Childhood Teacher Education Program co-chair, focuses on inclusive early childhood literacy and language development. Marcks is coordinator of the Wisconsin Foundations of Reading Test (WiFoRT), which prepares aspiring teachers for this test required to become licensed. She also teaches literacy courses in early childhood and elementary/ middle education programs.

Preparing effective classroom reading and literacy teachers is vital, according to research.

Statistics show that children who aren’t reading well by the end of third grade are at higher risk of not graduating from high school. More than a quarter of Wisconsin elementary students were reading at the “below basic level” on standardized tests in the spring of 2022. Only 37% were rated proficient or advanced. Reading levels were much lower in large urban districts like Milwaukee with high numbers of low-income students. More than half of students in third through eighth grade were below basic, and only 14% were reading at proficient or advanced levels.

One of the top priorities, according to Marcks and Evans, is ensuring that teacher education programs focus on preparing teachers to teach children with a wide range of abilities.

“We recognize that there are going to be students all across the literacy learning spectrum,” said Marcks. Children come to school with various levels of skills and life experiences. “In our programs,

we recognize the need for developing responsive teachers for all children and youth, such as building knowledge and competencies in multilingualism and neurodiversity.”

Aspiring teachers need to learn how to most effectively work with each child, Evans said. So, using research-based strategies and effective practices, along with monitoring progress, are essential to meeting the circumstances of all children, she added.

When UWM education students go into a classroom, a key part of their learning is assessing the children in the class to identify individual needs and develop approaches that work for each child. “This is a strong component in preparing future reading teachers,” said Evans.

increases the number of annual reading screenings to help identify students who benefit from more differentiated instruction.

“Annie and I looked at the legislation and found we were closely aligned with it,” said Evans. “Some of the terminology has changed, which we are adapting into our curriculum.”

Instead of using terms like running records, the UWM program uses the term oral reading record, for example, said Marcks.

“In our programs, we recognize the need for developing responsive teachers for all children and youth, such as building knowledge and competencies in multilingualism and neurodiversity.”

“In addition, we encourage our university students to be reflective in their teaching practices. For example, they ask themselves, ‘Am I responding to students’ backgrounds and life experiences. Are students reading fluently? Are they able to use their phonics and decoding skills to figure out the word?’”

Wisconsin legislation passed in 2023, scheduled to go into effect for the 2024-2025 school year, provides guidelines on teaching reading. It also provides some financial incentives to help school districts improve the way reading is taught. (Some aspects of the legislation, Act 20, may be delayed due to concerns from school districts and education organizations over deadlines and curriculum choices.)

The new legislation mandates that teachers use a “science of reading” approach that emphasizes research-based literacy practices rather than a “three-cueing” approach that some large districts had been using. This technique is considered controversial because it places an emphasis on students using the meaning of the sentence or context, sentence structure and visual cues to decipher meaning instead of using strategies to decode words.

The state budget provides $50 million to fund the bill’s requirements. That includes money for training teachers, hiring reading coaches and buying new curriculum materials. The legislation also

“As a whole, we’ve been doing an effective job of fitting in all the components of the legislation and our students are very well-prepared,” said Evans.

The approach to UWM’s education curriculum in the context of Act 20 is to continue the commitment to researchbased practice and to review and adapt any terminology to be sure it aligns with the intent of the legislation, she added. Faculty will also need to be prepared to answer students’ questions about the impact of the new mandates on how they teach.

“We want to make sure our students are wellprepared to be literacy teachers and understand the legislation before they go into the classroom,” said Evans. “We will continue to monitor the progress,” said Evans, "to make sure UWM’s graduates are up to date on what will be required of them as they enter classrooms.” The School of Education also has a literacy council, which meets regularly to discuss legislation, research and student teachers’ classroom experiences.

A key to teaching reading, Evans and Marcks agree, is ensuring we foster the love and joy of reading for children and youth by prioritizing topics they are interested in and opportunities to see themselves represented within the pages.

The changes mandated by the new law are already being put in place in some classrooms, especially in early childhood programs, Evans said. “Our students say what they see in their field experiences fits in with what they are learning at UWM. These are essential connections for our future teachers.”

School of Education student teacher Kaitlyn Greupink reads to students at 95th Street School.

Getting a jump start on education

WHEN YOU START A BUILDING PROJECT, YOU NEED A TOOL KIT. That’s the idea behind the School of Education’s Jumpstart First-Year Experience for education majors. The project, which has now been in place for six years, helps students develop the tools they need to be successful at UWM and in the School of Education, said Jeremy Page, assistant dean of student services and co-coordinator of the first-year experience.

“We want students to be successful at the college level in a couple of key areas,” added Jackie Nguyen, the other cocoordinator. She is associate professor and chair of educational psychology, “One is self-efficacy, and the other is fostering a sense of belonging.” Sunny Brysch, director of the American Sign Language Studies program, joined Jumpstart as an instructor in the fall 2023 semester, leading sections for ASL students.

The Jumpstart experience, which runs through the fall semester, gives students a chance to get to know faculty, staff, academic advisors and other students in education.

The Women’s Giving Circle, a group of donors who pool their contributions to support education research and programs, has funded the effort since it started as a pilot project in 2019.

The program now offers one academic credit. During the fall 2023 semester, 91 first-year education students took part.

Students who have chosen or are considering majoring in education are grouped in sections of 10 to 15 people, depending on whether they plan to become elementary/high school teachers, early childhood educators or major in American Sign Language/English Interpreting.

Instructors such as Angel Hessel, distinguished lecturer in Teaching and Learning, provide assistance. Many of the facilitators who have been involved volunteer their time above and beyond their regular duties. In addition to faculty and other instructors, many School of Education academic advisors have been involved in the experience over time.

Students who are planning to teach can explore the major in general, and learn about specific aspects, Nguyen said. For example, they can talk about student teaching and how that will fit with their other studies and outside jobs.

The Jumpstart Experience is designed to be interactive, and responsive to student needs, according to Nguyen and Page.

“We’re asking them key questions like what’s going really well for you at UWM,” said Page. “What’s not going well, and what do you have questions about?”

In each section those answers may vary, he said. “So, we’re custom fitting it live in real time for the benefit of students.”

If a student is struggling in an area, said Page, “we can say let us introduce you to this office you didn’t even know existed on campus that can help you manage the moment that you’re in.”

The experience is not a course or a seminar, said Nguyen. It’s designed to be low stress without major assignments.

One project that First-Year Experience students do get involved in – and enjoy – is creating presentations for fellow students about topics that interest them and may be helpful to others.

For example, one group of students did a presentation on how to eat healthy in the residence halls, “which I learned is a far more difficult task than I imagined it to be,” Nguyen said.

This year, the program added a volunteer experience. Working with SET (Center for Student Experience and Talent), students found and joined in a volunteer project. They then did presentations on their volunteer efforts for their fellow students.

“That was neat to see, and it's just nice for the students to have the opportunity to share their knowledge with their peers and to explore something that they're interested in,” said Nguyen. “That helps UWM and Milwaukee feel a little more like home to them.”

While the project leaders are still assessing the program, “we’ve been able to demonstrate that there is an impact on students, even for the relatively short period of time and few touch points with them,” said Page. “They have gains in their confidence in their ability to do college.”

More generally, the school has seen some impacts on student retention since the Jumpstart First-Year experience started in 2019, according to Nguyen and Page. “We’re not saying this is the only cause, but we have a greater percentage of students who stay in the major and stay at UWM compared to the time

The 2022 Jumpstart group enjoys lunch together.

Teachers and principals work together to encourage mathematics success

WHEN GRACE OCHIDI AND OLUFOLAKEMI OMORUYI

TELL THEIR FIRST AND SECOND GRADE CLASSES that it’s time for mathematics, the response is always enthusiastic now. “They say ‘yay,’” said Omoruyi. And Ralpheal Brown, their principal at Hopkins Lloyd School, said the whole school culture around mathematics has become stronger.

The teachers and principal are part of a group of 12 Milwaukee public schools taking part in a unique professional development program to improve mathematics teaching, learning and leadership in their schools.

The project, funded through a grant from MPS started in January 2023, and has been bringing the school teams together monthly for three hours on Thursday evenings to learn how to improve mathematics teaching in their schools. The group also met for two full days last summer.

It’s unusual, according to DeAnn Huinker, professor of mathematics education, because it includes principals or sometimes assistant principals in the sessions. “So often we’re only working with teachers, but it’s exciting to have the principals there.”

By involving the principals, Huinker said, the overall culture for mathematics in the school can improve.

What's interesting about this project is it can involve some “math anxious” individuals. “Some principals say, ‘oh math isn’t really my thing, but I know we really need to work on it in our school.'” Sometimes teachers encouraged principals to take part in the project or principals encouraged teachers to participate, according to Huinker. The project, funded through a grant from MPS, has three pillars.

One is ambitious mathematics instruction — helping teachers and administrators build their knowledge base about effective mathematics teaching.

The second pillar is a slice of mathematics. “We try to pick a math topic to build the knowledge of the principals and the teachers in that area. It’s wonderful and fascinating because the principals –some of them haven’t really thought about math in quite awhile.” Teachers and principals work together on hands-on activities – like making fraction strips –that can help make math more accessible for students.

The third pillar is leadership, according to Huinker, helping teachers and principals build their content knowledge to provide mathematics leadership to all the teachers in a school.

“Everything we do we tie to this pillar.”

The program will be doing some follow-up sessions this summer to go deeper into the content, and also had funding available to send teachers and principals to the Wisconsin State Mathematics Conference in May (see the QR code on the back cover for this story). The project was be highlighted in two sessions at the state conference.

Said Huinker, “We always love to have strong representation of our urban district at the state conference. They can learn even more to bring back that excitement and enthusiasm to their schools for high quality math instruction.”

THE TWELVE SCHOOLS INVOLVED IN THE PROJECT ARE:

• Bruce

• Congress

• Doerfler

• Eighty-First Street

• Fratney

• Milwaukee French Immersion

• Milwaukee German Immersion

• Golda Meir

• Hopkins Lloyd

• Pratt

• Starms Discovery Learning Center

• Starms Early Childhood

FREIBURGER

HONORED AS PART OF BUSINESS JOURNAL’S WOMEN OF INFLUENCE

TINA FREIBURGER, DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND PROFESSIONS, has been selected as one of the Milwaukee Business Journal’s 2024 Women of Influence winners. The list includes prominent business and community leaders from throughout southeastern Wisconsin who are making the Milwaukee area a better place to live and work, according to the Business Journal.

The College of Community Engagement and Professions, formed in 2023, includes the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare, the School of Education and the School of Information Studies. Before becoming dean of the combined schools, Freiburger, who joined UWM in 2007, was dean of the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare.

Her primary research areas are gender and racial disparities in criminal justice decision-making.

Freiburger has partnered with several local criminal justice agencies for studies and program evaluations on topics including: juvenile offending, improving the identification of the mental health needs of youth in our community, police and juvenile relations, the effectiveness of work programs for probationers and parolees, and racial and gender disparities in prosecutorial and judicial decision-making.

She has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals, secured millions in external grants, and is the author or editor of four books. She is also a member of the editorial boards of Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, Race and Justice: An International Journal and Journal of Crime and Justice.

The Business Journal received about 175 nominations for this year’s 23rd annual program, the most in several years. The winners will be honored in a special section in the June 7 issue and at a June 5 awards event at the Baird Center in downtown Milwaukee.

NEW FACES

NOURI MARRAKCHI is a teaching faculty of American Sign Language. He holds both an MA in Teaching American Sign Language and a BA in Special Education from the University of Northern Colorado.

NASIF ROGERS, is clinical assistant professor, Administrative Leadership.

In addition to teaching at UWM, Rogers is also vice president and a founding board member of Future Urban Leaders, a Milwaukee-based nonprofit dedicated to youth leadership development.

Rogers is in the process of completing his doctoral studies in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of WisconsinMadison, where his study focuses on Racial Battle Fatigue and the experiences of Black women leaders in predominantly white K-12 schools.

Dean Tina Freiburger welcomes the first graduates of the new College of Community Engagement and Professions.

The first-ever graduating class from the College of Community Engagement and Professions was honored at a recognition ceremony on Dec. 15, 2023. A similar event celebrated the first spring graduating class in May 2024.

ASL ADDS SPACE, PROGRAMS

THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION’S AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE STUDIES program is expanding. The program is completing a renovation of its second floor lab, more than doubling the size. The area will now be called the ASL enrichment center. An open house is set for fall 2024 to formally dedicate the center.

The program has also developed online asynchronous classes to expand learning beyond the campus. Beginning in the spring semester of 2024, the ASL Studies program offered its first-ever asynchronous ASL course. These selfpaced modules, completed exclusively online, will reach even more students beyond UWM.

ALUM, STUDENT RECOGNIZED

The UWM Alumni Association honored BRICE CHRISTIANSON , an alumnus of the ASL Studies program, as a Graduate of the Last Decade at its annual awards ceremony Feb. 23.

HOW DONORS ARE HELPING SOE

The opportunity to start the beginning phase of the American Sign Language (ASL) Enrichment Center renovation was made possible by a generous lead gift from the Stackner Family Foundation, and from individual donors like Dick and Judy Herbst.

Judy had worked with the Deaf in Pennsylvania, an experience that led her to make a career in the field. UWM gave

American Sign Language is the third most common language in the United States, after English and Spanish. The UWM School of Education’s ASL Studies program is the only four-year bachelor’s degree program in Wisconsin, and one of only a few in the region.

BLACK (above, left) a musical theatre

who is minoring in ASL, played a lead role in the the Skylight Music Theatre’s March production of “Spring Awakening,” which incorporated deaf and hearing actors.

her the opportunity to do that through the ASL program, according to the Herbsts.

In a joint statement, Dick and Judy Herbst said, “We have no problem with you using our donation for the best use possible. We give to help improve your programs. We support UWM because of the good program that it is.”

Please consider supporting this important program and renovation with a donation, because when students thrive, so do their communities.

Generous donors have also helped the School of Education provide scholarships to hundreds of education students. As this issue went to print, more than 200 students have benefited from scholarship donations, with close to $180,000 still available for the 20242025 academic year.

For more information on how you can support our efforts, contact: Shavonn Montgomery Brown at 414-251-8214 or montgoms@uwm.edu.

AIDAN

major

Brice Christianson interprets what Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is saying during a news conference after a game. (Screenshot from NBA.com)

NADYA FOUAD RETIRING: “IT’S BEEN A TERRIFIC PLACE TO HAVE A CAREER”

NADYA FOUAD DISCOVERED HER OWN CAREER when she was in the graduate program in counseling psychology at the University of Minnesota more than 40 years ago. The program emphasized how people make career and work decisions, “and I just really kind of fell in love with the whole field.” Her own studies and teaching have focused on understanding those decisions, especially as they impact women and underrepresented populations.

Fouad, distinguished professor of educational psychology, the Mary and Ted Kellner Endowed Chair of Educational Psychology and director of the counseling psychology program, is retiring in June after 40 years at UWM.

“It’s been a terrific place to have a career,” she said.

In addition to teaching, she has served as special assistant to the provost for conflict resolution and chair of the Ombuds Council. She is also past editor-in-chief of the Journal of Vocational Behavior and The Counseling Psychologist. She has published more than 150 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and books, and her research has been cited more than 17,500 times.

Among many honors, she was awarded the Leona Tyler Award for Lifetime Achievement in Counseling Psychology by the American Psychological Association’s Society of Counseling Psychology.

She also supervises doctoral students in the practicum sequence, advises students’ dissertation research and has chaired 52 dissertation committees. “That's been incredibly

rewarding,” she said. Mary Kellner, who with her husband established the department’s endowed chair, is a former student.

Of the many research projects Fouad has been involved in, one of her favorites is the work she’s done with Romila Singh, associate professor of organizations and management in the Lubar School of Business, on women in engineering.

That work grew out of a conversation with doctoral student Mary Fitzpatrick (now at UW-Madison), who had left engineering to pursue a doctorate in counseling psychology. Fitzpatrick wondered why, after years of efforts to encourage women to choose STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields, so few women stayed in engineering.

Singh and Fouad published a groundbreaking study in 2012, funded by the National Science Foundation, that showed although women had earned 20% of engineering degrees over the previous 20 years, they made up only 11% of the workforce.

“The women in engineering study hit a nerve,” Fouad said. “We were hoping for 800 respondents, and we got over 5,500. More than 500 women who responded to the survey link had graduated in engineering, but they never became engineers. That’s huge.”

Their research, which has since been cited numerous times in academic journals and national and international media, showed women left the field not primarily for family reasons, but because of the culture and climate in the field.

Fouad has worked closely and across disciplines with many

CRAIG BERG RETIRES, BUT STILL FOCUSED ON SCIENCE EDUCATION

CRAIG BERG, NOW A PROFESSOR EMERITUS, RETIRED AT THE END OF 2023. During his time at the School of Education, he directed the Milwaukee Collaborative Science and Mathematics Teacher Education Program (MACSTEP), an innovative approach to preparing science teachers with a focus on inquiry-based and hands-on science activities for students. Berg estimates he helped prepare more than 700 science teachers during his 34 ½ years in the School of Education. If you multiply that number –estimating each teacher had 100 students per year and spent 10 years in the classroom – that’s maybe 700,000 or so students he’s inspired. “That’s kind of cool,” he said.

“I have really enjoyed working with future and practicing teachers,” said Berg, who started his own career as a classroom teacher. “It’s been a good fit with what I what I wanted to do.” Berg also collaborated with other researchers and participated

students and colleagues, including a number of projects with Phil Smith, a now-retired professor of statistics.

“Both those projects and the work on women in engineering included students and resulted in a number of publications,” Fouad said. “It was just a lot of fun to challenge each other and come from different disciplines and bring unique perspectives to the projects.”

Fouad and her team are currently part of an ongoing university initiative to develop and assess the impact of undergraduate career exploration classes.

Budget cuts have been a continuing challenge, but in spite of that, Fouad is proud that she was able to help build a strong doctoral program in counseling psychology.

And she worked with colleagues to build on efforts started by Adrian Chan, retired professor and vice chancellor, to focus on cross-cultural competence and multicultural counseling in the program.

After retirement, Fouad said, she plans to continue researching and working with students, and enjoying her garden. (She’s certified as a master gardener.) With three sons and five grandchildren, family time is also on the calendar. One of her sons and his family live in Denmark, so that’s on her list of destinations. “I’m looking forward to traveling outside the academic year.”

As Fouad looks back over 40 years, she’s like many people — she didn’t think she would stay in one place for most of her career.

“I thought it would be maybe four or five years, but it’s been a great, great place to work. I’ve been fortunate in my colleagues in the department, my students and colleagues across campus.”

in the early use of technology in teaching, including the use of avatars to help student teachers learn to manage students’ classroom behaviors and develop teaching skills in a low-risk setting before attempting to teach in front of 35 students.

In addition to helping prepare science teachers, he collaborated with other areas on programs related to science education. A highly valued aspect of his continuing work is the WinSTEP (Wisconsin Inquiry-based Scientist Teacher Education Partnership) project, originated by David Petering, distinguished professor emeritus of chemistry and biochemistry. Over a couple of decades in existence, the WinSTEP team developed modules to help middle and high school students study the effects of environmental agents on development and behavior of organisms like zebrafish, fathead minnows and earthworms so that students can understand the huge impact of chemicals on reproduction, development, learning and memory.

Bringing environmental health science education into schools, this project currently involves 30 schools and 2,200

plus middle school and high school students. This year, 600 students attended the UWM WinSTEP Spring Research Conference, which is funded through the National Institute of Health’s Science Education Partnership.

“The opportunity to work with the phenomenal people in the sciences has been a rewarding part of my life,” Berg said of these collaborations.

In 2011, Berg received the UW Regents Excellence in Teaching award. He has also served as co-editor of the Journal of Science Teacher Education and published numerous articles on science education and the use of technology in preparing teachers. Now, with more time available, he hopes to work on some projects he “put on the shelf while working full-time.” One of those is a book on how to refine and develop productive habits.

“UWM has offered me a robust place to work with great colleagues. It’s been a very rewarding career for me. I have been richly blessed.”

SOE COURSE HELPING STUDENTS SUCCEED

IN HIGHER EDUCATION

STARTING COLLEGE CAN BE CHALLENGING . It’s a major life transition and students often face unexpected difficulties that lead to academic struggles.

Now, UWM, with the help of a School of Education course, is helping students meet and overcome those challenges with improved support, when needed, to return to good academic standing.

“At UWM there is a pretty high rate of students who are placed on academic probation each year, especially following their first semester,” said Jackie Nguyen, associate professor of cognitive & developmental sciences and chair of the Department of Educational Psychology. She is a member of a team working on improving outcomes for struggling students.

A high proportion of these students enter UWM with a GPA of 2.4 to 2.75. The university’s six-year graduation rate for this group of students is low. To address the issue of how to encourage an “academic reset,” a group of UWM faculty and staff, led by Dave Clark, vice provost for student success, went to a NACADA (National Academic Advising Association) summit in Madison in the summer of 2023 to brainstorm solutions.

“This was just a really strong group of amazing people who are deeply invested in student success on campus,” said Nguyen. “All of these individuals

are also people who can make things happen.”

Between June and November, the team developed and implemented a brand-new probation approach for students on campus. The basic message, said Nguyen:

“We believe in you.”

That team came up with a number of recommendations, posted on the academic reset website. One specifically involves the School of Education’s Educational Psychology 101 course. This non-graded, one-credit course, open to all majors, is designed to help students learn how to successfully “do” college by developing study skills, setting academic and personal goals, learning about campus resources, exploring potential careers and building a foundation for success.

The course is open to all majors in the spring; in the fall the course focus is on student transition and success in college. This year it was offered to incoming first-year students in coordination with the UWM Student Success Center and to high school students in the M-cubed program. The course has been available in several forms for a number of years but expanded this year to provide support for even more students across campus. Doctoral student Sthephany Escandell, who was part of the was part of the NACADA team, and

was

of the leaders of the Educational Psychology team that was part of the academic reset project.

“This was just a really strong group of amazing people who are deeply invested in student success on campus,” said Nguyen. “All of these individuals are also people who can make things happen.”

Jackie Nguyen

one

Ben Gautsch from CETL taught the course in the fall semester, and co-coordinated with Nguyen to expand it to students facing academic probation in spring 2024.

As a result of encouragement from the team, enrollment in the course increased from 42 in spring 2023 to 205 in spring 2024.

Students who evaluated the course had positive feedback.

A few comments:

“This NEEDS to be a mandatory class for freshmen,” said one. “So many freshmen I know were placed on academic probation and could use the skills from the course.”

“Yes (I would recommend this course) because if the student is struggling, they not only help you solve it with physical resources but also mental resources that can help you with school life,” wrote another.

The team is looking forward to expanding the course and encouraging more students, whether or not they are facing academic issues, to take it, said Nguyen.

The spring course brought together instructors from all over the university, including advisors, success coaches and other staff.

Said Nguyen: “I'm co-coordinating and running the course with Escandell, but this is such an incredible group of people who have come together to put together this intervention."

ASPIRING TEACHERS CONNECT

Potential teachers got a chance to have a little fun and learn more about the profession at an April 23 event for aspiring teachers.

The event, organized by Angel Hessel, distinguished lecturer, and Tara Serebin, director of the Elementary and Middle Education program, Nicole Claas, senior academic advisor, and Jeremy Page, assistant dean of Student Services, was designed to encourage and inform students who had expressed an interest in the education major. They had taken the freshman seminar, and some had taken an Introduction to Teaching course, but hadn’t yet joined the professional program.

“Last year, we were talking about ways in which we could keep students who had expressed an interest in education and had maybe had an initial touch point in education, but there was a gap before they actually started the professional program," said Serebin.

“It was a conversation about how we keep them connected to the program,” added Hessel.

Hessel and Serebin organized the first aspiring teacher event, held last year. It was attended by approximately 50 students and 20 staff and faculty members. Based on that success, the organizers decided to do it again this year.

“What we learned last year was that it was as impactful as an event for faculty as it was for students,” said Hessel.

A survey after last year’s program showed overwhelmingly positive responses.

“I learned something from every moment,” one student wrote on the survey. “Being a pre-service teacher it was all beneficial,” wrote another. “I wish I had something like this when I was starting," wrote a former student who was a presenter.

"What a phenomenal way to make connections and reignite our teaching passion.”

A team of UWM staff and faculty took part in a session over the summer to brainstorm ways to help struggling students succeed.

From left: Dominique Smith (Dean of Students office), Jackie Nguyen (Educational Psychology), Brennan Olena (Student Success Center), Sthephany Escandell (Educational Psychology), Brian Hinshaw (Pathways Advising), Chutharat (Boom) Soukhaphon (Southeast Asian American Student Center), Sarah Riforgiate (CETL), Bill Mueller (School of Biomedical Sciences & Health Care Administration), Dave Clark (vice provost for student success), Gwyn Wallander (Letters & Science), Gabriela Dorantes (Roberto Hernandez Center)

According to the survey, what impacted the aspiring students most last year was a panel of student teachers as well as classroom teachers talking about their work. The panelists offered advice based on their experiences and discussed the challenges with honesty.

“One thing that surprised us in a good way this year,” said Hessel, “Tara and I could not believe how many student teachers signed up for the panel. They want to give back, and that’s a good sign.”

School of Education

P.O. Box 413

Milwaukee, WI 53201-0413

EdLine is published for alumni and friends of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Education. Send correspondence and changes to UWM Alumni Association, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201-0413. Phone: 414-229-4290, Email: alumni@uwm.edu.

WOMEN’S GIVING CIRCLE AWARDS

The Women’s Giving Circle of the UWM School of Education was founded in 2006 “to bring together women alumni and former and current teachers of all ages who pool their gifts for greater impact and keep themselves current about education through their promotion of the School and its educational research.” Each year, members of the group’s executive committee work with the dean to decide how to award their combined gifts to faculty-led projects that impact education in the community and beyond.

THE 2024 PROJECTS SELECTED INCLUDED:

• UWM Teacher Candidates Learning and Living Theatre as Pedagogy. Liz Daniel, teaching faculty, and Jenny Brownson, teaching faculty.

• Teacher Candidate Retention in the Elementary Middle Education Program (RISE). Liz Daniel, teaching faculty, and Angel Hessel, distinguished lecturer.

• Leyendo juntos K4/Reading Together K4. Leanne Evans, associate professor, Teaching and Learning

• iPads for Cognitive Assessment Education. Megan Gilbertson, assistant professor, Educational Psychology, and Kyongboon Kwon, associate professor, Educational Psychology.

• World Language Teacher Mentorship Conference. Tatiana Joseph, assistant professor, Teaching and Learning

• Increasing Access through Books on Reserve. Kristine Lize, English and Language Arts, 4-12 education program director.

• UWM School of Education Alumni Network. Annie Marcks, WiFoRT coordinator, Office of Academic Affairs: Teaching and Learning.

• Desiloing Mathematics: Connecting Preservice Teachers to the Power of Integrating Subject Areas. Ashley Schmidt, assistant professor, Teaching and Learning.

Use this QR code to read these and other stories on the School of Education website.