{"id":3331,"date":"2013-08-14T17:19:13","date_gmt":"2013-08-14T17:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/?p=3331"},"modified":"2023-02-08T20:37:53","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T20:37:53","slug":"shaping-our-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/2013\/08\/14\/shaping-our-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Shaping our future"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]BY WENDI WHEELER \u201906 AND REBECCA JOHN \u201913 MBA<\/p>\n

“To prepare Americans for the jobs of the future … we have to out-educate the world.” \u00a0(whitehouse.gov)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The programs in Augsburg\u2019s Education\u00a0Department prepare teachers\u2014at both the undergraduate and graduate levels\u2014to meet our national education challenge.<\/p>\n

The U.S. government recognizes that \u201cthe strength of the American economy is inextricably\u00a0linked to the strength of [our] education system,\u201d which means \u201cAmerica\u2019s ability to\u00a0compete begins each day, in classrooms across the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dan<\/a>
Dan Forseth ’08<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Auggie teachers and education alumni are leading these classrooms, improving education\u00a0outcomes, and shaping our future. They are igniting student interest in math and\u00a0science, educating an increasingly diverse youth population, bringing global perspectives\u00a0and learning into the classroom, and leveraging new technologies and teaching practices\u00a0to enhance learning. The following are just a few examples of the ways Auggie teachers\u00a0and education alumni are leading the advancement of education in our schools.<\/p>\n

Cutting-edge science research for\u00a0middle and high school students<\/h2>\n

When Dan Forseth \u201908 was a student at Augsburg, he spent\u00a0many hours in the lab with associate professor of physics Ben\u00a0Stottrup. It was Stottrup, he said, who helped him realize he\u00a0wanted to be a teacher. \u201cHe taught me how to make things\u00a0work with what you have,\u201d Forseth said.<\/p>\n

Today Forseth uses that lesson in his own classroom to\u00a0excite students about science and to inspire the next generation\u00a0of teachers. He teaches biology, physical science,\u00a0and robotics at St. Paul Preparatory School, an international\u00a0college-preparation program in St. Paul. He said he enjoys\u00a0teaching because he loves the transformation when students\u00a0grasp a diffi cult concept after struggling with it. \u201cWhen they\u00a0get it, seeing that light bulb turn on for them is very exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the summer of 2012, Forseth was one of six\u00a0teachers who participated in a research program at Augsburg\u00a0funded by a grant from the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation.\u00a0The program paired Augsburg undergraduate science education\u00a0students studying to be secondary teachers with current\u00a0science teachers. The teams conducted college-level research,\u00a0which was supervised by Augsburg faculty, and developed\u00a0curricula to adapt science projects for middle and secondary\u00a0school classrooms.<\/p>\n

The Augsburg education students in the program learned\u00a0about the practical realities of teaching from their interactions\u00a0with current teachers, Forseth said. \u201cAnd teachers like me\u00a0were revitalized by the opportunity to work in new labs and\u00a0develop new and different topics for our classes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with engaging in scientific research, participants\u00a0had opportunities to expand their scientific professional\u00a0networks through conversations and workshops with scientists\u00a0in the workplace and college science faculty, said Tracy\u00a0Bibelnieks, Augsburg associate professor of mathematics\u00a0and director of the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation grant.<\/p>\n

\u201cFeedback from last year\u2019s participants was very positive,\u201d\u00a0she said. \u201cWe are looking forward to building on that experience\u00a0to continue developing ways that cutting-edge research\u00a0and engaging experiences can be integrated into 9th- through\u00a012th-grade STEM (science, technology, engineering, and\u00a0mathematics) classrooms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Forseth will participate in the program again this summer,\u00a0working with Augsburg faculty to create a website to share\u00a0materials produced in the program with 9th- to 12th-grade\u00a0STEM teachers across the state. \u201cThis program provides an\u00a0opportunity for Augsburg students pursuing secondary STEM\u00a0licensure to learn from experienced science teachers and\u00a0helps current teachers integrate more research and authentic\u00a0learning experiences into their classrooms,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Teaching in a diverse world<\/h2>\n

When Will Ruffin \u201913 MAE moved from California to North\u00a0Dakota to attend college, he left his little brother behind. \u201cHe\u00a0struggled in school. I was the smart older brother who wasn\u2019t\u00a0there for him, and that always bothered me,\u201d Ruffin said. It\u2019s\u00a0the memory of leaving his brother that today drives Ruffin to\u00a0make a personal connection with each of his students.<\/p>\n

For Kassie Benjamin-Ficken \u201912, it\u2019s her ability to relate\u00a0to the experiences of first-generation and minority-culture\u00a0students that has strengthened her connections with her students.\u00a0\u201cAs a first generation student, I think it\u2019s easier for me\u00a0to explain to my students why it\u2019s important to get an education,\u201d\u00a0she said.<\/p>\n

Ruffin and Benjamin-Ficken are examples of Auggie\u00a0teachers working in increasingly multicultural communities\u2014where the ability to connect with students of diverse backgrounds\u00a0is critical to student success.<\/p>\n

Despite his passion for teaching, Ruffin didn\u2019t begin his\u00a0career in education. He first completed a bachelor\u2019s and a\u00a0master\u2019s degree in business and began working for a retail\u00a0company in southern Minnesota. Then one of his customers\u2014a teacher\u2014asked if Ruffin would volunteer at his school\u00a0because the teacher wanted a strong, black, male role model\u00a0to work with his students. \u201cThere was just something about\u00a0being with kids that hooked me,\u201d Ruffin said, \u201cand I fell in\u00a0love with teaching.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ruffin became a substitute teacher and eventually was\u00a0teaching full time, so he decided to attend Augsburg to pursue\u00a0a master\u2019s degree in education. For the past five years, he has\u00a0been teaching fi fth grade at Riverside Central Elementary in\u00a0Rochester, Minn.<\/p>\n

For many students, Ruffin is the first black teacher and\u00a0the first male teacher they have had, so he takes seriously\u00a0his responsibility to be a role model in a community that is\u00a0increasingly more ethnically and culturally diverse. Judging by\u00a0the drawings and awards posted by students on his classroom\u00a0walls, and by the former students who often stop in at Riverside\u00a0to visit, Ruffin is making a difference in students\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n

As a student himself, Ruffin said, he was quiet and\u00a0seldom participated in class discussions. As a teacher and\u00a0leader, however, he\u2019s learned that his voice is important. \u201cI\u00a0know I have a lot to share, and I can enrich others\u2019 experiences\u00a0through my own,\u201d he said. \u201cI can\u2019t be a leader and be\u00a0silent. I have a perspective that too often is lost or overlooked,\u00a0and I need to share that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjamin-Ficken, a member of the Mille Lacs Band of\u00a0Ojibwe, also embraces the opportunity to bring her cultural\u00a0perspective into the classroom. \u201cMy culture teaches that you\u00a0are on this Earth to help others,\u201d she said. \u201cEducation is how\u00a0I can make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Augsburg, Benjamin-Ficken double majored in elementary\u00a0education and math. This July, she completed her first\u00a0year at Tatanka Academy in Minneapolis, where 13 of her 14\u00a0first-grade students were Native American.<\/p>\n

In working with students from minority populations,\u00a0Benjamin-Ficken strives to instill in them the belief that\u00a0they can\u2014and should\u2014excel in school, especially in STEM\u00a0fields where populations of color and females are significantly\u00a0underrepresented. For example, this past spring, Benjamin-Ficken celebrated \u201cPi Day\u201d (which falls on March 14, or\u00a03\/14, representing the first three digits in the mathematical\u00a0constant, pi) with her students. A self-professed \u201cmath nerd,\u201d\u00a0Benjamin-Ficken believes that these types of classroom experiences\u00a0will help her students see math as a subject they can\u00a0succeed in and, potentially, choose to pursue in their lives.<\/p>\n

Augsburg\u2019s focus on urban education and teaching in a\u00a0multicultural classroom were an important part of her educational\u00a0experience, Benjamin-Ficken said. \u201cMy education\u00a0studies at Augsburg really taught me to reflect,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u201cTaking time to ask what went well [in class], what didn\u2019t, and\u00a0whether you reached every student\u2014that\u2019s what makes you a\u00a0better teacher.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since 2004, five Augsburg education graduates have received the prestigious Milken Award for Excellence\u00a0in Teaching. This award provides public recognition and financial awards to elementary and secondary\u00a0education professionals. Only 30 Milken Awards are given annually across the United States.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Bringing global issues and perspectives\u00a0into the classroom<\/h2>\n

Teaching and traveling are more than passions for Kate\u00a0Woolever \u201911\u2014they are vital to her own education as a citizen\u00a0of the world. As a studio art and education major at Augsburg,\u00a0Woolever combined her interests into a career that today\u00a0allows her to continue her own education and to provide\u00a0meaningful learning experiences for her students.<\/p>\n

Woolever\u2019s mother, father, and brother are teachers, so\u00a0it\u2019s no surprise that she also chose to become a teacher.\u00a0\u201cTeaching is completely a part of my life,\u201d she said. \u201cFor me\u00a0it\u2019s about service to others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Woolever came to Augsburg because she wanted to\u00a0teach in an inner city or international school, and she felt\u00a0Augsburg\u2019s program would best prepare her for that career. As\u00a0a student, Woolever took advantage of opportunities to study\u00a0abroad through the College\u2019s Center for Global Education. She\u00a0studied in Namibia, Thailand, and Ghana, where she completed\u00a0her student teaching. She said she has always \u201ctraveled\u00a0with a purpose,\u201d using travel to learn about others by experiencing\u00a0their lives firsthand.<\/p>\n

After she became an art teacher at St. Paul Preparatory\u00a0School in the Twin Cities, Woolever had another opportunity\u00a0to travel and teach abroad. She was one of five U.S. teachers\u00a0selected to participate in a program through World Savvy and\u00a0the U.S. State Department. With 30 U.S. high school students,\u00a0she studied the environmental, social, economic, and\u00a0political impacts of climate change in Bangladesh. The group\u00a0spent one month living with host families while participating\u00a0with Bangladeshi students in research and service projects.<\/p>\n

Woolever lived in the Rayer Bazar slum located on the\u00a0edge of the capital city of Dhaka\u2014the fastest growing city in\u00a0the world. She interviewed and photographed climate refugees\u00a0who had moved to the city from outlying areas because the\u00a0flooded coastal lands are uninhabitable and the soil is too\u00a0saline-contaminated to support crops.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese climate refugees now live in indescribable squalor,\u201d\u00a0Woolever said. \u201cThere are a thousand people per square\u00a0kilometer living in Rayer Bazar; 100 people sharing three\u00a0open gas flames for cooking and a single squat toilet.\u201d\u00a0This experience, Woolever said, made her more aware\u00a0of the global effects of climate change and emphasized the\u00a0importance of spreading the word. \u201cThe guilt I felt\u2014coming\u00a0from my bountiful country and witnessing these people\u2019s\u00a0atrocious living conditions\u2014constantly tugged at me, and I\u00a0needed to find a way to respond.\u201d<\/p>\n

One way Woolever responded was to turn her photos and\u00a0stories into a traveling exhibit, which she hopes to show at\u00a0numerous venues across the state. This past March, her work\u00a0was displayed in Augsburg\u2019s student art gallery in Old Main;\u00a0the exhibit then was shown in the Pelican Rapids (Minn.)\u00a0Library during May and June.<\/p>\n

Because of her experiences in Rayer Bazar, Woolever also\u00a0is committed to finding ways to incorporate real-world issues\u00a0into her classroom. The Bangladeshi trip was a stark lesson in\u00a0how much we consume and how wasteful we are as a culture,\u00a0Woolever said. Education, at the very least, \u201cis not something\u00a0we should take for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2009, the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation awarded Augsburg more than $400,000 in support of its\u00a0teacher preparation programming. Augsburg was one of only four Minnesota colleges receiving these\u00a0grant funds. Augsburg also participates in the Network for Excellence in Teaching (NExT) and is one of six\u00a0private colleges in the Twin Cities working to improve teacher education through the Twin Cities Teacher\u00a0Collaborative (TC2), made possible by major funding from the Bush Foundation.<\/p>\n

The College also gives education majors an opportunity to engage elementary school children in the\u00a0sciences through Girls in Engineering, Math, and Science (GEMS) and Guys in Science and Engineering\u00a0(GISE), two summer programs held on the campus.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Flipped classrooms: Creating student focused\u00a0learning environments<\/h2>\n

Most of the time, a noisy middle school classroom doesn\u2019t seem like a productive learning environment. But, when\u00a0the classroom is \u201cflipped,\u201d noise is a sign that students are\u00a0engaged in the learning process and working constructively\u00a0with each other.<\/p>\n

Tara Martinson \u201909 MAE leads a lively seventh-grade\u00a0pre-algebra class at Central Middle School in Eden Prairie,\u00a0Minn. The reason for all the activity is that Martinson uses\u00a0the flipped learning model of instruction. With this particular\u00a0method, students listen to an online lecture at home and complete\u00a0a \u201cnote sheet\u201d\u2014a structured note-taking guide\u2014on the\u00a0lesson. The next day in class, students spend the majority of\u00a0their time in \u201chands-on\u201d learning exercises, working out practice\u00a0problems and completing small group activities. Students\u00a0can ask each other for help and are required to check their\u00a0work with Martinson.<\/p>\n

\"Tara
Tara Martinson ’09 MAE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Martinson, who has taught middle school math for five\u00a0years, flipped her classes in January 2012 after learning about\u00a0the method at the 2011 Education Technology Conference\u00a0hosted by TIES, the St. Paul-based education technology training\u00a0organization. During the winter break, she recorded lectures\u00a0and set up the resources for her classes and then introduced\u00a0the model to her students at the start of the new term.<\/p>\n

With research support from George Mason University and sponsored by Pearson, the Flipped\u00a0Learning Network this summer released the first comprehensive literature review on the flipped\u00a0learning model.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

With flipped learning, Martinson said her students are\u00a0more engaged because the responsibility for learning the\u00a0material rests with them. \u201cBefore [flipping the class format],\u00a0I typically would lecture for 35 minutes, and the students\u00a0would have the last 10 minutes of class to start their assignment,\u201d\u00a0Martinson said. \u201cThen, if a student got lost, they\u00a0would just shut down. Now there is a much higher level of\u00a0engagement and retention.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flipped learning changes education from a teacher-centered\u00a0classroom to a student-focused learning environment,\u00a0said Kari Arfstrom \u201989, executive director of the Flipped\u00a0Learning Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to\u00a0providing educators with the knowledge, skills, and resources\u00a0to successfully implement flipped learning.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I went to school,\u201d Arfstrom said, \u201cit was the\u00a0teacher who was imparting information to the student. Now\u00a0the students are leading and determining what they need.\u201d\u00a0This model makes students more accountable because the\u00a0teacher has an opportunity to talk with them every day,\u00a0Arfstrom said.<\/p>\n

With flipped learning, teacher interaction with students\u00a0increases dramatically, said Taylor Pettis \u201903, \u201909 MAE, senior\u00a0manager of marketing communications at Minneapolis-based\u00a0Sophia Learning, which has worked with thousands of teachers\u00a0to create flipped classrooms. \u201cOne of the teachers we\u00a0worked with said his feet hurt after class because he\u2019s walking\u00a0up and down the aisles so much more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teachers also have a greater opportunity to provide differentiated\u00a0instruction to each student when they use a flipped\u00a0learning model, Pettis said. This customized, student-centered\u00a0attention leads to improved student learning. \u201cEighty-five percent of teachers we work with report improved grades\u00a0in their flipped classes.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Martinson, the benefits go beyond improved performance\u00a0in class. In the flipped environment, she said,\u00a0students learn social skills, relationship building, and self-advocacy\u2014abilities that will serve them well in high school,\u00a0in college, and beyond.<\/p>\n

In May, the State of Minnesota approved legislation granting\u00a0Augsburg College nearly $400,000 over the next two years\u00a0to launch the East African teacher preparation program.\u00a0The new Augsburg EAST (East African Students to Teachers)\u00a0initiative will provide scholarships, academic support,\u00a0and service learning opportunities for East African students\u00a0who are education majors at \u00a0Augsburg\u2019s Minneapolis and\u00a0Rochester campuses.<\/p>\n

The number of East African students in K-12 public\u00a0schools is growing in many communities throughout\u00a0Minnesota. School systems are challenged to meet the\u00a0needs of these students, many of whom are the first in their\u00a0families to receive education in the United States.\u00a0Augsburg\u2019s strong relationships with the Somali and East\u00a0African communities and its successful record of teaching\u00a0East African education majors, in both Minneapolis and\u00a0Rochester, make it uniquely qualified to lead this initiative.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Every year, more than 600 Auggies are enrolled in education degree\u00a0programs at Augsburg\u2019s Minneapolis and Rochester campuses. About 250 of those\u00a0students are undergraduates\u2014of all ages\u2014pursuing bachelor\u2019s degrees in education.\u00a0The remaining 350 are enrolled in the College\u2019s Master of Arts in Education program,\u00a0which provides training for professionals to begin a career in teaching or for current\u00a0teachers to obtain additional licenses or endorsements. Every day, these Auggie educators\u2014both in and outside of the classroom\u2014are preparing our children to live and\u00a0grow in our increasingly diverse, globally connected, and technologically sophisticated\u00a0world. They are, literally, shaping our future potential.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Online exclusive: Bringing global issues and perspectives into the classroom<\/h2>\n

Teaching and traveling are more than passions for Kate\u00a0Woolever \u201911<\/strong>\u2014they are vital to her own education as a citizen\u00a0of the world. Here Woolever reflects on a trip to\u00a0Bangladesh where she was one of five U.S. teachers\u00a0selected to study the environmental, social, economic, and\u00a0political impacts of climate change.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Image<\/a>\"Image<\/a>\"Image<\/a>\"Image<\/a>\"Image<\/a>\"Image<\/a>
\"Image<\/a>\"Image<\/a><\/div>\n
\n

Scenes from Bangladesh<\/a>, a set on Flickr.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I found it was my curiosity that brought me to this country removed from the global mainstream in so many ways. While I was there I experienced a whirlwind of emotions, making it hard to share what I saw without the imagery of photos. I often ask others to imagine the realities of such a densely populated country; a country the size of Iowa yet half of our country\u2019s population.<\/p>\n

Living in a slum called Rayer Bazar located in Dhaka – the fastest growing city in the world – is a challenge to describe. So crowded\u2026so crowded that nearly every park, footpath, and road median has been colonized. The mass influx of \u201cclimate refugees\u201d is due to citizens in the outlying areas fleeing their flooded coastal lands left uninhabitable or too saline-contaminated to support crops. They brought their families and stories, searching for employment and safety.<\/p>\n

During the days, I walked through the streets of Rayer Bazar interviewing climate refugees with the aid of a translator. The majority longed to go back to their farmlands, which sadly had been transformed into flood plains. These transplants now lived in indescribable squalor; slums of a thousand people per square kilometer. Cooking for 100 people was shared over three open gas flames along with one squat toilet for a public bathroom. Children filled the shadows yet their access to education was nonexistent. The guilt and the need-to-respond that I felt (coming from my bountiful country) constantly tugged at me.<\/p>\n

In spite of the overwhelming poverty, Bangladesh is the home of some of the most resilient people. They watch\u2026 as sea levels rise, salinity infects their coastal aquifers, and rivers consume their lands and as cyclones batter their coast with increasing intensity. All these changes have been associated with global climate changes.<\/p>\n

I learned much from these wonderful people. Instead of giving up, many of them invested in ways to adapt. Their survival measures could become our lessons lest we ignore the necessary commitments for change. The long-term risks could bring significant degradation to our lifestyles someday soon\u2026if not the challenge to our world to survive.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]BY WENDI WHEELER \u201906 AND REBECCA JOHN \u201913 MBA “To prepare Americans for the jobs of the future … we have to out-educate the world.” \u00a0(whitehouse.gov) The programs in Augsburg\u2019s Education\u00a0Department prepare teachers\u2014at both the undergraduate and graduate levels\u2014to meet our national education challenge. The U.S. government recognizes that \u201cthe strength of the American economy <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":6301,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[56],"class_list":["post-3331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-stories","tag-summer-2013"],"wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3331"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3331\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12400,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3331\/revisions\/12400"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}