Spring 2022

Planting Seeds!

Where were you when you realized that you wanted to be an educator? Who were you with? What was your AHA moment? For me, I was in Ms. Fort's 4th grade class at Northwood Elementary School in High Point, NC. She was teaching about poetry and using my work as an example in class. She encouraged me--she saw something great in me, even! It was the first time I felt like I had something to offer and contribute. She made me feel like I had talent, value, and worth. I then wanted to do that same thing for others...

I recently spent an inspiring evening at a college fair at the NC Teacher Cadet Conference in Raleigh. I had a chance to interface with over 100 high school students who saw themselves as teachers one day. The experience was probably more impactful on me than it was for those students, as I greeted a room full of talent, hope, and possibility! While standing at my App State table, I met students like the one pictured above who told me he had wanted to be a PE teacher until he helped out a few students with physical needs on a field trip recently and realized he really liked working with students in the special education classes at his school. He said another teacher even told him he had a special gift for helping others. He felt seen and encouraged. This led him to sign up to volunteer at his school's Special Olympics event recently. Now, he wants to be an Adaptive PE teacher one day--helping others access games and play in inclusive sports! His story gave me chills, and we spoke several times throughout the evening about the opportunities for him at App State. He was giddy with possibilities as he left. So was I!

As we continue to find our roles in creating teacher pipelines and raising awareness about the endless possibilities of our profession, we will continue to seek out ways to encourage, acknowledge, and connect current students to future possibilities! Likewise, we want to keep YOU connected as a valuable member of our RCOE community! Check out our weekly Spring 2022 Connected newsletters from the Office of the Dean to stay in touch! Together, we can plant seeds that will help grow our own amazing teachers in NC one day soon!

March 1, 2022 Connected

March 15, 2022 Connected

March 22, 2022 Connected

March 29, 2022 Connected

April 5, 2022 Connected

April 12, 2022 Connected

April 19, 2022 Connected

Dr. Betsy Rosenbalm, NBCT

Public School Partnership, Director

NC New Teacher Support Program, Regional Director

Reich College of Eduction, Office 404 G

Appalachian State University; (704) 657-0764

rosenbalmem@appstate.edu

Congratulations, Cohort 1!

The Appalachian State Principal Fellows Program is a two-year program that prepares outstanding educators to serve as school administrators in NC Public Schools. The NC Principal Fellows Program provides participants with full in-state tuition and fees for the 36 credit hour, 2-year Masters in School Administration. Candidates receive salary replacement during the second year for the 10-month, full-time internship at the salary level commensurate to the position they hold currently in the 2021-2022 school year (plus any relevant step increases and raises). Participation in the Principal Fellows Program requires a commitment of service for 4 years in a NC Public School as a school administrator, and candidates must repay the grant through service.

Congratulations to the 15 finalists for the NC Principal Fellows Program at Appalachian State University! We look forward to working with you over the next two years to support you on your journey to becoming a successful school administrator in our NC Public School System.

PSP Mini-Grant Update!

Congratulations! The PSP Mini-Grant Committee chose the winning mini-grants this spring based on their alignment to our goals of collaboration, sustainability, and innovation. According to our evaluation process, we were able to fund 18 of the 34 applications/projects. The current approved projects are as follows:

Summer PSP Mini-Grant money is available! Here is the revised Mini-Grant Application for the May 9th deadline!

Applications must be emailed to rosenbalmem@appstate.edu no later than May 9th, 2022 at 5pm. The Mini-Grant Committee will reconvene the second week of May to evaluate the applications for the summer of 2022. Apply Now!

Mountaineer Readers Update

This month, our participating Mountaineer Readers from 2021 are enjoying App State Baseball with their free game vouchers, and winning classrooms are celebrating with ice cream parties! Next month, we will be launching our 2022 Mountaineer Readers Competition! Stay tuned for more details on how your school can get involved! Check out this great article to read more about this exciting celebratory event, and look for details about how you can have a winning student, classroom, and/or school in upcoming PSP emails and newsletters!

Lots of GREAT things are happening in the MSEC!

1st Event

Hybrid MSEC Science Seminar with Kristen Roland - Tues, April 26, 6pm

How can we help students develop intuition around statistical inference?: An exploration into simulation-based inference

Join us at 6:00 pm EDT on Tuesday, April 26 in RCOE 124 A&B or on zoom for a presentation by Kristen Roland on helping students develop intuition based on statistical inference. Registrants will receive an email prior to the session with information on how to participate via Zoom. Renewal credit certificates are available for educators.

About the talk: The intuition that is needed to develop a robust understanding of hypothesis tests and p-values can feel mysterious to learners of statistics. A method that has been gaining traction in statistics education over the last decade to promote the development of intuition and to visualize the abstract nature of theory-based inference is simulation-based inference. One such method is through the use of randomization techniques that leverage sampling variability to develop a "chance model" through which a decision about the hypothesis can be made. These techniques are being used in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study, the Common Core, and modern introductory statistics courses. This seminar will provide a look into the randomization-based inference method, with a focus on the initial intuition behind the "chance model". Time permitting, we will discuss randomization techniques associated with a hypothesis test for one proportion, two proportions, and two independent means.

About the speaker: Dr. Kristen E. Roland is an Assistant Professor of Statistics at Appalachian State University. She received her PhD in Mathematics Education with a strong focus in statistics and statistics education from the University of Georgia in 2020 with prior degrees in Statistics from the University of Rhode Island (MS, 2011) and Sonoma State University (BS, 2009). She specializes in statistics education at the post-secondary level with a particular focus on communicating uncertainty in statistical analysis by way of confidence intervals. Recent accomplishments include becoming an AMTE STaR Fellow, publication of a textbook chapter, two presentations and conference proceedings at the Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education (RUME), and two presentations and conference proceedings at the upcoming International Conference for Teaching Statistics (ICOTS) in the middle of September in Argentina.

Please register here for Kristen Roland's presentation on April 26: https://forms.gle/raErX2oaKHjG4pZ7A

2nd Event

Hybrid MSEC Science Seminar with Damiana Pyles and Morgan Blanton - Mon, May 2, 6pm
“Why is this creature trying to hurt our island?”: Teaching Climate Change through Picturebooks

Join us at 6:00 pm EDT on Monday, May 2 in RCOE 124 B&C or on zoom for a presentation by Damiana Pyles and Morgan Blanton on teaching climate change through picturebooks. Registrants will receive an email prior to the session with information on how to participate via Zoom. Renewal credit certificates are available for educators.

About their talk: Children’s literature offers ways to help students grapple with complex topics in a deep yet developmentally appropriate manner. Choosing books for children to address tough issues can be daunting. This session will focus on climate change and the ways in which teachers can use picturebooks to teach young children about this complex STE(A)M topic. We will explore different types of picturebooks about climate change and discuss a framework for choosing picturebooks around a guiding question. Attendees will have a chance to practice applying the framework to picturebooks during this session. This session will be applicable to preservice teachers, parents of young children, and in-service practitioners, such as classroom teachers and media specialists.

About the speakers: Damiana Gibbons Pyles is an associate professor in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction at Appalachian State University where she teaches courses centered around media, pedagogy, and identities. Her scholarship explores how identities are represented and/or (co)created multimodally through various media. Currently, she is working on a book examining how Netflix’s original programming for children and teens sets up identities in its interface and its content. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and experimenting with recipes and projects she learns from watching a lot of YouTube and other streaming media.

Morgan Blanton is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Reading Education and Special Education at Appalachian State University. She teaches courses that focus on children's literature, literacy for learning, and media for adolescents. Her research interests center on children's literature and the ways in which it is used for instructional purposes in the upper elementary and middle grades. Currently, she is working on a project that examines teachers' perspectives of graphic novels and text complexity in grades 4-8. Outside of her work-related interests, Morgan enjoys spending time with her family, reading good books, and traveling to different national parks.

Please register here for Damiana Pyles' and Morgan Blanton's presentation on May 2: https://forms.gle/aA3ZFMoRFv7YNwyr9

The MSEC STEM MATTERS Spring 2022 Newsletter is now available on the MSEC website and attached here! Check it out!

NC New Teacher Support Update

Have you recently hired new beginning teachers (BTs) who could use a little extra support?
Will you be hiring even more beginning teachers this August to help fill your positions?
Do you have beginning teachers who are also residency licensure candidates?
Are your school and district-based mentors spread a little too thin these days?

If you answered YES to any of these questions, call Betsy Rosenbalm about the NC New Teacher Support Program! For a small fee, your BT Program will benefit from:

Weekly coaching sessions for each teacher enrolled
At least 3 aligned professional development sessions at district Beginning Teacher (BT) meetings and onboarding orientations
A state-wide BT Institute each year to allow participating teachers to attend customized conference sessions created specifically for beginning teachers' needs.

What is YOUR Next Step?

App State is NOW Accepting Graduate Applications for Summer and Fall 2022

With more than 80 graduate degree or certificate programs — online and in person — there are many opportunities to advance your education, learn new skills and elevate your career. Available online graduate programs range from School Administration, Business Administration, Curriculum Specialist, Educational Media, Higher Education, Middle and Secondary Teaching, Reading Education and more.

The remaining degree/certificate application deadline for fall 2022 is July 1. Pursuing graduate coursework as a non-degree student is also a great option for summer or fall. Find the program that best fits you and start your application today!

Connect with a Graduate Admissions representative to learn about admission requirements and the application process.

Graduate Admissions

(828) 262-2130

gradadmissions@appstate.edu

Engaging Opportunities!

New Praxis Prep Information for Perspective Teachers!

The Praxis Learning Paths program enables educator preparation programs, school districts and state agencies to:

support teacher candidates on their path from licensure to the classroom
provide a comprehensive learning solution with a coaching option
help increase the teacher pipeline with qualified educators

The first offering, the Elementary Mathematics Course, helps candidates prepare for the Praxis Elementary Education: Multiple Subjects: Mathematics subtest (5003), the Elementary Education: Three Subject Bundle — Mathematics test (5903), and the math section of the Content Knowledge test (5018). Additional courses for Elementary Education subjects will be available in late 2022.

The North Carolina Education Policy Fellowship Program is now accepting applications for the 2022-2023 EPFP Cohort in the upcoming school year. The Fellowship Program focuses on leadership and professional development in the context of education policy. Fellows come from public schools, higher education, community colleges, state agencies, and a diverse array of education organizations across North Carolina. Apply HERE!

EPF Summer Institute: July 11-15, 2022

8:00am to 4:00pm; Monday-Friday at Appalachian State University

This week-long, 40-hour institute will equip educators with the tools, skills, and knowledge they need to be prepared to teach the new Economics and Personal Finance course. This cohort will meet in person each day at Appalachian State University from 8 am- 4 pm on July 11-15. This training is for teachers who teach in North Carolina and are teaching or slated to teach the EPF course. Click here for more information and to register.

NWRESA will be hosting NC VR Adventures-3 Day Event June 13-15, 2022. This workshop will be an in depth look at NC's new VR Adventures website and participants will take a self- selected field trip to collect their own 360 photos to createVR Projects.

With the changes being made to Google Expeditions and apps like Google Poly, how can we continue to place the power of virtual reality into the hands of students? What if learners could create virtual reality projects to experience our state, local and national parks as well as historical sites? Together, we will create virtual reality projects that foster engagement, critical thinking and creativity, and engender something unique to this instructional strategy: empathy and a connection to the beauty and history of our state. These interdisciplinary VR experiences will be aligned to your learning objectives that can be used immediately with students leveraging the technology you may already have in your classrooms and media centers, like Google Cardboard, goggles, or a simple link. This program is designed for K-12 educators, school counselors and anyone eager to take learners on adventures.

REGISTRATION LINK

June 13-15, 2022 Wilkes County Board of Education 9:00-4:00

2.0 DLC credits

Facilitated by Stacy Lovdahl, Innovative Learning Catalyst

Save the Date!

Our annual Data Retreat will be on May 2, 2022, from 12:00-1:30

P-12 Partner voices are appreciated at this event! We will be meeting via Zoom to review Data from our Initial-level candidates and graduates, including Key Assessment, Licensure Exam, P-12 Teaching Effectiveness, Alumni and Employer Satisfaction, and 360-degree Clinical Internship data.

Please join us! The Zoom link is here: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://appstate.zoom.us/j/95745439202?pwd%3DdXplNmVObjhldm5CMjRSRFZMcVBGQT09&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1650284059519162&usg=AOvVaw1z5UwZ4wnP2JiA5cljsz2v

Please contact Dr. Rebecca Coats, RCOE Director of Assessment and Accreditation, with any questions: coatsrb@appstate.edu

Attention, Faculty & Staff!

The PSP needs your help with 2 initiatives! If you are interested in being a part of these partnerships, fill out the quick form(s) below!

1) Adopt a Teacher Cadet Classroom! The PSP and the NWRESA are working together in 2022 to build small teacher pipelines in each of our Partnering districts! We are doing this by funding the Teacher Cadet (TC) Program in each of our interested PSP high schools. By paying for a two day Teacher Cadet Training on June 2 and 3, 2022 in the RCOE, 28-30 committed Teacher Cadet Teachers will then go back to their districts and teach future educators in their Sophomore, Junior, or Senior years of high school with a project and practicum-based curriculum which exposes students to the wonderful world of teaching! We will be partnering with these classrooms to provide mini-grant funding, Teacher Cadet Days on our App Campus, and best of all---we want to provide one faculty or staff member from our App State Educator Preparation Program with each TC classroom! This liaison may do things such as:

Be a guest speaker in the adopted TC class once a semester, upon request
Provide resources for the TC Classroom, upon request
Connect the TC class with App State programs, upon request
Give/arrange a tour of the RCOE for visiting TC students, upon request

If you are interested in adopting a TC Classroom SIGN UP HERE by May 2! Betsy will meet with interested faculty/staff to discuss next steps in May of 2022.

2) Offer Mini-Grant Support! The PSP gives away up to $20,000.00 a year in mini-grant money to P-12 and/or App State educators who work together to create collaborative projects and opportunities in classrooms across our region! We had 34 mini-grant applicants just this spring of 2022 and have opened the window for summer mini-grants at this time. Read HERE for more details.

Ideally, mini-grant projects should be focused on the preparation and/or professional development of practicing teachers, practicing administrators, practicing faculty members, or current students. Projects should include the involvement of teachers, administrators, teacher education/RCOE faculty, and/or clinical interns in the planning/implementation/evaluation process, when possible. Projects should also be innovative, sustainable and collaborative in nature.

Unfortunately, many times our P-12 teachers do not know who to partner with from App State to enhance their projects and sustain their materials. The PSP Mini-Grant Committee would like to compile a list of faculty and staff who are willing to partner with a P-12 teacher who may need university support, ideas, or extension opportunities. If you are willing to be connected with a PSP educator on a mini-grant idea on occasion, SIGN UP HERE by May 2.

Thank you all for being willing to share you expertise and passions with our Public School Partners!