The grant provides funding for “Project DREAMS” (Development of Reading, ESL, eArly Childhood, Mathematics and Science), a five-year, professional development project involving teachers, administrators, school nurses and auxiliary staff from school districts throughout nine counties in northern Illinois.
The project’s overall objective is to increase the number and quality of teachers who serve English language learners in the region. Typically such projects focus solely on literacy needs; Project DREAMS is unique in that it adds a science and math focus to the English Language Learners (ELL) program.
“With Illinois as the fifth largest state in terms of English language learners, every teacher will encounter an immigrant student in his or her classroom at one time or another,” Cohen said. “This project will significantly enhance teachers’ ability to work with English Language Learners, particularly in areas of science and math, in grades K-12.”
“With the funding of Project DREAMS, the faculty in the Department’s English language learner unit is continuing to build their legacy as the premier trainer of teachers of English language learners in the state of Illinois,” said Norm Stahl, chair of the Department of Literacy Education.
“Project DREAMS, along with previously funded programs, Project Success and Project Quill, extends our partnerships with school districts and the Illinois State Board of Education and deepens the direct and meaningful impact we are having on teaching English language learners in the state,” Stahl added. “Through this grant we have the opportunity to provide training in the theory, research, and best practice of teaching English language learners to populations within the education community, such as allied service providers and early childhood educators, that have not had opportunities for integrated training in the past.”
The project has three goals:
to increase the number of general education teachers with an ESL and/or bilingual endorsement,
to increase the number of NIU’s early childhood education pre-service teachers with an ESL and/or bilingual endorsement, and
to increase the number of K-12 school administrators, psychologists, nurses, and other auxiliary school staff who have received intensive training that focuses on the needs of ELLs.
Faculty involved in Project DREAMS will modify ESL endorsement classes to include math and science components. As a result, participants will have a deeper understanding of the many ways in which they can support the development of ELL students.
Cohen said he believes this also will help educators become better advocates for English language learners.
“No one is better equipped to be an advocate for the ELL student than his/her teacher. Teachers are in the best possible position to be an effective voice for ELL students. My hope is that this program will enhance their ability to advocate on their students’ behalf.”
At the end of the five-year project, nearly 350 teachers and other education professionals will have completed the intensive certification and training programs. But the long-term effect will be “incredible,” Cohen said.
“Educators encounter thousands of students over the course of a teaching career,” he said. “When you consider the transformative effect that a teacher can have on his/her students, Project DREAMS will indeed have positive and far-reaching consequences.”
In addition to Elgin School District U-46, schools under the jurisdiction of the following Regional Offices of Education are partnering in Project DREAMS:
Date posted: October 11, 2011 | Author: Jennice O'Brien | Comments Off on James Cohen awarded $1.8 million OELA grant, Project DREAMS to boost ranks of ELL teachers
Tai-Hwa Emily Lu, Paula Hartman and Kun-Liang Chung gathered June 28, 2011, at the MOU signing ceremony.
NIU and National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) in Taipei, Taiwan, signed an historic memorandum of understanding (MOU) June 28, 2011, agreeing to foster academic exchange and cooperation between the two institutions.
This agreement allows for the exchange of students, faculty and information as well as collaboration in academic programs, conferences and research. Any college or department in either university has the opportunity to participate.
The MOU between the two institutions is the result of an idea more than 10 years in the making.
Paula Hartman, assistant professor in the Department of Special and Early Education (SEED), met Hui-Ching Ko when both were doctoral students at the University of Texas at Austin in 2000. The women’s friendship led to years of joint research and brainstorming ideas for the international training of pre-service teachers.
In December 2010, Hartman and Ko proposed a plan for a partnership between SEED and NTNU’s Special Education Center (SEC) where Dr. Ko is a researcher.
The SEC’s chief director, Tai-Hwa Emily Lu, was instrumental in creating interest at NTNU. At NIU, their initiative was expedited and approved with the help of Deborah Pierce, associate provost for International Programs, and Terry Borg, director of the Office of External Programs in the College of Education.
“International initiatives are not new to our college,” Borg said. “We have a rich history of faculty and students engaged in the international arena.”
It was during initial discussions between special educators in the two countries that their overseas partnership became a subject of interest at the university level.
“NIU is very interested in developing partnerships with other universities, especially internationally,” Hartman said.
“We are interested in adding value to our students’ education,” Borg added. “International experience is enriching and will help prepare them for 21st century jobs.”
Both NIU and NTNU were eager to expand the understanding.
Opened in 1946, NTNU is the largest and one of the most prestigious universities in Taiwan. Like NIU, it began as a teachers’ college. Its SEC was developed in 1974 and is the first of its kind in Taiwan. It provides support for students with special needs, conducts research and provides professional teacher training for the entire nation.
Now that the MOU is in place between the two universities, the possibilities for partnerships are endless. NTNU is very interested in exchanging faculty and SEED is discussing hosting exchange students.
Hartman said she believes the initiative will spark opportunities for grants “that are essentially global in nature. This will help us in our goal of becoming a major research center and also in developing international relations.”
by Marisa Sanders
Date posted: October 7, 2011 | Author: Jennice O'Brien | Comments Off on NIU partners with university in Taiwan
As state and federal governments call for increased accountability from education at all levels, the NIU College of Education is continuing to find ways to answer that call.
The college’s Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations now offers expedited Chief School Business Official (CSBO) Licensure. The expedited program allows qualified individuals to enter into a three-semester, six-credit internship, after which the student can be recommended for licensure.
“NIU’s approach to expedited licensure is unique in the state in that candidates are assessed by a panel of experts so that the internship experience can be tailored to individual needs,” says Charles Howell, chair of the Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations. “This process ensures that candidates who are recommended for CSBO licensure by the expedited route meet the same high standards as candidates who complete our standard program.”
Howell further notes that both programs are offered in partnership with the leading state professional organization in the field, the Illinois Association of School Business Officials, which provides myriad opportunities for networking and professional development.
Upon completion of all application materials, a panel of experts reviews the knowledge base and experience of each candidate to determine whether he or she is prepared to begin the internship, requires additional coursework or should enroll in the standard licensure program.
The entire process, from receipt of application to notification of the panel’s recommendation, takes about a month, excluding days when NIU is not in session.
“School business officials are central players in managing the fiscal, physical, and human resources of public school districts throughout Illinois,” Howell says. “Success as a school business official translates into opportunities for success for each and every student in a district. We are very excited to offer this expedited licensure route and look forward to preparing individuals for these key administrative positions.”
Date posted: September 30, 2011 | Author: Jennice O'Brien | Comments Off on College of Education offers expedited licensure for chief school business official candidates
The Supermileage competition provides an excellent opportunity for students to step out of the classroom and into real world situations, a concept central to the goals of the college. These students participate in research and design experiments that build upon their skills learned in the classroom.
Team members included captain, Marina Efanov, Steve Clarizio, Joey Cross, Mike Muyszynski, Clay Phillips and Ted Schneller.
Supermileage competitions specifically entail designing, building and competing with a single-person, fuel- efficient vehicle powered by a small four-cycled engine. The vehicles run a specified course; the highest mil- per-gallon rating, in addition to design segment points, wins the event.
With a budget of $7,100, the team of engineering and engineering technology students competed in two national and international events during the 2010 -2011 school year.
In Houston, at the Shell EcoMarathon race, the team had limited success, but gained key insight into the changes that would be necessary in order to defend their title in Michigan.
“By the time we went to Michigan, our vehicle was pretty well dialed in,” said Phillips, a 2011 graduate of the College of Engineering & Engineering Technology. “We were able to pass tech inspection the first day and start runs first thing the next morning. Our best run for the day was our last, which averaged 1,169 miles per gallon. We were the best in the United States for the second year in a row, and also earned third place internationally, also for the second year in a row.”
Like most projects that student groups and organizations in the College of Engineering & Engineering Technology tackle, the Supermileage project was more than just a technical engineering-based project.
“Many of the lessons we learned had to do with project management and resource planning. We had to work with outside companies and individual sponsors in order to get things done on time and within our budget,” Phillips said.
Corporate and individual sponsorship is key to a team’s success.
David Schroeder, the group’s adviser, was particularly satisfied with the team’s efforts.
“We are very proud of our students. They really work hard and obviously their hard work shows,” Schroeder said. “Most of the work they invest in is extracurricular and they have really taken advantage of a great experiential learning opportunity.”
After only two years of experience in these events, the team is focused on breaking the 2,000 mpg barrier in 2012: “We are keeping last year’s chassis and body shape, but focusing more of the work on an advanced motor to get more efficiency out of the vehicle,” said Cross, next year’s team captain.
With that firm plan of action to accomplish this task already in place, team members know they can rely on CEET’s support.
“SAE Supermilage provides its members with a great experiential learning opportunity, as well as the ability to network and sharpen their soft skills such as team work, leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills, all of which are extremely important when looking for jobs,” said Associate Dean Omar Ghrayeb, who works closely with all student organizations in the college. “We are excited to see our students engaged and successful at the national and international level.”
by Amanda Carrier
Date posted: September 14, 2011 | Author: Jennice O'Brien | Comments Off on Supermileage team proves nation’s best – again
The United States is celebrating this year the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps, a volunteer program that has sent more than 200,000 Americans around the globe to promote world peace and friendship.
When the Peace Corps was founded in March of 1961, NIU became an early and active advocate for service in the Corps.
Through the help of J. Norman Parmer, a prominent Malayan historian and then-chairman of NIU’s history department, NIU launched the Corps’ first Malaya training program. Among those first trainees was NIU alumnus James Wolter (B.S. Biology, 1960; C.A.S Educational Administration, 1976; Ed.D. Educational Administration, 1980).
In 1961, Wolter was a medical student at Chicago Medical School when he decided to join the Peace Corps. After his training period, he was dispatched to Malaysia, where he spent 4-1/2 years teaching Form V and Form III (essentially equivalent to ninth-grade in the United States) at three different schools throughout the country.
Wolter took time last year to reflect on his experience, writing a brief memoir of the time he spent in Malaysia as a member of the Corps.
Filled with detailed descriptions, humorous anecdotes, and bittersweet memories, this retrospective presents a first-hand look at the early operations of the Peace Corps and illustrates how a decision to serve in the Corps changed and enriched one man’s life.
“Although 50 years have gone by, it still seems like it was just yesterday that I was teaching in Malaya, meeting the woman I would marry, and becoming a father. I’ve avoided talking about my Peace Corps experience, especially questions about why I joined and how it was, until now,” Wolter says. “With this historic anniversary of the Corps’ founding, however, it felt like the right time to reflect on what that volunteer service meant to me, how it changed my life and to put it in writing. Words are still inadequate to express what it has meant to me.”
While preparing to serialize his story for the website, college officials discovered several faculty members who were also returned Peace Corps volunteers.
Katherine Brosier (LEPF) served in Zaire from 1984-1986, James Cohen (LTCY) served in Sri Lanka from 1991-1993, Richard Orem (LTCY) served in Tunisia from 1970-1972, and David Walker (ETRA) served in Zaire from 1989-1991 and in Mauritania from 1992-1994.
Students with the most outstanding proposals have the chance to receive up to $2,500 toward the execution of their proposed work.
This is a great opportunity for undergraduates to engage more fully in the world of academia while also placing them steps ahead of their peers in the practice of research and artistry.
Proposals are due Friday, Oct. 14, so students should put on their thinking caps and come up with ideas to dazzle the judges.
Returning students will be met with a number of changes on campus this fall, including the change of the name of the College of Education’s Department of Teaching and Learning (TLRN) to the Department of Special and Early Education (SEED).
The following degree objectives (see table) have been reassigned to achieve efficiencies and create synergy within programs and among faculty with shared teaching and research interests.
This refocusing accomplishes three purposes:
It connects graduate programs focused on Curriculum Leadership and faculty who specialize in that area to other school leadership programs located in the Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations.
It connects the undergraduate and graduate Elementary Education programs, faculty and courses to the reading, literacy and elementary education support courses in the Department of Literacy Education.
It allows the Special Education and Early Childhood Education faculty to focus specifically on the needs of special and early learners.
The realignment fulfills a growing need to provide more cohesion and collaboration among similar programs as well as a better alignment of departments with state and national education goals and standards. The changes will allow faculty of all departments to focus on areas of expertise and to realize shared interests in research and teaching methods.
While course designators might change, no faculty courses, or degree programs have been eliminated. Current graduate and undergraduate students will continue in their programs, and future students will be admitted as usual.
TLRN becomes SEED
“The Department of Special and Early Education — SEED — can now focus on preparing the best teachers for learners who are young (from birth to grade 3) and/or have special needs (K-12 special education),” said Associate Dean Connie Fox, who is interim chair of SEED.
In addition, the creation of SEED supports NIU President John Peters’ Vision 2020 Initiative, a proposal designed to make NIU the most student-centered public research university in the Midwest.
As a result of the changes in the College of Education, faculty in LEPF, LTCY and SEED will have greater opportunities to create and implement innovative course and program delivery strategies. Using their shared teaching experiences, faculty will be better positioned to deliver cutting-edge instruction for the 21st century student.
“This change represents a substantive shift in course for our college,” Dean LaVonne I. Neal said. “To remain relevant to our students and to fulfill our mission, we are aligning the college in the most effective way possible to deliver a premier educational experience for all of our students.”
Date posted: August 10, 2011 | Author: Jennice O'Brien | Comments Off on College of Education realigns programs
The pounding of jackhammers and the hissing of pressure washers are as much sounds of the season this spring on the NIU campus as are the chirping of birds.
The noise is part of a campus-wide beautification effort that kicked off shortly before the end of the spring semester. University administrators are working to overcome the effects of brutal winters and shrinking budgets on the physical appearance of the main campus.
“Parts of campus were looking a little tired,” NIU President John Peters said. “We made a commitment to fixing things up because, even in tough times, we need a campus in which faculty, staff and students can take pride, and one that potential students want to call home.”
Teams from Finance and Facilities fanned out across campus and identified dozens of high-impact projects that can be completed at relatively low cost during the summer, and which will be noticeable to visiting families, staff and students.
The work will include:
Landscape Improvements – damaged and worn sod will be replaced, weeds will be treated, dead trees and stumps will be removed, flower beds and planters will be replanted.
Streetscape – broken sidewalks and curbs will be torn out and repaired; worn-out planters, benches and ashtrays will be replaced.
Buildings – will be washed and painted as needed; stonework and tuck-pointing repairs will be made.
University employees will carry out much of the work, but some outside companies also will be pressed into service to help make as great an impact as possible through August.
In addition to the repair and renovation work, several major construction projects also will be under way this summer:
Grant Tower C will reopen after a dramatic remodeling, with Grant D scheduled to go off line this fall for similar improvements. These projects are funded through bond sales.
Cole Hall will reopen this fall, with a new state-of-the-art auditorium, a new home for the Anthropology Museum and a specialized computer lab for collaborative learning.
Wireless computing across campus will dramatically improve, as Information Technology Services will nearly double the number of antennas across campus to more than 500. At the same time, the cost of providing that service to departments and colleges will decrease 24 percent, effective July 1, 2011.
“I am excited to watch the progress of all of these projects over the summer,” Peters said. “Each improvement and upgrade is a reflection of the pride that each of us take in this institution.”
Date posted: June 6, 2011 | Author: Jennice O'Brien | Comments Off on Campus awash in spring cleaning
A limited amount of $250 need-based scholarship opportunities are available this year for students on the free- or reduced-lunch program.
Contact Mark Pietrowski at (815) 753-1456 or via e-mail at pietrowski@niu.edu for more information.
Date posted: June 1, 2011 | Author: Jennice O'Brien | Comments Off on College of Liberal Arts and Sciences introduces new academic residential, day summer camps
Three Ph.D. students in the Department of Physics— all of whom are members of NIU’s team of researchers working on the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), based at the CERN research facility near Geneva, Switzerland — recently have won highly competitive awards.
Chad Suhr and Rob Calkins
Chad Suhr was awarded a one-year $30,000 fellowship from theArgonne National Laboratory to continue his research. The fellowship is awarded to no more than two students each year. Suhr has been stationed at Argonne since September 2010, after returning from an 18-month research assignment at the LHC, the world’s most powerful particle accelerator. He is engaged in the search for singly produced top quarks at the LHC.
Rob Calkins, who has been stationed at CERN since February 2009, is among six students who were awarded NIU’s Dissertation Completion Fellowship this year. Calkins also won the physics department’s “Graduate Student of the Year” award for 2011. He has made momentous contributions to studies of pair-produced top quarks.
Stephen Cole
Stephen Cole has been named the recipient of a $15,000 National Science Foundation fellowship. He will be stationed at CERN for a year or more, beginning this summer.
The funding will cover the additional expenses for the cost of living abroad and travel to conferences. Only 20 of these fellowships are awarded nationwide each year, and both Calkins and Suhr had won it in 2010. Cole is participating in a search for simultaneous production of W and Z bosons.
Both Calkins and Suhr, who are working under the supervision of NIU physics professorDhiman Chakraborty, are on course to earn their Ph.Ds. in 2012, while Cole, working under the supervision of physics professor Gerald Blazey, is expected to graduate in 2014.
“Winning these keenly contested awards speaks volumes of the high quality work that the NIU team, currently consisting of eight members, is doing on the ATLAS project,” Chakraborty said.
AT&T executive Ralph de la Vega credits Northern Illinois University with helping prepare him for a career that has included guiding two of the largest mergers in telecommunications history.
Joining him among the honorees were Joshua Dean, owner and managing broker of Joshua Dean Real Estate and Element Commercial Group, who was recognized as the Outstanding Young Alumnus, and Cary Chessick, president and CEO of Restaurant.com, who was named an Honorary Alumnus of the college.
“Whenever I have students with great leadership potential who are struggling with an obstacle, I tell them Ralph’s story,” Schoenbachler said. “I tell them he’s an NIU guy — just like you.”
That story begins in Cuba, long before de la Vega came to NIU. The day his family prepared to board a plane for the United States, a militiaman at the airport decided that only Ralph’s paperwork was in order. Expecting a delay of a few days, his parents sent him ahead. They did not see him again for four years.
Later, his life almost took another wrong turn when he nearly took the advice of a high school counselor who suggested that he settle for a career as a mechanic rather than pursue his dream of becoming an engineer – before his grandmother set him back on the right track, that is.
He overcame those obstacles to become a young executive for Bell South. When he was transferred to Chicago to help run a training center he decided to enroll in NIU’s Executive MBA program. It was a pivotal decision.
“Up until my time at NIU, I was just an engineer,” said de la Vega, who earned his MBA in 1989. The lessons he learned in the NIU program, he said, helped guide him in subsequent years as he led AT&T’s South Florida division through the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew; oversaw operations in Latin America during times of revolution and economic upheaval; and guided the company’s $41 billion merger with Cingular Wireless.
“That was probably one of the most successful mergers in history,” he recalled. “And it was all built upon the things they teach you in business school: have a good plan, execute it well and make sure you have your financials right.”
He put those same principles to work recently, negotiating a $39 billion merger between AT&T Wireless and Consumer Markets. That deal is still pending approval.
“NIU was quite a turning point for me, and for my family. I am going to be forever grateful to NIU and the College of Business,” de la Vega said. “Thank you for preparing this former student for success well beyond anything I ever dreamed of.”
“Joshua is a very focused and positive young man. He really exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit. We hope to instill that spirit into all of our students, and Joshua is the perfect role model,” Schoenbachler said.
Since graduating with honors in 2002, Dean has been on the fast track to success. He received his real estate license in 2003, and one year later launched Habitat Hunter, an online tool to better connect real estate practitioners with local customers.
In 2007, he opened Joshua Dean Real Estate and is currently in the process of launching Uberloop, a go-to social network for local business news, discounts, deals and more. His efforts caught the eye of the Daily Herald, which named him one of the To 10 Entrepreneurs Under 30.
Dean, of Naperville, has remained a very active supporter of the NIU College of Business, frequently speaking to classes and acting as a mentor to students.
“I attribute my success to a number of events and circumstances, most prominently my education at NIU, and in particular in the NIU College of Business,” Dean said. “I am incredibly honored to be recognized for my professional accomplishments and my continued support of NIU students, but I am even more honored to have been given the opportunity to walk through the doors of the NIU College of Business and be inspired by all that was offered to me.”
Cary Chessick
Cary Chessick, Honorary Alumnus
In 2004, as Cary Chessick was launching Restaurant.com, his uncle, Ken Chessick, an alumnus of the NIU College of Law, decided to introduce his nephew to some people at the NIU College of Business.
Schoenbachler still remembers that day.
“After I met Cary I just knew that we had to find a way to get him involved in the College of Business, he was so brilliant,” Schoenbachler said.
Getting him connected with the school did not take long.
Almost immediately, Chessick signed on as one of the first members of the advisory board that helps guide the college’s interactive marketing program, and soon he and other Restaurant.com employees found themselves frequently working with NIU students. Just last year, he created a sponsored professorship to support the interactive marketing program. He also frequently comes to Barsema Hall to speak to classes.
“The opportunity to talk to students gives me a charge,” Chessick said. “It’s an interactive session. They are giving me a gift in their questions, their attention and their time. I am supposed to be teaching them but they are also teaching me.”
Date posted: May 17, 2011 | Author: Jennice O'Brien | Comments Off on College of Business honors outstanding alums
With more than 3,000 students moving into the residence halls on Opening Day, Team NIU plays a critical role in making this busy, high-energy day a success. The volunteers that comprise Team NIU offer their time and team spirit to give new Huskies and their families the best possible first impression of what makes NIU special.
There are several ways for faculty and staff to support NIU’s welcoming initiatives as members of Team NIU, including Opening Day, Huskies Helping Huskies and House Calls.
Opening Day volunteers assist students and their families as they move into the residence halls Thursday, Aug. 18. Stationed at one of the five residence halls, volunteers will drive golf carts that transport student belongings from family vehicles to the residence halls and/or greet new students and their families.
Huskies Helping Huskies volunteers will be stationed at kiosks across campus Monday, Aug. 22, and Tuesday, Aug. 23, to answer students’ questions or direct them to particular destinations on campus.
Volunteers participating in House Calls will greet first-year students on their residence hall floors during the evening of Tuesday, Aug. 23. The volunteers will welcome students to campus, inquire about their first few days and answer questions they might have about life at NIU.
For more information, contact Phyllis Dupre at pdupre@niu.edu.
Date posted: May 13, 2011 | Author: Jennice O'Brien | Comments Off on Team NIU invites Opening Day 2011 volunteers
