CEHS Teacher of the Year gives students real-world experience

Dr. Julie Gast

Dr. Julie Gast is the CEHS Teacher of the Year—and her passion shows.

She uses that enthusiasm to help her students get over the fears they will likely face in the two classes she teaches at Utah State University: Planning and Evaluation for Health Education and Sexuality Education Within the Schools.

The classes scare her students for different reasons. Dr. Gast understands the fear, but she also gives her students the tools they need to overcome it.

The planning and evaluation class requires them to implement a community health program in a small group. “I don’t see the point of reading about that instead of doing it,” Dr. Gast said. So her students get a lot of hands-on experience, working with agencies, identifying projects that the community wants to participate in and then carrying them out.

In the past, students teamed up to teach a sorority about healthy eating, meal planning and shopping; others worked with the USU cross-country team about improving performance by getting enough sleep; a third worked on bullying prevention at a charter school.

“When they’re working with real life agencies they have to do their best,” she said. “I don’t like to teach classes where it’s read the book, take the test. I like them out there doing what they’re going to be doing professionally.”

When she teaches her students how to teach sex education in the schools, it’s a different kind of scary. The subject matter is so intimidating, a lot of health education teachers avoid it unless they’ve had a class on how to teach it.

While there are limitations to what can be taught in Utah, “we can teach a lot more than people think we can,” she said. She works to dispel myths about sex education and lets her students see the truth: She loves that class. It’s the one subject her students’ future pupils are likely to pay attention to, whether they admit it or not.

The beauty of the class is that it’s relevant to the kids, she said. 

In both classes, the students are expected to work. “I have high standards and I tell them that in class, but I’m going to give them the skills to meet those standards. I set the bar high and I’m always surprised how many students jump over it.”

62-year-old graduate looks forward to giving back

Jacquelyn with her mentor, Diane Baum

Jacquelyn Whitt started her higher education in her 50s and completed her interdisciplinary studies degree from Utah State University this year at age 62—via distance education. She lives in Hurricane.

Her degree's main focus is psychology, and it is especially precious to her given the obstacles she had to overcome to graduate. At age 11 her parents were killed in a car accident. From there she experienced multiple moves, abuse, unemployment and homelessness.

For Jacquelyn, higher education means fulfillment, security and the hope of giving back to her community. 

“I did not have a home of my own,” she said, “or that security that enabled me to even feel safe, to think correctly.” Decades later—following moves to Hawaii, Las Vegas and Utah—she would understand that she had post-traumatic stress disorder and adult attention deficit disorder.

The realization came after she started vocational rehabilitation counseling and began to understand what was missing in her life. She eventually dived into a full credit load at Weber State University—and discovered it was too much.

So Jacquelyn tried again after moving to southern Utah. She eased into academic life with one class from Dixie State University. When she received a good grade it built her confidence, and she began working her way toward a degree. Since she is Cherokee, she began applying for grants and scholarships from the Cherokee Nation.

When she began attending distance education classes from Utah State, she linked up with Diane Baum, former director of the Disability Resource Center. Together they charted the course that led to her graduation. On Saturday she came to the USU campus to participate in commencement. She met Diane for the first time and draped her Cum Laude stole (which Jacquelyn renamed "The Stole of Gratitude") around her mentor’s neck.

“She took the time,” Jacquelyn said. “She would listen to me. She cared.”

Jacquelyn now plans to start graduate school in vocational rehabilitation counseling this fall, with the goal of counseling others with experiences similar to hers. “A lot of women start school and they fail, they quit, because they don't know what it is that they need. There's no one to help guide them," she said.

She wants to be there for them, armed with the degrees that will allow her to give back. She’s not afraid anymore, she said. “Education is the key.”

Jacquelyn poses with her son Jade and her mentor, Diane.

  

Effective mentoring of graduate students: There is no instruction manual

Dr. Mimi Recker during Research Week

Mimi Recker is Utah State University's 2013 Graduate Mentor of the Year. She's guest posting for us today on what makes an effective mentor. Thanks, Mimi!

By Mimi Recker
professor and department head
May 2013

When Dr. Mark McClellan, vice president for research and dean of the School of Graduate Studies at Utah State University, called to tell me I had been awarded the 2013 Graduate Mentor of the Year Award, I was at first dumbfounded, then deeply honored. But mostly I was humbled, as the award is surely a reflection of the outstanding students who choose to pursue graduate study at Utah State University.

In my fourteen years at Utah State University, the mentoring of graduate students has been a role I take very seriously, one that is challenging, and ultimately incalculably rewarding.

I have found that there is no stock manual for advising students. Each student is unique, bringing to the table a different set of skills, background, hopes ... and fears. The challenge as an advisor is to find that space where students can engage in activities with sufficient support in order to reach their fullest potential. In psychology, this is a concept know as the "zone of proximal development (ZPD)." Activities that are too easy for a student do not foster learning, whereas activities that are too hard cannot be solved by the student. The role of the advisor, then, is to structure activities within a student's ZPD in order to encourage his/her learning and development as a scholar.

At the same time, my advisees have had a profound impact on me, and have pushed me in my own ZPD. For example, in an era of unprecedented scientific and technological advances, my doctoral students have helped to keep me current in the many advances in data analytics. For this I am very grateful.

I have also learned from the many life stories of my students. For example, one Chinese student told me of being raised by her grandparents as her parents – themselves academics --  were forced to work in the fields during the Chinese cultural revolution. Another told me how his extensive Peace Corps work in West Africa pushed him to understand the role of power relationships in classroom situations. Another impressed me by being a single mother raising two young children while completing her doctorate. These life stories have deeply impacted me, and have helped me grow as a scholar and a person.

I was also struck when informed that I was the first woman to ever earn this award at USU. It brought to mind the quote I gave when appointed as Department Head of Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences in 2008:

“I never thought I was of the generation to become first woman-anything. So it is a special honor to become the first female professor and permanent department head in Instructional Technology. I am particularly indebted to all the trailblazers in academia that have come before me.”

Then, as now, I want to thank again the trailblazers before me, and especially my students. Slowly, inexorably, women are finding their place in the academy.

During the phone call, Dr. McClellan also informed me I received an honorarium. I promptly made a donation to the Department’s scholarship fund then took my graduate students out to dinner while attending a conference in San Francisco. The latter, of course, pretty much broke the bank!

Commencement 2013

Katie Lovendale, valedictorian

On Saturday at CEHS commencement, we will honor 1194 graduates from 16 majors. The ceremony will feature two speakers: our own Dean Beth Foley and Valedictorian Katie Lovendale. 

Here's an introduction to this year's valedictorian.

Katie chose to earn her degree in special education at USU while working as a paraeducator with students with severe disabilities. She heard that there were many opportunities to become involved on campus and it didn’t hurt that several people told her how much they loved the program. Katie is completing a degree in special education with an emphasis in both severe disabilities and young children with disabilities from birth to age 5.

Katie took up the challenge of becoming involved on campus to heart. During Katie’s sophomore year of college, she attended a play about the Little Rock Nine and racial segregation as part of one of her classes. After seeing the play with her classmate, Amber Hartley, they decided to start a club at USU to raise awareness and provide service for people with disabilities that all students on campus could join – Aggie Advocates. Katie and Amber have recruited many USU students and trained upcoming leaders so that this service club will continue in years to come. The Center for Persons with Disabilities named her Volunteer of the Year for 2012.

Katie (right) and Amber Hartley received the CPD
Volunteer of the Year award after they founded
the Aggie Advocates club at USU.

Katie’s passion for people with disabilities mirrors the Mission Statement for the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services -“ to provide teaching, service, and research in a variety of disciplines to improve the teaching/learning transaction wherever it takes place and to increase the effectiveness of services for individuals, families, communities, schools, and organizations.” She earned three 3 A-pins, was awarded the Presidential Scholarship, participated in research for both the Center for Persons with Disabilities and the Psychology Department, completed over 200 hours of community service during her junior year as a participant in the Interdisciplinary Disability Awareness and Service Learning Program, completed the Honors program in her Special Education courses, and trained a rat to play basketball in PSY 1400 – all while earning a 4.0 GPA. She attributes Barb Fiechtl for being her constant support , increasing her confidence and abilities and then pushing her to do even better.

Katie’s advice for incoming USU Freshman is to not be afraid to branch out and try new things, be involved in service and take care of yourself. She suggests not procrastinating, eating healthy, exercise and finding time to sleep. Looking at her bio, however, we don’t know where she found time to sleep. She also suggests finding time to relax and enjoy non-academic tasks. Katie modeled this charge when she conquered her fear of water by jumping into first dam in March of her freshman year – she even has a scar on her knee to commemorate the experience. 

ITLS professor’s innovative use of technology in schools prompts national award

Victor Lee

By Amanda Harris

On April 29, Dr. Victor Lee will receive the 2013 Jan Hawkins Award for early career contributions to humanistic research and scholarship in learning technologies. The award comes from the leading educational research organization in the country, the American Educational Research Association.

This prestigious award, named after the late renowned developmental psychologist Jan Hawkins, is given to one or two of the most innovative young scholars nationally each year whose body of work demonstrates powerful new ways to think about technologies in education. Dr. Lee is the first recipient from an institution in the Rocky Mountain region and the first ever from Utah State University.

Dr. Victor Lee is currently involved in designing and researching the use of physical activity data technologies, such as accelerometers, heart rate monitors, and high-speed cameras as tools for young students to engage in data analysis. His previous studies showed significant learning gains for students who used these technologies. Working with students, his team has helped children explore how heart rates compared among twins and across ages, using fellow students and staff at the school as research subjects.

“This has been an exciting opportunity to for our team here at Utah State to be the first to use these technologies to help students learn big ideas in math and science. The kids get a real chance to own the ideas by using these technologies,” said Lee.

This year, Dr. Lee has gone even further in his research and has been co-teaching in two 5^th grade classes at Edith Bowen Laboratory School. Last fall, Lee and the fifth grade students were using a Fit Bit wireless activity tracker to look at everyday activities, such as counting how many steps a particular child takes in one day. Then the students began statistical data analysis. The 5^th grade class also created and designed an experiment and used 1^st and 4^th grade classes as subjects.

This spring, he has taught the students how to use high-speed cameras to get high-resolution slow motion video; such as the ones you see while watching sports instant replays. The students have then worked on recreating some of the slow motion movements using new animation software originally developed at Tufts University in Boston and generously donated to Dr. Lee’s project.

 “For me the opportunities for real learning will often be bigger than what is measured by test scores; I want to find ways for students to appreciate both how relevant and challenging STEM content can be,” said Lee.

In recognition of his recent award, Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services Dean Beth Foley said, “I am not surprised, of course, because Victor’s professional contributions are consistently outstanding. Still, I am delighted to see that his national peer group - which includes the top educational technologists in the world - are recognizing his work as innovative and important.”

Dr. Lee has previously been a recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER award, the most prestigious award given by the foundation for early career scholars who integrate excellence in both research and teaching. In recognition of the Jan Hawkins award, he will be giving an invited address on his work at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association in Philadelphia.

Victor Lee is a learning scientist and instructional technologist who studies the intersections of student cognition, external representations, and emerging technologies. His most recent design and development work involves creating and studying the use of innovative new materials to support K-12 teaching and learning in STEM subject areas. He previously served as Chair of AERA's Special Interest Group for Advanced Technologies for Learning.