C&I SPY Newsletter Articles
April 2008 Volume 5 Issue 1

Chair's Corner

With Spring Break behind us, we have to come to grips with the fact that the end of the semester is rapidly approaching. For some, this thought may serve to elevate stress levels and threaten panic, while for others this event may still seem far too remote. But rather than dwell on the coming closure, I’d like to reflect on the last few months’ activities in our department. First, I have to note that the administrative staff members have managed to accommodate a major shift in duties and organization in a very short time. Moving from a distributed to a centralized and specialized organizational structure could easily have been such a large change that it would take years to accomplish. However the dedication and talent of our staff has resulted in great changes (and I think improvements) with a minimum of confusion and delay. I feel that we have created a strong new model for meeting the needs of the department, including improving the quality of the services we provide as well as adding some new ones. Please join me in expressing heartfelt thanks to the entire team (Roz, Susan, Shawna, Jim, Laura, Stephen, Kathy, Amy, Olivia, and Gail). [See Staff Assignment chart below.]

Second, I have to acknowledge my sincere appreciation for Dr. Lisa Goldstein’s willingness to accept the position of Assistant Chair for Faculty Development. Lisa has been working hard for years in support of our many assistant professors, guiding them along with their official faculty mentors as they become active and productive scholars. Now she has taken on, in addition to an official title, responsibility for supporting all faculty members as they progress in their careers. Her time and energy and enthusiasm are proving to be important factors in her ability to guide, motivate, and recognize faculty members as they negotiate opportunities and challenges. I am very grateful for her assistance as we support and encourage all faculty to grow and be recognized for their many talents and achievements. Finally, I have to mention the great energy and attention surrounding the many talented visitors who have come to campus this year as candidates for future faculty positions. This is truly a great, though sometimes exhausting, time of year. The faculty and students serving on our five search committees have done an exceptional job in screening applicants and have invited some truly talented individuals for on-campus interviews. Faculty, students, and staff who have interacted with these candidates have been stimulated and excited by their ideas and experiences. As the hiring process moves into the final selection and negotiation stage, I look forward to having a number of new faculty members lined up for the coming year. You can certainly look forward to meeting them in future editions of this newsletter. For now, you’ll just have to settle for a great set of articles about the recent activities in and around our department.

Dr. Jim Guszak's Retirement

On March 6, present and former students, faculty, and staff gathered to recognize Professor Frank J. Guszak’s recent retirement, after 40 years of service.  Jim Guszak’s career in education, remarkable enough to have spanned five decades as a faculty member in our department, began as a teacher and then principal in several Texas school districts.  His love of teaching and commitment to students are legendary, and his leadership and scholarship in reading education brought him and our department national attention.  Jim was a pioneer who was always most comfortable when he was in an elementary classroom, working with students and teachers to improve student learning.  He has been a strong proponent for field-based teacher education and for decades he has insisted on taking cohorts of future teachers into area schools to learn to teach in an immersive environment.  And yet Jim has remained a gracious and humble individual who was determined to find a solution for any problem that might arise, regardless of the amount of time and effort it might require on his part.  His thoughtful and inspirational leadership has left a grand legacy of dedicated disciples among his colleagues, school district teachers and administrators, and former students.  This was particularly evident at the recognition event, as his family, friends, colleagues, and former students came from all around Texas to celebrate his accomplishments and contributions.  As hard as it has been for us to come to grips with his stepping down, we are proud to add him to our distinguished list of emeritus faculty members.  We are also glad that he will now have more time for his family and his regular tennis game.  And we suspect that he will still occasionally return to a classroom to lend a helping hand.  Thanks, Jim, and Godspeed!

Educational Panel

The last week of February, The University of Texas at Austin in collaboration with 5 leading Mexican universities presented a multidisciplinary 5-day event: “North America and the dilemma of integration. Perspectives on the future of the region.” The Department of Curriculum and Instruction had an important presence in this conference through the participation of several faculty members.

The vision for this conference was to strengthen the debate on the future of the North American region by fostering collaborative cross-border work that evaluates competing policy proposals and generates concrete and actionable recommendations for the future of our region. In order to help bridge the gap that frequently separates academic research and the implementation of policies, this event hosted several panels where participants presented their perspectives on North America and integration in topics like: immigration, economics, politics, and education. The participating Mexican universities included Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM), Colegio de México (COLMEX), and Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM).

With the increasing globalization of our economies, the debate and controversy created by a stronger integration, formal or informal, between the United States, Mexico and Canada becomes increasingly important. The collaboration among these Mexican universities and The University of Texas at Austin will contribute in important ways to strengthening the North American region and its future.
In the conference, a deep analysis of political, social, cultural and economic factors that are part of this integration were discussed by a selected group of researchers and scholars from UT Austin and participating Mexican universities. Education turned out to be an important topic in this event, with the participation of prestigious personalities:  Josefina Vázquez Mota, Secretary of Education in Mexico; Miguel Székely Pardo, Undersecretary for Secondary Education in Mexico; Rodolfo Tuirán Gutiérrez, Undersecretary for Higher Education; and a panel with influential researchers and project leaders from Mexico and the US.

The panel on Distributed Learning and Collaboration for Teacher Development and Student Education Programs in Mexico and the US, coordinated by Assistant Professor Guadalupe Carmona, presented leading research and development large-scale projects for teacher development and student education that have been conducted in Mexico and in the US. These successful projects have a high degree of complexity, for they involve multiple participants in interdisciplinary fields, where learning is distributed geographically and by multiple agents in different institutions, and where collaboration is imminent to achieve program goals to improve education, contribute to research, and impact policy. The panelists from the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at UT were: Drs. Jim Barufaldi, Guadalupe Carmona, Paul Resta, and Angela Valenzuela. Also from UT, Ramón Talavera, Program Coordinator of the Language Learners at the University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Hispanic Achievement (LUCHA Program) supported by the K-16 Education Center. Mexican panelists from the National Autonomous University in Mexico (UNAM) included the participation of Manuel Moreno, Director of Common Space for Distance Higher Education (ECOeSAD), and Guadalupe Vadillo, Director of B@UNAM, which is the on-line modality for secondary education offered by UNAM.

The event was a great success for putting together such intellectually stimulating discussions that allow a broader perspective for the future that we need to build to strengthen the North American region. This conversation continues to foster collaborative cross-border work that evaluates competing policy proposals and generates concrete and actionable recommendations for the future of our region. We are proud that C&I is part of this dialogue, and through recommendations and collaborations, continues to influence the future of education in our North American region.

For more information about the conference please go to:
http://www.norteamericanos.org/

Faculty Awards and Accomplishments

Dr. Larry Abraham
Dr. Abraham was interviewed about UTeach on November 16, 2007 for a science show on KVRX radio.  

Dr. Jim Barufaldi
Dr. Barufaldi was recognized for his help with the St. Johns Tri-School Veteran Tutors Program.  The St. Johns Tri-School Community of Austin was chosen as one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People by the America’s Promise Alliance. Richard Ehrlich, director of Veteran Tutors said had it not been for the mentorship and advice he received from Dr. Barufaldi, their growing success would not have been possible.  

Dr. Mario Benitez
Dr. Benitez, former C&I Chair and Distinguished Teaching Professor, has recently demonstrated his amazing breadth and talent by publishing a book of poetry titled “Simple Poems About Daily Living.”  This book contains 200 short versus which speak to many aspects of daily life.  The book is published by Lulu Press.  

Dr. Lisa Cary
Dr. Cary was recommended by President Powers for promotion to the rank of Associate Professor with tenure.  Congratulations!

Dr. Lupita Carmona
Dr. Carmona was selected Dean’s Fellow for Spring 2008, which recognizes faculty’s contributions to the teaching and research missions of the College.

Dr. Bonnie Elliott
Dr. Elliott received the Teaching Excellence Award in Education from the Texas Exes.

Dr. Joe Frost
Dr. Frost, Professor Emeritus, was mentioned in the New York Times on December 14,
2007 in an article titled “School Recess Gets Gentler and the Adults Are Dismayed.”  You can view the article online at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/education/14recess.html.

Dr. Frost was also mentioned in the Dallas Morning News on October 13, 2007 in an article titled “Reinventing Recess: Schools try to play it safe.”  You can view this article online at http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/101307dnmetplaysafe.359193d.html.  The piece was also picked up by Houston’s KHOU-TV titled as “Reinventing Recess: Properly protective or cautious to a fault?” You can view it online at http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou071013_tnt_recess.168054ca0.html.

Dr. Deborah A. Horan
Dr. A. Horan was the recipient of the AERA Division K Dissertation of the year award.

Dr. Dolly Lambdin
Dr. Lambdin, with Charles Corbin and Guy Le Masurier, authored the textbook “Fitness for Life: Middle School” which was selected for the “TEXTY” Textbook Excellence Award.

Dr. Jill Marshall
Dr. Marshall was selected Dean’s Fellow for Spring 2008, which recognizes faculty’s contributions to the teaching and research missions of the College.  

Dr. Deborah Palmer
The Palmer family welcomed Jacob Palmer Greene into their family and home (yes, born at home) at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, January 30, 2008. Dr. Palmer and Jacob are both doing
well with no complications. Jacob weighs 9lbs 2oz, 22’ inches. Congratulations Palmer family!

Dr. Paul Resta
The “Principal Investigator, Presidential Timeline” is funded by the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation.  Funding will facilitate the expansion of the Presidential Timeline of the 20th Century through the addition of digital assets.  The Presidential Timeline is a website jointly created by the Learning Technology Center and the National Archives’ 12 presidential libraries and provides access to a growing store of digitized assets.  In addition to serving as a repository for digitized historical artifacts, the Timeline also includes biographical events, and major presidential challenges and decisions.

Dr. Resta also was cited in an article titled “Mac project has campus comparing Apples, PCs,” in the Orion, a California State University publication.  You can view this article online at http://media.www.theorion.com/media/storage/paper889/news/2008/02/13/News/Mac-Project.Has.Campus.Comparing.Apples.Pcs-3205652.shtml.

Dr. Catherine Riegle-Crumb
Dr. Riegle-Crumb has been approved for a Faculty Development Program Summer Research Assignment in 2008.  This award will allow her to concentrate on her research project, “The Spectrum of Racial Inequality in High School: Levels of Course-taking and School Segregation” for two months during summer 2008.  

Dr. Cinthia Salinas
Dr. Salinas was recommended by President Powers for promotion to the rank of Associate Professor with tenure. Congratulations!

Dr. Jennifer Smith
Carter Logan Smith was born on January 8, 2008; two months earlier than expected.  He weighed 1 pound 15 ounces but was already breathing on his own.  Jennifer and Carter are well.  Congratulations Jennifer and Doug! 

Dr. Luis Urrieta
Dr. Urrieta was awarded a 2007-2008 University Co-operative Society Subvention Grant for his book “Working from Within! Chicana and Chicano Educators in US Schools”, which is to be published by University of Arizona Press.  

Dr. Angela Valenzuela
Dr. Valenzuela was covered in the August 27, 2007 issue of Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education in an article titled “Portes, Valencia and Valenzuela on Educational Equity.”  You can view this article online at http://www.hispanicoutlook.com/.

The Texas Center for Education Policy
The Texas Center for Education Policy’s (Dr. Angela Valenzuela is director) “Texas Faces the Future” lecture series was covered in the Daily Texan on November 21, 2007 in a front page article titled “Texas state colleges need improvement, says commissioner”. Dr. Raymond Paredes, Texas commissioner of higher education, was the speaker at this lecture.

UTeach Natural Sciences
UTeach was mentioned in the Washington Post on December 20, 2007 in an article titled “To draw top teachers to troubled schools, foundation will offer $30,000 stipends”.  You can view this article online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/
article/2007/12/19/AR2007121902292.html?referrer=emailarticle.

UTeach was mentioned in Chronicle of Higher Education.  You can view this article online at http://chronicle.com/weekly/v54/i17/17a00801.htm.

Urban Education Pilot Program

Teaching in inner-city classrooms presents a complex set of challenges. While it is clear that all children need effective education in a safe and nurturing learning environment, issues such as economic inequities, high teacher turn-over and lack of access to new technologies are among the challenges in urban educational settings. Realizing there was a need for an educational alternative, The University of Texas at Austin Elementary School was opened in 2003. The school, located in East Austin, primarily serves children of color from socio-economically disadvantaged households.  It launched the first university-school-community partnership of its kind in the state and allows public school educators the exciting opportunity to apply new knowledge garnered in the academic setting directly to the classroom. The success of this program has been immense and it is currently the only school in East Austin to have earned an exemplary rating under the Texas Education Agency assessment system in the last 5 years.

The Urban Education Pilot Program, which is set to begin in fall 2008, proposes to expand the University’s mission to prepare teachers for work in urban schools. “The program will build on what we have learned at the UT Elementary School in our first four years of operation,” says principal and CEO, Dr. Ramona Treviño. “It will also take advantage of the school’s role as a demonstration site for implementation of best teaching practices.”  This pilot program will involve a cohort of future elementary teachers in a carefully structured set of courses and experiences.

Planning for the pilot program is well underway and a grant has been written to create a best practices manual. Through spring and summer 2008, a hands-on teaching manual that incorporates best practices demonstrated at the UT Elementary School will be created and used as a curriculum resource for the program. The manual will be designed for use by university students in the Urban Education Pilot, as well as for dissemination to teachers in partner schools that will host these students in their teaching practicum. “This is the first time all professors who are involved in the pilot will be in alignment in terms of methodologies used in their methods classes,” Dr. Treviño said.  University professors will be trained to implement the pilot and approximately 25 undergraduate students will enroll in the cohort in fall 2008.

The two methodologies that will be emphasized in the professional development training include: Response to Intervention (RTI) and Social/Emotional Learning (SEL). The RTI method prescribes early and frequent assessment of each student, which allows for prompt identification of learning difficulties and concepts that need strategic interventionneed reinforcement. SEL is a vital element in the education of young children, particularly in inner-city classrooms.  It is designed to promote skills such as respect, problem solving, empathy, communication and teamwork. Both methods have been successfully implemented at the UT Elementary School.

The program will work in collaboration with the College of Education, UT Elementary School, Division of Diversity and Community Engagement and the Austin Independent School District.

In addition to Dr. Treviño serving as the project coordinator, Ms. Dottie Riemer Hall will serve as coordinator for university faculty participating in the cohort and is the pilot’s lead designer.

Staff Assignment Chart

Download/View the C&I Staff Support Procedures Chart - Effective January 2008 (pdf)

Staff Contact Information 

Consortium for Research in Teacher Education (CRTE)

Graduate student interest in teacher education as a field of inquiry was the catalyst for the formation of the Consortium for Research in Teacher Education (CRTE). Leading educational researchers Drs. Ken Zeichner and Carl Grant, both of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, visited The University of Texas at Austin in Spring 2007 to discuss the impact of multicultural education on the preparation of teachers and education in general. That lecture attracted numerous graduate students and doctoral candidates from UT who shared a desire to concentrate their coursework and research on various aspects of teacher education.  Inspired by their common interests, these graduate students held subsequent conversations about ways to support each other in their research and professional development throughout their years in graduate school and beyond.  Soon, the initial enthusiasm of these gatherings morphed into formal goals and a mission statement for what would be CRTE.  Over the course of only a few months, a constitution and bylaws were drafted, an executive committee was elected, and Dr. Sherry Field was named faculty advisor.  By September 2007, the interdisciplinary graduate student organization known as the Consortium for Research in Teacher Education was born.

During the fall 2007 semester, CRTE held a Bagel Brunch for UT faculty members and researchers from across the campus whose work related to teacher education.  The inaugural event was an opportunity for guests to learn about the broad aims of the consortium’s founding members and to offer recommendations for producing fiscal and scholarly strength in the beginning stages of the organization’s development.  With the assistance of College of Education faculty members, it did not take long for word of this new research-focused graduate student organization to spread.  To date, the Consortium has a membership of 32 from ten program areas, including Curriculum Studies, Social Studies Education, Language and Literacy Studies, Science and Mathematics Education, Cultural Studies in Education, Multicultural Special Education, Learning Disabilities and Behavior Disorders, Educational Psychology, Foreign Language Education, Bilingual/Bicultural Studies, and Instructional Technology.

The tremendous efforts of its members and faculty advisor has produced several events for this spring, including an induction meeting where Curriculum and Instruction Chair Dr. Larry Abraham spoke about the UTeach program and its national replication; a reading group devoted to exploring theory and its relationship to teacher education specifically; a research “jam” session where students informally converse about their interests in order to clarify their research questions, theoretical frameworks, and methodologies; and a presentation by Dr. Lisa Goldstein about how to navigate the upcoming American Education Research Association Annual Meeting in New York City.  With support from the College of Education, CRTE is hosting a one-day teacher education symposium on April 12 in the Sanchez Building.  The keynote speakers will be Dr. Susan Goldman and Dr. Jim Pellegrino of the Center for the Study of Instruction, Learning and Teacher Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  The theme of this year’s symposium is  “Modern Challenges in Teacher Education.”  With their eyes toward long-term partnerships with future alumni and the production of a peer-reviewed publication, the members of CRTE are leading the way for more pronounced teacher education research among graduate students in the College of Education.

Staff Stuff

Laura Havlick’s son, Michael Castillo, successfully completed his four-year term with the Army.  He was promoted to Sergeant and earned a Master’s degree in Data Information Systems while he was serving in Seoul, South Korea.  He moved back to Austin in October 2007 and now is working full time at a local business.  We know that Laura is proud of her son and is happy to have him back in Austin and we are glad for her.

Grad Gab

Brian Fortney
“Evaluating Change in Pre-service Teacher Beliefs Through Composite Concept Maps”; Association for Science Teacher Education (ASTE) International Conference; St. Louis, Missouri; January 9-12, 2008.

Attend National Association of Research in Science Teaching (NARST) Conference; Baltimore, Maryland; March 29-April 02, 2008

Irene Garza
Irene Garza, a Ph.D. student in Bilingual/Bicultural Education, and Dr. Lourdes Diaz Soto presented at the 15th Early Childhood Reconceptualizing Conference in Hong Kong and were able to visit two early childhood centers. The conference focused on “growing up global”.

Angela Gatto
Attended the National Council of Teachers of English Conference; New York City, NY; November 14-18, 2007.

Dr. Benjamin Kramer
Dr. Kramer, Summer 2007 graduate of the Curriculum Studies program, received the 2007 Outstanding Dissertation Award by the Second Language Research Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association (AERA).  This award was given for his doctoral dissertation entitled, “Examining Hybrid Spaces for Newcomer English Language Learners: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Email Exchanges with Business Professionals.”

Melody Patterson
Attended the National Council of Teachers of English Conference; New York City, NY; November 14-18, 2007.

Vanessa Svihla
Vanessa Svihla, doctoral student in Science and Mathematics Education, was awarded an Honorable mention from Learning Sciences of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) SIG for best student paper.  Her paper was titled, “Learning to Design: The Role of Authenticity and the Distribution of Cognition in Student Design Teams.”

Daniel Steve Villarreal
Daniel Steve Villarreal, a Ph.D. student in Foreign Language Education, was one of only 16 UT-Austin students selected for inclusion in Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.  Daniel also serves as a Graduate Student Representative in the Student Government and has just been reelected for a second term.

Theodore Chao, Steven Greenstein, and Luz Angelica Maldonado
Attended data analysis meeting as a member of Dr. Susan Empson’s SRI scaling up research team; San Jose, California; February 4-6, 2008.

Recent Faculty Travel and Presentations

Faculty Presentations and Duties at the AERA Annual Conference (May 2008)
Dr. Jim Barufaldi
“Evidence for Change in Pre-service Teacher Belief Structures”

Dr. Christopher Brown
“Pre-service Teachers Figuring their Identities as Developmentally”

Dr. Lisa Cary
“Critical Feminisms: an Australian Journey from Opposition to Interruption”

Dr. Susan Empson
“Enhancing Mathematics Learning with Technology: Civic, Teacher, Student, and Content Perspectives on Scaling up SIMCALC” and “Classroom Mathematical Argumentation as Joint Activity: A New Framework for Understanding an Important Classroom Practice”

Dr. Sherry Field
Research Presentation on Cases of Exemplary Social Studies Teaching in Elementary Schools

Dr. Louis Harrison
“Ethnic Differences in Physical Education Teachers’ Cultural Competency”

Dr. Deborah Horan
“Composition Renderings: An Interpretative Review of Conceptual and Empirical Research on Writing”

Dr. Joan Hughes
“Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK): A Conceptual Framework with Examples for Integrating Technologies into Teacher Education”

Dr. Min Liu
“What Factors Make a New Media Learning Environment Engaging: A Case Study”

Dr. Beth Maloch
“Genre Study: a Cross-Case Analysis of Two Teachers Teaching Fantasy” and “Grouping for Reading Instruction”

Dr. Jill Marshall
“What Drives Novice Science Teachers’ Implementation of Project-Based Instruction?”

Dr. Taylor Martin
 “Teaching for Innovation and Efficiency in Engineering”

Dr. Melissa Mosley
“Racial Literacy in Teacher Education: Tackling Whiteness Studies and Critical Race Theory in Book Club Discussions”

Dr. Catherine Riegle-Crumb
“The Intersection of Course-Taking and Test Scores; Differences by Students’ Race/Ethnicity and School Context.”

Dr. Cinthia Salinas
“Curriculum Considerations for Late-Arrival High School Immigrant Students: Developing a Critically Conscious World Geography Studies Approach to Citizenship Education”

“Diversity and Educational Change: Adapting Educational Theories and Cultural Myths in the Pursuit of Understanding” and “ Selecting and Enacting the official Curriculum”

Dr. Lourdes Diaz Soto
“Pre-Service Bilingual Teacher Preparation: Examining Policy, Preparation”

Dr. Luis Urrieta
“Positioning and Self-Authoring Among Youth Offenders in a Prison/College – Figured World” and “It’s One of those Things I Just Am”

Dr. Mary Jo Worthy
“Grouping for Reading instruction: a Cross-Case Analysis of Guided Reading in Two 1st-Grade Classrooms”  (Continued on page 13)

Other Conferences/Presentations:
Dr. Lawrence Abraham
“Synergistic Alternating Muscle Activation Patterns During Moderate Intensity Sustained Isometric Contractions”; Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience; San Diego, California; November 3-7, 2007.

Texas Association of Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance (TAPHERD) Conference; Galveston, Texas; November 29-30, 2007

Dr. Jim Barufaldi
Plenary Lecture; International Council of Associations for Science Education (ICASE) Asian Symposium 2007, by the invitation of Mahidol University; Bangkok, Thailand; November 3-11, 2007.

Conference for the Advancement of Science Teaching; Austin, Texas; November 15-17, 2007.

Regional Conference of National Science Teachers Association (NSTA); Birmingham, Alabama; December 6-7, 2007.

Regional Conference of U.S. Department of Education’s Mathematics and Science Partnerships Project Directors and State Coordinators; San Francisco, California; Feb. 13-15, 2008.

Dr. Anthony Brown
“What my Teacher (won’t) Can’t Tell Me:  Curriculum Knowledge, African Americans and Teaching about State Sanctioned Violence”; 2007 Meeting of the College and University Faculty Assembly; San Diego, California; November 28-29, 2007.

Dr. Guadalupe Carmona
Pepperdine Univeristy; Los Angeles, California; March 03-09, 2008.

Dr. Sherry Field
Kappa Delta Pi Convention; Louisville, Kentucky; November 26 to December 4, 2007.

National Council for the Social Studies Conference; San Diego, California; November 26-December 4, 2007.

“Exemplary Elementary Social Studies in an Era of NCLB: Three Case Studies”; Hawaii International Conference on Education; Honolulu, Hawaii; January 4-9, 2008.

Research Presentation on Teaching and Learning about the Holocaust during Teacher Candidacy; American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education; New Orleans, Louisiana; February 5-12, 2008.

Dr. Douglas Foley
Reclaiming Cultural Artifacts under the NAGPRA; The Meskwaki Case at the American Anthropological Association; Washington, DC; November 28-December 2, 2007.

Dr. Kevin Foster
The Association of Professionals in Student Affairs hosted Dr. Kevin Foster on January 10, 2008 for a discussion on the social, cultural and structural factors affecting students’ educational outcomes.

Dr. James Hoffman
“Making Home Language Books in South Africa: What about South Texas?”; Texas State Reading Association; Austin, Texas; November 9-11, 2007.

Annual National Reading Conference; Austin, Texas; November 28-December 1, 2007.

“The Ithuba Writing Project:  Authoring Texts in Home Languages”; Symposium on the Promotion of National Language Instruction in Africa; Ottawa, Canada; December 16-19, 2007.

Dr. Deborah Horan
“Composition Renderings: An Interpretative Review of Conceptual and Empirical Research on Writing”; National Reading Conference; Austin, Texas; November 27-December 1, 2007.

American Association of Applied Linguistics Conference; New York City, NY and Washington, DC; March 23-31, 2008.

Dr. Elaine Horwitz
Annual Conference of the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages and the Editorial Board Meeting of the Modern Language Journal; San Antonio, Texas; November 15-18, 2007.

Dr. Joan Hughes
“The Development of Teacher TPCK by Instructional Approach: Tools, Videocase, and Problems of Practice”; Annual Conference of the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education; Las Vegas, Nevada; March 3-7, 2008.

Dr. Beth Maloch
National Reading Conference; Austin, Texas; November 28-December 1, 2007.

Dr. Jill Marshall
“Teacher’s Mathematical Modeling of  Motion” American Association of Physics Teachers Conference; Baltimore, Maryland; January 19-23, 2008.

“Uteach Replication: Impacting Teacher Preparation at a University Near You”; Texas Section Meeting American Association of Physics Teachers; Corpus Christi, Texas; March 6-8, 2008.

The Texas Section Meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers Conference; Corpus Christi; March 6-8, 2008.

Dr. Taylor Martin
Research Findings Presentation; Vanderbuilt; Evanston, Illinois; January 3-4, 2008.

Lecture; The Learning Sciences Research Institute; Nottingham, United Kingdom; February 14-29, 2008.

Dr. Melissa Mosley
Educational Leadership 5th Annual Conference; La Cross, Wisconsin; November 15-18, 2007.

Annual National Reading Conference; Austin, Texas; November 28-December 1, 2007.

Dr. Zena Moore
“Successful African American Foreign Language Learners”; American Council for Teachers of Foreign Languages; San Antonio, Texas; November 15-18, 2007.

Dr. Stuart Reifel
“Research and Dialogue on Play Matters”; 2007 Conference of the National Association for the Education of Young Children; Chicago, Illinois; November 6-11, 2007.

“Classroom Play Text Analysis: Analytic Technique” and “Block Play Research: Multiple Meanings Revisited”; Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of Play; Tempe, Arizona; March 5-8, 2008.

Dr. Paul Resta
“Teacher Development in an E-Learning Age: Global Issues and Trends”, Invited Plenary, International Council of Associations for Science Education (ICASE) Asian Symposium 2007 Annual Conference, Pattaya, Thailand, Resta, P., November 2007.

“21st Century Skills, Schools and Technology”, Invited Speaker, 2007 Fall Education Dialogue, The University of Texas Elementary School, Austin, Texas, Resta, P., November 2007. 

Plenary Lecture; International Council of Associations for Science Education (ICASE) Asian Symposium 2007, by the invitation of Mahidol University; Bangkok, Thailand; November 3-10, 2007.

“Teaching in Exponential Times”, Invited Speaker, College of Education Commencement Ceremony, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, Resta, P., December 2007.

“Future of Learning”, Invited Panel, Institute for Advanced Technology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, Resta, P., Tothero, K., December 2007

“Virtual World Teaching in Second Life – Is Anyone Learning?”; Invited Panel, Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment (DIIA) 2008 Teaching and Learning Colloquium: Innovations and Basics for Learning, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, Resta, P., Jarmon, L., Bump, J., January 2008.  

2008 Annual Conference of the Association of Teacher Educators; New Orleans, Louisiana;  February 22-27, 2008.

Dr. Catherine Riegle-Crumb
The Sociology of Education Association Annual Conference; Asilomar, California; February 22-24, 2008

Dr. Haydee Rodriguez
“Remembering Who You Are: Latina Pre-service Teachers’ Exploration of Identity Through Reading and Writing”; National Association of Bilingual Education Conference; Tampa, Florida; February 6-9, 2008.

Dr. Nancy Roser
Board Member; United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY); National Council of Teachers of English; New York City, NY; February 15-17, 2008.

Dr. Cinthia Salinas
“Educating Late Arrival High School Immigrant Students: A Call for a more Democratic Social Studies Curriculum”; 2007 Program of the College and Faculty Assembly; November 27-December 1, 2007.

Annual Conference of the National Association of Bilingual Education (NABE); Tampa, Florida; February 5-9, 2008.

Dr. Joan Shiring
“Food for Thought: Motivating Reluctant Writers with Multicultural Poems Celebrating Food and Eating”; 2008 Annual Conference of the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts; Houston, Texas; January 25, 2008.

Dr. Alison Skerrett
Annual Reading Conference; Austin, Texas; November 28-December 1, 2007.

Dr. Lourdes Diaz Soto
“The Voices of Young Immigrants”; 15th Annual Early Childhood Reconceptualizing Conference; Hong Kong, HK; December 11-20, 2007.

Dr. Valerie Taylor
National Council of Teachers of English Conference; New York City, NY; November 14-18, 2007.

Drs. Jim Barufaldi, Lupita Carmona, and Paul Resta
North America and the Dilemma of Integration Conference; Mexico City; February 25-27, 2008; Sponsored by the Provost Office at UT Austin, The Lozano Long Institute for Latin American Studies, and the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law.  See the full story on the UT website, “2.4 Million Program Aims to Revive Earth and Space Science Teaching in Texas Public Schools.” Also view the “Educational Panel” article on page 4-5 of this newsletter. 

Tech Tip

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With Zotero, you can capture the citation information from Web pages automatically, take notes on them flexibly, and also easily organize them in the ways you want.

Zotero is a free and opensource. One limitation of it is that it works only with Firefox.

URL: http://www.zotero.org/

This tech tip brought to you by the IDEA Studio – Providing Innovative Design for Educational Applications. Visit us in SZB 437, call us at 232-2189, or email us at IDEAS@teachnet.edb.utexas.edu.

About Our Department

The work of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction includes core contributions to teacher preparation, educational research and service. Faculty members teach courses, provide professional and public service, and conduct research in the areas of early childhood education, language and literacy, math and science education, social studies education, multilingual education, cultural studies in education, instructional technology, and curriculum studies. These activities involve active collaborations with colleagues in other departments, other colleges, and area PK-12 schools. Graduate students play an important role in the teaching, research, and service activities of the department.