51ÁÔĆć

Everybody agrees that teaching children to read is important. That’s why it is a key focus in the School of Education’s literacy programs.

Leanne Evans and Annie Marcks of 51ÁÔĆć’s Department of Teaching and Learning lead the efforts to prepare students to use evidence-based practices to teach reading.

Evans, an associate professor and co-chair of the Inclusive Early Childhood Teacher Education program, focuses on inclusive early childhood literacy and language development. Marcks is coordinator of the Wisconsin Foundations of Reading Test (WI FoRT), which prepares aspiring teachers for this test required to become licensed. She also teaches literacy courses in early childhood and elementary/middle education programs. 

Teaching students with a wide range of abilities

Preparing effective classroom reading and literacy teachers is vital, according to research.

Statistics show that children who aren’t reading well by the end of third grade are at higher risk of not graduating from high school. More than a quarter of Wisconsin elementary students were reading at “below basic level” on standardized tests in the spring of 2022. Only 37% were rated proficient or advanced. Reading levels were much lower in large urban districts like Milwaukee with high numbers of low-income students. In those districts, more than half of third- through eighth-graders were below basic, and only 14% were reading at proficient or advanced levels. 

“Aspiring teachers need to learn how to most effectively work with each child.”

One of the top priorities, according to Marcks and Evans, is to ensure the teacher education programs center on how students are prepared to teach reading and writing to children coming to school with a wide range of abilities.

“We recognize that there are going to be students all across the literacy learning spectrum,” Marcks said. “Children come to school with various levels of skills and experiences. In our programs, we recognize the importance of developing responsive teachers for all children and youth, such as building knowledge and competencies in multilingualism and neurodiversity.”
 
Aspiring teachers need to learn how to most effectively work with each child, Evans said. So, using research-based strategies and effective practices, and monitoring progress, are essential to meeting the circumstances of all children, she added.
 
When 51ÁÔĆć education students go into a classroom, a key part of their learning is assessing the children in the class to identify individual needs and develop approaches that work for each child.

“We keep this as a strong component in preparing future reading teachers,” Evans said. â€œIn addition, we encourage our university students to be reflective in their teaching practices. For example, they ask themselves, am I responding to students’ backgrounds and life experiences? Are students reading fluently? Are they able to use their phonics and decoding skills to figure out the word?”

New legislation

Wisconsin legislation passed in 2023, scheduled to go into effect for the 2024-2025 school year, provides guidelines on teaching reading. It also provides some financial incentives to help school districts improve the way reading is taught. (Some aspects of the legislation, Act 20, may be delayed due to concerns from school districts and education organizations over deadlines and curriculum choices.) 

The new legislation mandates that teachers use a “science of reading” approach that emphasizes research-based literacy practices rather than a “three-cueing” approach that some large districts had been using. This technique is considered controversial because it places an emphasis on students using the meaning of the sentence or context, sentence structure and visual cues to decipher meaning instead of using strategies to decode words.

“A key to teaching reading, Evans and Marcks agree, is fostering the love and joy of reading by prioritizing topics the young readers are interested in and providing opportunities for them to see themselves represented within the pages.”

The state budget provides $50 million to fund the bill’s requirements. That includes money for training teachers, hiring reading coaches and buying new curriculum materials. The legislation also increases the number of annual reading screenings to help identify students who would benefit from more differentiated instruction.
 
“Annie and I looked at the legislation and found we were closely aligned with it,” Evans said. “Some of the terminology has changed, which we are adapting into our curriculum.”

For example, instead of using terms like “running records,” the 51ÁÔĆć program uses the term “oral reading record,” Marcks said. 

“As a whole, we’ve been doing an effective job of fitting in all the components of the legislation, and our students are very well-prepared,” Evans said.  
 
The approach to 51ÁÔĆć’s education curriculum in the context of Act 20 is to continue the commitment to research-based practice and to review and adapt any terminology to be sure it aligns with the intent of the legislation, she added. Faculty will also need to be prepared to answer students’ questions about the impact of the new mandates on how they teach.

“We want to make sure our students are well-prepared to be literacy teachers and understand the legislation before they go into the classroom,” Evans said.  
 
“We will continue to monitor the progress,” Evans said, to make sure 51ÁÔĆć’s graduates are up to date on what will be required of them as they enter classrooms. The School of Education also has a literacy council, which meets regularly to discuss legislation, research and the classroom experiences of student teachers.  
 
A key to teaching reading, Evans and Marcks agree, is fostering the love and joy of reading by prioritizing topics the young readers are interested in and providing opportunities for them to see themselves represented within the pages.

The changes mandated by the new law are already being put in place in some classrooms, especially in early childhood programs, Evans said. “Our students say what they see in their field experiences fits in with what they are learning at 51ÁÔĆć. These are essential connections for our future teachers.”  
 

When an  officer died by suicide in 2017, it shook the close-knit community of police officers to its core.

“His tragic situation definitely had an effect on every officer here,” Lt. Brandon Vande Hei said.

The officer’s death prompted now-retired Lt. Lisa Skenandore and others to create a program to help ensure other officers on the 65,000-acre reservation just west of Green Bay wouldn’t feel they had to end their lives when in crisis.

To read the rest of the story, visit the webpage.

An EYEth Day celebration is set for the 51ÁÔĆć campus Saturday, April 6, as part of American Sign Language Awareness Month.

Among the featured events are a Deaf business showcase from 3-5 p.m. in the 51ÁÔĆć Union Wisconsin Room, a “sign and dine” gathering in the Union Gasthaus from 5-6:30 p.m., and a free concert at 7 p.m. with Wawa Snipe, a deaf hip hop musician in the Wisconsin Room.

EYEth Day is an imaginative concept representing a planet tailored for those who communicate through visual and manual means, according to Sunny Brysch, program director of the School of Education’s American Sign Language Studies program. Unlike on Earth, this planet fosters a world where signing is the primary means of communication, she explained.

Snipe uses the term to describe his music, which showcases hip hop through Deaf eyes, educating the audience about Deaf musicians in the hearing world. His 2016 album, “Deaf, So What?” focused on showing that what was perceived as a disadvantage can be an inspiration to pursue music without the sense of hearing.

He performed the National Anthem at in 2021.

Musical theatre major Aidan Black’s interest in American Sign Language was sparked in high school. So when he was choosing a language credit at 51ÁÔĆć, he signed up for an ASL course in 51ÁÔĆć’s School of Education. 

Now ASL is an integral part of his role in the Skylight Music Theatre’s production of “Spring Awakening,” which incorporates deaf and hearing actors. The Tony-award winning rock musical is based on an earlier play about teen angst and sexual awakening in the 19^th century. It opens March 1 and runs through March 17 at Skylight, 158 N. Broadway in Milwaukee. 

To read the rest of the story, visit the 51ÁÔĆć Report webpage.

The School of Education is introducing a new graduate program in applied behavior analysis (ABA) during the summer of 2024 to help fill a nationwide need for board certified applied behavior analysts who employ a culturally relevant lens in their practice. 

The Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) graduate program will be available online and can be completed as a stand-alone certificate, in which 22 credits are spread across four consecutive semesters. A special tuition rate of $600 per credit applies to all 22 credits in the ABA program. All credits from the certificate program can also be applied toward a 30-credit, online master’s degree in exceptional education, which can be completed online and in as few as five consecutive semesters. 

As a form of therapy, applied behavioral analysis is evidence-based and focuses on building social skills, communication skills, academic skills, self-care skills, and motor dexterity.

Coursework in the ABA certificate program and the exceptional education master’s degree program emphasizes social justice while addressing issues and trends related to equitable service delivery, according to Sara Jozwik, associate professor of teaching and learning, who co-led development of the ABA program with Elizabeth Drame, professor of teaching and learning and special assistant to the vice chancellor of the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Denise Ross-Page, chair of inclusive education at Kennesaw State University. 51ÁÔĆć doctoral candidate, Carisa Johnson, also plays a critical role in the ongoing coordination and management of the ABA graduate program.  

As a form of therapy, applied behavioral analysis is evidence-based and focuses on building social skills, communication skills, academic skills, self-care skills, and motor dexterity. Principles of applied behavioral analysis are used in practice to increase helpful behaviors while decreasing harmful behaviors, where the categories of “helpful” and “harmful” are described with input from individuals with disability labels and/or their caregivers. The broader goal of applied behavioral analysts is to change socially significant behavior to a degree deemed meaningful to respective stakeholders, including individuals and caregivers. 

The curriculum for 51ÁÔĆć’s graduate ABA program includes the (ABAI) Verified Course Sequence (VCS). Along with coursework, candidates can complete experience hours and must pass a culminating exam to become Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs). BCBAs can meet community needs in a wide range of settings. 

“BCBAs provide behavioral health support for children and youth with various support needs while working in school settings, health care agencies, or nonprofit organizations,” Jozwik said. 

Through skilled collaboration and the application of scientifically based principles, BCBAs can help individuals and families to set goals, implement supports, and establish routines that lead to socially significant changes in behavior, she added.  

There is an increasing demand for behavioral health services, which may be covered through insurance. “Insurance requires evidence-based practice and applied behavior analysis is evidence-based,” Jozwik said. 

Need for evidence-based services

The need for evidence-based services is particularly critical in southeastern Wisconsin.  

Families often rely on private insurance to access evidence-based services for children and youth with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities. The demand for BCBAs exceeds the supply available in public sectors, therefore “access to behavioral health support is often restricted along the lines of race and socioeconomic status,” Jozwik said. 

One community partner with whom the 51ÁÔĆć program is working offers comprehensive and specialized applied behavioral analysis therapy services. The partner’s location is accessible by public transit, and their services are covered through Wisconsin’s Forward Health/Medicaid program. However, the agency currently has a long waiting list because of staffing shortages.  

51ÁÔĆć’s program is working to address such shortages while infusing its curriculum with a focus fostering cultural humility and addressing knowledge gaps related to race and cultural factors, according to Jozwik.  

“We designed the courses in the program to encourage candidates to explore issues related to racial equity by including exercises that facilitate understanding of internal biases and exploration of systemic oppression,” Jozwik said. The goal, she added, is to develop applied behavior analysts who use communication skills and demonstrate competencies that serve the needs of our broader community while practicing with cultural humility.  

Because the courses for the certificate or degree program are all online, working professionals can self-pace their learning, according to Jozwik. “The advantage of this cost-effective program is that people can complete coursework anywhere, in any time zone.” 

American Sign Language (ASL) is the third most common language in the United States, after English and Spanish. The 51ÁÔĆć School of Education’s ASL Studies program is the only four-year bachelor’s degree program in Wisconsin, and one of only a few in the region, according to Sunny Brysch, director of the program.

To support its efforts, the program recently completed an expansion and renovation of its 2^nd floor lab, more than doubling the size and renaming the area the ASL Enrichment Center. The reconstruction was supported through donations, with the Stackner Family Foundation providing a generous lead gift.   

The program has also developed online asynchronous classes to expand learning beyond the campus. Beginning in the spring semester of 2024, the ASL Studies program will be offering its first-ever asynchronous ASL course. These self-paced modules, completed exclusively online, will reach even more students beyond 51ÁÔĆć. “The benefit of an asynchronous course is it provides students the flexibility to learn ASL when it is convenient for them while still receiving high quality instruction moderated by a native user of ASL,” said Brysch.  

Currently the ASL program enrolls more than 500 students. ASL Studies offers both a major and a minor. While many students choose the ASL/English interpreting program, others pair it with majors like healthcare, psychology, communications and criminal justice. In addition, many students start ASL to fulfill a language requirement.  

The newly expanded enrichment center gives students a chance to immerse themselves in Deaf language and culture, Brysch said. Before the remodeling, the limited lab space was only available to upper level ASL and interpreter training students. “Our program had grown by leaps and bounds, but the space had not,” Brysch said.    

The goal in renovating the area was to expand it to all ASL students to develop one community of learners. The School of Education programs strive for excellence in language fluency, cultural competency, and communication access – a key to creating equal opportunity for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Deaf Plus and Deaf Blind community, according to program leaders. The center is staffed by individuals who are deaf. CJ Guintolis-Dubois, teaching faculty in Teaching and Learning, is the lab coordinator.   

“Our ASL programs are an essential part of the mission of the School of Education,” said Andrew Davis, associate dean and head of school for the School of Education. There is a vast gulf between the number of people using ASL and services for people with ASL. “This includes a shortage of ASL English Interpreters and the ability of Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals to have equitable access to services such as healthcare, legal services, education, and most customer-facing businesses,” he added. “Our programs and the ASL Enrichment Center are key contributors in addressing these issues.” 

Students in the ASL and Interpreter Training programs provided more than 2,000 hours of service to schools and community organizations during the 2022-2023 school year, offering both support and social opportunities.  

The center is designed to be an inviting space serving the Deaf community in many ways. It will provide:  â€Ż 

• Maximize collaboration among students.  
• Language coaching to enhance the ASL studies and Interpreter programs.  
• Space to complete advanced homework assignments and projects.  
• A welcoming space for Deaf and hard-of-hearing students to find connections and develop leadership skills.  

An open house is planned for Fall 2024.   

Brice Christianson, an alumnus of the program who was featured in an online story and in the EdLine, was selected by the 51ÁÔĆć Alumni Association for a Graduate of the Last Decade award. He will be honored at the annual alumni awards ceremony Friday, Feb. 23.  

A psychological thriller that unravels into a clever, calculated mystery will take center stage tomorrow at the Racine Theatre Guild. American Sign Language interpretation by students in UW-Milwaukee’s ASL program will be provided during the performance on Friday, Jan. 19 at 7:30 pm.

For more information, visit the .