Friday Memo 5/22/15
Monthly Memo
During the summer the Friday memo will be more like a monthly memo, so here is the May Memo.
Director of Teacher Education
Carl passes the torch (actually, it is the Director door plate) to Sheri!
Carl Holschen, Sheri Brandt, and I met to discuss the variety of job duties for which Sheri will now be responsible. Thanks again, Carl, for your service to our division. You will be missed!
Director of Teacher Education
Carl passes the torch (actually, it is the Director door plate) to Sheri!
Carl Holschen, Sheri Brandt, and I met to discuss the variety of job duties for which Sheri will now be responsible. Thanks again, Carl, for your service to our division. You will be missed!
Lead Instructor Meeting- Syllabi project
Mark your calendars for a required meeting for all lead instructors - Thursday, June 11th 9:30am (location TBD) - 11:30am. You should have just received an email describing more details about this meeting. Sheri Brandt, David Collum, Tim Delicath, and I met yesterday to discuss the new syllabi revisions that must take place this summer. All lead teachers who are responsible for a master syllabus will need to be in attendance. Our goal is to show you what revisions need to be made and provide you with time during this meeting to complete the updates at our meeting. Our hope is that you will not have any homework after this meeting regarding the syllabus updates. Please bring a copy of your current syllabus and a laptop if you have one.
Canvas Training
The Center for Distance Learning hosted a Canvas Training session a few weeks ago. I can't speak for everyone in attendance, but I was VERY impressed with the capabilities of Canvas. I think you are all going to be pleased with this new Learning Management System. This summer will be a time for you to learn more about Canvas. Please reference the email Greg Comfort sent with a link to the Canvas Training Modules. CDL is tracking which faculty members have completed the training. I want to strongly encourage you to set aside some time to complete the modules. The entire training should take you about one hour. However, you can do the modules a little bit at a time. I had a few minutes the other day so I began working on the first video and quiz assignment. Thanks to the Center for Distance Learning for creating and providing us with this training.
Retirement Reception
What a wonderful celebration in the Perk to honor our retirees! The food and fellowship were fantastic.
Updating Graduate Brochures
Debbie Dumey, Jenny Gravatt, Kristie Breeding, and program directors have been working to create and update very professional brochures. We are getting close to having these printed and ready to distribute. If you are able and interested in helping us promote our graduate programs, please stop by Debbie Dumey's office to pick up some brochures. Recruitment is a team effort, and we need everyone to spread the word about our high-quality graduate programs.
Student evaluations
Hopefully, you have taken some time to read your students' evaluations of your spring course(s). Actually, I don't hope you have read them - I expect you to read them. You should view these evaluations as a gift or a tool that can help you be a better teacher. Please reference emails from the provost's office that show you how to access your evaluations. I have read every word of the spring student evaluations. I will be contacting individual instructors if there are issues that need to be addressed. If you don't hear from me, assume that I am pleased with your student evaluations. Always, feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss your student evaluations.
As I was reading them this time, I noted some of the positive comments. I will be sharing some of the positive comments in the blog to celebrate and encourage all of you to keep up the great work in the classroom!
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Recent graduates find employment
I ran into Wally Ferguson the other day, and he was so excited to tell me that he got a job in the Fort Zumwalt school district. I had the pleasure of having Wally in one of my classes when I taught at St. Charles Community College. To watch him graduate and then find a job brings me such joy! I know you all feel that same sense of accomplishment when your students successfully complete the journey and make their way out into the position for which they have prepared. If you learn that your students find jobs, please have them contact our office so we can track that information and celebrate with them. Job placement data is now being required of us on most of our accreditation reports. It is often difficult for us to find this information. We appreciate your help in this area.
MoPTA Scoring
Alicia Noddings attended the MAECTE (Missouri Association of Early Childhood Teacher Education) conference and learned some important information about two topics I want to share with all of you - MoPTA scoring and TEACH grants available.
DESE is looking for people willing to score the MoPTA starting this fall. Please be watching your email for training opportunities. They will be paying $23.50/hour for MoPTA scoring.
TEACH grant money available
$1M in TEACH scholarships available by 6/16 for MO EC / ECSE majors!
Do you know anyone working at least 30 hours a week with children (teacher, support, or administrator) in a Missouri
licensed child care facility? Would that person like to work
toward an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in early childhood education,
early childhood special education, or child development at a Missouri
college or university ? If so,
those individuals could be eligible for thousands of dollars in TEACH scholarship money!
The Missouri TEACH program has received an additional $1 million
that needs to be distributed / allocated to Missouri post-secondary
students
by 6/16. The application process is easy, and students could have funds for classes as early as this fall.
Please forward this information to folks who might be interested or
know others who are. TEACH not only pays 75-90% of books and tuition
for 9-15 credit hours over three consecutive semesters, but also
provides release time funds for employers and
other funds such as a travel stipend. Visit
http://www.teach-missouri.org or call (800) 200-9017 for all the
details. Alicia Noddings is also happy to help connect you with TEACH if
she can provide assistance.
SCC Articulation Agreement
Alicia Noddings and I met with Kathy Drews, Director of the Child Development Program at St. Charles Community College to discuss our articulation agreement. We shared information about our programs and discussed ways to provide a seamless bridge for her students to complete their degree here at MBU.
SCC Articulation Agreement
Alicia Noddings and I met with Kathy Drews, Director of the Child Development Program at St. Charles Community College to discuss our articulation agreement. We shared information about our programs and discussed ways to provide a seamless bridge for her students to complete their degree here at MBU.
AACTE PEDS Report & DESE Pipeline Report
Kathleen Wendt, Angela McGowan, Heather Brase, Tonia Crane, and I worked diligently to compile the data requested for these two reports. A big shout out to all involved. These reports are lengthy and collecting the data is a tedious process at times.
Campus Labs: Compliance Assist Training
Alicia Noddings, Gina Walker, and I attended training to learn more about the Compliance Assist - Accreditation Module of Campus Labs. You will be hearing more about this in the near future. We need to begin managing our data utilizing this excellent tool.
Upcoming Meetings and Events:
June 11 9:30am - 11:30am Lead Instructor Syllabi Meeting Location: TBA
I pray that you are able to take some time this Memorial Day weekend to remember those who have died while serving in the U. S. Armed Forces.
Philippians 1:3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.
Have a blessed weekend,
Melanie
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