education

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State teacher association honoring two Lawrence alumnae with educator awards

Two educators, both of whom graduated from Lawrence University, will be recognized by the Wisconsin Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (WACTE).

Leila Pertl, a performing arts teacher at Appleton Public Montessori has been named one of the 2018 winners of WACTE’s Pre-Service Educator Mentor Award. Tierney Duffy, a K-8 Spanish teacher at Murray Language Academy in the Chicago School District is the recipient of an Early Career Educator Award.

Both will be be honored at an awards ceremony April 8 in Madison as well as on Sunday, May 6 at the home of Lawrence University President Mark Burstein.

Leila Pertl
Leila Pertl ’87

Pertl and Duffy were selected for the awards by faculty of Lawrence’s college and conservatory teacher education program. Each Wisconsin college or university that belongs to WACTE was invited to select a recipient for each award.

The Mentor Award recognizes an outstanding educator who has demonstrated a sustained pattern of mentoring pre-service educators for at least five years.

A 1987 Lawrence graduate, Pertl has enjoyed a teaching career spanning more than 30 years in several states, including the past five at at Appleton Public Montessori. In her current position, she has been instrumental in helping Lawrence conservatory students decide whether to pursue a career as a music educator.

Stewart Purkey, Bee Connell Mielke Professor of Education and associate professor of education at Lawrence, praised Pertl for her mantra: music is a birthright.

“That has become the conservatory’s unofficial motto and should be the nation’s,” said Purkey. “Leila’s energy and passion for teaching is electrifying and her bold, creative approach is contagious.

“All the students she has shepherded into the teaching profession would agree with a recent graduate who said Leila ‘was the catalyst that made me believe in the power and positive change that music teaching can do,’” Purkey added. “We’re honored to recognize her with this year’s Pre-Service Educator Award.”

In addition to her work at Appleton Montessori, Pertl teaches harp at the Lawrence Academy of Music and has served as the music education curator of Mile of Music since the festival was launched in 2013.

Tierney Duffy
Tierney Duffy ’16

The Early Career Educator Award honors outstanding educators within the first three years of their professional career.

Duffy, a 2016 Lawrence graduate with a major in Spanish, also coaches softball and cheerleading and advises the student council at Murray Language Academy, where she began her teaching career last fall.

Purkey described Duffy as a “caring, welcoming and encouraging teacher.”

“Tierney demonstrates respect for her students by challenging them academically as she responds to their lives and needs and nurtures their growth as people,” said Purkey.

He noted Civil Rights activist and educator Mary McLeod Bethune once famously said, “Our children must never lose their zeal for building a better world.”

“To that I would add, nor must our teachers,” added Purkey. “Because we believe Tierney is such a teacher, we are honored to name her the recipient of the Early Career Educator Award.”

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.”  Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Educators Cheryl Meyer, Britta Luteyn recognized with state teaching awards

Cheryl-Meyer_newsblog
Cheryl Meyer

Two educators with ties to Lawrence University have been recipients of awards from the Wisconsin Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (WACTE).

Cheryl Meyer, a vocal music specialist at Appleton’s Jefferson Elementary School,
is one of the 2016 winners of WACTE’s Pre-Service Educator Mentor Award while  Britta Luteyn, a 2012 Lawrence graduate, has been named an Early Career Educator Award winner.

Both will be honored Sunday, May 1at the home of Lawrence University President Mark Burstein.

Meyer and Luteyn were selected for the awards by faculty of Lawrence’s college and conservatory teacher education program. Each state college or university that belongs to WACTE was invited to select a recipient for each award.

The Mentor Award recognizes an outstanding educator who has demonstrated a sustained pattern of mentoring pre-service educators for at least five years.

Meyer has spent 31 years as a music teacher at Jefferson Elementary. She also has taught at the Fox River Academy and has spent 24 years at the Lawrence Academy of Music as one of the conductors of the Girl Choir, where she has been praised by students for the “unconditional respect she consistently offers to children and adults.”

Jefferson Elementary School Principal Lori Leschisin called Meyer “the most caring music teacher that I have ever had the honor of working with.”

During her career, Meyer has mentored 31 student teachers.

Stewart Purkey, Bee Connell Mielke Professor of Education and associate professor of education at Lawrence, said he “cannot think of a more deserving recipient of this award. Cheryl truly models the change we wish to see in this world.”

Meyer earned a bachelor of music degree from UW-Madison.

The Early Career Educator Award honors outstanding educators within the first three years of their professional career.

Britta Luteyn '12
Britta Luteyn ’12

Luteyn, who earned her Lawrence degree with a major in Spanish, is a fourth grade bilingual dual-language immersion teacher at Carl Sandburg Elementary School in Madison.

Citing her intelligence and instructional skill coupled with her kind, positive nature, Brett Wilfrid, principal at Sandburg Elementary, praised Luteyn as an “excellent educator” and consummate teammate” with whom colleagues request to work.

In congratulating Luteyn, Purkey referenced education pioneer Maria Montessori, who believed the fate of the future laid within all children.

“On behalf of Lawrence, we are honored to give this award to Britta, who, by touching the lives of the children under her care, creates a better future for all.

“We’re confident that in the years to come,” Purkey added, “her demonstrated enthusiasm for multicultural teaching and her passionate commitment to her students’ academic and emotional growth will make her a teacher children adore and parents seek out.”

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College” and Fiske’s Guide to Colleges 2016. Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Lawrence Receives $2.5 Million Gift to Endow Elementary Education Program

John&Sally-Mielke_newsblog
John and Sally Mielke

The Mielke family’s dedication to improving education in the Fox Cities is legendary.

Three generations of Mielkes have contributed time, talent, passion, vision and philanthropy to growing and sustaining educational programs and organizations that are almost too numerous to count.

Mielkes have taught — and still do — in public schools, trained future nurses and led education policy through extensive school board service. Dr. John and Sally Mielke helped create the Brain to Five initiative, an education series focused on early childhood development, and are among the driving forces behind the collaborative Community Early Learning Center that will launch later this year.

Their legacy grows with a $2.5 million gift from the Mielke Family Foundation in partnership with John, Sally and the Mielke family, to expand Lawrence University’s current teacher education program to include elementary teacher education beginning in the fall of 2015.

In honor of the family’s extraordinary investment in education studies and teacher training, the education program at Lawrence will be named the Mielke Family Department of Education.

Mark-Burstein-newsblog
President Mark Burstein

“Lawrence is honored to join the Mielke Family Foundation in this venture,” said Lawrence University president Mark Burstein. “This extraordinary investment will create an innovative educational path for excellent elementary teachers, open new doors for Lawrence students, and underscore the Fox Cities’ reputation as a family-friendly community where education is a shared priority. We are deeply thankful for the Mielke’s continued support of Lawrence.”

“Our family is privileged to call Appleton our hometown, where children are treasured and education is valued, starting at birth,” said John Mielke. “We thank Lawrence for what it adds to the educational community in Appleton.”

Lawrence’s education program currently offers teacher certification in grades 5-12 in computer science, English, math, social studies, and theatre arts and K-12 certification in art, music, foreign language and English as a Second Language. Approximately 10-12 percent of Lawrence graduates complete teacher certification. The teacher education program also is open to graduates of other colleges and universities.

“This extraordinary investment will create an innovative educational path for excellent elementary teachers, open new doors for Lawrence students, and underscore the Fox Cities’ reputation as a family-friendly community where education is a shared priority.”
   — President Mark Burstein

The new offerings in elementary education will increase the reach of Lawrence’s existing teacher education program, whose graduates are highly regarded by the principals in whose schools they work and by the parents of the students they teach. The expansion will feature a distinctive apprenticeship-based program of pre-K-6 teacher preparation.

Based on an emerging best-practice model, students pursuing teacher certification for pre-K-through grade 6 will spend an entire academic year in a local host school under the guidance of a cooperating teacher. As apprentice teachers, the Lawrence students will receive weekly, on-site, subject-specific methods instruction from master teachers.

Stewart Purkey_newsblog_copy
Stewart Purkey

“We believe this will become not only a signature program for Lawrence, but also a lighthouse program for Wisconsin,” said Stewart Purkey, the Bee Connell Mielke Professor of Education at Lawrence. “We are exceptionally pleased and proud that the Appleton Area School District has agreed to work with us as a partner in establishing it and we look forward to working closely with the district elementary teachers who will guide and shepherd our students.

“Not only is this wonderful news for Lawrence and our students, many of whom have expressed great interest in teaching elementary school but were not able to do so through our current program, but we think this is also good news for the elementary schools in which our graduates will teach,” Purkey added. “We believe Lawrence’s liberal arts based approach to teacher education is exactly the sort of background that will produce outstanding and effective elementary school teachers.”

Graduates of Lawrence’s present teacher education program have an in-depth major in an academic discipline, the breadth of knowledge gained from taking courses across the liberal arts and sciences and the focused professional knowledge in the art and craft of teaching. This will also be the case for Lawrence students in the elementary education program.

The Mielke Family Department of Education is the latest of numerous educational collaborations between Lawrence and the Mielke Family Foundation. Previously, the foundation has supported:
• the establishment of the Bee Connell Mielke Professor of Education in 1996, the first endowed professorship in the college’s education department.

• the establishment of the Edward F. Mielke Professorship in Ethics, Medicine Science and Society in 1987.

• the Mielke Summer Institute in the Liberal Arts, an initiative launched in 1996 that brings 25 area teachers to Bjorkunden, Lawrence’s northern campus in Door County, for a week-long, for-credit professional development program.

The Mielke Family Foundation was established in 1963 by the late Dr. Edward Mielke and Bee Mielke and later supplemented through bequests from his sisters, Ruth Mielke and Sarah Mielke, 1914 and 1916 Lawrence graduates, respectively.

The foundation received the inaugural Lawrence University Collaboration in Action award in 2010.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

 

Former Lawrence University Scientist Assumes Leadership of National Physics Association

Former Lawrence University Professor of Physics David Cook has assumed the role of president of the American Association of Physics Teachers, the country’s premier national organization and authority on physics and physical science education with more than 10,000 members in 30 countries.

David-Cook_webCook, who retired as Philetus E. Sawyer Professor of Science in 2008 after 43 years of teaching in the Lawrence physics department, will serve as AAPT’s president in 2010 and past president in 2011. First elected to the association’s executive board in 2007, Cook is the first Lawrence faculty member ever to serve as AAPT president and the first from any Wisconsin college or university since 1955.

The AAPT, says Cook, faces challenges in keeping the United States competitive in an increasingly global marketplace.

“Both the future of the United States as a leader in science and technology and the strength of the U.S. economy are at risk because too few of our most able young people are preparing for careers in science and engineering,” said Cook.  “The AAPT is already playing an important role in addressing this growing crisis.  The current efforts, however, need to be expanded in both intensity and scope.

“We need to assess whether the current AAPT structure and content of our offerings for prospective scientists are as strong as they can be in preparing students for productive 50-year careers in the 21st century and whether they are as appealing as they must be to compete successfully with the students’ alternatives.”

During his four-plus-decades career at Lawrence, Cook has taught nearly every undergraduate physics course while leading the development and incorporation of computers into the physics curriculum.  Beginning in 1985, he built Lawrence’s computational physics laboratory with the support of more than $1 million in grants from the National Science Foundation, Research Corporation, the W. M. Keck Foundation and other sources.

Cook is the author of two textbooks, “The Theory of the Electromagnetic Field,” one of the first to introduce computer-based numerical approaches alongside traditional approaches and “Computation and Problem Solving in Undergraduate Physics.”  He was the recipient of Lawrence’s Excellence in Teaching Award in 1990.

Founded in 1930, the AAPT is headquartered in the American Center for Physics in College Park, Md.

Lawrence University Conference Examines Assessment Methods in Tutorial Education

APPLETON, WIS. — Four Lawrence University faculty members will be among the presenters discussing findings from a year-long assessment of learning outcomes associated with tutorial education August 28-29 at a conference hosted by Lawrence.

Faculty representatives from Williams College and College of Wooster will join the Lawrence participants in making presentations in the “Researching Assessment Methods in Tutorial Education” conference in the Warch Campus Center beginning at 9 a.m. Friday (8/28). All faculty, staff and students are welcome to attend.

The conference, part of an ongoing two-year project scheduled for completion in fall 2010 and funded by a $95,000 grant from the Teagle Foundation in New York City, will examine the results of a shared assessment model (SAM) that was developed in a workshop last fall and discuss its usefulness as an assessment tool.

During the past winter and spring terms, eight instructors from across the disciplines at Lawrence, Williams and College of Wooster, used the SAM to score students on a 5-point scale for 20 different traits within three broad learning outcomes: independent thinking, intellectual maturity and creativity.

Charles Blaich, director of Wabash College’s Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts, will deliver the conference’s keynote address at 9:15 Friday morning.

Beginning at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Lawrence faculty members Rob Neilson, associate professor of art, Ron Peck, assistant professor of biology, Jerald Podair, professor of history and Robert S. French Professor of American Studies and Claudena Skran, associate professor of government and Edwin and Ruth West Professor of Economics and Social Science, will make presentations based on their participation in the project.

Rob Beck, visiting professor of education, and William Skinner, director of research administration, co-principal investigators of the study, also will represent Lawrence as presenters during the conference.

This weekend’s conference is an outgrowth of the “Tutorial Education: History, Pedagogy, and Evolution” conference Lawrence hosted in the spring of 2007.