“The Hough Post”
February 21, 2019
Volume 7, Number 11
Professional Think Tank Notes
Below are Dr. Emmett Sawyer’s notes from the College of Education / Care to Learn Think Tank, “Addressing Teacher Shortages: Causes and Solutions” held February 7, 2019.
Background
Declining enrollments in teacher education programs, high numbers of practicing teachers leaving the profession within their first five years of employment, more frequent reporting of the prevalence of teacher burnout, and lack of positive conversations / media focused on teaching as a rewarding career all contribute to a current and growing teacher shortage. This is a national phenomenon that impacts rural and urban communities alike, making recruitment and retention efforts more important than ever.
Recognizing the importance of community-wide input to address issues associated with teacher shortages, the Missouri State University College of Education in partnership with Care to Learn hosted a Think Tank focused on addressing causes and potential solutions. Fifty-one individuals met on February 7, 2019, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the MSU campus to participate. These included pre-service teachers; business leaders; legislators; MoDESE officials; representatives from non-profit groups, organizations and the Springfield Chamber of Commerce; school board members, P-12 school teachers, superintendents, and principals; and ten MSU COE faculty and staff.
Participants reviewed information regarding potential causes for projected teacher shortages at the local, state, and national levels. Eight groups, consisting of six or seven individuals in each, addressed questions associated with this phenomenon and offered theories regarding public perceptions of teaching as a career. Both individual and group ideas were captured on note cards and flip charts by facilitators. Groups prioritized individuals’ ideas by using an activity called 9-5-3-1 voting prior to reporting out to the entire group. Dr. Hough, Dean of MSU’s College of Education, provided closure for the day’s activities by informing attendees that his leadership team would develop an action plan over the next several days that will include resources for implementing the components of the plan. Dr. Hough emphasized that in order for the action plan to be successful, strong partnerships are required at the state and local levels.
Summary of Data
After the Think Tank, College of Education staff analyzed self-report data from individual participants and groups using a “constant comparative” method of data synthesis and reduction. This produced a number of “categories” representing responses that are related in terms of general content and meaning. The categories are affective, perceptual and concrete representations of individual and group perceptions of issues associated with the growing shortage of teachers. The categories derived from this approach are as follows (with the number of responses related to each in parentheses): Teacher Salaries (41), Public Perception of Teaching as a Career (37), Student Behavior (23), Workload (20), Lack of Administrator Support (11), Lack of Appreciation (11), Unrealistic Expectations / Lack of Autonomy (10), Lack of Understanding of Issues Teachers Face (10), Environments not Conducive to Learning, (6), Pressure for Students to Score High on State Assessments (6), Inadequate Teacher Preparation (6), Government Regulations (5), Lack of Resources (5), Limited job/advancement opportunities (4), Politics (3), Safety (3).
Action Steps
Because participants’ greatest number of responses generally reflected issues associated with marketing, i.e., perceptions of teaching as a rewarding career, and financial support for education, most specifically teachers’ salaries, the MSU College of Education (COE) leadership team recommends that a marketing plan be developed. This plan should include multiple media releases including but not limited to Twitter, online blogs, video clips, snap chats, brochures, radio, and television. These various media approaches are intentionally chosen and designed to reach different target markets. The COE will also employ a recruiting specialist / consultant who has experience recruiting educators, especially individuals from traditionally underrepresented groups. This recruiter will attend career fairs and network with high school students and their families.
Financial matters, specifically teacher salaries, will be addressed in two ways. First, COE will develop advanced career pathways specifically designed for teachers. Degrees and certificates specific to the demands of classroom teaching will enable teachers to become highly skilled and remain in the classroom while advancing on their district’s pay scale. Second, efforts will be made to partner with MoDESE and state education groups and organizations to advocate for financial support for education, specifically for teachers.
Safety, community support, administrative support, and other “environmental” conditions are also factors impacting individuals’ decisions to peruse education as a career. To address many of the factors that may cause teachers to leave their positions, COE will partner with school districts to develop novel approaches to “jump-start” career advancement and avoid stagnation or burnout. Allowing teachers to “bank” advanced college course competencies by “on the job” training and work-related experiences in partnership with the school district will be piloted with a local district, evaluated, and then expanded if found to be successful.
Research Opportunity
Before any of the above action steps can be fully implemented, a review of the existing body of research on the various teacher shortage causes and proposed solutions should be completed. A theoretical background is needed to guide any proposed actions, and a robust assessment of same should be conducted. Therefore, if anyone is interested in completing a review of literature or providing a scholarly presentation of the theoretical background associated with Think Tank conventional wisdom, please let Dean Hough know. We would like to commission this work before the end of the Spring semester.
Tim Pfeil Receives the George Hummasti Teacher Merit Award
Congratulations to Tim Pfeil, Greenwood Social Studies Instructor, who was awarded the George Hummasti Teacher Merit Award (Missouri State History Department/Sons of the American Revolution) for his work preparing students to attend the National History Day regional competition at Missouri State. Tim received the award Saturday, February 16th, during the award ceremony in the PSU Theater at 1:30 p.m. Tim’s 8th grade students were competing at National History Day.
MSU – COE Bear POWER Highlighted in Forbes
Former MSU president Mike Nitzel has written an article about colleges providing certificate programs for individuals with IDD that was recently published in Forbes. In his article he mentions Bear POWER. Following is the link to the story:
Call for Proposals
The Lincoln University School of Education is sponsoring a Males of Color in Education Awareness Summit that will be held in Jefferson City on April 5-6, 2019. The summit will address the following theme: “Inspiring Courageous Conversations through Change.” The Dean’s Office received a “Call for Proposals” on February 19th. The following link contains the “call”:
Dean Hough encourages interested faculty to submit a proposal.
Roots of Wisdom Exhibit – Call for Volunteers
The MSU Libraries are partnering with the College of Natural and Applied Sciences, College of Humanities and Public Affairs, and the Division for Diversity and Inclusion to bring the traveling Smithsonian exhibit, Roots of Wisdom: Native Knowledge. Shared Science. to campus. The exhibit will be on display in Meyer Library, Room 107, beginning March 18.
This exhibit is dependent on the help of volunteer hosts. The following link has a complete list of dates and times available, along with a description of volunteer duties: http://bit.ly/MSU-Roots. This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in volunteering or earning service hours.
Any assistance you can offer is greatly appreciated! For more information, contact:
Melissa Eiken, CAP, Executive Assistant II
Missouri State University Libraries
Phone: 417-836-4924 – meiken@missouristate.edu | libraries.missouristate.edu
Proposed Window Upgrade Schedule from Computer Services
The following is a plan being proposed by Computer Services:
In order to balance the needs of the university for system availability with the responsibility to remediate risks with routine maintenance, Computer Services proposes a schedule that maximizes both.
We analyzed system logs and found that Banner and other ERP-related systems, have low usage rates on Sunday mornings. Our DBAs and system administrators will apply upgrades and patches to Banner and the host of software used to support it. To put the changes into effect, the systems will be brought down and back up, causing brief interruptions in service.
Proposed plan: Each Sunday, from 6 am to 9 am, security patches and software upgrades will be applied to ERP-related systems.
Scope of impact: Upgrades would require brief service outages as upgrades are installed. Impacted systems would include ERP-related systems such as Banner and some related web pages.
Systems that would remain available include: Blackboard, email, university homepage, college websites, Office365, etc.
Communication plan: Specific systems targeted for maintenance will be announced at least four days in advance via the Information Services Notifications and Outages blog.
Let Theresa know if you have any questions or concerns about this. This is not a solid plan yet, but rather a work in progress.
Theresa McCoy
Director, Computer Services
Phone: 417-836-4395 | Fax: 417-836-3192
TheresaMcCoy@missouristate.edu | www.missouristate.edu
Costa Rica Opportunity
If faculty have an interest in pursuing opportunities in Costa Rica, please feel free to contact Dr. Gilbert Brown for assistance. CEFS faculty and students have participated in short-term study away programs in Costa Rica over the past few years. Following is information we received on February 19th:
Greetings from ULACIT Costa Rica!
We would like to share our Summer and Fall catalogues for this current 2019 academic year. Your students will have the opportunity to learn in the best private university in Costa Rica while enjoying our privileged weather and explore the capital city of San José from our urban campus.
Our Summer Term begins on May 13th and ends on August 23rd and our Fall Term from September 9th to December 20th. Our International Student Orientation sessions are scheduled for May 11th and September 7th respectively, therefore students should plan their arrival to Costa Rica by these dates. Our deadline to receive applications for Summer is March 29th and for Fall July 26th.
Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or require additional information.
Regards,
Mark Your Calendars…..2019 College Meeting
2019 College Meeting
Aug. 16, 2019
8:00 – 11:00 a.m.
University Plaza Hotel
333 John Q Hammons Pkwy
Oklahoma/Illinois Rooms
Parking: North Side of Building (enter through North Doors)
There will be a breakfast buffet. This meeting is for all faculty and staff.
ATLL Workshops
You are welcome to attend any of the workshops below. For questions, contact Joi Hook at joihook@missouristate.edu
Upcoming Meetings/Events
American Assoc of Colleges for Feb. 21-24
Teacher Educator
Faculty Advisory Council March 6 8:00 –9:00 a.m. Hill 339
COE Budget Committee March 8 8:00 – 9:00 a.m. Hill 339
Spring Break March 11 – 15 (offices open)
CAEP Conference March 18 – 22
MASA March 27-29
MACTE March 25 – 27
2019 College Meeting Aug. 16 8:00 -11 a.m. University Plaza Hotel
333 John Q Hammons Pkwy
Oklahoma/Illinois Rooms
Parking: North Side of Building
Enter through North Doors
CAEP Onsite Visit: November 3-5, 2019
All notes/minutes from meetings are on the COE website: https://education.missouristate.edu/
| Keep Calm: February is almost gone, |
