College of Education News

Developing teaching skills through community engagement

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Community awareness is an essential component of teaching.  

“Teachers are community workers. Effective teaching requires ethical leadership and cultural literacies,” Dr. Jennice McCafferty-Wright said.  

“This is especially true when we engage with the newest members of our community and those who have fled exploited and war-torn homelands.” 

Wright is an assistant professor in the department of childhood education and family studies at Missouri State University. She teaches courses that help students become educators. 

To help her students develop teaching skills and community awareness, Wright incorporated a service-learning practicum into her course, Methods of Teaching Social Studies in Elementary Schools. 

Making a lifelong difference 

The English Language Institute at Missouri State provides free English classes for adult refugees from Afghanistan. While the parents are in class, Wright’s students engage with the parents’ children.  

A few evenings a week, the students provide a safe learning environment for the children to learn through play.  

The students follow the children’s lead. They engage with the children in English to help them learn the language, and express interest in the children’s cultures and home languages, Dari or Pashto.  

The students’ efforts have a profound impact on the children and their families.  

“Some of the mothers of these young children are preliterate. The Taliban did not permit them to learn to read or write in their home languages when they were younger,” Wright said.  

“Now, they live in a country where literacy is an essential requirement for providing for their families. The skills learned in their English classes are essential to their families’ survival in the United States.” 

Molding to the community’s needs 

Through service-learning, the students develop a deeper understanding of their course material.  

Students can connect course topics, such as teaching for global understanding and civic engagement, to their practicum experience.  

By working with children who are refugees, the students learn valuable skills that will help them teach students from all backgrounds.  

“The students practice strategies for working with children who are English Language Learners,” Wright said.  

“They also support the development of vocabulary that will help the children engage with social studies and other school subjects.” 

It is crucial that teacher candidates learn how to adapt their teaching approach to meet their students’ needs, especially those from vulnerable communities.  

“In a perfect world, there would be no need for teachers to know how to support victims of manmade crises,” Wright said.  

“But we must teach both for the world in which we live and the more perfect world our students have the potential to create.”   

Wright plans to incorporate the practicum in future courses to continue serving the community and helping her students become well-rounded educators.  

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What if your child struggles in a classroom?

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It’s a true hallmark of parenting: We all want what’s best for our kids. Parents are fierce protectors, consistent teachers and faithful advocates.

When a child has an emotional or behavioral disorder, educators must work with parents and students to develop goals, a beneficial plan and appropriate structure.

Dr. Reesha Adamson, associate professor of special education at Missouri State University, shares about developing positive learning environments and implementing inclusive instruction.

In 2021, she and Dr. John William McKenna from the University of Massachusetts – Lowell wrote the book “Inclusive Instruction for Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: Pulling Back the Curtain.”

Making school more fluid for kids with behavioral disorders

Buy the book

Getting the structure in place

When a student will be moving between a special education and general education classroom, there is a lot of necessary coordination, said Adamson, and it begins before the student ever enters the inclusive classroom.

A general educator and special educator have to meet and work together regularly to set goals, build supports and determine accommodations needed to help students in an individualized manner.

The book includes tips and strategies for educators, but Adamson says it all comes down to flexibility and assessing the question: What is best for this student in this time and in this place?

When a peer is in a crisis

Between 20-40% of students will experience a behavioral or emotional disorder during their lifetime, according to Adamson. This underscores the importance for empathy and understanding among peers, parents and educators.

 

Read the transcript

Discover a more authentic Native American experience

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When members of a majority group adopt a cultural element of a minority group in a disrespectful, stereotypical or exploitative way, that’s cultural appropriation.

In the last several years, many people have opened their eyes to this practice. They’ve taken notice and made changes to show respect and spread inclusivity.

Dr. Kayla Lewis, associate professor of literacy at Missouri State University, is a member of the Chickasaw Nation out of Oklahoma. One of her goals is to offer more accurate depictions of native people in classrooms.

Newer literature more representative and accurate

Facts destroy stereotypes

“A lot of books published pre-2010 reinforce stereotypes of Native American people. They don’t show history as it actually was. They sugarcoat and gloss over the atrocities,” Lewis said.
“They show Native Americans wearing feather head dresses, roaming the plains and hunting buffalo. In fact, only 3% of Native American people actually were in that population.”
With over 500 tribes currently, no one piece of literature will represent the diversity in native cultures, she noted.
That’s one more reason that Native American literature should be made widely available and should not just be highlighted each November (in Native American Heritage Month).
“Teaching Native Americans around Thanksgiving tends to reinforce the stereotype,” Lewis said. “I encourage the use of multicultural literature throughout the school year. This gives students a broader perspective.”

Mascots aren’t honoring the heritage

Lewis works to spread awareness about cultural appropriation of native people at diversity conferences, in classrooms and during trainings worldwide.

One hot topic is the use of native people or symbols in athletics or as mascots.

“A lot of people say, ‘We’re just honoring the heritage.’ But when you think about other races or other cultures, we don’t have them as mascots. It would be seen as very offensive,” Lewis said. “Yet, for some reason, it’s okay if we do that with Native people.”

She noted that there has been movement on this issue recently.

“At the national level, we’re starting to see some sports teams change their mascots because they have come to realize that it’s not appropriate,” she said. “Hopefully, that trickle down will happen into other parts of the United States.”

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Effective assessments in an era of accountability

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Each aspect of a college campus contributes to the success of its students.  

Professionals in the field of student affairs in higher education (SAHE) partner with academic affairs units on different campuses to create holistic collegiate experiences that support undergraduate student success that results in degree attainment.  

Since 2015, the Division of Student Affairs (DOSA) and the SAHE Program have partnered to hold a campus wide assessment symposium which features academic work completed by SAHE students at MSU.  

“Students in our master’s program learn about the different assessment evaluation tools they can use to assess the effectiveness of campus units and how they contribute to undergraduate student success,” explained Dr. Gilbert Brown, SAHE program director.  

“The symposium helps our new professionals gain skills that are needed in the workplace, and it contributes to the office of student affairs here at MSU.”   

The assessment symposium  

Graduate students in the SAHE program present their research at the assessment symposium as part of their academic requirements.  

“Our first-year students develop an assessment protocol for trying to determine the effectiveness of a unit and our second-year students have completed their project,” Brown said.  

“When our students graduate from MSU, they’re ready to hit the ground running when they are hired by another university.” 

A second year SAHE student presenting at the 2022 assessment symposium

Skills for success

Brown knows both the ropes and the challenges that new SAHE professionals face as they enter the field.  

“We have to improve our understanding of how to use social media to make sure undergraduate students have good experiences on campus,” Brown explained.

“Universities often have limited resources, so having evidence of effectiveness is necessary to point to what is working.”

The skills SAHE students gain through the assessment symposium allow them to contribute to undergraduate student success on the MSU campus and wherever their future career takes them.     

The success of the assessment symposium points to the preparedness of the students within the program, as well as the professional collaboration that takes place at MSU.  

“The Division of Student Affairs here on campus and our academic program work well together to prepare the next generation of student affairs professionals,” Brown said. “I’m pleased with the professional partnership we have with our colleagues.”    

Explore the SAHE program

Greenwood Laboratory School appoints new director

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A familiar face to Springfield Public Schools (SPS) students and families is the new leader of Greenwood Laboratory School.

Dr. Ronald Snodgrass, an educator with more than 30 years of experience, will assume the role of director June 1. Snodgrass has served as interim director since July 2021.

“I’m humbled and honored to be named the new director of Greenwood,” Snodgrass said. “Greenwood has a family atmosphere and is a special and unique place.

“Greenwood’s reputation of academic excellence will be of the utmost importance to maintain in the future. I look forward to working with the outstanding faculty currently in place to move the school to new heights and provide the best learning opportunities for our students.”

Educator brings teaching and administrative experience to the role

Dr. Ronald Snodgrass

Snodgrass first came to work at Greenwood as the assistant director in August 2015. Prior to that, he was a teacher and administrator with SPS for 29 years, a tenure that included stops as an assistant principal at Jarrett Middle School and Hillcrest High School.

He also served as a principal for 14 years at Central High School, and Pleasant View Elementary and Middle Schools.

Under his leadership at Pleasant View, the school earned several awards, including:

  • Accomplished School Award.
  • Gold Star nominee.
  • Top 10 Highest Performing School.
  • Top 10 Most Improved in Communications Arts.

During his tenure at Central High School, the school earned silver and gold medals from U.S. News & World Report, and Snodgrass was named an Outstanding Administrator-Counselor Advocate.

Dr. Barri Tinkler, dean of the Missouri State University College of Education, said she’s glad Snodgrass is continuing the work he started a year ago.

“Ron brings a wealth of school leadership experience to this role,” Tinkler said. “He’s been an excellent interim director this past year and we’re lucky to have him continuing as the director.”

Snodgrass completed his bachelor’s, master’s and educational specialist degrees at Missouri State. He completed his doctoral degree in educational leadership and policy analysis at the University of Missouri.