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Seek + You Shall Find: Interview with Dean Karen Wixson
How
has research at the School of Education influenced educational practice in
this country? What role does the School of Education have in helping to improve
our public schools, particularly in our cities?
At a time when many schools and colleges of education are just starting to focus on the need for “usable knowledge,” our research programs emphasize the creation of practical, real-world knowledge that addresses some of the most important educational issues and problems today. For instance, researchers from the Highly Interactive Computing in Education project have developed science curriculum units that help Detroit teachers from 40 middle schools successfully integrate technology and inquiry into their practice. Hi-Ce researchers set up software, rewired buildings, and conducted Saturday workshops and courses for these teachers, and the result is improved student achievement in middle school science. Another example is the groundbreaking Study of Instructional Improvement, involving 120 elementary schools in high-poverty urban settings across seven states. This large study is influencing policy decisions at these sites and nationally. It’s also influencing the ways that researchers conduct research.
What makes this School of Education unique is the way in which we combine teaching and research in the service of public education. Some schools and colleges of education focus primarily on teaching. Others support both teaching and research, but often in isolation from each other. Very few integrate research and teaching, and even fewer do this in collaboration with the disciplines—as we do. In essence, our teaching is our research, and our research is teaching.
Is the School of Education still committed to teacher education?
This question always startles me, because we haven’t moved away from our commitment to teacher preparation! Currently, there are 450 undergraduates and 323 graduate students enrolled in the School. We continue to prepare teachers, and to revise our programs of preparation as a result of current research on teaching. In addition, we’ve enhanced our research enterprise in the past 10-15 years
Our teacher education programs, both undergraduate and Masters and Certification, now involve cohorts of students who work together throughout their teacher preparation experiences in a supportive group, or “learning community.” Cohorts also provide instructors with the opportunity to integrate their instruction within and across semesters of study and in relation to students’ field experiences. By making explicit connections between classroom observation and experimentation, and traditional classroom studies, students have opportunity to apply what they think and learn immediately.
Is the School of Education active in local communities and the state, or is it purely national in its focus?
Faculty and staff are highly involved and invested in Michigan and its communities. We have several local school board members, the incoming president of the Michigan Reading Association, and the current state director for Michigan’s National Writing Project sites, on staff. We’re part of a group responding to Governor Granholm’s call to develop coaches for high priority, struggling schools; we’re working with Michigan State University to create online learning modules for new teachers in this state. In collaboration with The Henry Ford Museum, Bob Bain is working on a Primary Sources Network that will include online resources and professional development opportunities for Michigan social studies teachers.
We provide undergraduates with experiences working with Detroit community organizations through programs such as the Lives of Urban Children and Youth (LUCY). Programs such as these not only increase mutual awareness and understanding of different life experiences, but also serve as a pipeline for recruiting future teachers and administrators for our urban schools.
Where does the School of Education rank nationally?
On almost any indicator available we are one of the leading Schools of Education
in the country. Our research and preparation programs have helped make us one
of U.S. News and World Report’s top ten graduate schools of education
every year since 1995. We have the number one higher education program in the
country; an educational psychology program ranked in the top five, and top-ten
programs in such crucial areas as elementary education, curriculum and instruction,
and administration and supervision. A recent report from the Institute for
Scientific Information ranks the UM School of Education first in the nation
for the impact of its research. Although six other units at UM were ranked
in the top ten, Education was the only unit with a first place ranking.
What role can philanthropy play in meeting your vision for the future of the Michigan School of Education?
Many generous donors have already made a significant difference to the School of Education. For example, gifts from Heinz and Waltraud Prechter have made possible significant advances in the use of technology in K-12 teaching and learning. A generous gift from Charles and Jean Walgreen established an endowed chair in literacy that has helped support bringing practitioners to campus to interact with faculty and graduate students. In addition, there have been many gifts from friends and alums that have enabled undergraduate and graduate students to spend concentrated time at the School during their programs of study.
I have come to see philanthropy in education as a partnership between an individual with a passion for making a difference and an institution with the vision and means to make a difference. The ability of SOE to fulfill its mission of improving K-16 education for all students depends upon philanthropic support for student financial aid, cutting edge technology, faculty appointments that cross traditional boundaries, and professional service activities that allow us to bring the most current knowledge to a broader audience of practitioners
-Published Winter 2004
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to the Winter 2004 - Vol. 34, No. 1 Contents
