Monday Minutes

Here are your Monday Minutes for September 21-25, 2020. 

From the Department Head

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,

Tomorrow (Tuesday, September 22) marks the first day of Fall and the Autumnal equinox. In the spirit of the Department of Education’s commitment to Montana Indian Education for All (IEFA), I encourage you to learn more about Indigenous Star Knowledge. This afternoon at 5pm, Ingenium—Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovations, is hosting a free symposium about the significance of the Autumnal equinox in Indigenous cultures. You can also visit Native Skywatchers to learn more about efforts to revitalize Indigenous astronomy, and the Montana Office of Public Instruction has a series of videos about Piikani (Blackfeet) astronomy.

As you look to the sky tomorrow evening, I encourage you to think about the many ways of knowing that our diverse backgrounds afford us and commit to learning something new about diversity in scientific understanding. Happy stargazing!

Take good care,

Dr. Ann Ewbank

News and Announcements

• Our next department meeting is Tuesday, September 22 3:10-4:30 in Ann Ewbank’s WebEx room. Our main topic is strategic planning in support of the department’s #edgoals.

Join by phone:
+1-855-797-9485 US Toll free
+1-415-655-0002 US Toll
Access code: 920 310 123 

• Refer-A-Bobcat: High school principals, educational leaders, and MSU alumni have the opportunity to refer a potential graduate student in the master’s degree programs listed below. If you are the person who is making a referral, please fill out the online survey. If the person referred applies and is accepted, then they will be eligible for a three-credit tuition waiver (a 10% discount on tuition for a 30-credit degree). Waivers are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, contact the Graduate School. The eligible programs for educators are:

Adult & Higher Education, MEd

Agriculture Education, MS

Art, MFA

Curriculum & Instruction, MEd

Educational Leadership, MEd

English Education, MA

Family and Consumer Sciences, MS

Mathematics - Mathematics Education, MS

Science Education, MS (MSSE)

Teaching (Secondary or Elementary), MA

• The Early Alert system should be used when students fall behind, do not regularly check D2L, or are incommunicado. Please utilize the Document a Conversation and Student Consultation forms when issues arise. This is our internal tracking mechanism and the forms go no further and are “shredded” upon graduation. The Student Support Team can assist with crucial conversations coaching and/or as a neutral third party for both undergraduate and graduate students.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

• Our alumni continue to inspire! Congratulations to Kristi Borge, MSU graduate and the one room schoolhouse teacher in Polaris, for being named the 2021 Montana Teacher of the Year! 

• Congratulations to Mitch Vaterlaus, Alex Aylward, and Dawn Tarabochia for their recent publication, “A smartphone made my life easier: An exploratory study on age of adolescent smartphone acquisition and well-being” in Computers in Human Behavior! 

• Congratulations to Deborah Rinio, Bill Mendoza, and Ann Ewbank for their recent MSU News feature about their new Indigenous Perspectives in School Librarianship grant! 

• Our department’s success is determined by our collective accomplishments. Share your own accomplishments with pride! Or if you hear of a colleague or student’s accomplishment, please share. Please send accomplishments and kudos to ann.ewbank@montana.edu.

Professional Development & Engagement Opportunities

• Register for the FREE Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) Virtual Convening October 14-16. The CPED Convening includes the EdD Student Research Forum is open to all students enrolled in MSU EdD programs. The registration deadline is Friday, October 2.
• The next Library Media Certificate program webinar is Tuesday, October 6^th at 6pm MST. Mary Anne Hansen, Research Services Librarian, will present on Open Access Health Resources for Teachers, Kids, and Teens. Learn about a variety of freely available health-related resources from a variety of US government agencies and professional associations, including NIH, CDC, the Society of Health and Physical Educators, and more! Participants must register in advance to attend. All registered participants will be sent a recording of the webinar along with resources. Contact Deborah Rinio with questions.

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Resources

• Don’t forget to register to vote for the upcoming general election! Election Day is a university holiday. Civic participation is the foundation of equity, diversity, and inclusion.
• Gallatin County’s Election Department needs election judges for the upcoming general election. The job of election judge is critical to our democracy, as voters depend on election judges to run polling places and counting centers on Election Day. As an election judge in Montana, you will help ensure the state’s elections remain secure, fair, accurate and accessible to all voters. Responsibilities include supervising the conduct inside polling places and helping Montanans cast their ballot both privately and independently.

A Special Request from Field Placement & Licensure

Teacher Education Program instructors: As we head into the fall term, we have over 80 student teachers.  This is a healthy enrollment and we are looking forward to supporting each student during their semester.  I would like to ask you each to review the list of students, which is attached, and encourage you to reach out to former students.  During this time of uncertainty and potential fear of what lies ahead, I believe they would appreciate hearing from a friendly face.  I think they would each appreciate the support and connection, perhaps now more than ever.
Thanks in advance!    - John Melick 

Please see the attached PDF for the list of students. PDF: Student Teachers – Fall 2020