Monday Minutes

Here are your Monday Minutes for November 16-20, 2020. 

From the Department Head

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff 

We are almost there! Congratulations to all graduating students, and congratulations to our faculty and staff who made this possible! Please tune in to our EHHD graduation watch party on Friday, 11/20 at 3pm. Best of luck to you all as you complete final exams and projects, wrap up student teaching, or defend your thesis/dissertation! 

This will be the final edition of our Fall 2020 Monday Minutes. We will resume on January 4, 2021. Have a safe and healthy winter break!

 Take good care,

Dr. Ann Ewbank

News and Announcements

• COURSE EVALUATIONS: Fall 2020 course evaluations will be released this week. We encourage all students to complete their course evaluations. Aim for 100% completion! 

• Please join us for the following dissertation defenses this week: 

• Chelsey Wilson, Candidate for Doctor of Education in Adult and Higher Education (Dr. Tricia Seifert, Chair), “Investigating the relationship of an early semester intervention program and first year college student sense of belonging” on Wednesday, November 18^th from 9:00 am to 10:00 am. 

• Hailey Hancock, PhD Candidate in Education, Curriculum and Instruction (Dr. Christine Rogers Stanton, chair).  “A multisite case study of state policy and teacher perceptions of recruitment and retention in rural school districts impacted by the critical quality educator shortage” on Friday, November 20^th from 9:30 am to 10:30 am. (access code): 120 888 7744, Meeting password: Nov2020 

Micki's Desk

• I encourage students who have not yet registered for Spring Semester to contact me at edgrad@montana.edu if you need assistance.  We are hoping all students are registered before the end of this semester so you focus on winter break and come back fresh in January. 

• Attached is the EDU 690 Goal Sheet for students who will be enrolling in dissertation credits.  Please complete and submit this form to edgrad@montana.edu right away so it can be approved by your chair before the break.  Faculty often take a break too and that includes a break from emails and signing forms. 

• Several students have asked, “When will my Spring Tuition and Fees show in MyInfo?” According to Joe Young, Director of Student Accounts, Spring tuition and fees will be assessed and QuickPay statements sent to MyInfo between Dec 7^th and Dec 11^th. 

My thoughts are with you as the Semester comes to an end.  I will be at my desk ready to assist you from now through the winter break and into the New Year (edgrad@montana.edu / macgregor@montana.edu)  I will be on holiday break to be with my family from Wednesday, Dec 23^rd  through Friday, January 1^st.  My best to you and yours, and I wish each of you very Happy Holidays!    Stay safe and warm, Micki

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

• Congratulations to the Science Math Resource Center for successfully holding the first virtual American Mathematics Competition last week. A record 48 middle school students across Montana participated! 

• Congratulations to Dr. Rebekah Hammack for two publications co-authored with MSU colleagues and graduate students! These are great examples of interdisciplinary collaboration and graduate student mentoring!

• Hammack, R., Utley, J., Ivey, T., & High, K. (2020). Elementary teachers’ mental images of engineers at work.Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research, 10(2), 35-46. https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/jpeer/vol10/iss2/3 

• Hammack, R. Gannon, P., Foreman, C., & Meyer, E. (2020). Impacts of professional development focused on teaching engineering applications of mathematics and science.School Science and Mathematics.  https://doi.org/10.1111/ssm.12430 

• 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

• The end of semester is typically a challenging time. If you find yourself struggling you may seek assistance:

• Managing final exam stress
• CPS virtual connections space drop-in student support facilitated by a counselor
• Students who need brief consultations with a counselor without initiating a formal session can access Let's Talk Drop-In Services. 

MSU Writing Center services for Graduate Writers.   Where: Online.   The MSU Writing Center is here to support graduate students! Graduate writing groups offer the opportunity to collaborate on your writing with graduate students across disciplines. The groups will be asynchronous and online allowing students to receive feedback over the course of a week. Groups will be facilitated by a writing center staff member for four weeks, and up to fifteen students will be accepted for each four-week session. Students on the waitlist will be contacted as spaces open up.  Focus Friday is an opportunity for graduate writers to participate in a writing community while working from anywhere. This is a chance to connect with other graduate students working on major writing projects—arguably the best people to have in your corner because they cheer you on while holding you accountable. Every Friday this semester (excluding holidays) you can write with this online community between 9am and 3pm.

Erin Strickland, the Graduate Program Coordinator at the Writing Center, will be available for one-on-one tutoring appointments for a limited number of hours beginning in October. Please use the online scheduler to make an appointment with her or any of the Writing Center's undergraduate tutors!

For more information and or to register for a writing group, visit the Writing Center’s page for Graduate Writers. 

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Resources

• Join this FREE webinar on November 19 at 12pm MT time: Youth Beyond the Binary: A Conversation on Non-Binary Identities. This webinar will open with background on non-binary identities and lead into a panel discussion with four non-binary young people who will discuss what their gender means to them and how these identities overlap and compound with the many other identities they hold. 

• Do you have a resource to share? Please email Ann Ewbank.