Department of Education Monday Minutes

Here are your Monday Minutes for March 8-12, 2021. 

From the Department Head 

Dear Students and Colleagues,

Daylight Savings Time begins Sunday, March 14 (remember to spring forward) and I thought I’d share some Montana history about its adoption. Here is a note in the MSU Exponent from February 1976. Enjoy!

Daylight Savings Time extension to be voted on. The Senate will consider legislation this week to extend Daylight Savings Time (DST) by two months. Under the new legislation, DST would extend from the first Sunday in March to the Second Sunday in November. Presently DST begins April 25 and ends in late October. Supporters of the bill see a one percent energy savings, 50 fewer traffic accidents, and a 10 to 13 percent drop in street crime. Though supporters are confident it will pass in the Senate, there is substantial opposition in the House. A House committee does not intend to start hearings on the matter until April 7, 1976, which will ruin any chances of passing the measure by March 7. The Exponent.

Take good care,

 Ann Dutton Ewbank's signature 

Dr. Ann Ewbank

News and Announcements

  • The Biweekly Payroll process has begun. All employees are required to submit timesheets every other week beginning Friday, March 12. Please place a reminder on your calendar to complete this every other Friday.
  • Spring 2021 Curriculum & Instruction program meetings are March 9, March 30, and April 13 (12:15-1:30) in Nick’s WebEx room. The March 9 meeting will focus on proposed graduate certificate pathways to the M.Ed.
  • Our next department meeting is Tuesday, March 23, 12:15-1:30 in Ann’s WebEx room. The main topic will be doctoral course methods rotation, with general announcements and discussion at the beginning. Feel free to attend part or all of the meeting dependent on your interest.
  • Please save the date for our Teacher Education Program Induction and Student Teacher Sendoff on April 5, 5:30-6:30pm. Our keynote speaker is Marilyn King, Deputy Superintendent of Bozeman Public Schools.
  • Please utilize the Document a Conversation and Student Consultation forms when student 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.

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Opportunities

Creating the Beloved Community. Spring Symposium. March 15 & 16, 2021.

  • Beloved Community is a spring symposium open to interested educators. The keynote speakers' presentations and breakout session topics connect to her own research findings and passion: In order for schools to become safe, loving spaces so that all children may grow, educational institutions must be transformed into “beloved communities,” a philosophy rooted, in part, in the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Professional Development & Engagement Opportunities

  • Call for presenters: The Northern Rocky Mountain Educational Research Association (NRMERA), the regional affiliate of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) is calling for 2021 conference proposals. While our membership draws mostly from among researchers and educators in the Rocky Mountain West, we welcome all researchers and educators to be a part of our organization. We host a yearly conference as well as publish a peer-reviewed journal Educational Research: Theory & Practice (more information: https://www.nrmera.org/). The deadline to submit proposals is JUNE 30th, 2021. See attached flyer.
  • Call for research participants: please see the attached flyer from Dr. Shannon C. Mulhearn (University of Nebraska at Kearney who is conducting a research study to learn about university students who are preparing to become teachers and their experience with mindfulness practices. Dr. Mulhearn is inviting teacher candidates to participate which includes completing an electronic questionnaire and attending weekly 60-minute mindfulness sessions (via Zoom) for 8 weeks during the Spring semester.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

  • Call for MSU Graduate School Awards: Please nominate students who are graduating this spring for one of three awards: Land Grant Excellence, Scholarship Excellence, or Teaching Excellence. Please send nominations to Ann Ewbank by March 12.
  • Congratulations to all individuals presenting at the American Educational Research Association 2021 Annual Meeting, April 8-12! A list of presenters is below.

Art Bangert (Retired)

    • Managing Human and Organizational Capital

Shihua Brazill

    • Culture and Forms of Capital in Navigating Postsecondary Education
    • Highlighting the Value of Faculty and Staff Interactions for College Students

Lauren Davis, Alex Aylward

    • Community-Based Participatory Research in the Rural Educational Setting: A Trauma-Informed Pilot Study

Elizabeth Green, Sarah Pennington

    • Inquiry in the Early Years: Examinings in Elementary and Early Childhood Teacher Education
    • What Texts Are We Valuing? A Systematic Review of Recent Literacy Research

Hailey Hancock, Christine Stanton

    • Discussions of Equity: Critical Race Theory, Culturally Responsive Schooling, and Identity Issues in Social Studies Education

Carrie Myers, Shihua Brazill, Catherine Johnson, Scott Myers

    • Culture and Forms of Capital in Navigating Postsecondary Education

Craig Ogilvie, Colter Ellis, Kelly Knight

    • Graduate Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experiences, Mental Health, Support, and Marginalization

Bill Ruff, Shihua Brazill

    • Creating Brave Space Using Transformational Classroom Leadership

Rose Vallor

    • Science Teaching and Learning: Socioscientific Issues (SSIs)

Bryce Hughes, Shihua Brazill, Jayne Downey, Allison Wynhoff Olsen

    • Session chairs, discussants, journal representative
  • 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. 

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