MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN: LET THE MUSIC PLAY ON

“The important aspect of creativity is seeing the same thing as everybody else, but thinking of something different.” I like that description of creativity from A.P.J. Adbul Kalam, former president of India. 

Alison Roman, New York Times food writer, made her name by creating recipes for food that people loved. In an interview on NPR she was asked, “How do you come up with new recipes? Haven’t we thought of them all already?” She responded that she found her field interesting enough to come up with one new thing every now and again. She likened recipes to songs: There are only so many bars,but you hope you can come up with a combination that has a unique place in the world.

This is true for us in the School of Education. Strategic agility allows for the identification of jobs to be done within the education space,and at SOE we are committed to the cultivation of such creativity. Using what we already have, we continuously explore new combinations that reflect the current needs in the field and enhance our efforts to prepare people of competence and character, who will in turn positively impact the P–12 world. 

God has already provided for all our needs. What is left is for us to figure out how to faithfully and effectively use what we have been given. This means we need to listen carefully, take the time to understand, and discern next steps. I truly believe the adage that “everyone knows something you don’t know.” With that in mind I reiterate my standing invitation to collaborate with us and see what we can learn from one another and how we can put it together in a new song.

Here are just a few examples of how we have responded to the needs of our wider community:

• There is greater need for ELL skills, and we have developed our literacy program to more explicitly address this need with our MEd in Literacy, Language, and Equity. This also includes a cost-effective pathway to gaining ELL skills for those who already hold a master’s degree;
• Our students are working professionals. We are adding alternative instruction delivery modalities to respond to our students’ need for flexibility to accommodate their multiple responsibilities.
• The financial burden on our graduate students is very real. We are renewing our efforts to provide greater financial support to our graduate students with help from friends of SOE. Thank you for your contribution during our recent Giving Day campaign. 
• We are very much aware of the potential gap between theory and practice. Through externships, our faculty are partnering with educators at local schools in meaningful ways.

Finally, I want to acknowledge our current reality with the COVID-19 concerns, particularly in the Puget Sound area. The situation is constantly evolving and I am grateful for the SPU leaders who are working diligently to stay abreast of the latest primary source information and recommendations regarding COVID-19. Having accurate, up-to-date information allows us to make the best decisions for our students. I want to thank our SOE faculty and staff for the dedication and thought with which they have cared for our students to ensure that they finish the quarter well. The last few days have truly put our agility to the test, and the team has passed with flying colors!

Blessings to you,

Nyaradzo Mvududu
Dean, School of Education

alumni highlights

JULIETA ALTAMIRANO-CROSBY, MED ’18, NAMED SPU MEDALLION AWARD HONOREE

On Saturday, February 8, 2020, master’s in educational leadership graduate Julieta Altamirano-Crosby was honored with a Seattle Pacific University Medallion Award at the annual Alumni Awards Dinner. The Medallion Award, which has been given out annually since 1959, is awarded to alumni who make significant contributions to their communities. 

Dr. Altamirano-Crosby is an obvious recipient.

Growing up on the Pacific coast of Mexico in the small town of El Ocotito, Guerrero, education was always at the center of Dr. Altamirano-Crosby’s life. She began her academic career traveling an hour by taxi every day to reach school, and eventually went on to be a first-generation university student. Before attending SPU, Dr. Altamirano-Crosby had already earned two graduate degrees: a master’s in Communication Science from Complutense University of Madrid in Spain and a doctorate in Social Communication from the University of Havana in Cuba. She made her home in Mexico, and planned to stay there with her husband, Patrick Crosby, who is from Lynnwood, Washington, and their daughter. But in 2009 Dr. Altamirano-Crosby traded one Pacific coast state for another, and moved to Lynnwood full-time.

Upon her move to the United States, Dr. Altamirano-Crosby enrolled in classes at Everett Community College, where she began the process of learning English. The new language empowered her to have a voice in her new community. She began to volunteer in the Mukilteo School District as a Spanish interpreter and community liaison, and in 2012 she and her husband founded the WAGRO Learning Foundation, which operates in both Washington state and Mexico. According to its mission statement, WAGRO “provides resources to at-risk and underprivileged Latino and Hispanic youth” in Washington state by helping families navigate the education system effectively. Meanwhile, in Mexico, the foundation works closely with special needs educators and families to provide resources for children and adults with disabilities. For her efforts with the foundation, Dr. Altamirano-Crosby was awarded the Snohomish County Human Rights Commission’s 2017 Human Rights Award.

When discussing her accomplishments, Dr. Altamirano-Crosby credits both her love for learning and her faith. These values embody Seattle Pacific University, where she enrolled herself for a second master’s degree to prove herself as a leader in education. She has certainly done that. In June of 2018, she was appointed by Governor Inslee to the Washington State Commission on Hispanic Affairs for a two-year term, and since then has also been appointed to Snohomish County Human Rights Commission, the board of trustees for Humanities Washington, and Washington’s Educational Opportunity Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee. In November 2019, she was elected to the city council of Lynnwood, becoming the first Latina to hold that office in Snohomish County.

To learn more about Dr. Altamirano-Crosby’s journey, you can watch this interview, or listen to her episode of the SPU Voices podcast.

ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENTS

Dr. Justin Blasko ’16 has been appointed superintendent of the Monroe School District, where he currently serves as assistant superintendent.

Sandra Gessner-Crabtree, a graduate of our executive leadership program, has been appointed interim superintendent of the Port Townsend School District. 

Dr. John Polm ’16 has been appointed as the new superintendent of the Puyallup School District. John is currently superintendent in the the Port Townsend School District.

Have a professional success to share? Send it to On Point editor Sophia Ross at sophiaross@spu.edu for publication in the “Alumni Achievements” section of our next issue.

TEN THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT VIDEO SELF-ANALYSIS

With the ease and ubiquity of smartphones these days, video self-analysis has never been more accessible. Analyzing one’s own teaching has several benefits, as delineated in these Ten Things to Know.

1. It’s hard, but worth it!
   As Jim Knight ’14 explains in his book Focus on Teaching: Using Video for High-Impact Instruction, no one ever watched herself on video and exclaimed, “I look younger and thinner than I thought!” Video is a vulnerable medium, so it should be treated as such. Make sure to establish trust before using it as a coaching or professional development tool. Part of establishing trust is making sure that the participant is voluntarily sharing videos.
   
   
2. It provides a bridge from research to classroom practice.
   Educational agencies, including SPU, offer wonderful courses and workshops demonstrating evidence-based practices. However, too often the research and theory provided in these settings do not necessarily transfer to classroom practice. Video self-analysis allows an educator who participated in a recent training or course (e.g., GLAD training on supporting ELL students) to choose a goal, focus on the implementation, and then watch the video with that goal in mind. She can then use video as a follow-up strategy to continue growth towards that goal. 
   
   
3. It can build teacher’s self-efficacy.
   Teacher self-efficacy is the belief in being able to enact effective teacher behaviors in the classroom. Social scientist Albert Bandura of Stanford (1994) claimed that personal mastery successes have the greatest impact on people’s self-efficacy. In other words, people who experience firsthand positive achievements are more motivated to replicate their own behaviors. If teachers can use video to see their own implementation of effective practices, it makes it more feasible in their context, and moves a particular practice out of the realm of hypothetical. Additionally, Bandura considered knowledgeable outsiders who provide specific, encouraging feedback as “efficacy builders.” 
   
   
4. It focuses on student learning.
   Studies have shown that when educators watch recordings of classroom instruction, they are more able to focus on student learning and conceptual thinking rather than superficial factors  (Knight, 2014; Santagata & Sandholtz, 2019; Sherin & van Es, 2003, 2009). For instance, a teacher can notice student-to-student interactions that may have gone unnoticed during actual teaching.
   
   
5. It’s motivating and authentic!
   A few studies have shown (Beisiegel et al., 2018; Fukkink et al., 2011; Seidel et al., 2011) that teachers are more motivated (self-reported) and perform better (external evaluations) after watching videos of themselves teaching, not models of others’ instruction. However, one of those studies also found that teachers who watched themselves were less likely to notice critical incidents. Video self-analysis puts the instruction into a situated context, not a hypothetical, and thus provides authenticity. As #2 proclaims, it provides a bridge from the theoretical to the realities of the classroom. 
   
   
6. Choose a focus.
   Have a guiding question or structured form to frame viewing. Select a focus for the viewing. You may watch the same video multiple times, but each time should have a particular guiding question. For instance, a world language teacher may have a goal of 90% immersion in the target language for a particular lesson. She can then watch her lesson and tally the language being used every 30 seconds. She can even watch in 1.5 or double speed focusing on this goal in mind.  
   
   
7. Most benefit comes from focusing on positive, molar measures.
   Fukkink and colleagues (2011) conducted a meta-analysis of video self-analysis studies and determined that the largest positive effect came when there was some kind of structured form, like a rubric or checklist, which accompanied the video analysis. Additionally, there was greater impact for positive, molar measures that used some sort of scale rather than counting microskills. For instance, one might use a scale rubric to examine respect and rapport. A microskill is defined as a countable event, such as how many open-ended questions were asked. However, both structures yielded positive results. Looking for positive outcomes, such as respect, had larger effect sizes than looking for negative outcomes, such as nervousness. 
   
   
8. There are multiple ways and multiple viewer opportunities.
   A teacher can watch an entire 55-minute lesson, or just the first five minutes of the daily warm-up. He can watch it without sound and just focus on students’ postures and body language engagement or his own. He might watch it double speed in order to track one particular item and collect data. The same video can also be watched by multiple viewers — mentors, colleagues, or supervisors. Each viewer tends to notice different salient aspects of the lesson, so if trust has been established, this can be a very effective tool for team development. See Sherin and van Es for more on video clubs with practicing teachers.  
   
   
9. It has empirical support.
   Most of the literature reviewed showed a small or medium effect for incorporating video analysis as a tool for developing educators (Fukkink et al., 2011; Morin et al., 2019; Nagro et al., 2016). In my own research with graduate teacher educators in our online SPU programs, I found a positive effect size of Cohen’s d = .56, medium effect, on edTPA scores when we started requiring our cohorts to analyze at least two of their own instructional videos. 
   
   
10. There are free options.
    While some coaching platforms offer lots of wonderful functionality and tools to help focus feedback, such as GoReact, there are also free options, like Vialogues.com from Columbia University.

Faculty Q & A With Scott Beers

As a university rooted in the Christian tradition, SPU offers many ways for students to engage with their faith at SPU, whether through chapel, small groups, or theology courses. While faculty have access to chapel and similar small groups, they did not, until recently, have easy access to the rich knowledge housed in the Seattle Pacific Seminary.

Enter the Theological Integration Program (TIP). Thanks to a generous commitment from an anonymous donor, the University is now able to offer certificates in theological integration to faculty members, beginning with five Theological Integration Fellows who enrolled as faculty students this past fall. One of the five is our own Scott Beers, assistant dean and graduate faculty member. On Point spoke with Scott about his involvement in the program.

What is the Theological Integration Program, and what was the impetus behind its inception?

As I understand it, this program was developed (with help from a donor) to help faculty deepen their theological knowledge. Though all faculty at SPU are committed, active Christians, relatively few of us have taken graduate-level courses in theology. As a university, we are dedicated to student learning, and this program extends this dedication to faculty learning. SPU’s School of Theology is a fantastic resource for learning and growing in faith, but, due to time constraints, it is difficult for faculty to access these resources. The TIP provides some additional time for faculty to explore seminary-level coursework. We receive one course credit for every two theology classes we take.

Why did you decide to take part in the program?

My friends (and my kids) think I’m a bit crazy. “Haven’t you been in school enough already?” But from my perspective, why wouldn’t I jump at the chance to do this? After I graduated from college, I worked as a college ministry intern in a church for two years. At that point in my life, I intended to go to seminary to prepare for a life of ministry. Though my career path has taken a few twists that ultimately led me here, I’ve remained interested in taking theology courses since then. I also want to explore in more depth how I can integrate elements of faith into my teaching and research.

The main obstacles to doing this were time and money. Because of the way this program is structured, there’s a little more time (though not enough), and tuition is being covered by the donor.

What classes have you taken thus far, and with which professors? What elements have stood out for you in each class?

The first class I took was Global Christian Heritage I with Professor Rick Steele, which is a church history class spanning the years 100 to 1453 CE. It was remarkable reading primary texts about the church in its infancy as it tried to figure out what “church” would be. How should churches be led? By whom? Who selects leaders, and how are theological disputes to be settled? It was also fascinating to learn more about how some now-familiar “orthodox” doctrines (such as the Nicene Creed) were the result of hundreds of years of wrestling over issues like the divinity of Jesus (was he fully God? Was he fully human?).

My second class is on the Doctrine of Christ (with Dr. Brian Bantum), where we are focusing closely on the theological and practical implications of being made in the Image of God, the Word becoming flesh (the Incarnation), Jesus’ life and ministry, and Jesus’ death and resurrection. The class has encouraged me to think more about how being with Jesus (“remain in me, as I also remain in you” [John 15:4]) brings us wholeness and enables us to participate in God’s amazing mission.

Would you recommend the Theological Integration Program to other SOE faculty?

If the idea of learning more about theology and church history stirs your soul (in a good way), then yes! If expanding your ideas about God and Jesus and the role of the Church sounds appealing, then yes! I say this with some caution — the classes are difficult, and keeping up on the homework takes considerable time. It’s not easy finding time to finish take-home midterms or finals, especially when you need to grade final papers yourself! However, I have found the experience very rewarding so far, making the additional reading (and a few late nights) well worth it.

Learn more about TIP in Response.

Faculty & Staff Highlights

Once again, the Professional Educator Standards Board awarded the School of Education another round of competitive Alternative Routes Block Grants (ARBG) for two more cohorts of school employees who desire to earn residency teacher certification. The new grant cycle runs from 2020 until 2022. Kirsten Koetje, Alternative Routes to Certification (ARC) coordinator, collaborated with Dr. Lara Cole at the Northwest Educational Service District 189 (NWESD) this time around to concentrate efforts in the northern corner of our state, including remote island and rural locations.

The potential award of $312,000 is candidate-centric and will help fund school employees from the NWESD 189 in any of SPU’s one-year graduate teacher education programs for the next two years. SPU is eligible for $156,000 for each of two cohorts (2020–21 and 2021–22), with 12 total candidates in each cohort. NWESD currently serves 35 public school districts, in addition to Lummi Nation K–12, and runs three Discovery programs for students with special needs. NWESD commits to helping SPU recruit and develop their current employees into certificated teaching roles. The ARC program promotes a “grow your own” model of teacher recruitment, aiming to develop local talent already familiar with the schools and communities where candidates live. ARC is an entirely online program that offers a flexible option for those who desire to remain in their communities. In addition, ARC prioritizes shortage areas of certification such as special education, math, English language learners, and elementary education. Other priorities for the grant include diversifying the teacher workforce and counting prior life experience towards certification requirements.

The ARC program is currently in its fourth year at SPU, though it closely aligns with the accelerated one-year master’s degree teaching programs. Candidates who are not eligible for the grant may still enroll in the certificate-only ARC program. ARC is a post-baccalaureate online program that leads to residency teacher certification, not a degree, in four quarters. Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree to apply. Although the grant support is limited to those working within the NWESD, applicants may apply from around the state. ARC students are often school employees — either Route 2 district staff (such as para-educators or instructional aides) or Route 4 limited certificate teachers of record. The program also enrolls Route 3 candidates who are not school employees, but career changers with bachelors’ degrees. The program runs from summer to spring.

Selected grant recipients will receive anywhere from $8,000 to $11,500 toward their program costs while overlapping their employment with their student teaching internship. School and district administrators in the field identify known employees whom they want to recommend and support into certificated roles. Along with recruitment, our educational partners are exploring ways to support the teacher development aspects of the program, such as identifying qualified mentors and field supervisors for internship and offering workshops and networking opportunities to the candidates. If you would like more information or want to refer a potential ARC applicant, contact Graduate Enrollment Counselor Katie Clum at kclum@spu.edu. For NWESD employees, you may also contact Dr. Lara Cole at lcole@nwesd.org. ARC offers a unique program that substantially lowers the cost to certification while allowing current school employees an option for a job-embedded internship.

Jennie Warmouth, School of Education adjunct instructor and second-grade teacher at Spruce Elementary School in Lynnwood, WA, was featured on KIRO 7 this past December for her and her students’ philanthropic work on Giving Tuesday. Since 2004, Dr. Warmouth has had her students write online descriptions for homeless dogs and cats at the PAWS animal shelter in Lynnwood. This year, along with writing descriptions for some of the animals, Dr. Warmouth’s class raised $387.57 for PAWS, and personally delivered the money to the shelter’s CEO. Not only was this a wonderful lesson in helping others, but the students were also challenged to work on their math skills, specifically multiplication, as they counted the money. According to Dr. Warmouth, this annual philanthropy is what she is “most proud of in [her] career.”

You can watch the news segment here.

William Nagy, emeritus faculty and scholar in residence at the School of Education, presented his research at the Center for the Study of Adult Literacy at University of Memphis on November 4, 2019. Dr. Nagy has been working on this particular topic — age of acquisition effects in word processing — for the past year in collaboration with Dr. Elfrieda Hiebert. The presentation, which was a follow-up to a talk he gave at the annual meeting for the Scientific Study of Reading in Toronto last summer, was based on one of two papers that he and Dr. Hiebert co-authored for the conference. He hopes to continue this research and present it at next summer’s meeting of the Scientific Study of Reading.

Six SOE Faculty Members Present at 40th Annual AILACTE Conference 

Over the last weekend in February, six faculty members of the School of Education travelled to Atlanta for the annual meeting and conference of the Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education (AILACTE). Among these faculty was David Denton, current member of AILACTE’s Executive Board and former president of the board, who participated on a past presidents’ panel and led a breakout session entitled “Understanding Why Math and Science Teachers Quit: Evidence for Cognitive Errors” alongside fellow SOE faculty Nalline Baliram. Daniel Bishop, assistant professor and chair of Teacher Leadership, led a breakout session using research done by Julieta Altamirano-Crosby, MEd ’18 and SPU Medallion Award Honoree. The session, titled “Engaging Latino Families as Partners in Learning,” was based on an article that Drs. Bishop and Altamirano-Crosby co-authored that is currently being reviewed for publication.

Other presenters included Jill Heiney-Smith, director of graduate teacher education, and Kirsten Koetje, coordinator for the ARCSE program, presented together on “Advocating for Teacher Wellness Strategies as Part of Preparation” in a breakout session that drew from their experience implementing wellness plans into the teacher education curriculum at SPU. Finally, Emily Huff, director of field placements and clinical faculty, presented a roundtable session on “Increasing Culturally Responsive Teaching by Implementing Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL),” which was developed alongside field supervisor Mare Sullivan.

Faculty Publications

This February, Peter Renn, assistant dean of the School of Education, along with his co-editor, Tatyana Tsyrlina-Spady, published the interdisciplinary collection Nurture, Care, Respect, and Trust through Myers Education Press. The collection was inspired by the work of Polish educator and pedagogue Janusz Korczak, and papers range from exploring the history of Korczak’s life and philosophy to present-day teacher training and child advocacy. Along with compiling and editing the book, Dr. Renn, in collaboration with his co-editor, contributed the introduction and an interview with Jonathan Levy. Congratulations to Dr. Renn on this major achievement. To order or read more about the collection, you can visit the publisher’s page here.

JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS

Congratulations to the following School of Education faculty members on the following recent publications:

Jill Heiney-Smith, Don’t Forget the Mentor Teacher: Reflections on a Preservice Mentor Development Program

Robin Henrikson, Building Purposeful Superintendent and School Board Relationships Through Examining the Historical Narrative of Evolving Roles and A Summary of the Current Landscape of Superintendent Evaluation Practices and Preferences

Kirsten Koetje, E-Mentoring Novice Teachers to Fill the Gap 

Munyi Shea, College students’ barriers to seeking mental health counseling: Scale development and psychometric evaluation

SOE WELCOMES NEW STAFF MEMBERS

Allyson Rachal is the new undergraduate program specialist in the School of Education. Her primary role will be working with undergraduate students as they navigate the state and SOE certification requirements in addition to completing their bachelor’s degree. Allyson grew up in Southern California but fell in love with Seattle when she attended SPU as an undergrad. She went on to get her master of divinity from Duke Divinity School in North Carolina before returning to the Pacific Northwest to work as a hospital chaplain at Harborview Medical Center. She is excited to be back at SPU and to help students pursuing their passion for education. She loves talking about theology, books, sports, and television. She greatly wishes she had a dog and always welcomes people sharing stories and pictures of theirs!

Jennifer Anderson has served as a staff member in the School of Education’s Center for Professional Education since 2010, after earning her BA in Educational Ministry from SPU. She has had the unique experience of holding most of the positions in the Center for Professional Education during her tenure, and recently stepped into the role of interim CPE program manager. This role supports CPE staff and programs, as well as serving as a liaison to wider SPU departments, educational partners,and professional organizations in Washington state and across the nation. She is hopeful her knowledge base and experience in CPE will help to provide as smooth a transition as possible. Last June, Jennifer graduated with her MS in Marriage and Family Therapy and is excited to transition to that full-time this summer, albeit with bittersweet feelings: “SPU has been a foundational place in my education, and the beginning of my professional life —I’m profoundly grateful for the opportunities I’ve had and hope to serve the department well before handing over the baton!

Giving

Like you, we believe in our mission to engage the culture and change the world … starting in the classroom. That’s why SPU’s School of Education is always looking for new ways to help you connect with the future of education in our state and beyond. And there’s more than one way you can get involved. In fact, here are four ways to give.

On Point

Do you have news or know of any faculty, staff, or alumni who could be featured in the next issue? Contact On Point editor Sophia Ross at sophiaross@spu.edu.