Year IV, Number II Spring 2014

UNL Phi Delta Kappa International Chapter 0015—Established 1914

2013-2014 Chapter Officers

President, Dr. Harriet Gould drhgould@gmail.com

Vice President/Membership, Marty Peregoy mperegoy@lps.org

Chapter Advisor Emeritus, Dr. Ron Joekel rjoekel2@unl.edu Chapter Advisor, Dr. Brent Cejda bcejda2@unl.edu Future Educators Association, Dr. Mike McDonald mcdonald1.mike@gmail.com Research Committee, Dr. John Creswell jcreswell@unl.edu Sue Heine sheine@esu2.org Secretary, Melissa Casper musical_muse3@hotmail.com Treasurer, Bev Westerberg bwester@neb.rr.com Programming Co-chairs, Tim Golden tgolden@neb.rr.com Dr. Don Fritz dfritz@windstream.net Scholarships, Dr. Jeewa Moses yjmoses@ucollege.edu Sue Heine sheine@esu2.org Dr. Guy Trainin Gtrainin2@unl.edu Centennial/History Chair, Dr. Carrie Campbell aicarriecampbell@gmail.com Newsletter and Publications, Alicia Dallman dallman.alicia@gmail.com PDK International Liaison, Dr. Doug Christensen dougchristensen111@gmail.com Graduate Student Rep., Michael Jolley mrjolly@huskers.unl.edu Webmaster, Dr. Olha Ketsman oketsman@gmail.com

President’s Message Cha I write this on the eve of a night that changed America. Fifty years ago, a group of young British singers stormed New York City and sang on the Ed Sullivan Show. I vividly remember sitting in the living room with a few neighbor girls and listening to these fellas sing. “I love you, yeh, yeh, yeh…I want to hold your hand.” The girls in the audience let lose with shrieks and screams; it was unbelievable. I remember my parents peering over our shoulders wondering if we were going to join the ranks of the screaming adolescents. Beatlemania had arrived. It was February 1964. I was a senior in high school, just old enough to get involved with the hype. It seems like yesterday, but it was fifty years ago and now there’s going to be a Grammy Salute to the Beatles. Those times can’t be recreated, but they can be celebrated. Phi Delta Kappa was founded on the UNL campus with lots of excitement too. One hundred years ago, the chapter charter was signed. Although the campus queens weren’t screaming or even involved with the chapter, the times were memorable for those involved. Ten decades have passed since the chapter was founded. A strong legacy of involvement exists in this chapter. UNL Kappans have earned honors. They have also been recognized for outstanding teaching, service, research and leadership both in Nebraska and throughout the US. Once again, I’m a senior. I’m ready to celebrate and get involved with the hype. In case you’re unaware, a PDK Centennial Committee has been working hard for three years on the chapter celebration scheduled for Thursday, June 12, 2014. The interim years can’t be recreated, but they can be celebrated. Please join us for this historic salute to 100 years of PDK at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. The evening will highlight chapter awards and memorable experiences in a variety of ways from its inception to current events. One of the more recent, candid snapshots from Fall 2013 I selected to include is featured below.

(Left to Right) Sue Heine, John Creswell, and Lesley Hawley stand before all at the

Joekel Research Award presentation.

~Harriet Dr. Harriet Gould—PDK Chapter 0015 President

Three issues have been the focus of PDK International, its staff, and board of directors. The first issue is building the Young Educator’s Association (formerly FEA) into a national organization so that the “pipeline” of future educators can begin in high school, extend into college with Phi Lambda Theta/SEAN, and then progress into PDKIntl for the career educator. Second, as you may already know, membership numbers of new Kappans continue to decline despite aggressive recruitment efforts and the offering of incentives. We are losing about 10% of our members each year; and, if that trend continues, membership in PDKIntl will be less than 10,000 in 2020. We cannot survive with only 10,000 dues-paying members. As a result, a “thought group” has been appointed to engage in an exercise of “imagining the future” for PDKIntl. This group is just getting started and you will hear more as time goes on. Third, our Executive Director, Dr. Bill Bushaw has announced his retirement effective August 1, 2014. A search committee is being formed and Doug Christensen is the chair. The names of the committee members who represent PDKIntl board members, foundation board members, and PDKIntl staff will be announced in a week or so. We will set up a website for posting documents related to the search and the documents submitted by candidates to support their applications. The target timeline for selection of a new Executive Director is early June. Dr. Doug Christensen—PDK International Liaison

When I joined PDK as a student at Nebraska Wesleyan University, I soon realized the circle of expertise this organization offers. During the past year, I have had conversations with PDK members about each of the top five higher education developments recognized by renowned staff Reporter for National Journal Sophie Quinton. Quinton identified five critical movements in education that she predicts will have a significant impact on higher education in the US in 2014. Regarding curriculum trends, she highlights both “‘competency-based learning’” and “‘prior learning assessment,’” methods designed to increase the completion rate of post-secondary degrees (Quinton pars. 4-5). Quinton similarly outlines the importance of student-centered developments. While noting Career and Technical Education, CTE respectively, she lists numerous benefits of this emphasis for college students and showcases innovative legislative action in Texas and Georgia in this field. Quinton also explains that student loans will continue to take center stage in higher education debates; efforts “on making college more efficient and cost-effective” to alleviate student debt will be priorities (Quinton par. 9). Collecting and sharing private student data has also come into the spotlight, namely a potential “bill that would require state boards of education to make public their data-collection activities and restrict access to information about children's educational progress” (Quinton par. 12). Her fifth, final trend features teacher enlistment, training, assessment, and support. Quinton, Sophie. “5 Higher-Education Trends for 2014." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 30 Dec. 2013. Web. 25 Jan. 2014. <http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/12/5-higher-education-trends-for-2014/282702/>.

Alicia Dallman—PDK Newsletter and Publications

The PDKLite bookclub has been active reading the following texts: Big Data by Viktor Mayer-Schonberger and Kenneth Cukier, David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell, and The Smartest Kids in the World by Amanda Ripley. We will be discussing Ripley's book on Tuesday, February 25, 2014. We will meet at West View Bed & Breakfast from 6:30 until 8:00 p.m. Please pick up a copy and come join us! Charlene Brown—PDKLite Facilitator

EDU News on Global, National, and Local Levels

In 2012 a book hit the stores titled Flip Your Classroom: Reach Every Student in Every Class Every Day, by Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams. When teachers read their success stories in the Denver area public schools, they quickly attempted to replicate their efforts in their own instructional setting. Bergmann and Sams created short videos of lessons one summer that students would access the upcoming year. The idea was that instead of a traditional instructional model, students would access the typical lectures posted on the web outside of class. Because a student could watch the lecture outside of class and multiple times, in-class time with the teacher would center on the assignments. These figures probably demonstrate the concept a bit better as to how Bergmann and Sams relay it in their book.

Figure 1

This first figure illustrates how the access to instructional materials remains constant throughout a student’s typical day because the student should have his or her textbook or materials with him or her. Though we all know that learning isn’t guaranteed to occur just because a student has the materials. This model demonstrates the peaks and drops of the teacher-student interactions throughout the day as well. Those interactions could be simply passing each other in the hallway, coming in for one-on-one help at lunch or before school, and the regular class period as well. All data shows the spikes of communication opportunities throughout the day, and how they eventually drop off. The noteworthy trend in this model is that even though we assign homework to students to take home at the end of the day, student performance can also follow the same graph, where students can do so much better when working with the instructor. That was the motivation behind the efforts of Bergmann and Sams.

Figure 2

What’s the hype with Flipped Classrooms? What’s the next step?

Continued: What’s the hype with Flipped Classrooms? What’s the next step? The idea behind using the flipped model was to just see if giving longer access to the teacher could make a difference in

student learning. So, flipping the traditional model would mean student-teacher interactions could happen outside of school – and, direct instruction could occur outside of the typical four walls of their classroom.

The authors took a summer and created short online videos for their students to access at home. Students would watch the necessary course lectures online before class and the teacher could turn their lecture time into hands-on activities. Thus, classes could be about doing the work, not listening to the teacher do the work.

Although this flipped model was attempted and failed back in the 80’s, 90’s, and early 00’s, I suspect the improvement in video editing software, access to mobile apps, and web-authoring capabilities have built up the hype – that, in fact, we all can teach to every student beyond a traditional class model.

One thought I suggest is to contemplate the possibilities if we were to consider a combination of both models – giving us a more Flipped Mastery Model (Figure 3). That consideration would mean that students would have not only access to the teacher all day, but also access to instruction.

Figure 3

That, to me, is where the excitement in education lies: how to utilize both in-class and out-of-class instruction. We are no longer limited to 50 minutes because technology is in our students’ hands in their cellphones and mobile devices. Where’s the hype? It now lies at our students’ fingertips. What’s the challenge? That’s open for discussion.

Alicia Dr. Matthew Kutscher—Doane College Professor of Education

The Phi Delta Kappan, “the professional magazine for anyone who cares about K-12 education and features articles about classroom practice, policy, research, professional issues, and innovations in education,” is available to all PDK members at http://pdkintl.org/publications/kappan/ (“Phi Delta Kappan Magazine” par. 1). The February 2014 issue analyzes charter schools and how these institutions will affect the structure and future of K-12 education. The February 2014 issue also delves into collective bargaining, technology in the classroom, global connections, and additional current events and topics in the US. To access this information as well as past articles/features, visit the link provided below. "Phi Delta Kappan Magazine." Phi Delta Kappa International. Phi Delta Kappa, n.d. Web. 28 Jan. 2014. <http://pdkintl.org/publications/kappan/>. Alicia Dallman—PDK Newsletter and Publications

Chapter 15 Web News Visit http://pdk.unl.edu/ to view updates regarding PDK Chapter 15 events. This website also explores links outlining education policy and planning resources as well as opportunities and awards available to PDK members. Membership For additional information regarding PDK member benefits, visit: http://www.pdkintl.org/join/member-benefits.htm. Among other boons, PDK International also offers monetary assistance for sundry school, research, and education-centered projects.

Reader Contributions If you have an event, current issue in education, or other matter related to PDK that you would like to see in the Fall 2014 newsletter, please send details to dallman.alicia@gmail.com. Thank you for your participation and collaboration. PDK Scholarships and Awards For additional information about grants and honors for PDK members, visit http://pdkintl.org/programs-resources/scholarships-awards/. To Attend Activities Please respond via email to Dr.Harriet Gould: drhgould@gmail.com. The social and activity nights generally take place between 5:30 and 7:30 in the evening. For additional information and updates, including event registration, see the following website: pdk.unl.edu. Special thanks to Olha Ketsman for technology support. Newsletter Acknowledgements All member photographs and articles were provided by featured PDK individuals. A special thanks is extended to Charlene Brown, Dr. Doug Christensen, Dr. Matthew Kutscher, and Dr. Don Fritz.

PDK Events: Opportunities to Network and Learn I recently have begun reading a book titled Hacking Leadership by Mike Myatt. I noted very early a quote in the book that reminded me about the role of Phi Delta Kappa (PDK): “Leadership is about … learning and unlearning. I have yet to see anyone improve their status by maintaining the status quo.” The author very clearly reinforces the role of new learning in managing and guiding change in all aspects of our lives. As co-chair of the Programs Committee, we take the learning challenge seriously as we further the mission of PDK. As we prepared the programs for the 2013-2014 school year, we surveyed our membership prior to be sure that we were meeting their needs and providing topics of interest to them. The following is a brief summary of the programs that have been held and a list of upcoming, scheduled programs: September 17, 2013 iPads for the Classroom Dr. Guy Trainin October 23, 2013 Table Talk and Lessons Learned NE Teachers of the Year November 12, 2013 Effective CI Processes Reps from three districts January 28, 2014 Experiences of First Year Teachers Panel of first-year teachers February 10, 2014 Bullying in Schools Dr. Susan Swearer March 26, 2014 Career Academies Reps from Career Ed. Prog. June 12, 2014 Centennial Celebration In addition to the regularly scheduled programs, PDK also offers other learning opportunities: 1) PDK Lite Book Club; 2) Review of Doctoral Research/UNL Research Conference; 3) PDK Apps Users Group; 4) tickets for the March 18, 2014 - Am. Ed. In the Age of Globalization – with Dr. Yong Zhoa. We have had good attendance at our meetings (approximately 20); we had excellent college student attendance at the First Year Teacher Panel (approximately 50 students) and the Bullying Program (approximately 50 students). I encourage all PDK members to take advantage of these varied learning opportunities and to push yourself into new learning and challenge the status quo. If the members push themselves, we can push PDK to even greater learning opportunities in the next one hundred years.

Alicia Dr. Don Fritz—PDK Programs Co-chair

To To close, Dr. Harriet Gould has selected an inspirational author and his words for PDK membership reflection and analysis. Simon Sinek, author of the newly published Leaders Eat Last, Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t, reminds readers about the significance of leadership roles:

“Leaders are the ones who run headfirst into the unknown. They rush toward the danger. They put their own interests aside to protect us or to pull us into the future. Leaders would sooner sacrifice what is theirs to save what is ours. And they would never sacrifice what is ours to save what is theirs. This is what it means to be a leader. It means they choose to go first into danger, headfirst toward the unknown. And when we feel sure they will keep us safe, we will march behind them and work tirelessly to see their visions come to life. And proudly call ourselves their followers” (Sinek).

Sinek, Simon. Leaders Eat Last, Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t. New York, NY: Portfolio Hardcover, 2014. Print. For additional information about Sinek’s model, visit http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action.html.