It's a new world out there

Mississippi State is helping transform K - 12 education in the state.

By Maridith Walker Geuder

Critter Creations is just the beginning

One day last spring, about two dozen 8th graders at Armstrong Middle School in Starkville came into class, retrieved computer disks, and began their class assignment: develop a spreadsheet for a hypothetical business.

They learned how to navigate the computer program and soon were computing inventories and prices.

Armstrong Middle School students are learning business and computer skills, thanks to the Tech Prep initiative developed by Mississippi State and the state Department of Education

Behind them on a bulletin board, teacher Cindy Johnson had displayed the results of an earlier class assignment. Flyers advertising a business the students called "Critter Creations" invited would-be customers to purchase clothing items for their pets.

The students spend the entire school year learning skills such as database management, desktop publishing, and word processing in a class called Computer Discovery. It's part of a statewide Tech Prep initiative developed by Mississippi State University and the Mississippi Department of Education.

"The basic thrust of Tech Prep is practical, applied knowledge," explained Rebecca Love-Wilkes, director of the Research and Curriculum Unit for Vocational and Technical Education, a joint program of the university's College of Education and the Mississippi Department of Education. It is a new way of educating, not a new name for vocational education, she emphasizes.

Tech Prep includes a yearlong Career Discovery for 7th graders, the 8th grade Computer Discovery, a year for 9th graders on Technology Discovery, and Career Planning throughout grades 7-12.

"A school district applies to the Tech Prep program and the whole school adopts it," Wilkes explained. Fifteen school districts were part of the pilot program, which was launched three years ago. More than 100 schools have since become participants; others are expected.

The goal is to transform the educational process. "It's a very different classroom," Wilkes said. "Tech Prep emphasizes cooperative learning and applied academics. Theories become skills. Students become better problem-solvers. Expectations of all students are raised."

The process also places new demands on teachers. With students introduced to subjects ranging from desktop publishing to robotics technology, teachers must be ahead of the learning curve in technical abilities. Classrooms become problem-centered, with students actively engaged in the learning process.

Those who teach in Tech Prep must complete a training program to be certified. Mississippi State University technology and education professor Patti Abraham, who coordinates Computer Discovery training statewide, said that teachers must be as comfortable explaining the computer as using it.

In a month-long program this summer, she'll train 80 Mississippi teachers, who'll become competent in keyboarding, operating systems, data management, spreadsheets, and other computer applications.

Abraham

Through testing and presentations, the teachers earn certificates that say they've made the grade. "After that, they'll come back for retraining," Abraham said. To keep course work current and accurate, she visits teachers three times a year and schedules training as needed. She also conducts emergency training sessions some Saturdays.

For teachers such as Cindy Johnson at Armstrong Middle School, that up-to-the-minute knowledge means the 117 students she teaches each day are ready for the changing world around them.

Tech Prep is one of many ways Mississippi State is working to give Mississippi teachers and students the foundation for the future, said Dean William Graves of the College of Education. "Public education in Mississippi is being shaped by faculty and research at this university," he said. "Our faculty and researchers are helping rewrite education in the state."

As another example, he points out that curriculum specialists at the Research and Curriculum Unit and at the state's education department are working with Mississippi teachers to revise the way a variety of subject areas are taught.

They have completed new educational frameworks for reading and language arts, fine arts, science, and math. "The approach emphasizes hands-on knowledge," explained Wilkes.

In language arts, for instance, students learning the basic rules of punctuation and grammar may be asked to create a written plan for job improvement or to create written directions. The teacher acts as a facilitator, encouraging students to apply what they've learned.

"By providing learning-oriented classrooms, we hope to prepare students for a lifetime of learning," Wilkes said.

Graves

Learning to write, learning to think

A local high school science teacher who had his students write about what they learned in class found they had insights beyond the facts and formulas usually associated with his subject.

"What is the wind?" one young writer asked. "The wind is like a thief-it can come when you least expect it and steal everything."

Having students write-beginning in the 1st grade-is the basis for an approach to learning that emphasizes critical thinking skills. The Mississippi Writing/Thinking Institute, headquartered at Mississippi State and a part of the College of Education, includes sites at seven state universities. All are part of the National Writing Project.

The national project, begun in 1973, emphasizes university-school partnerships to improve the teaching and learning of writing in the nation's classrooms. Mississippi's program is unique in that it involves a collaboration among a number of state universities.

Through programs such as "The Wonder of Science" and "The Wonder of Learning," the Mississippi Writing/Thinking Institute helps teachers bring writing-based instruction into their classes, regardless of subject, said institute director Sherry Swain.

"We look at writing in three ways," she explained. "It's a craft; it's a learning tool for science, physics, and math; and it's a form of expression."

The program draws on outstanding classroom teachers to teach their colleagues. An annual summer institute brings teachers together to learn from peers who excel in using writing as a learning tool. Participants complete their own writing assignments, and they explore current research. These teachers return to their schools as consulting staff for the state's writing projects. "Our theory is that only writers can teach writing," says Swain, who has authored a book about writing. "And we also believe that the best teacher is another teacher."

The institute's programs often are transforming experiences for teachers, she says. Reaching thousands of Mississippi teachers each year through the summer institute, staff development programs, and site programs, Swain says the Writing/Thinking Institute is helping provide students the skills to analyze, synthesize, and communicate effectively while they're in school-and long after.

Support for those who lead our schools

For school administrators who work to provide effective learning environments, education today means more than delivering a grounding in skills for the future. Given increasing public scrutiny and demands for accountability, those who lead the state's schools also must demonstrate how successful the educational process has been.

A statewide public school outreach program in the College of Education is providing educational products and services to help Mississippi schools improve instruction and demonstrate outcomes. "Our goal is to help develop leadership capabilities and to offer technical consultation," said Mike Walters, director of the Program for Research and Evaluation for Public Schools Inc.

Former superintendent of the Tupelo schools, he became PREPS director this year. A performance-based accrediting system in Mississippi that includes 38 separate standards has created very large and complex data systems for schools, he said. "There is a need to provide assistance in managing and interpreting data, to provide opportunities for staff development, and to offer assistance with curriculum enhancement."

To coordinate Mississippi State's outreach efforts, Walters also will head the newly formed Center for Educational Partnerships, said education dean Graves. "We want to support public schools by providing an educational extension service," he said. "This center will allow us to focus to meet the needs of school districts around the state."

PREPS, which will be a part of the center, is a long-established research and service program. New programs that will be housed in the Center for Educational Partnerships include the Mississippi School Superintendent Mentoring Project; the Mississippi Academy for Teachers of Sciences, Mathematics, and Technology; the Professional Development Council; and the Mississippi World Class Teacher Project.

"Mississippi faces the prospect of a teacher shortage," Walters noted. "The state also must respond to a rapidly changing educational environment in which some 25,000 certified teachers will have to be retrained."

The Center for Educational Partnerships will be a clearinghouse to provide resources to public schools responding to these changes, he said. "The university is rich in resources, but school districts don't always know what's available. This will be a single point of contact.

"We're trying to coordinate and build on strengths that already exist," he noted. "I believe Mississippi State will be positioned as a leader in support of K-12 education."

An academy for school executives

When more than 200 Mississippi public school administrators gathered for a Mississippi State workshop last February, in essence they returned to school themselves. Experts presented sessions that introduced the participants, representing more than 50 school districts, to ways that technology can enhance teaching. It was part of a Technology and Quality Education program presented by PREPS and by the Mississippi Academy of School Executives, headquartered at the university.

Lovell

Through the academy, directed by Ned Lovell of the Educational Leadership Department, school administrators can benefit from expert knowledge in fields ranging from technology to violence and its implication for schools. "Through our outreach efforts, we try to identify issues and present possible solutions," Lovell said.

A community college leadership program, which the department launched three years ago, is being replicated for public school needs in Jackson. The Jackson Education Management Program will nurture and train aspiring administrators, Lovell said.

"Within the next decade, a vast majority of school administrators in Mississippi will be eligible for retirement," he pointed out. "Considerable turnover is expected in Jackson. This program is designed to make Jackson a national leader in professional staff development for future school administrators."

Armstrong teacher Cindy Johnson takes a hands-on approach to familiarizing her students with skills such as database management, desktop publishing, and word processing.

Instructional activities are being designed specifically for Jackson Public School needs, with participants earning academic credit. A clinical assistant professor will be on site to coordinate such activities as a mentoring program, rotation of internships among administrative areas, and leadership activities, Lovell said.

Closer to home, the department has worked with Oktibbeha County schools to set up a management information system for recording academic and attendance records. The project, which Lovell hopes may become a national model, is funded by the Public School Partnership Program of the university's Office of Research.

"In these days of accountability, both rural and urban schools must be able to manage resources effectively so that they can devote more time to instruction," Lovell said.

The future of education in Mississippi depends on innovative, forward-thinking projects such as those being developed by faculty members at Mississippi State.

"Our state will progress only if we provide our youth the knowledge and the skills to meet the demands of a new century," Dean Graves said. "We are committed to serving the needs of educators in this state. We want to make a difference in the lives of those who teach and of those who learn."