Countdown to Proseminar 2019

1. Countdown to Proseminar 2019 Susan R. Hughes, ED. D.

2. Getting ready for the big event! • Congratulations on your accomplishments thus far. Having made it to EDUC 606, now is the time to get ready for Proseminar. • All of you should have received housing information for the days that you are required to be on campus (July 9,10, 11, 12), registration information, information about the books that you are required to read in advance, and the directions for the book synthesis paper that you will submit.

3. How Groups are Established • Faculty members for Proseminar 2019 are Chris Bakkum, Todd Braun, Susie Hughes, Vicky Eiben, Jill Peterson, and Kate Robertson. • Each faculty member is assigned 18-22 students who become their ‘class’ for the week. You will submit the link to your portfolio (June 1) to your instructor, and the synthesis paper (June 15) in the drop boxes under that instructor’s name. • Students meet with their assigned faculty member for book discussion groups, and submit the initial book synthesis paper, link to the Portfolio, and final reflection paper to their assigned faculty member through Moodle.

4. Preparing your Research Presentation • I like to call this presentation your ‘15 minutes of fame’. • You have poured your heart and soul into an action research study, and you will now have the opportunity to share your journey with your peers. • Each student prepares a presentation that typically includes a visual aid (PowerPoint or Prezi, or some other multimedia work) that is presented to a small audience of your peers (typically under 20 attendees) and one or two faculty members.

5. Research Presentation Details • Each student is allotted 15 minutes of presentation time to convey the importance of the study. • The faculty member who serves as the juried member for the presentation will time the presentation and provide a two minute warning at 13 minutes. • Students must cover the required information in the 15 minutes allotted, as it is imperative that we keep to the schedule so that all students have an equal opportunity to shine! • Each student’s presentation is scored using a rubric that is included in the mailing.

6. What to Include in Your Research Presentation • There are four major areas on which you are scored during your 15 minute presentation, including: • Each of the parts of the research paper, including Introduction (problem investigated, purpose for the study, and research questions) literature review (VERY BRIEF), methods (type of study and tools), results and data analysis, and conclusions ( I suggest that students really try to focus on the introduction and the results and discussion with less time on the literature and the methods). • Impact of your research on the future (your practice, your students, your future as an action researcher). • What were your major take-aways after completing the study? • Overall presentation – professionalism, clarity, timing, confidence, visual display, and engagement with audience.

7. Research Presentation Scoring/Grading • Each of the elements is scored on a rubric, and the score becomes a part of your overall grade for Proseminar, along with your attendance at sessions, and the two papers that you write (one prior to coming to the event, and a reflection paper that you will write at the conclusion of the week. • Public sharing of research results is common for master’s degree programs that include a research component. • This is not intended to be something to fear, but an opportunity to celebrate and share the findings of your study with your peers.

8. Book Synthesis Paper • You have received a document with instructions for the Book Synthesis paper that you will submit to your Proseminar Instructor via their EDUC 604 Moodle no later than June 15th. This paper is intended to act as one measurement of growth in the graduate student’s ability to synthesize information from a variety of texts into a well-written document. • This year, students are assigned two books to read, and may choose the other two books from the list that was mailed to you. Reading and synthesizing information is a time consuming task, as it requires you to reflect on each of the texts to determine the themes that you identify in each. Then students must choose COMMON themes among the four books and write (per the rubric) about the themes, using citations from each of the four books as evidence.

9. Preparing your Growth Portfolio • A component of the Master of Arts in Education program is the ongoing development of a professional growth portfolio, in which the graduate student is asked to record, integrate, and reflect on his/her professional experiences in the graduate program. • Students are asked to submit three or more artifacts, each with an accompanying reflection that provides justification for choosing the artifacts, how the artifact demonstrates your growth, how the artifact connects to a course (provide semester, year, and instructor’s name), and one or more of the teaching standards. • The contents of the portfolio should represent the individual student’s learning journey and how he or she has put the pieces of the puzzle together in a way to create a record of growth and the ability to synthesize the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that the student has amassed as a result of the graduate program. • The Portfolio link should be submitted to your Proseminar instructor by June 1.

10. Sharing your Growth Portfolio • Beginning in 2018, students will be asked to prepare a poster, similar to one that you would see at a conference poster session. • On the poster, each student will highlight areas of growth that he or she is particularly proud of and which individualize the student’s growth in the outcomes. • Students are free to use photographs or other documents that would be helpful in providing evidence of growth (be certain that if you use photos of students, you have the valid permission from the parent or guardian). • The graduates will be divided into groups and will ‘share’ their growth at a series of poster fairs during the week.

11. Proseminar Schedule • Proseminar begins with a Kickoff on Tuesday morning and introductions by the Dean of the School of Education, Math, and Science, Dr. Sara Cook. • You will have a schedule to follow that includes book discussion groups, research presentation times (each time slot includes three presentations in a room that are typically similar in nature) – for example three studies on early literacy would be scheduled in a room. • You will have opportunities to choose to attend presentations that interest you. Once you choose a room, you are expected to stay in the room for all three presentations.

12. Best Practice Sharing by Job Alike Groups • One of the highlights of the Proseminar Week (according to feedback from our students) is a Job Alike group sharing time. • Each student brings one example of a ‘best practice’ that he or she uses in his/her classroom; each student shares with others who have similar teaching assignments. • Students are expected to bring copies of the best practice to hand out to others in the group. The instruction packet will tell you how many copies to bring (typically about 18-20).

13. Other Aspects of the Week • As it is often a student’s first experience on the Viterbo campus, there are things that are made available that one might not experience otherwise. • Once such event is a chapel tour, when one of the Sisters of Perpetual Adoration leads a tour of the amazing chapel that sits just adjacent to our campus. The sisters have so much to share about their mission and their involvement in establishing and maintaining our campus. • The alumni office hosts a Riverboat cruise on one of the evenings that includes a boat ride with pizza and beer – this is not to be missed!

14. GRADUATION!! • Finally, the day that you have been waiting for will be here! • Graduation takes place on Friday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. • This is a small, intimate event when only the graduates of the Master of Arts in Education are conferred degrees. • It has all of the pomp and circumstance of a typical graduation, but due to the smaller numbers, usually takes only about an hour. • As there is plenty of room for family and friends, we encourage our students to invite as many people to share in this event as they care to. All are welcome to come and celebrate this accomplishment!

15. If you have other questions . . . • If you have other questions, please feel free to contact: • Susie Hughes srhughes@Viterbo.edu • Scott Mihalovic slmihalovic@Viterbo.edu • Maggie McLain mamclain@Viterbo.edu