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University of Hawai'i |
(808) 956-8856 Telephone |
For Immediate Release: |
August 11, 1998 |
Contact: Paul Deering, 808 956-9993 Cheryl Ernst, 808 956-8856 |
TEACHERS BECOME LEADERS UH Graduates First MEd Candidates to Focus on Middle Years Later this month, thirty-one middle grades teachers will become the first University of Hawai'i College of Education graduates to receive a master of education emphasizing the middle school level. Already, they are well on their way to making a difference by promoting change in the state's public and private middle schools. The candidates who will march in commencement August 16, along with two others who will graduate later, are by no means rookie teachers. At an average age of 38, they have logged an average of 10 years experience each, most in schools in low-income communities where a high proportion of students are at risk for school failure and other problems. They are the first to participate in a master's in education cohort program geared specifically to address the unique educational needs of 10- to 15-year-olds, a group characterized by "puberty, acne, cliques, crushes, herd instinct, defiance-as-mantra, histrionics, manic moodiness, spastic growth spurts, feeding frenzies, roller-coaster energy levels, flashes of brilliance, occasional empathy, spurts of formal operations thinking, childlike innocence, fierce dedication to causes, bursts of sweetness, rampant curiosity, duck-like imprinting on caring adults , " says UH Associate Professor Paul Deering. "A growing body of research suggests that middle level educational approaches contribute to positive academic, social and physical development for early adolescents," Deering says. UH's program equips teachers with the knowledge and skills to use effective approaches themselves and teach them to colleagues. "Those closest to the kids must be in charge of reform," he says. Attending evening courses and working in small "home base" groups with interdisciplinary faculty advisers over two intense years, participants developed competence in five professional standards: the nature of early adolescence; subject area content and teaching; developmentally appropriate education; communication and management strategies; and professionalism. As a group, they survived childbirth, family crises and workplace tensions while producing one of the college's highest completion rates. Their lessons generated real reforms-interdisciplinary curriculum units tied to the state Department of Education's student performance standards, a rationale and implementation approach for advisory programs, informational videotapes about middle grades education and participation on school and district committees. One participant became the first local keynote presenter at the annual Hawai'i Association of Middle Schools conference and ran for president of the Hawai'i State Teachers Association. "I believe that over the next 10 years, middle level master's of education participants will transform middle level education in the state of Hawai'i," says Deering. Schools with teachers involved in the master's program include:
The interdisciplinary faculty team includes:
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