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Wisconsin ESEA Title II
Improving Teacher Quality Program

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Grant Competition for Institutions of Higher Education in Wisconsin

Previously Funded Projects:
2007-08

Funded Projects for 2008-09

The following projects are being funded by subgrants awarded to the sponsoring institutions by the University of Wisconsin System. Funding for this program is provided by a grant to the University of Wisconsin System by the U.S. Department of Education under ESEA Title IIA Higher Education Professional Development Program. These Wisconsin Improving Teacher Quality project activities will take place during the summer of 2008 and the 2008-09 academic year.

Information for each project is listed in this order:

  • Institution of Higher Education
  • Project Title
  • Grade Level
  • Project Director (e-mail address)
  • Local Education Agencies (LEAs) Involved
  • Brief description of the project

For further information contact the director of an individual project or Phil Makurat, Wisconsin ESEA Improving Teacher Quality Program Coordinator, at 262-472-5802 or makuratp@uww.edu.

University of Wisconsin-Madison
Earth Partnership for Schools (EPS) WI RESTORE: Expanding and Strengthening the
Schoolyard Restoration-Education Model for Wisconsin.
Grade Level:  Kindergarten through 12th Grade
Cheryl Bauer-Armstrong, cherylbauer@wisc.edu
LEAs served:  Specific High Need LEAS include Milwaukee, Little
Chute, Clayton, Hillsboro, Bayfield. All LEAS and the 76 districts currently implementing EPS

School-wide teams of K-12 teachers with regional support staff from UW-System Education and Science Departments and environmental educators will participate in a professional development graduate-level leadership institute at UW-Arboretum and continue education through 3 new EPS Regional Facilitating Centers and 3 existing EPS Facilitating Centers.

Through EPS Leadership and Regional Institutes, teachers will infuse new teaching techniques into science, math, language arts and other core subjects and experience activities aligned to state standards that involve students in inquiry-based problem solving. Teachers will benefit from EPS Facilitating Centers’ technical and professional expertise, team building, staff development, curricular support, and networking opportunities. College and University faculty and environmental educators will learn the EPS approach to high quality teacher professional development including content, process, student driven learning, adult learning guidelines, leadership development and group process skills.

University of Wisconsin-Platteville
Using Data to Scaffold Early Literacy and Early Math Integration
Grade Level:  PK-3
Gwen Coe (coe@uwplatt.edu)
Michael Anderson
LEAs served:  All 31 LEAs in CESA 3

Participants will attend college credit courses on best practices in early literacy and early math integration Pre K-3, using data to scaffold and differentiate instruction. Participants will return to their school districts to provide in-service and mentoring to other teachers in their buildings. Participants will learn the best practices for assisting their students to achieve higher mental competencies in reading and writing and math. Demonstration teachers will be identified and receive additional onsite classroom visits to deepen their understandings and practice so they may serve as models for CESA 3 and the State. District administrators will also receive in-services.

Alverno College
PROJECT CLASS2:  Content, Leadership and Assessment to Support Science
Grade Level:  5th-12th Grade Science Teachers
Dr. Mary Diez, Dean of Graduate Programs (mary.diez@alverno.edu); Dr. Leona Truchan, Chair, Graduate Level Science Education Program; Mary Staten, MPS K-12 Science Curriculum Specialist
LEA served:  Milwaukee Public School District

Program includes content related graduate courses, self-directed action research projects, cohort activities, on-site and online mentoring and coaching, interaction with school learning teams, and professional networking.

Participants will enhance their content knowledge to support student-centered learning, gain improved understanding and application of standards-based teaching, learning, and assessment.   And will join an established cadre of science leaders to build capacity within the district. 

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Developing mathematics teacher-leaders through collaborative teams of inservice and preservice teachers
Dr. Fe Evangelista, evangelf@uww.edu
LEAs served:  Whitewater Unified School District, Beloit School District

The participants will attend a two-week summer workshop, collaborate to implement best-practice strategies during the school year and participate in regular school year meetings and discussions.

Inservice and preservice teachers will increase their content knowledge in the area of number operations, measurement and algebraic thinking, learn and apply classroom strategies that promote mathematical reasoning and communication, and develop their ability to understand student thinking.

University of Wisconsin-Platteville
Using Authentic Assessment to Develop Prompt and Effective Interventions to Improve Student Understanding and Achievement: Ensuring That No Child IS Left Behind
Grade Level:  Pre-K - 12
Jodean E. Grunow (grunowj@uwplatt.edu)
Michael Anderson,
LEAs served:  Weston; School District of Beloit; all 31 LEAs in CESA #3

Participants will attend workshops designed to help them gain knowledge of authentic assessment of students' conceptual understanding and interpretation of resultant data, to facilitate interpretation of large-scale assessment results gleaned from the WINSS Web site, and, through lesson study and analysis of effective instructional strategies, to formulate ways to address identified needs with prompt and effective interventions to, first of all, inform best practices in their own classrooms and, then, to share those findings with colleagues in mentoring/collaborating venues. In addition to the knowledge, skills, dispositions, and credits acquired, participants will have the opportunity to receive on-site assistance, to mentor/collaborate with peers and colleagues in their own districts and neighboring districts, and they will be asked to share their resulting knowledge with pre-service teachers, student teachers, and interns.

University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh
Closing Math Achievement Gap (CMAG) for Native Americans
Grades K-12
Dr. Judith Hankes, (hankes@uwosh.edu)
LEAs served:  Bowler; Menominee Indian, Lac du Flambeau, Seymour and Wisconsin school districts

Each year, the CMAG Project will feature 10 days of face-time workshops with math instructors, plus 3 days of on-site classroom visits from those instructors.  Participants will also develop and implement lesson plans and units that incorporate Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) principles covered during summer workshops.  Project activities will increase participant teacher knowledge in math content, process and formative assessment that align with national and state math standards, and with PI 34 standards.  Participants will become skilled with applying CGI principles designed to provide more culturally appropriate math instruction to learning disabled and other Native students who struggle with more traditional math instruction. 

The project will enroll 20 teachers from the partnership LEAs (and other LEAs if slots remain available), primarily special education teachers who work with LD and other Native American students with disabilities. 

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
Geometry Knowledge for Teaching: Linking Big Ideas of Geometry to Classroom Practice and Formative Assessment
Grade Level:  K-8
Dr. DeAnn Huinker, (huinker@uwm.edu)
Ms. Janis Freckmann, (freckmjl@milwaukee.k12.wi.us)
LEA served:  Milwaukee Public Schools

Core team members participate in a two-week summer institute and 14 school-year follow-up sessions to strengthen their geometry knowledge by studying big ideas aligned to the Wisconsin Standards and Assessment Framework and by using formative assessment principles along with collaborating team members at their school sites to analyze and learn from student work samples to improve classroom practice.

Participants (1) develop content knowledge of geometry aligned to the van Hiele levels of geometric thought, (2) learn teaching and assessment strategies to enhance instruction, and (3) collaborate with other teachers to give common assessments, analyze student work samples, and provide descriptive feedback to improve student achievement.

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Enhancing Student Literacy Through Inquiry-Based, Interdisciplinary Non-fiction Reading and Writing Teacher Professional Development
Grade Level:  4-8
Bonnie Jancik (jancik.bonn@uwlax.edu)
Constance Arzigian
LEAs served:  All Wisconsin LEAs, priority to La Crosse School District and high-need districts.

Thirty teachers complete a ten-credit technology-mediated graduate curriculum (some credits web-based) that uses archaeology as the vehicle to provide integrated, applied, inquiry-based content and pedagogy training in non-fiction reading and writing.

Participants will: 1) increase content knowledge in the reading and language arts; 2) receive pedagogical, assessment, and technology experience and instruction; 3) receive training and practical experience in classroom accommodations for students with disabilities; 4) create and implement interdisciplinary non-fiction reading and writing lessons.

University of Wisconsin-River Falls
Grade Level:  1-12
Mary Manke (mary.p.manke@uwrf.edu)
Robin Murray
LEAs served:  Prescott Public Schools, Ellsworth Community Schools, River Falls Public Schools, Hudson Public Schools, St. Croix Central Public Schools, New Richmond Public Schools, Somerset Public Schools, Osceola Public Schools, New Auburn Public Schools, Augusta Public Schools

Participants will learn new content knowledge from UWRF faculty, apply it to creating teaching units using Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction, and to designing pre and post assessments to measure student learning, and receive support in implementing those units in their classrooms.

Benefits to participants include the acquisition of new content knowledge, the development of improved curriculum planning, instructional delivery and assessment skills, the creation of new teaching units for their own use, and increased ability to improve student learning.

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Mathematics Fellowships for Middle Grades Teachers:  Strengthening Teachers’ Content Knowledge and Instructional Practices
Grade Level:  5-8
Dr. Kevin McLeod (kevinm@uwm.edu)
Dr. DeAnn Huinker
Mr. Henry Kranendonk, Milwaukee Public Schools
LEA Served: Milwaukee Public Schools

Teachers of mathematics in the middle grades will complete a program leading to a MCEA mathematics focus area minor and Wisconsin licensure endorsement by completing up to eight mathematics content courses and a mathematics education seminar, developing a teaching portfolio, and taking and passing the Praxis II middle school content exam.

Participants will increase their knowledge of and proficiency in the mathematics content needed for teaching mathematics in middle grades and will obtain the UWM mathematics minor for MCEA majors, and those participants with a MCEA license or its equivalent will be able to add a mathematics endorsement to their teaching license, thus becoming highly qualified to teach middle grades mathematics under the definition of No Child Left Behind.

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Balancing Reading/Language Arts and Science Teaching (BR/LAST)
Grade Level:  K-8
Tracy J. Posnanski, (tjp@uwm.edu)
William F. Kean
LEA Served:  Milwaukee Public Schools

Balancing Reading/Language Arts and Science Teaching (BR/LAST) is designed to improve teacher quality in the areas of reading/language arts and science.  The underlying premise of the project is to co-jointly develop teacher instructional skills in reading/language arts and science and ultimately impact student achievement in the subjects. 

This project is designed to develop teachers’ literacy instructional skills, broadens literacy instruction in core subjects such as science, and provides a mechanism for interdisciplinary instruction and school-based instructional leadership.  The objectives of the project are to emphasis, provide information, develop activities and school-based classroom experiences that demonstrate to teachers that science can be used as a reference when building student’s reading/language arts skills (i.e. through such mechanisms as establishing links between inquiry and problem solving strategies that can be used in reading/language arts and science teaching and learning).

University of Wisconsin-Stout
Astro-Compass Science Initiative
Grade Level:  2-6
Dr. Alan J. Scott (scotta@uwstout.edu)
LEAs Served: West-Central Wisconsin Elementary Schools

Teacher participants will enroll in a summer, distance education course designed to enhance confidence and curriculum for teaching topics of basic astronomy (i.e. Sun- Moon-Earth system, stars, vastness of space) and Earth’s past (i.e. geologic time). As part of this effort, an educational playground mural will be painted that forms a template onto which students can make measurements and observations. Students will make connections between their observations and related science concepts.

Participants will be expected to enroll in a Topics in Astronomy course at the University of Wisconsin-Stout during the summer of 2008 (June 9-August 3). Participants will also be expected to complete an assessment questionnaire by the end of the academic year 2008-2009.

Cardinal Stritch University
Merging the Design and Implementation of an Urban Literacy Center with Teacher Professional Development Internships
Grades Level:  1-5
Molly Shiffler (mollyshi@tds.net)
LEA served:  Milwaukee Public Schools

Urban teachers will be trained and mentored to tutor minority children of poverty and translate successful literacy intervention strategies into their classrooms.   Teacher participants will learn new strategies for closing the achievement gap in reading, and both tutees and classroom students will demonstrate progress in reading achievement.