Special points of interest:

Second Year of Track and Explore

Dr. Mirtes’ Research on iPad Learning

Craven’s Corner

Teacher Education Graduates

Workshops

Intercultural Education Summer Camp

Institute for Education V

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Dr. Andrea R. Milner, Director

Assistant Professor, Teacher Education

amilner@adrian.edu, 517.265.5161 ext 4625

Amila Zecevic, Administrative Assistant

azecevic@adrian.edu, 517.265.5161 ext 3880

http://adrian.edu/academics/institutes/education/

Our Chinese and American students from the 2014 Intercultural Education Camp take a picture in front of “The Thinker” with

President Docking, Dr. Caldwell, Lu-Wang “Lu-Lu”, a Weiming Administrator who flew in from China, Laurel Capobianco, Vice

President Weiming Education Group USA, Dr. Morrison, Dr. Milner, Amila Zecevic, and TED students Emma Rahn, Kaitlyn

Hinojosa, Emily Fracassa, Garrett McQueen, Lexi Lewandowski as well Lauren Wilt from Ann Arbor Learning Community.

Second Year!

O ver 1,400 students, grades 5-8, from

area schools participated in day long

field trips in May at MIS in the Track and Ex-

plore program. The program was awarded the

Campus-Community Partnership by Michigan

Campus Compact in February this year. Under

the continued education of Janna D'Amico, Direc-

tor of Career Planning ,Professor Penny Cobau–

Smith from the TED department and Dr. Jeff

Lake from the Biology department, eleven AC

Biology and Teacher Education students conducted

the lessons. Area teachers were able to make se-

lections from a menu of offerings. New this year

was a popular microscope lesson and additional

physics related lessons.

Shown above are students enjoying the Tram ride

around the track, water quality and explorations of

the trail and pond at the Graves campground, as

well as pH testing.

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After data collection and

discourse analysis was complete, Dr.

Mirtes concluded that there was a

significant difference in the two play

contexts with the children’s language

being longer, more complex and

used a greater number of different

words while playing with traditional

wooden blocks as compared to the

iPad®. These findings are significant

and underscore the relevance of The

National Association for the Educa-

tion of Young Children’s position

statement regarding best practice

while using technology in Early Child-

hood. Dr. Mirtes stated, “Technology

is culturally relevant to today’s tech-

no-savvy children and should be in-

fused into the curriculum in a devel-

opmentally appropriate manner to

support the diverse needs of our

young learners. However, during the

formative years, young children

W ith the rapid onset of

technology (such as

the iPad®) being integrated in class-

rooms, there is very little empirical

evidence on the short term and long

term effects of such use among chil-

dren during their formative years. Dr.

Christina Mirtes, Assistant Professor in

the Teacher Education Department at

Adrian College, received a Faculty Re-

search Grant to conduct research at

Lincoln Elementary Mini Maples Pre-

school. Her research, titled

“Contemporary Play: An Analysis of

Preschool Discourse During Play Situ-

ations while using Technology and

using Traditional Play Materials” in-

vestigated if there is a difference in

children’s language output while pairs

of children were engaged in two play

contexts – playing with a block build-

ing application on an iPad® and play-

ing with traditional wooden blocks.

should be monitored in terms of the

frequency and length of time they are

playing with technology tools.

Additionally, such tools should

supplement, not replace, existing ma-

terials which facilitate language, social

and cognitive development in young

children.” She further adds, “It’s very

exciting to offer this new contribution

to the pool of authoritative research in

Early Childhood Education. The wel-

come participation of the children,

families and faculty at Lincoln’s Mini

Maples, along with the support from

Adrian College, allowed for this suc-

cessful endeavor”.

Dr. Mirtes is currently in the

process of publishing her findings. If

you have questions or would like to

seek further information about this

research, feel free to contact her at

cmirtes@adrian.edu.

Dr. Mirtes’ Research on iPad LearningDr. Mirtes’ Research on iPad LearningDr. Mirtes’ Research on iPad Learning

Page 3 In

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Health and physical education students attended

the annual American Alliance for Health, Physical

Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD)

Convention in St. Louis, MO, April 1-5, 2014.

Pictured from left to right:

Professor Kathy Conway, Josh Cousinou, Josh

Ranali, Anthony Starks, Haley Barnes Garrett

McQueen, Duston Hebebrand, Brett Pinkerton,

Loren Hayes, and Professor Al Craven.

In Professor Craven’s Education for Exceptional

Students class, two students, Greg Sombati and

Garret Gabalis, assemble a puzzle without using

their hands to simulate students with Cerebral

Palsy.

In Professor Craven’s Health Content II

Alexis Lewandowski builds a Coordinated

School Health Model out of Legos.

Page 4

Test Taking Strategies Workshop Facilitated by Ann Smart

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“On Wednesday’s We Wear Pink”

TED Graduates, Derek Jackson and

Brittany Basch, show off their outfits

during their first day of teaching at

Onsted High School! Derek Jackson

has been hired as a fulltime Spanish

teacher and Brittany Basch has been

hired as a Biology and Chemistry

teacher.

Congratulations!!

Dear Teacher Education Students!!!

Please take advantage of the various opportunities that the Teacher Education

Department offers you. On September 22, 2014 Ann Smart facilitated a workshop

for test taking strategies. If you were unable to make it please utilize the oppor-

tunity in the spring semester. Other workshops will be occurring throughout the

school year for your benefit!

Contact Julie Sinkovitz at jsinkovitz@adrian.edu for more information.

2014 Intercultural Education Summer Camp2014 Intercultural Education Summer Camp “E

du

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ea

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― N

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A drian College partnered with the Weiming Edu-

cation Group from China in April 2014. This

partnership led to the creation of the Intercultural

Education Summer Camp hosted by the Institute for

Education.

At 1:30 A.M. on July 19th, 2014, a combina-

tion of 26 students and three teachers from China

pulled up in a large Bianco bus outside of College

View North, ready for their taste of American Culture

and to experience Adrian College. The emphasis of

“intercultural” came from the notion of composing

small groups of Chinese and American students to

form bonds and enlighten each other with the two

different cultures coming together. The camp was 11

days long and included various “must see” attrac-

tions such as the Detroit Tiger’s game, Toledo Zoo,

Cedar Point, the Henry Ford Museum, as well as ex-

posing our guests to the Track and Explore program

at MIS.

Dr. Andrea R. Milner, Dr. Vanessa Morrison,

and administrative assistant, Amila Zecevic, facilitat-

ed this camp with the assistance of five Teacher Edu-

cation students: Kaitlyn Hinojosa, Emma Rahn, Lexi

Lewandowski, Emily Fracassa, Garret McQueen and

Lauren Wilt, a teacher from the Ann Arbor Learning

Community.

Other involved professionals with this camp

included: Dr. Sheehan, from the Communication De-

partment, who had each student on 107.9 WVAC for

the community to hear about their experiences from

the camp. Christina Butler, from the P.R. department,

who provided an art course. Brian Kleinsmith and his

wife Chai-Jui Shao, who facilitated language lessons

every morning, and Dr. Jeff Lake, from the Biology

Department, who facilitated the Track and Explore

program for the campers.

We would like to extend a huge thank you to each of

you for helping us run an excellent 2014 Summer

Camp!!

“Harry” enjoying himself at the Tiger’s game.

“Kota”, “Jim”, “Sam”, “Adam”, Nathan Milner, “Kevin”, Kayla Morri-son, “Cissy”, and “Jimmy” posing at the Toledo Zoo.

*The students from China chose American names, which is why they are in quotation marks.

Page 7

Amila Zecevic, Kaitlyn Hinojosa, “Bobby”, “Leo” and “Leo”, “Sean” and “Stony”, shortly after a ride on the Millennium Force at Cedar Point.

Kayla Morrison, “Barry”, “Sean”, and “Tony” at the Henry Ford Museum.

“John” learning about snakes before heading to MIS for Track and Explore!

“Ed

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