The Daily Bulletin

Please join the Civic and Community Engagement Office for the webinar "Shaping Student/Instructor Interactions with Applied Educational Neurobiology," presented by Mariglynn Edlins from the University of Baltimore, on Tuesday, November 9, at 1:00 p.m.

In every educational instance—whether face-to-face in a classroom or through a screen in a synchronous or asynchronous format—both the student and the instructor bring their existing physical and emotional state to an interaction with the others’ existing physical and emotional state. While these dynamics ultimately shape the interaction, they are often overlooked for the more obvious aspects of the encounter, such as structure, content, and pedagogy. Applied educational neurobiology offers a framework through which we can begin to understand these interactions at a deeper level, as well to work to improve interactions to be more positive, supportive, and influential. In this presentation, she will explore the role educational neurobiology can play in the classroom (especially in stressful times like a pandemic or other community stress), and how small changes can dramatically shift our interactions with students and therefore, the overall course experience. Participants will gain general understanding and techniques around applied educational neurobiology, including: (1) educator brain state, (2) attachment, and (3) regulation. Additionally, we will explore specific techniques and modalities that can support both student and educator neurobiology, as well as improve educational interactions together.

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Also included in this presentation:

"Teacher Residency: A Program Partnership for the Urban School Environment," presented by Nancy Morris and Leighann Forbes from Gannon University. This presentation will provide insights about how two urban institutions, a school district and a university, partnered to develop and implement a year-long teacher residency program. The institutions initially created the program with an eye toward increasing BIPOC representation in the teacher preparation program and among school district personnel. The design phase of this project was supported by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The pilot year and subsequent year collected data from a small group of three residents and three mentors located in two elementary schools within the urban district. While the initial two years of the program did not fully meet the goal of increasing representation, both parties learned valuable lessons about supporting student achievement and promoting a sense of belonging in the poorest zip code in the nation. Findings from interviews of teacher residents in the pilot year showed they benefited greatly from being an integral part of the classroom from beginning to end of the school year. The opportunity to discuss distinct urban education issues during an accompanying seminar course was also viewed as a significant source of support and as was the enhanced mentorship they received as part of the program. Residents felt more prepared to enter the teaching profession than if they had completed a traditional student teaching experience. Mentors showed less gain from the experience and factors contributing to this finding, including COVID-19, will be discussed. Lessons learned from the planning, design, implementation, and evaluation stages of the teacher residency program will focus on conditions that promoted successes as well as those that provided roadblocks. Topics will include program design and ongoing redesign, mentor-resident development, and communication strategies. Future iterations of the teacher residency program will be implemented without grant support and plans for funding strategies will be shared with the audience. Attendees will gain an understanding of the power of the teacher residency model in supporting the academic, social, emotional, and personal successes of children, teachers, and residents in an urban environment.

"How Can We Help You? An Exploration of What Institutional Websites Reveal about First-Generation Support Services," presented by Amanda Wilkerson and Lynell Hodge from the University of Central Florida, and Emmanuela Stanislaus from Florida Atlantic University. At the conclusion of our session, attendees will gain the following takeaways: (1) Identify key aspects that need to be displayed on websites in order to support first generation students learning in metropolitan post-secondary settings. (2) Discuss ways to connect information for active students. (3) Assess the scope and depth of collaboration between programs, i.e. TRIO or Office of First Year, Financial Aid, etc. (4) Review higher education websites for which the presentation of the content supports student access to usable information.

"Maximizing the Impact of Emergency Funding Distribution by Using a CARE and Financial Aid Partnership" presented by Robin Kimberlin and D’Andre Braddix from the University of Missouri–St. Louis. The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) has provided critical financial support to college students affected by the pandemic, but to maximize the impact of these funds universities have to be strategic and intentional in their outreach to students. This presentation will focus on how universities can more holistically support students through a Financial Aid and CARE partnership for emergency fund distribution. We will walk the audience through the approach taken at the University of Missouri-St. Louis to distribute multiple rounds of CARES Act funding, including how we established clear and direct ways for students to identify additional needs and request extra support. This will include each point at which we opened the opportunity for students to request additional support from a CARE case manager and how that follow-up was implemented. We will provide a discussion of why emergency financial assistance must be coupled with professional support to yield the best outcomes for students.

This hour-long event is presented by the CUMU Learning and Sharing Virtual Series and is free to members of the Buffalo State community. Please register online for this webinar and any others in the series you may be interested in.