Monthly Archive for February, 2008

Student awards

Published on 28 February 2008 in Advanced training opportunities and News. 0 Comments

Students who are members of the Council for Exceptional Children may be eligible for awards or scholarships.

2008 CEC STUDENT AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS

CEC’s Student Committee is soliciting nominations for its awards and scholarships. Some awards include a scholarship or stipend ($2,000 was distributed to 2007 award winners).

Deadline: March 7, 2008.

For additional information and forms: Link.

How to read research

Published on 21 February 2008 in Administration, Conferences, News, Public Policy and Research. 0 Comments

I sometimes note how much I’d like to help policy makers learn to discriminate between evidence- and bologna-based educational programs. Apparently, I’m not alone.

The US Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy, a non-profit promoting excellence in government, is offering a workshop for public-sector administrators on understanding research that should form the basis of public policy. Because I couldn’t find a page about the workshop on the Web site, I’m taking the unusual action of reprinting the Coalition’s announcement of the workshop.

How to Read Research Findings to Distinguish Evidence-Based Programs from Everything Else

Tools for Public Officials and Other Stakeholders to Become Independent Experts,

Offered by Recognized Leaders in Evidence-Based Reform

Washington DC, April 8, 2008

Evidence-based policy reform is an important new development in American government, requiring new skills of public officials, staff, and other stakeholders. Requirements for rigorous evaluation and the use of evidence-based programs now appear in Congressional legislation, Office and Management and Budget (OMB) guidance, and federal agency grant solicitations in many diverse areas of policy. These developments offer the potential to bring rapid, evidence-driven progress to areas such as education, employment and training, crime and justice, early childhood programs, substance abuse prevention, and international development assistance. Key precedents include medicine, where evidence-based policy has produced remarkable advances in human health over the past half-century; and welfare, where rigorous evaluations built actionable knowledge about “what works,” setting the stage for the successful, bipartisan welfare reforms of the 1980s and 90s.

Our workshop teaches the core skill needed to be an effective practitioner of evidence-based policy: The ability to read a study and readily assess whether it produced valid evidence of a program’s effectiveness.

This core skill is needed, for example, to –

  • Distinguish the few programs in your policy area that are truly backed by valid evidence from everything else that claims to be, without having to rely on outside “experts” whose biases and capabilities are unknown;
  • Sponsor a study that is capable of generating valid evidence about a program’s effectiveness; and
  • Explain research results to key colleagues and stakeholders in a clear and persuasive way, so as to enlist them as partners in your efforts.

Acquiring this core skill is straightforward: A one-day workshop on key principles, followed by weekly “brown-bag” conference calls providing hands-on, coached experience in reviewing actual studies.

The workshop will take place on Tuesday, April 8, 2008 at the Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy from 9:00 to 4:00, with lunch provided. The weekly follow-up sessions will be held over a 12-week period, via 45-minute conference calls at the noon hour. In these sessions, participants will gain hands-on experience reviewing actual studies in a small-group setting facilitated by Coalition staff, with the goal of becoming independent experts. Participants are encouraged to suggest studies to review in these sessions.

Our background: A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, we’ve played a leadership role in advancing evidence-based reforms through our work with top Congressional and federal agency policymakers:

Our work with Congress and OMB helped create a new evidence-based home visitation program at HHS in the FY 08 Appropriations Act (Public Law 110-161).
We helped OMB develop new guidance for the federal agencies on What Constitutes Strong Evidence of a Program’s Effectiveness.
Our work with Congress has yielded important advances in Congressional support for rigorous – preferably randomized – evaluations in education, crime prevention, and other areas.
We’ve conducted previous workshops on evidence-based policy for OMB, the Departments of Education and Labor, the Congressionally-established Academic Competitiveness Council, and others.
We developed and manage one of the leading U.S. websites of evidence-based programs – Social Programs That Work (www.evidencebasedprograms.org).
A recent independent assessment of our work found we’ve been “instrumental in transforming a theoretical advocacy of evidence-based policy among certain [federal] agencies into an operational reality.”
Logistics and Cost

When: Tuesday, April 8, 2008, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with lunch provided. 12 follow-up sessions via conference call each Tuesday thereafter, starting at noon.

Where: The April 8th session will be held at the Council for Excellence in Government (1301 K Street, NW, Suite 450 West, Washington DC 20005)

Who: Public officials and staff, policy analysts, program providers, and other stakeholders. A research background is not required.

Cost: $520 for the one-day workshop and 12 follow-up sessions. As a nonprofit organization, we price our workshops as inexpensively as we can to reach the widest possible audience.

Deadlines: The deadline for registration and payment is Tuesday, April 1st. Space is limited, and our previous workshops have filled up quickly.

How to register: Please register via our website at http://www.excelgov.org/userpreview.php?formid=389.

Payment Information: Credit card payments are preferred; we also accept checks (payable to the Council for Excellence in Government) and purchase orders. To process your payment, please contact David Anderson at (danderson@excelgov.org, 202-530-3284).

Questions?: Please contact David Anderson (danderson@excelgov.org, 202-530-3284).

Development of the workshop curriculum is funded through a grant from the William T. Grant Foundation.

JANE 4 sped?

Published on 20 February 2008 in Commentaries, News and Research. 0 Comments

Given the proliferation of professional journals in special education, it might seem difficult to determine appropriate places to publish one’s work. Of course, we surely don’t have as much difficulty as those in biological sciences, where journals focused on sub-sub-specialities exist. To help folks in those disciplines, perhaps a dose of artificial intelligence would be helpful.

In “Reducing the cost of facilitating peer review,” Peter Suber described and commented on a script that recommends journals that would be suitable outlets for one’s writings. Mr. Suber’s post, which appeared in Nature Network, referred to a Martijn J. Schuemie and Jan A. Kors’ “Jane: Suggesting Journals, Finding Experts” from Bioinformatics. Here’s a snippet from Mr. Steel:

Abstract: With an exponentially growing number of articles being published every year, scientists can use some help in determining which journal is most appropriate for publishing their results, and which other scientists can be called upon to review their work.

Jane (Journal/Author Name Estimator) is a freely available web-based application that, on the basis of a sample text (e.g., the title and abstract of a manuscript), can suggest journals and experts who have published similar articles.

I recall the advice of a writing professor with whom I studied as an undergraduate. He told me I should submit a piece of short fiction to a magazine and then, in preparation for receiving a rejection, address envelopes to other magazine editors where I would hope it would be published and stuff each envelope with a submission letter. I should then stack those envelopes in the order of my estimate of their magazines’ prestige. If it was rejected by one I was simply to put a copy of the ms. in the next envelope in the stack and mail it in the next day’s mail.

I also recall the sage comment of my colleague Mike E., who said something similar. He finished his recommendation with a maxim: “John, for every manuscript, there is a journal.”

More about JANE:
Mr. Schuemie and Mr. Kors’ original. “Jane: Suggesting Journals, Finding Experts”
Mr. Suber’s Reducing the cost of facilitating peer review
Savvy comment from Nature blog by Maxine Clarke (here) and an unsigned note here and >.

Lee Wiederholt 1942-2007

Published on 14 February 2008 in News and Obituaries. 0 Comments

Over on LD Blog I posted a note about the passing of J. Lee Wiederholt. Link to the entry.

Presidential candidates’ views

Published on 10 February 2008 in Commentaries, News, Public Policy and The Press. 0 Comments

Late last week, Christina A. Samuels, the special ed beat writer for Education Week posted an entry on US political candidates’ views about disabilities and education. Writing under the title “Presidential Candidates and Spec Ed,” Ms. Samuels started her post with these words:

They may have other policy differences, but when it comes to special education, Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and Republican John McCain all want the same thing for states–more money.

My colleague Michele McNeil has already written in her lively blog about Clinton’s pledge to “fully-fund” the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

I hope someone is standing up when there are opportunities and asking candidates questions about how US policy on special education will change in the next few years. One of my big fears is that the next round of IDEA will actually see efforts to disenfranchise some students with disabilities. Can we expect any candidate to understand the intricacies of such policies?

Read the entire post here.

Positions at Kent State University

Published on 9 February 2008 in Positions in higher ed. 0 Comments

Special Education Tenure Track Positions in Mild/Moderate Disabilities

The College and Graduate School of Education, Health and Human Services at Kent State University invites applications for two (2) tenure-track positions:

Assistant/Associate Professor of Mild-Moderate Disabilities (No. 998395 & No. 993093)

We are seeking individuals committed to the preparation of special education professionals at the graduate and undergraduate levels, who can work collaboratively with students, faculty, staff, and our constituent communities. More information on the Special Education program at Kent State University is available at http://sped.educ.kent.edu.

Individuals with expertise in learning disabilities, curriculum development, teaching approaches, and/or assessment methods are especially encouraged to apply.

Teaching responsibilities include undergraduate, masters, and doctoral courses, with opportunities to teach courses suited to candidate skills and interests. Responsibilities also include student advisement, involvement in field-based experiences, recruitment, curriculum development, and program evaluation.

Qualifications: An earned doctorate in Special Education and demonstration of potential to establish a record of scholarly activities, including research and grant procurement, are required. Experience with students with disabilities in educational settings and a satisfactory record of college teaching are preferred.

Application Deadline: Review of applicants will begin February 4, 2008 and acceptance of applications will continue until the positions are filled. To apply, applicants must complete an online job application at https://jobs.kent.edu and submit a letter of application, curriculum vitae, and the names and phone numbers of three references who have been asked to send letters of recommendation to:

Drs. Melody Tankersley & Sanna Harjousola-Webb, Search Committee Co-Chairs Educational Foundations and Special Services
405 White Hall, Kent State University
P.O. Box 5190, Kent, OH 44242-0001
Phone: 330-672-2294
Fax: 330-672-2512
Email: mtankers@kent.edu or shwebb@kent.edu

Joint Special Education and Speech-Language Pathology (no. 998416) Tenure Track Position

The College and Graduate School of Education, Health and Human Services at Kent State University invites applications for a tenure-track position,

Assistant/Associate of Autism and Speech/Language Development

The Departments of Educational Foundations and Special Services (which houses the Special Education program) and the School of Speech Pathology and Audiology seek an individual with expertise in autism and speech/language development who will contribute to the preparation of special education and speech/language professionals at the graduate and undergraduate levels, who can work collaboratively with students, faculty, staff, and our constituent communities. The successful candidate will share appointment between the two departments.

Teaching responsibilities include undergraduate, masters, and doctoral courses, with opportunities to teach courses suited to candidate skills and interests. Responsibilities also include student advisement, involvement in field-based experiences, recruitment, curriculum development, and program evaluation.

Qualifications: An earned doctorate in Special Education or Speech-Language Pathology, experience with students with disabilities in K-12 settings, and a satisfactory record of college teaching are required. Potential to establish a record for demonstrating scholarly activities, including research and grant procurement is also required.

More information on the Special Education program is available at http://sped.educ.kent.edu and more information about the Speech/Language and Audiology program is available at www.ehhs.kent.edu/spa.

Application Deadline: Review of applicants will begin continue until the position is filled. To apply, applicants must complete an online job application at https://jobs.kent.edu and submit a letter of interest addressing the qualifications, vita, and three (3) letters of reference as paper and electronic documents to:

Dr. Lyle Barton, Search Committee Chair, Educational Foundations and Special Services, 405 White Hall, Kent State University, P.O. Box 5190, Kent, OH 44242-0001. Email: lbarton@kent.edu

Carnival

Published on 8 February 2008 in News. 0 Comments

The current Carnival of Education is available here.

For those who are unfamiliar with carnivals: Blog carnivals are periodic aggregations of links to (usually) relatively recent posts on blogs that address a common topic. Bloggers who post about the common topic band together and share the responsibility of collecting and publishing entries; typically, the task of collecting and publishing the entries rotates among those who share interest in the topic. The carnival editor selects entries from those she or he finds and those readers submit, assembles them into a post on her or his blog, and publishes that entry on a designated date.

Politics and ed research

Published on 6 February 2008 in News, Public Policy and Research. 0 Comments

In “‘Scientific Research’ and Policymaking: A Tool, Not a Crutch,” Frederick M. Hess and Jeffrey R. Henig present concerns about how research affects educational policies and how public policymakers use educational research.

These are heady times for education researchers. The No Child Left Behind Act famously endorses the use of “scientifically based research,” the federal Institute of Education Sciences has elevated the profile of rigorous scholarship, and presidential candidates tout studies on teacher quality, testing, and school choice. Advocates market favorable social science evidence and enlist sympathetic researchers as spokespersons. This attention can tempt researchers to oversell their findings and policymakers to overinterpret them—confusing our understanding of what “scientific research” can and cannot teach us when it comes to education policy.

We write as two individuals housed in very different institutions and frequently on opposing sides in polarized policy debates, both having just published books plumbing the impact of research on education policy. One sits in a school of education; the other in a Washington think tank typically described as “conservative.” Despite our differences, we share the concern that undisciplined claims about the power of research can stand in for careful thinking, foster cynicism, and undermine the long-term contribution of the research community.

Link (subscription may be required): Education Week, 27(22), 26, 36.

How blogs propagate ideas

Published on 3 February 2008 in News. 0 Comments

Wired magazine has a nifty Flash image that shows what happens when one posts to a blog. For sure, the content of the example it uses (a post about a Super Bowl commercial for beer) is a bit different from the content we have here on SpedPro, but you’ll get the idea.

You have a blog. You compose a new post. You click Publish and lean back to admire your work. Imperceptibly and all but instantaneously, your post slips into a vast and recursive network of software agents, where it is crawled, indexed, mined, scraped, republished, and propagated throughout the Web. Within minutes, if you’ve written about a timely and noteworthy topic, a small army of bots will get the word out to anyone remotely interested, from fellow bloggers to corporate marketers. Let’s say it’s Super Bowl Sunday and you’re blogging about beer. You see Budweiser’s blockbuster commercial and have a reaction you’d like to share. Thanks to search engines and aggregators that compile lists of interesting posts, you can reach a lot of people — and Budweiser, its competitors, beer lovers, ad critics, and your ex-boyfriend can listen in. “You just need to know how to type,” says Matthew Hurst, an artificial intelligence researcher who studies this ecosystem at Microsoft Live Labs. Here’s how the whole process goes down during the big game.

Link to The Life Cycle of a Blog Post.

Fabulous New Position in Autism

Published on 2 February 2008 in Positions in higher ed. 0 Comments

Hi all! I have pasted a new position below at the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders. This position will work directly our Behavior and Education Division at the Thompson Center. The academic home is special education (however, our university allows you to switch academic homes pretty easily) and does not require any specific duties related to the academic home, only  the Thompson Center, unless the applicant chooses. I support  a multidimensional service at the Thompson Center that I am seeking  a well trained colleague to lead who wants to deliver strong evidenced-based interventions, participate in research that may be co- occurring but is still  interested in some direct contact with kiddos as well as can help direct staff as well.  The Thompson Center is very interdisciplinary and is growing exponentially. We are in cue for a new 15 million dollar building in the next 2 to 3 years (5 million of which was jus recommended by the governor). We have significant state support and most of the faculty at the center are nationally as well as internationally connected.

Please share with anyone you know might be interested and a good fit, or with anyone who would know of anyone.  Do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.
Janine Stichter
Assistant/Associate Professor Professional Practice
Special Education Program

The University of Missouri – Columbia (MU) Department of Special Education and the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmenal Disorders  (http://thompsoncenter.missouri.edu) seeks an energetic, highly motivated Assistant/Associate Professor Professional Practice with specific expertise in Autism, Applied Behavior Analysis, and other evidenced based behavior and educational interventions. Candidates with interests and expertise related to the functional behavior analysis, and interdisciplinary behavioral assessments for young children and youth with autism spectrum disorders are specifically encouraged to apply. The successful candidate must have an earned doctorate in special education, psychology or a closely related field, direct evaluation, development and supervision of behavior and education plans for children or youth with autism spectrum disorders, and strong potential for future success in service and training.  In addition to delivering specific treatment and postive behavior plans to children and youth, the successful candidate will provide direct direct programmatic supervision within the Behavior Supports Clinic of the Thompson Center, participate in relevant research protocols, and supervise staff as appropriate.

MU College of Education
The University of Missouri (MU) College of Education is home to the MU Partnership for Educational Renewal, which provides an excellent infrastructure for public school connections including the participation of 23 schools districts (in urban, suburban and rural settings) and the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. This partnership, along with the college’s many research centers and professional organizations, provides faculty with outstanding collaborative research opportunities.

MU, a Doctoral/Research Extensive Institution, is the flagship institution of the University of Missouri four-campus system and is located in Columbia, a community of approximately 100,000. Within close reach to St. Louis and Kansas City, Columbia is rated as one of the best small cities in the US by Money magazine. MU’s enrollment is approximately 28,000 and the College of Education is one of 18 schools/colleges at MU. The college, ranked 28th nationally, is home to 1,200 undergraduate and 2,200 graduate students, and 90 tenure/tenure-track faculty members. Supporting cultural diversity is an important goal for the college and the university.
Website: http://education.missouri.edu

The Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
The Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders at the University of Missouri – Columbia is a comprehensive interdisciplinary center that provides a clinical service for approximately 3000 children and youth and their families each year. Drawing on expertise from across the MU campus, its mission is to integrate service, research and training in order to advance the care of individuals affected by autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions. Website: http://thompsoncenter.missouri.edu

MU complies with the guidelines set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.  If you have special needs as addressed by this legislation and require assistance with this or any portion of the application process, notify us at the address below as soon as possible.  Efforts will be made to accommodate your special needs.

MU is located in Columbia, MO, a city of 95,000 that is frequently listed as one of the best places to live by national publications (http://houseandhome.msn.com/Move/BestPlacestoLive2003.aspx).

Salary – Competitive and commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Appointment:  Twelve-month appointment, available immediately.

Application:  Submit letter of application; vita; three letters of reference; and evidence of pertinent writing (2-3 examples), clinical and teaching effectiveness (e.g., previous work evaluations, student ratings, chair reviews) to:

Dr. Janine Stichter
Chair Search Committee
303 Townsend Hall
University of Missouri-Columbia
Columbia, MO  65211

Review of application will begin March 1, 2008 and continue until position is filled.

The University of Missouri-Columbia is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer.  Applications for women, minorities and disabled individuals are strongly encouraged to apply.  To request ADA accommodations, please contact the College of Education at 573-882-8311.

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