What is it like to be a Fulbrighter in Bosnia? From my first week here I have learned that one needs to be independent and flexible on a Fulbright. On my arrival my host from the U.S. Embassy picked me up at the airport and drove me to the apartment that I previously agreed to rent. My host explained how to use the cell phone that the Embassy had provided me, and left after introducing me to the landlady.

Thank goodness the landlady spoke English! She graciously showed me how to lock the apartment door and gate to the property, turn the kitchen’s hot water tank on and off, and showed me how to walk to the downtown cathedral area where taxis waited for riders. I was invited that night to attend a dinner with Embassy staff at a restaurant on the other side of town, but I was expected to cab it there and back. It proved to be no problem because most people speak some English. In fact, many young people are pretty fluent in English because since the war the schools have been teaching it from second grade onward.

I quickly learned to feel comfortable in the city because it was very safe. The landlady told me I should feel free to walk around in day or night because Bosnians love to walk and I would see many people walking. She also cautioned me about cars because many of the streets in the old neighborhoods are very old and narrow with little room for pedestrians. I quickly learned she was correct because the very next day another Fulbrighter was hit by a car, broke his foot and is now on crutches.

In the first week I participated in a number of orientations and meetings given by the Embassy staff and faculty at the University of Sarajevo. The Embassy orientation pertained to safety and protocols for contacting their staff in case of emergency. The University orientations provided me opportunity to meet faculty and students, learn about their programs and curriculum, and begin to understand what they would like of me.

My Fulbright grant proposal pertained to democratic methods of teaching. I proposed to share interactive teaching strategies in which cooperative learning, critical thinking, discussion, and debates would be used. I had previously learned that teachers in former communist/socialist countries tend to lecture and use teacher-centered instruction. My grant proposal argued that schools should model the kinds of societies we would like to see. For this reason I ordered 30 copies of the textbook, A Reason to Teach: Creating Classrooms of Dignity and Hope (Beane, 2005), because it discussed why our classrooms should foster discussion, debate, and analysis of ideas. This book seemed to fit well in what I wanted to do in Sarajevo. In addition, I prepared 30 copies of a bound booklet of teaching strategies from my own coursework at Sage; examples of these strategies are Gallery Tour (an activity for small group brainstorming and movement), Corners (a classroom debate strategy), and Guided Lecture (a strategy to actively involve students in critical thinking activities during teacher presentations). Although I did not develop the specifics of the course before coming, I planned to teach a course in democratic methods.

During one of my meetings at the University I was told that I might be teaching anywhere from 30 to 300 students. A few days later I learned that I would not have classes of my own, but rather I would be a guest lecturer in the courses that they already offer. I was told to examine their curriculum and construct ideas of where I might contribute.

Everyone at the university has been very collegial and friendly toward me. I have learned that ideas developed in New York need to be adapted to fit the educational context here in Sarajevo. I look forward to teaching here and know that I am very fortunate to have this opportunity.

Finally, some personal notes: The city is beautiful. It has been wonderful walking throughout. A few blocks down the hill from my apartment is an area of the city that is over 1000 years old. On the other side of the river is an Islamic cemetery where I learned a little about the Bosnian war. When I entered the cemetery grounds a worker, who was cleaning tombstones, came over to me and explained the significance of the cemetery. The first thing he said was that “Bill Clinton is very good” and that Bush, pointing his thumb down was bad. He motioned with his foot as if he were crushing something and said, “Bush crushing Muslims.” The man pointed to the hotel across the city and said, “Richard Holbrook.” I wasn’t entirely sure but I think he meant that Holbrook met with the Serbs in that hotel prior to the Dayton Peace Accord. Then he told me about Richard Gere, who was in a movie, The Hunter, that was filmed on this very spot in the cemetery. Later I looked on the web and saw that it was an action-suspense movie that was originally titled, Spring Break in Sarajevo.

Bosnian food: Cerapcici is pita bread stuffed with small sausages and accompanied with raw onions and a red pepper spread. It is good, although pretty heavy on the cholesterol count. The Bosnians love pastries and there are pekaras throughout the city where inexpensive and delicious sweets can be bought. Baklava is made in most of the pekaras, and I love it! Most people do their shopping in the open-air produce market. There is one located in the city center, not far from me. Tomatoes are in season and they are very reasonable, ripe and fresh. The grocery stores are small and most of the food is produce and dairy products. It is difficult to find processed foods such as cereals or Hamburger Helper.

Cultural missteps: The other day I was gently told that I wasn’t saying “thank you” as I thought was when interacting with people. What I was actually saying was “pistachio candy.” The word for thank you in Bosnia is “Hvala,” with the stress on the first syllable. I tried my best to pronounce it correctly, but it always came-out as havalah, which is a pistachio candy that can also be bought in the States. People were polite but I now wonder what they were thinking.

Today I narrowly escaped an altercation on the city tram. I was sitting on the tram on my way to the university when a tall man came up to me and rubbed his thumb and forefinger at me. I interpreted him as a beggar, and I gently say, “Neh.” He persisted, so I said “Neh” again. He looked annoyed and stared at me. So I tried to project displeasure about his behavior by turning my body toward the tram window to remove him from my view. He gave-up and moved-on to the next passenger. I figured he was an exception to the otherwise very polite and gracious people I had met throughout the week. It was a moment later that I realized he was the tram’s ticket collector who was only asking for my paid ticket! So, slowly I am learning.

“Autism (Autism Spectrum Disorder; ASD) is a developmental disability of (as of now) unknown origin. It strikes more boys than girl and can have devastating impact. Children are diagnosed with ASD now more than any other childhood disability. The incidence of ASD is increasing dramatically, about 800% over the past 12 years. According to data presented at the 2008 Autism Society of America conference, the incidence of autism is now 1:100 children. The etiology of autism remains unknown. It is a neurological disorder of unknown origin.

Although there are many treatments being touted for autism, only one has been recognized as having sound, scientific evidence showing effectiveness. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is the design, implementation, and evaluation of environmental modifications to produce socially significant improvement in human behavior. ABA includes the use of direct observation, measurement, and functional analysis of the relations between environment and behavior. This approach uses antecedent stimuli and consequences, based on the findings of descriptive and functional analysis, to produce practical change. ABA is based on the belief that an individual’s behavior is determined by past and current environmental events in conjunction with organic variables such as genetics. Thus it focuses on explaining behavior in terms of external events that can be manipulated rather than internal constructs that are beyond our control.”

The new program, a master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis and Autism, is offered fully online. The first students in the program are from Mississippi, California, Alaska and various other states. We are currently working with students from India and Egypt who may join us when the second cohort begins. Everyone in the program must be involved in working with children or adults who have a diagnosis of autism or one of the autism spectrum disorders. There are practicum requirements, with supervision provided a live internet link or in person.

The MS in ABA and Autism does not lead to certification in New York State but successful completion of the program does make graduates eligible to take the national certification exam required for those seeking licensure as Board Certified Behavior Analyst. See the program description at http://www.sage.edu/academics/education/programs/aba_autism/.

]]> http://blogs.sage.edu/education/2008/11/10/applied-behavior-analysis-and-autism-new-online-program/feed/ 1 http://blogs.sage.edu/education/2008/07/21/animals-in-the-classroom/ http://blogs.sage.edu/education/2008/07/21/animals-in-the-classroom/#comments Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:32:32 +0000 frazec http://blogs.sage.edu/education/?p=5 Caroline Lynch is an undergraduate Childhood Education/Sociology major at Russell Sage College. She was recently given the Ferguson Award for Sociology for her research and work with animal rights. She’s thinking about attending the No More Homeless Pets Conference in Las Vegas, in October. When she comes back, we’ll have her give us an update. In the meantime, Caroline tells us …

Humans and animals have been interacting in various ways for centuries. Until just recently, researchers have determined some of the benefits animals can bring to human lives. Animals have begun to be utilized as therapeutic agents in specific health care institutions, such as intensive care units, nursing homes, pediatric centers, numerous types of clinics, and psychotherapy treatment centers (Kaminski, Pellino, & Wish, 2003). In particular, animals have also been newly introduced into school facilities in the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Many school professionals have been linking the benefits of animal assisted therapy to a classroom setting with a belief that animals can provide many educational, emotional, and physical benefits to students (Siegel, 2004). Therefore, having such a high interest and passion towards the issue of animal welfare, I decided to research the topic of animals in the classroom and how they benefit students.

For my senior seminar course for Sociology I conducted a study called, Animals in Education: Attitudes of Future Teachers Towards Animals in the Classroom, where I surveyed seventy-two undergraduate and graduate students from Russell Sage College majoring in education. The survey analyzed the students’ beliefs about incorporating animals into a classroom. From this study, I found out that many of the students were open to the idea of incorporating animals into their future classrooms. Although, many prospective educators would like to incorporate animals, it is rarely seen throughout school districts. This is mainly for the fear of allergies, bites or scratches, and cleanliness (Anderson, 2007).

As stated before, there are numerous benefits having animals in one’s classroom and many ways to include them into one’s school curriculum. For example, the program Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.) allows certified therapy dogs to come in to schools and accompany children while they read. This has been shown to ease children’s fear of reading out loud and improves reading skills (Renck, 2005). In addition, animals have also known to be incorporated into school counselors’ offices. This technique has been shown to make students open up and discuss their issues having the animal act as a bridge between the student and counselor (Flom, 2005). And lastly, animals in a general education classroom, speech therapy classroom, physical or occupational therapy classroom, or special education classroom are known to provide students with unique experiences teaching them about the environment, animal welfare, responsibility, friendship, and nurturance (Siegel, 2004). Animals are also known to create a community within a classroom and bring the teacher and students together on many levels. If passionate enough to incorporate animals into a school curriculum, there are endless possibilities, resources, tips, and techniques discussing how to go about doing it.

For more information about incorporating animals into a classroom, visit:

Delta Society: The Human – Animal Health Connection

Intermountain Therapy Animals

SPCA Humane Education Department: Animals in the Classroom! Why Not?

Teach Kind

]]> http://blogs.sage.edu/education/2008/07/21/animals-in-the-classroom/feed/ 0 http://blogs.sage.edu/education/2008/07/16/planning-ahead-searching-for-positions-in-a-tight-market/ http://blogs.sage.edu/education/2008/07/16/planning-ahead-searching-for-positions-in-a-tight-market/#comments Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:31:59 +0000 frazec http://blogs.sage.edu/education/?p=4 I’m just back from Alaska, which is big, beautiful and quite different from New York in so many ways. On the trip up to Portage Glacier, our bus driver was telling us that anyone seeking a job in Alaska would have an easy time finding a position. There are fewer than one million people in the whole state, though the state of Alaska is larger in land mass than the next three largest states combined!  It really doesn’t ever become dark during the weeks before and after the summer solstice.

The employment situation in Alaska is quite different compared to the Capital Region where there is a medium level of population density and a large number of colleges and universities. In addition to the institutions of higher education in the Capital District, many other institutions in the wider region offer baccalaureate and master’s degree.

What that means for those who wish to go into teaching is quite a bit of competition for positions. Teacher shortage? Not here in the Capital Region, except for a few certificate titles, such as Foreign Language, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, ESL. In other areas, especially Childhood Education (grades 1-6), Adolescence Education in English or Social Studies (grades 7-12), there is a surfeit of qualified teachers.

Your heart is set on teaching, so what do you do? How can you move forward in an area that has an abundance of qualified candidates? First, you need to distinguish yourself in the teacher preparation program, particularly in fieldwork and student teaching or internship. You want the teachers with whom you work to say “This person is an excellent candidate for any setting.” You want the principals to seek you out to apply for openings in their school. This will come when you show the characteristics of an excellent teacher, even as a visitor to the school, as you satisfy the fieldwork requirements that are prerequisite to student teaching: enthusiasm, initiative, attention to individual students and command of the group (the famous eyes-in-the-back-of-the-head teacher trick) and some of the more mundane professional attributes: good manners, punctuality, appreciation, good social skills and the ability to communicate well in spoken and written language.

Second, you should consider adding or extending a certificate. The principals and superintendents who serve on our Advisory Committee tell us that one of the first ‘cuts’ with applications is based on how many certificates an applicant holds. The physical educator who is also a health educator, the childhood educator who is also a literacy specialist, the adolescence English educator who is also certified literacy or special education – these are the applicants whose applications will be considered first. Schools districts will always seek the candidates who have broader experience, and more than one certificate, because it gives the district flexibility. Having more than one credential is also a great career-building tool and gives you a way to avoid burnout, which is one of the reasons that so many new teachers leave the profession within the first five years of beginning to teach.

Don’t take my word for this. Talk to principals and teachers in the schools. Discuss it with our very excellent adjunct faculty who are involved in the schools day to day. Look it up in the Occupational Outlook Handbook. Check the New York State Office of Teaching Initiatives website.

And ask questions. Ask the faculty, ask your advisor, ask me! And let us know how we can help.