WSU Spokane Campus Bulletin
Issue 2007-03 (March 14, 2007)

IN THIS ISSUE

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Predicting WASL Success

(Courtesy of Julie Titone, WSU College of Education)
 

What’s the best way to help students pass the annual tests that determine whether they can advance to the next grade and, ultimately, graduate from high school? There is no more pressing question for Washington teachers.

Steve Hirsch at East Valley High School

Steve Hirsch at East Valley High School
(Photo by Jeff Green)

Steve Hirsch has the answer. He can predict with amazing accuracy which students are likely to fail the WASL (Washington Assessment of Student Learning) tests. Armed with that knowledge, teachers know which students need help, and what kind of help to give.

“If we can’t help students pass, college is out of the question, and high school may be, too,” said Hirsch, a clinical assistant professor at WSU Spokane.

Public school students in grades three through eight, and grade ten, take one or more WASL tests every spring. The multiple-choice, short-answer, and essay questions cover writing, mathematics, reading, or science. Mathematics scores have been of particular concern. Only 58 percent of sophomores passed their math test last year, causing alarm not just among parents but also state lawmakers.

A consultant with Spokane County’s East Valley School District, Hirsch saw his view of what would help students come into focus when he looked into what amounts to an academic rear-view mirror.

Four years ago, he began looking at which fifth graders passed their reading WASL tests, and which ones failed. He compared those results to how those individual students fared on reading tests they had taken the previous spring. What he found confirmed in a scientific way what may have been teachers’ gut feelings about students’ chances of success. It also gave them improvement goals to shoot for.

When Hirsch successfully predicted which of the next year’s students would pass the reading assessment test, the East Valley school board asked him and East Valley academic specialist Kasey Pitts to come up with a similar means of predicting which students were at risk of failing the math WASL.

The recipe for WASL success involves a combination of ingredients, Hirsch says. “I was able to find three variables that, when combined, do a very, very good job of telling us if a child is on track: calculation, application, and reading fluency.”

In other words, students must be able to perform grade level calculations, determine what needs to be done with numbers presented in a word problem (Do I multiply or divide?), and read with sufficient fluency to understand the math problem.

Hirsch sets benchmarks for success, based on a math-screening test taken the previous spring.

“If the students are above those benchmarks on all three variables, 95 percent of them can pass the WASL,” he notes, adding that the numbers held true for third, fourth, and fifth graders. “This year, with the sixth grade, I was blown away by the results. If the students were above the benchmarks, 100 percent of them passed. If they were below all three benchmarks, not one of them passed.”

Teachers are keenly interested in the approach. If they know in September that only 30 percent of the students are on track to pass math, they know where to devote their attention.

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Nationwide Attention for New Speech-Language Pathology Intervention Using American Indian Storytelling
 

A recent project to integrate storytelling—one of the richest cultural resources in American Indian culture—into an early intervention program for American Indian children with hearing impairment has garnered national attention for WSU’s Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, which has long had a reputation for promoting culturally responsive speech-language pathology services.

The novel approach was described in a front-page article in The ASHA Leader, a publication of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. The article was coauthored by Ella Inglebret, assistant professor and director of the Native American Personnel Preparation Program, along with graduate student Desirae Bear Eagle and education faculty member D. Michael Pavel.

About a year ago, the WSU Speech and Hearing Clinic in Pullman implemented the Oral Language Enrichment (OLE!) program to meet the need for services focused on the development of auditory-oral language skills in children with hearing impairment. The program was initiated with a focus on the use of intervention methods that are supported by scientific evidence and responsive to the cultural and linguistic background of the children and families served.

American Indian story books created by undergraduate speech and hearing students

American Indian story books created by undergraduate speech and hearing students
(Photo by Nick Sanyal)

Inglebret came up with the idea to use American Indian story units as an educational tool, and turned its development into a class project for undergraduate students taking the spring 2006 Senior Seminar. Michael Pavel, a Skokomish Tradition Bearer and the father of OLE! participant Kaid’dub Pavel, educated the students on the use of Skokomish stories in the traditional education process. Student teams then picked Skokomish stories from The Indian Reading Series: Stories and Legends from the Northwest, a series of 140 stories written and illustrated by tribal members.

The student teams identified goals and objectives for their intervention based on each story. They identified key vocabulary, developed activities related to the story, and created materials such as stick puppets that could be used to facilitate retelling of the stories by the children.

The students also added color to the black-and-white stories, then bound and laminated them into visually appealing story books. In addition to a copy for the OLE! program, the students produced and donated two extra copies: one was put on display at the WSU Clearinghouse on Native Teaching and Learning. The other was presented to the Skokomish Nation Head Start.

The project has proven successful in helping Skokomish children such as Kaid’dub Pavel develop auditory-oral language skills while reaffirming their cultural heritage. Inglebret intends to continue building on that success—she and graduate Marty Laronal are organizing a workshop to show the materials to other speech-language pathologists serving tribal communities. During the March 30 workshop, which will be held at the Muckleshoot Child Development Center in Auburn, the participants will develop materials that are relevant to the specific tribes they serve.

Inglebret has been amazed at the responses she has received so far. “There has been so much interest. I’ve got people inquiring from all over the country about what it is that we’re doing,” she said. “People are saying, ‘This is what we should be doing in our area, too!”

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WSU Sleep Researchers Awarded $1.5M Grant by W.M. Keck Foundation
 

Washington State University has received a $1.5 million grant award from the W.M. Keck Foundation—a philanthropic institution supporting innovative research in science, engineering and medicine—to test a new theory of the brain organization of sleep.

From left to right: David Rector, Hans Van Dongen, Gregory Belenky, James Krueger

From left to right: David Rector, Hans Van Dongen,
Gregory Belenky, and James Krueger
(Photo by Judith Van Dongen)

The award enables a team of sleep and neuroscience researchers from the Pullman and Spokane campuses, led by principal investigator Gregory Belenky, director of the WSU Sleep and Performance Research Center, to test the revolutionary new theory first proposed by WSU neuroscientist, James Krueger and his colleague the late Ferenc Obal.

Challenging the prevailing view that sleep is imposed globally on the brain by central sleep-regulatory circuits, the team argues that sleep develops locally in the brain from use-dependent metabolic changes in cortical columns and other neuronal assemblies and that it is the coalescence of numerous areas of local sleep that leads to whole-brain sleep.

With the award from the W.M. Keck Foundation, this interdisciplinary team of researchers will develop and integrate novel electrophysiological, imaging, and behavioral measures and new instrumentation developed by David Rector, another WSU neuroscientist, and his collaborators, WSU electrical engineer George LaRue and WSU physicist Matt McCluskey.

These advances will allow this team to evaluate the functional and metabolic state of individual cortical columns in the brain to test their theory. In parallel to basic research studies conducted in Pullman, the application of these novel methods by Belenky and Hans Van Dongen, WSU Spokane specialist in sleep deprivation and performance, to human subjects studied at the in-residence laboratory of the Sleep and Performance Research Center will provide critical tests of the theory...

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WSU Researcher Builds Math and Science Literacy Among Underserved Children
 

Youngsters—particularly those from underserved populations—are receiving better preparation in math and science, opening doors to careers in fields such as biosciences and engineering thanks to the efforts of Washington State University researcher Sylvia Oliver.

“If the United States is to remain competitive with the rest of the world in science and math, it is critically important to persuade children by third or fourth grade that they can succeed in these subject areas,” said Oliver.

She will discuss her research in “Opening New Doors: CityLab Builds Math and Science Literacy Among Underserved Children” March 21 at WSU Spokane, Riverpoint Campus in the South Campus Facility, 412 E. Spokane Falls Blvd. Tickets are $30 per person and include lunch from noon to 1:30 p.m., with registration to begin at 11:30 a.m. To register, visit www.wsu.edu/theinnovators or call 877-978-3868....

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Butterfield Named New Dean of College of Nursing
 

Patricia G. Butterfield has been named as the new dean of the Washington State University Intercollegiate College of Nursing. She will begin her duties on July 1.

“I am pleased that we have attracted a very talented and experienced nurse educator and administrator to lead the College of Nursing,” said Robert Bates, WSU provost and executive vice president. “At this transformational time in the college’s development, both in addressing nursing workforce shortages and preparing doctoral level instructional and research faculty for the future, Dr. Butterfield’s experience in health sciences program development will be invaluable.”

.... She will succeed Anne Hirsch, senior associate dean for academic affairs in the college of nursing, who has served as interim dean following the retirement of Dean Dorothy Detlor in September 2006.

“I'm eager to become a part of WSU and its health science leadership team,” Butterfield said. “I believe that our state is being well served by the multi-campus system developed by the WSU Intercollegiate College of Nursing. By educating highly qualified bachelor's and graduate level nurses at several sites, WSU ICN plays a central role in addressing Washington's nursing workforce needs. As a citizen of this state as well as a nurse, I am very pleased to see WSU making strategic and significant investments in the public's health." ....

Brian Pitcher, chancellor of WSU Spokane and vice provost for health sciences for the WSU system, said, “We welcome Dr. Butterfield to the strong team of leaders we have in the health professions and health sciences at WSU Spokane and throughout the university. The move of nursing to the campus adds to our growing portfolio of programs that address key shortages in healthcare professionals....

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Showcase Celebrates Scholarship, Research, and the Arts
 

If you haven’t already done so, block your calendar on Friday, March 23, and make plans to travel to Pullman for Showcase, the premier event celebrating academic achievement at WSU.

From 9 a.m. to noon, visit the Academic Showcase in the Bohler Gymnasium to view displays showcasing the achievements of individuals engaged in the advancement of scholarship, research, and the arts. Spokane will be represented by faculty, staff, and students from the following units:

  • Applied Sciences Laboratory (Haoyan Wei)
  • Center to Bridge the Digital Divide (Doreen Hauser-Lindstrom, Cindy McHargue)
  • Informatics (Kenn Daratha)
  • Interdisciplinary Design Institute (John Abell, Stacy Dekoekkoek, Matt Melcher, John Turpin)
  • Health Policy & Administration (Fevzi Akinci, Chi Chuan Wang)
  • Nursing (Ruth Bindler, Phyllis Eide, Suzan Kardon-Edgren, Janet Katz, Janet Purath)
  • Pharmacy (Brenda Bray, Bill Fassett, Linda Garrelts MacLean, Catrina Schwartz, Doug Weeks, Lisa Woodard)
  • Sleep and Performance Research Center (Amy Bender, Devon Grant, Pete McCauley, Megan Sherman, Amber Smith, Lindsey Tompkins)
  • Speech & Hearing Sciences (Guadalupe Orozco, Nancy Potter, Abigail Sudbery)
  • Washington Institute for Mental Illness Research & Training (John Roll)

The Academic Showcase is followed by the Distinguished Faculty Address Luncheon, "Characterizing Risk to Tame Uncertainty," presented by Eugene Rosa (12:15 to 1:45 p.m., Kimbrough Concert Hall); the Inventors Reception, featuring keynote speaker Connie Niva (2:00 to 3:30 p.m., CUE building, room 518), the Legacy of Excellence Retirees Reception (3:30 to 5:00 p.m., Lewis Alumni Centre), and the Celebrating Excellence recognition banquet (5:30 p.m., Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum).

You must register by March 14 for the afternoon and evening events only. Go to www.showcase.wsu.edu to register online.

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Legislative Update
 

WSU’s top legislative priority for the Spokane campus—funding for first-year medical and dental students at Riverpoint, and expansion of nursing from baccalaureate to the PhD level—has now been included in budget proposals from Governor Chris Gregoire and the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Education.

The full House appropriations operating and capital budgets are expected out the week of March 19, with the Senate budgets expected to follow within a week or so.

The legislature is past the halfway mark. Negotiations on proposals that differ between gubernatorial, House, and Senate budgets will intensify as it gets closer to the end of the session. Supporters of expanded health professions education at the Riverpoint Campus are contacting area legislators to affirm the importance of funding for the WWAMI/RIDE/Nursing request from WSU.

Governor's Capital Construction Budget Bill: The governor's capital budget would give WSU the most construction dollars in history. Topping Gov. Gregoire’s $176 million WSU construction budget proposal is $58 million to complete the four-story Life Sciences Building in Pullman to house researchers in National Institute of Health-sponsored projects. The budget funds a pedestrian mall and utility improvements on the Pullman Campus, and provides $24.35 million for an undergraduate classroom building at WSU Vancouver.

Projects at the Spokane campus are included in infrastructure and minor capital, minor works, and preservation line items.

Governor's Operating Budget Bill: The governor’s proposal represents the best operating budget package for WSU in years. The operating budget proposal funds 640 more students at all WSU campuses, creates new Spokane opportunities for 85 dental, nursing, and medical students, provides more freshmen at WSU Tri-Cities and WSU Vancouver, improves funding for agricultural experiment stations, and funds the research partnership in alternatives to petroleum fuels with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Adjusted for carry-forward costs, the operating budget proposal would represent a 12.5 percent increase in the university’s state-funded operating budget. It caps student tuition increases at 7 percent per year and keeps tuition revenues for use at the student’s institution.

For more information on the session as it unfolds, you may subscribe to the Olympia Update prepared by Larry Ganders, or see news at www.olympia.wsu.edu.

If you wish to subscribe to Olympia Update directly by email, send a blank message from your e-mail account (no signatures or footers please) to: subscribe-olympia_update@listserv.energy.wsu.edu

Middle School Logic and Engineering Tested at MESA Science Competition

Height, stability, accuracy and distance—a few of the components testing the minds of 226 Spokane middle school students during the annual Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) Middle School Competition. All six Spokane public middle schools will be represented by seventh and eighth graders during the competition scheduled for Friday, March 16 from 9:30 a.m.-2:15 p.m. at the East Central Community Center Gymnasium, 500 South Stone Street.

Students will test their science skills against their peers in engineering events and logic games and compete for the coveted traveling trophy. They will also vie for the state seed in the trebuchet competition with the chance to qualify for MESA’s National competition, held in Baltimore, Maryland, this June....

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New Leadership Elected for ASWSU Spokane
 

The March 7 and 8 student government elections yielded two capable new leaders for the Spokane campus: Laird Rasmussen, health policy and administration, and Jason Doss, pharmacy, were elected as president and vice president of the Associated Students of Washington State University Spokane for the 2007-08 academic year.

Read more on Rasmussen and Doss in next month's bulletin.

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Discover WSU Event to Highlight Science and Industry Collaboration
 

Converting cutting-edge research into commercial products is critical to the economic vitality of Washington State. At Washington State University, this technology transfer is happening thanks to strong linkages between industry and research partners.

Co-hosted by the Washington Technology Center and Washington State University, Discover WSU — Science and Industry Collaboration will highlight the innovative collaborations between WSU researchers and Washington companies in the areas of life sciences, advanced materials, and computing and electronics. This innovative event will take place on Tuesday, April 10, 2007, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Beasley Coliseum Concourse on WSU’s Pullman campus

Event participants will hear presentations by several WSU researchers and Washington companies including Signature Genomics, a company founded by WSU Spokane research faculty members Lisa Shaffer and Bassem Bejjani. The event will also feature a poster presentation session showcases technologies developed by researchers and companies who are attending the event.

Discover WSU provides WSU researchers and companies with an ideal venue to network, present their innovations, and discover new opportunities for working together. Plan now to attend Discover WSU — Science and Industry Collaboration and learn how collaborating with a researcher or company will benefit you.

Please submit your registration online. Admission is $30, and space is limited. For more information, contact Pam Kelley at 509-335-3669 or by e-mail.

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Spokane Cougar Pride Days Celebration, March 29

 

Members of the faculty and staff, along with students and friends of WSU Spokane, clean up the Riverpoint Campus during the 2006 Cougar Pride Days

Members of the faculty and staff, along with students and friends of WSU Spokane, clean up the Riverpoint Campus during the 2006 Cougar Pride Days
(Photo by Becki Meehan)

 

Spring is in the air and it’s time for a little “spring cleaning” on the WSU Spokane campus! Cougar Pride Days are upon us—time for students, faculty and staff to work together in celebration of the annual tradition of beautifying the campus.

This year, WSU Spokane will celebrate Cougar Pride Days on March 29, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. All students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to participate in the planned activities, which include picking up litter and debris along the banks of the Spokane River that run through campus and from undeveloped campus properties located on the south side of Spokane Falls Boulevard. We will also be removing some graffiti on campus buildings and planting two trees.

The meeting/starting point is near the campus flag pole on the elevated porch of the SIRTI Building. Please wear warm and comfortable work clothes and bring gloves if you have them. For more information, contact Jon Schad in Facilities Operations at 8-7991.

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Provide Feedback on Gender Identity & Sexual Orientation Issues at WSU


The WSU President’s Commission on Gender Identity/Expression and Sexual Orientation invites you to provide feedback on better ways to continue serving WSU’s gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and allied community members.

A few of the commission’s highlighted projects include conducting focus groups in Pullman and Spokane, training psychologists on sexual diversity issues, hosting speakers and performers on the Pullman campus, and advocating for “Gender Identity” to be included in the university non-discrimination clause.

E-mail the commission at geiso@wsu.edu to express your thoughts, concerns, or suggestions, or if you would like to get involved in coordinating relevant services, activities, or events.

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Milestones
 

If you or one of your colleagues or students has received a special honor or award, or reached another professional milestone, please e-mail the information to Judith Van Dongen at jcvd@wsu.edu.

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Community Connections
 

  • Spokane Public Radio Health Forum and City Cable Channel 5 present Autism Awareness on Wednesday, March 21st from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.at the Spokane City Hall. Steve Becker will moderate a panel of experts on autism spectrum disorders, answering your questions about the signs, treatments, and research. This program will be broadcast at a later date on KPBX, KSFC, and Channel 5.  For more information, go to www.kpbx.org or call 328-5729.

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Personnel and Staffing Changes
 

Searches:

  • Director of Campus & Regional Development, WSU Spokane and WSU Foundation, review of applications began 2/12/07
  • Senior Assistant/Associate Professor (Sociology), Program in Professional Development, review of applications began 11/15/06
  • Assistant/Associate Professor (Mathematics Education), Teaching & Learning, College of Education, review of applications began 11/16/06
  • Assistant/Associate Professor, Pharmacotherapy, College of Pharmacy, review of applications began 1/16/07
  • Clinical Assistant Professor, Pharmacotherapy, College of Pharmacy, review of applications began 1/16/07
  • Assistant Professor, Architecture, College of Engineering & Architecture, review of applications began 1/31/07
  • Assistant Professor (childbearing – 3 positions), Intercollegiate College of Nursing, review of applications began 1/31/07
  • Assistant Professor, (psychiatry/mental health – 2 positions), Intercollegiate College of Nursing, review of applications began 1/31/07
  • Associate Professor/Associate Dean (graduate programs) , Intercollegiate College of Nursing, review of applications began 1/31/07
  • Assistant Professor (informatics), Intercollegiate College of Nursing, review of applications began 1/31/07
  • Preceptor, Intercollegiate College of Nursing, review of applications began 1/31/07
  • Sirti Business Consultant Marketing/Technical Writer, review of applications begins 3/16/07, information at www.chr.wsu.edu or www.sirti.org
  • Sirti Business Consultant Marketing/Communications Designer, review of applications begins 3/16/07, information at www.chr.wsu.edu or www.sirti.org 

Information on all vacancies mentioned above is available at www.chr.wsu.edu. Return to the Top of the Page

Promotions:

  • Jason Iltz, Clinical Associate Professor, Pharmacotherapy
  • Linda Garrelts MacLean, Clinical Associate Professor, Pharmacotherapy
  • Terri Levien, Clinical Associate Professor, Pharmacotherapy
  • Lisa Shaffer, Research Professor (Tenured), Health Research & Education Center

Way to Go!
 

Here's where you make someone's day a little brighter by extending your thanks for a job well done. Send your “Way to Go!” comments to Cinda Romans, and watch for your thanks to be published in an upcoming issue of the Campus Bulletin!

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Find It on the Web
 

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The Bulletin is a monthly publication that is usually published on the second Wednesday of each month. The exact publication date may shift due to holidays. If you have an item that you'd like us to include, send it to us by Friday in the week before publication.
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The Bulletin covers news of interest to the faculty, staff, and friends of Washington State University Spokane, and associates on other WSU campuses and on the Riverpoint Campus.

Regular columns cover professional accomplishments, opportunities for involvement in the campus community and the Spokane community, notices of new developments on campus, upcoming events, personnel changes, and other news.

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Editorial staff