VITA

DEBRA ECKERMAN PITTON, Ph. D. 

Associate Professor
Education Department

115 Mattson Hall
Office phone: 507-933-7444
fax: 507-933-6020
e-mail: dpitton@gustavus.edu

 Education:

 Dissertation Title:

 "The impact of extracurricular activities on high school academic achievement during the implementation of the Texas no pass/no play rule (1983-1986)."

Dissertation Summary:

This study identified students who were involved in extracurricular activities prior to the implementation of the 'No Pass, No Play' rule and followed their progress until graduation. Results showed that there was no significant increase in grades for students involved in activities as a result of the No Pass, No Play law.

 Professional Experience:

 Awards: 

Teaching Responsibilities:

Regular semester load:

Middle School Methods and Philosophy (EDU 340)

Secondary Interdisciplinary Methods and Practicum  (EDU 368)
(Team teaching)

 Secondary Methods and Materials (EDU 351)

 Supervision of Student Teachers (3-6 students per semester)

J-term / alternative course responsibilities:

English Methods and Materials (ENG 397)

Methods and Materials for Teaching Theater (EDU 391)

Reading in the Content Area (EDU 350)

The English School and Family (J-term UMAIE course)

Costa Rica School and Family (J-term course)

Service to Gustavus:

Faculty Senate (2006-2008); current vice-chair 

Responsibilities include:

• Planning and implementation of fall 2006 faculty retreat;
• Assisting Chair as needed
• Faculty representative on Board of Director Committees

Faculty advisor for SEA (Student Education Association) 2006 - ongoing 

NCATE Review Committee (2004 – 2006)

Faculty Development Committee (2003 – 2006); Chair, 2004 – 2006

Dean’s Ad Hoc Planning Committee (2004 – 2005)

Education Department Chair (2003 - 2004)

Accomplishments during one year tenure as interim chair

• Hired new department chair with experience in administrative work to complement current faculty
• Co-wrote the grant we were awarded ($50,000.) and supported the implementation of the NYSP summer camps on Gustavus Campus
• Created a relationship with Queensland University in Brisbane, Australia to provide opportunities for education students to student teach abroad in Australia
• Successfully advocated for a new education and nursing building
• Initiated the NCATE review process and successfully lobbied for a change in timeline to accommodate the remodeling of Old Main
• Nominated the winner of the Outstanding Staff member award (Sandi Francis) in 2004
  

Facilitated Shop Talk: The Twilight of Castro’s Cuba (December, 2004)

Presented lecture for First Year Orientation 'Great Minds' sessions in 2005 & 2006

Served as faculty partner with Gustie Greeter for First Year Orientation in 2004 & 2006

Member of the Bush planning committee to develop faculty development grant (1999 –2000,
and 2003 Review Committee)

Co-presented Faculty Forum: Guatemala SLSJ (November, 2003)

Member of the Facilities Development Ad Hoc Committee of the Board of Trustees (2001-
2002)

Curriculum Committee member and secretary (1999 - 2002)

Member of the ad hoc campus committee to review the first year student experience (1998-1999)

Member of Curriculum Council's Conference Committee (1998)

Developed and taught continuing education summer workshop courses:

• Dialogues for Mentor Teachers (Summer of 1999,  2000 & 2001)
• Literature Circles for Secondary Education (2003)

 Education Department Graduation Standards Technician (1997 - 2003)

 Education Department Search Committee (Spring, 1998)

 Education Department Interview Committee  (ongoing)

 Advisor to Kappa Delta Pi, Educational Honor Society, Gustavus Chapter (1997 - 2003)

 Facilitator for 1998, 1999,  2003 & 2004 Faculty Retreat Sessions

 Discussion leader for ‘Teachers Talking’  (various sessions)

 Crossroads Advisory Committee (1997 -1998)

Presentations to New Faculty Mentoring Sessions (1997, 1998 & 1999)

Service to Community:

 Volunteer Adult Leader for Church Youth Programs:

• Service learning mission trips for adolescents; St. John the Baptist Church.  Summers of 1998 and 2000.
•  Director of literacy, Vacation Bible School, Houston, MS, July, 2006           

 Director, District 191 School Board (Burnsville-Eagan-Savage); 1994 - 2000

• Member/chair: various ad hoc, planning and search committees

 Member, Community Education Youth and Family Advisory Council, Dist.191; 1993 - 1994

 Community Representative, Transportation Study Committee, Independent  School District
191; 1994

Director, St. John's School, Savage, MN; extracurricular drama program; 1989-1994

Member, St. John the Baptist Education Commission Grievance Committee; 1990 - 2004

Member, Girl Scout National Conference Program Committee for National

•    Conference held October 22-24, 1993, in Minneapolis
•    (Film clip included in Eye to Eye with Connie Chung, Jan. 27, 1994)
•    Volunteer G.S. leader: 1990 - 2006

 Volunteer Coach: Odyssey of the Mind/Destination Imagination Teams (4th, 5th
                  and 6th grades): '94, '95 '98, '99  & 2000.

Member, Community Theater of Burnsville; 1989 - 2003

Graduation Standards Technician; 1996 - 2003

• Presenter/facilitator: Faculty development sessions for School Districts & College Faculty on MN Graduation Rule

Annotated List of Publications:

Pitton, D. (1994).  Read my lips - no sign language in speech class!  In Cooper, J. M (ed.),
Teachers' problem solving: A casebook of  award winning teaching cases.  Boston: Allyn
and Bacon.

A case study of a beginning teacher’s experience providing appropriate education for a hearing impaired student. This case was identified as an award winning description of the development of a novice
educator by the editor and publisher.

Pitton, D., Frank, K., Hunter, S. & Warring, D., (1994). Multicultural messages: Nonverbal communication in the classroom. ERIC Clearinghouse on Teacher Education, ED 362 519, RIE  Feb.

Interviews with individuals from several ethnic backgrounds provided the basis for this article which highlights nonverbal communication components of diverse cultures.

Pitton, D., (1994, September). Mentoring: The special needs of student teachers.  People and Education, 2 (3), 338-352.

This  article summarizes, both from prior research and interviews with student teachers, the specific needs that surface during the student teaching experience. In addition, suggestions for providing support for student teachers top help meet these needs are identified.

Pitton, D. (1995, Winter) Practicing what we preach.  Faculty Development, 8 (2), Bush
Regional Collaboration in Faculty Development Newsletter, 9-11.

This case study describes the author’s work to improve her own teaching skills and model constructivist practice in the college classroom.

 Pitton, D. (1996, Spring). Parent involvement in the schools: The role of                               government and business.  New Schools, New Communities, 12 (3), 68-71.

This article outlines a rationale for, and a description of, a plan for business and government to provide a process that encourages, rewards and supports parent’s involvement in their children’s’ schools.

Pitton, D. (1998, January). Life after the Board. The American School Board Journal. 185 (1), 37 & 47.

 After serving as a member of a local school board for several years, the author describes a way for former board members to stay involved in the educational processes without ‘crossing the line’ and using past experience to inappropriately influence educational decisions.                   

 Pitton, D. (1998). Stories of Student Teaching: A Case Approach to the Student                   Teaching Experience. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall.

 This text is a collection of case studies written from the student teacher, the cooperating teacher and the college supervisor’s perspectives. Coupled with questions to stimulate discussion, this book provides opportunities for pre-service teachers to explore situations that occur in the student teaching experience prior to their own placement in the schools and also identify various means of responding to the issues.               

Pitton, D. (1999, January). The 'Naked Truth' isn't very revealing: A response to Wade Nelson on school reform in Minnesota. Phi Delta Kappan, 80 (5), 383 - 387.

This article responds to a previous one printed in The Kappan  that inadequately described the Minnesota Graduation Rule.  The author, who had been involved in the implementation of the rule since its inception, clarified the background, history, developmental process and rationale of the rule and defined the standards based movement in the State of Minnesota.

Pitton, D. (2000). Mentoring Novice Teachers: Fostering a Dialogue Process. Arlington Heights, IL: SkyLight Training and Publishing Inc.

This text describes a process for mentors to follow in order to develop skills that will  enhance their effectiveness with novice teachers.  Based on a workshop researched and developed by the author, the book provides scenarios for dialogue as well as specific background information and descriptions of processes and skills that mentors can utilize.

Pitton, D. (2001). The student in the school and the school in the child. In Dickinson, T. (ed.), Reinventing the Middle School. New York, NY: Routledge Publishing.

 This chapter is a part of an edited text intended to highlight the need for wider-spread implementation of middle school concepts. This narrative identifies prior research that describes why  students’ perspectives and needs must be a major consideration in order to create effective middle school classrooms  and argues that teachers must make changes in their view of students in order to provide appropriate learning experiences for young adolescents.

Pitton, D. (Fall 2001). The student in the school and the school in the child. Middle School Journal.

This chapter is an edited version of the book chapter listed above.

Pitton, D. (2002). “The school and the child and the child in the school.”  Annual Editions: Educational Psychology. Connecticut: McGraw-Hill/Duskin.

 This chapter is another edited version of the book chapter published by Routledge.

Pitton, D. (2002-2003). Letter from the President series in all issues of the 2002-2003 The Minnesota Report. MN ASCD, 5 - 1 - 4.

Articles highlight issues of importance to K-12 educators in Minnesota and articulate the vision for MN ASCD programs for the year.

Pitton, D. (2004). “The school and the child and the child in the school. In Powerbook: Educational Psychology. www.dushkin.com/powerbook Cauley, K., Linder, F., & McMillian, J. (eds.) New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

This chapter is an online reprint of the article from The Middle School Journal, that is available only through a subscription to the Powerbook series.

Pitton, D. & Quinn, K. (2005).  Q & A for Middle School Parents. Familyresources.com

A series of ten brief reports on resources for parents dealing with concerns and questions regarding their middle school student’s educational experience. Written in collaboration with a senior education major.

Pitton, D. (Winter, 2005). NYSP. Gustavus Quarterly. Gustavus Adolphus College, 19.

An overview of the five-week summer  NYSP (National Youth Sports Program) at Gustavus.

 Pitton, D. (Winter, 2005). ‘What’s size got to do with it? Meeting the challenges of NCLB and closing the achievement gap within our high schools. The Minnesota Report. MN ASCD, 7 -8.

A review of the research supporting smaller learning communities and the challenges facing schools wishing to adapt this structure.

Pitton, D. (Winter, 2006). Lit Circles, collaboration and student interest. Academic Exchange Quarterly 9, (4) 87 - 90.

A description of the classroom research conducted to determine the impact on literature circles on middle school reading practices. Research was conducted during author's sabbatical.

Pitton, D. (2006). Mentoring Novice Teachers: Fostering a Dialogue Process, 2^nd Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

 A new publisher and an updated edition with stronger research support for mentoring concepts and expanded methods for increasing mentor skills in a variety of settings. In essence, the text is updated in every chapter with significant emphasis on the research supporting mentoring and mentor training concepts.

Pitton, D. (Winter, 2006, in press) The bullying project – A service learning partnership. Action in Teacher Education.

This article describes the development and implementation of a service-learning project that engaged pre-service teachers in anti-bullying lessons in the local middle school.
The project was an outgrowth of the SLSJ program at Gustavus and involved students from EDU 340 classes.

Reviews: 

2002. Reviewed and provided feedback and editing suggestions for the 5 part videotape series: Mentoring Case Studies. Glenview, IL: Pearson Education, Inc.

2006. Reviewed and provided feedback and editing suggestions for a text under review. The reflective educator’s guide to mentoring: Learning and growing as a mentor teacher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

 Papers Presented:

The impact of extracurricular activities on high school academic achievement during the implementation of the Texas no pass/no play rule (1983- 1986). Eastern Education Research Association Annual Convention, 1990, Clearwater, Florida.

1992. Recognizing emerging excellence.  Kappa Delta Pi Convocation, Memphis, TN.

1992. Mentoring emerging excellence. Spring Convention: Minnesota Association of Teacher Educators, Brainerd, MN.

1992. Communication, critical thinking and technology in the classroom: Preparing students for a visual world.  Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education National Forum, Louisville, Kentucky.

1993. Multicultural messages: Nonverbal communication in the classroom. National Conference: Association of Teacher Educators, Los Angeles.

1993. Media in the classroom: Preparing our students for a visual world. National Middle School Association Conference, Portland, Oregon.

1994. Girl Scouting in the schools: Creating curriculum links. National Conference: Association of Teacher Educators, Atlanta, GA.

1994. The mommy track in higher education: Three case studies. Research on Women and Education SIG division of the American Educational Research Association, 20th Annual Conference, St. Paul, MN.

1994. Culturally specific non-verbal communication: Implications for the classroom.       Presented at the Minnesota Human Relations Association Biennial Conference, St. Cloud, MN.

1995. Dialogues for cooperating teachers. National Conference: Association of Teacher Educators, Detroit, MI.

1995. Walking our talk: Constructivism in teacher education. National Conference: Association of Teacher Educators, Detroit, MI.

1995. Making the transition from soft to hard funding: The politics of institutionalizing instructional development programs. Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education Conference,  Cape Cod, MA.

1996. Dialogues for cooperating teachers: A continuing process. National Conference: Association of Teacher Educators, St. Louis, MO.

1996. Implementing the MN graduation rule - One district’s approach. Minnesota Educational Effectiveness Program (MEEP) Annual Leadership Conference, Brainerd, MN.

1996. Embedding the Profile of Learning into the curriculum. Spring Conference: Minnesota Association of Teacher Educators, Bay Lake, MN.

1997. Three views of reform: The superintendent, school board and community.                National Conference: Association of Teacher Educators, Washington, D.C.   

1997. The use of stories in student teaching. Phi Delta Kappa Bi-annual Convocation, St. Louis, MO.

1998. Preparing teachers to teach to standards. National Conference: Association of Teacher Educators, Dallas, TX.

1998. How to talk middle school with a junior high teacher. Midwest Regional Middle Level Conference, Minneapolis, MN.

1999. Mentoring skills for new mentors. ASCD (Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development) Conference, San Francisco, CA.

1999. Emotional intelligence and theater: A natural connection. (Presented with                           Gustavus student, Nate Meyer)

•   National Middle School Association National Conference, Orlando, Florida.
•   Minnesota Association of Middle Level Educators, Bloomington, MN

1999. Easing the anxiety of student teaching through the use of case studies. Kappa Delta Pi Biennial Convocation. (Presented with officers from Gustavus chapter of KDP). Baltimore, MD.

2000. How do you mentor a mentor? ASCD (Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development) National Conference, New Orleans, LA.

2001. Minnesota mentoring grants: From inception to implementation. Minnesota School Board Association Conference, Minneapolis, MN.

2001. Communication  skills for mentors: Dealing with Dilemmas in mentoring. ASCD (Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development) National Conference, Boston, MA.

2001. Case studies and student teaching: What can we learn? Kappa Delta Pi Biennial Convocation. (Presented with student officers from Gustavus chapter of KDP). Orlando, FL

2002. Supervision skills. ASCD (Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development) National Conference, San Diego, CA.

2003. Mentoring and supervision. ASCD (Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development) National Conference. San Francisco, CA.

2003. Why won’t they Talk? Creating an interactive classroom.  The Collaboration Fall Conference, Minneapolis, MN.

2004. Mentoring skills for middle level leaders. National Middle School Association National Conference, Minneapolis, MN

2005. Service learning opportunities in education courses. Minnesota Association of Colleges of Teacher Education,  Minneapolis, MN.

2006. The bullying project: Service learning as teacher education. Association of Teacher Education National Conference,  Atlanta, GA.

2006. Social supports for middle school students: Keeping them engaged. MN ASCD (Associating of Supervision and Curriculum Development) Winter Conference, Minneapolis, MN.

2006. Service Learning in College Classrooms. The Collaboration Fall Conference, Minneapolis, MN.

Research Interests:

• Mentoring of beginning teachers.

• Middle School teacher, K-12 & higher education collaborations and service learning

• The impact of the NYSP program on student academic learning and school attendance

• Implementation strategies for effective instruction within standards based educational reform

• Educational policy and its impact on K-12 education

Professional Organizations/Memberships/Service:

Current memberships:

Minnesota Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (MASCD)

• Treasurer, 2004 - 2005
• President, 2002 - 2003
• Past president,  2003 - 2004
  • Planned and Attended State Conference
  • Appointed to Board of Directors in 1998

 Association of Teacher Educators (ATE)

• Presentations at National Conferences   

 Minnesota Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (MACTE)

• Presented at state Teacher Education Congresses

 Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)

• Presentations for national conferences

  National Middle School Association (NMSA)

• Presentations at National Conventions
• Participant: 'The Nuts and Bolts of Middle School' Symposium;                                        Boulder, CO

 Kappa Delta Pi, (Educational Honor Society)

•  Student Advisor for Gustavus Chapter
• Presenter at 1994, 1997, & 2002 Bi-annual Convocation

 Minnesota Association of Teacher Educators (MATE)

• Member of the program committee for the 1992 Spring Conference
• Presentations at state conferences

 Minnesota Association of Middle Level Educators (MAMLE)

• Attended/presented: state conferences

 Phi Delta Kappa (Educational Honor Society)

• Facilitator for 1993 professional development session on classroom                                             management entitled: Discipline with Dignity (Feb. 1993)
• Newsletter editor for Chapter 1410; 1993 - 1995

 Past Associations:

MN Department of Children, Families and Learning (DCFL)

• Planned and presented: 1998 Summer Graduation Standards Workshop for Teacher
  Educators

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education, (1994-1996);

• Presenter at 1995 POD Conference
• Reviewer for conference proposals for POD Network 1996 Conference

 American Educational Research Association (1989 - 1993)

• Presented at 1994 SIG conference (Women in Research)

 National School Board Association (1995-1997)

• Attended national conferences

National Association of School Administrators (1996 - 1999)

• Attended national conferences

 Loras College National Alumni Board of Directors (1990 - 1995)

• presented workshops on portfolio development for Career Placement Center