Archives: Initiatives
Trinity is proud to announce a 100% pass rate on the Learning Behavior Specialist II: Behavior Intervention Specialist Exam for cohort 4! Cohort 4 consisted of 9 graduate students eligible to sit for the exam. All 9 students passed the exam the first time taking it, and will now have the LBS II: Behavior Intervention Specialist endorsement added to their teaching license.
“I’m proud of the students for, yet again, achieving a 100% pass rate on this exam,” said Dr. Sara Baillie, Director of the Graduate Program in Special Education- Behavior Intervention Specialist. “I am optimistic for this group of students to continue their education throughout the next year in their practicum sites.”
As part of the Master of Arts in Special Education: Behavior Intervention program, most students take two exams. The LBS II exam is taken after the first year in the program, leading to the endorsement. Secondly, the students who complete the entire program will be eligible to sit for the Board Certified Behavior Analyst Examination® (BCBA) in August 2019 after graduating in spring 2019.
Congratulations to all members of cohort 4 on their accomplishment!
Students in the Trinity’s Master of Arts in Special Education: Behavior Intervention Specialist program presented to an audience of fellow students and community members during two June evening conference sessions on the Current Trends in Applied Behavior Analysis. During these presentations, the students were able to disseminate information about the field of behavior analysis and how it can be applied in a variety of areas.
Congratulations to the all students that presented at the conference!
“Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: A Mindful Approach to Applied Behavior Analysis” presented by Kelly McGrail and Thomas Murphy
“Organization Behavior Management – A Helpful Knowledge Base for All BCBAs” presented by Troy Schemper
“Benefits of Teaching American Sign Language to Children at an Early Age” presented by Cheryl Wartan
“Are My Students Learning, or Are They Waiting for the Bell? Precision Teaching Measuring Student Growth” presented by Erin Collins
“Applied Behavior Analysis in the Treatment of Eating Disorders with an emphasis on Binge Eating Disorder” presented by Shannon Childs
“The Role of Applied Behavior Analysis in Promoting Adherence to Psychotropic Medication” presented by Megan Gitter
“Applying Applied Behavior Analysis to Pediatric Feeding Disorders” presented by Christine Hoekstra
“Targeting Executive Functioning Skills Using Applied Behavior Analysis” presented by Caitlin Buerger and Dana Laging
“Discrete Trial Teaching used in Applied Behavior Analysis” presented by Dana Weaver
Trinity bids farewell to Dr. Patti Powell, Professor of Special Education and Director of the LBS I Graduate Program in Special Education, who retired in December and received emeritus status.
“Before coming to Trinity, I spent 15 years teaching at Elim Christian School, and before that I taught at the Arizona State School for the Deaf and the Blind in Tucson. When Trinity first decided to offer a special education degree, they asked me to teach the sign language course as an adjunct. Every semester, I would add another course until I was a full-time professor! That was 20 years ago.
“Then, six years ago, Trinity began offering graduate degrees in LBS I and then LBS II, which I wrote the programs for and got them approved by the State of Illinois. So I’ve had the opportunity to teach different types of students and different ages. Among the lessons I wanted my students to take away from their special education classes was the idea that everyone has something to offer. When we work with students with disabilities, our job is to help those students find their abilities. That was the thesis for my Ph.D., which I completed when I was 50. One of my most memorable experiences was serving as a Fulbright Scholar and teaching for a semester in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
“Now that I’m retiring, I plan to stay involved with several professional organizations, including the Division of International Special Education and Services–that hits my sweet spot of traveling internationally and special education work. I’ll also be spending time with my family and hoping to stay involved here at Trinity.”
Congratulations, and enjoy your retirement, Dr. Powell!
At Trinity Christian College, our professors are dedicated to sharing their knowledge with students and growing their own gifts and talents inside and outside the classroom. We celebrate with the Trinity faculty who have recently reached career milestones with promotions and the granting of tenure.
Congratulations to our professors on these successes!
–Sara Baillie: Promoted to Associate Professor of Special Education
–Mike Bosscher: Promoted to Associate Professor of Chemistry
–Cini Bretzlaff-Holstein: Promoted to Associate Professor of Social Work
–Dennis Connelly: Promoted to Associate Professor of Criminal Justice
–Tina Decker: Granted indefinite tenure and promoted to Associate Professor of Nursing
–Ben Ribbens: Promoted to Associate Professor of Theology
–Ryan Thompson: Promoted to Professor of Art & Design
–Deb Windes: Granted indefinite tenure
At Trinity Christian College, our professors are dedicated to sharing their knowledge with students and growing their own gifts and talents inside and outside the classroom. We celebrate with the Trinity faculty who have recently reached career milestones with promotions and the granting of tenure.
Congratulations to our professors on these successes!
–Sara Baillie: Promoted to Associate Professor of Special Education
–Mike Bosscher: Promoted to Associate Professor of Chemistry
–Cini Bretzlaff-Holstein: Promoted to Associate Professor of Social Work
–Dennis Connelly: Promoted to Associate Professor of Criminal Justice
–Tina Decker: Granted indefinite tenure and promoted to Associate Professor of Nursing
–Ben Ribbens: Promoted to Associate Professor of Theology
–Ryan Thompson: Promoted to Professor of Art & Design
–Deb Windes: Granted indefinite tenure
At Trinity Christian College, our professors are dedicated to sharing their knowledge with students and growing their own gifts and talents inside and outside the classroom. We celebrate with the Trinity faculty who have recently reached career milestones with promotions and the granting of tenure.
Congratulations to our professors on these successes!
–Sara Baillie: Promoted to Associate Professor of Special Education
–Mike Bosscher: Promoted to Associate Professor of Chemistry
–Cini Bretzlaff-Holstein: Promoted to Associate Professor of Social Work
–Dennis Connelly: Promoted to Associate Professor of Criminal Justice
–Tina Decker: Granted indefinite tenure and promoted to Associate Professor of Nursing
–Ben Ribbens: Promoted to Associate Professor of Theology
–Ryan Thompson: Promoted to Professor of Art & Design
–Deb Windes: Granted indefinite tenure
At Trinity Christian College, our professors are dedicated to sharing their knowledge with students and growing their own gifts and talents inside and outside the classroom. We celebrate with the Trinity faculty who have recently reached career milestones with promotions and the granting of tenure.
Congratulations to our professors on these successes!
–Sara Baillie: Promoted to Associate Professor of Special Education
–Mike Bosscher: Promoted to Associate Professor of Chemistry
–Cini Bretzlaff-Holstein: Promoted to Associate Professor of Social Work
–Dennis Connelly: Promoted to Associate Professor of Criminal Justice
–Tina Decker: Granted indefinite tenure and promoted to Associate Professor of Nursing
–Ben Ribbens: Promoted to Associate Professor of Theology
–Ryan Thompson: Promoted to Professor of Art & Design
–Deb Windes: Granted indefinite tenure
At Trinity Christian College, we prepare our students for a world that needs them. That is why we are proud to announce that our special education program has been ranked among the top 20 nationwide by College Factual. The program has also been recognized third in the state of Illinois.
“Trinity’s Special Education program engages preservice teachers in multiple hands on experiences over several semesters,” said Dr. Joy Meyer, Ed.D., Department Chair and Director of Teacher Education at Trinity. “Trinity students put learning into practice by providing inclusive opportunities for students with disabilities on our college campus and collaborating with local teachers to support the diverse needs of students in both general and special education classrooms. Preservice teachers also engage professionally presenting research to educators, creating teacher materials, and providing disability awareness instruction to partner institutions.”
College Factual uses a number of different criteria when creating its rankings, including graduate earnings, resources dedicated to specific majors, accreditation, and overall school quality.
Trinity offers a major and minor in special education. At the graduate level, Trinity offers M.A. degrees in special education programs that lead to a Learning Behavior Specialist I endorsement and Behavior Intervention Specialist endorsement.
Trinity is proud to announce a 100% pass rate for all traditional undergraduate and Adult Studies teacher candidates who submitted the edTPA (Teacher Performance Assessment) to Pearson Testing Co. in the fall 2015 and spring 2016!
In fall 2015, the edTPA replaced the APT exam (Assessment of Professional Teaching) as the final assessment needed to become a licensed teacher in Illinois. A nationally available performance-based assessment, the edTPA is composed of three tasks designed to represent the cycle of efficient teaching: planning, instruction, and assessment. The tasks are completed during the first nine weeks of student teaching and require teacher candidates to incorporate their understanding of teaching best practices and real-life engagement with students.
In the planning task, the teacher candidates examine the needs of their students/classroom, develop 3-5 lesson plans, and justify each of their chosen strategies. In the instruction task, they videotape their lesson and then analyze their teaching, the learning environment, and student engagement. In the assessment task, they evaluate student learning through work samples, provide feedback, and examine the overall impact of each lesson.
“This is a testament to the quality of our adult students and the hard work they committed to during their program, and it’s an incredible accomplishment for them,” said Prof. Bob Wennberg, Adult Studies education program director. “Trinity piloted the edTPA for several years to prepare for the implementation. We are so pleased with the results during this first year of implementation.”
For social entrepreneurs, messaging and action need to be woven together, according to a new book by Dr. Craig Mattson, Professor of Communication Arts and Honors Program Director. Mattson’s book, Rethinking Communication in Social Business, was published in August of this year.
Mattson has been studying social entrepreneurship, or companies that take a business-focused approach to social problems, since 2007, when a student first asked about Product Red in a rhetorical criticism class. Subsequent faculty/student research on Bono’s campaign to harness the power of people and companies to fight AIDS in Africa led to Mattson’s own researching and writing articles on the topic of business-driven problem-solving.
But it was a big jump to go from writing individual essays to taking up a book project. He credits several colleagues with encouraging him to write a book about the topic, including Professor of English Michael Vander Weele and Professor of Philosophy Aron Reppmann. In October 2016, while preparing for his sabbatical, the prospective for his book was accepted by Lexington Press. He drafted much of the book while on sabbatical in the spring and summer of 2017. “I do feel like this was really a Trinity project,” says Mattson. “It came about from conversations with students and colleagues, and it represents the entrepreneurial spirit on campus.”
As part of his research for the book, he interviewed Chicagoland social entrepreneurs, including Laura Zumdahl ‘02, CEO of New Moms. “I wanted the project grounded in the experience of practitioners in the field,” he noted.
The book examines social entrepreneurial businesses of all sizes, from large companies like Warby Parker and TOMS, to smaller operations like Clean Slate and Zumdhal’s Bright Endeavors. According to the book, “These companies respond not only to a felt proliferation of humanitarian and environmental predicaments, but also to enormous shifts in in public feelings and technological sensibilities. These predicaments make social entrepreneurships urgently needed and remarkably complicated. But if social entrepreneurs deal with that complexity with a business-as-usual approach to making the world better—imitating, for example, corporate social responsibility initiatives by transnational companies—they will lose their vital distinctiveness and efficacy.”
In his book, Mattson attempts a transdisciplinary perspective, using close rhetorical analysis and qualitative interviews with social entrepreneurs, in order to argue that one good way to keep social business disruptive is to rethink how organizations model their communication. Most companies assume something like an information-systems model of communication, tidily organized around the relations of senders and receivers. But social entrepreneurship often enacts a performative model of communication that weaves effective messaging and affective investment.
Mattson said he enjoyed the book process so much he is crafting a proposal for another book—this one focused on the religious dimensions of social business.