What Made Me the Teacher I Am Today? A Reflection by Selected Leonore Annenberg-Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellows

Education and Literacy

What Made Me the Teacher I Am Today? A Reflection by Selected Leonore Annenberg-Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellows

The report offers a series of short essays from 18 teachers, each reflecting on what inspired and guided them into the teaching profession. Some of the highlights include:

  • "I've come to realize that my learning process in the classroom actually feels a whole lot like the science I practiced at the bench: engineering experimental procedures, collecting and analyzing data, and formulating questions about next steps. It turns out that my scientific worldview can really improve learning outcomes for my students," said Kristin Milks, a biology and earth science teacher in Bloomington, IN, who enrolled in a teacher preparation program shortly after completing her Ph.D. in biochemistry.
  • "What transforms someone from being a good teacher to being a great teacher is the passion to make connections with students, to constantly evaluate and adjust their practice to do what is in the students' best interest," said Catherine Ann Haney, a Virginia Spanish teacher who has recently been teaching in Santiago, Chile.
  • "Enrolling in a teacher education program, instead of starting my career as a teacher first and then obtaining my master's degree after, meant I had a cohort of other soon-to-be teachers to learn with as we persevered through a very rigorous and demanding year," said Jeremy Cress, a math teacher in Philadelphia.
  • "I realized that being a good math teacher does not mean explaining clearly, making kids like me, or making math fun. Rather, it means giving students the opportunity to solve problems by themselves from start to finish, to struggle and persevere, and to learn from each other's particular strengths," said Brittany Leknes, a math teacher from Sunnyvale, CA.
  • "Together my students and I co-create their identities, their sense of themselves, and their understanding of their place in society. Because I believe wholly in my students' own power, I teach to disrupt school cultures that suggest that students need to be anything less than their whole selves," said Kayla Vinson, who taught social students in the Harlem Children's Zone.

Created in 2007, the Leonore Annenberg-Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship was designed to serve as the equivalent of a national "Rhodes Scholarship" for teaching. Working with Stanford University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Virginia, and the University of Washington, the Woodrow Wilson Foundation provided $30,000 stipends for exceptionally able candidates to complete a yearlong master's degree program. In exchange, the teacher candidates agreed to teach for three years in high-need secondary schools across the country. The Leonore Annenberg Teaching Fellowship was funded through grants from the Annenberg Foundation and Carnegie Corporation of New York. It served as the basis for the Woodrow Wilson Foundation's successful Teaching Fellowship program, which now operates in five states (Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, and Ohio), operating in partnership with 28 universities. Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellows complete a rigorous yearlong master's degree program, coupled with a robust yearlong clinical experience. Once they earn their degrees, Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellows teach in high-need STEM classrooms, while receiving three years of coaching and mentoring.

August 1970

Geographic Focus: North America / United States (Midwestern) / Indiana;North America / United States (Midwestern) / Michigan;North America / United States (Northeastern) / New Jersey;North America / United States (Southern) / Georgia;North America / United States (Midwestern) / Ohio

What Made Me the Teacher I Am Today? A Reflection by Selected Leonore Annenberg-Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellows

Education and Literacy

What Made Me the Teacher I Am Today? A Reflection by Selected Leonore Annenberg-Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellows

The report offers a series of short essays from 18 teachers, each reflecting on what inspired and guided them into the teaching profession. Some of the highlights include:

  • "I've come to realize that my learning process in the classroom actually feels a whole lot like the science I practiced at the bench: engineering experimental procedures, collecting and analyzing data, and formulating questions about next steps. It turns out that my scientific worldview can really improve learning outcomes for my students," said Kristin Milks, a biology and earth science teacher in Bloomington, IN, who enrolled in a teacher preparation program shortly after completing her Ph.D. in biochemistry.
  • "What transforms someone from being a good teacher to being a great teacher is the passion to make connections with students, to constantly evaluate and adjust their practice to do what is in the students' best interest," said Catherine Ann Haney, a Virginia Spanish teacher who has recently been teaching in Santiago, Chile.
  • "Enrolling in a teacher education program, instead of starting my career as a teacher first and then obtaining my master's degree after, meant I had a cohort of other soon-to-be teachers to learn with as we persevered through a very rigorous and demanding year," said Jeremy Cress, a math teacher in Philadelphia.
  • "I realized that being a good math teacher does not mean explaining clearly, making kids like me, or making math fun. Rather, it means giving students the opportunity to solve problems by themselves from start to finish, to struggle and persevere, and to learn from each other's particular strengths," said Brittany Leknes, a math teacher from Sunnyvale, CA.
  • "Together my students and I co-create their identities, their sense of themselves, and their understanding of their place in society. Because I believe wholly in my students' own power, I teach to disrupt school cultures that suggest that students need to be anything less than their whole selves," said Kayla Vinson, who taught social students in the Harlem Children's Zone.

Created in 2007, the Leonore Annenberg-Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship was designed to serve as the equivalent of a national "Rhodes Scholarship" for teaching. Working with Stanford University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Virginia, and the University of Washington, the Woodrow Wilson Foundation provided $30,000 stipends for exceptionally able candidates to complete a yearlong master's degree program. In exchange, the teacher candidates agreed to teach for three years in high-need secondary schools across the country. The Leonore Annenberg Teaching Fellowship was funded through grants from the Annenberg Foundation and Carnegie Corporation of New York. It served as the basis for the Woodrow Wilson Foundation's successful Teaching Fellowship program, which now operates in five states (Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, and Ohio), operating in partnership with 28 universities. Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellows complete a rigorous yearlong master's degree program, coupled with a robust yearlong clinical experience. Once they earn their degrees, Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellows teach in high-need STEM classrooms, while receiving three years of coaching and mentoring.

August 1970

Geographic Focus: North America / United States (Midwestern) / Indiana;North America / United States (Midwestern) / Michigan;North America / United States (Northeastern) / New Jersey;North America / United States (Southern) / Georgia;North America / United States (Midwestern) / Ohio

Online Intervention to Identify Students with Untreated Symptoms of Eating Disorders and Promote Mental Health Treatment: Winter/Spring 2015 (Pilot Study)

Education and Literacy;Health

Online Intervention to Identify Students with Untreated Symptoms of Eating Disorders and Promote Mental Health Treatment: Winter/Spring 2015 (Pilot Study)

Disordered eating and body image dissatisfaction are common on college and university campuses, yet relative to other mental health problems common in student populations (e.g., depression and anxiety), considerably less is known about clinical and sub-clinical eating disorders. The Healthy Bodies Study (HBS) takes a public health approach by assessing a range of eating and body image measures at the population-level. HBS encompasses a number of related projects that seek to explore and address the prevalence and correlates of disordered eating and body image dissatisfaction and the help-seeking habits and attitudes of students with apparent need.

The undergraduate years coincide with age of onset for eating disorders (19-25 years), presenting unique opportunities for early intervention on college campuses. Unfortunately, this opportunity is largely missed. The treatment gap -- the proportion of affected students not receiving treatment -- is wide: 80% of students with clinically significant symptoms do not receive care. Left untreated, eating disorders typically become more severe and refractory to treatment. In response to this, the HBS team developed and implemented a 12-week online intervention to identify students with untreated symptoms of eating disorders and promote help-seeking.

The pilot study was conducted during the winter/spring 2015 semester on four college and university campuses. To ensure feasibility, the study was limited to four campuses while making every effort to ensure that these sites represented a diverse set of schools. The sites were: Appalachian State University, Bard College, Mercyhurst University, and University of Michigan.

August 1970

Geographic Focus: North America / United States (Midwestern) / Michigan;North America / United States (Northeastern) / New York;North America / United States (Southern) / North Carolina;North America / United States (Northeastern) / Pennsylvania

Online Intervention to Identify Students with Untreated Symptoms of Eating Disorders and Promote Mental Health Treatment: Winter/Spring 2015 (Pilot Study)

Education and Literacy;Health

Online Intervention to Identify Students with Untreated Symptoms of Eating Disorders and Promote Mental Health Treatment: Winter/Spring 2015 (Pilot Study)

Disordered eating and body image dissatisfaction are common on college and university campuses, yet relative to other mental health problems common in student populations (e.g., depression and anxiety), considerably less is known about clinical and sub-clinical eating disorders. The Healthy Bodies Study (HBS) takes a public health approach by assessing a range of eating and body image measures at the population-level. HBS encompasses a number of related projects that seek to explore and address the prevalence and correlates of disordered eating and body image dissatisfaction and the help-seeking habits and attitudes of students with apparent need.

The undergraduate years coincide with age of onset for eating disorders (19-25 years), presenting unique opportunities for early intervention on college campuses. Unfortunately, this opportunity is largely missed. The treatment gap -- the proportion of affected students not receiving treatment -- is wide: 80% of students with clinically significant symptoms do not receive care. Left untreated, eating disorders typically become more severe and refractory to treatment. In response to this, the HBS team developed and implemented a 12-week online intervention to identify students with untreated symptoms of eating disorders and promote help-seeking.

The pilot study was conducted during the winter/spring 2015 semester on four college and university campuses. To ensure feasibility, the study was limited to four campuses while making every effort to ensure that these sites represented a diverse set of schools. The sites were: Appalachian State University, Bard College, Mercyhurst University, and University of Michigan.

August 1970

Geographic Focus: North America / United States (Midwestern) / Michigan;North America / United States (Northeastern) / New York;North America / United States (Southern) / North Carolina;North America / United States (Northeastern) / Pennsylvania

Reaching for Opportunity: An Action Plan to Increase Michigan's Postsecondary Credential Attainment

Education and Literacy

Reaching for Opportunity: An Action Plan to Increase Michigan's Postsecondary Credential Attainment

In 2014 key leaders in higher education came together to form a Postsecondary Credential Attainment Workgroup to forge a new action plan for how Michigan can help many more citizens achieve the needed postsecondary credentials that will allow them to find a place, or create a place, in the economy of today and tomorrow.

Over several months this workgroup assessed Michigan's population changes, benchmarked Michigan's overall postsecondary education performance; and performance by region, race, gender, age and income sub-groups. It examined what other states are doing differently and better; defined a goal for postsecondary attainment for Michigan; identified strategies to meet that goal; and perhaps most importantly, committed to continue to work together after releasing this report to advance this plan of action. The recommendations in this report are the strong consensus of the work group members, and have been reviewed by their organizations and constituencies.

This report is the first step towards a new round of ongoing strategic action to ensure 60% of our citizens earn needed and valuable postsecondary credentials by 2025, and to make Michigan and its citizens economically competitive with the top performing states.

August 1970

Geographic Focus: North America / United States (Midwestern) / Michigan

Engaging a New Generation of Philanthropists: Findings from the Pay IT Forward Student Philanthropy Initiative

Education and Literacy;Nonprofits and Philanthropy

Engaging a New Generation of Philanthropists: Findings from the Pay IT Forward Student Philanthropy Initiative

This report focuses on an emerging trend in higher education called student philanthropy, an experiential learning approach where students study social issues in the community and make decisions about distributing funds to nonprofit organizations. Previous research in the field of student philanthropy has revealed promising results: those enrolled in student philanthropy courses have shown a greater awareness of social problems and nonprofits, a heightened sense of responsibility to help others in need, and a greater likelihood to give their time and money in the future to support their community. However, little is known about the ways previous philanthropy experiences of students and components of student philanthropy courses may explain these outcomes.

This report examines students enrolled in student philanthropy courses through Pay it Forward, an initiative of the Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio Campus Compacts that seeks to develop a new generation of philanthropists through infusing the practice of philanthropy as a core component of college coursework. This report asks three key questions about the Pay it Forward course:

  • What are the prior philanthropic experiences of Pay it Forward participants?
  • What features of a Pay it Forward course predict student confidence in their philanthropic skills, abilities, and knowledge?
  • What aspects of a Pay it Forward course predict changes in students' plans to donate money to, volunteer in, and otherwise support their communities?

August 1970

Geographic Focus: North America / United States (Midwestern) / Michigan;North America / United States (Southern) / Kentucky;North America / United States (Midwestern) / Ohio

Engaging a New Generation of Philanthropists: Findings from the Pay IT Forward Student Philanthropy Initiative

Education and Literacy;Nonprofits and Philanthropy

Engaging a New Generation of Philanthropists: Findings from the Pay IT Forward Student Philanthropy Initiative

This report focuses on an emerging trend in higher education called student philanthropy, an experiential learning approach where students study social issues in the community and make decisions about distributing funds to nonprofit organizations. Previous research in the field of student philanthropy has revealed promising results: those enrolled in student philanthropy courses have shown a greater awareness of social problems and nonprofits, a heightened sense of responsibility to help others in need, and a greater likelihood to give their time and money in the future to support their community. However, little is known about the ways previous philanthropy experiences of students and components of student philanthropy courses may explain these outcomes.

This report examines students enrolled in student philanthropy courses through Pay it Forward, an initiative of the Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio Campus Compacts that seeks to develop a new generation of philanthropists through infusing the practice of philanthropy as a core component of college coursework. This report asks three key questions about the Pay it Forward course:

  • What are the prior philanthropic experiences of Pay it Forward participants?
  • What features of a Pay it Forward course predict student confidence in their philanthropic skills, abilities, and knowledge?
  • What aspects of a Pay it Forward course predict changes in students' plans to donate money to, volunteer in, and otherwise support their communities?

August 1970

Geographic Focus: North America / United States (Midwestern) / Michigan;North America / United States (Southern) / Kentucky;North America / United States (Midwestern) / Ohio

Making School Choice Work Series: How Parents Experience Public School Choice

Education and Literacy;Parenting and Families

Making School Choice Work Series: How Parents Experience Public School Choice

A growing number of cities now provide a range of public school options for families to choose from. Choosing a school can be one of the most stressful decisions parents make on behalf of their child. Getting access to the right public school will determine their child's future success. How are parents faring in cities where choice is widely available? This report answers this question by examining how parents' experiences with school choice vary across eight "high-choice" cities: Baltimore, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. Our findings suggest parents are taking advantage of the chance to choose a non-neighborhood-based public school option for their child, but there's more work to be done to ensure choice works for all families.

August 1970

Geographic Focus: North America-United States (Western)-Colorado-Denver County-Denver;North America-United States (Southern)-Maryland-Baltimore;North America-United States (Southern)-Louisiana-Orleans Parish-New Orleans;North America-United States (Southern)-District of Columbia-Washington;North America-United States (Northeastern)-Pennsylvania-Philadelphia County-Philadelphia;North America-United States (Midwestern)-Ohio-Cuyahoga County-Cleveland;North America-United States (Midwestern)-Michigan-Wayne County-Detroit;North America-United States (Midwestern)-Indiana-Marion County-Indianapolis

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