It’s intimidating because no one before you has done what you are trying to do. There’s no road map to keep you on track.

But it’s also exhilarating to create the map for others and to leave an indelible mark on everything that follows.

“I am excited to be at the forefront of Augsburg College’s varsity women’s lacrosse team,” said Coach Kathryn Knippenberg. “I’m looking forward to building a team that knows winning is as much about team chemistry and bonds as it is about the stick.”

It’s not just that Knippenberg is Augsburg’s first women’s collegiate varsity lacrosse coach.

It’s bigger than that. Knippenberg is the first women’s collegiate varsity lacrosse coach at any college in Minnesota, and at the one that launched in 1995 the first women’s collegiate varsity hockey team.

“It’s an honor to help pioneer this great sport,” Knippenberg said. “Getting to lead at a place that believes in the value of women’s athletics is thrilling and challenging.”

Knippenberg, who as a student at the University of Minnesota was captain and president of the school’s club lacrosse team, said the commitment that Augsburg is making to lacrosse has significant meaning for student athletes.

“Auggie athletes won’t have to spend time like my college club team did on fundraising for equipment and travel. They won’t have to worry about budgets and scheduling practice and game time,” she said.

“They just have to show up, practice, and play hard. My job is about having things in place so our student athletes can improve their skills on the field, and to help make sure they stay on track and are achieving in the classroom.”

Jeff Swenson, athletic director for the College, said Knippenberg is accomplished in Minnesota’s fast-growing lacrosse community and that the players will benefit from her experience and leadership.

“Coach Knippenberg will lead us in realizing our goal of expanding opportunities for women, and continuing to prepare them for success beyond Augsburg,” Swenson said.

“These student athletes will develop their skills on the field, and carry into life and work valuable lessons about how to balance multiple priorities and to work as part of a diverse team.”

Knippenberg said her primary work now is focused on recruiting and preparing for the first sanctioned and regulated games scheduled for spring 2014.

“I hope the community comes out to watch our games. It’s fast paced and intense,” she said.

“Whether the team wins or loses, one thing is sure: Everyone in the stands will be part of something bigger. We’ll all be making history as Augsburg continues to blaze a new trail for women’s varsity athletics in Minnesota.”

Knippenberg has served as head lacrosse coach at Academy of Holy Angels since 2009, is cofounder and president of the North Central Women’s Lacrosse League, and works with Winning For Life, an organization that develops positive leadership and life skills through sports.

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E. Milton “Milt” Kleven ’46, active Augsburg alumnus, generous scholarship benefactor, teacher, businessman, Navy Reserve commander, and friend of Augsburg College, passed away April 11.

Kleven, son of a Norwegian immigrant mother and a Norwegian-American father, grew up two blocks south of Augsburg College. He enrolled in the College in 1940, but his studies were interrupted by World War II. Kleven returned to Augsburg after the war and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a minor in physical education. He later earned a master’s degree in vocational education from the University of Minnesota.

Kleven began his career teaching mathematics in the Minneapolis Public School District in 1946. He was an educator in Minneapolis for 34 years. In 1947, he founded Kleven Flooring Service, a hardwood flooring company that he led for more than 60 years.

“The impact on Augsburg students—past, present, and future—of Milt’s incredible generosity will be felt for generations to come,” said Augsburg College President Paul C. Pribbenow. “Growing up and teaching in Minneapolis, Milt understood what a full scholarship could mean to students from low-income families. He loved getting to know the students his family supported, and he was a strong advocate among his peers for greater scholarship funding for even more students.”

Kleven and his wife, Dorothy, who met at Augsburg in 1943, were generous supporters of the College and student scholarships for more than 50 years. In 2001, he established the Dorothy Lijsing Kleven Scholarship in Choral Music, the College’s first endowed President’s Scholarship, providing a full scholarship to students interested in choral music. Dorothy was interested in choral music throughout her life. In 2007, the Kleven family created two additional endowed President’s Scholarships: one in memory of Milt’s and Dorothy’s parents, Magnus and Kristofa Kleven, and David and Florence Lijsing; and a second in Milt’s name—the E. Milton Kleven Scholarship in Public Service.

Kleven also helped to facilitate two other scholarships. The Margaret E. Andrews Scholarship was established by Kleven and his fellow trade and industry coordinators in the Minneapolis Public Schools to honor Andrews, who founded the district’s Cooperative Education Training program. The Reverend Donald C. Carlson Scholarship, through the Normandale Lutheran Church Foundation, is named for Normandale’s founding pastor, a 1942 Augsburg alumnus. This scholarship supports students from Normandale who attend Augsburg College. The Klevens also provided major support for the construction of the James G. Lindell Library. Kleven joined with Glen Person ’47 and Dick “Pork Chop” Thompson ’61 to provide funding to name the Jeroy C. Carlson ’48 A-Club Hospitality/Classroom in the Kennedy Center, in honor of Carlson, their longtime friend.

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Charles S. Anderson, respected reformation scholar, higher education leader, and president of Augsburg College from 1980 to 1997, passed away June 14.

As the eighth president of Augsburg, Anderson led the College to expand diversity in enrollment and programs; to advance its curriculum to draw more fully on the resources of the city as an extension of the College’s campus and classrooms; and to strengthen its commitment to spiritual growth, freedom, and liberal arts education.

During his tenure, Anderson said, “A liberal arts education answers what business leaders say they need: people who can communicate, people who can think, people equipped for change 
 people who understand history and the possibilities of the future,” and he led the College to be clear and focused in its mission while embracing opportunities for growth and progress.

Anderson was a constant advocate for Augsburg and helped to establish the College’s public presence in the Twin Cities, said David Tiede, Augsburg College Regent and former Bernhard M. Christensen Professor of Religion and Vocation. Tiede, who studied under Anderson and served as his faculty colleague at Luther Seminary, said that Anderson “brought Augsburg into the public square of the city of Minneapolis in a way that it hadn’t been previously” and put the College on “a trajectory that has been taken effectively forward.”

“Chuck Anderson was a careful steward of Augsburg’s distinctive legacy of liberal-professional-experiential education in the city,” said President Emeritus William V. Frame, who succeeded Anderson at Augsburg. “He took the view that the College was, in fact, the Church at 22nd and Riverside, and he made it profoundly hospitable to a daring array of diversity—not only religious and cultural, but of learning styles and varying physical capacities.”

Anderson advanced the College vision he inherited from Oscar Anderson and, before him, Bernhard Christensen and passed on “an extraordinary College of the Church, which continues today along the path he and his predecessors laid out for it,” Frame said.

Anderson was born in Madison, Wis., in 1930—the 400th anniversary year of the Augsburg Confession, the statement of faith for which the College was named. He earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College in 1951 and after graduation went on to serve as a Marine Corps officer.

He later continued his studies, earning a master’s degree in English from the University of Wisconsin in 1954, a bachelor of theology degree from Luther Theological Seminary in 1957, and a doctor of philosophy degree from Union Theological Seminary in 1961.

For 15 years Anderson taught church history at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, and for six years he also was director of graduate studies. He was a guest professor in 1968 at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Mo., and for five years was a guest lecturer at St. Paul Diocesan Seminary. A frequent guest pastor and educator at Lutheran churches throughout the United States, his publications include four books: The Reformation, Then and Now; Augsburg Historical Atlas of Christianity in the Middle Ages and Reformation; Readings in Luther for Laymen; and Faith and Freedom: The Christian Faith According to the Lutheran Confessions.

As a lifelong scholar, Anderson completed postdoctoral study in Strasbourg, France, and at Columbia University, the University of Minnesota, Harvard University, and Union Theological Seminary.

Anderson came to Augsburg in 1976 as vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college—a role he served until his election as College president.

During the 17 years of Anderson’s presidency, Augsburg instituted two graduate degree programs, launched the Weekend and Evening College program, and established the Center for Global Education. The College amplified its support of students of diverse backgrounds and abilities by creating the StepUP¼ program for young people in recovery and the CLASS office for differently abled students.

Augsburg also celebrated the addition and improvement of numerous campus facilities such as the Foss, Lobeck, Miles Center for Worship, Drama, and Communication; the Oscar Anderson Residence Hall; and the James G. Lindell Family Library.

At the time of Anderson’s retirement, then-Board of Regents Chair Barbara Gage described his legacy as one in which “leadership, energy, faith, and pursuit of new ideas … helped Augsburg fulfill her mission to create leaders in service.”

Gage said Anderson epitomized the servant leader and left Augsburg strong, healthy, and ready to have a positive impact in the 21st century.

Anderson, a respected leader in higher education service learning, was appointed chair of the Youth Works Commission by former Minnesota Gov. Arne Carlson. He received the Knight’s Cross, First Class of the Royal Order of Merit, from His Majesty King Harald V of Norway in 1993 for his work to preserve and strengthen ties between the two countries. Anderson was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Augsburg College in 2007.

“Charles Anderson’s influence on the Augsburg community is deep and long-lived,” said Augsburg College President Paul C. Pribbenow. “The priorities Anderson outlined and championed during his tenure continue to shape how we live out our institutional mission and celebrate life and learning in the city each day.”

Anderson is survived by his children, Eric and Kristin, Augsburg College professor of art history and archivist; five grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and his wife, Catherine, with whom he established the Charles and Catherine Anderson Diversity Scholarship in 1989 and with whom he was recognized by the June and Julian Foss family with the establishment of the Charles and Catherine Anderson Scholarship in 1997. The scholarship awards help the College fulfill its mission of being an intentionally diverse community and supporting students’ exceptional academic ability and Christian service.

A memorial service was held at St. Anthony Park Lutheran Church on June 18. The Anderson family has requested that memorials be sent to St. Anthony Park Lutheran Church, Luther Seminary, or Augsburg College.

President Emeritus Anderson’s legacy

Learn more about Augsburg College’s eighth president by reading articles from the Star Tribune, , and The Circle. 

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For Lisa Benjamin ’06, ’12, the possibility of going back to school was appealing, but finding time to spend in a classroom was challenging.

In 2010, Benjamin sought a license to teach in Minnesota and to sharpen her skills in American Indian student instruction—a field she has been passionate about since her youth. But, like many of Augsburg’s non-traditional learners, Benjamin had the busy schedule and family responsibilities of a working adult.

That’s why a unique Augsburg College program that takes advantage of the strengths of both classroom and web-based learning environments—called hybrid or blended learning—offered an ideal opportunity. Courses delivered in a hybrid format combine traditional face-to-face components and online learning activities to optimize student engagement.

“I thought the Augsburg program was a perfect match for what I was working toward,” Benjamin said. “I liked the fact that a partially online course meant I didn’t have to go into school every weekend or every day. My son was 3 years old, and I didn’t want to be away from him all the time.”

By taking advantage of the strengths of a hybrid program structure, Benjamin met her teaching licensure goal and joined a tight-knit community.

“The other students were a remarkable, supportive group of people,” she said. “I got to learn from them and their experience.”

The effectiveness of hybrid learning

Augsburg historically has offered only select hybrid classes. However, beginning this fall, the College will expand the number of courses offered in a blended format.

Augsburg will launch a hybrid instruction model for a significant number of graduate and adult undergraduate courses at its Minneapolis and Rochester campuses, shifting approximately half of students’ course contact time to a web-based format. Students in these blended courses will follow a schedule in which in-classroom meetings and online instruction alternate every other week.

Augsburg already employs a variety of approaches to hybrid instruction, and the proportion of in-class versus online course contact time varies from program to program based on student demographics. For example, Augsburg’s Master of Arts in Leadership and Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing programs offer a low-residency schedule in which one- or multi-week intensive face-to-face sessions are paired with online coursework completed throughout the term.

The new initiative to expand hybrid program offerings with an every-other-week format is based on recommendations made following multi-year studies through which faculty, staff, and administrators identified how the College could best further its tradition of delivering high-quality, face-to-face instruction; integrate technology into programs for non-traditional students; align with the changing demands of the adult education market; and satisfy federal education regulations.

“Much of the inspiration for this work stems from the opportunity we identified as an institution to enhance the way we serve our students,” said Lori Peterson, assistant vice president and dean of graduate and professional studies.

Peterson, who chaired a task force on academic program structure, said the College is taking a thoughtful approach to integrating online elements into teaching and learning. “Our faculty and curriculum committees have done tremendous work to ensure quality in our blended learning approach and to identify the ways in which we will achieve the highest level of learning outcomes,” she said.

By shifting additional academic programs to a hybrid format, the College will meet the needs of current and future non-traditional learners. A 2010 U.S. Department of Education analysis of online-learning studies concluded that hybrid courses were at least as good if not marginally better and more engaging than a fully online model.

“Many organizations are finding out that, where possible, combining face-to-face meetings with work in an online environment increases student satisfaction, student learning, and retention when compared to a course that’s offered solely online,” said Dan McGuire, an education and communication specialist who is working with the College as the project manager for a hybrid teaching and learning transition team.

Nationally, 6.7 million higher education students took at least one online course in 2011, accounting for nearly one-third of all such students. These figures, released in the 2012 Survey of Online Learning, detail those classes in which at least 80 percent of the course content was delivered online, but schools offer online learning in varying degrees—including a web-facilitated instruction model with few online elements as well as the blended learning model Augsburg selected.

Non-traditional students 21 and older constitute the majority of online learners. Frequently, adult students prefer to take courses online or to have some combination of an online and a face-to-face format because it affords greater flexibility as the students juggle full- or part-time employment, family commitments, and other obligations while attending school.

By implementing a hybrid model for adult students, “Augsburg is retaining the power of its physical community—of a social, spiritual place that exists within a long, vibrant history—and is fusing the educational tradition of the College with an effective teaching and learning system,” McGuire said.

A college-wide endeavor

Rolling out a new academic program structure is an effort that requires diligence, commitment, and coordination. In order to offer adult undergraduate programs in a hybrid format, Augsburg faculty and staff for almost a year have worked to re-conceptualize and redesign face-to-face classes so that content can be presented through online course management software.

Often times, students in hybrid courses master more basic material online at their own pace so that the classroom becomes a place where the application of that knowledge can be refined through lab experiments and discussions with peers or the professor.

The online component in Augsburg’s hybrid courses will be delivered through Moodle, a website in which educators create micro-sites for each unique course. Augsburg has used Moodle since 2005 and selected this learning management system because the platform is “grounded in sound teaching principles,” according to Scott Krajewski, director of information technology.

Moodle is recognized for supporting activities common in a classroom, and it “provides an elegant structure to ask and answer questions, to present information, and to engage in an educational community in between meeting times,” McGuire said. “The beauty of Moodle is that it’s a very powerful tool—all of the different variations of interacting with students have been thought through.”

According to Krajewski, Augsburg faculty and staff are working in collaboration to design the hybrid courses and to implement best practices for teaching online. Members of Augsburg’s  information technology staff are certified in online course design and are experts at tailoring classes so that they “best match the institutional mission as well as the needs of distinctive academic departments, course sections, and students.”

By the end of May, nearly 200 faculty members had begun the process of converting adult undergraduate courses for fall 2013 into a hybrid model, and their work continues this summer. Together, faculty and staff members will convert approximately 300 unique courses into a new format—tasks that McGuire said require a time commitment ranging from 10 to 40 hours per class.

Developing high-quality hybrid courses requires sufficient time for planning, designing, developing, and testing. Moodle then allows professors to maximize the productivity of the in-class portion of their instruction and to use innovative, multimedia elements online. In contrast to an in-person course with minimal supplementary material, the instructor and students in a hybrid course interact with each other online—they engage in discussion, complete activities, and consume entirely new information in textual, visual, and auditory formats.

Susan O’Connor, associate professor of education, has been teaching in a hybrid model for the past five years and served as a co-instructor for Benjamin’s teaching licensure program. O’Connor found that while she initially was hesitant to instruct online, she quickly realized the benefits of the new format. “It turned out to be one of the best teaching experiences of my career,” she said. “This teaching method calls students to take more ownership in their learning, it offers a lot more freedom of time around their schedules, and it sharpens the objectives that they need to fulfill during each class session.”

Benjamin found that the blended learning model pushed her to be specific and clear in her written communication and to master course content by approaching assignments at her own pace.

“I feel like the program helped me in my career and served the K-12 students I work with,” she said. “I was challenged, but at the same time it was possible for me to be a mom, to be a student, and to have a full-time job.”

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Each year, Augsburg College mints hundreds of new graduates who go on to continued education in graduate schools and workplaces across the nation. Preparing students for success is a key part of an Augsburg education and central to the College’s mission of educating students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders. Here’s a snapshot of facts and figures—and student stories—that show how recent Auggie graduates are having an impact early in their careers.

• Each year, more than 100 employers visit campus to recruit students or to participate in career-related events including Fairview Riverside Hospitals and Clinics, the federal government, KDV consulting, KPMG, Target Corporation, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, and Twin Cities television and radio stations
• More than 60 percent of Augsburg students engage in internships and major-related work with business, non-profit, and government employers, gaining professional experience before graduation
• More than 90 percent of Augsburg students are fully employed or enrolled in graduate school within 18 months of graduation

• The Clair and Gladys Strommen Center for Meaningful Work provides individualized assistance with choosing a major, finding an internship, writing resumes, developing interviewing skills, attending job fairs, and helping students find meaningful work after college

• Graduates from the class of 2012 secured full-time employment with organizations including: 3M, Advanced Medical Electronics, Air Force Research Labs, Ameriprise Financial, Cargill, Comcast, Dart Transit Company, Delfi Technologies Inc., Delta Airlines, Hennepin County, Marriott, the Mayo Clinic, the Minnesota Department of Revenue, Minnesota Twins, Piper Jaffray, Prudential, Regions Hospital, Robert Half Technology, Robotics Redefined Inc., Sherwin-Williams, Target Corp., Teach for America, Thomson Reuters, University of Minnesota, and Wells Fargo

LAURIE BARGER ’13

Associate Analyst—Merchandising and Business Intelligence, Target Corporation

At Augsburg: Mathematics and Spanish major, played on the women’s soccer team, studied abroad in Mexico and Cuba, tutored for the Mathematics Department, volunteered at a local social service agency doing taxes for low-income families, member of the Augsburg Business Association

“From the moment I stepped on campus, I knew that Augsburg was going to give me the drive, motivation, and opportunities I would need to become successful. Through networking and community involvement, making strong relationships with my professors and peers, as well as being educated in a high-level, real-world environment, I was able to build a rĂ©sumĂ© that made me stand out from everyone else. With the help of the Strommen Center and my professors, I was able to confidently take what I had learned and comfortably transition from a full-time student and intern to a full-time employee.”

JOHANNA FRYKMARK KITZMAN ’10

EDI implementation analyst, SPS Commerce

At Augsburg: Double major in international business and business management, Honors program, co-captain of women’s golf team, worked in the alumni relations office

“When I moved from Sweden to begin school at Augsburg, it was the first time I had set foot in the U.S. The international student staff, my golf coach, my team, and my professors all helped me get past my homesickness and establish friendships. Thanks to their support, I finished my degree and today I am happily married, am working in the city, and own my very own American house in the suburbs.”

JENS OLSON ’10

Medical student, University of Minnesota Medical School

At Augsburg: Biology major, Honors program, did research related to asthma and presented at a national conference, first-year orientation leader, studied abroad in Vietnam, volunteered and worked at hospitals, was a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Vietnam

“Augsburg’s emphasis on service and openness to all members of our world community not only aligned with my beliefs but helped me develop and shape myself into who I am today. The experiences I had at Augsburg and the relationships I developed with staff and faculty helped me decide that I wanted to serve others as a doctor and then get into medical school—definitely an accomplishment I am proud of.”

KATHLEEN WATSON ’12

Editorial assistant at a GLBT media company that produces a bi-monthly magazine, web content, international news, and podcasts/entertainment

At Augsburg: Double major in theater arts and English, Honors program, Honors house president, did research on dramaturgy, member of Feminist Collective

“My experience at Augsburg College allowed me to not only create a successful and fulfilling career—it allowed me to embrace and love who I am and use my talents and skills to work for a community I believe in. My job truly feels like my vocation: I’m using my gifts to meet a need in a community I advocate for and support.”

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We Are Called | Auggies!

Informed Citizens

The 2013 Augsburg College Commencement theme—“informed citizens”—was inspired by the College’s mission statement.

“To me, an informed citizen is someone—in any profession, living out any vocation—who seeks information, digests it, and vigorously participates in society by putting their knowledge to a good, collective use. It means that we are prepared to inform, encourage and uplift people to make a difference for themselves and for the world we live in.”

— MARY GODI ’13, MAY COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER

May 4, 2013

 |  Video on Livestream 

June 23, 2013

 |  Video on Livestream 

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“We know what a difference the generosity of others made for us. Truly, it was the acts of strangers, other Augsburg leaders, whose gifts provided foundational support for the College, before our times here. It’s our turn.”

“Those early gifts from alumni and friends of the College made it possible for each of us to experience a great Augsburg education,” Ascher said. “We are convinced. Now is our time to make the investment and help open doors for others.”

Both Jorgenson and Ascher know some things about good investments through their accomplishments in the field of finance. Jorgenson has applied his business degree from Augsburg, now serving as senior vice president of investments at UBS Financial Services in Bloomington, Minn. Ascher, a finance major with a psychology minor, also played on the Augsburg soccer team. Ascher now leads and manages the wealth management office for Morgan Stanley, also in Bloomington, Minn.

“We are convinced. Now is our time to make the investment and help open doors for other.”

Both men chose to step up, inspired by the message of CSBR Campaign Chair Mike Good ’71 to “Believe.” By first making their own leadership gifts in support of the building, and then by chairing their respective Alumni Leadership Summits and $1 million class challenges, they are adding their enthusiasm and leadership to the cause. Their goal is to ensure the success of the effort to build a new Center for Science, Business, and Religion at the very heart of the Augsburg campus.

“We both see this building as the essential next step in the College’s development. No other campus we know has created such an exciting intersection of disciplines—science, business, and religion—to serve students and forge a pathway to a better future for us all,” Jorgenson said.

Watch for updates on the Alumni Leadership Summits in future alumni communications.

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The Center for Science, Business, and Religion at Augsburg College will bring together the study of global business, advanced science and technology, and religion and the search for meaning into a first-of-its-kind education center.

The Center will house classrooms, labs, and key Augsburg initiatives, including programs that support our success in undergraduate research. It will enable Augsburg to accommodate a greater number and larger scope of year-round research projects across disciplines—the kind of long-term educational projects that help students gain 21st-century problem-solving skills.

The tremendous impact of these research programs is evidenced by the growing number of students who leverage the robust, hands-on skills they learned in their on-campus experiences to obtain off-campus research positions and continue to graduate programs. Augsburg students are sought after by institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Mayo Clinic, the University of Maryland Robotics Center, and many other organizations. (See more examples in the Augsburg Now “Celebrating student success” section.)

We know that Augsburg’s faculty-led research makes a profound difference in the educational experience of our students—and, through their work, will shape advancements in science, technology, and other fields across the globe. The Center for Science, Business, and Religion (CSBR) is a fitting manifestation of our commitment to the growth of this work.

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BY WENDI WHEELER ’06 AND REBECCA JOHN ’13 MBA

“To prepare Americans for the jobs of the future … we have to out-educate the world.”  (whitehouse.gov)

The programs in Augsburg’s Education Department prepare teachers—at both the undergraduate and graduate levels—to meet our national education challenge.

The U.S. government recognizes that “the strength of the American economy is inextricably linked to the strength of [our] education system,” which means “America’s ability to compete begins each day, in classrooms across the nation.”

Auggie teachers and education alumni are leading these classrooms, improving education outcomes, and shaping our future. They are igniting student interest in math and science, educating an increasingly diverse youth population, bringing global perspectives and learning into the classroom, and leveraging new technologies and teaching practices to enhance learning. The following are just a few examples of the ways Auggie teachers and education alumni are leading the advancement of education in our schools.

Cutting-edge science research for middle and high school students

When Dan Forseth ’08 was a student at Augsburg, he spent many hours in the lab with associate professor of physics Ben Stottrup. It was Stottrup, he said, who helped him realize he wanted to be a teacher. “He taught me how to make things work with what you have,” Forseth said.

Today Forseth uses that lesson in his own classroom to excite students about science and to inspire the next generation of teachers. He teaches biology, physical science, and robotics at St. Paul Preparatory School, an international college-preparation program in St. Paul. He said he enjoys teaching because he loves the transformation when students grasp a diffi cult concept after struggling with it. “When they get it, seeing that light bulb turn on for them is very exciting.”

During the summer of 2012, Forseth was one of six teachers who participated in a research program at Augsburg funded by a grant from the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation. The program paired Augsburg undergraduate science education students studying to be secondary teachers with current science teachers. The teams conducted college-level research, which was supervised by Augsburg faculty, and developed curricula to adapt science projects for middle and secondary school classrooms.

The Augsburg education students in the program learned about the practical realities of teaching from their interactions with current teachers, Forseth said. “And teachers like me were revitalized by the opportunity to work in new labs and develop new and different topics for our classes.”

Along with engaging in scientific research, participants had opportunities to expand their scientific professional networks through conversations and workshops with scientists in the workplace and college science faculty, said Tracy Bibelnieks, Augsburg associate professor of mathematics and director of the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation grant.

“Feedback from last year’s participants was very positive,” she said. “We are looking forward to building on that experience to continue developing ways that cutting-edge research and engaging experiences can be integrated into 9th- through 12th-grade STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) classrooms.”

Forseth will participate in the program again this summer, working with Augsburg faculty to create a website to share materials produced in the program with 9th- to 12th-grade STEM teachers across the state. “This program provides an opportunity for Augsburg students pursuing secondary STEM licensure to learn from experienced science teachers and helps current teachers integrate more research and authentic learning experiences into their classrooms,” he said.

Teaching in a diverse world

When Will Ruffin ’13 MAE moved from California to North Dakota to attend college, he left his little brother behind. “He struggled in school. I was the smart older brother who wasn’t there for him, and that always bothered me,” Ruffin said. It’s the memory of leaving his brother that today drives Ruffin to make a personal connection with each of his students.

For Kassie Benjamin-Ficken ’12, it’s her ability to relate to the experiences of first-generation and minority-culture students that has strengthened her connections with her students. “As a first generation student, I think it’s easier for me to explain to my students why it’s important to get an education,” she said.

Ruffin and Benjamin-Ficken are examples of Auggie teachers working in increasingly multicultural communities—where the ability to connect with students of diverse backgrounds is critical to student success.

Despite his passion for teaching, Ruffin didn’t begin his career in education. He first completed a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in business and began working for a retail company in southern Minnesota. Then one of his customers—a teacher—asked if Ruffin would volunteer at his school because the teacher wanted a strong, black, male role model to work with his students. “There was just something about being with kids that hooked me,” Ruffin said, “and I fell in love with teaching.”

Ruffin became a substitute teacher and eventually was teaching full time, so he decided to attend Augsburg to pursue a master’s degree in education. For the past five years, he has been teaching fi fth grade at Riverside Central Elementary in Rochester, Minn.

For many students, Ruffin is the first black teacher and the first male teacher they have had, so he takes seriously his responsibility to be a role model in a community that is increasingly more ethnically and culturally diverse. Judging by the drawings and awards posted by students on his classroom walls, and by the former students who often stop in at Riverside to visit, Ruffin is making a difference in students’ lives.

As a student himself, Ruffin said, he was quiet and seldom participated in class discussions. As a teacher and leader, however, he’s learned that his voice is important. “I know I have a lot to share, and I can enrich others’ experiences through my own,” he said. “I can’t be a leader and be silent. I have a perspective that too often is lost or overlooked, and I need to share that.”

Benjamin-Ficken, a member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, also embraces the opportunity to bring her cultural perspective into the classroom. “My culture teaches that you are on this Earth to help others,” she said. “Education is how I can make a difference.”

At Augsburg, Benjamin-Ficken double majored in elementary education and math. This July, she completed her first year at Tatanka Academy in Minneapolis, where 13 of her 14 first-grade students were Native American.

In working with students from minority populations, Benjamin-Ficken strives to instill in them the belief that they can—and should—excel in school, especially in STEM fields where populations of color and females are significantly underrepresented. For example, this past spring, Benjamin-Ficken celebrated “Pi Day” (which falls on March 14, or 3/14, representing the first three digits in the mathematical constant, pi) with her students. A self-professed “math nerd,” Benjamin-Ficken believes that these types of classroom experiences will help her students see math as a subject they can succeed in and, potentially, choose to pursue in their lives.

Augsburg’s focus on urban education and teaching in a multicultural classroom were an important part of her educational experience, Benjamin-Ficken said. “My education studies at Augsburg really taught me to reflect,” she said. “Taking time to ask what went well [in class], what didn’t, and whether you reached every student—that’s what makes you a better teacher.”

Since 2004, five Augsburg education graduates have received the prestigious Milken Award for Excellence in Teaching. This award provides public recognition and financial awards to elementary and secondary education professionals. Only 30 Milken Awards are given annually across the United States.

Bringing global issues and perspectives into the classroom

Teaching and traveling are more than passions for Kate Woolever ’11—they are vital to her own education as a citizen of the world. As a studio art and education major at Augsburg, Woolever combined her interests into a career that today allows her to continue her own education and to provide meaningful learning experiences for her students.

Woolever’s mother, father, and brother are teachers, so it’s no surprise that she also chose to become a teacher. “Teaching is completely a part of my life,” she said. “For me it’s about service to others.”

Woolever came to Augsburg because she wanted to teach in an inner city or international school, and she felt Augsburg’s program would best prepare her for that career. As a student, Woolever took advantage of opportunities to study abroad through the College’s Center for Global Education. She studied in Namibia, Thailand, and Ghana, where she completed her student teaching. She said she has always “traveled with a purpose,” using travel to learn about others by experiencing their lives firsthand.

After she became an art teacher at St. Paul Preparatory School in the Twin Cities, Woolever had another opportunity to travel and teach abroad. She was one of five U.S. teachers selected to participate in a program through World Savvy and the U.S. State Department. With 30 U.S. high school students, she studied the environmental, social, economic, and political impacts of climate change in Bangladesh. The group spent one month living with host families while participating with Bangladeshi students in research and service projects.

Woolever lived in the Rayer Bazar slum located on the edge of the capital city of Dhaka—the fastest growing city in the world. She interviewed and photographed climate refugees who had moved to the city from outlying areas because the flooded coastal lands are uninhabitable and the soil is too saline-contaminated to support crops.

“These climate refugees now live in indescribable squalor,” Woolever said. “There are a thousand people per square kilometer living in Rayer Bazar; 100 people sharing three open gas flames for cooking and a single squat toilet.” This experience, Woolever said, made her more aware of the global effects of climate change and emphasized the importance of spreading the word. “The guilt I felt—coming from my bountiful country and witnessing these people’s atrocious living conditions—constantly tugged at me, and I needed to find a way to respond.”

One way Woolever responded was to turn her photos and stories into a traveling exhibit, which she hopes to show at numerous venues across the state. This past March, her work was displayed in Augsburg’s student art gallery in Old Main; the exhibit then was shown in the Pelican Rapids (Minn.) Library during May and June.

Because of her experiences in Rayer Bazar, Woolever also is committed to finding ways to incorporate real-world issues into her classroom. The Bangladeshi trip was a stark lesson in how much we consume and how wasteful we are as a culture, Woolever said. Education, at the very least, “is not something we should take for granted.”

In 2009, the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation awarded Augsburg more than $400,000 in support of its teacher preparation programming. Augsburg was one of only four Minnesota colleges receiving these grant funds. Augsburg also participates in the Network for Excellence in Teaching (NExT) and is one of six private colleges in the Twin Cities working to improve teacher education through the Twin Cities Teacher Collaborative (TC2), made possible by major funding from the Bush Foundation.

The College also gives education majors an opportunity to engage elementary school children in the sciences through Girls in Engineering, Math, and Science (GEMS) and Guys in Science and Engineering (GISE), two summer programs held on the campus.

Flipped classrooms: Creating student focused learning environments

Most of the time, a noisy middle school classroom doesn’t seem like a productive learning environment. But, when the classroom is “flipped,” noise is a sign that students are engaged in the learning process and working constructively with each other.

Tara Martinson ’09 MAE leads a lively seventh-grade pre-algebra class at Central Middle School in Eden Prairie, Minn. The reason for all the activity is that Martinson uses the flipped learning model of instruction. With this particular method, students listen to an online lecture at home and complete a “note sheet”—a structured note-taking guide—on the lesson. The next day in class, students spend the majority of their time in “hands-on” learning exercises, working out practice problems and completing small group activities. Students can ask each other for help and are required to check their work with Martinson.

Martinson, who has taught middle school math for five years, flipped her classes in January 2012 after learning about the method at the 2011 Education Technology Conference hosted by TIES, the St. Paul-based education technology training organization. During the winter break, she recorded lectures and set up the resources for her classes and then introduced the model to her students at the start of the new term.

With research support from George Mason University and sponsored by Pearson, the Flipped Learning Network this summer released the first comprehensive literature review on the flipped learning model.

With flipped learning, Martinson said her students are more engaged because the responsibility for learning the material rests with them. “Before [flipping the class format], I typically would lecture for 35 minutes, and the students would have the last 10 minutes of class to start their assignment,” Martinson said. “Then, if a student got lost, they would just shut down. Now there is a much higher level of engagement and retention.”

Flipped learning changes education from a teacher-centered classroom to a student-focused learning environment, said Kari Arfstrom ’89, executive director of the Flipped Learning Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing educators with the knowledge, skills, and resources to successfully implement flipped learning.

“When I went to school,” Arfstrom said, “it was the teacher who was imparting information to the student. Now the students are leading and determining what they need.” This model makes students more accountable because the teacher has an opportunity to talk with them every day, Arfstrom said.

With flipped learning, teacher interaction with students increases dramatically, said Taylor Pettis ’03, ’09 MAE, senior manager of marketing communications at Minneapolis-based Sophia Learning, which has worked with thousands of teachers to create flipped classrooms. “One of the teachers we worked with said his feet hurt after class because he’s walking up and down the aisles so much more.”

Teachers also have a greater opportunity to provide differentiated instruction to each student when they use a flipped learning model, Pettis said. This customized, student-centered attention leads to improved student learning. “Eighty-five percent of teachers we work with report improved grades in their flipped classes.”

For Martinson, the benefits go beyond improved performance in class. In the flipped environment, she said, students learn social skills, relationship building, and self-advocacy—abilities that will serve them well in high school, in college, and beyond.

In May, the State of Minnesota approved legislation granting Augsburg College nearly $400,000 over the next two years to launch the East African teacher preparation program. The new Augsburg EAST (East African Students to Teachers) initiative will provide scholarships, academic support, and service learning opportunities for East African students who are education majors at  Augsburg’s Minneapolis and Rochester campuses.

The number of East African students in K-12 public schools is growing in many communities throughout Minnesota. School systems are challenged to meet the needs of these students, many of whom are the first in their families to receive education in the United States. Augsburg’s strong relationships with the Somali and East African communities and its successful record of teaching East African education majors, in both Minneapolis and Rochester, make it uniquely qualified to lead this initiative.

Every year, more than 600 Auggies are enrolled in education degree programs at Augsburg’s Minneapolis and Rochester campuses. About 250 of those students are undergraduates—of all ages—pursuing bachelor’s degrees in education. The remaining 350 are enrolled in the College’s Master of Arts in Education program, which provides training for professionals to begin a career in teaching or for current teachers to obtain additional licenses or endorsements. Every day, these Auggie educators—both in and outside of the classroom—are preparing our children to live and grow in our increasingly diverse, globally connected, and technologically sophisticated world. They are, literally, shaping our future potential.

 

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Online exclusive: Bringing global issues and perspectives into the classroom

Teaching and traveling are more than passions for Kate Woolever ’11—they are vital to her own education as a citizen of the world. Here Woolever reflects on a trip to Bangladesh where she was one of five U.S. teachers selected to study the environmental, social, economic, and political impacts of climate change.

, a set on Flickr.

I found it was my curiosity that brought me to this country removed from the global mainstream in so many ways. While I was there I experienced a whirlwind of emotions, making it hard to share what I saw without the imagery of photos. I often ask others to imagine the realities of such a densely populated country; a country the size of Iowa yet half of our country’s population.

Living in a slum called Rayer Bazar located in Dhaka – the fastest growing city in the world – is a challenge to describe. So crowded
so crowded that nearly every park, footpath, and road median has been colonized. The mass influx of “climate refugees” is due to citizens in the outlying areas fleeing their flooded coastal lands left uninhabitable or too saline-contaminated to support crops. They brought their families and stories, searching for employment and safety.

During the days, I walked through the streets of Rayer Bazar interviewing climate refugees with the aid of a translator. The majority longed to go back to their farmlands, which sadly had been transformed into flood plains. These transplants now lived in indescribable squalor; slums of a thousand people per square kilometer. Cooking for 100 people was shared over three open gas flames along with one squat toilet for a public bathroom. Children filled the shadows yet their access to education was nonexistent. The guilt and the need-to-respond that I felt (coming from my bountiful country) constantly tugged at me.

In spite of the overwhelming poverty, Bangladesh is the home of some of the most resilient people. They watch
 as sea levels rise, salinity infects their coastal aquifers, and rivers consume their lands and as cyclones batter their coast with increasing intensity. All these changes have been associated with global climate changes.

I learned much from these wonderful people. Instead of giving up, many of them invested in ways to adapt. Their survival measures could become our lessons lest we ignore the necessary commitments for change. The long-term risks could bring significant degradation to our lifestyles someday soon
if not the challenge to our world to survive.

The post Shaping our future appeared first on Augsburg Now.

BY WENDI WHEELER ’06 AND STEPHANIE WEISS

When it came time for Janice Murphy Gladden ’14 to think about returning to college, she found herself taking advice from her college-aged daughter.

Several decades earlier, while studying at a junior college in Cupertino, Calif., she and Dan Gladden met. The two later would marry.

She would leave school to focus on being a wife and mother, and also would work to support the family. She would put on hold the education her father urged her to pursue while her husband developed his baseball-playing career, going from an amateur free agent to a major league star.

“It was one of those things where Dan had the opportunity,” she said. “Someone needed to work. It’s worked out really well, and we’ve been very fortunate.”

Dan would become a champion left- and center-fielder for the Minnesota Twins, a core part of the dream teams that propelled the Twins to victory in two World Series.

A couple of years ago, Gladden decided that the time was right for her to return to college to finish what she started some 30 years ago. She talked with and listened to one of her two daughters, Whitney Nicole Gladden ’12.

“My daughter had such a great experience at Augsburg,” Gladden said, “so she encouraged me to visit.”

Gladden met with an admissions counselor, and said she was hooked from the very beginning—even though the idea of again being in the classroom was daunting. Augsburg faculty and staff supported her and made easier her transition to life as a college student in communications studies, she said.

“I thought I’d be on my own, navigating this journey,” Gladden said. “But there are so many ways to access services and help and to be connected.

“I feel valued in class. My thoughts matter, my opinions matter,” she said. “As adult learners, we kick around our experiences, and I get to hear from people at Medtronic and Target and other places. I’m more well-rounded.”

In addition to benefiting from the experiences shared by her peers, Gladden said her Augsburg education has helped her develop valuable workplace tools including stronger interpersonal and nonverbal communication skills that she is using in her career. For 18 years, she has worked for Target Corp. in the financial and retail services division.

While Gladden chose on her own to return to college, she also said the decision was made easier because her company encourages employees to continue to develop and supports pursuit of education. But perhaps one of the biggest influences stretches back through the decades to her days as a child growing up in California.

“My father would be so proud, so proud I stuck to it, no matter my age,” she said. “Education was the biggest deal to him. It’s what I remember him emphasizing when I was little: ‘Education. Education. Education.’”

Gladden is less than a year away from finishing her undergraduate degree, and is thinking about what is next in her life. She said her positive experience at Augsburg has her pondering a graduate degree.

“I love Augsburg. I love the vibe. I like the peer networks. I like that it is small enough that even after 30 years I could  find a way to come back,” she said. “I’m thinking now about getting a master’s degree at Augsburg. I’d love to teach.”

The post Janice Murphy Gladden—an Auggie All-Star appeared first on Augsburg Now.