Professional Eduation Programs
While the college is working to bridge the physical and cultural
gaps that separate us from our fellow human beings in other disciplines,
similar efforts to construct cultural bridges in our own community
are also underway. Increasingly, public schools and universities
are addressing the global nature of educational issues engendered
by a culturally diverse student population through cooperative
programs. The combined resources create opportunities in which
innovative programs can be developed and examined. Specifically,
the shared resources of each institution provide the public school
with the research and expertise of the university, and provide
the university with field site experience for undergraduate and
graduate students.
Created in the spring of 1990, the Oklahoma State University
(OSU) Educational Alliance serves the twofold purpose
of addressing issues of cultural diversity in a rural school setting
and providing multicultural experiences for OSU College of Education
students. The alliance links three separate entities: OSU, Frontier
Public Schools, and the Otoe - Missouria Tribe. The Frontier Public
School district is a consolidated rural school site providing
K-12 schooling for approximately 425 students of which 52 percent
are of Native American descent. The Otoe-Missouria Tribe is a
federally recognized tribal government with 1,564 members with
over one-half of these members living on or close to the original
Otoe-Missouria Tribal reserve boundaries, which encompass the
Frontier School District.
The OSU Educational Alliance was created to enhance the educational
environments and opportunities of the diverse organizations and
populations contained within the cooperative. The project is designed
to (1) provide clinical experiences for the OSU College of Education
student in a multicultural setting, (2) impact the day-to-day
lives of Frontier School students, and (3) enhance the instructional
skills of the Frontier Public Schools faculty. Participation is
voluntary in all phases of the Alliance activities.
A long-running program conducted under the auspices of the
Department of Administrative Affairs and Research is the
National Clearinghouse for Rehabilitation Training Materials.
Funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation
Services Administration, its purpose is to support the collection
and dissemination of human resource development materials created
by the national vocational rehabilitation community. The Clearinghouse,
established at OSU in 1961, reaches an international audience
of rehabilitation practitioners and counselor education programs,
special educators, state vocational rehabilitation agencies, and
community rehabilitation programs. Its library contains more than
7,000 titles of printed and audio visual materials on topics related
to people with disabilities. It provides document delivery, reference,
and research services to the national rehabilitation community.
The Education Extension Department hosted an intensive
technology training workshop for 30 members of the U.S. Coast
Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary from Juneau, Alaska. During
the three-day workshop they received instruction on techniques
in distance learning for compressed video delivery and Internet
access and usage. "Alaska has the largest coastline in the
continental U.S. and it's very difficult to provide training through
the mail," said Janet Burke, assistant director of the Auxiliary.
More than 300 Oklahoma school teachers and College of Education
students attended A Celebration of Teaching, held by the
Education Extension department in conjunction with Oklahoma Teachers
of the Year (OKTOY). Sponsored by the Geraldine Dodge Foundation,
the 1998 program focused on minorities in education. Its purpose
was to recruit the brightest and most able students, particularly
members of minority groups, to the teaching profession and provide
experiences designed to increase the cultural sensitivity of students
and educators. It featured the skills, talents, and expertise
of Oklahoma's finest educators, facilitated mentor relationships
among conference participants, and established a cadre of minority
students and educators as a research resource for improved instruction
and academic excellence.