The University of Iowa College of Education

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PSYCHOLOGICAL & QUANTITATIVE FOUNDATIONS

On the Route from Researching Reading Success to Retirement

Jackson's research impacts cognitive psychology of reading.
Jackson's research impacts cognitive psychology of reading.

Nancy Ewald Jackson will retire after nearly two decades of service. Jackson, a professor in Educational Psychology, has been on phased retirement since January, 2005. This semester will be her last on campus before she retires in full in December 2008.

Jackson, who earned her doctorate in psychology at the University of Washington, came to The University of Iowa in 1989. Since then she has taught graduate-level courses in child development, cognitive development, and the psychology of reading.

Jackson also has done extensive research in reading acquisition. She said one of her proudest professional moments came when she and Australian Max Coltheart co-authored a book, Routes to Reading Success and Failure: Toward an Integrated Cognitive Psychology of Atypical Reading, published in 2001.

Jackson’s College of Education colleague, Professor David Lohman, described the book as “extraordinary.”

“I believe that it is the most carefully crafted book on the cognitive psychology of reading yet published,” he said.

Jackson said another joy in her UI career has been getting to know students.

“Becoming acquainted with some of the international students has been a life-enriching experience,” she said.

Dau-shen Ju, who came to Iowa from Taiwan, considers Jackson an important mentor and supporter.

“ Nancy encourages her students to search for ideas from their own background and personal interests,” he said. “I cannot help but wish everyone could have a teacher just like her.”

Lohman said Jackson’s presence will be missed on many levels at the College, but above all for her “unfailing efforts to make the Educational Psychology program at The University of Iowa one of the best in the country.”

Connecting Test Makers and Teachers

A group of 10 Eastern Iowa teachers gained a better understanding of the time and consideration that goes into creating standardized tests after a summer session with the Iowa Testing Program.

Session leaders Professor Catherine Welch and Test Development Associate Janet Smith said their goal was to encourage collaboration and understanding between teachers and test developers.

“We hoped to compel and engage the teachers, and that their experiences here would dispel ugly myths about the role of standardized assessment in education,” Welch said.

The teachers, who teach everything from junior high math to high school language arts, participated in a six-week Summer Professional Development Series with the theme “Assessing Core Academic Content.” The session also included a graduate-level course designed to give background and language to talk about standardized assessment across content areas.

Iowa teachers participate in standardized testing and assessment workshop.
Iowa teachers participate in standardized testing and assessment workshop.

Lynette Bertolino (MS ’01), a science teacher at West Branch High School, said she gained a greater understanding of the work that goes into creating a standardized test.

“The whole process takes a long time,” she said. “I was surprised by the enormous amount of field testing.”

Jay Fetzer, a biology teacher at North Cedar High School in Stanwood, agreed that test writing is more complicated that it may seem.

“It’s not a simple task to write a multiple choice question that could possibly be introduced to kids across the state,” he said, noting that test writers must remove the “personal element” and use language familiar to everyone.

Fetzer said the things he learned during the summer session will impact his teaching.

“I’ll go back to school and look over all of my tests,” he said. “I’ll evaluate how I’m testing my students, if what I’m asking them is really demonstrating their knowledge.”

Welch and Smith said they hope the summer session with teachers will become an annual event.

“We hope to establish lasting relationships with teachers who care about and are interested in all kinds of assessment,” Smith said.


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