- Annual conference helps teachers meet the wide range of learning needs among students
Teachers are challenged to meet the wide range of learning needs among students in mixed ability classrooms. To address this issue, an annual conference in La Crosse offers them an opportunity to learn from national experts, network with colleagues, and bring strategies back to their schools that are simple, workable, and effective. In 2006, 74 teachers, curriculum specialists, and gifted and talented coordinators from 29 school districts attended. Most participants who were subsequently interviewed report that the conference led them to change their teaching practices to better suit the individual styles and aptitudes of their students. In particular, teachers have noted improved learning outcomes when they offer students choices within the curriculum.
- Annual early childhood education conference helps parents, teachers and child-care providers raise healthy children
The Early Childhood Education Conference coordinated by University of Wisconsin-Stout's Continuing Education Programs offers comprehensive professional development workshops for more than 2,300 early childhood professionals each year. The program provides updated knowledge in child development, educational strategies, advocacy, curriculum, child guidance, parent education and related family issues in more than 250 seminars and workshops. In addition, participants have the opportunity to network, exchange information, solve problems and revitalize their commitment to the lives of young children. Quality child care is an important partner in helping families, schools and communities raise healthy children.
- Autism Spectrum Disorders Certificate program addresses a growing need for training care providers to those with special needs
The incidence of an autism spectrum disorders diagnosis is 10 times more likely than it was 10 years ago. Education, health and human services providers who completed a UW-La Crosse/Extension Autism Spectrum Disorders Certificate Program developed skills to help improve communication, social and physical skills in autistic persons. These individuals are better able to provide appropriate care based on currently recommended practices than colleagues who did not enroll in the training.
- Child-care professionals keep up with best practices through annual training
Child-care providers who attended the annual Current Issues in Infant/Toddler Development and Care Conference sponsored by UW-Green Bay Outreach and the UW-Extension said the program increased their understanding of age-appropriate activities to stimulate the development of infants and toddlers, the overweight child, and gender stereotypes. Quality child care helps families, too, by providing a safe, healthy and nurturing learning environment.
- Cultural issues symposium helps white community understand the education and service needs of Native Americans
A gathering of almost 200 persons from across Wisconsin provided a forum for Native Americans and the University of Wisconsin-Superior Center for Continuing Education/Extension to explore and debate issues surrounding racial and cultural sensitivity, to identify divergent views, and to provide guidance in meeting some of the educational and cultural needs of the six Ojibwe tribes in the Superior area. Through discussion and circulation of symposium proceedings, secondary teachers developed new curriculum and Native American educational programs, UW-Superior improved its outreach and admissions policies, social-services agencies identified Native Americans in need of assistance, and several participants increased their advocacy for Native American people within the community and on community boards and agencies.
- El Centro Empresarial offers bilingual training and resources to strengthen Milwaukee’s Hispanic business community
Since opening its doors in 2004, El Centro Empresarial, the Hispanic Entrepreneurship Center at UW-Milwaukee, has graduated 76 area Latinos from its certificate program, with 24 graduates going on to start their own businesses. The program promotes entrepreneurship in the region’s Hispanic community through bilingual training, counseling, technical assistance, and networking activities. It is the initiative of UW-Milwaukee’s School of Continuing Education, which has teamed up its Small Business Development Center with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin and other community partners.
- English-language training prepares international professionals and students for success in a multicultural world
Professionals and undergraduates who attended UW-Eau Claire Continuing Education's summer Intensive English Program learned English skills and experienced American life, resulting in cross-cultural exchange and understanding. Participants reported that the program improved their English, would have a positive influence on their careers, families and communities, helped them develop a more positive attitude about the United States, and helped them gain a new appreciation and understanding of themselves and the American people and culture.
- Gerontology Certificate Program fulfills a growing need for specialists in the field of aging
A heightened compassion and understanding towards the elderly are some of the benefits students received from UW-La Crosse's Gerontology Certificate Program. These courses meet the continuing education requirements of adults in southwestern Wisconsin who have either a personal or professional interest in the field of aging¿from health care and social workers to educators to primary care givers and others. Along with UW-La Crosse faculty and area professionals, students examine physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual issues confronting the elderly. And as the demand for qualified geriatric workers rises, participants complete professional development requirements and become members of a supportive network of gerontology experts, most of whom report sharing their new knowledge with co-workers.
- La Crosse area entrepreneurs learn how Geographic Information Systems can strengthen local economies
Geographic Information Systems (GIS), a multipurpose technology that links map features with related databases, represents a growing marketplace in which the demand for services far outweighs the supply. To keep pace, a UW-La Crosse GIS applications and training program introduced area business, government, and higher education personnel to the versatility and features of GIS. In addition, project planners held meetings with local decision-makers to discuss potential GIS projects. The effort resulted in contract work for UW-La Crosse''s Center for Geographic Information Systems.
- Leadership Development Institute Fills a Need for Leadership Training in the Green Bay Area
When businesses, non-profits, and governmental organizations in the Green Bay area needed leadership training for their mid-level employees, they turned to UW-Green Bay Outreach and Extension to develop a program tailored to local needs and issues. Participants in UW-Green Bay¿s Leadership Development Program say the professional relationships they developed with program staff, facilitators, and peers were invaluable as the eight-month program groomed them to excel as leaders in their respective organizations. As part of the program, each created a customized leadership action plan that makes the most of his or her individual strengths and best meets the needs of their respective employers.
- Leadership program has personal and community impact in Superior and Douglas County
When citizens get involved, raise their awareness of local issues, and sharpen their leadership skills, their communities reap the rewards. To increase civic participation in the Superior area, UW-Superior's Center for Continuing Education/Extension teamed with the Superior/Douglas County Chamber of Commerce and the Development Association to design a leadership program for local achievers. Since 1992, more than 400 area residents have taken part in the 10-month course. They credit the program with improving their ability to work with others, increasing their community involvement, and expanding their knowledge of the community and of change-making.
- Long Term Care Promotion and Recognition
Through this EDvantage grant, UW-LaCrosse Continuing Education and Extension (UWL CEE) engaged and challenged community leaders and providers to address the state’s critical long term care workforce issues. The Coulee Region Long Term Care Workforce Coalition has a growing membership of 26 long term care providers of services for elders and people with disabilities. Providers have additional tools to recruit and retain young workers and workers over age 55. Workforce development agencies and elected officials are equipped with information and personal accounts of the workforce crisis and its impact, and city and county planners and officials are exploring ways to make neighborhoods and LaCrosse-area communities more aging-friendly. This EDvantage grant embodied the outreach and engagement ideal of the Wisconsin Idea.
- Municipal Clerks and Treasurers Institute provides training and skills to run local governments efficiently and effectively
Keeping up with thousands of laws and processes is not easy for the clerks and treasurers in Wisconsin's municipalities. The Wisconsin Municipal Clerks and Treasurers Institute sponsored by University of Wisconsin-Green Bay's Office of Outreach and Extension provides training in leadership and administrative, technical and financial management that helps participants work more effectively with village, town, and city boards; communicate with citizens; and establish policies that use local resources wisely. The program also helps participants build a professional network for continued learning and support.
- Nonprofit Administration Certificate Program provides needed leadership training in Northern Wisconsin
UW-Superior''s Nonprofit Administration Certificate Program helps nonprofit workers improve their job performance and expand their career opportunities, according to program graduates. The curriculum, designed expressly for directors, staff, and volunteers of nonprofit and governmental agencies, offers participants a well-rounded foundation in the skills and needs unique to their organizations. By 2006, 89 participants had received certification through the university’s Center for Continuing Education/Extension.
- Project management skills save Wisconsin businesses time and money
Many organizations are finding their project managers have not had formal training in how to manage projects. As a result, there are often miss-steps and time lost as these managers learn "on the job." An in-depth Master's certificate program helps managers learn to plan, schedule and control projects. This training has helped managers work on larger, high-priority projects, improve procedures and policies, and lead in managing new projects in their organizations. Many are promoted as a result of their new skills.
- Public Works Supervisory Academy prepares municipal employees to manage public dollars
Municipal supervisors and managers who are unprepared for their roles cost taxpayers money. The Public Works Supervisory Academy (PWSA) offered by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Continuing Studies prepares supervisors in 10 skill areas to address this public need. This training has helped more than 2,000 participants deal more effectively with problem employees, communicate with citizens and employees in a more professional manner, and more effectively assist their departments in purchasing and budgeting - thus saving money.
- RNs earn their baccalaureate degree @ home
Ten years after launching its first online class, the BSN@HOME program has awarded baccalaureate degrees to 445 registered nurses. Participants choose the program—offered specifically for Wisconsin nurses through the combined resources of five University of Wisconsin nursing schools—because they like the flexibility it affords them. Learning online allows them to get their degrees without disrupting their work or family lives. Furthermore, graduates of BSN@HOME say the program prepares them to advance in their careers. Many alumnae have either completed, begun or plan to enroll in a graduate nursing program.
- Social workers in northeastern Wisconsin meet certification requirements while learning how to better support their clients
A 1999 change in certification policy created a need for increased professional development opportunities for Wisconsin social workers. Since then, a workshop series in northeastern Wisconsin that was designed to fulfill this new demand has logged more than 5000 enrollments. Social workers who attended one recent workshop on women and alcohol say the program not only met their training requirements but also helped them to support their clients. The ongoing series is a collaborative effort between the social work and outreach departments at the UW-Oshkosh and the UW-Green Bay.
- Special courses help technical college instructors complete university degrees
A partnership between the University of Wisconsin-Stout and Vocational, Technical and Adult Education degree programs offered at Milwaukee and Appleton provides accessible and convenient professional development opportunities for technical program graduates, expands access to higher education, and removes obstacles to participation while contributing to quality lifelong learning. UW-Stout's 2+2 degree program and services bridge the transition gap between the two-year and four-year degree programs in Wisconsin. A two-year sequence of professional core courses for technical college instructors who have an associate degree helps instructors receive a bachelor's degree in Vocational, Technical and Adult Education (BS VTAE) and also helps them meet Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) teacher certification requirements and Northcentral Association accreditation.
- Substance abuse certificate helps human-service professionals work more effectively with patients and in the workplace
A training program in substance abuse provides social workers, psychologists, nurses, teachers, clergy, prison staff and other human-service providers with the knowledge and skills necessary to identify and work more effectively with substance abusers and their families. Several persons made changes in workplace policy as a result of the training. Others gained confidence and learned to appreciate cultural-sensitivity concerns.
- Training in distance-learning technology leads to success for K-12 classrooms
Wisconsin school districts rely on distance-learning technology to provide courses to students and training to teachers. The University of Wisconsin-Extension Instructional Communication System (ICS) provides two-day summer training for K-12 teachers and support staff that shows them how to adapt course materials, use equipment, and follow distance-education issues in order to use this technology more appropriately. ICS has also lent technological and pedagogical support to the new Wisconsin Center for Music Education. The Center—of particular value as school arts programs undergo repeated cuts—offers both on site and online programming to music educators, students, and community members throughout the state.
- Training program for nonprofit managers develops networking, improves planned giving coordination
Non-profit organizations play an important role in communities of all sizes across Wisconsin. In Sauk County, UW-Extension combined technology and local networking to create a learning community of the area’s nonprofit leaders, along with nationally respected faculty. Participants say the convenient, affordable programming taught them strategies for moving their organizations forward and developed networks that help organizations work more collaboratively, rather than competitively, to address local needs.
- Webconferencing helps Wisconsin students and organizations communicate more efficiently and effectively
Wisconsin''s business, educational, governmental, and non-profit organizations are turning to web-based meetings for their power to enhance the exchange of ideas, expand educational opportunities, and improve communication among staff and constituents. Users also value the travel, time, and cost savings that webconferencing offers them. Web conference participants served by UW-Extension’s Instructional Communications Systems enthusiastically endorse the program’s value to their organizations, with 96% recently reporting that its webconferencing tool, WisLine Web, helps them meet their organizations'' communication needs.
