News

MSU University News Research roundup at MSU-Bozeman (#226)- Troops to teachers – Toddler-inspired – Big Sky busing – To every season

Troops to teachers

Schools in Geraldine, Troy, Miles City, Arlee, Poplar and several other Montana towns have a new type of teacher in the classroom. Fifty-seven recent hires in state schools are former military personnel who have retrained for teaching under the federal Troops to Teachers program. Now in its third year, the nationwide program has placed 5,000 new teachers across the country, said Ian Godwin of the College of Education, Health and Human Development at MSU. Godwin’s the assistant director for the regional Troops to Teachers program that serves Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota. He said the Troops program works hand-in-hand with another program at MSU, called Transition to Teaching, that retrains the troops without their leaving home.

Toddler-inspired

Ilse-Mari Lee, a music professor at MSU, has composed a three-piece sonata that reflects her joy over her 18-month-old daughter. Describing it as the happiest piece she has ever written, Lee said the first and third movements are constantly moving like a toddler tearing through the house. The second movement is more like a lullaby. The first performance of "Sonatina for Violoncello and Piano" will be given Oct. 24 in MSU’s Reynold’s Recital Hall. Lee will play the cello, and Julie Goswiller the piano. Technically challenging, but geared to young cellists, the piece will be submitted for publication to the National Cello Institute. Lee received an MSU Scholarship & Creativity Grant for the project.

Big Sky busing

A free bus service has been available for the past few years to skiers and others in the Big Sky area. The bus runs from mid-December through mid-April, basically between U.S. Highway 191 and the Big Sky ski area. To improve the service, the Gallatin County-Big Sky Urban Transportation District consulted the Western Transportation Institute at MSU, said David Kack, WTI research associate. The WTI helped write a new request for bids and surveyed riders and non-riders. The WTI is also working with the district to develop a new schedule and route that will better serve riders. The transportation district is responsible for setting up the routes and schedule. Karst Stage provides the drivers and vehicles.

To every season

MSU filmmaker Cindy Stillwell, who has two Slamdance film festival screenings to her credit, has just finished another project. "A Season on the Move" is a 12-minute experimental documentary that explores two agricultural processes: wheat cutting and sheep shearing. The film, said Stillwell, is constructed as a cycle. As the seasons change, the work changes. Through images and sound the film journeys from early spring alfalfa cutting to late fall wheat harvest. Spring recycles with the shearing of sheep, sorting the wool and baling it. Stillwell’s other films are "The First Story" and "O Sprinklers!" made with Bill Neff. Stillwell’s next project is "High Plains Winter." Her work has been funded with MSU Scholarship & Creativity Grants.

Contact: Annette Trinity-Stevens, (406) 994-5607 or [email protected]

http://www.montana.edu/commserv/csnews/nwview.php?article=1276

Posted in:

Sorry, we couldn't find any posts. Please try a different search.

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.