C. Cryss Brunner
C. Cryss Brunner is an associate professor of educational administration in the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD). She has developed two course Web sites about power, identity, and decision making (both are password protected). She received a grant in 2001 through the Grants to Enhance Learning through Technology (GELT) program sponsored by the CEHD Committee on Academic Uses of Technology (CAUT). She was selected as a DMC faculty fellow for spring and summer 2003.
Teaching Activities
Interests
Brunner is interested in the following teaching topics:
- leadership
- women and leadership
- superintendency
- organizational theory
- qualitative research methods
University Courses
Brunner has taught the following University of Minnesota courses:
- EdPA 5322: School Superintendency
- EdPA 5001: Formal Organizations
- EdPA 5080: Women and Leadership
- EdPA 8012: Research Seminar II and IV
Research Activities
Interests
Brunner is interested in conducting research in the following areas:
- conceptions of power
- leadership
- the superintendency
- constructions of identity
- gender
- issues of social justice
- decision making
TEL Publications and Presentations
Brunner's publications and presentations about technology-enhanced learning topics include:
Brunner, C. C., Hitchon, W. N. G., and Brown, R. "Advancing Social Justice as a Part of Educational Leadership Development: The Potential of Imaging Technologies." On The Horizon, 10, no. 3 (2002).
Brunner, C. C. and Brown, R. Planning and Implementing a WebCT Course: Using Tools to Deliver Concepts. Presentation for the Digital Media Center's Implementing Teaching Strategies in WebCT seminar at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 21 August 2002.
Brunner, C. C. Power, Identity, and Decision Making: Using Technology to Deliver Intangible Experiences. Poster presentation at a College of Education and Human Development retreat at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, August 2002.
Fellowship Project
For her DMC faculty fellowship project, Brunner plans to assign students a gender/racial/class/positional identity unlike the one to which they are accustomed (e.g., women may be men; whites may be people of color) and immerse them in virtual policy forming situations that illustrate how leaders' perceptions and understandings of others' identities shape the way they enhance or restrict participation in decision making. At the same time, the students will answer privately questions she poses about identity constructs, power conceptions, and the decision-making processes at play within the group.
She hopes these activities will enable her to
- test if experiential simulations help students examine their conceptions of and assumptions about power and stereotypes and their communication and decision-making practices;
- test if experiential simulations help students to use more participatory and collaborative communication and decision-making practices;
- test the effectiveness of experiential simulations as a delivery system for content in other courses;
- revise and refine the leadership development model for large-scale application;
- develop experiential simulations that meet practitioner-identified needs, including interactivity, hands-on-application, technological richness, and links between content and practice; and
- analyze and present future research and development results to national audiences.
TEL Consultation Areas
Brunner is available to consult with faculty members about the following TEL topics:
- lesson design
- simulation design
- simulation development
- many of the WebCT tools
Contact Information
To schedule a consultation appointment, contact Brunner:
- office: 330 Wulling Hall
- telephone: (612) 624-8527
- e-mail: brunner@umn.edu
