coE-News: November 15, 2007, VOL 3 ISSUE 3
VOL. 3, ISSUE 3
Nov. 15 , 2007
You’re reading coE-News, an electronic newsletter produced monthly during the academic year by the College of Education News & Publications Office to keep faculty and staff up-to-date on college news and activities. Click here to download a PDF version of this edition. You will need a PDF reader to view this document.
GOT NEWS? We want to hear it. Submit individual or unit news and calendar events of collegewide interest to news@coe.ufl.edu for publication consideration. All submissions must be in writing or via e-mail and must include contact information for follow-up questions.
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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DEAN’S MESSAGE
Leadership for change. Virtual environments. Real accomplishment.
The public is just beginning to understand that computer games and virtual environments are good for your brain. As Dean Catherine Emihovich reminds us, visionary faculty at UF understood this a long time ago. COE is now way ahead of the game where virtual learning is concerned … And, oh yes, our inaugural annual report is hot off the presses. (more)
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TOP STORIES
UF launches major initiative to end teacher shortage in mathematics, science
With up to $2.4 million in funding from two non-profit organizations, COE is teaming up with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences on a new program that will revamp UF’s science education and mathematics education programs – and recruit fresh faces into the field in hopes of ending Florida’s critical shortage of qualified science and math teachers. (more)
U.S. should emulate Canadian research funding system, UF professor says
Canada is sometimes considered “America’s cute little brother,” says Assistant Professor Pilar Mendoza – but the U.S. would do well to look north of the border for tips on how to fund research. Earlier this month, Mendoza presented and published a policy brief outlining the reasons why Canada’s “national network” model is being adopted by other countries. (more)
College publishes inaugural annual report
The COE Office of News & Publications has published the college’s inaugural annual report, for FY2006-07. The report, titled “Leadership in Changing the Face of Education,” highlights key faculty and student activities and accomplishments over the past year that address some of today’s most critical issues and concerns in education. The 16-page, fold-out publication features a combination of bulleted highlights of the college’s major accomplishments for the year, lists and charts of key statistics and data, articles on key initiatives and “engaged scholarship” activities, a donor honor roll, a list of faculty research awards, and a message from Dean Emihovich. The first copies off the press were immediately sent to education college deans and graduate studies coordinators across the nation—in time for them to review the report before submitting their peer survey ratings of education colleges to the U.S. News & World Report for that magazine’s annual rankings of “America’s Best Graduate Schools.” U.S. News publishes the yearly rankings each May. Other key audiences receiving the report include the COE’s own academic departments, state education leaders, top donor prospects and funding sources, UF Trustees, top Department of Education officials, and top UF administrators. A PDF version of the annual report is available online at: 2006-07 Annual Report (PDF).
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NEWS AND NOTICES
Win Thanksgiving meal, support first-generation college students in CROP raffle
The College Reach-Out Program is holding a raffle to raise funds for the Spring Break College Tour, which brings high school students – students who could become the first person in their family to attend college – for introductory visits to college campuses during high schools’ Spring Break. You can enter the raffle by buying one ticket for $1 or five tickets for $4. One lucky winner will receive the makings of a free Thanksgiving meal, including turkey, stuffing, canned goods and baked goods. To get your tickets, stop by the CROP office at G-415 on or before Nov. 20.
Save the Cans
This can is bright. He’s shiny. He’s full of good things. Don’t let this can go bad. (more)
Humanities speaker series to address literacy instruction
To some people, linguistics may seem like an academic, theoretical field of study. But not to teachers, who deal every day with tasks that raise fundamental questions about the nature of language – tasks like grading grammar or teaching new vocabulary. In January, COE will team up with UF’s Department of Linguistics and its Department of Romance Languages to bring to campus three speakers who can shed light on linguistics issues of interest to educators. Speakers include University of Michigan linguistics professor Diane Larsen-Freeman; Ontario Institute for Studies in Education professor Jim Cummins and University of Minnesota professor Elaine Tarone. For more information, contact Assistant Professor Maria Coady at mcoady@coe.ufl.edu.
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RESEARCH
New federally-funded UF study to examine how colleges prepare teachers for English language learners
A new study by three University of Florida education professors could cause a nationwide change in the way colleges prepare teachers to deal with students who speak English as a second language. (more)
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FACULTY/STAFF HONORS/APPOINTMENTS
Dean appointed to board of Florida Fund for Minority Teachers
Dean Catherine Emihovich has been appointed as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Florida Fund for Minority Teachers, Inc. Also known as FFMT, the Fund was created by the Legislature in 1999 to attract minority students into the teaching profession and award scholarships to qualified teacher education students. FFMT is headquartered here at Norman Hall, in the Office of Recruitment, Retention and Minority Affairs.
Dixon named officer of international counseling honor society
Assistant Professor Andrea Dixon has been elected to a three-year term as secretary of Chi Sigma Iota, the international honor society for professional counselors. Dixon also serves, with Assistant Scholar Kitty Fallon, as co-faculty advisor to the UF Beta Chapter of CSI.
Transition Center lands award
UF’s Transition Center was honored with an Award of Appreciation from the National Division on Career Development and Transition for its work in helping the Florida DCDT host its 14th annual international conference in Orlando. The three-day conference brought more than 700 professionals and scholars to the Sunshine State to discuss and share their research on the transition from school to adult life for students with disabilities. Associate Professor Jeanne Repetto, director of the Transition Center, also served as a presenter at the conference.
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PUBLICATIONS/PRESENTATIONS
Gagnon speaks at International Conference on Behavioral Disorders
Assistant Professor Joseph Gagnon presented two papers at the recent International Conference on Behavioral Disorders. He spoke on “Combining explicit and constructivist instructional approaches in secondary mathematics” and “Empirically-based mathematics instruction for secondary students with EBD” at the conference, held in Dallas in October.
Five COE students present at History of Education Society
Five graduate students from the School of Teaching & Learning participated in the History of Education Society annual meeting from Oct. 25-28, 2007 in Cleveland, Ohio. Andrew Grunzke, Donald Boyd, and Patrick Ryan each presented papers in a panel titled, “Media, Morality, and Meaning: New Perspectives on Literacy in Early to Mid-20th Century America.”
- Grunzke’s paper, “Serial Killers: Librarians, Children, and Books in Series, 1876-1930,” examined systematic efforts to shield American youth from literature deemed harmful to them by a growing corps of professional librarians.
- Boyd’s paper, “ Front Porch Literacy: The Evolution of Reading in Eastern Kentucky, 1936-1943,” investigated the changing tastes and motivations for reading in a historically isolated region.
- Ryan’s paper, “Representations of Classroom Learning in 1950s Television and Film,” analyzed popular depictions of schoolteachers and their pedagogy in the postwar-era United States.
Amy C. Martinelli and Robert Dahlgren each presented papers as part of a panel titled, “The Struggle for Civil Liberties and Rights: Florida and Mississippi.”
- Martinelli’s paper, “A Moderate Calm? Florida’s Struggle for Segregation, 1955-1961,” examined the Sunshine State’s immediate responses to the Supreme Court’s historic Brown v. Board of Education decision.
- Dahlgren’s paper, “Red Scare in the Sunshine State: Anti-Communism and Academic Freedom in Florida Public Schools, 1945-1960,” discussed the systematic attempts to address suspected radicalism among K-12 teachers in the context of the Cold War.
All five students researched and wrote their papers as part of courses, theses, or dissertations in the social foundations of education program under the guidance of Associate Professor Sevan Terzian, who chaired both of the panel sessions at the History of Education Society conference.
Dixon presents at ACES, indigenous counseling conference
Counselor education Assistant Professor Andrea Dixon presented “Multiculturally competent school counseling through a social justice perspective: Training implications for counselor educators” and “Integrating the universalistic and cultural relativistic approaches for socially responsible counseling: Can they coexist?” at the annual conference of the Association of Counselor Education and Supervision Annual Conference in Columbus, Ohio in October. Earlier in the year, she spoke on the topic “Multiculturally competent school counseling through a social justice perspective: Training implications for counselor educators” at the Indigenous Voices in Social Work: Not Lost in Translation conference in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Publications
Denney, M. K., Itkonen, T., & Okamoto, Y. (2007). Early intervention systems of care for Latino families and their young children with special needs: Salient themes and guiding implications. Infants & Young Children, 20(4), 326-335.
Dixon, A. L. (2007). Mattering in the later years: Older adults’ experiences of mattering to others, purpose in life, depression, and wellness. Adultspan: Theory, Research, & Practice, 6, 83-95.
Dixon Rayle, A. L., & Chung, K. (2007). Revisiting college students’ mattering: Social support, academic stress, and the mattering experience. Journal for College Student Retention: Research, Theory, and Practice, 9(1), 21-37.
Dixon Rayle, A. L., & Adams, J. R. (2007). An exploration of 21st century school counselors’ daily comprehensive school counseling program work activities. Journal of School Counseling, 5(8), at https://education.ufl.edu/news/files/2011/01/v5n8.pdf.
Dixon Rayle, A. L., & Hartwig Moorhead, H. J., Green, J., Griffin, C. A., & Ozimeck, B. (2007). Adolescent girl-to-girl bullying: Wellness-based interventions for school counselors. Journal of School Counseling, 5(6), at https://education.ufl.edu/news/files/2011/01/v5n6.pdf.
White, N. J., & Dixon Rayle, A. L. (2007). Strong teens: A school-based small group experience for African American males. Journal for Specialists in Group Work: Special Issue: Group Work in K-12 Schools, 32, 178-189.
Leite, W. L. (2007). A Comparison of Latent Growth Models for Constructs Measured by Multiple Items. Structural Equation Modeling. 14(4), 581-610.
Student Publications
Laframenta, J. (2007) Ability Grouping: Is this the preferred tool for the middle school classroom? Journal of the New England League of Middle Schools. 18(1), 18-21.
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P.K. YONGE NEWS
PKY Players to present The Illusion
The P.K. Yonge Players will proudly present their production of The Illusion Nov. 16-17 at 7 p.m. in the P.K. Yonge Performing Arts Center. Filled with sword fights and sorcery, trysts and teases, this is a tale you don’t want to miss. Tickets cost $5 for PKY students and faculty, and $7 for the general public. The PKY box office will be open 2-6 p.m. through Nov. 16.
Football heroes return to PKY…60 years later
National championships don’t happen just every day… not even at UF. That’s why PKY faculty, staff and students were so proud to see members of the school’s 1947-48 football team return to campus. Sixty years ago, these men led P.K. Yonge to a national co-championship in football – last month, they were the stars of the show at P.K. Yonge’s Homecoming festivities. Pictured here are: (seated, from left)1947-48 Coach Bob Gilbert, Team Captain John Neller, Tom Evans, Current PKY Athletic Director John Clifford; (standing, from left) Bill Gager, Warner Weseman, Orlo Shultz, Bob Beaty, Rhesa Bostick, Retired PKY Coach Bobby Hawkins.
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IN THE NEWS
A recent sampling of “media hits” from the College of Education:
Associated Press – Dean Catherine Emihovich and Professor Tom Dana, Director, STL (10/15/07)
The Associated Press and several other news outlets covered the Nov. 14 announcement of the creation of FloridaTeach, a new UF program intended to end Florida’s shortage of qualified math and science teachers. In the 24 hours since the announcement, stories about the program have appeared in the following outlets: WJHG (Panama City), CNN Money, MSN Money, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Ft. Lauderdale), WFTS (Tampa), WPMI (Mobile, AL), The Houston Chronicle, The Independent Florida Alligator, Forbes.com, CondeNast Portfolio.com, The Tallahassee Democrat, Euro2Day (Greece), The Sarasota Herald-Tribune, The Fort Wayne (IN) Journal-Gazette, The Florida Times-Union, The Miami Herald, Jacksonville Business Journal and several other publications.
Chronicle of Higher Education – Professor Linda Serra Hagedorn, Chair, EAP (10/26/07)
In an article titled “Rural Community Colleges are the Land-Grant Institutions of the New Century,” University of Alabama Professor Stephen Katsinas outlined the potential, and the shortcomings, of rural community colleges as a path to higher education for millions of people. Citing Hagedorn’s comprehensive study of Los Angeles community colleges as a model, he called for a similar study of community colleges in small towns.
University Business – COE News and Publications Office (10/01/07)
The magazine’s October 2007 issue included an article on college publications and the question of whether these should be published in print or online. The article cited the COE alumni magazine, Education Times, and its online supplement, ETExtras, as a good example of a blend between online and print approaches.
Miami Herald—Associate Professor Kara Dawson, STL (10/18/07)
Dawson was quoted in a story on computerized whiteboards in the classroom. Dawson noted that the potential education benefits of the new technology could be lost if teachers use interactive whiteboards in the same ways they used old-fashioned blackboards.
Montreal Gazzette – Associate Professor Sevan Terzian (11/13/07)
Terzian was interviewed regarding his research on the role of “school spirit” in the K-12 educational environment.
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CALENDAR
NOV. 16
Grand Guard – UF alumni 50-year reunion
(contact: jmount@coe.ufl.edu or (352) 392-0728, ext: 250)
NOV. 22–23
Thanksgiving Holiday
DEC. 5
Last day of fall classes
DEC. 14
Fall Advanced Degree Commencement Ceremony
3:30 p.m., Stephen C. O’Connell Center
DEC. 14
Distinguished Educators Dinner
7 p.m. Reitz Union
(contact: jmount@coe.ufl.edu or (352) 392-0728, ext: 250)
DEC. 15
Education Commencement
2 p.m., Stephen C. O’Connell Center
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QUICK LINKS
UF: www.ufl.edu
College of Education: education.ufl.edu
coE-News: Publications
Education Times magazine: Publications
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coE-News is produced by:
College of Education, University of Florida
Dean’s Office/News & Publications
Dean: Catherine Emihovich (cemihovich@coe.ufl.edu)
Director: Larry Lansford (llansford@coe.ufl.edu)
Editor: Tim Lockette (Lockette@coe.ufl.edu)
Correspondents:
Wendy Norman, Copy Editor
Marta Pollitt, P.K. Yonge (mpollitt@pky.ufl.edu)
