Archive for category: COE in the News

Library Journal 
4-19-2012
Catherine Emihovich (professor and former dean)

“The Demise of the Ed.D” compares and contrasts the Ph.D. and Ed.D. for professional use and career advancement. “The goal is to clearly position the Ed.D. as a professional degree that is best suited to the needs of an academic administrator,” wrote Emihovich. She said the Ph.D. should have a scholarly focus, but Ed.D. holders shouldn’t have trouble proving their worth.

Gainesville Sun
2-09-12
Mary Brownell (special education)

Special education professor Mary Brownell was quoted in the Gainesville Sun in an article about the recent decision to free some states, including Florida, from some of the dictates of the No Child Left Behind Act. Brownell was quoted as saying, “We are very concerned about schools watering down expectations for (students with disabilities) if there aren’t clear guidelines.”

GRAHAM CENTRAL newsletter / Bob Graham Center for Public Service website
2-07-12
Elizabeth Washington (civics education)

A profile of COE civics education professor Elizabeth Washington graces the back cover of the Spring 2012 edition of Graham Central, the newsletter of the Bob Graham Center for Public Service at UF. The profile identifies Washington as one of the nation’s leading experts on civic education. It also mentions her partnership with the center and the University of Central Florida to improve civics education in Florida.

South Florida’s UF in Your Neighborhood
1-30-12
Lastinger Center for Learning

The Lastinger Center for Learning was featured in the South Florida edition of UF in Your Neighborhood, a booklet produced by the UF Foundation. The edition serves the Miami-Dade area and begins with a one-page feature on how “improving teacher practice and student achievement is at the heart  of (the Lastinger Center’s) newly expanded program in Miami-Dade County.” The booklet also contains a mini-profile of UF alum, David Lawrence, Jr.

Independent Florida Alligator / MarketWatch.com
1-23-12, 1-19-12
UF Teach program

The Independent Florida Alligator wrote an article about the $100,000 that UF Teach received from AT&T and highlighted details about the program. MarketWatch.com also cited UF Teach in an article about AT&T’s $500,000 grant funding UTeach programs at five universities.

Gainesville Sun
12-14-11
David Miller (research and evaluation methods)
REM Professor David Miller was quoted in the Dec. 14 edition of the Gainesville Sun in an article titled “Students working overtime to conquer FCAT.” The article described how some local schools were conducting voluntary FCAT preparation classes on Saturdays to help struggling students prepare for the standardized tests. Miller was quoted as saying the cut (minimum required) test scores have become a political issue “that doesn’t necessarily translate into what students should be achieving.”

Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) website & nationwide press release
11-29-11
Luis Ponjuan (UF Institute of Higher Education)
IHEP, based in Washington, D.C., disseminated a nationwide news release Nov. 29, and also posted a news item on its website, about a policy brief co-authored by UF IHE Director Luis Ponjuan that introduces a “Blueprint for Action” — providing model program examples and action steps to best support Latino males to and through college and into the workforce.

 

 

Media Newswire / WRUF Radio
11-14-11
Lynda Hayes (P.K. Yonge School director), Rose Pringle (STL)
Media-Newswire.com, an international press release distribution firm catering to the specialist media, carried the college’s press release about “COE-PK Yonge head $5M effort to transform middle-school science education.” PKY Director Lynda Hayes and co-investigator Rose Pringle, of the COE’s School of Teaching and Learning, were both quoted describing the project. Media Newswire delivers directly to more than 250 news desks, reaching thousands of international journalists, and also reaches over 100,000 end-users daily.

ST. PETERSBURG TIMES
11-5-11
Anita Zucker (1972 graduate) cited in listing of million-dollar philanthropists

COE alumna and major donor Anita Zucker (BAE ‘72) is mentioned in this St. Petersburg Times (Sunday edition) article on Florida’s million-dollar philanthropists.

THE DAILY (the first iPad-only newspaper)
11-1-11
Dorene Ross (School of Teaching and Learning)

Professor Dorene Ross was quoted in The Daily (the first-ever iPad-only newspaper) in an article headlined “Miami-Dade  joins school districts making end-of-term exams optional.” Ross said that by dropping final or midterm exams, students will lose a chance to get feedback about how well they are doing in class.

NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY CENTER
October 2011
Ed tech’s Cavanaugh cited in national policy brief

Ed Tech instructor Cathy Cavanaugh’s published research analyzing online learning outcomes in K-12 teaching was cited five times in a policy brief titled “Online K-12 Schooling in the U.S.: Uncertain Private Ventures in need of Public Regulation,” published by the National Education Policy Center.

EDUCATION WEEK
10-26-11
UF online degrees in education technology

The COE’s online graduate degree programs in educational technology, teacher leadership and school improvement, and special education were cited in the Oct. 26 edition of Education Week as examples of “options” that many practicing teachers who have the time for graduate coursework are taking advantage of.

INDEPENDENT FLORIDA ALLIGATOR; THE LEGIS-GATOR; UF BROADCAST NEWS
10-10-11
Tim Jacobbe (STL-math education) receives $2M NSF grant

Supported by a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation, UF math education researcher is leading a multi-center effort to create high-quality testing instruments in statistics, which will help teachers keep middle and high school students on track for meeting rigorous, new national math standards. Story was covered by the Florida Alligator and the Nov. 2, 2011 issue of The LegisGator (a newsletter for the Gator Caucus). UF also produced a broadcast news story made available to national TV news affiliates via satellite. Also covered on the following websites: — usCollegeRanking.org/universities; eCollegiateNews.com; scoop.it/the-lead-learner-is-the-learning-leader; and gatorcountry.com/gatorbeat/

 

INDEPENDENT FLORIDA ALLIGATOR
10-9-11
Lynda Hayes (P.K. Yonge DRS), Rose Pringle (science education)
An article in the Oct. 9 edition of the Florida Alligator reported on the National Science Foundation’s award of a $5 million grant to COE and P.K. Yonge education researchers, who will use the money to revise science programs in Florida middle schools. Hayes was quotes saying that retraining middle school teachers will help them increase students’ interest in biology, chemistry, physics and earth science.

INDEPENDENT FLORIDA ALLIGATOR
9-30-11
Hedges add to $2M gift

When Bill and Robbie Hedges saw their 2005 donation of almost $2 million to UF’s College of Education drop in value during the recent recession, they feared the education research supported by their gift would suffer from the reduced funding.  As reported in the Sept. 30 edition of the Florida Alligator, the retired Gainesville couple recently added another $63,000 to their endowed research fund to restore its value to previous levels.

CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION–Luis Ponjuan (UF Institute of Higher Education)–9-26-11
Many higher-education institutions are pairing up with local school officials to create a college-going culture among Hispanic students, even in kindergarten. Luis Ponjuan of UF’s Institute of Higher Education is quoted in a Chronicle of Higher Education article advising parents that their children will face pressure from friends who insist that college is a waste of time. He urges parents to get to know faculty members and administrators at the college, and to keep talking with their children about the pressures they will face.

GAINESVILLE SUN–P.K. Yonge School–9-24-11
P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School is heralding its new elementary wing, set to open for the 2012-2013 school year, as a “new, new building, not a new old building.” Instead of desks and chairs, PKY students will learn in reading lofts, outdoors and in large rooms with more than 50 other students, each working in a small group. With a new building, says director Lynda Hayes, comes a new way of teaching. (Read more)

ST. PETERSBURG TIMES
9-3-11
Lastinger Center for Learning

The St. Petersburg Times reported in an article Sept. 3, 2011, that UF’s Lastinger Center for Learning will partner with the Pinellas County school district to study the link between black student achievement and teacher quality in Pinellas schools. The Lastinger Center has secured a commitment from the Kellogg Foundation to fund the effort.

EDUCATION WEEK
8-24-11
Cathy Cavanaugh (education technology), Jeanne Repetto (special education)

Cavanaugh and Repetto were quoted in a supplement to the Aug. 24 issue of Education Week in a Special Report on K-12 Education Technology—titled  “E-Learning for Special Populations”—which examined the growing e-learning opportunities for students with disabilities. Cavanaugh was quoted as saying policymakers are warming to the idea that online programs should be an option for special populations of students, and she hopes that shift in thinking will attract more researchers to what is still a lightly populated field.

Gainesville Sun / South Florida Business Journal / WRUF-AM 850 (Gainesville): Alyson Adams (UF Lastinger Center for Learning)
Alyson Adams was quoted in story carried by these 3 media outlets about $6 million in grants the UF Lastinger Center for Learning landed to team with Miami-Dade Public Schools and the Early Childhood Initiative Foundation on a local teaching program. Miami-Dade early education teachers will get free, on-the-job graduate education from UF professors-in-residence in a program designed to train master teachers in early childhood education.

FLORIDA TREND MAGAZINE (Daily Pulse website)/GAINESVILLE SUN/WCJB-TV 20 (LOCAL ABC AFFILIATE)/FLORIDA ALLIGATOR
6-29-11
Maureen Conroy (Early Childhood Studies), Stephen Smith (special ed), Ann Daunic (special ed)

News reports on Florida Trend magazine’s Daily Pulse website, in front-page stories in the Gainesville Sun and Independent Florida Alligator, and on WCJB-TV 20 in Gainesville covered the announcement of two federal grants, totaling $5.5 million, that were awarded to UF education researchers for studies designed to help teachers reduce disruptive classroom behavior.

Pinellas County teachers lead the state in classroom research projects, and on Wednesday they had the chance to showcase their work at an event sponsored by the school district and UF’s Lastinger Center for Learning. Bay News 9 covered the story.