Mark Shermis

Mark Shermis, professor in educational and psychological studies and associate dean for education research and grants at Florida International University, is the new chair of UF’s Department of Educational Psychology at the College of Education.

His research interests are in the intersection of measurement and technology. Shermis has been involved in research on automated essay scoring for the past eight years and published a book on that topic (with Jill Burstein, co-editor) in 2003. He is currently working on a textbook entitled Classroom and School Assessment: Instruction, Curriculum, and Policy, scheduled for publication in 2008.

Shermis, who has a Ph.D. in educational psychology from the University of Michigan, recently chaired the American Psychological Association’s continuing professional education committee and takes an active role in professional governance.  He is a licensed psychologist in Florida, California and Indiana, and is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association.

Bolstered by a $1.5 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), the College of Education will team with nearly 50 UF academic departments in 10 colleges in an ambitious effort to close the critical gap in science education, starting with UF’s own student body.

With the university and other sources contributing more than $2 million in matching funds, the total investment in the Science For Life initiative will approach nearly $4 million. Plans call for creating a new interdisciplinary science teaching laboratory, undergraduate opportunities for authentic research experiences and a series of innovative new courses.

“The HHMI award will bring together early undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty members campuswide to teach and learn from each other in a way no other facility in the state does now,” said Randy Duran, the grant’s lead researcher and an associate professor of chemistry in UF’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. "UF has a very talented freshman class, and we want to make stimulating opportunities available to these students."

Education Dean Catherine Emihovich, who will lead a teaching mentorship program for postdoctoral research fellows funded by the Hughes award, said the overarching theme of Science For Life is to recruit and support future scientists, but it’s not the only objective.

“Science For Life will strengthen the science base for society and the next generation of voters who will be determining pressing societal issues requiring a sound background in science and math, such as cloning and stem cell research,” Emihovich said. “More and more, biological discoveries are emerging from interactions with other disciplines such as chemistry, mathematics and computer science, but undergraduate biology education is having a hard time keeping up.”

The university will use the grant money to create the HHMI Undergraduate Core Laboratory at UF’s Health Science Center. The 2,000-square-foot facility will be devoted to cross-disciplinary teaching and laboratory work. Future plans call for building another core lab in the College of Education’s Norman Hall for the teaching component.

UF hopes to fund 70 to 100 freshman research awards annually. An extramural research program will send more experienced undergraduates to Scripps Florida and some of the outstanding life science research labs in Europe to further their education.

Education faculty will be among some 150 faculty from 49 UF academic departments involved in Science For Life. COE faculty also will be able to compete for at least 25 HHMI term professorships (committed to mentoring undergraduate students in research and science), each worth $10,000 over a two-year period.

Along with Emihovich’s leadership of the mentoring component, Tom Dana, chair of the college’s School of Teaching and Learning, sits on the program’s campuswide faculty advisory board.

Troy Sadler, assistant professor in Teaching and Learning, will lead some of the science education initiatives and will help develop the curriculum aimed at effecting a fundamental change in the teaching of the life sciences to undergraduates at UF. He also will develop a new graduate level course in College Science Teaching and Mentoring, specifically designed for students pursuing graduate degrees in the sciences. The course will be taught by COE faculty from the science education program and cross-listed in life sciences programs.

A new science education minor program also will be developed to help resolve the critical shortage of qualified science teachers.

“The science-ed minor program represents a new model for science teacher preparation at UF. We hope to promote science teaching as a viable and exciting profession to some of UF’s most talented students,” Sadler said. “Even students who choose not to cecome classroom teachers will become better prepared to assume their de facto roles as science educators.”

Linda Behar-Horenstein and Luis Ponjuan, two COE faculty members in Educational Administration and Policy, will evaluate the effectiveness of each HHMI program component and disseminate their findings at national and international conferences and in professional journals and digital libraries such as BiosciEdNet.

An outreach component, called Science For Life Alliance, reaches out into the high schools and middle schools to engage and prepare future science majors and to strengthen science teaching through professional development activities with their teachers. The program builds on the College of Education’s existing partnerships—through its UF Alliance program—with underserved inner-city high schools in Jacksonville, Orlando and Miami and will include annual, weeklong summer institutes for participating students.

UF Science For Life faculty are working with the biotech industry to update UF Alliance school science laboratories, and curricular materials developed by the partnering UF Alliance teachers will be disseminated through the Florida Association of Science Teachers and other meetings.

“The College of Education is playing a leading role in a high-profile research and education initiative that promises to make a big splash in science education and the life sciences, across campus and across the nation,” Dean Emihovich said.

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute — the nation’s largest private supporter of science education — awarded grants to 50 universities totaling $86.4 million. UF is one of six universities to receive the grant for the first time out of 160 applications.

School-improvement showcase
draws 300 Florida educators

Showcase organizer Nancy Dana describes teacher inquiry as a primary school-improvement tool at a breakout session.

More than 300 teachers and administrators from 14 school districts in North Central Florida converged upon P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School in Gainesville April 29 for the second annual Teaching, Inquiry and Innovation Showcase, staged by the Center for School Improvement at the UF College of Education.
The program theme was “Improving Schools from Within.” Co-sponsors were P.K. Yonge (UF’s laboratory school) and the North East Florida Educational Consortium.
Instead of traditional professional development relying on outside “experts,” this pioneering showcase features an emerging “inquiry-oriented” approach in which practicing educators and UF education students collaboratively assess their own teaching practices and share new knowledge with each other. Education research suggests this collective networking approach generates more meaningful change and improvement in teaching and learning in classrooms—and allows schools to improve from within.

The Inquiry Showcase featured more than 70 breakout discussions and student poster presentations scheduled over five half-hour sessions, plus a closing presentation by UF Center for School Improvement Director Nancy Dana, the showcase organizer.

Topics and issues covered included:

• Ensuring every student’s success in math
• Everybody loves PE, or do they?
• Improving teacher practices towards African-American students
• How home visits help homework
• Teachers tame FCAT test anxiety
• Minority students’ attitudes about academic achievement
• Engaging low-socioeconomic first-graders through the arts.

Showcase snapshots
         

WRITER/PHOTOGRAPHER
Larry Lansford, News Director, UF College of Education
392-0726, ext. 266 
llansford@coe.ufl.edu

CONTACT:
Nancy Dana, Director, UF Center for School Improvement
392-0728, ext. 299
ndana@coe.ufl.edu

The coE-News is 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 of the coE-News.  You will need a PDF reader to view this document.

GOT NEWS? Don’t be shy. Submit individual or unit news and calendar events of Collegewide interest for publication consideration to news@coe.ufl.edu. All submissions must be in writing and include contact information for follow-up questions.

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IN THIS ISSUE:

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DEAN’S MESSAGE

Best ideas flourish in ‘blue-sky’ culture
Dean Catherine Emihovich talks about building a culture of research within the College of Education. (more)

TOP STORIES

Rose Pringle is Teacher of the Year for second time
Rose Pringle, assistant professor, School of Teaching and Learning, has been named the 2006 College of Education Teacher of the Year. This is the second time Pringle has received this award. She also holds the title for 2002.  (more)

Editorial columnist Cynthia Tucker to speak at May 7 commencement
Nationally syndicated newspaper columnist Cynthia Tucker will be the featured keynote speaker at the 2006 College of Education Spring Commencement on Sunday, May 7, in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on the University of Florida Gainesville campus. (more)

COE researchers partner in collaborative teacher learning project
Mary Brownell, professor, Special Education, and several researchers from the College of Education and the University of Virginia have teamed up to examine how teachers who readily adopt instructional innovations acquired in teacher study groups, professional development schools and other collaborative arrangements differ from those who don’t. Their research report appears in the latest edition of Exceptional Children, the quarterly special-education journal of the Council for Exceptional Children. (more)

PKY adds lacrosse, swim teams to sports programs

P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School has diversified its sports program with the addition of boys’ lacrosse and coed swim teams. Open to sixth- through 12th-graders, the new teams are expected to increase the number of students taking part in sports at the school. “I believe that participation is the start of a healthy lifestyle, and I also believe that by playing a sport, the student athlete will learn skills that will be invaluable in the real world, such as communication and cooperation,” says Ellie Elliot, PKY instructor. The season for the swim team begins in August. The lacrosse team is playing now, with district matches and finals coming up in April.

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FACULTY-STAFF HONORS & APPOINTMENTS

Science teaching journal honors assistant professor
Troy Sadler, assistant professor, School of Teaching and Learning, has been chosen by the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) to receive the 2006 Journal of Research in Science Teaching (JRST) Award for “Patterns of informal reasoning in  the context of socio-scientific decision making,” an article he wrote with Dana Zeidler. The selection committee gave the article, which appeared in JRST, 42(1), 112-138, the highest rating of all the articles published in volume 42. Sadler will receive his award at the annual NARST meeting in April.

Special Education professor receives CEC Teacher of the Year honors
Vivian Correa, professor, Special Education, has been named Merrill Teacher Educator of the Year for 2006 by the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). The award recognizes Correa’s work in teacher education research and practice, as well as her service to the profession. Currently, Correa is serving as co-editor of the journal Teacher Education and Special Education and is a board member of the Teacher Education Division of the CEC. Correa will receive the award at the CEC annual convention in April.

COE dean takes leadership role in Holmes research panel
Catherine Emihovich, dean, College of Education, has been appointed vice president of research for the Holmes Partnership. Her role will be to collect and disseminate research evidence on the impact by school-university partnerships affiliated with Holmes on student achievement and school improvement, particularly in high-poverty schools.

Counseling group names West-Olatunji president elect-elect

Cirecie A. West-Olatunji, assistant professor, Counselor Education, has been voted president elect-elect of the Association for Multiculturalism Counseling and Development, which is a division of the American Counseling Association (ACA). In her new role, West-Olatunji will serve on the ACA governing council and act as a liaison to other organizations with similar interests and goals to augment cultural competency and awareness among counseling professionals and trainees by facilitating the dissemination of research, mentorship and coalition-building activities. She begins her term as president elect-elect in July and will shadow the current president for one year. In July 2007 she will begin serving her one-year term as president. She will complete her third year of service as immediate past-president.

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STUDENT HONORS

Doctoral student wins Korean research award
College of Education doctoral student Seonjin Seo has been selected by the University of Florida to receive the Korean Graduate Student Research Award for her publication of research studies on various topics including instructional practices for students with learning disabilities, personnel issues in special education and international education. (more)

Counselor education students lend helping hands to community
The Alachua County Crisis Center recently honored dozens of counselor education students and alumni for their volunteer service in a number of roles from telephone counselors and trainers to care team associates and consultants. The Crisis Center recognizes these students volunteer their time on top of their academic obligations and is grateful for their help.

In a separate event, more than 20 students raised over $150 to purchase food to prepare dinner for residents of St. Francis House homeless shelter. The students then worked in concert to fix a meal of lasagna, salad and desserts.

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PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS

Following is a sampling of recent faculty and graduate student publications and presentations in the College:

• Linda Hagedorn, chair, Educational Administration and Policy, has the following new publications: 
  • “Transcript Analyses as a Tool to Understand Community,” Journal of Applied Research in the Community College (2005), 13(1), Fall. 45-57.
  • “Native Hawaiian Community College Students: What Happens?” Community College Journal of Research and Practice (2006), 30(1), 21-40. (Co-written with Lester, J., Tibbetts, K., and Moon, H.S.)
  • “Transfer Between Community Colleges and Four-Year Colleges: The All American Game,” Community College Journal of Research and Practice (2006), 30-(3), 223-242. (Co-written with Moon, H.S., Cypers, S., Maxwell, W.E. and Lester, J.)
• Campbell, Dale F., “The New Leadership Gap: Shortages in Administrative Positions,” Community College Journal, 76(4), 10-14. Campbell is a professor in the Department of Educational Administration and Policy.
• David Quinn, assistant professor, Educational Administration and Policy, co-presented “Data-Driven Decision-Making: Preparing Leaders, Documenting Readiness and Gauging Implementation” at the annual convention of the University Council for Educational Administration held in November.
• Linda Behar-Horenstein, professor, Educational Administration and Policy, has the following publications:
  • “Looking into Classrooms: Student Achievement, Student Absenteeism, Teacher Efficacy, and Teacher Instruction of Highly Mobile Students in Specialized and Traditional School Settings,” Curriculum and Teaching (2005), 20, 15-39. (Co-author with Anusavice, S.H.)
  • “Improving patient care through patient-family education programs,” Hospital Topics (2005), 83, 21-27. (Co-author with Guin, P., Gamble, K., Hurlock, G., Leclear, E., Philopose, M., Shellnut, D. Ward, and Weldon, J.)
  • “Looking into classrooms: Teachers’ use of models of teaching,” Educational Practice and Theory (2005), 27(1), 49-66. (Co-author with Seabert, D.M.)
  • “A case study examining instructional practices at a U.S. dental school,” Journal of Dental Education (2005), 69(6), 639-648. (Co-author with Mitchell, G.S. and Dolan, T.A.)

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

College sponsors faculty workshop on diversity
All Education faculty are invited to join Shari Robinson as she facilitates a March 24 workshop titled “Fostering Diversity and Success in Academia Through Faculty Development.” The workshop, which is sponsored by the Faculty/Student Recruitment, Retention and Development Task Force, will draw on JoAnne Moody’s work on faculty diversity and provide information on academic advancement and practical strategies for mentoring. The workshop will run from 8:30 to 10 a.m. in the Terrace Room of Norman Hall. Register by e-mail to Michael Bowie at mbowie@coe.ufl.edu.

Nominations sought for Staff Member of the Year
The deadline to submit nominations for College of Education Staff Member of the Year is March 31. Full-time USPS and TEAMS employees who have been employed in the College for at least one year are eligible for the awards. Nominations will be accepted from faculty or staff, and self-nominations are allowed. Nomination forms and two letters of recommendation should be submitted to Ric T’Felt in Norman 121. Electronic submissions may be sent to rict@coe.ufl.edu. Two award winners will be announced at the April 27 Staff Appreciation Luncheon.

Sunshine State Universities hosting reception at AERA conference
College of Education faculty members attending this year’s AERA conference in San Francisco are invited to the Sunshine State Universities reception from 7 to 9 p.m., Sunday, April 9, in Room 132 of Moscone Center North. There will be hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar.

State Chancellor Rosenburg to visit COE April 28
Mark Rosenburg, the new chancellor of the State University System (SUS), will be meeting with faculty and staff at 11 a.m. on Friday, April 28, in the Terrace Room of Norman Hall. Rosenberg is visiting each college of education in SUS to learn more about educational issues and concerns at the state university level. This will be a good opportunity to voice ideas about the steps the College should take to meet the state’s educational needs. Contact Jodi Mount, jmount@coe.ufl.edu or 392-0728, ext. 250, if you plan to attend.

UF Relay for Life team looking for cancer survivors
The Survivor Committee of the UF Colleges Against Cancer is currently registering UF faculty, staff and student cancer survivors interested in taking part in the second annual American Cancer Society Relay for Life on March 24 and 25 at the O’Connell Center. These survivors will be honored during opening ceremonies at the Relay for Life and a dinner reception following the event. Relay for Life is an overnight event designed to celebrate survivorship by raising money to help the American Cancer Society save lives, helping those who have been touched by cancer and empowering individuals to fight this disease. E-mail the Relay for Life ’06 Survivor Committee at UFRelay_Survivor@yahoo.com to register or share thoughts and ideas about the Relay, or about what UF Colleges Against Cancer can do to help.

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coE-CALENDAR

MARCH 15

Teacher Inquiry Workshop
8 a.m., P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School
Contact: Nancy Dana, 2-0728, ext. 276

MARCH 21

Recruitment, Retention, and Multicultural Affairs workshop
Featuring Edil Torres Rivera speaking on “Social Justice: Teaching Peace Education”
6 p.m., Terrace Room
Contact: Shirl Caliste, 2-5242, ext. 25

Houghton Mifflin Company Book Fair
10 a.m., Terrace Room

MARCH 23

Education College Council meeting
6:30 p.m., Terrace Room
Contact: Theresa Vernetson, 2-1058, ext. 400

MARCH 24

Faculty Professional Development workshop
“Fostering Diversity and Success in Academia,” featuring Shari Robinson, facilitator
8:30 a.m., Terrace Room
Contact: Michael Bowie, 2-9195, ext. 29, mbowie@coe.ufl.edu

Alumni Lunch and Lecture
Featuring Mary Brownell speaking on “A High-Quality Teacher for Every Child With A Disability”
11:30 a.m., Terrace Room
Contact: Jodi Mount, 2-0728, ext. 250

MARCH 30

Education College Council meeting
6:30 p.m., Terrace Room
Contact: Theresa Vernetson, 2-1058, ext. 400

APRIL 3

Recruitment, Retention, and Multicultural Affairs Workshop
6 p.m., Terrace Room
Contact: Shirl Caliste, 2-5242, ext. 22

APRIL 6

Education College Council meeting
6:30 p.m., Terrace Room
Contact: Theresa Vernetson, 2-1058, ext. 400

APRIL 9

AERA Conference: Sunshine State Universities Reception
7 p.m., Moscone Center North, Room 132
Contact: Dean’s Office, 2-0728, ext. 226

APRIL 12

Staff Council meeting
9 a.m., Terrace Room
Contact: Sabrina McLaughlin, 2-0726, ext. 262

APRIL 13

Education College Council meeting
6:30 p.m., Terrace Room
Contact: Theresa Vernetson, 2-1058, ext. 400

APRIL 19

International Center Workshop for Teachers of Alachua County
8 a.m., Terrace Room
Contact: David Akombo, dakombo@ufl.edu

APRIL 20

Scholarship of Engagement Banquet
With Provost Janie Fouke as guest speaker
5:30 p.m., Emerson Alumni Hall Ballroom
Contact: Jodi Mount, 2-0728, ext. 250

APRIL 21

Alumni Lunch and Lecture
Featuring Linda Behar-Horenstein speaking on “The Role of Classroom Observation Research”
11:30 a.m., Terrace Room
Contact: Jodi Mount, 2-0728, ext. 250

Alumni Association Jimmy Buffet Cover Band Concert
Followed by Urban Meyer Pep Rally
6 p.m. (concert); 9 p.m. (pep rally)
Contact Jodi Mount, 2-0728, ext. 250

“Annie” musical
7 p.m., P.K. Yonge Performing Arts Center
Contact: 392-1554, ext. 260 for ticket information

APRIL 22

Orange-and-Blue Barbecue and Game
Hosted by the College of Education and Alumni Association
11 a.m. (barbecue); 1:30 p.m. (game)
Contact: Jodi Mount, 2-0728, ext. 250

“Annie” musical
7 p.m., P.K. Yonge Performing Arts Center
Contact: 392-1554, ext. 260 for ticket information

APRIL 23

“Annie” musical
2 p.m., P.K. Yonge Performing Arts Center
Contact: 392-1554, ext. 260 for ticket information

APRIL 28

SUS Chancellor address
Mark Rosenberg, new chancellor of the State University System, will be speaking with faculty and staff on educational issues at the state level.
11 a.m., Terrace Room
Contact: Jodi Mount, jmount@coe.ufl.edu, 2-0728, ext. 250

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IN THE NEWS

The following “media hits” from News & Publications news release distribution and media inquiries have occurred recently:

• Art Sandeen, professor, Educational Administration and Policy, was quoted in a Gainesville Sun story on plans to institute federally mandated standardized testing at colleges and universities in the United States. The article may be viewed online at www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060219/LOCAL/202190352/1078/news.
• Dorene Ross, professor, School of Teaching and Learning, was quoted in an Ocala Star Banner story on the passage of the E-Comp (Effective Compensation) plan calling for the top 10 percent of teachers being paid 5 percent or more if their students do well on the FCAT and other standardized tests. The article headlined “Teacher bonus plan draws fire” may be viewed online at www.ocala.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060223/NEWS/60223005/1001/news01.
• Catherine Emihovich, dean, and Dorene Ross, professor, School of Teaching and Learning, were quoted in a March 6 Gainesville Sun article describing the range of education bills the Florida Legislature will be facing in this year’s legislative session. The article headlined “Educators express concerns over range of bills” may be viewed online at www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060307/LOCAL/203070329/1078/news

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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
Director, Managing Editor: Larry Lansford (llansford@coe.ufl.edu)
Editor: Joy L. Rodgers (jrodgers@coe.ufl.edu)

Writers:
Larry Lansford
Joy L. Rodgers
Chan Tran, student-writer intern (ctran@ufl.edu)

Diane Yendol-Hoppey, assistant professor in the School of Teaching and Learning at the College of Education, received the 2006 Kappa Delta Pi/AERA Early Career Award recently at the American Educational Research Association’s national meeting in San Francisco.
In her studies, Yendol-Hoppey challenges the belief that teaching can be standardized and, instead, recognizes the complexity of teaching and the process of learning how to teach.
 
“Rather than deliver quick-fix solutions that might meet a short-term goal but leave the child without access to a full education, teachers need to develop an elaborate toolbox of instructional tools,” Yendol-Hoppey said. “Only by helping teachers develop the toolbox and systematically study their teaching can they determine the effects of their instructional approach on children in their classroom.”

“This is an entirely different approach than the type of instruction and teacher learning evolving from today’s high-stakes accountability pressures.”

Yendol-Hoppey’s studies explored how different learning contexts and the diverse needs of students—along with such factors as demographic differences in schools—can affect teacher learning and teacher leadership related to instructional decision-making and school improvement.

Yendol-Hoppey now is investigating how teachers learn about the complexity of teaching and how to attend to the needs of diverse students within alternative pathways to teaching including alternative certification, online programs and professional development schools.

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Writer
Chan Tran, ctran@ufl.edu, 352-392-0726, ext. 246

UF student-teachers help schoolchildren
develop, improve their writing skills

UF doctoral education student Angela Gregory, left, and Professor Danling Fu discuss with student-intern Ting Tseng a recent session with Newberry Elementary fifth-graders.

When Rodney, now 9, was in second grade at Newberry Elementary, he hated school. He was a year behind his classmates and reading below his grade level. Writing proved particularly frustrating.

Instead of working at it, he misbehaved or cried. When he had to write, he just scribbled.

But University of Florida student-intern Tiffany Molynue, whose academic focus is in literacy instruction, never gave up on Rodney and continually worked with him to improve his reading. He started a self-monitoring check-sheet. She encouraged him to write on topics that interested him, such as friends and basketball.

“He became one of the best students, a real leader in the classroom,” Molynue said. “I was so proud of him, and it was great to see that he was proud of himself.”

College of Education professors and 13 prospective teachers, including Molynue, have been teaming up with the Newberry school faculty over the past year to implement a schoolwide writing program for nearly 550 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The initiative helps students develop better writing skills and strategies. At the same time, the UF student-teachers get to work alongside their mentor teachers and gain the real-life classroom experience they can’t get from their college textbooks and classes.

Professor Danling Fu of the College of Education’s School of Teaching and Learning was invited by Principal Lacy Redd to work with the teachers to apply the program, called “Wild about Writing,” in the hopes that it would help raise the school’s FCAT writing scores and improve the development of the students’ writing competency and skills.  Fu works with a group of Newberry Elementary teachers on a writing committee to discuss and explore ideas in writing instruction.

 “Writing develops and demonstrates all the language skills: reading, writing, speaking, listening and thinking,” Fu said.

Although Newberry Elementary has been graded as an “A” school, it continues to work on improving its academic programs, especially in the writing area. The school’s FCAT scores showed improvement in students’ reading, but not in writing.

The teachers hope the program will help Newberry Elementary exceed its school-improvement goals, which includes increasing the percentage of students scoring 3.5 and above on the FACT writing assessment. “Wild about Writing” will provide additional resources in the form of more UF student interns to work with groups or individual children.
Since the beginning of this school year, teachers, student interns and Fu have set different goals each month, such as having students write every day, write longer and with greater focus, and learn how to edit their copy and improve on quality of writing. The first strategy they have successfully applied is the daily practice of writing. Many teachers execute journal writing and other writing activities in all subject areas, Redd said.

“Writing is like playing instruments or sports,” Fu said. “We need to practice every day from early age on in order to write well, and there is no end to its practice and development.”
Work this spring will focus on the instruction of writing.

Newberry is among 10 Alachua County elementary schools involved with the College of Education’s professional development communities (PDC) program. Other PDC schools are P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School (UF’s lab school), Alachua Elementary, High Springs Community School and, in Gainesville: Williams Elementary, Littlewood Elementary, Stephen Foster Elementary, Norton Elementary, One Room School House and Terwilliger Elementary.

UF partners with the PDC schools to form a network of school- and university-based teacher educators committed to “inclusive” education—preparing the next generation of elementary teachers to teach diverse learners—while pursuing ongoing school improvement.
Prospective teachers in the program can apply the knowledge gained from their college courses to real-life situations with real students. Meanwhile, the elementary school’s improvement goals are pursued.

“The prospective teachers will experience the challenges and celebrations that occur within the classroom as schools begin to undertake change efforts,” said Angela Gregory, a UF doctoral education student who supervises the Newberry student-interns.

For Molynue, the biggest challenge was teaching in a classroom that wasn’t hers.
“Although there is freedom to try new things, you must still respect the rules and expectations of the classroom teacher,” she said.

The children, though, were Molynue’s biggest supporters.

“It was so rewarding to watch students try and see the moment when they understood,” she said. “The children drew pictures and wrote, ‘I am so glad you are my teacher.’”

“I didn’t write lesson plans and put so much time and effort into the internship just to gain experience or impress my advisors,” said Molynue, who completed her internship last fall and will receive her master’s degree in May. “I love the students and wanted to help them learn. Their presence was encouragement enough.”

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Writer
Chan Tran, ctran@ufl.edu, (352) 392-0726, ext. 246

Wood receives prestigious title of UFRF Research Professor.

The University of Florida Research Foundation (UFRF) recently named Educational Administration and Policy faculty member Craig Wood as its Research Professor for 2006.

The three-year professorships are awarded, in part, to recognize recent contributions in research. Wood’s research centers on public policy issues of funding education. Currently, he is examining and analyzing the equity and adequacy of state financial aid distribution formulas.

Wood currently teaches classes in public education finance and law and also conducts numerous workshops for a variety of policy-making organizations. He has served as the president of the American Education Finance Association, worked for various state legislatures, and has chaired the national education finance litigation workshop for AEFA for the past seven years.

As a UFRF Research Professor, Wood will examine and present his research to peers across the nation and possibly influence major public policy decisions within the area of financing public education. Wood will receive a $5,000 annual salary supplement and a $3,000 one-time grant to support research.

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Writer
Anwen “Wendy” Norman, anwendy@ufl.edu, (352) 392-0726, ext. 246

Brian Dassler, a UF College of Education alumnus, is Broward County Public Schools Teacher of the Year for 2007. 

Since graduating from UF, Dassler, 27, has taught English for the past three years at Fort Lauderdale’s Stranahan High School. He describes his teaching philosophy as “an unequivocal focus on student achievement, a sincere role for families in the education process, and classroom interaction and dialogue as a way of developing and refining communication and critical thinking skills.”

Dassler leads by example in encouraging students to take on leadership responsibilities and give back to others in the form of community service.

At UF, Dassler earned a bachelor’s degree in English in 2001 and a master’s in English education in 2002. While attending the College of Education, he was named the 2001 Florida College Student of the Year by Florida Leader magazine. 

Dassler said the college’s ProTeach program prepared him well for his education career.
“When I compare my first-year teaching with those of other new educators, I realize how well-prepared I was, thanks to ProTeach. From classroom management to instructional design and delivery, ProTeach prepared me in a way that I didn't fully realize until I had a classroom all to myself my first year,” Dassler said.

His former education faculty adviser, Associate Professor Emeritus Robert Wright, has Dassler pegged as a future leader in public education, saying, “My guess is that Brian will probably move on into administration and will be a principal or even a superintendent of schools somewhere, probably in the not too distant future.”

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Writer
Anwen “Wendy” Norman, anwendy@ufl.edu, (352) 392-0726, ext. 246

Seonjin Seo

The University of Florida has selected Seonjin Seo, a graduate student in the College of Education, to receive the Korean Graduate Student Research Award for her publication of research studies.

Seo, working toward her doctorate degree in special education, has published several research reports on various topics including instructional practices for students with learning disabilities, personnel issues in special education and international education.

The award was initiated by UF medical Professor Paul W. Chun in 1995 to recognize the achievements of Korean graduate students at UF. Seo’s selection makes the award a family affair. Her husband, Kwang-Hyeon Baik, received the award in 2003 when he was an engineering student at UF. 

The four recipients of this year’s award received an award certificate, a recognition letter from President Bernie Machen and $500.

Seo is the first College of Education graduate student to receive the award, which usually goes to students in the more technical fields such as engineering and medicine.

Her research was conducted through the Center on Personnel Studies in Special Education (COPSSE) in the College of Education. Her research interest emerged from her past experiences teaching special education classes while living in Seoul, Korea, her native country.  After completing her graduate studies this August, Seo hopes to become a professor at an institute of higher education.
 

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Writer

      Daphne Charles, dcharles83@yahoo.com

Nationally syndicated newspaper columnist Cynthia Tucker will be the featured keynote speaker at the 2006 College of Education Spring Commencement on Sunday, May 7, in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on the University of Florida Gainesville campus.

Tucker’s commentary appears in dozens of newspapers across the United States. As editorial page editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, she is responsible for guiding the newspaper’s opinion policies on a broad range of topics from foreign policy issues to local school board races.

Tucker has considerable reporting experience, covering local governments, national politics, crime and education. She also has filed dispatches from Africa, Central America and Cuba, and frequently provides news commentary on TV programs such as the “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.”

A Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, Tucker is a recent recipient of Colby College’s prestigious Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award. She was awarded the American Society of Newspaper Editors’ Distinguished Writing Award in 2000 and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2004.

Tucker is a member of the board of directors of the International Women’s Media Foundation and a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, American Society of Newspaper Editors, the National Association of Minority Media Executives and the Council on Foreign Relations.
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Writer

Joy L. Rodgers, jrodgers@coe.ufl.edu, 352-392-0726, ext. 274

Dr. Dale Campbell

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Palm Beach Community College (in Lake Worth, Fla.), Cape Cod Community College (West Barnstable, Mass.) and Meridian (Miss.) Community College have received national recognition for their noteworthy academic or operational programs recently at the nationwide Community College Futures Assembly in Orlando.

The colleges received the Bellwether Award, presented annually at the assembly by the University of Florida College of Education’s Institute of Higher Education.

Three other Florida community colleges were honored as finalists. They were Santa Fe Community College (Gainesville), Chipola Community College in Marianna and Hillsborough Community College in Tampa.

The finalists were chosen from more than 80 community colleges nominated across the country. The three overall winners were chosen from among the top 10 finalists in each of three categories: instructional programs and services; planning, governance and finance; and work force development.

All 30 finalists were invited to present at the 2006 Futures Assembly and selected presentations were published in the Community College Journal of Research and Practice.

Palm Beach Community won in the instructional programs and services category, which recognizes programs and services that foster or support teaching and learning in the community college. Their program focused on a curriculum that was realigned to allow students to progress more efficiently through career pathways. Students could eventually transfer their learning into credit-based Associate in Science degrees and use recognized certificates to give them an employment advantage.  

Cape Cod Community College won in the planning, governance and finance category, which recognizes programs or activities that improve efficiency and effectiveness in the community college.  Their “green campus” program focused on energy management (fuel cell, solar, plans for wind); conservation, composting and recycling; environmental technology and renewable energy curricula; student internships; partnerships across education, business, nonprofits and government; a new “Leadership in Environmental Designs (LEED) certified building; and vigorous fund raising.

Meridian (Miss.) Community College won in the work force development category, which recognizes strategic alliances that promote community and economic development. The award-winning entry described a partnership between Meridian CC and Rush Health Systems’ in delivering training in service management areas such as medical billing, leadership management, computer training, admissions clerk and systemwide customer service training.

Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville was a finalist in the planning, governance and finance category. Integrating Learning Communities into Study Abroad was a joint effort between students, faculty and community leaders in which program participants studied humanities and researched business practices of Russia. The program eventually will incorporate similar studies of Italy, Hungary and Greece.

There were two Florida finalists in the work force development category. Chipola College was chosen for its Innovative Technology in Automotive Training program, which combined integrated hands-on training with a fully integrated, computerized facility. The college worked to design a program to incorporate industry partnership and promote community and economic development.

The Hillsborough Community College program also was a finalist. Its program made online professional development courses available to more than 500 Hillsborough County educators.

Dr. Dale Campbell, professor in educational administration and policy at the University of Florida College of Education, founded the Community College Futures Assembly and the Bellwether Awards in 1995. Campbell was the director of the Institute of Higher Education at that time, and the institute continues to administer the awards program.  

A complete list of the Bellwether Awards winners and finalists is available on the Community College Futures Assembly Web site at education.ufl.edu/futures.

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Writer

      Daphne Charles, dcharles83@yahoo.com

Karen Pearson

Karen Pearson began her counseling career as an intern at Stephen Foster Elementary School in Gainesville, but now she’s the school’s guidance counselor with a top state honor to her credit.

Pearson, a UF College of Education graduate with a specialist (Ed.S.) degree in counselor education earned in 1994, has been named Florida’s elementary school counselor of the year by the Florida School Counselors Association.  

At Stephen Foster, Pearson provides guidance counseling for individual students and faculty, small groups and classrooms. She works with parents, teachers and the community to allow her students to have off-campus experiences such as field trips, which included scoring tickets for UF sporting events and taking third-graders to see “A Christmas Carol” at the Hippodrome State Theatre.

Pearson tries to do something different for her students every day, such as providing a weekly puppet presentation for kindergartners on needed social skills or counseling students during all three lunch periods on a wide range of issues including personal or family crises, behavioral management, peer issues and self-control.

“Children and families are her focus,” said Norton Elementary School counselor Jennifer Taylor.

Pearson helped found and was president of the Alachua County Counseling Association. She’s also written and received grants to launch programs engaging students in hands-on career activities.

When a school counselor position opened at Stephen Foster in 1996, Pearson jumped at the opportunity, fondly remembering the school’s now-retired counselor who mentored her as an intern.

“Sylvia Stuart was an inspiration to me,” Pearson said. “She knew so much about her kids.”

UF counselor education Professor Larry Loesch said he remembers Pearson as an outstanding student and highly dedicated professional when she attended UF.

“Karen has used the knowledge, skills and competencies she developed in our program to full advantage and has developed an exemplary guidance program in her school.”

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Writer

    Chan Tran, ctran@ufl.edu, (352) 392-0726, ext. 246

On January 24, 2006, the College of Education kicked off its 100th year celebration with a presentation and panel discussion on “Education, Class and the Future of America,” featuring nationally syndicated op-ed columnist David Brooks. Brooks writes for the New York Times and is a regular analyst on National Public Radio and PBS television’s NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. (1hr 45min)

GAINESVILLE, Fla.— A University of Florida project launched to reverse the critical teacher shortage and attrition rates of three inner-city Florida high schools is showing signs of success and moving into a new phase that will involve additional schools.

Supported by a $90,000 grant from BellSouth Telecommunications, BellSouth Foundation and BellSouth Pioneers, UF’s urban teacher induction and retention project provides a support network of novice and experienced mentor teachers within and across the inner-city schools in Jacksonville, Orlando and Miami to help raise the schools’ retention rates of those teachers.

“The teacher shortage is especially critical in urban high schools in Florida. Annual teacher turnover at struggling inner-city schools can exceed 40 percent, and about 15 percent of beginning teachers leave the profession after their first year,” says Wanda Lastrapes, a University of Florida education lecturer and UF Alliance project coordinator. “Under-resourced urban schools typically have difficulty supporting new teachers. We are creating a professional development model that encourages and prepares classroom teachers to remain in challenging urban schools.”

The participating schools – Jean Ribault High in Jacksonville, Maynard Evans High in Orlando and Miami Carol City High – are members of the UF Alliance partnership program, which links the university’s College of Education with six under-resourced urban high schools. There currently are 57 novice teachers, or those with three or fewer years of teaching experience, and 15 mentor teachers taking part in the project at the three participating schools. Last year, 65 percent of novice teachers and 95 percent of mentor teachers involved in the project returned to their respective schools to teach in the 2005-06 academic year.

Building on a successful pilot project during the 2003-04 academic year at Ribault High, Lastrapes and school leaders have developed a support network of novice and experienced mentor teachers within and across the three inner-city schools. This year, project leaders will expand the network of “professional learning communities” to the other three UF Alliance member schools – Jones High School in Orlando, William M. Raines High School in Jacksonville and Miami High School.

Lastrapes directs the effort with the aid of an experienced teacher-facilitator at each school. Teachers in their first three years of urban-school teaching receive support and advice on effective teaching strategies from trained mentor teachers at regular meetings at each school and at UF Alliance-sponsored retreats, where they can share their experiences with others teaching under similar circumstances.

Grant monies are used in part for professional development retreats for participating teachers at all schools. Alliance faculty are collaborating with the school districts of the network schools in helping teachers begin the process of attaining certification as mentor teachers from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. New initiatives this year entail expansion of a Web site to include a forum for online discussions for all novice teachers at the six Alliance partner schools.

The BellSouth grant also covers the expense of substitute teachers so novice and mentor teachers can regularly observe each other during the school day. BellSouth’s Florida company-employee volunteer organization, the BellSouth Pioneers, are providing support to the novice and mentor teachers in the network schools and exploring ways to become more engaged in classroom activities.

“BellSouth’s involvement in the UF Alliance project provides another way to continue our support for education,” says Marshall Criser III, president, BellSouth Florida. “Our volunteer hours and financial contributions provide needed support to new teachers and translate into better learning opportunities for the next generation of leaders.”  

The UF Alliance sponsors field trips to campus and several recruitment activities for students interested in teaching careers, as well as a Summer Leadership Institute for teachers and administrators from its six member schools. The University of Florida also awards five $12,500 scholarships each year to top students from Alliance schools who choose to attend UF.

“By raising student achievement through effective teaching strategies at challenging urban high schools, we can improve the educational opportunities for at–risk students and help them become leaders in their schools, communities and their chosen professions,” Lastrapes says.

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Writer

Joy Rodgers, jrodgers@coe.ufl.edu, UF College of Education, News & Publications, (352) 392-0726, ext. 270

David Lawrence Jr. (center) is shown with Education Dean Catherine Emihovich and UF President Bernie Machen. (Photo by Ray Carson, UF News)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Since retiring in 1999, former Miami Herald publisher David Lawrence Jr. has worked to strengthen the nation’s commitment to early childhood development so all children will arrive at school prepared for success.

Lawrence now has a lasting legacy for his efforts, and it promises to further strengthen the “school-readiness” movement that is his passion and new life’s work.

Lawrence’s alma mater, the University of Florida, announced today that it has received more than $1 million in private gifts from more than 80 individuals and children’s advocacy groups to create an endowed faculty position in the College of Education. The post will be called the David Lawrence Jr. Endowed Professorship in Early Childhood Studies.

The state will contribute $500,000 under Florida’s matching gifts program to create a $1.5 million faculty post. Earnings from the endowment fund will finance a world-class scholar’s teaching and research activities. The College of Education will conduct a search for a nationally recognized practitioner and scholar in early childhood education.

“Naming this professorship after David Lawrence honors the contributions of one of the University of Florida’s most accomplished graduates and a prominent national advocate for the early childhood school-readiness movement,” UF President Bernie Machen said. “The world-class scholar who is chosen for this professorship will provide the leadership and vision to pursue cross-disciplinary projects aimed at improving the services and policies affecting infants, young children and their families.”

Machen said the new endowed chair will count in the university-wide capital campaign launched last July and also in the Faculty Challenge Initiative, which he started a year and a half ago.

Advancing early child development and education is a state and nationwide concern. Recent federal statistics show a growing number of children face extreme obstacles to learning before they enter school. Eighteen percent of children under age 6 live in poverty. Children under 5 represent 85 percent of child abuse and neglect victims and more than 30 percent of all children in foster care. Seventeen percent of young children have developmental disabilities and 2.5 million children 5 or younger do not have health insurance coverage.

“About a third of all children begin kindergarten already behind,” UF College of Education Dean Catherine Emihovich said. “There is a growing recognition of the need for collaborative, policy-oriented approaches to fully address the complex needs of children from before birth to age 5. This professorship will help to bridge the existing research gap in early child development.”

Emihovich said tapping into the collective expertise of university experts in numerous disciplines—including education, law, medicine, psychology and sociology—is vital to addressing the comprehensive needs of infants and young children.

Recent statistics show that Florida, the nation’s fourth largest state, still ranks in the bottom third of states in a number of key indicators—in low-birthweight babies, in the number of high school dropouts and in child poverty.

Some of Lawrence’s efforts have helped Florida become a national leader in the movement for school readiness and high-quality early development, care and education. He is president of the Early Childhood Initiative Foundation in Miami, and in 2002 led the successful campaign for The Children’s Trust, which provides early intervention and prevention funding for children in Miami-Dade.

Named by Gov. Jeb Bush to the Florida Partnership for School Readiness, he chaired that oversight board for two terms. Lawrence, a 1963 UF journalism graduate, was a key figure in the passage of the statewide constitutional amendment that provides high-quality, pre-kindergarten availability for all 4-year-olds beginning the current school year.

Lawrence joined the UF faculty in 2001 as the University Scholar for Early Childhood Development and Readiness, and he is a board member of the Lastinger Center for Learning at the UF College of Education.

“I am deeply grateful to those who contributed to the chair because they believe in the cause as well as in me,” Lawrence said. “The University of Florida can become one of this country’s principal higher education resources for energizing the national movement for school readiness, and this chair can be an important part of that.”

Emihovich said early childhood education is one of the College of Education’s core priorities. The college’s Lastinger Center is involved with Lawrence’s Early Childhood Initiative Foundation and also works with a W.K. Kellogg Foundation-funded program called SPARK—Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids—in Miami-Dade County to ensure children’s healthy development and early success in school. The Lastinger Center recently received funding to conduct a statewide evaluation of the Governor’s Family Literacy Initiative, a program designed to encourage parents to read to young children.

“We also plan to utilize Baby Gator, UF’s campuswide childcare center, as a pre-school child development and research center and collaborate with other units on campus such as nursing, pediatrics, law, the UF McKnight Brain Institute and our P.K. Yonge K-12 laboratory school to promote the optimal development of young children and their families on a statewide and national level,” Emihovich said. “The Lawrence endowed professorship will draw national and international visibility to the university’s current initiatives and enable us to seek additional support to help young children reach their full potential in school and in their lives.”

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Writer
   Larry Lansford, llansford@coe.ufl.edu, (352) 392-0726, ext. 266

Two professors in the College of Education School of Teaching and Learning have been recognized as international distinguished educators for their work in advancing the globalization of the University of Florida campus and curriculum through teaching, research and service.

The senior faculty honor went to Associate Professor Linda Cronin-Jones for her contributions to research on environmental education in Africa and Latin America and to teaching both at UF and abroad. Richard Ferdig, assistant professor, received the junior faculty award for his efforts in building intercultural educational technology competence in doctoral researchers.

“It has always been a passion of mine to expose UF students to issues related to international education, especially in the areas of science and environmental education,” Cronin-Jones says on receiving the senior faculty award.

The awards, which were announced in November, were given out by the University of Florida International Center as part of ceremonies marking International Education Week. The University International Educator of the Year award also was presented at the ceremonies.

Initiated in 2004, the International Educator of the Year award was created to recognize outstanding international endeavors by UF faculty members. Thomas Oakland, professor in Educational Psychology, was the first recipient of the annual award for his work in more than 40 countries in establishing enduring professional relationships with colleagues abroad. For 2005, in addition to the University winners, individual college nominees were awarded international distinguished educator titles.

Nominations for the awards are made by departmental chairs in each college and endorsed by the deans. A Universitywide committee then judges the candidates based on several criteria including how their work raises UF’s profile as a major research university.

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Writer

    Joy L. Rodgers, jrodgers@coe.ufl.edu, (352) 392-0726, ext. 274

As part of its centennial year celebrations and in conjunction with its search for the Fien Professorship in Education, the College of Education at the University of Florida is sponsoring a three-part lecture series designed to help keep UF connected to outstanding scholars in the field. The Fien Lecture Series will get under way with a talk by Robert Jiménez at 3 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 26, in the College of Education Terrace Room in Norman Hall.

Jiménez is professor of language, literacy and culture in Peabody College at Vanderbilt University. His research has focused on the strategic processing of competent and less competent bilingual readers and on the delivery of services and language instruction to minority students at risk for referral to special education and those with learning disabilities. More recently, Jiménez has turned his research focus to an ecological framework to examine the literacy of linguistically diverse students.

In his talk in January, Jiménez will present his latest research on Mexican literacy practices. “Literacies Within and Without Mexico” takes a look at contemporary Mexican literacy practices as a consequence of both historical and globalizing influences of people’s thinking about, and uses of, written language in Central Mexico. Jiménez has published his work in several journals, including the American Educational Research Journal, Elementary School Journal, Reading Research Quarterly, The Reading Teacher and the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy.

Established in 1998, the Fien Professorship in Education was made possible in part through a $600,000 donation from businessman and philanthropist Irving Fien. The College of Education combined Fien’s gift with $420,000 in state matching funds to create a $1.02 million permanent endowment for the Irving and Rose Fien Professorship in Education. Richard Allington, the first recipient of the Fien Professorship, joined the College in 2000. The chair opened up when Allington left the College for the University of Tennessee in 2004.

“This lecture series is a wonderful and exciting opportunity for our students and faculty to meet prominent leaders in different fields of inquiry and to hear firsthand about research from top scholars,” College of Education Dean Catherine Emihovich says.

The other two speakers in the series are Gloria Ladson-Billings, a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and Luis Moll, professor of language, reading and culture in the College of Education at the University of Arizona. Ladson-Billings is scheduled to speak on Friday, Feb. 17, 2006; and Moll, on Monday, March 6, 2006.

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Writer

    Joy L. Rodgers, jrodgers@coe.ufl.edu, (352) 392-0726, ext. 274

Five teachers, principals and administrators from public school districts throughout the state were honored by the University of Florida as distinguished educators during the University’s recent fall 2005 commencement ceremonies.

The five honorees were each chosen by their districts to represent their counties for this twice-yearly award to recognize outstanding building-level educators for their commitment to the profession.

The distinguished educators are:

• Mindy Marie Myers, a first-grade teacher at Avalon Elementary School in Collier County. Myers has a bachelor’s degree in early and elementary education from the University of South Florida and a master’s in primary education from Nova Southeastern University. Recently awarded the National Board Certification, Myers is knowledgeable in curriculum, best instructional practices and early childhood development.
• Kelly Tyler, a principal at Lecanto High School in Citrus County. Tyler has a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education from the University of Florida and a master’s in educational leadership from the University of South Florida. He has been active in school and community activities, taking part in district leadership roles at the state level and civic organizations that support youth and education in Citrus County.
• Rosemarie Shaeffer, a program staffing specialist for the Hernando County School District. Shaeffer has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Eastern Illinois University and a master’s in educational leadership from the University of South Florida. Shaeffer is a practiced educator, with 24 years of professional experience overall and 17 years in Hernando County. She has been active in leadership roles throughout the district, serving as chair and inclusion coordinator for the Exceptional Student Education department at Powell Middle School and team leader at several elementary schools in the district. She is also the 2005 Hernando County Teacher of the Year.
• Jacquelyn H. Cornelius, principal of Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Duval County. Cornelius has a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Florida and a master’s in administration and supervision from the University of North Florida. She joined the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in 1988, serving as its arts director and vice principal before moving to the principal’s chair in 1996. Under her leadership, the school has been recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, a National Model School and a National Leader School by the U.S. Department of Education.
• Sarah Mott White, the Project CHILD Intermediate Writing Teacher at Glendale Elementary School in Indian River County. White holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in elementary education from the University of Florida. Serving as a role model to students and staff alike, White combines the art and science of teaching to create an environment where students feel safe taking risks and exploring new skills, and supports staff development throughout the district by providing training to all teachers at Project CHILD schools. She is also Glendale Elementary School’s 2005 Teacher of the Year.

The Distinguished Educator Award was established by the University of Florida in the fall of 1988 to acknowledge the important role of elementary and secondary teachers and administrators in shaping the lives of Florida’s elementary- , middle- and high-school students. Each fall and spring term, a county from each of the five educational regions of the state is identified and asked to select a distinguished building-level educator representative of all of the outstanding educators in the county. The chosen educators are invited to take part in University commencement ceremonies as members of the platform assembly in full academic regalia. Each educator is recognized by the president of the University and presented the Distinguished Educator Award from the University of Florida.

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Writer
           Joy L. Rodgers, jrodgers@coe.ufl.edu, (352) 392-0726, ext. 274

Cirecie West-Olatunji, assistant professor of counselor education at the UF College of Education, has received the Tutt-Jones Memorial Research Grant from the African American Success Foundation to investigate effective parenting practices among African-American parents of “at -risk” students.

Aided by the $2,000 grant, West-Olatunji will survey approximately 400 parents of children who have demonstrated academic success. She will examine the strategies these parents use to provide emotional and psychological support to their children in ways that result in academic engagement, self-motivation and knowledge achievement in schools. Following the survey portion, focus groups and interviews will be conducted.

West-Olatunji hopes the research generates greater awareness of culture-centered parenting skills available as a resource within the African-American community.  Participants in the survey will be randomly selected from a database made available from the School Board of Alachua County.

The African American Success Foundation, based in Fort Lauderdale, works to promote a positive image of African-Americans, combat negative stereotypes of the community, and distribute information about African-American achievements to aid in the replication of those successes.

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Writer

Chan Tran, ctran@ufl.edu, 352-392-0726, ext. 246

James H. Pitts, associate professor, Counselor Education, is retiring at the end of December after 34 years at the University of Florida.

Pitts came to the University in the fall of 1971 as an assistant professor in University College, a now-defunct college at the University where freshmen and sophomores were located before they went to their upper division colleges. In 1979, he joined the College of Education Department of Counselor Education, where he has taught graduate classes in consultation, educational mediation, and professional identity and ethics.

Pitts has been active in professional counseling organizations, serving as site visitor, team member and team chair for the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). He also is a member of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, the Southern Association for College Student Affairs and the American Counseling Association.

His research has focused on mediation, school counseling and student affairs in higher education. More recently, Pitts has conducted workshops on dealing with difficult people through conflict resolution and mediation.

Pitts says he will miss the relationships with his students and colleagues when he retires. “I plan to continue to conduct conflict resolution and mediation workshops, travel and spend some time that is not structured by a schedule,” he says.

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Writer

Anwen “Wendy” Norman, anwendy@ufl.edu, (352) 392-0726, ext. 274

Thank you for submitting your news item. 

Thomas Oakland has a new distinction to add to his already long list of honors. The University of Florida Research Foundation Professor of Educational Psychology recently was presented with the Willard Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award by the Florida Association of School Psychologists (FASP).

Named for Willard Nelson, a former Florida school psychologist who was instrumental in establishing FASP, the award acknowledges school psychologists who have made a significant impact on school psychology practice across the state and nation. Oakland was chosen to receive the award in part for recognition of his numerous other awards, including the Distinguished Service Award from the American Psychological Association’s Division of School Psychology and the International School Psychology Association and the Legend Award from the National Association of School Psychology. He also received the American Psychological Association’s 2003 Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Advancement of Psychology Internationally. And in 2004, Oakland was presented the Senior Faculty Distinguished International Educator Award in recognition for outstanding achievement in advancing the internationalization of the University of Florida campus and curriculum through teaching, research and service that promotes a global perspective.

The Florida Association of School Psychologists is an independent association that is affiliated with the National Association of School Psychologists. It is one of the oldest and largest state associations, with more than 900 members. The group’s mission is to provide exemplary psychological services to children throughout Florida through their work in schools, other publicly or privately funded agencies, or through private practice.

Oakland was nominated for the award by members of the FASP executive committee and approved by the group’s delegate assembly. He was presented the award at the association’s annual convention in Hollywood, Florida, in early November.

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Writer

Joy L. Rodgers, jrodgers@coe.ufl.edu, (352) 392-0726, ext. 274

A University of Florida College of Education researcher is involved in a four-year, $1.1 million study designed to help fathers communicate more effectively with their autistic children.

Richard Ferdig, assistant professor in the School of Teaching and Learning, is developing a Web site that will be used to broadcast training sessions to a group of fathers participating in the study, which is being funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research, a part of the National Institutes of Health, and headed by Jennifer Elder, an associate professor and department chair in the UF College of Nursing.

For his part, Ferdig plans to explore ways to combine educational theory with new technology. “I don’t believe the field of educational technology necessarily spends enough time researching learning in informal learning environments,” he says. “I thought this would be a great way to examine how we could get parents involved through the use of technology.”

Autism is a developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and is characterized by problems interacting and communicating with others. A previous study by Elder found that teaching fathers how to talk to and play with their autistic children in a home setting improved communication, increased the number of intelligible words the youngsters spoke by more than 50 percent and helped fathers get more involved in their care.

Ferdig’s Web site will feature training “booster” sessions that fathers can view and then hear comments on how they can improve upon their play sessions with their children. Ferdig will get $45,594 over the next four years to develop the site, which will include an investigator feedback system.

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Writer
Anwen Norman, anwendy@ufl.edu, (352) 392-0726, ext. 246