On Wednesday, January 28th, the Lastinger Center for Learning brought together over 100 teachers from 5 Gainesville schools to participate in the first Gainesville Community Meeting of the Florida Teacher Fellows. This event was not only a recognition of the hard work and dedication of these educators, but an opportunity for them to expand their growing professional communities to network with other high poverty elementary schools in the county. This year marks the initiation of the Florida Teacher Fellows program, where 225 teachers throughout the state were awarded Teacher Fellowships. Fellows participate in monthly school meetings where a UF faculty facilitator assists them in focusing their collective strengths on addressing dilemmas of teaching and learning in high poverty schools. At each school teachers engage in inquiry into their own practices by looking at student work collaboratively, creating action plans to address student learning and refining those plans through collective reflection in critical friends groups, and investigating, exploring, and sharing research-based best practices with their peers.

This Community meeting was established to respond to teachers’ requests to share what they are learning more widely. They know they have a lot to learn with and from each other, both within and across schools. At this meeting, teachers from Duval, Rawlings, Williams, Prairie View, and PKYonge (a) participated in workshops run by 5 UF faculty members in order to get a taste of the resources and knowledge that UF’s COE has to offer, (b) participate in small cross-school groups organized by grade level to share important things they are learning at their schools through the teacher fellows program, and (c) reconvened in whole-school groups with their facilitators to discuss how what they’ve learned at this community meeting will impact their work at each school.

Dean Catherine Emihovich and Superintendent Chambers welcomed the teachers to this meeting. These dedicated educators and UF faculty facilitators began a collaborative effort and strengthen the connections between the College of Education and local schools. The hope is to leave “No Educator Behind” as we all work together to improve the education of Florida’s elementary school students.

Additional Information:

The Florida Teacher Fellowship (FTF) program is one of the initiatives of the Lastinger Center for Learning, a center dedicated to improving the education of Florida’s elementary school students. The FTF program focuses on teachers because we believe that improving the quality of teaching and learning has a direct impact on student achievement. (By the way, other initiatives focus on Principals, Families, and Communities). Teacher Fellows participate in monthly school meetings where a UF faculty facilitator assists them in focusing their collective strengths on addressing dilemmas of teaching and learning in high poverty schools. At each school teachers engage in inquiry into their own practices by looking at student work collaboratively, creating action plans to address student learning and refining those plans through collective reflection in critical friends groups, and investigating, exploring, and sharing research-based best practices with their peers. In addition to monthly school group meetings, the Fellows also participate in a 3-day residential summer institute at the University of Florida, where they learn about research-based best practices from UF faculty, meet with their school groups to identify challenges and needs for the coming year, and develop action plans for addressing their dilemmas. During the year, the Fellows will also have the opportunity to meet with Teacher Fellows from other schools to share their learning more widely, through several Community Meetings. These community meetings, the first of which will be held on January 28, 2004, are not only a recognition of the hard work and dedication of these educators, but an opportunity for them to expand their growing professional communities to network with other high poverty elementary schools in the county.

The FTF program, and these community meetings, are important because teachers typically work in isolation and have very little time or opportunity to collaborate with their peers, both within their school and across schools. As far as School-University-Community collaboration is concerned, although the relationship between the COE and schools is not new, the Lastinger Center does so on a much grander scale, allowing for cross-school, and even cross-district collaboration to occur. We are currently working with 5 Gainesville schools, 2 Miami schools, and 2 Jacksonville schools, with 6 more Miami schools due to join our center in 2004-2005. We know of no other school-university collaboration happening across the state to this extent that focuses on raising student achievement with an intense commitment to improving the quality and abilities of educators and principals. In addition, we focus our efforts on high poverty schools that are typically (but not always!) identified as low achieving and are frequently low on resources and assistance.

Teachers that have been awarded a teacher fellowship are paid $1,000 for their total participation in the program. However, financial resources are just one, and easily the most tangible, benefit. Teachers are connected to the University of Florida, with a wealth of resources, knowledge, and capability to help schools improve the education of their students. Faculty members from the COE provide teachers with information about research-based best practices and facilitate meetings to help teachers apply that knowledge and reflect on the implementation of new practices. Traditionally teachers attend workshops where that type of information may be presented, but it is the follow up and transfer to real classrooms that make a difference in our model. In addition, teachers are given voice to identify the professional development programs that are selected in order to address school-specific needs.

This project is an on-going relationship with teachers, schools, and principals. Change of this magnitude takes time, and although we would like to measure the impact of this program in immediate increases in student achievement, we expect that it is through continued support to these teachers and schools that substantial changes will occur. The Lastinger Center is a permanent endowment from Allen and Delores Lastinger, and additional outside funding from private donors is always welcomed to support the programs.

Currently our initiatives are focused on teachers (FTF), Principals (a parallel Principal Fellowship Program), and other staff members in whole-school effort. The next steps include work with parents and families. Efforts are coordinated with district initiatives, and work is only completed in areas where there is total buy-in, from the Superintendent down. The Lastinger Center also works with state-level education administration to ensure that the efforts complement, rather than contradict, state guidelines. The board members represent all of these levels.

For more Information contact:
Alyson Adams, Ph.D.
Program Coordinator
UF Lastinger Center for Learning
P.O. Box 117052, 111 Norman Hall
Gainesville, FL 32611
(352) 392-0726 x 295
adamsa@coe.ufl.edu

Equipment Check Out Center (ECHO)

By Gail Ring, Director of Instructional Technology

The Office of Instructional Technology (OIT) staff in room G525 of Norman Hall are having success in their attempts to place technology in the hands of faculty and students. Recently, OIT implemented the online ECHO Center (http://tech.coe.ufl.edu/echo/) where faculty and students can check out an assortment of computer and video equipment. Opportunities to play with technology are continually offered in the hopes that once professors and students are comfortable with technology they will use it in the classroom. Because of generous donations from the Dean’s Office, the PT3 Teaching and Technology Initiative, and Apple Computer, the ECHO Center has three laptop carts available for check out (both Macintosh and PC compatible), five digital video cameras, three digital still cameras, several CD burners, two portable projectors, ten Web cameras, and more. Faculty have used this equipment in a variety of ways. For example, the laptop carts have allowed professors to convert any classroom in Norman Hall into a computer lab.

In conjunction with faculty development workshops, faculty and students learn how to utilize the technology that is readily available to them. For example, after attending an image processing workshop, some faculty began video projects and encouraged their students to explore a variety of uses for video in their coursework. Examples of student videos may be found on the e-portfolio examples page at education.ufl.edu/oit/ . Students have been using their experience with this technology to get jobs, to get into graduate school, and to document their PROTEACH experiences using a variety of media.

Electronic Portfolios

Special thanks are extended to Courtney Herosy, Sherri Sakai, Breanna Seidel, Jillian Landers, Holly Moody, and Sara Rhouzihad who demonstrated their electronic portfolios at the 2003 Homecoming Reception.

The electronic portfolio project is a nationally recognized initiative in which teacher education students are required to develop and maintain teaching portfolios connected to the Florida Accomplished Practices. Students collect work throughout the PROTEACH Program, select illustrations to include in their electronic portfolios, and reflect on those choices in a rationale statement which articulates the reasoning behind their choice. In this way students make connections between theory and practice: the theories they learn in the classroom and the practical teaching experiences they have in the program.

For a closer look at the portfolio project, please visit the website at: https://education.ufl.edu/OIT/ep-main.html . You may also view the electronic portfolios of

Courtney (http://www.ep.coe.ufl.edu/2003/courtneyherosy/index.htm),

Sherri (http://www.ep.coe.ufl.edu/2003/SherrySakai/index.htm),

Breanna (http://www.ep.coe.ufl.edu/2003/breannaseidel/index.htm),

Jillian (http://www.ep.coe.ufl.edu/2004/JillianLanders/index.htm),

Holly (http://www.ep.coe.ufl.edu/2004/Hollymoody/index.htm), and

Sara (http://www.ep.coe.ufl.edu/2003/SaraRouhizad/index.htm).

Watch for more opportunities in the future to see the graduating elementary PROTEACH students demonstrate their “completed” electronic portfolios and discuss the portfolios with showcase attendees.

The J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FSB), the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Department of State (ECA), and the Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES), recently announced that Dr. Lawrence Tyree has been approved for candidacy on the Fulbright Senior Specialists Roster.

The Roster is a list of all approved candidates who are eligible to be matched with incoming program requests from overseas academic institutions for Fulbright Senior Specialists. As a candidate, Tyree will be considered a potential match for program requests that require someone with his expertise.

The FSB, ECA and CIES congratulate Dr. Tyree on being selected as a Fulbright Senior Specialists candidate and appreciate his interest in international scholarly exchanges, which are so vital to academic and professional communities around the world.

Thomas Oakland is the recipient of the 2003 American Psychological Association (APA) Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology. His work in more than 40 countries has focused on issues associated with child development, assessment and intervention, and school psychology.

Dr. Oakland is President of the International Foundation for Children’s Education and has served as presidents of the International School Psychology Association, International Test Commission, and APA’s Division of School Psychology. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Brazil. He directed three international conferences and coordinated a fourth.

Dr. Oakland currently is Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Florida, Honorary Professor of Psychology at The University of Hong Kong, and Honorary Professor of Psychology at the Iberoamerican University in San Jose, Costa Rica. He was a member of the Department of Educational Psychology at The University of Texas at Austin for 27 years.

Dr. Oakland received the Legends Award from the National Association of School Psychologists, the Distinguished Service Award from the International School Psychology Association, and the Distinguished Service Award as well as the Senior Scientist Award from APA’s Division of School Psychology as a reflection of his scholarly contributions to psychology. They include 10 books, and more than 50 chapters, 175 refereed articles, and 350 papers or workshops presented internationally or nationally. He is an editorial board member on more than 20 scholarly journals.

Dr. Oakland served as chair of APA’s Policy and Planning Board and was members of APA’s Ethics Code Task Force and its Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment, and served as its liaison to the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing and the International Test Commission.

Dr. Oakland will receive his award in Toronto this summer during the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association.

Forty-six children in the Future Gators class participated in a graduation ceremony held on Sunday, May 16, at the P.Y. Yonge Auditorium. Dr. Catherine Emihovich, dean of the College of Education, spoke to the children and their families about the joy of being a pre-schooler and the excitement of becoming a kindergartener. The children sang songs and shared the Baby Gator cheer with the audience before receiving their diplomas from the dean. After the ceremony, the 200 guests enjoyed a reception of cake and punch hosted by the Growing Gators parents.

GAINESVILLE, Fla.— The University of Florida College of Education has recruited one of its own graduates, University of Georgia administrator Jeri Benson, to become its new associate dean of academic affairs.

Benson, who was interim associate dean of finance and administration at Georgia’s College of Education, succeeds 33-year UF education faculty member Rodman Webb, who is stepping down to resume full-time teaching.

Benson, an expert in student performance assessment and measurement, received all three of her academic degrees from UF. She has a bachelor’s in psychology and earned both master’s and doctoral degrees in educational foundations from the College of Education.

She held her most recent post at Georgia for the past year. She was associate dean for academic affairs there for more than three years and has been an education faculty member at Georgia since 1991. She was a professor in educational psychology and also headed that department’s research methods program. She also was a faculty member at the University of Southern California from 1977-83 and at the University of Maryland from 1983-91.

“Along with her extensive administrative experience at one of the premier education colleges at the University of Georgia, Dr. Benson brings a wealth of knowledge in the areas of accreditation, assessment and distance education,” said UF education Dean Catherine Emihovich, who announced Benson’s appointment.

In her new post, Benson will oversee all of the college’s administrative and fiscal operations. She will guide implementation of the college’s strategic plan, focus on promoting faculty career opportunities through tenure, promotion and continuing professional development, and develop strategies to enhance the college’s international, national and statewide reputation.

Benson has published nearly 50 journal articles and book chapters. Her research interests include measuring test-taking anxiety in children and college students, and potential biases in student assessment methods. She has co-authored a student evaluation guide for teaching that demonstrates how to apply educational psychology principles to improve learning in the classroom.

“Dr. Benson’s return to UF is bittersweet, since she is assuming these duties as Rodman Webb returns to the faculty for a few years prior to retiring,” Emihovich said.

While on the dean’s staff, Webb organized a national conference on teacher quality, recruitment and retention, guided the college through a successful national accreditation visit in 2003 and steered the development of two new online master’s degree programs. He’s also been instrumental in an ongoing campaign to raise funds and develop plans for renovating historic Norman Hall, the education college’s home since 1934.

“The college is deeply enriched by the extensive contributions Dr. Webb has made during his four years as associate dean and more than 30 years as a faculty member,” Emihovich said.

GAINESVILLE, Fla.—White men have long dominated the engineering and scientific fields in the United States, but that may soon change: A collaborative team of researchers at four universities, including the University of Florida, have received a grant worth more than $750,000 to find ways to open up those disciplines to more women, African Americans, Hispanic Americans and other minorities.

Women and ethnic minorities occupy less than 3 percent of the jobs in engineering and science-related occupations. In American universities, women and underrepresented minorities make up less than 15 percent of the teaching faculty in schools of information technology. Researchers say these occupational trends pose a threat to the nation’s technological workforce and global edge, especially since there aren’t enough white men to fill forecasted jobs in the math, science and engineering fields.

Supported by the large, four-year National Science Foundation grant, researchers are launching an ambitious program designed to dramatically increase the number of underrepresented graduate students and faculty in electrical and computer engineering, computer science and other information technology disciplines.

The “Scholars of the Future” initiative emphasizes early exposure to laboratory research experiences and a formal mentoring program for undergraduate women and minority students from underrepresented populations such as African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians and Alaskan Natives. More exposure and opportunities for personal advising, scholarships and professional development also are hallmarks of the program.

“Many studies attribute the consistent low numbers of women and ethnic minorities in scientific careers to poor retention programs, inadequate pre-college preparation and unwelcoming university environments,” said Lamont A. Flowers, co-principal investigator of the NSF study and an assistant professor in the UF College of Education’s department of educational leadership, policy and foundations. “Early exposure to research and stronger mentoring programs for undergraduate students can have a significant impact on their future career choices and their decision to pursue graduate studies. Based on the job forecasts, there is a necessity to produce more mathematicians, scientists and engineers from underrepresented populations.”

Flowers’ co-principal investigators on the NSF-funded research team are Juan E. Gilbert of Auburn University, James L. Moore of Ohio State University and Bevlee A. Watford of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

The Scholars of the Future initiative is based solely on models proven effective by empirical research and on other successful recruitment and retention programs for underrepresented college students. Starting this fall semester, Auburn is serving as the primary site of the initiative for all four years of the funding period. In years three and four, the program will be replicated at Virginia Polytechnic.

The experimental diversity program places a heightened emphasis on student retention. Extensive follow-up evaluation will occur one year after the program’s completion, when Flowers and Moore will analyze the effectiveness and impact of the various recruitment and retention activities.

“Our findings should yield in-depth recommendations to parents, teachers, school counselors and other school administrators for improving the overall interests and success of underrepresented students majoring in math, science and engineering disciplines,” Flowers said.

Education psychologist Thomas Oakland, recently named International Educator of the Year at the University of Florida, always had two priorities in his adult life

The College of Education at the University of Florida is pleased to announce the 3rd annual

Diane Yendol-Hoppey (L) and Nancy Fichtman Dana (R).

The national Association of Teacher Educators has selected two University of Florida College of Education professors to receive its 2005 Distinguished Research in Teacher Education Award.

Diane Yendol-Hoppey and Nancy Fichtman Dana were cited for their study describing teachers’ transforming roles as decision makers and teacher-educators in newly created

The University of Florida College of Education recently honored
educators and students from UF and the Alachua County school district
whose scholarly outreach activities contribute to improved schools and
increased student learning or address important social and community
issues.

The honors are based on the "scholarship of engagement" philosophy, or
outreach scholarship done for the public good. The research-intensive
concept is a burgeoning movement in higher education that UF education
Dean Catherine Emihovich is infusing as a core principle of a
faculty-led transformation of the college’s research, teaching and
public service programs.

The college recently hosted its third annual Scholarship of
Engagement banquet to recognize several local teachers, principals,
school district administrators, university faculty and UF education
students whose scholarly activities are yielding an immediate positive
impact on teaching and learning in the classroom. Emihovich also
recognized this year’s College of Education student scholarship recipients and the donors who fund their endowed scholarships.

Those receiving Scholarship of Engagement Awards are:

Katherine Dixon, Principal at Williams Elementary (second from left)
receives the Scholarship of Engagement School District award from Dean
Catherine Emihovich and her nominators, Holly Lane and Alyson Adams.

• School District Scholarship of Engagement Award
  Katherine Dixon, principal of Williams Elementary School

  Dixon has used her position as principal of Williams Elementary School
  in east Gainesville as a vehicle for educational reform. She led her
  school in improving from a state-designated D grade to a B. Williams
  Elementary was recently recognized as the top Success for All school
  for having the highest gain in scores among all Florida schools, as
  reported by the Success for All Foundation. She has established several
  partnerships with literacy and school-improvement programs at the UF
  College of Education.

• P.K. Yonge School Faculty Scholarship of Engagement Award
  Nancy Dean, teacher and UF assistant professor of education at P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School

  Dean was cited for helping teachers improve student achievement in
  their classrooms by assessing and changing their own teaching methods.
  Reading-related research projects she’s led have drawn more than
  $900,000 in grant support for literacy issues. She created and teaches
  a leadership-through-reading program in which high school students are
  trained to tutor younger children in reading, while improving their own
  reading abilities.

Dean Catherine Emihovich, and nominator Mary Ann Clark, present the
Scholarship of Engagement Community Award to Bill Goodman, Supervisor
for Guidance, Student and comminity Services for the School Board of
Alachua County.

• Community Scholarship of Engagement Award
  William Goodman, supervisor of guidance, student and community services for the School Board of Alachua County

  Goodman has
  implemented cutting-edge database management systems with information
  that school counselors can use to identify high-risk students to link
  with counseling and financial aid services and education training
  options. Goodman and UF’s counseling education department have jointly
  established a series of workshops explaining financial aid
  opportunities for low income seniors and their parents, held at each of
  the local high schools.

Dean Catherine Emihovich, Jim Brandenburg and Buffy Bondy present the
Scholarship of Engagement Graduate Student Award to David Hoppey.

• Graduate Student Scholarship of Engagement Award
  David Hoppey, UF special education graduate student

  As part of his doctoral studies at the College of Education, Hoppey has
  collaborated with teachers and administrators in several elementary and
  middle schools in Alachua County to develop programs to include
  children with disabilities in regular classrooms. He works part-time as
  an inclusion specialist at the School Board of Alachua County. He has
  used his direct involvement with inclusion in local schools in his
  graduate teaching of education students and of practicing teachers in
  professional development seminars.

Dean Catherine Emihovich presents the Scholarship of Engagement
University Award to Dr. Russell Robinson, director of the UF School of
Music. He was nominated for the award by Dr. John Duff, far right,
faculty member in the school of music.

• University Scholarship of Engagement Award
  Russell Robinson, UF music professor

  Robinson’s music teaching clinics on effective teaching strategies for
  the classroom and choral rehearsal attract standing-room-only groups of
  teachers. As a conductor, his rehearsals with school music groups
  worldwide model techniques for teachers that improve classroom behavior
  and musical performances. He serves as choral advisor for the Musical
  Educators National conference and has been an invited clinician,
  speaker and conductor at numerous national and international
  conferences.

Dean Catherine Emihovich presents the Scholarship of Engagement,
College of Education Faculty Award to Dr. Dorene Ross. Dr. Ross was
nominated by Alyson Adams, far right, and Donald Pemberton (not
pictured).

• College of Education Faculty Scholarship of Engagement Award
  Dorene Ross, UF College of Education professor

  Ross is in her second year as the UF "professor-in-residence" at
  Rawlings Elementary School in east Gainesville, spending one day a week
  in the classroom observing teachers and demonstrating new
  research-based teaching methods. She leads a teacher fellows program,
  sponsored by the UF Lastinger Center for Learning, and is helping
  Rawlings teachers develop self-evaluation methods to help them improve
  their teaching practice. She and other Lastinger Center faculty are
  developing a toolkit for other education schools around the nation to
  use in their local school-improvement partnerships.

"Many people talk about taking action for change, but very few can
document how they made a difference as these outstanding recipients
have done. We strongly believe not only in the discovery of new
knowledge, but also in applying and integrating that knowledge in
productive and meaningful ways to impact practice in the field. This
commitment illustrates professional education at its best," said Dean
Emihovich.

The outreach scholarship award recipients were chosen by a selection
committee of College of Education faculty members Danling Fu, Dale
Campbell, Silvia Echevarria-Doan, Cynthia Griffin, Rodman Webb,
Assistant Professor Lynda Hayes with P.K. Yonge, and Michael Rollo, UF
interim vice president for student affairs.

Professor Mary Kay Dykes, a UF Special Education faculty member for 33 years, describes teaching as “an all-encompassing, 24-7 life role