Archive for category: Press Releases

Professor Mary Brownell

For the second time in recent months, federal lawmakers have sought the expertise of UF special education professor Mary Brownell, inviting her to Capitol Hill in early January to deliver a policy brief on controversial federal legislation concerning the teaching of children with disabilities.

Summoned by staff aides for members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Brownell, Jane West, senior vice president of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), and other key advocacy group representatives presented a briefing on the dangers of a new legislative amendment that allows states to classify teaching interns still in training as “highly qualified” teachers—so they can meet a standard set in the federal No Child Left Behind Law..

President Barack Obama had approved the measure in December as part of an unrelated federal spending bill. The provision cancels an earlier U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that the classification violates the NCLB Act of 2002. The new amendment remains in effect until the end of the 2012-13 school year.

Brownell and other advocates assailed the new legislation, saying the less experienced interns are disproportionately assigned to schools with mostly poor and minority students. Brownell was the sole university researcher present from the special education field.

Their policy brief spurred a coalition of more than 50 advocacy organizations—including education, civil rights, disability, student, parent, and community groups—to submit a letter in late January to President Obama calling for repeal of the provision.

The No Child Left Behind law requires all students to be taught by “highly qualified” teachers with state teaching credentials, but a 2004 Bush policy allowed states to bestow that status to interns working toward certification.

In her policy brief, Brownell said policymakers and educators need to identify effective strategies for increasing the supply of special education teachers who are extensively prepared.

“Simply making it easier for special education teachers to enter the classroom (as interns, for example) is only a temporary and ineffective solution . . . one that places students with disabilities at further risk academically,” Brownell wrote.

Brownell, who is the Irving and Rose Fien Professor in Education at UF, cited several research findings at UF and elsewhere demonstrating that students of special education teachers with more preparation generally attain higher achievement gains. She said studies also show that special education teachers with more experience had students with higher achievement gains in reading than teachers with less experience.

The January policy briefing marked Brownell’s second interaction with federal lawmakers in recent months. Brownell and UF colleague Paul Sindelar last year helped draft recommendations on special education teacher quality and evaluation for the congressional House Education Committee. This time, her work with the other advocacy agencies has generated recommendations for language regarding highly effective teachers in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

CONTACTS
Source: Mary Brownell, professor, special education, 352-273-4261; mbrownell@coe.ufl.edu
Writer: Larry Lansford, director, news & communications, 352-273-4137; llansford@coe.ufl.edu

The graduate-school component of the University of Florida’s groundbreaking Florida Master Teacher Initiative won the Association of Teacher Educators’ coveted 2011 Distinguished Program in Teacher Education Award last week.

The Master Teacher initiative’s Teacher Leadership for School Improvement (TLSI) program offers highly effective, free, on-the-job, advanced degree programs in education to teachers in Miami-Dade, Pinellas, Duval and Collier counties’ most vulnerable schools.

UF College of Education faculty provide the online TLSI instruction, while local master teachers are hired and trained as “professors-in-residence’ for first-hand observation and on-site instruction at the schools. What  teachers learn can be applied immediately to improve student learning and school performance.

The program – a joint effort of the college’s Lastinger Center and the School of Teaching and Learning – earned the award for exemplifying “collaboration between local education agencies and institutions of higher education in program development and administration,” according to the association’s website.

“What began as a boutique program with 40 teachers from two districts has become one of the fastest growing graduate programs in the state,” Lastinger Associate Director Alyson Adams said. “It’s growing because teachers and districts recognize the impact this program has on teacher quality, teacher leadership and, ultimately, student learning.”

This is the latest in a series of major recognitions that the Master Teacher initiative has received in recent months. The U.S. Department of Education recently named it one of the country’s top educational programs, awarding it a $6 million Investing in Innovation (i3) grant from that included a $1 million match from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

“We’re increasingly told that what we’ve been creating in high-need schools in Florida in the past several years now serves as a national model for all public schools,” Lastinger Director Don Pemberton said.

Professor Nancy Dana led presentation

UF teaching and learning professor Nancy Dana, a global expert on educator professional development who teaches and conducts research in the program, views the award as a call for expanding it around the country.

The award places the program on a “national stage,” she said. “In this capacity, it’s positioned to impact the ways teacher education is conceptualized and enacted throughout the nation.”

Dana and her TLSI team submitted a 30-page application for the national award, including an evaluation report to validate the program’s effectiveness and a rationale for adapting the program to other teacher education programs nationwide.

At the host association’s recent annual conference, the group gave a 40-minute presentation to a judging panel for the highly competitive award. Along with Alyson Adams and Nancy Dana, the other presenters were:  UF education faculty Dorene Ross, Elizabeth Bondy and Colleen Packer; UF professors-in-residence Magdi Castaneda, Sylvia Boynton and Crystal Timmons; associate education dean for academic affairs Tom Dana; TLSI graduates Rob Ovalle, Rachel Walkenhauer and Shaunte Elliot; and Carol Thomas, area superintendent for Pinellas County Schools.

Writer: Boaz Dvir, creative services coordinator, UF Lastinger Center for Learning, 352-273-0289; bdvir@coe.ufl.edu

Media Contact: Larry Lansford, news & communications, UF College of Education, 352-273-4137; llansford@coe.ufl.edu

Posted Feb. 15, 2011

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — It won’t take a magician to make the G-wing of P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School disappear. A groundbreaking ceremony Feb. 14 marked the official start of demolition of the elementary wing to make way for the school’s new elementary building.

Architect’s rendering of new elementary wing

The project is the first phase of a total campus revitalization that will transform P.K. Yonge, the University of Florida’s K-12 laboratory school, into what school and UF officials describe as a model “21^st century technological powerhouse.”

The G wing, which holds fourth and fifth grade classes, is the building closest to the main office and Tumblin’ Creek, which winds through the heart of the school campus. Those classes have moved to portables on the north end of campus.

The new 37,000-square-foot replacement wing will house kindergarten through fifth grade classes. The first-phase project is expected to take 14 months and cost about $9 million. The new wing is slated to be first in line in an effort to make the entire school a green campus. The building is being designed to achieve 30 percent greater energy efficiency than traditional school facilities. UF project officials are striving for a platinum rating in LEED certification.

The entire makeover calls for tearing down all but five newer campus buildings, beginning with the elementary school, which will go from three single-story wings to one, two-story facility. The master plan includes several new buildings including a café, a global media center and a community outreach center. A new gymnasium, health and fitness center and a jogging and fitness track also are slated. For Master Plan details, visit: http://www.facilities.ufl.edu/viewprj.php?prj=6325

PKY Director Fran Vandiver

Plans for the new school embrace modern teaching methods and technology, tools and space considerations. “The new building will be set up in a learning community model,” said P.K. Yonge Director Fran Vandiver.

Closed-off classrooms will be replaced by learning studios with transparent walls, common areas and media centers. Computer labs will be replaced by wireless laptops. Vandiver said the integrated technology will teach students how to make good decisions on the Internet and make global connections for research and communication as part of their coursework.

Students also will have outdoor learning areas surrounded by nature, indoor reading lofts and comfortable chairs facing each other instead of all staring ahead at the teacher, as well as traditionally organized learning experiences. Teachers will have designated workrooms and planning areas, accessible throughout the day to encourage collaborative teaching efforts.

“If education is to give more than lip service to the concept of a 21st century education, the need to develop global citizens, and to equip students with 21st century skills, it is time to build a ‘new, new school,’ not a ‘new old school,’” Vandiver said in her groundbreaking ceremony remarks.

She said the school has not yet acquired all of the $60 million in funding needed for the whole project.

Ceremony attendees cheer the National Anthem singing by 8th grader Amanda Barwick.

P.K. Yonge alum and Board of Trustees Chairman Tommy Bronson moderated the groundbreaking ceremony and invited a host of school and community dignitaries to the podium to say a few words before the traditional dirt-moving exercise with golden shovels. Participants included UF President Bernie Machen, State Rep. Keith Perry, Mayor Craig Lowe, UF College of Education Dean Catherine Emihovich, Project Manager Bill Smith of UF Facilities Planning and Development, and, of course, Director Vandiver.

Blue Wave students also had roles in the ceremony. Eighth grade performing arts student Amanda Barwick nailed the high notes on the national anthem and elementary students Jake Outcalt (2^nd grade) and Devante Mitchum (1^st grade) led the dirt-shoveling ritual.

Elementary students Jake Outcalt and Devante Mitchum lead the groundbreaking ritual.

The campus revitalization project, nearly four years in the making, will be a key legacy of Vandiver’s 13-year tenure as school director. She will retire in April.

Dean Emihovich described P.K. Yonge’s forward-thinking campus renewal effort as typical of the school’s rich heritage as an education innovator.

“P.K. Yonge was into education reform before education reform was cool,” she told a crowd of about 80 attendees at the groundbreaking ceremony. “The school faculty has always been encouraged to let no assumption about teaching and education go unchallenged and to question old ideas. These advances will improve the educational experiences of every student at P.K. Yonge and serve as a model for other schools in Alachua County and across the state and nation.

“This is education reform the way it was meant to be.”

CONTACTS (all area code 352)

SOURCE: Fran Vandiver, director, P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School, franvan@pky.ufl.edu; 392-1554

SOURCE: William Smith, project director, UF Facilities Planning & Development, wps2@ufl.edu; 273-4030

WRITER/ PHOTOGRAPHER: Larry Lansford, communications director, UF College of Education, llansford@coe.ufl.edu; 273-4137



Posted Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2011

Teaching isn’t the only profession you’ll hear about at UF’s Education Career Night Thursday (Feb. 17), 7 to 8 p.m. in Reitz Union room 282.

Four College of Education alumni will talk about the distinctly different career paths they each have followed—quite successfully—after earning their education degrees at UF. The alumni speakers include an ex-Gainesville city commissioner, a home care specialist for seniors, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and an award-winning teacher of gifted elementary students.

College of Education Dean Catherine Emihovich will moderate the panel discussion and student adviser Robin Rossie will be on hand to field questions about admissions and academics.

The alumni panel includes:

• Tony Domenech taught special education at the junior and senior high levels for a decade while also coaching varsity football and golf; he’s an ex-Gainesville city commissioner and also worked with his wife’s educational software company (see below); he has two education degrees from UF—a bachelor’s earned in 1972 and a master’s in special education in 1979;
• Lynn Domenech taught reading and other subjects for nine years, then used her education background and entrepreneurial spirit to start Teacher Support Software, an award-winning educational software publishing company; she and her daughter now run Gainesville Comfort Keepers home care for seniors; she has bachelor’s (1972) and master’s (1978) degrees in elementary education from UF-;
• Adelaide Few of Tampa earned a master’s in special education in 1960 from UF and worked as a junior high school teacher and speech therapist before entering law school. She practiced and taught law for 25 years before retiring in 2010 as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida. She currently teaches an Honors class in applied ethics at the University of South Florida and works as a legal consultant.
• Kevin Berry, teaches gifted third- through fifth-graders at Alachua Elementary School and was the college’s 2010 Outstanding Young Alumnus Award winner; he has three education degrees from UF—a bachelor’s (1997), master’s (1998) and a specialist’s (Ed.S., 2006) degree. He aims to become a quadruple EduGator as he’s working toward a doctorate in education.

Education Career Night is targeted to UF students considering a career in an education discipline—such as teaching, counseling or school psychology, educational administration, or student personnel services in higher education—or to students considering changing majors.

The first 25 student attendees will receive free gifts. No RSVP is necessary.

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Source: Jodi Mount, UF College of Education, Alumni Affairs & Events, 352-273-4142, jmount@coe.ufl.edu

Writer: Larry Lansford, UF College of Education, News & Communications; 352-273-4137, llansford@coe.ufl.edu

Posted January 25, 2011

Members of Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s elite education transition team took his campaign slogan, “Let’s get to work,” to heart. Appointed just a month before the new governor’s Jan. 4 inauguration, the 18-member team held a series of lengthy, evening teleconferences over three weeks to craft proposed elements for Scott’s education agenda. Along with Don Pemberton, who directs the Lastinger Center for Learning at UF’s College of Education, other transition team members included the former chancellor of Washington, D.C. Schools (Michelle Rhee), the chancellor of the State University System of Florida (Frank Brogan) and the president of the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (Julio Fuentes). Scott’s charge to his transition team was to “find innovative ways to create a new education system for a new economy.”He met with the team Dec. 21 in Ft. Lauderdaleto hear their recommendations. Below, Pemberton shares his brief but intensive experiences on the transition team with interviewer Larry Lansford, director of news and communications at UF’s College of Education.(To review the education transition team’s briefing documents, please visit: http://www.scribd.com/ScottTransition.)

Q | Talk about the education transition team’s makeup and how your appointment came about.

DP | It was an intense experience working with a group of 18 education leaders and stakeholders from all walks of life. I knew about a third of them. I had been asked during the campaign to review Scott’s framing document for his education initiatives and provide some input. So I was familiar with his viewpoints and talked with his campaign folks. It was stimulating to join such a strong team and help formulate some new education policies and practices for the state.

Q | What was the team’s purpose and charge?

DP | Innovation was the theme. We were divided into three subgroups—one to focus on pre-K through 12th grade, another on higher education issues and a third group, which I was on, reviewed the role of Florida’s Department of Education. Our charge was to draw up a blueprint for success of our next generation and Gov. Scott was looking for innovation. There were no restrictions on how ambitious or innovative we could be in retooling our educational system and improving the quality of teaching and student learning in our schools.

Q | Was there any political agenda attached to Gov. Scott’s charge or in his transition team appointments?

DP | Well, he provided his framing document that he’d developed for his campaign with his views on education reform. What we mainly heard was a yearning and encouragement for innovation, with no restrictions on our thinking about what it takes for children to become more successful in learning and life. Everyone on the transition team did a good job of leaving their personal agendas at the door. They brought their passion and expertise, but none of us promoted our personal work. We took a broader view.

Q | Were your own political leanings a factor in your appointment?

DP | Nobody asked my politics. I’m an independent anyway. I vote independent and don’t contribute to either party. I’ve been at this for 30 years and have worked with Florida governors from both parties since the days of Lawton Chiles. I simply think many of our state’s education leaders—including some in Gov. Scott’s camp—are familiar with our work at the University of Florida. There is a lot of interest in our university-school-community partnerships, such as our Florida Master Teacher Initiative and our early-learning and school readiness programs. Their interest really confirms the groundbreaking work we’re doing at the College of Education and the Lastinger Center.

Q | What were some of the key outcomes and recommendations in the education transition team’s report to the governor?

DP | Gov. Scott emphasizes deregulation—period—across the board. He believes that too many rules and regulations hinder growth and development. We made the point that our public schools are highly regulated. We’re holding schools to higher levels of accountability and the teacher reform movement these days is all about measuring teacher quality and differentiating teacher compensation based on their student’s achievement scores. All of this is good. But at the same time, you can’t hold teachers accountable if you’re telling them what and when to teach, using some mandated, one-size-fits-all curriculum. So eliminating some of these mandates makes sense.  No one tells a surgeon he has to operate the same way every time on every patient to open up their brains. The same goes for teaching when you’re trying to open up a child’s mind. Teachers have to make adjustments for children at different learning levels.

Q | Any other key recommendations or observations?

DP | The reports from the three subgroups were each about 20 pages, so there were a lot of them. One I’m very excited about is a recommendation to create innovation networks throughout the state school system. We could identify the best teaching practices having the greatest impact on improved teaching and student learning, and bring these teaching strategies to the forefront in every school district.

Q | Can you cite specific innovations the group has in mind?

DP | Several involve teacher reform. The teacher quality movement focuses on developing new methods for assessing teacher quality, and offering more compensation to teachers whose students achieve the highest learning gains, and also rewarding teachers in the more difficult technical fields of science and math. The missing piece of reform, though, has been professional development—helping teachers continually get better at their jobs. The American professional development system for teachers is deeply flawed. It’s the “spray-and-pray” approach. We send teachers to a weekend seminar or two every year and sort of spray them with a sprinkle of information and teaching tips, and then send them home and pray that it sticks. Teachers become demoralized and consider it a waste of precious time outside the classroom. We need to develop a new professional development system for teachers, not only for Florida but the nation. This is another area where the University of Florida is positioned to lead the way with prototype programs like the Master Teacher initiative, which provides on-the-job professional development for practicing teachers, with UF professors-in-residence providing on-site instruction so enrolled teachers can immediately apply what they learn in their classrooms.

Q | What about your subgroup that looked at the role of Florida’s Department of Education? Are any dramatic changes in store there?

DP | Some may not call this dramatic, but one recommendation was to rename it the Department of Education Innovation. We don’t know if legalities would prevent that. Renaming, by itself, may seem like a cosmetic move, but it reflects a mindset or value that innovation should always be at the forefront of education and not accepting the status quo. The state must continuously strive to improve teaching and learning. Our message is to reinvent the role of the education department and state government as being fearless and courageous and continually looking for and sharing new ideas for improving our education system and championing the work of innovators.

Q | What now? Is the transition team’s work done?

DP | We hope to have a continuing role in supporting Gov. Scott’s vision of education reform, especially relating to the development of new models for the most effective teaching practices and improving teacher quality and student learning, especially in our most vulnerable schools.

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(DON PEMBERTON is the founding director of the Lastinger Center for Learning, part of UF’s College of Education. The center works to develop master teachers, create effective early-childhood learning models, mobilize communities to improve child wellbeing, and establish racial equity in public schools. It links more than 300 partnering schools across Florida with UF scholars in multiple disciplines, forming powerful learning communities.)

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CONTACTS

SOURCE: Don Pemberton, director, UF Lastinger Center for Learning, dpemberton@coe.ufl.edu

WRITER: Larry Lansford, director, news and communications, UF College of Education, llansford@coe.ufl.edu

Headlines

New interdisciplinary center will boost early childhood learning

The growing movement to provide high-quality, early learning experiences for Florida’s youngest children received a major boost Tuesday (Dec. 14), when UF officials announced the creation of an interdisciplinary Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies. (more)

Governor-elect taps UF learning center head for education transition team

Governor-elect Rick Scott has tapped UF Lastinger Center for Learning Director Don Pemberton for his education transition team. (more)

UF joins national ‘imperative’ to boost ranks, diversity of science-math teachers

The University of Florida is the newest member of a nationwide coalition of public research universities working to increase the number and diversity of high-quality middle and high school science and mathematics teachers in the U.S. UF is one of 125 institutions and 12 university systems to join the Science and Mathematics Teacher Imperative (SMTI), launched in late 2008 by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. (more)

Alliance marks 10 years of improving college access for minority students

In 2000, only two seniors from Miami Carol City High School were accepted into UF. A decade later in 2010, UF enrolled 22 seniors from the inner-city, high-poverty school. School officials attribute the dramatic increase to the UF Alliance, the college’s statewide school improvement program that last month celebrated its 10th anniversary with a reception on campus at UF’s Reitz Union. Pictured right, Bernie Oliver acknowledges accolades for his five years as director of the Alliance program. He recently stepped down but remains on the education faculty. (more)

Visit the college home page for links to these and other reports about College activities, accomplishments and faculty-staff-student-alumni news and achievements.

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College News & Notices

COE launches open course for educators worldwide

The College of Education is launching a new online course that’s novel both for its content and because it’s free and open to educators across the globe. (more)

African Choir sets global mood at International Education event

Duncan Wambugu and his UF African Choir (pictured right) set the mood for the College of Education’s recent Comparative and International Education Week event, opening the half-day function with native music and dance from the people of the Dark Continent. (more)

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Awards & Appointments

Faculty

T.L. Adams completes national women’s leadership institute

Thomasenia Lott Adams, UF professor in mathematics education, recently graduated from a prominent national leadership institute for women professors and administrators. Adams attended the Higher Education Resource Services (HERS) Institute for Women in Higher Education at the University of Denver. (more)

Mendoza joins editorial board, edits book

Pilar Mendoza, assistant professor in higher education administration, has accepted an invitation to serve on the editorial board of the journal, Community College Review, from 2011 to 2013. She also is co-editor of On Becoming A Scholar: Socialization and Development in Doctoral Education, a book by Stylus Publishing of Sterling, Va.

Vernetson leads FEAP advisory group for FLDOE

Theresa Vernetson, assistant dean for student affairs, was this year’s chair of the Florida Educator Accomplished Practices advisory work group, composed of teachers, teacher educators and administrators. The group prepared revisions of the FEAPs for adoption into rule by the State Board of Education in November. The standards form the basis for all Florida teacher preparation programs, specifying the knowledge and skills required of every teacher certified to teach in a Florida public school.

Cavanaugh, Ferdig edit first book published by iNACOL

The International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) has published its first book–and it’s co-edited by Cathy Cavanaugh, UF associate professor in education technology, and former COE faculty member Rick Ferdig. The book is titled “Lessons Learned from Virtual Schools: Experiences and Recommendations from the Field.”

3 COE scholars honored for excellence in research

The international journal, Teaching and Teacher Education, has selected three UF education scholars to receive its 2010 Nate Gage Award for excellence in educational research reporting. The journal honored co-authors Dorene Ross, Vicki Vescio and Alyson Adams for their 2008 published review on the educational impact of professional learning communities. (more)

State workforce council cites UF-aided effort to advance crucial math-science teaching

An unprecedented partnership between Florida’s three major research universities, including the University of Florida, is generating both results and recognition for their efforts to stem the crisis in mathematics and science education in America’s schools. (more)

Students

UF student in early child-special education receives DEC’s doctoral student award

The Division for Early Childhood, part of the national Council for Exceptional Children, has named Tara McLaughlin, a UF doctoral candidate in early childhood-special special education, as the 2010 recipient of the J. David Sexton Doctoral Student Award. (more)

Science ed doctoral candidate earns regional award

Katie Brkich, a doctoral candidate in science and environmental education, recently received the Eddie Griffin Memorial Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Position Paper at the 2010 Southeastern Association for Science Teacher Education conference.  Her winning paper states that science education research should seek ways to make connections in earth science teaching to students’ everyday life. Rose Pringle is her faculty adviser.

Ed Psych’s Kwon wins APA dissertation competition

Education psychology doctoral candidate Heekyung Kwon won a 2010 American Psychological Associatiaon Dissertation Award for his study investigating constraint on absolute accuracy of metacomprehension assessments–addressing why even adult readers display significant gaps between their actual reading performance and the corresponding predictions or postdictions.

Alumni & Friends

UF President praises Lastinger Center founders at portrait unveiling

UF President Bernie Machen praised the contributions of Allen and Delores Lastinger during a recent unveiling of their portrait at the UF Lastinger Center for Learning. (more)

EduGator Sightings

Rolf Groseth (PhD ’78, education leadership) is the new chancellor of Montana State University-Billings. He previously was vice president for inter-campus affairs at Montana State University in Bozeman. His extensive experience in student affairs includes a stint at UF in the 1970s . . . Football coach Gene Chizik (BAE ’85), whose top-ranked Auburn Tigers will play Oregon for the national BCS championship Jan. 10, earned a degree from UF’s College of Education and played linebacker briefly as a walk-on for the Gator scout team  . . . Paige Pullen (BAE ’88, MEd ’90, PhD ’00, special education), a triple EduGator with three COE degrees, was  named the 2010 Outstanding Education Professor at the University of Virginia Curry School of Education . . . . . . The Florida Association of Community Colleges has chosen UF education alum James May (MEd ’99, EdD, ’07, curriculum and instruction), an ESOL instructor at Valencia Community College, as its 2010 Professor of the Year for innovative and effective teaching methods . . . Jennifer Graff (MEd ’02, EdD ’05, PhD ’07), a doctoral graduate in curriculum and instruction, recently was awarded one of six research fellowships at the International Youth Library in Munich, Germany. The library, housed in the late-medieval Blutenburg Castle, boasts the world’s largest collection of international children’s and youth literature. Graff is an assistant professor in language and literacy education at the University of Georgia . . . Kathryn Kennedy (PhD ’10, curriculum and instruction) has been awarded the 2010 International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) award for important research for her dissertation on titled “The Essence of the Virtual School Practicum: A phenomenological study of pre-service teachers’ experiences in a virtual school.”

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P.K. Yonge Update

PKY students, UF preservice teachers help each other learn in online writing partnerships

Ninth-graders at P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School are partnering with UF preservice teachers in a mutually beneficial Online Writing Partnership program that helps improve the high school students’ writing skills while providing real-world experience in writing instruction to UF’s teachers-in-training. Pictured right, PKY teacher Jennifer Cheveallier(standing) observes a small group of UF-PKY writing partners review an assignment. (more)

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Post Dec. 14, 2010

The Division for Early Childhood, part of the national Council for Exceptional Children, has named Tara McLaughlin, a UF doctoral candidate in early childhood-special special education, as the 2010 recipient of the J. David Sexton Doctoral Student Award.

McLaughlin (right) was cited for making contributions to young children with special needs and their families through research, higher education, publications, policy and information dissemination. Her research interests include early intervention with a focus on inclusion, embedded instruction and posiitive behavioral supports.

While pursuing her doctorate, she has served as a research assistant on several funded projects and is the research coordinator on a federal Institute of Education Sciences (USDOE) grant investigating the impact of professional development on early childhood teachers’ use of embedded instruction and outcomes for young children with disabilities.

McLaughlin completed her master’s in special education in 2003 and was an early primary special education teacher in New Zealand for two years, before enrolling in UF’s doctoral program in 2006. She is lead author on a manuscript accepted for publication, a contributing author on a published book chapter and a submitted manuscript, and has served as a guest reviewer for the Journal of Early Intervention. She was selected last year from a highly competitive applicant pool to participate in the Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study (PEELS) Data Training Seminar sponsored by the National Center for Special Education Reearch. She has already conducted one pilot study from the data and is using the data for her dissertation.

Her doctoral adviser is Professor Patrica Snyder, the David Lawrence Jr. Endowed Chair in Early Childhood Studies at UF.

UF has previous ties to DEC’s prestigious Sexton award. EduGator alum Brian Boyd (PhD ’05, early childhood-special education), now on the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill occupational science faculty, received the honor in 2005; Snyder, though, was the very first recipient, selected in 1992 while a doctoral student at the University of New Orleans. Her adviser? None other than Professor J. David Sexton, the award’s namesake, who was revered as an outstanding mentor and leader in his field.

McLaughlin is the latest EduGator to add to UF’s legacy in DEC’s Sexton awards program.

Posted December 14, 2010

PKY English teacher Jennifer Cheveallier(standing) observes as UF education master’s student Angela Mulkin (center) leads ninth-graders Jarrod Mayberry (left), Justin Hagin (right) and other classmates in a writing exercise.

Ninth-graders at P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School are partnering with UF preservice teachers in a mutually beneficial Online Writing Partnership program that helps improve the high school students’ writing skills while providing real-world experience in writing instruction to UF’s teachers-in-training.

The arrangement finds 27 College of Education preservice teachers, enrolled in Associate Professor Jane Townsend’s “Teaching Language and Composition” class, forging a semester-long relationship with some 120 students in teacher Jennifer Cheveallier’s ninth-grade English classes. Each UF student-teacher leads a small group of four or five P.K. Yonge students. (P.K. Yonge is UF’s Pre-K-through-grade 12 laboratory school.)

“The ninth-graders form an online community with their respective group instructors from UF, giving the preservice teachers their first experience in online course management,” Cheveallier said. “Two on-site writing workshops also are held at P.K. Yonge early in the semester to help the high school and college students get to know each other better, face to face.”

In Townsend’s UF class, her student-teachers learn to both write and teach the narrative and persuasive genres of writing, who then pass on their knowledge to their ninth-grade partners and critique their writing assignments based on grading guidelines set by Townsend and Cheveallier.

“Similar classroom activities are conducted in both courses, which helps the preservice teachers anticipate their younger partners’ potential challenges in their writing assignments,” Cheveallier said.

The UF teachers-in-training use the “comment” feature of Microsoft Word software to give individual, customized feedback on multiple drafts of each student’s assignments.

The Online Writing Partnership program is now in its third year. Townsend and Cheveallier added a new twist this year, having the ninth-graders fill out a “feedback quiz” to assess their writing partners’ instructional comments.

The quiz asks the ninth-graders questions such as: “What was least helpful about your partner’s feedback?” and “What is one question you have for your partner about your writing.” The preservice teachers can see how their comments are received by their young writing students and find ways to improve their own writing instruction.

“The quiz makes the partnership truly collaborative, with both parties offering each other assessments relevant to their respective learning needs,” Cheveallier said.

Townsend said that with the current emphasis in public schools on standardized tests and formulaic writing, “the teaching of authentic writing through workshops that support deep revision has become a sadly rare event.

“The (UF-P.K. Yonge) partnership provides a unique opportunity for my students to mentor developing writers through multiple drafts of their writing, and engage in a collaborative, substantive, and supportive re-viewing and re-shaping of the piece.”

(PHOTO CAPTIONS: INSET IN ARTICLE–UF preservice teacher Matt Hazel, left, makes a point in his small-group lesson; ABOVE, LEFT: Katherine McGrath, UF elementary ProTeach master’s student, reviews a worksheet with her PKY ninth-grade writing partners; ABOVE, RIGHT: UF master’s reading student Camerine Patterson, left, goes over an online writing assignment with partner Aerin Davison.)

SOURCE: Jennifer Cheveallier, instructor, P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School;jcheveallier@pky.ufl.edu

SOURCE: Jane Townsend associate professor, UF College of Education, jst@coe.ufl.edu

WRITER/PHOTOGRAPHER: Larry Lansford, director, news and communications, UF College of Education; llansford@coe.ufl.edu

Posted Dec. 14, 2010

The International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) has published its first book–and it’s co-edited by Cathy Cavanaugh (right), UF associate professor in education technology, and former COE faculty member Rick Ferdig. The book is titled “Lessons Learned from Virtual Schools: Experiences and Recommendations from the Field.”

Posted December 10, 2010

GAINESVILLE, Fla. —Thomasenia Adams, a University of Florida professor in mathematics education, has graduated from a prominent national leadership institute for women professors and administrators.

Adams attended the Higher Education Resource Services Institute for Women in Higher Education at the University of Denver, with 54 other participants representing 45 institutions nationwide. The institute focused on “Women’s Leadership in Times of Crisis: Leveraging Our Responses for Institutional Renewal.”

The HERS program involved 13 days of training over three sessions in August, September and October.

Along with her faculty teaching position in UF’s College of Education, Adams plays a key role in the UF Lastinger Center for Learning’s Florida Master Teacher Initiative and in math and science education programs with partnering public schools. She recently received a National Science Foundation grant of more than $400,000 to study how schools subtly discourage African-American girls from pursuing careers in science, math and other technical fields, and she is a co-author of a state and national mathematics series.

Her participation was sponsored by UF’s Office of the Provost and supported by the Office of Academic Affairs, the College of Education and the School of Teaching & Learning. Over the past five years, 26 women faculty and administrators from UF have been sponsored to participate in the HERS programs.

“There are many highlights from the HERS institute, but two in particular hold meaning for me: First, in the midst of all of the esteemed women in leadership who spoke to the participants was a four-star general in the Navy. She solidified the message that women focus is essential for success,” Adams said. “Second, the institute provided me with set-aside time to map out my career path before colleagues who could give me objective, on-the-spot feedback. This was invaluable.”

SOURCE: Thomasenia Adams, professor in mathematics education, UF College of Education,tla@coe.ufl.edu

MEDIA CONTACT: Larry Lansford, News & Communications UF College of Education,llansford@coe.ufl.edu

Posted December 3, 2010

UF Lastinger Center Director Don Pemberton
and UF President Bernie Machen unveil a
portrait of Allen and Delores Lastinger.
(Photo by Jason Henry)

University of Florida President Bernie Machen praised the contributions of Allen and Delores Lastinger during a recent unveiling of their portrait at the UF Lastinger Center for Learning.

The Lastingers founded the center in 2002 to boost student achievement through improved instruction in public schools around the country.

“For the Lastingers to come forward at that time in their lives and say ‘Can we help kids learn? Can we help the public schools in this state?’ was a huge idea that has caught on,” Machen told the more than 50 people who attended the event.

Attendees included the Lastingers and their family, UF College of Education Dean Catherine Emihovich, former UF Provost David Colburn, and Paul Robell, assistant to the UF president for philanthropy and donor relations, as well as public school teachers who have participated in the center’s Florida Master Teacher Initiative and Lastinger faculty and staff members.

Since its formation, the Lastingers’ namesake center has been taking UF’s research-tested methods to the frontlines of public education.

“Close to 10 years ago, Allen and Delores, who’ve worked hard in life, found themselves in a position to give something back,” Lastinger Director Don Pemberton said. “They invested in education and planted a seed here in the College of Education. That seed has grown and grown and grown.”

The University of Florida’s College of Education is launching a new online course that’s novel both for its content and because it’s free and open to educators across the globe.

The course instructors will employ the same Web-based tools—used to create “personal learning environments” —that they will be teaching students how to use in coursework geared to K-12 teachers.

That explains the course’s name–Personal Learning Environments for Inquiry in K-12. The distance-learning class especially targets teachers in the traditional content areas such as science, math, reading and social studies.

The term and course name, called “PLE-K12” for short, refer to the growing collection of Web applications—including blogs, wiki and social media such as Facebook and Twitter—that allows online students to form learning connections with a variety of experts, online sources, fellow students and learners around the world.

“Students will explore the use of personal learning environments in managing the breadth of online information, connecting with experts and synthesizing the content both for inquiry and their own professional development in K-12 teaching,” said course instructor Chris Sessums (pictured right), a postdoctoral associate at the college.

Degree-seeking students taking the class for credit must be registered at UF and pay the standard course fee based on credit hours earned. But the course also is open and free to anyone else who wants to participate and learn without earning class credit.

“Opening the course to online learners outside the core of registered students generates social interactions with fellow students and learners worldwide,” Sessums said. “Personal learning environments can enhance learning in ways that aren’t available in traditional classrooms, because of the active role the student plays in the process of knowledge acquisition.

 “It’s for anyone who’s interested in gaining a deeper understanding for using the Internet to achieve lifelong learning goals.”

Formal course registration (for credit) is Nov. 1 through Jan. 4, 2011. The course starts Feb. 7 and runs through April 3.

For more information, visit the course website at http://bit.ly/plek12signup, or contact Sessums (csessums@coe.ufl.edu) or co-instructor Wendy Drexler (wdrexler@gmail.com).  

CONTACTS

• SOURCE:  Christopher Sessums, (352) 273-4178; csessums@coe.ufl.edu  

• WRITER: Larry Lansford, director, news and communications, (352) 273-4137; llansford@coe.ufl.edu

Arizona State University’s Center for Community Development and Civil Rights recently held a symposium to explore the predicament of young Latino males in the 21st century. On ASU’s PBS television program called “Horizonte”, Luis Ponjuan, assistant professor of educational administration at the University of Florida’s College of Education, discusses what is happening to Latino males when it comes to pursuing higher education.

View the video website

Source: Luis Ponjuan, assistant professor, educational administration, UF College of Education; lponjuan@coe.ufl.edu

Media relations: Larry Lansford, director, news & communications, UF College of Education; llansford@coe.ufl.edu

1972 education grad issues challenge, dollar for dollar, for alumni to reconnect with EduGator Nation

Anita Zucker (BAE ’72) knows a good investment when she sees one, and she’s quick to spring into action and lend her support when a worthy cause attracts her attention. As a history-making businesswoman, committed philanthropist and avid University of Florida supporter, Zucker is putting up her own money to prove that EduGator alumni are every bit as wise and responsive when it comes to investing in education—especially by supporting the College of Education at UF.

Zucker hopes to light a fire particularly under young, first-time alumni donors and other education graduates who have not given to the College in the last six years. That’s why she has established the Zucker Alumni Challenge, pledging to match, dollar for dollar, every gift made to the Challenge fund up to a total of $50,000. Zucker’s matching gifts could raise the total fund value to as much as $100,000 in new college support. The donations will go into the Dean’s Excellence Fund to support the College of Education’s greatest needs in areas such as student scholarships, faculty and research support and equipment needs.

 “The College of Education has more than 28,000 alumni around the world, and each year through the Florida Fund we reach out to encourage support for the College. While the support we receive is appreciated, the College receives contributions from fewer than 1,500 EduGators, or about 5 percent of our alumni,” Zucker said. “Through the Zucker Alumni Challenge, I want to educate and encourage the more than 20,000 alumni who have never given to the College to consider investing with an annual contribution.”

Anita and her late husband, Jerry Zucker, were both UF alumni and long-time supporters of the university. Anita last year received UF’s Distinguished Alumni Award for her professional accomplishments and charitable service. She is one of Charleston, S.C.’s most involved civic leaders. In 2008, she succeeded her husband as governor (company chair) of the Hudson Bay Company in Canada, becoming the firm’s the first woman chief executive. She also became CEO of the family-owned InterTech company, and owns the Carolina Ice Palace and 50 percent of the South Carolina Stingrays of the East Coast Hockey League.

Anita will work to reconnect EduGators with their College of Education alma mater throughout the Florida Fund annual giving campaign. The Zucker Alumni Challenge will run throughout the current fiscal year, until June 30, 2011. She will be encouraging education alumni through email, direct mail and the Florida Fund telephone program to bring them back into the fold as proud members and generous supporters of the EduGator Nation.

  Posted July 26, 2010

An unprecedented partnership between Florida’s three major research universities–including the University of Florida, created in 2008 to stem the crisis in mathematics and science education in America’s schools, is generating both results and recognition for their efforts.

The state-funded effort, dubbed “Florida PROMiSE” (short for Partnership to Rejuvenate and Optimize Mathematics and Science Education), has been cited by Workforce Florida, Inc. for developing innovative professional development programs to increase teachers’ content knowledge and bring Florida teachers up to speed on new, rigorous Sunshine State Standards in math and science. Workforce Florida is the state’s workforce policy and oversight board largely appointed by Gov. Crist.

A business-led statewide council called STEMflorida, created in 2009 by Workforce Florida, will present its 2010 Instructional Staff Development Award to Florida PROMiSE officials on Monday, July 26, at the 2010 STEM Business and Education Conference in Lake Buena Vista.

“STEM” is common shorthand for the technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, considered vital workforce skills in today’s competitive global marketplace.

UF’s College of Education is one of the university partners in Florida PROMiSE along with Florida State University and the University of South Florida, which is administering the grant. The Florida Department of Education has funneled more than $21 million into the three-year effort, including nearly $8 million for 2010-11, the grant’s third and final year.

Florida Promise Math Institute instructor Charlotte Cannizzaro assists teacher-participants in collaborating and sharing best practices in teaching math

This year’s funding includes more than $1 million to UF’s College of Education for its activities, which include developing and staging a series of two-week summer institutes and four days of follow-up training at a fall workshop for math and science teachers from partnering school districts.

“Findings from the first summer institutes in 2009 provide ample evidence that teachers who attended the institutes are making substantial gains in their content knowledge of mathematics and science,” said Stephen Pape, UF associate professor in mathematics education who coordinates UF’s Florida PROMiSE projects.

Pape said the findings also show participating teachers could benefit from the follow-up workshop in the fall to help them build on the institute experience and apply what they learned in their classrooms.

Pape said the summer institute participants aren’t the only educators who benefit from the in-depth training. “More than 17,000 Florida teachers also receive professional development training about the new math and science standards using materials developed through the PROMiSE grant,” he said.

The three university partners in Florida PROMiSE work hand-in-hand with the state’s four largest school districts (Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, Duval and Seminole) and with three regional, multi-county education consortia, Orlando-based Florida Virtual School and Horizon Research, Inc., a private research company based in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Pape said the three-year effort lays the groundwork for newly trained teacher-leaders to continue offering more sophisticated professional development activities after the funding period ends.

“Our ultimate goal,” Pape said, “is to help Florida produce a workforce proficient in the technical disciplines of mathematics and science needed for the jobs of tomorrow. We must advance our state’s advantage in the global competition for world-class talent in high-value technical industries.”

CONTACTS

    SOURCE: Stephen Pape, associate professor, UF College of Education, 352-273-4230; spape@coe.ufl.edu

    WRITER: Larry Lansford, Director, UF COE News & Communications, 352-273-4137; llansford@coe.ufl.edu

Posted July 22, 2010

The college’s Education College Council was selected Best Council of the Year for 2009-10 by UF’s Board of College Councils. The ECC is an umbrella organization for all COE student organizations.

One of the ECC’s noteworthy activities involved partnering with the UF Student Chapter of the Florida Educational Association in hosting twice-monthly professional development workshops for all UF education students.

ECC stages and co-sponsors many events throughout the year, including: Teacher Appreciation Day; workshops on reading curriculum,  multicultural education and math instruction; homecoming activities and other events and activities. The council also is staffs and oversees the ECC office and production lab for all UF education students.

From left: Sabrina Kincade (sec/treas.), Jenny Martinson (historian), Ciara Rodgers (outreach coordinator), Megan Sorenson (past president) and Barbara Ogden (president). Missing are VP’s Aly Perez and Hannah Mechstroth

ECC officers for 2009-10 were: Barbara Ogden, president; Aly Perez, co-VP; Hannah Mechstroth, co-VP; Sabrina Kincade, secretary- treasurer; Ciara Rodgers, outreach coordinator; and Jenny Matrinson, historian.

Theresa Vernetson, assistant dean for student affairs, is the council’s faculty adviser.

Posted July 22, 2010

An international teacher-education journal has selected three UF education scholars to receive its 2010 Nate Gage Award for excellence in educational research reporting.

The journal, Teaching and Teacher Education, honored co-authors Dorene Ross, Vicki Vescio and Alyson Adams for their 2008 published review on the educational impact of professional learning communities. The award is based on the number of times an article is downloaded and on a vote of the journal’s editorial board.

Alyson Adams

Dorene Ross

Associate Professor Ross is the co-holder of the endowed Irving and Rose Fien Professor of Education post in the College of Education; Adams is a clinical assistant professor in teaching and learning and the program director of the college’s Lastinger Center for Learning; Vescio is due to receive her doctorate in August and will start in the fall as a clinical assistant professor in teaching and learning and a professor-in-residence for the Lastinger Center for Learning in Pinellas County.

Education professor Luis Ponjuan, born in Havana, Cuba, was 3 years old in 1970 when he and his family fled their communist homeland, boarding a U.S. government plane on a "freedom flight" to Miami and the United States where they hoped to start a better life.

Ponjuan spoke only Spanish upon entering first grade in the rural town of Franklin, La., where his father worked in a sugarcane mill. Despite hardships, the better life would come.

Fast-forward to 2010, nearly 40 years after immigrating to the U.S. Earlier this year, Ponjuan was addressing a national briefing at the U.S. Capitol to raise awareness of the overwhelming barriers that minority male students—particularly Latino boys—face in America's educational system. He could have spoken from personal experience, but he's also a fast-rising scholar on diversity issues of gender and ethnicity in higher education.

"An emerging trend shows that young men of color—particularly Latino Americans—are far less likely to attend or stay in college than other young men and women," said Ponjuan, assistant professor of educational administration and policy at UF's College of Education. "Considerable attention has been given to the plight of African-American males, but declining enrollment among young Latino men is even more pronounced. It's a silent educational crisis because young Latino males are vanishing in higher education and no one is noticing."

Latinos are now 15 percent of the U.S. population. Yet Latinos, or Hispanics, earn only 6 percent of all bachelor's degrees, according to the American Council on Education. This is significantly less than whites, blacks and Asians.

The Capitol Hill briefing highlighted some of the daunting challenges young Latino men face, including poverty, language barriers, lack of role models, loss of cultural memory, and peer and family pressure.

"My parents insisted that my brother, sister and I keep up with our studies, but it wasn't easy," Ponjuan said. Still, he flourished in his academic efforts while balancing several jobs and family responsibilities, and went on to earn degrees from the University of New Orleans and Florida State before receiving a doctorate in higher education from the University of Michigan.

His early professional career included a five-year stint as an academic adviser at UF, before joining UF's education faculty in 2005 upon completing his doctoral studies.

Ponjuan now is collaborating with researchers in several UF colleges and at the University of Texas-Austin on plans to create an interdisciplinary center aimed at better understanding the challenges that America's increasingly diverse student population faces in their educational experiences.

"Our country's future economic prosperity requires expanding a workforce that includes a diverse and educated pool of well-trained workers," Ponjuan said. "We must erase disparities in educational attainment and train young men of color to become vital contributors to our national economy."

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CONTACTS

Source: Luis Ponjuan, assistant professor, educational administration, UF College of Education; 352-273-4313; lponjuan@coe.ufl.edu

Writer: Larry Lansford, COE News & Communications; 352-273-4137; llansford@coe.ufl.edu