UF Support for Local School Continues Through Pandemic
A team from the UF College of Education hasn’t let a global pandemic slow progress working with administrators, staff and students at Terwilliger Elementary School toward school improvement.
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Alayna Calhoun recognized by SRATE as David Watts Scholar
Alayna Calhoun, a UF Unified Elementary ProTeach preservice student, was recently recognized as a David Watts Scholar by the Southeastern Regional Association of Teacher Educators (SRATE).
UF teacher prep program is first in state accredited by international dyslexia group
The dual certification track of the COE’s Unified Elementary ProTeach program is one of the first teacher preparation programs in the nation to receive accreditation from the International Dyslexia Association, an impressive credential that should enhance the college’s student recruitment efforts.
UF special education professor Holly Lane said the accreditation comes just one year after the dual certification track was redesigned to include a three-course block on assessment and intervention for students with reading disabilities.
Holly Lane, shown teaching a literacy education class, led the accreditation effort with Linda Lombardino. Both are UF special education professors.
“The timing was perfect,” Lane said. “Nearly every classroom in America has kids with dyslexia, so this accreditation means a lot in terms of showing how well we prepare our students to become fully qualified teachers.”
She said fellow special education professor Linda Lombardino played an integral part in developing the voluminous accreditation process.
“This was a total team effort,” Lane said. “Dr. Lombardino is widely recognized for her expertise in dyslexia.”
Students who choose the dual certification option of UF’s five-year ProTeach master’s degree program qualify for certification in both elementary and special education for grades K-12.
Dyslexia is a neurological learning disability that is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities.
Secondary consequences could include problems with reading comprehension and delayed growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.
UF’s College of Education is the first higher education institution in Florida to receive accreditation from the IDA, a non-profit, scientific and educational organization that operates 43 branches throughout North America and has global partners in 20 other countries.
The IDA has granted accreditation to just 17 universities and dyslexia therapy programs since it began the practice two years ago.
“A number of schools are eager to be accredited by us,” IDA spokeswoman Elisabeth Liptak, said. “It gives them a competitive advantage when recruiting students in local markets.”
Ten to 15 percent of the U.S. population has dyslexia, yet only five out of every 100 dyslexics are recognized and receive assistance, according to the Dyslexia Research Institute in Tallahassee.
And that, Lane says, is what makes the COE’s accreditation so significant.
“Teaching teachers how to recognize children who have dyslexia is just as important as making sure they get the help they need,” she said.
Colleen Pollett, a former graduate student who received her master’s degree in special education in May, said she was impressed with the nine-credit-hour requirement and its contents, including a “Learnable Linguistics” tutoring method developed by COE adjunct professors Jane Andrews and Susan Vanderline.
“After I studied the course’s ‘Learnable Linguistics’ method, I was hired as a tutor for a fourth-grade student with dyslexia,” Pollett said. “I worked with him twice a week, and I saw incredible growth and progress in his reading comprehension, fluency and his word recognition. That confirmed it for me. The program really works.
Pollett said she was surprised to learn that dyslexia affects a person’s ability to translate written words into meaningful text.
“People who have dyslexia aren’t slow learners,” she said. “It’s just that their brains process language in a different way, so traditional methods of teaching reading aren’t effective. “
Jean Crockett, director of the college’s School of Special Education, School Psychology and Early Childhood Studies, said IDA accreditation came about because of the vision and dedication demonstrated by Lane and Lombardino.
“Thanks to them, our dual certification graduates will be highly qualified to teach elementary and special education,” Crockett said. “They’ll be classroom-ready to help all children read.”
CONTACTS:
Source: Holly Lane, professor of special education, UF College of Education; hlane@ufl.edu
Media Liaison: Larry Lansford, director, news and communications, UF College of Education; llansford@coe.ufl.edu
Writer: Stephen Kindland, staff writer, UF College of Education; skindland@coe.ufl.edu
Top teacher for undergraduates never doubted her destiny
Something about COE clinical associate professor Penny Cox’s destiny “clicked” four decades ago when the college’s recently named Undergraduate Teacher of the Year overheard a conversation between her mother and a stranger in Jacksonville, Fla.
“We just moved into a new house and our washing machine wasn’t set up, so my mother and I went to a laundromat,” said Cox, a special education faculty member. “My mother and a special education teacher got to talking, and something the teacher said just clicked for me. I was only 12 years old, but I knew what I wanted to do with my life.”
True to her word, and to herself, Cox went on to earn her undergraduate and master’s degrees in special education at the University of North Florida before spending the next 17 years teaching special education in Jacksonville’s public schools system.
Feeling the need for a change but wanting to remain in her field, Cox went on to earn her Ph.D. in special education at UF in 2001. She has been a COE faculty member ever since, and was instrumental in developing the COE’s Teach Well online degree program, which prepares teachers and aspiring teachers of all backgrounds to work with students with disabilities.
Cox also stays busy by serving as the COE’s special education program coordinator and playing an advisory role to students in the Unified Elementary ProTeach program, as well as graduate students pursuing dual certification.
Cox also has touched the lives of non-education majors, including Cassidy Langford, an occupational therapy student who completed one of Cox’s courses in teaching children with disabilities.
“Thanks to her influence, I want to work as an occupational therapist in a school district,” said Langford, who went on to serve as one of Cox’s teaching assistants and will begin her senior year this fall. “Dr. Cox’s teaching is unique. I felt her passion for special education and that passion shines through in her teaching.
“I can still remember and reference the guest speakers we had in my class and how they impacted me during their lecture — and that was almost four years ago.”
Jean Crockett, director of the college’s School of Special Education, School Psychology and Early Childhood Studies, referred to Cox as a “fearless instructor who readily rises to the challenge of teaching new courses and large numbers of students” in one of five letters of recommendation submitted to the Teacher-of-the-Year selection committee.
Also, according to Crockett, Cox was among the first special education faculty members to become proficient in distance education course delivery.
“She has generously shared her knowledge and enthusiasm for distance learning, and has helped many of her colleagues … achieve a better sense of efficacy in online teaching,” Crockett wrote.
Cox says her award serves as an incentive to continue being innovative.
“The more you learn, the more you don’t know,” she said with a laugh. “I’ve had some really good students, and our ProTeach program really whips them into shape for their careers as teachers. Principals at many different schools throughout Florida speak highly of our graduates.”
Outstanding ProTeach undergraduates honored
Congratulations to Cristina Rossi and Kelly Craft, chosen as 2013 Outstanding Undergraduate Students at UF’s College of Education. Rossi is a May bachelor’s graduate from the college’s Unified Early Childhood program, and Craft is with Unified Elementary ProTeach.
Their impressive credentials summarized below explain why they were honored:
Outstanding Undergraduate – Unified Early Childhood
Cristina Ross
Cristina consistently excels in all areas of her academic life. Since 2010, she has earned UF President’s Honor Roll (for perfect 4.0 GPA) or Dean’s List (3.75 GPA or higher) awards each semester. Cristina is also a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and the Golden Key International Honor Society. Her professors have been impressed by her active participation in class and efforts to enact best teaching practices in assignments and in the field. Cristina is also a successful leader within UF and the community. She served this year as vice president of the Education College Council.
Outstanding Undergraduate – Unified Elementary ProTeach
Kelly Craft
Kelly takes every opportunity to work with children. At UF, she has maintained an outstanding GPA while working for two after-school programs and volunteering in programs for mentally- and physically-disabled children. A supervising classroom teacher assessed Kelly’s field teaching by writing in her report: “Wow, you’ve got a good one here!” Kelly’s passion for teaching is mirrored in her involvement in a number of professional organizations including the Kappa Delta Pi education honor society. She also represents her ProTeach cohort on the Student Advisory Council and is treasurer of UF’s women’s surf club and a certified lifeguard.
