Katherine Barko-Alva

Began Doctoral Fellowship: Summer 2009.

Program Area & Faculty Mentor: ESOL/Bilingual Education; working with Dr. Ester de Jong

Primary Research Interests: Academic language in dual language programs:  teachers’ understanding.

Courses Taught at UF: TSL 4324, “ESOL Strategies for Content Area Teachers”

Recent Conference Paper PresentationEster de Jong & Katherine Barko-Alva, “Academic Language in Theory, Policy, and Practice.”  American Educational Research Association.  Philadelphia, PA.  April 2014.

Brittney Beck

Brittney Beck

Began Doctoral Fellowship:  Fall 2013

Specialization Area & Faculty Mentor:  Curriculum, Teaching, & Teacher Education; working with Dr. Elizabeth Bondy

Primary Research Interests:  Fostering the development of culturally responsive science educators through ongoing professional development in high-poverty urban schools and communities; Service learning and leadership development in pre-service and in-service teacher education; Science in informal settings.

Recent Conference Paper Presentation: Brittney Beck, “Improving a university-based middle school mentoring program through explorations of inquiry in the mentoring relationship.”  Florida League of Middle Schools Conference.  Sarasota, FL.  June 2013.

Catherine Case

Catherine Case

Began Doctoral Fellowship:  Fall 2013

Specialization Area & Faculty Mentor:  Statistics Education; working with Dr. Tim Jacobbe

Primary Research Interests:  Assessment of conceptual understanding of statistics; Teacher preparation to teach statistical concepts.

Courses Taught at UF: STA 3024, “Introduction to Statistics II”

Recent Conference Paper Presentation:  Tim Jacobbe, Catherine Case, Douglas Whitaker & Steven Foti, “Establishing the Validity of the LOCUS Assessments through an Evidence-Centered Design Approach.”  International Conference on Teaching Statistics.  Flagstaff, AZ.  July 2014.

Diedre Houchen

Began Doctoral Fellowship: Fall 2010

Program Area: Curriculum, Teaching, & Teacher Education; working with Dr. Dorene Ross & Dr. Sevan Terzian

Primary Research Interests:  African American education and pedagogy; History of Education—segregated schooling; Africana methodologies.

Courses Taught at UFEDG 4930, “Race, History, and Public Schooling in the United States”

Recent Conference Paper PresentationDiedre Houchen, “The State of African Americans in Higher Education:  A Review of the Literature.”  ISAAC Conference on Research Directions; Third Biannual Empirical Research Conference on African American Education.  Hilton Head, SC.  May 2013.

Recent Scholarly Publication:  Linda Behar-Horenstein, Cirecie West-Olatunji, Thomas Moore, Diedre Houchen & Kellie Roberts, “Resilience post-tenure:  The experience of an African American Woman in a PWI,” Florida Journal of Educational Administration and Policy 5 (January 2013):  68-84.

Natalie King

Began Doctoral Fellowship: Fall 2012

Primary Research Interests: Middle grades education; Science Education; Qualitative research methods; African American girls; STEM fields; Science curriculum.

Courses Taught at UFSCE 4113, “Elementary Science Content”; SCE 6947, “Practicum in Secondary Science Teaching and Assessment.”

Recent Conference Paper Presentation:  Natalie King, Rose Pringle, & Jennifer Mesa, “Negotiating Rigor and Best Practices:  Designing an Effective Physical Science Content Course for Middle School Science Teachers.”  Southeastern Association for Science Teacher Education Conference.  Macon, GA.  October 2013.

Carolyn Mitten

 

 

Carolyn Mitten

Began Doctoral Fellowship:  Fall 2013

Specialization Area & Faculty Mentor:  Mathematics Education; working with Dr. Tim Jacobbe.

Primary Research Interests:  Differentiated instruction in the mathematics classroom; Collaboration in the mathematics classroom; Mathematics teacher professional development; Pre-service teacher math content knowledge.

Courses Taught at UFMAE 3221, “Mathematics Content and Methods for Teaching Mathematics in the Inclusive Elementary Classroom, Part I”

Recent Conference Presentation: Orhan Kaplan, Thomasenia L. Adams, & Carolyn Mitten, “Barriers to efficiently incorporating Common Core Standards for Mathematics (CCSS-M) in mathematics instruction:  An exploratory study.”  Southeastern Regional Association of Teacher Educators. Sarasota, FL. October 2013.

Yang Qi

Began Doctoral Fellowship: Fall 2009

Program Area & Faculty Mentor: Reading Education, working with Dr. Zhihui Fang.

Primary Research Interests: Adolescent literacy and how students from diverse backgrounds develop their literacy skills in content areas.

Courses Taught at UFTSL 3520, “ESOL Foundations:  Language and Culture in Elementary Classrooms”; RED 3312, “Content Area Literacy” (co-taught with Dr. Fang); RED 5337, “Teaching Reading in Secondary Schools” (co-taught with Dr. Fang).

Recent Conference Paper Presentation:  Zhihui Fang, Yang Qi, Julie Bader & Suzanne Coatoam, “Writing a Report:  A Study of Preadolescents’ Use of Informational Language.”  American Association for Applied Linguistics.  Dallas, TX.  March 2013.

Douglas Whitaker

Began Doctoral Fellowship: Fall 2012

Specialization Area & Faculty Mentor:  Statistics Education; working with Dr. Tim Jacobbe.

Primary Research Interests:  Statistics education in grades 9-12.

Courses Taught at UFSTA 2023, “Introduction to Statistics I”; STA 3024, “Introduction to Statistics II”; MAE 5347, “Teaching K-8 Math Methods” (co-taught with Rhonda Williams).

Recent Conference PresentationDoug Whitaker & Catherine Case, “LOCUS Pilot Study and Preliminary Findings.”  Joint Statistical Meetings.  Montreal, QC.  August 2013.

Rhonda Williams

 Rhonda Williams

Began Doctoral Fellowship:  Spring 2011

Specialization Area & Faculty Mentors:  Mathematics Education; working with Dr. Dorene Ross & Dr. Tim Jacobbe

Primary Research Interests:  Impact of instructional coaching on the practices of secondary mathematics teachers.

Courses Taught at UFMAE 4310, “Teaching Mathematics in the Inclusive Elementary School”; MAE 5332, “Secondary School Mathematics”; MAE 5347, “Teaching K-8 Mathematics for Understanding”; EDE 6932, “Multicultural Mathematics.”

Recent Conference Paper Presentation:  Rhonda L. Williams, “Creating Culturally Responsive Mathematics Lessons:  Examining the Journey of Preservice Teachers.”  Association of Teacher Educators Conference.  St. Louis, MO.  February 2014.

AERA Dissertation Award

Dr. Kathryn Kennedy, a 2010 graduate from the Ph.D. program with a specialization in Educational Technology, received the 2011 Division K Outstanding Dissertation Award from the American Educational Research Association.  Dr. Kennedy’s dissertation is titled, The Essence of the Virtual School Practicum:  A Phenomenological Study of Preservice Teachers’ Experience in a Virtual School.

Graduate Student Teaching Award

Katherine Alva, who is specializing in ESOL/Bilingual Education has received a University of Florida Graduate Student Teaching Award for 2011.  Congratulations, Katherine!

Graduate Student Teaching Award

Jessica Clawson, who is specializing in Social Foundations of Education, has received a University of Florida Graduate Student Teaching Award for 2011.  Congratulations, Jess!

Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) Young Scholar Award

Dr. Cebnem Cilesiz, a 2004 graduate from the PhD program in Educational Technology, has received the 2010 AECT Young Scholar Award for her article, “A Phenomenological Approach to Experiences with Technology:  Current State, Promise, and Future Directions for Research,” which was published in Educational Technology Research and Development.  Dr. Cilesiz is currently an Assistant Professor at Ohio State University.

Conference on English Education (CEE) Research Grant

Luke Rodesiler, a PhD student in English Education, has received a grant from the Conference on English Education for his research project, “Understanding English Teachers’ Experiences Performing Acts of Constructivist Teacher Leadership in Online Environments.”  Luke was recognized for this award at the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) conference in November 2011, and he has been invited to present his research at the NCTE conference in November 2012.  Congratulations, Luke!

Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) Robert J. Stevenson Scholarship Winner

Rachel Wokenhauer, a PhD student in Curriculum, Teaching, & Teacher Education (CTTE), has been selected as the 2012 recipient of the Robert J. Stevenson Scholarship from the Association of Teacher Educators.  This national award was established to assist teachers in working towards an advanced academic degree to enhance teacher leadership skills through the study of teaching.  Congratulations, Rachel!

NACADA Academic Advising Award

Melissa Johnson, a PhD student in Educational Technology, has won the 2012 NACADA Scholarship for excellence in academic advising.  Established in 1983, the NACADA Annual Awards Program for Academic Advising honors individuals and institutions making significant contributions to the improvement of academic advising.  Congratulations, Melissa!

AERA SIG Scholarly Award Winner

Stephanie Dodman, a 2011 PhD graduate in Curriculum, Teaching, & Teacher Education (CTTE), has received a Special Interest Group (SIG) Scholarly Award by the American Research Association (AERA) for presenting one of the highest quality papers at this year’s conference.  Dr. Dodman’s research paper is based on her dissertation, School Reform in a High Poverty Elementary School:  A Grounded Theory Case Study of Capacity Building.  She is currently an Assistant Professor at George Mason University.  Congratulations, Stephanie!

Evelyn L. Wenzel Memorial Scholarship Winner

Lauren Tripp, a PhD candidate specializing in Curriculum, Teaching, & Teacher Education, has received the Evelyn L. Wenzel Memorial Scholarship in 2012.  Congratulations, Lauren!

Teacher Scholarship and Summer Fellowship Recipient

Sam Kunkle, an EdD student in Curriculum, Teaching, & Teacher Education, has been awarded the H.B. Plant High School Parent Teacher Student Association Teacher Scholarship for 2012.  The award is given to a teacher seeking a graduate degree in education who has demonstrated the benefits of graduate study for students and faculty at H.B. Plant High School.  Kunkle has also received a Bench to Bedside Fellowship from the Center for Precollegiate Education and Training for the summer of 2012.  Congratulations. Sam!

Dr. Hannelore Wass Endowed Scholarship Recipient

Kathleen Colantino Yurko, a PhD student specializing in Language Arts & Children’s Literature, has received the University of Florida’s 2012 Dr. Hannelore Wass Endowed Scholarship, awarded for research in sex and gender role socialization in school.  Congratulations, Kate!

UF International K-12 Teacher of the Year Award Finalist

Chu-Chuan Chiu, a PhD candidate in Reading Education, has received the 2012 International K-12 Teacher of the Year Award (Third Place) from the University of Florida International Center (UFIC) in recognition of her contributions to the internationalization of the students of Alachua County.  Congratulations, Chu-Chuan!

Kappa Delta Pi Educational Foundation Scholarship Winner

Jason Schipper, a PhD student specializing in Social Studies Education, has been selected as the 2012 recipient of the Gerald H. Read Laureate Scholarship.  The award is administered by the Kappa Delta Pi Educational Foundation.  Congratulations, Jason!