Dean Karen Wixson enjoys taking part in the UNCG Homecoming 2013 festivities with School of Education students and staff.
Welcome to our Fall 2013 edition of Educate Magazine. The UNCG School of Education’s online magazine provides updates on our School and the many wonderful programs we offer our students, alumni, and community partners. I hope you enjoy reading about some of the exciting new endeavors planned for this academic year.
This edition’s publication theme is ‘Becoming an Effective Educator’. What this means for the UNCG School of Education is that education is a life-long learning process, something that is not instantly achieved upon graduation. The following are some examples of how the UNCG SOE embraces this idea.
Teachers in their first and second years of teaching in the public school system are still developing their classroom style methods, and the ability to connect with other new teachers and build upon their first classroom experiences is critical to their success. The UNCG School of Education has several new teacher support initiatives in place to help beginning teachers network with each other, reflect on their practices, and further develop their classroom skills to improve on their teaching experience and retention. In addition, the School of Education has provided grant funding for community collaborators working with UNCG faculty members to provide needed supplies, online learning modules, and professional development opportunities to North Carolina teachers, in a time when local school budgets are not able to provide this needed support.
The UNCG School of Education prepares students to become effective educators by incorporating as many hands-on classroom experiences as possible. With the sharp increase in the number of students served by special education programs, teacher preparation programs such as EC LEADS and LINK-2-LEAD in the Specialized Education Services Department are providing critical training and leadership opportunities to master’s students who will be educating future teachers in special education.
For principals, school administrators, and school information technology facilitators, being an effective educator means having the tools, knowledge, and leadership skills to effectively guide teachers to success in the classroom. Through grant-funded programs such as IMPACT V and the Golden Leaf grant, the UNCG School of Education is providing opportunities for principals and classroom teachers to gain additional experience and credentials that they can take back to their school districts to improve technology implementation and learning success.
For those not directly involved with teaching in the schools, being an effective educator means using the skills developed through preparation to provide tools and needed resources that contribute to a classroom teacher’s success. Alumni from the departments of Counseling and Educational Development and Educational Research Methodology are using their skills of research, evaluation, advocacy, and program assessment to strengthen their fields of study and provide ‘best practices’ and policies for those in the schools.
The UNCG School of Education is fortunate to have distinguished alumni who give of their time and service in helping our students become effective educators. Nancy and Tommy Teague, through the creation of their Hooked on Books program, provide our students the opportunity to directly experience the impact of giving on a young person’s life, and how sometimes the smallest experiences can create great change in a student on their path to success.
In everything we do, from educating our current students to providing continuing support and training to our alumni and community, the UNCG School of Education is dedicated to helping our community become better educators and life-long learners. I hope you enjoy learning about some of our current activities and welcome your questions and comments.
Warmest regards,
Karen Wixson
Dean, School of Education
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
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