Welcome from Dean Wixson

Dean Karen Wixson applauds graduates during the May 2014 School of Education Commencement Ceremony. 

Welcome to the Fall 2014 edition of Educate Magazine. The UNCG School of Education is ‘making’ our spaces, faculty and students ready for the next generation of learning. But what does this mean?

Last month, the School of Education was the only North Carolina institution to receive a highly competitive federal Teacher Quality Partnership grant from the U.S. Department of Education. This grant will further UNCG’s efforts to emphasize technology integration across all teaching fields as well as recruit, train and support more Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)  teachers.

The Michel Family Teaching Resources Center's new SELF Design Studio paves the way for the next generation of educators

by Heather Hans

Students gather for a study session in the newly renovated Teaching Resources Center. 

At only three years of age, the most recent version of the Michel Family Teaching Resources Center (TRC) in the School of Education isn’t exactly old.  Since the new School of Education building was built in 2011, the new TRC space has served as a model school library media center, filled with picture books, young adult fiction and nonfiction, teacher preparation materials, audiovisual materials, instructional tools and equipment, and a small selection of fluffy stuffed animals in need of a good hug.

Previewing the innovative faculty-led projects in the SELF Design Studio

by Heather Hans

Specialized Education Services Professor Claudia Pagliaro supervises a team building activity as part of her Making MY Space project.  

In education, we’re used to structure.  Give us the criteria, the learning outcomes, the rubric, the lesson plan, the syllabus.  But sometimes the best ideas come to us when we’re free of structure, when the guidelines are open and the options are endless.  When the School of Education (SOE) asked its faculty to submit proposals for fellowship projects to use the new Student Educator Learning Factory (SELF) Design Studio, a makerspace in the Michel Family Teaching Resource Center, the requirements were pretty basic.

Top-ranked Counseling and Educational Development program adds online training

by Andrea Crossley Spencer

Emily Campbell, Ph.D. candidate, prepares to supervise a live counseling session conducted by a master's counseling student in the Vacc Counseling and Consulting Clinic.

Last May, a dozen school counseling students from the Department of Counseling and Educational Development (CED) earned their master’s degrees. By July, all were employed by schools around the region.

ERM researchers recognized worldwide as leaders in educational measurement

by Andrea Crossley Spencer

  





Associate Professor Robert Henson chats with an ERM student.

Education professionals from around the globe rely on the expertise of faculty right here at UNCG in the Department of Educational Research Methodology (ERM). Testing methods developed by researchers in the School of Education are utilized worldwide and featured in the field’s most prestigious journals.

SELF Design Studio: A Tribute to Curiosity

by Terri Jackson 

 

Smith Self working with daughter, Bekah, on a school assignment about birds.

  
Luther Self loved to learn.  As a child growing up in a working class home in Greensboro, Luther was the kid who took things apart and put them back together, making the finished product better than the original.  As an adult, he served his country in the Army, founded a successful company and pursued education with a determined passion that lasted a lifetime.  And after his passing in 1997, Luther’s legacy lives on through the philanthropic work of his son, Smith Winborne Self, and their family foundation.

New faces in the School of Education

We would like to welcome our new School of Education faculty members joining us for the 2014-2015 school year:

Welcome from Dean Wixson

We are delighted to share with you the Spring 2014 edition of Educate Magazine, showcasing the work conducted by our School of Education faculty, staff and students in collaboration with our community partners. Our theme for this edition is ‘Working at the Intersection of Teaching, Research, and Community Service’. As a School, we take pride in working with our community partners to provide real-world research and learning opportunities for everyone involved in these activities. Our activities provide much-needed resources and support for local organizations, while also developing new knowledge, and preparing our students for their future careers. The articles in this edition of Educate provide examples of how work that combines teaching and research serves as the basis of service to the community, the state, and the nation.



Karen K. Wixson, Dean

UNCG School of Education

School of Education Research Supports Community Partners, Provides Learning Opportunities for Students

By Bruce Buchanan


Dr. Holly Downs leads a team of Educational Research Methodology students through a program evaluation in the Dominican Republic last year. 
 
Doing well while doing good.

The School of Education’s Educational Research Methodology (ERM) Department is bringing together teaching and research to better prepare graduates for the workplace and to serve worthwhile organizations, both on campus and in the community.

UNCG Institute for Athlete Health and Wellness Working to Address Binge Drinking Among Student-Athletes

By Bruce Buchanan



Binge drinking among student-athletes is a problem that impacts virtually every college and university in the nation, UNCG included. However, Counseling and Education Development Department (CED) Associate Professor Todd Lewis and the new Institute for Athlete Health and Wellness are in the vanguard of researchers and counselors working to combine teaching and research to make college a healthier, safer place for students who are playing intercollegiate sports.

School of Education Efforts Seek to Identify, Document Diversity

By Bruce Buchanan



Dr. Belinda Hardin encourages guests at UNCG Homecoming to describe the meaning of education in their community as part of the Tapestry Project.

The Greensboro region is a community woven together with the threads of many cultures, languages and countries of origin. Guilford County is home to residents from 95 nations who speak 117 different languages and dialects.

With this enormous diversity at hand, School of Education faculty members are leading efforts to document and celebrate these local communities, using teaching and research to serve the community. Three of those efforts include the Tapestry Project; Project APRCH (Agency in the Preservation of Refugee Cultural Heritage) and their effort to document the culture of the Montagnard community, conducted by Drs. Nora Bird, Clara M. Chu and Fatih Oguz; and Dr. Joseph Hill’s research into American Sign Language use among deaf and hard-of-hearing members of the African-American community.

Faculty, Staff, and Student Collaborations with Greensboro Community Center Provide Support To Area Homeless Population

By Heather Hans



Dr. Julie Hersberger engages in lively discussion at the Interactive Resource Center in Greensboro.

In the UNCG School of Education, many of our faculty, staff, and students volunteer their time and energy at local agencies in the Triad, either as part of their coursework, their research, or simply out of a dedication to serving their community. For many of them, service isn’t a one-time commitment but rather a key part of their education and their professional lives, demonstrating the essential nature of community engagement. At the Interactive Resource Center (IRC) in downtown Greensboro, Library and Information Studies (LIS) professor Julie Hersberger and Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations (ELC) doctoral student Kathleen Edwards have contributed many volunteer hours and their professional expertise to the success of a unique service agency.

School of Education Partnership with Guilford County School Leaders Builds Relationships, Provides Inspiration to Achieve

By Heather Hans 



In the School of Education, community engagement is a two-way street. While many students, staff, and faculty reach out to the community for service projects, research, and professional opportunities, community members often become part of the School of Education and share their expertise and experiences to enrich our understanding of education.

Focus on Faculty: Edna Tan, Empowering Local Schoolchildren to Succeed in Science

By Heather Hans



Students in Siler City take part in an after-school girls' science club as part of a project coordinated by Dr. Edna Tan.
 
For many faculty members in the UNCG School of Education, community engagement is not just an aspect of their lives but rather a core part of their daily work. To understand, assess, and improve education, educators must be in the field, observing patterns and figuring out how to make sure that every student is set up for success. For Dr. Edna Tan in the Teacher Education and Higher Education (TEHE) department, that means developing community-based projects to encourage participation and success in science education, an area in which performance can vary considerably between different populations of students.

Teaching and Learning at Hope Academy

By Heather Hans

Special Education/Elementary Education Senior Dominique Ormond provides a one-on-one reading tutorial to a student at Greensboro's Hope Academy.

Students are often both teachers and learners in the School of Education, presenting unique opportunities for education within the school and the larger community. By combining the efforts of pre-service teachers at Hope Academy, a faith-based charter school for at-risk students, with those of doctoral students learning to mentor new teachers, two School of Education professors created an active research environment benefitting students at every level.

Alumni Profiles: Ashley Smith, M.Ed. in Special Education, December 2013

By Heather Hans




In the School of Education, many students find a calling and a way of life. After they graduate, we look forward to seeing what they accomplish and who they become with the new skills they have learned. In each issue, we feature a recent graduate from UNCG’s School of Education. Recently we caught up with Ashley Smith, who graduated with her Masters of Education in December 2013.

Pat Fesperman’s Gift of Love

By Terri Jackson

Alumna Pat Fesperman poses for a photograph with UNCG Chancellor Linda Brady.

When Pat Fesperman ’58 decided to establish a scholarship for undergraduate or graduate students preparing for a career in education, it was more than simply wanting future generations of students to have the same opportunities she had. It was a gift of love, both for her alma mater as well as for her late husband, both of whom changed her life forever.