CEAS NEWSLETTER | Issue 001
Jenny O, PhD Asst. Professor, Department of Kinesiology Dr. Jenny O (along with a Kinesiology faculty colleague, Dr. Vanessa Yingling) was heavily involved with the conceptualization and implementation of the Kinesiology Research Group (KRG) this past academic year. The program has had great success with approximately 50 student members, 15 of whom have recently been advanced to ‘KRG peer mentor’ status. Dr. O has 3 graduate students involved in the KRG, each of whom are working on developing expertise in a specific topic area of sport psychology. These students will be conceptualizing their own research questions for which they will employ multidisciplinary kinesiology evaluation and analysis methods. Two students will be completing a University Thesis in preparation for advancement to a Doctoral Degree program. Dr. O has also engaged several students in her own research programs, with three students presenting at international conferences this past academic year. In addition, Dr. O has three students involved in the Research Fellowship Program at CSUEB.
Ann Halvorsen, EdD Professor, Department of Educational Psychology; Special Education This fall 2014, I was invited by the State Board of Education, with the Special Education Division of the California Department of Education and the CA Teacher Credentialing Commission to Chair one of the five subcommittees of the newly formed Statewide Special Education Task Force. This taskforce is charged with making recommendations that will positively reform special education services and their delivery as well as educator preparation, to reflect evidence-based practices and improve student outcomes. As chair, my first request of the Task Force Directors was to expand the taskforce to include significantly more general educators as statewide members. The Education Preparedness Committee and full taskforce will be seeking input from a variety of groups and organizations along the
5 way, and the initial input sessions are scheduled to occur in Southern CA. A link to the task force can be found at: http://www.smcoe.k12.ca.us/spedtf/Pages/d efault.aspx Continuing in a role I was appointed to in 2012 as a stakeholder on the San Francisco Unified School District Committee, I review the Early Intervening Plan developed to address the district's significant disproportionally of African American students in SFUSD special education services.
Department
& Program News Teacher Education: From Eric Engdahl, PhD Field Work Report Candidates working toward their multiple or single subject credentials appear on campus for classes around 4:30 p.m. several days a week. This may seem to be a leisurely schedule, but they have been hard at work all day. For example, Latiya Pryor-Knell starts her Monday through Friday as an art candidate at Skyline High School in Oakland at about 7:30 a.m., when she meets with her master teacher Jamie Treacy (a CSUEB alum) to plan their daily lessons. She co-teaches with him for three periods and sits in daily on the Visual Art Department planning meetings. Leaving Skyline around 2:00 p.m., she either comes to campus for class or goes home to do coursework and class planning. Gianni Banda gets to Donlon Elementary in Pleasanton before students or parents arrive so she is can plan with her master teacher, and then prepare to greet students and talk to parents - usually while taking yard or traffic duty. Once the bell rings she settles her first graders on the carpet, reviews activities for the day, modeling a positive attitude, and then instruction can begin. Three days a week she leaves after lunch and heads for campus or home, but on the other two days she is there to say good-bye to her students and talk to parents – usually while taking yard or traffic duty.
So field work is at the heart of our candidates’ experience. It makes for long days, but they consistently report that it is the hands-on student teaching that prepares them best for their own classroom and provides the laboratory in which they can apply their coursework. Working alongside a master teacher, they experience how to grapple with the complexity of teaching a st class in 21 Century California. In the future, look for items in the newsletter on the different models of fieldwork we use and to hear from the candidates themselves on how they have learned from the field placements. Report on Recruitment This year the Department of Teacher Education has seen an increase in the number of applicants for our multiple subject, single subject and special education credential programs. When applications closed we had 335 applicants for the 210 slots available. While applications are no longer being accepted, we are still interviewing the applicants. If you would like to assist with interviews, either this year or next, please contact eric.engdahl@csueastbay.edu. We are always looking for alumni who want to volunteer with the interviews. Alums who have participated in the past always say how enjoyable it is to meet the next generation of California teachers! We can always use help in recruiting applicants to our programs. The redesigned Teacher Education website, including recruitment videos is due to be unveiled shortly. CSU East Bay is a regional leader in STEM education and we are actively seeking applicants in those fields. We have also been getting calls from a number of our partner K12 school districts looking for Spanish teachers, which unfortunately we have not been able to help with. If you know of anyone considering becoming a Spanish teacher, now is a good time to start.
The Center for Sport & Social Justice: From Rita Liberti, PhD In 2011 faculty in the Department of Kinesiology and others throughout the University were eager to create a space in which we could encourage and promote exchanges about sport and the various social, cultural, economic, and political issues that surround it. Whether you consider yourself a “fan” of sport or not, it is hard to ignore its central