THE EDUCATOR Faculty / Staff Newsletter
Dewar College of Education Nov/Dec 2012
Valdosta State University
Vol. 1 No.2
CONTENTS
The Dean’s Desk The landscape of higher education across the nation is rapidly evolving. These changes are occurring across all aspects of universities and run the gamut from program delivery methods to formula shifts in how institutions are funded. A 2011 survey by the Sloan Consortium found that over 6 million students are enrolled in online courses, representing over 31% of all students in higher education. This represents an increase of 560,000 students on line from the previous year. This upward trend is expected to continue. Couple this with the fact that states are moving to a funding formula for public colleges that is tied to student success and graduation rates rather than enrollment numbers, and you have a rapidly changing landscape in higher education. Many eye these changes with apprehension and fear. However, thanks to the innovative and forward-thinking faculty we have in the Dewar College of Education, we are wellpositioned for the future and are already considered leaders in the state for our high quality
and diverse online offerings. Our GOML programs are considered the model in the state and we are offering new emajors – we currently have Office Administration & Technology and will soon begin offering Workplace Performance & Development out of the Department of Adult and Career Education. These are just two examples, with more to come. The Advising Center staff has targeted student success and graduation rates as a key area for improvement within the College of Education. Positive changes made in this area have increased student satisfaction, which will improve retention rates for education majors. You are a vibrant, energetic, and innovative group of faculty with no limits on what you can imagine or achieve. I am very proud to be a member of the Dewar College of Education team and look forward to working with each of you in the future. Dr. . Brian Gerber Interim Dean, COE
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The Dean’s Desk pg. 1 Harmony on the Job
pg. 2
COE Emeritus
pg. 3
Awards & Recognition
pg. 4-6
Teach Teach Baby
pg. 7
Dept./Center News Resource Links Remembering Vanessa
pg.8-12
this issue pg. 13 pg. 14
Enjoy... the second issue of “THE EDUCATOR”, Dewar College of Education’s Newsletter!
In this issue you will find that the content of the newsletter has expanded to include current topics and thoughts impacting the scholarship and function of the COE, its faculty, students, and staff. Special thanks to Dr. Mike Griffin for stepping out and engaging the COE community with a position statement (see pg. 2). Thanks also to all of the contributors who have provided articles and images. Notice also that we’ve started a “Links List” of informative and sometimes challenging topics. As always your constructive feedback, suggestions, ideas, and submissions are sincerely solicited and encouraged at: COENEWS@VALDOSTA.EDU
Harmony On The Job Individually, we feel better; collectively, we are more productive! By Mike Griffin NOTE: Special Thanks to Dr. Griffin for initiating a dialog and forum for professional expression. Others are encouraged to take advantage of the COE Newsletter as a vehicle for the exchange of ideas .
Across most of our private and public lives, we have all encountered environments where our involvement was a positive experience or in contrast, when participation was not at all interesting or possibly, even unpleasant. On a personal level, I have experienced harmony or the lack thereof through various group experiences including but not limited to the following: family dynamics as a child, sibling, husband, and parent; play settings; classroom settings in the public schools both as a learner and a teacher; athletics as a participant and as a coach; and higher education for the past twenty-eight plus years (including the last 7.5 as department head), etc., etc., etc.. Upon reflection, my experiences that have embraced the greatest satisfaction coupled with productivity at a high level correlated nicely with a positive environment. Certainly there are exceptions, but since I am personally drawn to and am motivated to be a part of a harmonious environment, my recollection of those positive episodes would naturally resonate with me more readily when compared with someone that might not be as motivated to experience them. Regardless, those impressions foster who I am as a person and my preferences regarding how I prefer to assist in creating a work environment that has the potential to facilitate the potential for a working atmosphere that is at least pseudo
-enjoyable while yielding productive outcomes. In my quest for the aforementioned results, I stumbled across the following book chapter* related to harmony as it impacts the business setting. http://www.mirainternational.com/ books/difference/chap9.htm. Many recognizable and successful corporations are referenced, but more importantly, there are commonalities across the descriptions that ring true with my personal and professional experiences. Obviously, we can learn quite a bit from business processes. Seemingly, our outcomes (whether as individuals, or within varied units on campus) could trend in positive directions if the applications described within these business examples could be applied here (VSU) in a similar manner. Several descriptors and strategies exist in the chapter and are reinforced with examples cited and used by companies including but not limited to Merck, General Mills, IBM, Northwestern Mutual, Coca Cola, Delta and Marriott. I especially enjoyed the operational harmony paradigm because of the reference to the importance of equilibrium within the human body and how it parallels the need for comparable functionality within any multi-faceted structure in the corporate world or within academia for that matter. A compilation of themes and practices are documented including cooperation, communication, teamwork, willing attitude, rapport, input, warmth, friendliness, efficiency, integration, etc. Through all of the examples, one thing is clear. Harmony, like most challenges we face, involves work. In every instance provided, the improved productivity through enhanced harmony was intentional. Our impetus for harmony obviously has to coincide with a plan to drive it forward. Whether related to our interactions with students or our professional colleagues, improving relations through an intentional environment Continued on page 3
different perspectives, but in the overall scheme of things, very few individuals are genuinely motivated to create disharmony. That is certainly a good thing. For me, harmony is something to think about and certainly worth working towards.
focused on such just may help us to enjoy our jobs more while generating greater output as well. The trick, and we all know this, is in the selling. What about those that have no interest/motivation for these relationship-driven aspects outlined above? If one reads between the lines embedded within the corporate examples noted, it appears that over time, the balance of employees migrate toward some commonalities. It is clear that we all come from
*Harmon, F. & Jacobs, G. (1987) The Vital Difference – Unleashing the Powers of Sustained Corporate Success. New York, NY: Amacom.
Retired COE Professor Emeritus Continues a Legacy of Service and Scholarship areas, Dr. Heath taught at university teacher preparation programs in Lima and Arequipa Peru, as well as in the foreign language department at the Universidad Autonoma Francisco Murazan in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Dr. Heath has also coauthored several scholarly publications in Spanish and English.
Dr. Inez A. Heath, retired Dewar College of Education Professor Emeritus is joining Teachers College Columbia University’s Applied Linguistics/TESOL program as a lecturer. Dr. Heath, who is originally from Gainesville, Florida, earned her Ph.D. in Multilingual, Multicultural Education from Florida State University, with a secondary concentration in International Development Education.
Before Dr. Heath's international work in South America, she says, “I started my career as a bilingual classroom teacher in the Boston Public Schools working in inner-city schools... I have always had a special interest in working with innercity students.” She was also an ESL instructor in Miami and Tallahassee, Florida. Most recently, Dr. Heath retired as Professor Emeritus from Valdosta State University in Georgia, where she taught courses in TESOL, Diversity, Multicultural Education, and Communication Disabilities in the College of Education.
Dr. Heath has a passion for indigenous cultures and South American bilingual education, focusing specifically on indigenous and Spanish bilingual education in Peru. Her research in this area over the past ten years has lead her to work with educators in Bolivia, Chile, and Honduras, developing policies and practices of bilingual education for indigenous children, particularly those in rural Andean schools. In addition to her work with educators in rural 3
CAATE Commends Faculty, Staff, and Administrators. . . “The Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) certifies that Valdosta State University has completed the comprehensive accreditation review and demonstrated compliance with the nationally established Standards. CAATE commends the faculty, staff, and administrators at Valdosta State University for your commitment to the advancement of quality education in Athletic Training, as well as your dedication to the preparation of highly qualified Athletic Training professionals. The next comprehensive review will occur in academic year 20212022.� The award date of the certification was August 17, 2012.
Third Annual Faculty/Student Volleyball Match-up The Health & Physical Education Department held their 3rd Annual KSPE Faculty/ Graduate Assistants vs. Health and Physical Education Majors Volleyball Match in the Student
KSPE Faculty/ Graduate Assistants Team continued their 3rd year unbeaten streak as they beat both the junior and senior class volleyball teams. In a hard fought match-up, the junior class beat the senior class in three sets. Regardless of the scores each person who attended the event left a winner as sportsmanship was the key component of the annual event.
Recreation Center on Wednesday, September 12, 2012. This annual event is a fun time for faculty and students to interact positively in a social setting with a little friendly competition. Students were encouraged by the cheers of Dean Gerber and President McKinney as they came by to offer their support of the event. The 4
COE Professor is Keynote Speaker at International Conference the several hundred attendees were representatives from universities across the Caribbean. The keynote by Dr. Martinez was well-received and as an ambassador of the Dewar College of Education, he was able to work closely with officials from Barbados who have expressed an interest in our ACDE programs.
Dr. Reynaldo L. Martinez Jr., Head of the Department of Adult and Career Education, was invited by the Barbados Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development to deliver the Keynote Address at the Third International Conference on Higher Education, which was held on October 21 - 24, 2012. The conference theme was: "The Economy of Collective Strengths: Learning through Innovation in Multidisciplinary Education". Among
Congratulations Dr. Martinez!
Dr. Susan Hagood Selected As University Physical Education Teacher of the Year! Georgia Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (GAHPERD) has announced Dr. Susan Hagood as their University Physical Education Teacher of the Year. Dr. Hagood’s performance as an educator, role model, and community leader has distinguished her throughout her career and has won her the admiration and respect of her peers. As a faculty member in the Department of Kinesi-
ology and Physical Education in the Dewar College of Education, she has demonstrated her committed to serving her students and her discipline. The 2012 GAHPERD Award Ceremony will be held in Savannah, Georgia on Monday, November 12th at 5:30 pm at the Savannah Theater. There will be a reception held in Dr. Hagood’s honor immediately following the Award Ceremony at Bryson Hall (located next to the theater). Guests are invited to share in the recognition of Dr. Hagood’s accomplishment.
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From Jersey Girl to COE Graduate Assistant April Stefko is our resident Jersey Girl, born and raised on the Jersey Shore of Ocean County between Long Beach Island and Seaside. April moved down here to Valdosta for graduate school just in time to share her 30th birthday with us. She has her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, and is currently a Marriage and Family Therapy major. Her Graduate Assistantship is in the Assessment Center under the supervision of Dr. Lynn Minor, where she creates all kinds of charts and graphs. April’s attention to detail has made her a valuable addition to Dr. Minor’s office. During her free
time, April enjoys putting on a show at karaoke, as she is a talented singer. You can get a sneak peak at: http://www.youtube.com/
April (left) works along side her GA coworker, Sade Miller
watch?v=iBgO1GRTBCc&feature=plcp. However, April says her best performances are usually live, when she’s not being recorded.
Know of someone you would like to have featured in the COE Newsletter . . . Staff , Faculty, Student? How about someone who has retired from the College? If so, send related stories/articles along with pictures past and present to: COENEWS@VALDOSTA.EDU. Thanks
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The College of Education celebrated their first annual “Field Experience Kick-off.” More than 200 students and educators from the Department of Early Childhood and Special Education gathered to celebrate their teacher candidates. The event featured a fashion show, inspirational speeches, testimonial videos, and the now famous “Teach Teach Baby” rap. This was a professor-led rendition of Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby,” complete with neon shirts and dance moves! Students left motivated and filled with passion, ready to shape the youth of today and turn them into the leaders of tomorrow.
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College of Education SPEC 3000- Serving Student Diverse Needs Dr. Unterreiner / GA Stephanie Howard
PE students became instructors for a class session and facilitated adaptive PE experiences for the 157 students in my course. Jamarian Brown, Andrew Calhoun, Amela Kadic, Jamey Knight, Drew McCall, Kristina Crimley, and Courtney Green Students taught adaptive activities that covered seated volleyball, Blindfold soccer, and goal ball. .
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Teaching Collaboration Skills COMMD Students Benefit From Field-Based Collaborative . . . In
classroom materials in the older grades, but also intervene with social skills training and reinforce classroom routines in therapy sessions. These opportunities for collaboration are excellent learning experiences for our students. They become familiar with the language demands of the classroom and then evaluate the student’s skill level to determine therapy tasks to address any deficits. I work with my graduate students providing guidance through the task analysis, but I have found that my students understand the exchange of collaboration and often provide teachers with ways to implement quick and easy reinforcement opportunities for targeted skills in the classroom. As the clinical supervisor at St. John’s, I am very pleased with the response from our students to these collaborative experiences. Through working with St. John School, VSU Communication Sciences and Disorders program has been able to provide important collaborative teaching experiences to our graduate students.
Communication Sciences and Disorders,
our graduate students complete three semesters of clinical practicum acquiring experience with a wide range of clients, from preschool to older adults. To afford our students a wide variety of experiences, students see clients in
many different settings beyond the Speech and Hearing Clinic on the VSU campus. The department has had a clinical site at St. John School in Valdosta for more than a decade, where our students have the opportunity to gain valuable clinical experience in the school setting. At St. John’s, our students administer speech, language & hearing screenings, and provide speech and language therapy as well as evaluation services under the supervision of a VSU clinical faculty member. Lately, teaching opportunities at this site have expanded as our clinical practicum students have been called upon to collaborate with the teachers in a variety of speech and language areas. Our students not only teach textbook skills and provide vocabulary intervention with the
Karen R. Noll, Assistant Professor and Clinical Supervisor in Communication Sciences and Disorders
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President McKinney’s Appointment Spotlights Efforts of COE Adult & Career Education Department VSU President William McKinney was recently honored with an appointment to the Board of Trustees of the Georgia Council on Economic Education. He represents VSU, which has had an active Center of Economic Education since 1972.
prepares teachers to assist students in the Georgia Stock Market Game™. More than 35,000 elementary through high school students in Georgia play the Stock market Game™ each year, starting off with a hypothetical portfolio of $100,000, and competing with other schools for recognition. Funding for this activity is supported by Bank of America, the CFA Society of Atlanta, the Citi Foundation, the Georgia Securities Association, INVESCO, and the SIFMA/ Southern Central District.
The VSU Center of Economic Education (CEE) is currently housed in the Adult & Career Education Department (ACED) in the Dewar College of Education. Drs. Cindy Prater and Vesta Whisler, ACED co-directors of the VSU CEE since 2007, keep the Center stocked with up-to-date materials for K-12 teachers who teach anything from short modules to full courses in economics. While these materials may be checked out from the VSU-CEE, many more resources are available free to Georgia public and independent school teachers at the following Web site: http://www.gcee.org/ resources/order_teaching_materials.asp
Drs. Prater and Whisler routinely offer these workshops, many of which are free to teachers, include substitute pay, and often provide breakfast and lunch to the attendees. The VSU CEE maintains a database of local teachers and stays in contact with them to understand their economic education training needs. Drs. Prater and Whisler are currently scheduling workshops for Spring 2013.
The Georgia CEE has provided a leadership role in the research of the impacts of CEE teacher workshops on student end-of-course scores in economics. Students of teachers who attended GCEE workshops performed statistically significantly higher on the EOCT than students whose teachers had never attended a GCEE workshop (How Georgia Students Benefit from the Georgia Council on Economic Education).
Dr. Vesta R. Whisler
One of the most popular CEE workshops
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News from the COE Student Teaching and Field Experience Office The Student Teaching and Field Experience Office is busy! Mid-term was October 4th, so our student teachers are more than half way home! We continue to hear exciting news from both our students as well as their respective schools. This experience is such a critical aspect of becoming a teacher, so it is great to hear that our students are doing tremendous jobs in their placements! Our new Field Placement Model for practicum students was introduced this semester in the Early Childhood and Special Education Department. In this model, our practicum students are completing over 150 hours in a clinical setting along with having a university supervisor on site for the majority of the time. This model provides our students more time in the schools prior to student teaching and provides support and feedback from the university on a daily basis. What better way to learn! This revamped approach will hopefully ensure that our teacher candidates are prepared to become innovators, collaborators and problem solvers in education.
Reminders of Important Upcoming Dates Thursday, October 25, 2012, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.:
Fall Career Expo University Center, Magnolia and Cypress Rooms
Tuesday, November 13, 2012, 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.:
PRESENTATION: “Principals” of Interviewing* Room 2050 Dean's Conference Room College of Education *BY CONFIRMED INVITATION ONLY
Wednesday, November 14, 2012, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.:
Education Career Day University Center, Magnolia and Cypress Rooms
November 26, 2012, (Time and Location TBA):
Professional Development Day Law and Ethics, presented by Mr. Paul Shaw Professional Standards Commission
Friday, November 30, 2012:
Last Day in Schools Thursday, Dec. 6 & Friday, Dec. 7, 2012: Student Teacher Exit Meetings (Students will attend one meeting) from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m., in Dewar COE
Saturday, December 8, 2012:
Graduation PE Complex
Please continue to check our NEWS BOARD for current job openings! 11
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With this edition of the Educator we will begin to populate an online resource site made up of links submitted by COE members. Sites that are informative, compelling in their presentation, prophetic in their message, and hopefully a bit “disruptive” of convention are of particular interest. As the number of links increases they will be categorized for easier reference. If you know of a linked source that you feel would be of value to the members of the COE please send them to COENEWS@VALDOSTA.EDU along with a brief annotation.
Resource and Information Links Submitted by COE Members for COE Members Vimeo link to Dr. Clay Christensen presentation ( http://vimeo.com/37004917 ). Dr. Christensen is known for the term “Disruptive Innovation”; A term he developed from his work in Business as a Professor at Harvard. He was the keynote speaker at the February Conference @ AACTE and is translating his framework to Higher Education -amazing thoughts here. Submitted by Dr. Ann Unterreiner A book chapter related to harmony as it impacts the business setting. http:// www.mirainternational.com/books/difference/chap9.htm . The book chapter is contained in the book, “The Vital Difference – Unleashing the Powers of Sustained Corporate Success” by Frederick G. Harmon and Garry Jacobs. Submitted by Dr. Mike Griffin An animated matrix/network tool is introduced to illustrate cross-connectedness in leadership and organizational systems. John Maeda is the President of the Rhode Island School of Design who is collaborating with STEM for education, art, creativity, businesses and state legislators in Rhode Island in a collaboration for K12. How art, technology and design inform creative leaders: http://www.ted.com/talks/john_maeda_how_art_technology_and_design_inform_creative_leaders.html Submitted by Dr. Ann Unterreiner
Students can mind-map ideas: http://www.text2mindmap.com/ Submitted by Dr. Ann Unterreiner
Sebastian Thrun, co-founder of Udacity, Vice President/Fellow at Google, wowed the audience on Wednesday, Oct, 11, with his keynote address, “Democratizing Higher Education.” -- WATCH RECORDED SESSION NOW! (Submitted by Dr. Anthony Scheffler)
ATTENTION Nominations for Excellence Awards Now Being Accepted http://www.valdosta.edu/pres/Award.shtml 13
Remembering Vanessa Brunston The College of Education is not the same without Vanessa Brunston rolling in the halls. She was a very loyal and dedicated employee. If you ever needed anything, she was always willing to help. I still catch myself from time to time hoping to ask her one last question. Vanessa’s mother told me that all she could talk about during her recent illness was “getting back to work.” She loved working and she did an outstanding job.
each other. Laughter was a way for us to deal with the challenges of living life in a wheelchair. I know for a fact that Vanessa dealt with a lot of pain every day in her lifetime, but she never let it stop her. She held true to her Wildcat motto: “never, never, never, never, never, etc., quit.” And she never did. I often sit and think about Vanessa and if she is watching out for all of us in the College of Education. Then, I get this wonderful picture of Vanessa in my mind and I can‘t help but smile and giggle. She’s dancing in heaven with her new set of legs and enjoying her much deserved time with Jesus. Now, she is truly happy and finally pain-free.
I also knew Vanessa on a more personal level because she and I had one “big object with wheels” in common. We would often talk about some of our struggles and mishaps related to being in our chairs, but we always ended up laughing at each other and with
Sheree Hudson
Well folks ..That’s it until January! Hope you enjoyed the second edition of the Dewar College of Education Newsletter. With your input it can only get better. Send your submissions for the next edition of the newsletter to: COENEWS@VALDOSTA.EDU
From the Dean’s Suite… We wish you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving, a Happy Hanukkah, an Enjoyable Las Posadas, and a Very Meaningful Christmas!
And just in case you have been wondering . . . Ball-Bearing Roller Skates were patented on December 9th in 1884, National Noodle Ring Day is December 11th, December 21st is “Humbug Day”. It is also “Look At The Bright Side Day”. And last but not least, December 29th is “Pepper Pot Day” (I have no idea.)
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