VIRES Fall 2015: Special Content

Student Focused.

Innovation Driven.

Conducting Research that Makes a Difference

FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE of EDUCATION

In the FSU College of Education, we continually strive to make a positive impact in the field of education. Our faculty form partnerships and engage in research with both local and international organizations, and, in turn, our students are prepared for careers that can take them across town or across the globe.

Community College on an International Scale: Jeffrey Ayala Milligan Florida’s system of community colleges, considered among the best in the nation, is now a model for other countries around the world. Jeffrey Ayala Milligan, director of Florida State University’s Learning Systems Institute, is spearheading a year-old program that has helped Indonesia train educators for its growing system of educational academies. In addition to Indonesia, Milligan is planning three upcoming projects in India, Ukraine and Latin America (to include Peru, Ecuador, Brazil and Colombia).

The six-week Community College Administrator Program is conducted by Florida State University and Santa Fe College with support from the U.S. Department of State. For the educators from Indonesia, it provided a good sense of how Florida’s community colleges meet the needs of their communities and serve as gateways to postsecondary education.

In the first week, participants took part in an executive dialogue that provides an overview of the U.S. community college system and explored Indonesia’s development of community academies. The remaining weeks were spent training 14 educators in how Florida’s community colleges operate and how educators here manage the system of 68 campuses with almost 900,000 students.

“We are showing how community colleges in the United States teach people how to create jobs, not just look for jobs,” said Milligan. “Our community college graduates have a strong record of establishing their own businesses, and this is of great interest to the people and their government and business leaders.”

Bob Ballard, director of Tallahassee Community College’s Wakulla Environmental Institute, teaches CCAP Indonesia participants about its oyster aquaculture program.

To learn more about the exciting research and ongoing projects at LSI, visit lsi.fsu.edu.

K-12 Initiatives in a Rural District: Ella-Mae Daniel Gadsden County, Florida, is rich with culturally and linguistically diverse students. With the vision that “all students are prepared for success in a rapidly changing, diverse, global society through a variety of educational opportunities,” this district provides an excellent opportunity for a university-school partnership that promotes student teachers’ field-practice engagement and K-12 student achievement. A partnership between the FSU School of Teacher Education and Gadsden County Public Schools is helping students in teacher education programs gain valuable experience in working with these diverse populations.

Ella-Mae Daniel, teaching faculty in the School of Teacher Education, is helping place these students into one of two Gadsden County schools – Greensboro Elementary School and St. John Elementary School – to complete their semester-long field practice experiences.

“During this introductory field experience, students who are newly admitted to the elementary education program are introduced to the culture of the elementary school.

They focus on the application of strategies and methods for teaching, observing, and learning about the child as an individual and the overall school community as it relates to teaching and learning,” said Daniel.

Through observation and participation in classrooms in coordination with course assignments, students work towards developing skills essential to becoming a successful teacher, especially with regard to culturally and linguistically diverse populations of students.

Another facet of this partnership includes a training program on the use of Conscious Discipline. This initiative, funded by College of Education alumnae Cynthia Schumacher (B.A. ’50, M.A. ’51) and Nina Shuman (B.S. ’50, M.S. ’56), will benefit both Gadsden County schools and School of Teacher Education students.

Developed by Becky Bailey (Ph.D. ’79), a College of Education alumna, Conscious Discipline aims to establish a positive school climate by creating a school family through the integration of classroom management and social-emotional learning.

Daniel, in collaboration with Phyllis Underwood, teaching faculty in the School of Teacher Education, began coordinating whole school training and implementation activities in the fall of 2015.

To learn more about our partnerships with Gadsden County, you may contact Ella-Mae Daniel at edaniel@fsu.edu.

For more information about the FSU College of Education’s latest research initiatives, visit education.fsu.edu/research.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.�

-Nelson Mandela