TPTE Newsletter - Dec 2016

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 481 KNOXVILLE, TN

Department of Theory & Practice in Teacher Education 1122 Volunteer Boulevard Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-3442

Summer 2016

Grim meets with Senator Alexander at CEC summit Joan Grim, TPTE lecturer, represented Tennessee at the 2016 Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Special Education Legislative Summit where she received advocacy training from some of the most experienced advocates in the field of special education.

She conversed with Senator Lamar Alexander, former president of the University of Tennessee, about major issues such as funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Funding that invests in special education pays off in the future in

TPTE Council Members

TPTE Council Business Partners

Lyndon Mitchell and Kimberly Wolbers

successful students who are college and career ready.

A major effort of CEC is for all teachers to recognize that public policy written by and for the special education community directly benefits our students and their families.

Senator Alexander is the chair of the Senate committee that wrote the recently passed Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to replace No Child Left Behind (NCLB).

TPTE Council Partners

Sherry Mee Bell and R. Steve McCallum Amos Hatch Harvey and Marilyn Liberman Catherine Stubbs

The University of Tennessee is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA institution in the provision of its education and employment programs and services. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, or covered veteran status. The university name and its indicia within are trademarks of the University of Tennessee. A project of the Department of Theory & Practice in Teacher Education with assistance from the Creative Communications group of the UT Office of Communications & Marketing. Job 306711

THE NEWSLETTER FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF THEORY & PRACTICE IN TEACHER EDUCATION

Q&A WITH TARA C. MOORE Assistant Professor of Special Education Project Director for the Tennessee Behavior Supports Project

Q: What is the Tennessee Behavior Supports Project?

A: It’s a five-year, $3.75 million grant funded by the Tennessee Department of Education to provide support to public school teachers, administrators, and behavior support staff with developing and implementing the Response to Instruction and Intervention–Behavior ((RTI2–B) framework. You can learn more about it at etbsp.utk.edu.

Q: How do you provide support to schools in the East Tennessee area?

A: In the summer and fall of 2016 we plan to train over sixty school and district leadership teams to develop implementation plans for Tier I of the Tennessee RTI2-B framework. In spring 2017, we plan to begin training for Tier II and Tier III. Our goal is to train about fifty new leadership teams each year of this fiveyear grant. All of the training and consulting is provided to PreK–12 schools free of charge.

We are passionate about helping teachers implement research-based classroom management strategies to support the overall instructional environment.

Q: What inspired you to pursue a career in special education?

A: After graduating from UT with a degree in sociology, I moved back to my hometown of McMinnville, Tennessee. I wanted to enter a service-related career where I could give back to the community, so I earned a transitional license for special education and began working in elementary, middle, and high school classrooms.

These experiences inspired me to earn my teaching certification in special education as well as my master’s and PhD degrees in special education from Vanderbilt University.

Q: What is your favorite part about working in special education?

A: I have always enjoyed interacting with children and adolescents that other teachers might find challenging. I also like to work with students who are not fully invested in school to help find ways to reengage them.

Q: Who are the other members of your team?

A: We have four educational consultants: Jessica Eshbaugh, Tiffany Garrison-White, Jason Gordon, and Jessica Ogburn. Our administrative specialist is Melissa Breeden.

Q: What advice do you have for teachers?

A: Don’t underestimate the importance of building relationships. Developing a rapport with your students can go such a long way to making your instructional and behavior management strategies more effective. Remember that ultimately your classroom should be a place where kids want to be.

BY THE NUMBERS

5

$3.75M

14

Number of grants from the Tennessee Department of Education

Amount of the TBSP grant

Grade levels taught (PreK–12)

TPTENEWS | Fall 2016

FACULTY AND STAFF RECOGNITION

FRO M TH E D EPARTM ENT H E AD

Greetings!

Spring 2016 was a productive semester for TPTE. As you will see in this newsletter, our faculty and staff were well represented at the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences Faculty and Staff Recognition Ceremony in April. TPTE faculty were also recognized for national awards, leadership, and grant work. A dozen faculty members had 2015–2016 published books on display. Some of those books were the outcome of collaboration with past or current students, which reflects our focus on preparing the next generation of teachers and teacher educators.

In March, selected faculty and doctoral students presented to the college’s Board of Advisors. The presentation, “Yes! We Prepare Teachers: But Look at What Else We Do,” featured the work of faculty and doctoral

students and showcased a variety of engaged scholarship activities in partnership with area schools and agencies such as the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs.

In May, many faculty and students completing their teaching internships participated in the second annual Tribute to Educators—a celebratory event for our graduating interns, their school mentors and administrators, and program faculty and supervisors.

The event was bittersweet as we said goodbye to Marian Phillips, who retired this summer from her position as director of the Office of School-Based Experiences. We welcome Geri Landry, formerly a clinical faculty member in TPTE, into the role of director and look forward to working with her to ensure successful clinical experiences for our pre-service teachers.

Through this newsletter, we hope to make you aware of a sampling of the teaching, scholarship, and outreach activities undertaken by our talented faculty, staff, and students and to highlight some accomplishments of a few of our many impressive and dedicated alumni and partners in the field.

Sherry Mee Bell

Promotions Congratulations to the following faculty members on their recent promotions.

FULL PROFESSOR JoAnn Cady Mathematics education David Cihak Special education ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR WITH TENURE Judson Laughter English education CLINICAL PROFESSOR Kristin Rearden Science education CLINICAL ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR Nivedita Ganguly Science education Terry Hopkins Mathematics education Jennifer Jordan Literacy education

Department Head

About Us

TPTE, one of four departments housed within the Graduate School of Education within the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences, is a vibrant and large department with about forty full-time faculty, seven administrative staff, about thirty graduate assistants, and more than 400 students enrolled in undergraduate, master’s, educational specialist, and PhD programs. TPTE is also home to the Center on Deafness, which has a long tradition of offering grant-funded programs to enhance the lives of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, and East Tennessee Behavior Supports, which offers consultative and assessment services in K–12 schools in East Tennessee.

Cady

Laughter

Cihak

Rearden

Mission Statement

TPTE’s mission is “to develop innovative, research based programs for teachers, teacher educators, and educational interpreters; to work in close harmony with schools and educators across the university, in the state, region, nation, and world for the improvement of education and educational interpreting; to develop leadership in scholarly research and writing; and to participate and assume leadership in professional organizations and the Center for Children’s and Young Adult Literature.

Ganguly

Marian Phillips retired from her position as director of school-based experiences in June 2016. We asked her to reflect on her 42-year career in education.

You’ve held many different teaching roles during your career. How did those roles change over time?

I started as a fourth-grade teacher. After earning my master’s degree in special education with a specialization in children with behavior disorders (that was the old term!), I worked in multiple positions involving children with behavioral challenges and their families. For two years, I worked in an early intervention behavioral program for children ages birth to three in Pensacola, Florida. I also earned my certification as a school psychologist.

When you were a doctoral student at UT, you balanced the responsibilities of coursework, research, and teaching. Tell us about your experiences during that time.

My husband Joe and I moved to Knoxville on August 1, 1994. By the time the UT fall semester started, I had a GA position with the inclusive early childhood cohort and was enrolled in graduate classes. Part of my GA responsibilities was the supervision of interns.

While working on my doctorate, I was awarded a $50,000 Head Start Fellowship that supported my dissertation research. I won the Helen B. Watson dissertation award in 1998.

You remained at UT briefly after graduating, and then rejoined the faculty later. What were your roles after earning your doctorate?

After graduating in May 1998, I remained at UT as clinical assistant professor until 2000.

I was principal of the Oak Ridge Schools preschool from January 2001 until April 2012. I moved into the interim assistant superintendent position for Oak Ridge Schools until I returned to UT at the start of 2013 to serve as director of the Office of School-Based Experiences (OSBE).

What did you enjoy most about working in the OSBE? The people! I loved the energy of the students, the fresh ideas and enthusiasm of the faculty, and the public schools that hosted our students and enjoyed our interns.

Your career in education has spanned over four decades. What do you consider to be the most significant change in teacher education?

The biggest change that continually affirms my belief in public education is that principals have moved from being school managers to school leaders. They have more autonomy to engage faculty in research-based professional development.

I know for some this may sound a bit crazy, but if you have been involved with schools for this long, you would understand the vast changes in site-based leadership that have occurred. That’s not to say we have all the answers, but it does show that schools are evolving. I am excited about these positive changes and what may come in the future.

You’ve always had a full schedule during your career. What are your plans for retirement?

It will be nice to not have to leave for work before the sun is up! Gardening, photography, reading, and spending time with family and friends are all high on my priority list. Also, I want to get involved as a volunteer in several special organizations in Oak Ridge.

Jordan

TPTE News Editor: Kristin Rearden, clinical professor

Hopkins

A Conversation with Marian Phillips

TPTE faculty and staff were well represented as awardees at the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences Faculty and Staff Recognition Ceremony in April.

Charlotte Gossett (administrative specialist I) was awarded the John Tunstall Outstanding Staff Award.

Karen Walker (administrative specialist) was recognized for twenty years of service at UT. Judson Laughter (associate professor, English education) was awarded the Helen B. Watson Outstanding Faculty Award for scholarship.

Susan Groenke (associate professor, English education) was awarded the CEHHS Board of Advisors Excellence in Outreach and Engagement Award.

David Cihak (professor, special education) received the Louie M. and Betty M. Phillips Faculty Support in Education Award. He was also recognized for his role as president of the Division of Autism and Developmental Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children.

Stewart Waters (assistant professor, social sciences education) serves as co-editor of the Journal of Social Studies Research.

Pattie Davis-Wiley (professor, world languages and ESL education) serves as editor and founder of the Tennessee Foreign Language Teaching Association Journal.

Richard Allington (professor, literacy education) was recognized as recipient of the P. David Pearson Research to Practice Award from the Literacy Research Association.

Anne McGill-Franzen (professor, literacy education) was recognized as recipient of the Excellence in Education Award from the University at Albany, State University of New York.

David Smith (research associate professor, deaf and interpreting education) was recognized as principal investigator of the Tennessee Education of the Deaf Personnel Preparation Project: Preparing Personnel to Serve School-Age Children with Low-Incidence Disabilities—a $250,000 award from the US Department of Education.

Kimberly Wolbers (associate professor, deaf and interpreting education) was recognized as a subcontractor of the National Leadership Consortium in Sensory Disabilities Fellowships from Salus University for $143,680.

TPTENEWS | Fall 2016

FACULTY AND STAFF RECOGNITION

FRO M TH E D EPARTM ENT H E AD

Greetings!

Spring 2016 was a productive semester for TPTE. As you will see in this newsletter, our faculty and staff were well represented at the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences Faculty and Staff Recognition Ceremony in April. TPTE faculty were also recognized for national awards, leadership, and grant work. A dozen faculty members had 2015–2016 published books on display. Some of those books were the outcome of collaboration with past or current students, which reflects our focus on preparing the next generation of teachers and teacher educators.

In March, selected faculty and doctoral students presented to the college’s Board of Advisors. The presentation, “Yes! We Prepare Teachers: But Look at What Else We Do,” featured the work of faculty and doctoral

students and showcased a variety of engaged scholarship activities in partnership with area schools and agencies such as the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs.

In May, many faculty and students completing their teaching internships participated in the second annual Tribute to Educators—a celebratory event for our graduating interns, their school mentors and administrators, and program faculty and supervisors.

The event was bittersweet as we said goodbye to Marian Phillips, who retired this summer from her position as director of the Office of School-Based Experiences. We welcome Geri Landry, formerly a clinical faculty member in TPTE, into the role of director and look forward to working with her to ensure successful clinical experiences for our pre-service teachers.

Through this newsletter, we hope to make you aware of a sampling of the teaching, scholarship, and outreach activities undertaken by our talented faculty, staff, and students and to highlight some accomplishments of a few of our many impressive and dedicated alumni and partners in the field.

Sherry Mee Bell

Promotions Congratulations to the following faculty members on their recent promotions.

FULL PROFESSOR JoAnn Cady Mathematics education David Cihak Special education ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR WITH TENURE Judson Laughter English education CLINICAL PROFESSOR Kristin Rearden Science education CLINICAL ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR Nivedita Ganguly Science education Terry Hopkins Mathematics education Jennifer Jordan Literacy education

Department Head

About Us

TPTE, one of four departments housed within the Graduate School of Education within the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences, is a vibrant and large department with about forty full-time faculty, seven administrative staff, about thirty graduate assistants, and more than 400 students enrolled in undergraduate, master’s, educational specialist, and PhD programs. TPTE is also home to the Center on Deafness, which has a long tradition of offering grant-funded programs to enhance the lives of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, and East Tennessee Behavior Supports, which offers consultative and assessment services in K–12 schools in East Tennessee.

Cady

Laughter

Cihak

Rearden

Mission Statement

TPTE’s mission is “to develop innovative, research based programs for teachers, teacher educators, and educational interpreters; to work in close harmony with schools and educators across the university, in the state, region, nation, and world for the improvement of education and educational interpreting; to develop leadership in scholarly research and writing; and to participate and assume leadership in professional organizations and the Center for Children’s and Young Adult Literature.

Ganguly

Marian Phillips retired from her position as director of school-based experiences in June 2016. We asked her to reflect on her 42-year career in education.

You’ve held many different teaching roles during your career. How did those roles change over time?

I started as a fourth-grade teacher. After earning my master’s degree in special education with a specialization in children with behavior disorders (that was the old term!), I worked in multiple positions involving children with behavioral challenges and their families. For two years, I worked in an early intervention behavioral program for children ages birth to three in Pensacola, Florida. I also earned my certification as a school psychologist.

When you were a doctoral student at UT, you balanced the responsibilities of coursework, research, and teaching. Tell us about your experiences during that time.

My husband Joe and I moved to Knoxville on August 1, 1994. By the time the UT fall semester started, I had a GA position with the inclusive early childhood cohort and was enrolled in graduate classes. Part of my GA responsibilities was the supervision of interns.

While working on my doctorate, I was awarded a $50,000 Head Start Fellowship that supported my dissertation research. I won the Helen B. Watson dissertation award in 1998.

You remained at UT briefly after graduating, and then rejoined the faculty later. What were your roles after earning your doctorate?

After graduating in May 1998, I remained at UT as clinical assistant professor until 2000.

I was principal of the Oak Ridge Schools preschool from January 2001 until April 2012. I moved into the interim assistant superintendent position for Oak Ridge Schools until I returned to UT at the start of 2013 to serve as director of the Office of School-Based Experiences (OSBE).

What did you enjoy most about working in the OSBE? The people! I loved the energy of the students, the fresh ideas and enthusiasm of the faculty, and the public schools that hosted our students and enjoyed our interns.

Your career in education has spanned over four decades. What do you consider to be the most significant change in teacher education?

The biggest change that continually affirms my belief in public education is that principals have moved from being school managers to school leaders. They have more autonomy to engage faculty in research-based professional development.

I know for some this may sound a bit crazy, but if you have been involved with schools for this long, you would understand the vast changes in site-based leadership that have occurred. That’s not to say we have all the answers, but it does show that schools are evolving. I am excited about these positive changes and what may come in the future.

You’ve always had a full schedule during your career. What are your plans for retirement?

It will be nice to not have to leave for work before the sun is up! Gardening, photography, reading, and spending time with family and friends are all high on my priority list. Also, I want to get involved as a volunteer in several special organizations in Oak Ridge.

Jordan

TPTE News Editor: Kristin Rearden, clinical professor

Hopkins

A Conversation with Marian Phillips

TPTE faculty and staff were well represented as awardees at the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences Faculty and Staff Recognition Ceremony in April.

Charlotte Gossett (administrative specialist I) was awarded the John Tunstall Outstanding Staff Award.

Karen Walker (administrative specialist) was recognized for twenty years of service at UT. Judson Laughter (associate professor, English education) was awarded the Helen B. Watson Outstanding Faculty Award for scholarship.

Susan Groenke (associate professor, English education) was awarded the CEHHS Board of Advisors Excellence in Outreach and Engagement Award.

David Cihak (professor, special education) received the Louie M. and Betty M. Phillips Faculty Support in Education Award. He was also recognized for his role as president of the Division of Autism and Developmental Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children.

Stewart Waters (assistant professor, social sciences education) serves as co-editor of the Journal of Social Studies Research.

Pattie Davis-Wiley (professor, world languages and ESL education) serves as editor and founder of the Tennessee Foreign Language Teaching Association Journal.

Richard Allington (professor, literacy education) was recognized as recipient of the P. David Pearson Research to Practice Award from the Literacy Research Association.

Anne McGill-Franzen (professor, literacy education) was recognized as recipient of the Excellence in Education Award from the University at Albany, State University of New York.

David Smith (research associate professor, deaf and interpreting education) was recognized as principal investigator of the Tennessee Education of the Deaf Personnel Preparation Project: Preparing Personnel to Serve School-Age Children with Low-Incidence Disabilities—a $250,000 award from the US Department of Education.

Kimberly Wolbers (associate professor, deaf and interpreting education) was recognized as a subcontractor of the National Leadership Consortium in Sensory Disabilities Fellowships from Salus University for $143,680.

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 481 KNOXVILLE, TN

Department of Theory & Practice in Teacher Education 1122 Volunteer Boulevard Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-3442

Summer 2016

Grim meets with Senator Alexander at CEC summit Joan Grim, TPTE lecturer, represented Tennessee at the 2016 Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Special Education Legislative Summit where she received advocacy training from some of the most experienced advocates in the field of special education.

She conversed with Senator Lamar Alexander, former president of the University of Tennessee, about major issues such as funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Funding that invests in special education pays off in the future in

TPTE Council Members

TPTE Council Business Partners

Lyndon Mitchell and Kimberly Wolbers

successful students who are college and career ready.

A major effort of CEC is for all teachers to recognize that public policy written by and for the special education community directly benefits our students and their families.

Senator Alexander is the chair of the Senate committee that wrote the recently passed Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to replace No Child Left Behind (NCLB).

TPTE Council Partners

Sherry Mee Bell and R. Steve McCallum Amos Hatch Harvey and Marilyn Liberman Catherine Stubbs

The University of Tennessee is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA institution in the provision of its education and employment programs and services. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, or covered veteran status. The university name and its indicia within are trademarks of the University of Tennessee. A project of the Department of Theory & Practice in Teacher Education with assistance from the Creative Communications group of the UT Office of Communications & Marketing. Job 306711

THE NEWSLETTER FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF THEORY & PRACTICE IN TEACHER EDUCATION

Q&A WITH TARA C. MOORE Assistant Professor of Special Education Project Director for the Tennessee Behavior Supports Project

Q: What is the Tennessee Behavior Supports Project?

A: It’s a five-year, $3.75 million grant funded by the Tennessee Department of Education to provide support to public school teachers, administrators, and behavior support staff with developing and implementing the Response to Instruction and Intervention–Behavior ((RTI2–B) framework. You can learn more about it at etbsp.utk.edu.

Q: How do you provide support to schools in the East Tennessee area?

A: In the summer and fall of 2016 we plan to train over sixty school and district leadership teams to develop implementation plans for Tier I of the Tennessee RTI2-B framework. In spring 2017, we plan to begin training for Tier II and Tier III. Our goal is to train about fifty new leadership teams each year of this fiveyear grant. All of the training and consulting is provided to PreK–12 schools free of charge.

We are passionate about helping teachers implement research-based classroom management strategies to support the overall instructional environment.

Q: What inspired you to pursue a career in special education?

A: After graduating from UT with a degree in sociology, I moved back to my hometown of McMinnville, Tennessee. I wanted to enter a service-related career where I could give back to the community, so I earned a transitional license for special education and began working in elementary, middle, and high school classrooms.

These experiences inspired me to earn my teaching certification in special education as well as my master’s and PhD degrees in special education from Vanderbilt University.

Q: What is your favorite part about working in special education?

A: I have always enjoyed interacting with children and adolescents that other teachers might find challenging. I also like to work with students who are not fully invested in school to help find ways to reengage them.

Q: Who are the other members of your team?

A: We have four educational consultants: Jessica Eshbaugh, Tiffany Garrison-White, Jason Gordon, and Jessica Ogburn. Our administrative specialist is Melissa Breeden.

Q: What advice do you have for teachers?

A: Don’t underestimate the importance of building relationships. Developing a rapport with your students can go such a long way to making your instructional and behavior management strategies more effective. Remember that ultimately your classroom should be a place where kids want to be.

BY THE NUMBERS

5

$3.75M

14

Number of grants from the Tennessee Department of Education

Amount of the TBSP grant

Grade levels taught (PreK–12)