2016 College of Education Fall Newsletter

JOHN H. LOUNSBURY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

NEWSLETTER FALL 2016

CONTENTS 3 Dean’s Message 4 Call Me MISTER 5 Ranked Top in the Nation JOHN H. LOUNSBURY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

NEWSLETTER Fall 2016 Dean Joe Peters Newsletter Coordinators Revel Pogue Mariharden McElheny

6 Faculty Award 8 Alumni

9 It’s Scary to be Hungry 10 Spotlight 11 Student Highlights 12 MAT Highlights 14 Faculty Highlights

15 New Faculty 16 Arts and Literacy 17 Diversity 20 Steam Ahead 22 K2 Mathematicians and Writers 23 Special Education 23 Early Childhood Education

Campus Box 70 Milledgeville, Ga. 31061

gcsu.edu/education University Printing | 11/2016

DEAN’S MESSAGE We are off to an exciting start this academic year. The College of Education (COE) is now officially organized into two departments. Teacher Education is led by Dr. Holley Roberts who previously served as our accreditation coordinator. The Teacher Education Department includes Pre-Education, Early Childhood Education, Middle Grades Education, Secondary Education, Special Education and our Partnership and Field Placement Coordinator. Professional Learning and Innovation is led by a new faculty member, Dr. Warren Hope. The Professional Learning and Innovation Department includes Educational Leadership, Foundations, Technology, Library Media and Reading, Languages and Literacy. We also have a new Associate Dean, Dr. John Harrison. Additionally, I am pleased to introduce our new faculty, Dr. Roddran Grimes (Special Education), Dr. Starla Townsend, (Instructional Technology) and Mrs. Estelle Jacobs (Early Childhood).

We also have Dr. Rob Sumowski moving from a temporary position into a tenure-earning position. Our new staff member, Mrs. Merissa Fedeli, serves as our development officer. Additionally, Dr. Rebecca McMullen is on loan to Fort Valley State University where she is serving as interim dean this year.

In addition to our new hires, another highlight this semester is our recent rankings at Teacher.org. The Early Childhood program was ranked number four and the Special Education program is ranked number nineteen nationwide. Although not ranked because of ranking procedures that combine middle grades content areas with secondary program content areas, our Middle Grades program does take pride in having the National Middle Grades Professor of Year, Dr. Joanne Previts.

In other news, our diversity initiatives continue to be a COE highlight. Dr. Yeprem Mehranian is leading the Diversity Committee efforts to provide a vibrant seminar series in conjunction with Fort Valley State University.

Our Call Me MISTER program continues to grow. Mr. Emmanuel Little recently received Fitzgerald Foundation support for scholarships to help participants in financial need. This is a short term measure until we can establish endowed scholarships. He is also preparing for a weeklong overnight summer experience for high school students to create a pipeline to the four year college program. Given the extremely low number of men of

color who choose teaching as their profession and the positive impact they have in classrooms, this is a very important program for our regional districts. If you know of a potential MISTER candidate, an interested high school student, or a prospective donor, do not hesitate to refer him or her to Mr. Little (emmanuel.little@gcsu.edu; 478-445-8594).

Our Professional Development School Partnerships continue to flourish. Dr. Sandra Webb and her colleagues continue to receive grant funding to support the Baldwin County partnership efforts and many faculty members are providing onsite courses and experiences in the Baldwin County Schools. Dr. Rui Kang also continues as our liaison to Putnam County Schools.

Programmatically, we are now approved for a fully online Middle Grades STEM MAT program to be offered throughout Georgia. We are also preparing to implement a Curriculum and Instruction master’s degree and a Teacher Leadership specialist degree. The Educational Leadership program is revised to offer the new Georgia Tier I masters and is seeking Professional Standards Commission approval for the Tier II specialist program. We are also exploring an educational doctorate and are collecting interest information through the https://gcsu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/ SV_eu2OxDsZXDfncjj link. If you have questions or are interested in a new or existing program, please contact Ms. Shanda Brand (shanda.brand@gcsu.edu; 478-4451383).

Mrs. Merissa Fedeli, our new development officer is reaching out to our alumni to introduce herself and host alumni meetings and events as well as establishing an advisory board. Feel free to introduce yourself if she has not already contacted you. Her email is merissa.fedeli@gcsu.edu and her phone is 478-445-8548.

As always, I thank you for your continued support of the John H. Lounsbury College of Education at Georgia College. On behalf of our entire COE family, we wish you the best during the upcoming holiday season.

Best wishes,

Joe Peters Dean of Education joseph.peters@gcsu.edu

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C A L L

M E

M I S T E R

Fall 2016 has thus far been quite eventful for Call Me MISTER as our program continues to evolve and grow.

Check out some MISTER news below: Official Induction Ceremony: We hosted our first-ever induction ceremony in September, where we inducted new members and re-dedicated returning MISTERs to their mission. Thank you to the College of Education, Office of the President and all others who supported this annual event!

Rising MISTER Academy: Every summer, we host our annual Rising MISTER Academy in an effort to build a larger pipeline for MISTERs in the state of Georgia. Last summer’s academy hosted 9th – 12th grade students from Baldwin, Johnson, Twiggs and Wilkinson Counties. We have already began recruitment throughout Georgia for next year’s Academy, which has been upgraded to a week-long overnight experience.

Betty & Davis Fitzgerald Foundation grant funding: We are extremely excited about being recipients of a $75,000 grant from the Betty & Davis Fitzgerald Foundation this year! These funds will support MISTERs through scholarships and resources for programmatic activities.

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B E S T

C O L L E G E

R A T I N G

Georgia College education degrees ranked top in the nation Two Georgia College education degree programs have been ranked among the best in the nation.

Teacher.org recently released the “Best College” rankings with the Early Childhood Education and the Special Education degrees listed in the top 20 for the U.S. The Georgia College Early Childhood Education degree was listed as fourth in the nation. Of the 425 degree programs reviewed, Georgia College was the top ranked Georgia institution. The ranking noted the field-based approach that leads to significant depth in connecting theory and practice and the unique pairing of students to mentor leaders through the program.

The Georgia College Early Childhood program is also nationally recognized through the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

The university’s Special Education degree program ranked 19 of the 400 colleges analyzed and was the only Georgia university listed in the top 20. The foundation in the liberal arts, rigorous admission standards, multiple and lengthy field experiences and a strong focus on leadership and advocacy provide a strong preparation for students. The program is nationally recognized by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC).

“We are thrilled to be recognized by the Teacher.org Best Colleges report. It supports our belief that the intentional integration of diverse field experiences and

relevant theoretical grounding better prepares candidates to enter today’s schools,” said Dr. Holley Roberts, interim department chair for teacher education. “The quality preparation of candidates is also attributed to the candidates’ engagement in professional learning through building relationships with their cohort colleagues, mentor leaders, partner teachers and P-12 students.”

Teacher.org’s "Best Colleges" rankings use the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) as the raw data starting point. More information on the methodology is available here. http://www.teacher.org/college-ranking-methodology/ Georgia College was also recently recognized by AccreditedCollegesonline.org on the Best Early Childhood Education Programs, ranking in the top 50 in the nation.

The John H. Lounsbury College of Education at Georgia College offers several award-winning undergraduate and graduate degrees. Instructional and school leaders gain valuable opportunities and benefit from meaningful partnerships the university maintains with schools, districts and other institutions and agencies. The COE is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the Georgia Professional Standards Association (PSC) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

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F A C U L T Y

A W A R D

Dr. Previts Named Top Professor

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r. Joanne Previts was named the nation's Outstanding Professor of Middle Level Education. She received the award at the Association for Middle Level Education Annual Conference in Austin, Texas.

Previts has served as a mentor leader and professor in the Middle Grades Education program at the graduate and undergraduate levels.

The criteria includes that the awardee must be licensed for grades 5-8, 6-9 and must be an advocate for teacher candidates by serving as effective advisors, recruiting future students, modeling outstanding teaching and quality supervision of field experiences.

During her seven years at Georgia College, Previts has served as a mentor leader and professor in the Middle Grades Education program at the graduate and undergraduate levels. She is currently the coeditor of the Middle School Journal, a scholarly publication of the Association for Middle Level Education. Previts also received the 2016 University Excellence in Teaching Award for Georgia College. She received her Bachelors of Arts in Elementary Education from Notre Dame College, Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Cleveland State University and her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Kent State University. â–

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Previts Selected as AMLE Magazine Editor he Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) is pleased to announce the selection of Joanne Previts, Ph.D. as editor of AMLE Magazine. Previts succeeds recently retired Editor Pat George who served the association for more than 14 years. AMLE Magazine, a benefit of AMLE membership, provides teachers and administrators tools and information to motivate and engage 10- to 15-year-old students in their own learning based on what research tells us is developmentally appropriate.

Previts is an associate professor of middle grades education at Georgia College, Milledgeville, Georgia and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from Notre Dame College, a Master of Education from Cleveland State University and a Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction from Kent State University.

Previts also serves as co-editor of AMLE’s scholarly journal, Middle School Journal and previously co-edited Research in Middle Level Education Online and the Georgia Middle School Association (GMSA) publication, The Advocate. She served on the GMSA executive board and has been a Georgia Lighthouse Schools to Watch site team evaluator. She has presented at state, regional and national conferences and has served as co-faculty advisor and instructor of Georgia College study abroad experiences in Belize.

Previts spent eight years working closely with one of the most important leaders in middle level education, Dr. John H. Lounsbury.

Previts spent eight years working closely with one of the most important leaders in middle level education, Dr. John H. Lounsbury. This collaboration included creating and hosting a major national event on extending the historical legacy of the middle school movement, which brought more 100 national middle level leaders from 25 states to Milledgeville, Georgia.

“I am both humbled and honored to have the opportunity to work with middle level teachers and advocates to share their stories for the benefit of young adolescents as well as the profession of middle level education,” said Previts.

AMLE Executive Director William Waidelich said, “We are thrilled to continue to work with Dr. Previts in this additional capacity as editor of AMLE Magazine. We have valued her focus on providing timely, valuable and quality content for AMLE publications and we look forward to working with her to further develop our award-winning member magazine.” ■

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A L U M N I

How can

a viral podcast Pictured from left front, Melanie G. Spivey, Betty Lunsford and Merissa Fedeli; and Ginny Boyd, second row, from left, Annette Gilleski, Emily Lin Boewadt and Jeanne Earle McConnell.

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omen for Education at Georgia College (WeGC) recently met at a luncheon at Brunswick Country with representatives from

Georgia College, Emily Lim Boewadt and Merissa Fedeli.

Women for Education at Georgia College (WeGC) is a philanthropic organization made up of women committed to making a difference in the education of current and future teachers and research through their support of the mission and vision of the College of Education (COE) at Georgia College. WeGC awards grants to COE organizations, teams, projects and initiatives that it

become the main focus of an American Literature class?

Well, our very own Mr. Roberts' has found an innovative way to incorporate the viral hit "Serial" into an interactive research project for his students. Seen here, students in his class spent time this morning researching legal transcripts and judicial proceedings at the Georgia College library to see if they can find anything that may help, or hurt, Adnan Syed’s case.

believes will make a significant positive impact on the college and the community it serves. Based out of the COE, with the intent of expanding chapters throughout Georgia, WeGC seeks to empower women and provide an avenue for giving that connects the philanthropic generosity of the group with the mission and vision of the College of Education. WeGC membership is open to all women.

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E A R L Y

C O L L E G E

It’s scary to be hungry Eighth grade Georgia College Early College (GCEC) scholars met with Dean Joseph Peters and Associate Dean John Harrison to seek their permission and advice in our “It’s Scary to be Hungry” food collection drive in collaboration with Cafe Central, a local food bank for the needy in the Baldwin County community. We collected food to combat local poverty, a topic we have researched in conjunction with our STEAM initiative, “Greenhouse Dreamhouse, ” where our students have designed and created minigreenhouses to grow flowers; our dream is to design an easy and affordable way for people to get fresh food in food deserts or real deserts, anywhere that fresh fruits or vegetables are hard to acquire.

Thank you, gentlemen, for your time and support in our efforts. We are dreaming big at GCEC!

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S P O T L I G H T

Bessie Storey

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Giving back to her community.

Bessie Storey, who is the administrative assistant for the department of Teacher Education, has been a part of the Sandersville Line Dancers for a little over three years. During her time she has spent countless hours helping her community.

The Sandersville Line Dancer's have several fundraisers during the year. They host Let's Dance O Epilepsy, Feed the Hungry, a Relay for Life team and the popular "Are you Listening".

The 2nd Annual Back to School Extravaganza, "Are you Listening" was held this past summer by the Sandersville Line dancers, Amvets/Auxiliary Post 110, The Elderite Association, HYPE -Helping Youth Pursue Excellence and Shiloh #8.

These wonderful volunteers came together as one to empower the local youth with knowledge and supplies they need in order to have a successful school year.

We are lucky to have Bessie as part of our team and appreciates all she does!

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S T U D E N T

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H I G H L I G H T S

n Sept. 23 and 24, Early Childhood teacher candidates attended the annual Conference of the Georgia Association on Young Children. In total, 83 teacher

Candidates

candidates attended. Over 40 juniors volunteered to help coordinate sessions and earned complimentary

registration to attend the conference. More than 40 seniors presented their work to teachers, administrators and other students in the field.

Juniors

Teacher candidates presented on many topics including: Reading Aloud, Diversity, STEAM, Incorporating the Arts and Working with Families. We are proud to see our teacher candidates developing as professionals.

Ashleigh Lincoln, a 2015 Macon Center graduate, was selected as

Seniors

Teacher of the Month, at Westside High School. Ashleigh teaches U.S. History and World History and is on the school's leadership team as well as the senior class advisor.

Dominique Nichols, a 2013 Macon Center MAT graduate, was recently selected as the Bibb County Teacher of the Year. Dominique is an English teacher and department chair at Westside High School.

MAT Alumni:

Tim Allen, West Laurens High School Teacher of the Year

Katie Brown Mize, Greene County High School Teacher of the Year

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Christian Barner, Clarke Central High School Teacher of the Year

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ScottiAnn Cummings, 2015 STEM MAT graduate, is NSTA Fellow he National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) New Science Teacher Academy, a yearlong program focused on encouraging and supporting early-career science educators, has chosen ScottiAnn Cummings, as one of 35 middle and secondary science teachers from across the country as fellows in this year’s academy. After completing a highly competitive application process she was notified of her selection in September. The fellows—science teachers from Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, Texas and Washington, D.C.—will participate in a host of science-related activities and professional learning opportunities, including the 2016 NSTA Conference in Los Angeles, a web-based learning community for professional development of curriculum and pedagogy. Throughout the year the fellows will be supported by a discipline- specific mentor.

“We take tremendous pride in this year’s cohort of Fellows.”

ScottiAnn is a 2015 graduate of the GC Secondary MAT Program.

She is in the second year of her career, teaching chemistry at Jasper County High School in Monticello, a position held for many years by her GC mentor, Miriam Jordan.

“We take tremendous pride in this year’s cohort of Fellows,” said Dr. David Evans, NSTA executive director. “They are motivated, they are passionate about science and they are deeply committed to developing their skills as teachers so that they can, not only bolster student achievement, but also better inspire passion for science in their students.”

This year, Lockheed Martin and the Bayer USA Foundation are supporting the 35 new science teachers selected as fellows in the program. The fellows were selected on the basis of criteria, including showing evidence of a solid science background and displaying a strong interest in growing as a professional science educator.

Congratulations to our Early College teacher, Mr. Dawson Roberts ,for receiving the Pursuit of Excellence Award!

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Secondary MAT graduate Claudia Schwabe co-edited New Approaches to Teaching Folk and Fairy Tales.

Claudia Schwabe is a 2006 graduate of the Secondary MAT program and was a member of Dr. Cynthia Alby’s cohort.

Middle Grades’ student teachers with State School Superintendent Woods at the ESSA meeting in Dublin, Georgia.

Middle Grades Students present at the National Middle School Association conference in Austin, Texas.

Pictured: Dr. Nancy Mizelle, John Williams, Megan Hardy, Kaitlin Haight, Callie Reynolds

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F A C U L T Y

H I G H L I G H T S

Rob Sumowski was honored to receive Sigma Alpha Epsilon's National Outstanding Chapter Advisor of the Year award for the second straight year.

Sandra Webb along with colleagues from Bibb County Schools, presented a session at the International Reading Association’s annual meeting in Boston in July, entitled, "Literacy Leadership in Three Voices from a Diverse School Community: Teacher, Principal and Teacher Educator.”

Dr. Sandra Webb and Dr. Noris Price were invited to present a session entitled, “Response to Urgency: Leveraging the Potential of PDS Partnerships to Support a Culture of Success in a Rural School District,” at the inaugural session of the Southeast Regional Professional Development School Association in Atlanta, Georgia, in July and at the Georgia’s Educational Leadership Insitute (GELI) in September.

Dr. Nancy B. Mizelle received the John H. Lounsbury Award The John H. Lounsbury Award is presented by the Georgia Association of Middle School Principals (GAMSP). The award is in recognition in outstanding leadership in Middle Level education in the state.

Cynthia Alby spoke at convocation as the recent recipient of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award at Georgia College.

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N E W

F A C U L T Y Roddran Grimes

Ms. Grimes currently works as an assistant professor of Special Education at Georgia College and State University. She previously served as an adjunct professor at the University of Idaho and as an assistant professor of Elementary and Special Education at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho. Prior to that she taught Interrelated Special Education in grades 6-8 for the Fulton County School System in the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area. Her research focuses on the positive behavior interventions and supports and ways technology can enhance male student literacy. She enjoys Latin dancing, traveling, cycling and attending science fiction and fantasy conventions.

Academic Department: Department of Teacher Education College: John H. Lounsbury College of Education Highest Degree: Ph.D. in Curriculum, Instruction and Media Technology with Special Education Concentration, Indiana State University

Estelle Jacobs Ms. Estelle Jacobs has spent 32 years in education serving in a variety of roles in the local area making a significant impact. She began as an elementary school teacher then moved into educational leadership serving as an assistant principal, principal, personnel/human resources director and finished her career as an assistant superintendent. She is a three-time alumna of Georgia College and has mentored many John H. Lounsbury College of Education teacher candidates. Jacobs enjoys cooking and catering, reading and spending time with her two grandchildren.

Academic Department: Department of Teacher Education College: John H. Lounsbury College of Education Highest Degree: Ed.S. in Educational Leadership, Georgia College

Warren C. Hope Dr. Hope, chair of the Professional Learning and Innovation Department. Prior to Georgia College, Hope was a professor in Educational Leadership and served as program coordinator for the Ph.D. in Educational Leadership at Florida A&M University (FAMU). He was also department chair, Educational leadership and human services and director of the Ghanaian Doctoral Initiative, a partnership between Florida A&M University and University of Cape Coast, Ghana West Africa. Public education experiences include middle school teacher, elementary school assistant principal and principal. His research interests focus on school leadership, the application of technology in teaching, education policy and teacher leadership.

Merissa Fedeli Mrs. Merissa Fedeli joined the University Advancement team as the development officer for the College of Education on Aug. 1. Merissa is a Georgia College alumna, with a degree in psychology. For the past 15 years, Merissa has been the director of business operations for BCAS, Inc. in Milledgeville. Merissa is married to Michael Fedeli, business owner of Antebellum Installation, Sales and Service. The couple has a 12-year-old daughter, Alaina, a dog, Cooper, cat, Stripes, donkey, Sage, goats and chickens. When not at work, Merissa enjoys being a cheer mom for Alaina, traveling and spending quality time with family.

Starla Townsend Dr. Townsend joins Georgia College and State University as an assistant professor in the Department of Professional Learning and Innovation in the College of Education.

Prior to coming to Georgia College, Townsend was a high school business and technology instructor; she also worked as a part-time assistant professor of instructional technology at Kennesaw State University. Townsend received her Ed.D. in Instructional Technology from Kennesaw State University and continues her research in the following subject areas: teacher motivation and training to effectively integrate technology and curriculum; the impact of technology and curriculum integration on student achievement; and educational leadership and instructional technology. Townsend is married to a wonderful husband, Mike and they have a 15 year-old son, Mitchell and the most awesome dog in the world, Buddy! Townsend lives in Marietta, Georgia.

John Harrison Dr. Harrison received his Ph.D. at the University of Tennessee in Educational Psychology and Research and is a researchpractioner and administrator who has served in many roles in higher education.

Those previous roles include director of Graduate Studies and Research, Director of the Ed.D. program in Educational Leadership and Fulbright campus representative at Louisiana Tech University. His research focuses on men of color in higher education as it relates to factors influencing college choice, persistence, retention and graduation.

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Arts 1 Literacy or the second year in a row, the College of Education has partnered with the YES Program at Eagle Ridge Elementary School to promote a connection between literacy and the arts. This program, entitled Passport to the Arts: Journeys through China, allows GC students to teach enrichment lessons at Eagle Ridge two afternoons each week and allows elementary students the opportunity to explore a range of dierent art mediums. Eagle Ridge students get excited about participating in our program and love working with their GC student mentors. Graduate assistant, Demarcus Vereen and faculty member Dr. Linda Golson Bradley facilitate the Arts & Literacy project.

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Dr. John Lounsbury conducted a presentation and mentoring session in October with the Special Education Junior cohorts of Dr. Steve Wills and Ms. Donna McNair.

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“Doing Diversity”

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C.O.E. Re-Engaging Momentum Between the Bases n Oct. 28, 2016, for the first time in the history of its partnership, the Diversity Committees of the Fort Valley and Georgia College State Universities co-sponsored a discussion meeting to reconnect the members socially. The event was held at the Macon Center in the Executive Conference Room. Attending from Fort Valley were: Dr. Curtis Borne, Dr. Gregory Green, Dr. Thomas M. Jarvis, Dr. Rebecca McMullen and Dr. Jerry A. Mobley; together with Georgia College faculty: Dr. John Harrison, Dr. Warren Hope, Dr. Yeprem Mehranian, Dr. Olha Tsarykovska and Dr. Paulette Cross.

The Discussion Social provided a foundation for the committees to offer courageous conversations

The Discussion Social provided a foundation for the committees to offer courageous conversations around the notions of diversity, particularly as it concerns the Fort ValleyGeorgia College Diversity Conference partnership. In past years, the Diversity Conferences included participation of faculty, students and the community from both institutions to raise awareness about notion of diversity. Currently, the committees are discussing plans for the upcoming diversity conference in 2018. In addition, Georgia College invited Fort Valley’s participation in the 2016-17 Social Justice Dialogue Series at the College of Education.

Special Ed students dress up for Halloween

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Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle came to campus for a discussion and signing of his new book "Education Unleashed: Moving All of Georgia's Students Forward."

Speakers included: Dr. Joe Peters, Dean of the College of Education; Dr. Noris Price, Baldwin County Superintendent; Eric Arena, Putnam County Superintendent; and Johnny Grant, Director of Economic Development and External Relations.

Thank You partner teachers!

Formerly known as host teachers, the individuals the College of Education now refers to as partner teachers provide positive support in field experiences for teacher candidates (TCs) in all of our programs. These teachers open their classrooms to model innovative teaching practices and provide opportunities for TCs to put into practice the concepts they have learned in college classroom settings. The new title, partner teacher, was recently adopted in an effort to more clearly represent the mutually beneficial relationship this partnership provides. It is a true collaboration as we all work together to prepare teacher candidates for their future in the profession of teaching. The College of Education is grateful to our partner teachers for the invaluable role they play in the preparation of our students.

Claire Garrett, Marci McKeever and Holley Roberts

Marci McKeever Georgia Association Mentor Teacher of the Year Marci McKeever was selected for the 2016 GATE Supervising Teacher of the Year, an annual award sponsored by the Georgia Association of Teacher Educators (GATE) to recognize school-based teacher educators whose teaching and mentoring excellence merits special recognition. It carries a monetary stipend, a year’s membership in GATE and an appropriate plaque.

She was nominated and supported by Dr. Holley Roberts for her work mentoring pre-service teachers. Her commitment to future teachers is commendable.

She was honored at the awards luncheon at the GATE annual conference at the Brasstown Valley Resort and Spa in Young Harris, Georgia.

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STUDY ABROAD “Teaching & Learning from Students with Autism Abroad: Lessons That Transcend Boundaries” Council for Exceptional Children—Division of International Special Education & Services, June 2016, Managua, Nicaragua (with GC student, Stephanie Tallent)

Dr. Schwartz's Early Childhood cohort On Sept. 23 and 24, JHL CoE Early Childhood teacher candidates attended the annual Conference of the Georgia Association on Young Children. In total, 83 teacher candidates attended. Over 40 juniors volunteered to help coordinate sessions and earned complimentary registration to attend the conference. More than 40 seniors presented their work to teachers, administrators and other students in the field.

Teacher candidates presented on many topics including: Reading Aloud, Diversity, STEAM, Incorporating the Arts and Working with Families. We are proud to see our teacher candidates developing as professionals!

Stephanie Tallent and Dr. DeClouette in Nicaragua presenting at the CEC DISES Roundtable, June 2016.

Dr. DeClouette and Maasai woman, July 2016.

London study abroad trip with Dr. Nicole DeClouette: Students at Kensington Palace.

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Summр STEAM Ahead Institute at Georgia College

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iddle grades students from Oak Hill Middle School gathered in Peabody Auditorium on Monday, June 13, for the first summer STEAM Ahead Camp and Professional Learning Institute. Campers were excited about the opportunity to participate in a weeklong STEAM camp, sponsored by a Governor’s Office of Student Achievement Applied Learning Grant. Dr. Noris Price, superintendent of Baldwin County Schools and Dr. Sandra Webb, associate professor, are co-principal investigators for this grant of $450,000 to support professional learning, additional resources, technology and support for STEAM Ahead for two years.

STEAM Ahead is an inquiry-based approach for integrating Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics into the middle grades curriculum through applied learning in real world explorations. Teachers from Oak Hill Middle School and Georgia College Early College collaborate with Georgia College faculty and community experts in designing and presenting STEAM projects that extend content understanding and support student interest in STEM career and college opportunities.

This partnership represents a unique collaboration in rural Central Georgia and offers a model leveraging community resources for education to advance teaching and learning and to improve student achievement.

STEAM Camp is open to middle grades students in Baldwin County, including Oak Hill Middle School and Georgia College Early College. During the 2016 STEAM Camp, teams were presented with real world challenges that required them to use their knowledge and what they learned at camp to solve problems, think critically and creatively design projects that are connected to the middle grades curriculum in science, math, social studies and language arts. Art and technology integration were tools of learning, design and communication.

For Summer 2016, middle grades students had a choice from among three projects.

Project Dream Green House Based on the popular Project Runway, this project team created a house design that was energy efficient and was approved by a celebrity homeowner. This project team researched a geographic location, designed an energy-efficient house, constructed a model and, using technology, created a Zillow page advertising their dream green house.

Who Kidnapped Thunder?

The mascot of Georgia College, the bobcat Thunder, was discovered missing. Teams of detectives examined the crime scene results and through a series of tests, such as stride length, fingerprinting and blood testing, used deductive reasoning to arrive at the likely suspect. The detective team generated a police report of the crime scene and created crime story, using a choice of computer applications, to explain who did it.

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Trash Masters Using recyclable materials, ingenuity and creativity, the Trash Car design team created a racecar for a new TV show, Trash Masters. The team designed, constructed and tested their racecar in multiple design trials. Using video technology, the design team generated reports and publicity for a special video edition of Top Gear Analysis.

Community partners were invited as guest speakers to support project design and development. In addition to projects, traditional camp activities, such as team challenges, water activities and games around STEM themes were planned daily. The water challenges were clearly the most popular.

Prior to STEAM Camp, a lead team of teachers from Georgia College Early College, Oak Hill Middle School and Georgia College planned the interdisciplinary projects focusing on the core middle grades content standards in science, math, social studies and English language arts. In addition, technology, literacy and art design were integrated throughout the projects.

Participating in the lead team were Nikki Grimes and Dawson Roberts, Early College Georgia College, Julie Claxton and Markeeta Clayton, Oak Hill Middle School and Baldwin High School, Dr. Miriam Jordan and Dr. Sandra Webb, College of Education and Dr. Angel Abney and Dr. Doris Santarone, Department of Mathematics. Dr. Joanne Previts and Dr. Kristina Falbe presented a session on middle grades education at the afternoon STEAM Institute.

The STEAM Ahead Institute is an innovative professional learning experience involving teachers as facilitators during the morning STEAM Ahead Camp. In the afternoon, teachers engaged with faculty in exploring STEAM innovations for the middle grades curriculum and forming an ongoing professional learning community. During the first summer session, 19 teachers from Oak Hill Middle School and Georgia College Early College participated as STEAM Ahead teacher leaders.

STEAM Ahead goals for teacher leaders are to design and implement two STEAM collaborative projects during the academic year, one in the fall and one in the spring, with grade level colleagues. STEAM projects are designed as interdisciplinary, integrated and inquiry-based learning challenges with real-world applications and community participation. Teachers are researchers investigating STEAM projects to improve student learning experiences and interest in STEM field careers. Participating teachers receive ongoing support from STEAM Ahead facilitators and the new STEAM Grant Coordinator, Barcado Styles. Additional resources for projects, field trips and release time to prepare collaborative STEAM lessons are available during the academic year. This fall, nine teams at Oak Hill Middle School and Georgia College Early College are conducting STEAM Ahead lesson study projects.

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K-2 Mathematicians and Writers

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uring a sunny, summer week at the end of June, 24 Baldwin County School teachers and three Georgia College faculty members met daily at Georgia College to begin a professional learning community in mathematics and writing for kindergarten, first and second grade teachers. One teacher commented at the close of the week, “The hands-on activities were fun and engaging. I enjoyed the collaborative planning we had with the other schools. We could learn a whole lot from each other so maybe this will become something we will do more often.”

K-2 Mathematicians and Writers is an innovation grant awarded to Baldwin County Schools by the Governor’s Office of Students Achievement. This collaborative grant with Georgia College focuses on math, while integrating literacy to support important mathematics strands of communication, reasoning, problem solving and language development in content learning. Reading and writing in math instruction also contributes to Baldwin County’s district wide goal for successful literacy development and achievement by third grade. Dr. Noris Price, superintendent of Baldwin County Schools, Sandra Webb, associate professor of Literacy Education, College of Education and Angel Abney, associate professor and Doris Santarone, assistant professor, Department of Mathematics, are leading the grant project. The grant award of $150,000 provides professional learning, resources and additional workshops throughout the year open to all kindergarten, first and second grade teachers in Baldwin County Schools.

important math concepts, using manipulatives, high quality children’s literature and writing. As one teacher noted, “I also loved the math story activity, which allows students at all levels to participate. It's a good way to measure how they synthesize knowledge and apply it into the story.”

Collaborative lessons involve grade level teams planning lessons, presenting lessons with students and then coming together as a team to analyze and discuss student-learning outcomes.

K-2 Mathematicians and Writers presented three workshops for teachers this fall. On Aug. 29, Equal Smequal explored productive concepts of the equal sign with hands on activities, manipulatives, children’s literature and writing. For a district wide professional learning on Oct. 6, a workshop integrating Sir Cumference and the Off-the-Chart Desserts focused on concepts of data analysis, including organizing, interpreting and representing data using picture and bar graphs. Math for All Seasons on Oct. 29 presented engaging ways to think mathematically by solving rhyming math problems, relying on thinking through problems rather than memorization.

Math Madness, a districtwide math night for parents of kindergarten, first and second graders was held on Tuesday, Oct. 4, at Oak Hill Middle School. K-2 teachers from each of the four Baldwin County elementary schools organized individual stations of make and take math activities for parents to support math learning at home.

Math Madness was a resounding success. This event was sponsored by the K-2 Mathematicians and Writers grant. A Math Madness event will be scheduled for spring.

Throughout the academic year, teacher leaders will organize collaborative learning lessons with colleagues on

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Students walk past the lobotomized brains below a drawing of the Powell Building at Central State Hospital inside the hospital museum. Grant Blankenship Georgia Public Broadcasting

Donna McNair’s special education students visit Powell Building Museum Once inside the museum, McNair and her students shuffled past a hodgepodge of painted portraits of hospital officials, athletic trophies, street signs, historic photos, even a program for a patientproduced opera before they came to a half-dozen brains in glass.

Project Wet and Wild Early Childhood cohort participated in all day Project WET and WILD workshop Dr. Lyndall Muschell, with the assistance of Dr. Holley Roberts and Mrs. Estelle Jacobs, implemented Project WET and Project WILD workshop with the Early Childhood junior cohort. Project WILD is an interdisciplinary conservation and environmental education program emphasizing wild life and Project WET curriculum aims to promote awareness, appreciation, knowledge and stewardship of water resources. The Early Childhood pre-service teachers were taught how to implement these curriculums into their field placements as they develop their abilities and confidence in the teaching of science.

Students learned that during surgery they would take out the part of the brain that controlled your emotions.

Outside the museum, McNair explained why she brought her students. “We know we still have work to do. We know we still have a long way to go,” she said. “But it makes us appreciate how far we've already come in our society accepting people with disabilities.”

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JOHN H. LOUNSBURY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

NEWSLETTER FALL 2016

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