The Torch 2012

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION MAGAZINE

FALL 2012

The TORCH

14 Global

Education for a Changing World

22 Investigative Transforming Classroom Labs

32 Inspired

Shining On and Off the Court

Robert

BREUDER 36 Passing the Torch:

An Educator’s Legacy Lives On

W

elcome to the 2012 edition of The TORCH magazine. The revamped style and content of this publication focuses on some great accomplishments of our faculty, staff, students and alumni like you.

We hope you will enjoy reading about the vast global impact our College is making, as well as catching up with former classmates through the progress reports section. We would love to hear your feedback and hope you will come and see us the next time your travels bring you to Tallahassee.

This October will be a great time to return to your alma mater and celebrate with us. The 2nd annual College of Education Week – held in conjunction with FSU Parents’ Weekend, October 8 – 13, 2012 – will comprise six days of symposia, presentations and events celebrating COE students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends.

(Read more on page 40) As you read through the magazine, I invite you to contact the amazing people found within its pages and learn more about their work. And, I hope you will be inspired to make your own difference wherever you are able.

Thank you for all you do in carrying the torch for education.

All my best,

Marcy P. Driscoll, Ph.D. Dean, College of Education Leslie J. Briggs Professor of Educational Research

From Dean

the

Building Bridges: FSU-Teach

Education for a Changing World

3

Shining On and Off the Court

32

22 Transforming Classroom Labs

Passing the Torch

The

36

TORCH

2Active

at the forefront of key policy issues

10 Global

impacting education around the world

contents

14

2012

20 Investigative

34 Engaged 46 Benchmarks

26 Inspired

54 Progress Reports

conducting research that makes a difference profiles in student leadership

events and philanthropy

faculty and staff achievements

alumni news and notes

active

at the forefront of key policy issues

2

students work with Godby High School to advance math and science studies

By Emily Hudson

T

he marquee outside Tallahassee’s Godby High School once read: “Education is all a matter of building bridges.”

During the 2010-11 school year, Florida State University’s College of Education began building a bridge to help Godby redefine its mathematics and science curriculum and improve student test scores. The foundation for the bridge was a program already in existence at FSU called FSU-Teach.

FSU-Teach Up and running for the past three years, FSU-Teach is an inventive approach for introducing secondary-school teaching to undergraduate math and science majors. FSU-Teach allows students in the program to graduate with a double major – one in science or mathematics and the other in secondary math or science education. Math and science majors are able to explore teaching and learn about educational methods through two one-hour, hands-on, tuition-free courses taught by master teachers.

FSU-Teach is funded by one of only twelve grants awarded to U.S. colleges and universities by the National Math and Science Initiative and the Helios Foundation. Through the grant, FSU

became part of an expanding group of universities replicating UTeach, a program of the University of TexasAustin. At FSU, the program is a collaboration between the College of Education and the College of Arts and Sciences.

Dr. Victor Sampson, an assistant professor in the College of Education and core faculty member in the FSUTeach program, said the program not only gives students content expertise but also helps them develop teaching strategies.

“It is different from the traditional approach where you take a few content courses and educational courses right before you graduate,” Sampson said.

“This program is designed to train the next generation of teachers better.”

partnership

Building Bridges: FSU-Teach

F S U -Te a c h scholars are on Godby’s campus three days a week to tutor students in science and math and help prepare them for their endof-course exams.

They also assist with Godby’s 21st

3 The TORCH

Century Kids, an after-school program. Robin Oliveri, science coach at Godby, said FSU-Teach participants are eager to do whatever is asked of them.

thought of Sampson and FSU-Teach. Oliveri knew of Sampson from summer professional development training and from local outreach programs.

Oliveri says the reception Godby students have given the FSU-Teach scholars has been extremely positive. She notes that the high school students seem to appreciate that they now have not only tutors and mentors but also slightly older role models with whom they can discuss career goals.

It all makes learning subjects such as algebra, biology and chemistry seem more appealing.

Oliveri said Godby’s teachers are consistent in their desire to recognize the hurdles in their classrooms. They understand that, while they may be following a research-based practice, that is not enough if students still are not mastering the material. That is where Sampson is instrumental in aiding Godby.

Helping Turn Godby Around Students from FSU-Teach are part of a broader effort through which the university is helping turn Godby around.

Godby High School is currently a Differentiated Accountability (D.A.) school in corrective action from having been an F school. In developing a corrective action initiative, Oliveri immediately

Godby

He is working with Godby to create curriculum maps, develop programs to measure quality of assessment, and outline the pace of curriculum that is most effective in the classroom. He is also serving as a mentor for Oliveri and science and math teachers. Oliveri refers to Sampson as a cutting-edge researcher who strives to find ways to assist teachers in learning how to teach better and how to make material more presentable to kids.

has the opportunity to have more people

come in and help students; give them the time and help they need to be successful.

Our

students get

the opportunity to learn about how to teach .

44

4 The TORCH

A Perfect Pair The partnership is a proactive step in crossing education boundaries. It has brought the resources of a state university to bear on a high school working to reinvent itself and advance student outcomes.

“It takes a community to educate a child,” said Oliveri.

The interaction is also a big plus for Godby’s educators.

“Having Dr. Sampson here helps us see what the outside education world is doing and where new research in science is taking place,” Oliveri said.

“It is exciting to have it right here in our town.

Dr. Sampson is right down the street. When we need him, he comes in or I can call for feedback; it is having that sounding board with somebody who is out there doing research and knows what the bigger picture is. FSU-Teach has so many arms out in the community, around Florida and nationally, that they can really bring it into perspective for us. They encourage us and let us know we are not alone. It has been a lifesaver.”

Sampson said the partnership is a clear win-win.

“Godby has the opportunity to have more people come in and help students; give them the time and help they need to be successful.

Our students get the opportunity to learn about how to teach. I think those kinds of partnerships where we work together are things we need more from universities,” he said.

“Instead of having separate entities of school districts, universities and resource teachers who do all of their coursework without any experience out in the field before graduation, we need to have those boundaries blurred so that resource teachers are in the classroom as much as possible to learn how to teach by teaching. They get more time in schools with adults who know their content and can help be advocates for them and guide them to be the most successful they can be later on in life.”

5 The TORCH

opportunity

Jennifer Interns at U.S. Department of Education

By Corie Biandis

6

D

uring her senior year of high school, Jennifer Riggie discovered a love for teaching children with special needs while working as a teacher’s aide in a classroom where the students all had severe disabilities.

Since that time, the Morgantown, W. Va., native – now a doctoral student in the Special Education program at the Florida State University College of Education – has developed a broad view of special education that has taken her all the way from the classroom to the U.S. Department of Education, where she recently completed an internship that

immersed her in grantmaking, policy and regulations.

Part of her internship involved writing and selecting grants, for which her education at FSU prepared her well. Riggie was able to draw on what she had learned in a class about policy taught by her mentors Mary Frances Hanline, professor of Early Childhood Special Education, and Juliann Woods from the School of Communication Science and Disorders.

“Having that class gave me a good amount of background knowledge that I needed to go into that experience,” Riggie said. “Had I not had that background experience, I wouldn’t have been as ready for it.”

Still, seeing the whole process will make her a better grant writer in the future, Riggie said. Working with the grant committee was one of the most rewarding experiences she had while interning, particularly when the institutions receiving the grants were notified.

“It was pretty exciting to hear how happy they were,” Riggie said. “Even though it’s a private line, you could hear on the other end the person cheering or shouting with their excitement.”

Much of her internship focused on helping create web-based curriculum

r Riggie modules for new regulations in early education. She helped put the modules into everyday language and developed case studies with scenarios to help clarify the regulations and how they should be applied.

She was also able to interact with committees and Department of Education employees involved in policymaking. Weekly, she participated in conference calls with the Early Learning Group where they would discuss updates in each of their departments, as well as what is happening in the field and how it is shaping their work. She also attended a Head Start public committee meeting as a representative of the Office of Special Education Programs. The topic was cultural diversity and health.

Riggie was fortunate to intern with the Department of Education from September to October because she got to see the end and the beginning of the fiscal year, which ends Sept.

30.

“I got to see what happens at rush time,” says Riggie. “I got to see the time right at the end of the year, and I was there for their new year when they got started on writing the new grant and educational priorities.

It was a pretty good experience

just to see how they create priorities, and to be there to see the next process where they are picking and selecting. It kind of brought it full circle.”

Riggie earned her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education with emphasis in multi-categorical special education from West Virginia University in a five-year dual-certificate program. Before coming to FSU, she worked for a few years as a middle and elementary school teacher for children with autism. Her current research involves pioneering the use of digital and telecommunication technology to help future special education teachers.

She was hoping the internship would help her narrow-down her career path. She has been considering careers within Special Education in either teaching or policymaking.

“I know that you can pretty much make the biggest influence if you’re involved in policy,” Riggie said.

“You are actually helping create and shape the laws and you have an influence on what the legislation says for kids with disabilities. I was trying to figure out if that would be an interest area for when I graduated.”

For Riggie, the classroom has

won out in the near term, but her experience at the Department of Education has inspired her longrange goals.

“Later on down the road, [policy work] is where I will want to be but I really have a heart to teach,” said Riggie. “Whether I was teaching little kids or teaching at the collegiate level to prepare them to teach little kids, I just love teaching. When I was there, I had some people covering for the class and I missed that direct interaction with my students. I think I will go for a faculty route early on and then later in my career I think I will head more toward the policy side.”

While she missed her students, Riggie found her work at the Department of Education rewarding as well.

“By providing my service, I was able to help meet the needs in an area I’m so passionate about,” she said.

The TORCH TORCH 7 The

enrichment

8

New Grant Aims to Improve Charter Schools Florida is a hotbed of charter school growth. Just under 12 percent of Florida’s public schools are charter schools – the highest percentage of any state, according to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

E

This rapid expansion has brought challenges, such as how to connect Florida’s 11,604 charter school teachers and principals, who are scattered across some 450 campuses from the Panhandle to the Keys.

xperts at the Florida State University Schools (FSUS) and the university’s Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (FCR-STEM) are working on a solution.

They are building an online community especially for Florida’s charter school educators.

professional development and technical assistance offered to all state teachers and principals, charter educators will have access to additional tools and resources specific to their needs through the CPALMS Charter community, which will also provide a convenient way to collaborate and communicate across district lines, explained Wicker.

“This can bring all of Florida’s charter schools together,” said FSUS Director Lynn Wicker, principal investigator on the project. “It really won’t matter where you are geographically in the state: You’ll have the same access to the same resources.”

“They can see that other people are having the same challenges and share solutions,” said Wicker, a former associate dean at the College of Education.

Designed to support curriculum, instruction and assessment, the community will be integrated into the popular CPALMS system, the official online source for state K-12 education standards and course information built by FCR-STEM. CPALMS stands for Collaborate Plan Align Learn Motivate Share.

The CPALMS Charter online community is made possible by a $500,000, two-year grant from the Florida Department of Education (DOE) to FCR-STEM and FSUS, a K-12 school sponsored by Florida State. Known informally as “Florida High,” FSUS is both a charter and a developmental research school. Wicker said that puts Florida High in a perfect position to build bridges among charter educators.

Although they can tap into the same

CPALMS Charter will provide complete access to the open CPALMS platform, home to a rapidly growing array of tools, products and resources for educators that attracts more than 10,000 visitors a day.

Like CPALMS, CPALMS Charter will connect its educators with professional development and peer support, and feature resources such as video demonstrations, apps to plan courses, and discussion boards and blogs for sharing ideas.

The project aims to increase the number of charter schools designated by the state as “high performing,” which currently stands at 104. This would, in turn, benefit charter school students, whose ranks have swelled to 179,940 since 1996, when charter schools were first authorized in Florida.

“The goal of this grant is to increase the teachers’ and leaders’ skills and proficiency and knowledge,” said Wicker. “That is going

to ultimately increase student achievement.

So it’s always, always tied back to student achievement.”

“This project is a perfect fit for CPALMS,” said Rabieh Razzouk, manager for the larger CPALMS project and associate director of Florida State’s Learning Systems Institute, which oversees FCR-STEM. Thanks to recent multi-million dollar grants from the Florida DOE and the National Science Foundation, both CPALMS and iCPALMS, an online platform integrated with CPALMS, are undergoing ambitious expansion. The FSUS project illustrates how CPALMS can serve as a platform for other projects seeking to leverage CPALMS’ wealth of resources and powerful, cuttingedge functionality.

“This great partnership benefits more than just charter school educators,” said Razzouk, a co-principal investigator on CPALMS Charter. “It will also support educators across the country who are increasingly visiting CPALMS for resources that have been reviewed and are aligned with standards in use in Florida and most other states.”

Vanessa Dennen, associate professor at the College of Education, is also on the project team as a co-principal investigator.

In addition, an advisory board of experts from Florida State and other institutions will provide guidance to the project team.

9 The TORCH

Global Impacting education around

the 10

world

Finnish Inspiration Nearly 5,000 miles from the state of Florida, the country of Finland is delivering an educational system that is taking the lead in comparative studies across the globe. In September of 2011, Dean Marcy Driscoll made a visit to the country to gain insight and understanding of their system and to build collaborative relationships between the College and two universities in Finland University of Jyväskylä and JAMK University of Applied Sciences.

By Emily Hudson

T

he collaborative relationships will allow Driscoll and colleagues to study the practices and policies of Finland’s educational system to bring the research stateside.

accountable and take pride and responsibility in their academic work. Parents are active in their child’s education. This accountability brings a respect and drive for education from all parties,” Driscoll said.

James Sampson, Pamela “Sissi” Carroll, and Larry Scharmann accompanied Driscoll. Sampson has had a long-standing relationship with the two universities and has been traveling to Finland for over 13 years.

Driscoll further explained the country’s success by describing the group’s visit to an elementary school. In one special education classroom, three teachers – two special education teachers and one teacher’s aide – led 18 students.

Education in Finland has a high position of importance among the government and constituents of the country.

The deep political and geographical history of the country makes education a necessity for growth.

After basic education, around the age of sixteen, students can choose to stay on an academic track or choose a vocational track. While students may choose one specific track, they can partake in coursework of the opposite track for further education. Both tracks take around three years to complete.

These track options are one of the reasons Dean Driscoll believes the Finnish system produces success.

The Dean passionately spoke about the commitment Finnish educators have for students, the fervor students have for their education, and the involvement of parents.

“Equal standards are kept across the board. Teachers are dedicated to their profession. Students are held

“No child is left behind,” Driscoll explained.

The negotiated agreements between the College and universities will include collaborative research projects to conduct comparative studies. One of the universities has an education research center that has collected a significant amount of data on students and teachers. The center does not have enough individuals to analyze the results. The data analysis could be an ideal project for one of the College’s graduate students. Driscoll even suggests looking at the educational system in Korea to conduct a three-country comparative study. The College has a significant number of alumni in Korea.

Dean Driscoll is eager to move forward with this collaboration. These partnerships are another way the College is actively carrying the torch for education and educational studies.

11 The TORCH

Infusion of : Jose Vidal Ros Culture An

By Emily Hudson

E

arly spring flowers bloom around the grey stone table where Jose Vidal Ros sits, red pen in hand, marking through papers and notes from his classroom. Nearby, graduating seniors in cap and gown pose for pictures in front of the iconic fountain in front of Westcott, Florida State University’s administration building. Every few seconds, Ros glances at his surroundings with a smile; captivated by his environment. He fits in perfectly even though he is nowhere near home.

Ros, 23, is from Vinalesa, a small village outside of Valencia, Spain.

He came to FSU from the Catholic University of Valencia for his final internship for his third major – English Education. His other majors are in Elementary Education and Kindergarten Education.

Globa l Outreach

Dean Marcy Driscoll and FSU President Eric Barron both place a strong emphasis on the university’s international impact. While many FSU students have studied in Valencia, Ros is the first intern from Valencia to come to the College of Education.

“We are very interested in diversity. Diversity finds its home in a number of different avenues. This was a way to bring diversity from a different direction,” says Patrick Malone, intern coordinator in the Office of Academic Services and Intern Support.

Malone and Rebecca Galeano, professor of Foreign Language Studies, began discussing an international internship in the spring of 2011.

Meanwhile, Ros was eager for an internship abroad. Teaching jobs in Spain are competitive, especially with the country’s unemployment rate running at 25 percent. While teachers get degrees in their content area or grade level, educational institutions are increasingly expecting educators to have a major in teaching English. Though the majority will never use the degree, it is a bonus in landing a job and a necessity to advance. With this in mind, Jose sought out FSU to complete his studies.

“Being the first intern from Spain was a big responsibility,” Ros said.

“There are a lot of expectations of how it is going to be and how it is going to go. You are the first one and everything has to be perfect.

The relationships and impressions that you leave are going to be the first stone of a growing or dying building, especially because there are a lot of people behind that exchange that worked hard to make the experience possible. You have to do your best, and that is what I tried to do.”

Coming to A mer ica

Ros arrived in Tallahassee just after the 2012 New Year.

It was his first time visiting the United States, and he immediately set off to explore. His three- to four-hour walk took him several miles down Monroe Street to weave his way around to the FSU campus.

“In Valencia, everything is sidewalks, streets and buildings.

Tallahassee is green,” he said. “Walking here is beautiful.”

Ros was placed at DeSoto Trail Elementary School working with Shannon Ayrish in one of the first-grade classes.

“I was a little scared the first day that I arrived because my English was bad,” Ros said. “I know how to talk but I really have to think about the words I want to say and the proper use of my words. The first day I got there everybody was talking to me really fast and asking a lot of questions.”

The nerves dissipated the moment the students cheered his arrival. Everyone – from the students to the teachers and staff – was warm and welcoming.

“Jose being here was an infusion of culture,” Malone said.

“He was a very positive, creative, and intelligent person who contributed freely and greatly to the exchange program.

During an internship, a teacher learns just as much as the student or they learn much from each other. That happened especially on a cultural level.”

Michelle Keltner, principal of DeSoto Trail, said Ros was a wonderful addition to the faculty during his internship.

“He was enthusiastic about learning how our educational system works and the curriculum we use to instruct our students, including the interventions we utilize to meet individual student needs,” she said. “He was looking forward to teaching his future students and being able to apply all of the learning strategies he had learned. Not only did Jose learn much from his experience at our school, but all of us, students, teachers and staff, gained a deeper understanding and appreciation for his Spanish heritage as well.”

The children in Ros’ classroom taught him how Americans celebrate Valentine’s Day at school. In Spain, children do not pass out candy and cards to each other or to the teacher.

Once he learned about the rituals and celebrations, he decided to embrace the day and went and found a special suit to wear. The children enjoyed seeing the excitement on his face when he opened their cards and gifts.

Hea r t for Education

Ros believes he was meant to be in front of a classroom.

“There is no one reason someone decides to be a teacher.

You have to be born with that, especially if you want to teach little kids,” he said. “The main reason I want to be a teacher is I think it is the most gratifying job in the world.

Every single detail counts. The kids look at you all the time and they are learning with every action or word that you do or say. They really admire and love you and let you know that. They want you to know that. There is nothing more heartwarming than their big smiles and telling you,

‘Thank you for being my teacher and helping me.’

“The moment they give the correct answer you can see all over their face the excitement of a new understanding. It is the light of a new discovery. Everything is perfect when you teach.”

No single moment from his internship stands out in his mind.

“When you are a teacher, every little thing is special and significant,” he said. “The moment that stands out is the moment the children recognize you as their teacher. In that moment, you are in their hearts forever and they are in yours.”

Retur n Ros enjoyed his time in Tallahassee so much he has already been in touch with Malone and Galeano about coming back to the College of Education in the next couple of years for his master’s or doctorate. He plans to work in Spain this next year or two to save money.

When he returns, he wants to spend more time exploring the United States.

“I’m so thankful and appreciate this opportunity FSU gave to me,” Ros said.

“It was an amazing way to enrich my knowledge and my life experience. I learned a lot from my cooperating teacher about how to teach English.

I also enjoyed my English classes at the Center for Intensive English Studies at FSU with people of other countries.

It was a good experience to learn more about other cultures. I think this is a big step in my life that marks a before and after.

I want to thank FSU, namely Dr. Patrick Malone and Dr. Rebecca Galeano, for helping me and making me feel at home.”

13 The TORCH

EDUCATION

for a changing world

REBECCA GALEANO DEEP IN THE AMAZON, REBECCA GALEANO CONDUCTS HER RESEARCH

In the late 1960s, CRFA schools were set up in Brazil and Argentina as an answer to educating CONSUME HER HEART AND FUEL HER PASSION. marginalized people in rural GALEANO, A PROFESSOR OF ESOL AND FOREIGN/SECOND LANGUAGE areas. Since 2006, the Peruvian TEACHING IN THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, IS government has funded pilot STUDYING CENTROS RURALES DE FORMACIÓN EN ALTERNANCIA (CRFA) projects such as the one Galeano SCHOOLS DESIGNED ESPECIALLY FOR VILLAGE CHILDREN IN REMOTE is studying. A law established AREAS SUCH AS PERU’S AMAZON REGION. HER WORK IS SUPPORTED in 1991 gave rural Amazonians in Peru the right to primary and

BY A $17,000 GRANT FOR HER FIRST-YEAR ASSISTANT PROFESSORSHIP secondary education. However, GRANT AND A $12,000 PLANNING GRANT, BOTH OF WHICH SHE RECEIVED the establishment of schools FROM FSU’S COUNCIL ON RESEARCH AND CREATIVITY (CRC). DURING HER has lagged behind, and access SUMMER VISITS, GALEANO ALSO HOSTS STUDENTS FROM FLORIDA STATE. to education still is not universal in the sparsely populated area. With perhaps an 11 to 1 ratio of primary schools to secondary schools, the nearest secondary school might Emily Hudson be nearly a 20-mile journey for some students, an impossible distance for families living under subsistence conditions with no access to transportation. When students do manage to continue their education, they often leave their communities for better opportunities, becoming IN PERUVIAN VILLAGES WHOSE CULTURE AND APPROACH TO EDUCATION

By

14

CRFA Research

d:

part of a brain drain that has implications for community development.

The CRFA schools are secondary schools established strategically to give students from multiple primary schools access to them.

Galeano’s husband Juan Carlos Galeano, a native of the Colombian Amazon, is a Modern Language professor at FSU who concentrates on the folklore of Amazonia.

The Galeanos have been traveling together to Peru for six years to conduct collaborative work in the region.

This new research project was designed by Rebecca Galeano to examine the impact CRFA schools are making on students and on the villages as a whole. Her research delves into the training and preparation of teachers, student performance, the curricula being used, and the effect on community development.

Scholars of Amazonia question the appropriateness of the education provided village children in Peru. They cite a one-size-fits-all approach to curricula and teacher training that is set by the Ministry of Education. Researchers also have raised questions about the effects of classism and the attitudes of urban teachers toward students in rural communities. Teachers in Peru have to serve in rural communities in their first year to meet requirements for jobs elsewhere, and yet they receive no special training or cultural orientation for working in Amazonian communities, which often have no electricity or running water.

In villages where Galeano works, she finds that teachers in rural areas often do not put in the effort or have the training needed to succeed. CRFA schools require a commitment from the teachers, who have to be fully trained and dedicated.

Galeano works to further education and

training for the advancement of CRFA schools.

“CRFA schools strive to create autonomous learners with critical thinking skills who don’t just repeat and regurgitate information,” she said.

Hosting ‘Noles in Peru Since 2008, Galeano and her husband have been taking FSU students to the region. They have students from a range of majors, with most either Spanish or education majors. Some might have a double major that includes Spanish, but all have some level of Spanish-language proficiency. Her husband teaches a theoretical contextualization class on the Amazon so that students learn the history, culture, and cosmology of the indigenous people of the Amazon and can understand the area where they will be working.

Galeano’s students travel to Peru from the end of June to the end of July for a four-week home-stay program, where they work intensively in practicum situations related to their academic and career interests. They are selected through a tough screening process.

“Students think, ‘Oh the Amazon – that sounds cool,’ ” Galeano said. “There are visions of movie scenes or the Discovery Channel. It is nothing like that. We have to do extensive work and screening before students are selected. Students have to understand the truth of what they are getting into and doing.”

The experience is so eye-opening and rewarding, some students even change their career plans afterward.

As a young student in Georgia, Galeano was inspired by a Chilean teacher, whose culture fascinated her and made her dream about places she wanted to go.

“It is so interesting to get to know the world from a different point of view,” she

said. “When I take students, I get to relive knowing something for the first time; seeing things that I never thought about, ever, that I couldn’t dream of.”

Future Impact Galeano has a commitment. Her 10-yearold daughter has been traveling to the area since she was 6.

“It is painful to go into a village and look at my kid and then look at those kids,” Galeano said. “Those kids will never have the opportunity that my daughter has.

The only way to really make a significant contribution is to create and support educational institutions that can provide appropriate experiences for these children so they can become future leaders who can make valued changes and continue work efforts.”

The region needs specialists to lead these endeavors and initiatives.

“Our plans are long-term for the Amazon region,” Galeano said. “A goal in the next year or two is to create an Amazonian

studies certificate. The certificate will require a certain amount of class hours that will allow students to understand context, become specialists and do research or service there.”

Galeano also wants to be able to bring more students to conduct research.

This summer she had two graduate assistants helping with data collection.

She hopes to increase that number in time. A long-term dream of hers would be the creation of an FSU research center in the area that could accommodate students and Amazonian scholars from around the world.

Her international experiences play a major part in her teaching at home. Firsthand knowledge and understanding allow Galeano to teach students about culture in a detailed and truthful way.

“I have a dedication and commitment to provide as many experiences for our students internationally as possible.”

THE DEAN’S JOURNEY IN PERU The Galeanos invited Dean Driscoll to the Amazon region of Peru to see their project firsthand.

“It is incredible the kind of work the Galeanos and students are doing,” Driscoll said. “The area has made an enormous impact on the students. Yet, the students have made an equal impact with the work they are doing for the region.”

The students who spoke with Driscoll noted how positive and overwhelming the experience was and how comfortable they had grown in their foreign language skills. Students were placed with host families; however, they had to learn how to function and navigate around the city they were living in and get to their internship assignments. Conquering the navigation and adapting to the country provided a confidence to each student. Driscoll was pleased to learn of the ways the students had grown during their time in Peru.

The plays delved into issues facing the people of the United States and the people of Peru. Driscoll noted how interesting it was to see what issues were chosen and to see the similarities in some of the issues both countries face.

Driscoll looks forward to returning to Peru.

“The Galeanos have built significant collaborative relationships within this region. The people have grown to trust them and the work they are doing. There is a need for the work there. We are working towards developing a more formal relationship with universities there,” Driscoll said.

One highlight of the trip the Dean notes is a theatre showcase that was put on by the students and the members of an indigenous community they were visiting.

17 The TORCH

By Caroline Sams

A Spring In Singapore the importance of maintaining balance in the lives of gifted children After just a few short months last spring, Singapore became a second home for Steven Pfeiffer, professor of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems.

“I loved Singapore, the people, and what I was doing” Pfeiffer said.

Pfeiffer was in Singapore as a visiting scholar at the National Institute of Education, an affiliate of one of the country’s leading universities. In this position, he co-taught a group supervision class in the graduate

counseling program, sat in on other classes, visited schools throughout Singapore and consulted with their faculty.

O

ne of Pfeiffer’s most important responsibilities as a visiting scholar was to travel and present guest lectures. One notable talk Pfeiffer gave was for Singapore’s Ministry of Education, where over 600 parents were in attendance. The successful engagement resonated with the academic community in Singapore and led to other high-profile invitations to lecture. One invitation came from the Singapore National Library, which is comparable to the Library of Congress in the United States.

In his lecture, Pfeiffer discussed the topic of his new book: the importance of maintaining balance in the lives of gifted children to ensure that they grow up to be well-adjusted. He emphasized the importance of encouraging creativity and not placing excessive pressure on the students to succeed in the academic sense. This is a concern because “children with high ability have potential to be our next generation of leaders, but if we’re not careful some of these children will buckle from too much pressure,” Pfeiffer said.

Pfeiffer’s research with gifted and high-ability children in more than 30 years at Duke University and at FSU has been highly acclaimed in academia. He has published numerous books on the topic, and his studies have been discussed in academic journals and magazines such as Psychology Today. His reputation made him something of a celebrity in a country where parents place a heavy emphasis on cultivating giftedness.

He was widely recognized as an authoritative source and the perfect candidate to discuss a pressing issue

in Singapore: the Gifted Education Programme. The competition to earn a spot in this program is fierce. It begins around age 10, and students are selected based on their scores on a standardized ability test. Only students scoring in the top 1 percent are selected. Because of the competitiveness of the program, parents prepare their children from a very early age to compete for a spot. This leads many children to feel extreme pressure to perform well. During his lecture at the Singapore National Library, Pfeiffer was able to provide valuable insight regarding this problem to parents, future educators, and psychologists.

Enthusiastic parents scribbled away at their notepads during his lecture, their rapt attention enabling him to avoid being distracted by the nerve-wracking media presence.

Pfeiffer’s sabbatical proved an exciting opportunity both academically and personally, as he had been fascinated by Asian cultures since his daughter began teaching English in South Korea. The trip allowed him to expand on these interests through exploration not only of Singapore, but also China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia. He was particularly interested in “learning about culture, customs, the Asian family and approaches to parenting and encouraging highability children.”

Pfeiffer’s fulfilling experiences in Singapore, with its “very different culture and belief system,” were so positive that he quickly grew comfortable and familiar in his surroundings.

The class Pfeiffer co-taught provided a perfect laboratory.

His students often presented different perspectives and cases that were unfamiliar to his Western experience.

In one case, he encountered an unfamiliar Malaysian family dynamic involving a counseling session with a family that consisted of a husband and three wives.

Inexperienced with such a living arrangement, Pfeiffer turned to his students for insight into the unfamiliar marital dynamic.

“I gained as much or more from the class than my students, who were so patient in explaining to me about the cultural nuances of each case they presented,” Pfeiffer said.

19 The TORCH

Investigative

conducting research that makes a difference 20

By Emily Hudson

HANLINE AND WOODS RECEIVE $ 1.2 MILLION To Prepare Future Educators of Children With Special Needs in High-Risk Families

W

ith a $1,241,161 grant from the U.S. Department of Education, two Florida State University professors have launched an effort to develop a trained workforce of professionals to meet the complex needs of “high-risk” families of infants and toddlers with disabilities and developmental delays.

Mary Frances Hanline, professor of Early Childhood Special Education in FSU’s College of Education, and Juliann Woods, professor in the School of Communication and Science Disorders, received the grant for their Personnel Preparation in Early Intervention and Education Project (PPEIEP). The five-year project seeks to improve the quality and increase the number of personnel fully credentialed to serve children with disabilities from birth to age 5.

“This grant will allow us to provide online courses to practicing early intervention professionals throughout the state, as well as enhance our ability to prepare on-campus special education and early childhood students in early intervention,” said Hanline, principal investigator of the PPEIEP project.

The project will allow the investigators to expand the content

of existing academic coursework and field-based experiences for professionals preparing to work with young children with disabilities and developmental delays and families who experience “high need.” Coursework and field experiences will address challenges for children and families who live in poverty, are transient, experience mental illness or domestic violence or have drug abuse occurring in the family. Fieldwork will take place in programs providing services to families who experience high need and require specialized intervention and support.

The professors have collaborated in the past to prepare professionals from a variety of disciplines to provide effective services to young children with special needs and their families.

“The efforts of Hanline and Woods are just another example of how Florida State is making an impact in educational policy and research,” said FSU President Eric Barron, who is pleased to see such substantial support for their work from the U.S. Department of Education.

PPEIEP will prepare 22 speech pathologists, 27 early childhood special educators and 22 interdisciplinary pre-service professionals for a total of 71 students.

21 The TORCH

Transforming CLASSROOM Research improving classes in middle and LABS high schools

BY CORIE BIANDIS

It was through teaching math and science that Victor Sampson developed an interest in research.

“I love exploring what could be,” Sampson said.

“Research is a complex messy place that I find fascinating. I like to find a different and innovative way to tackle the hard problems.”

S

ampson, assistant professor of Science Education at the Florida State University College of Education, is doing just that – and with tremendous success.

Sampson’s research earned the 2012 National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) Early Research Award, which is reserved for researchers in the first seven years of their careers who are demonstrating the ability to provide valuable and

continuous contributions to research in science education. NARST, a worldwide organization, has been focusing its efforts on improving science education through research since 1928. “[This award is] very prestigious and an incredible honor,” Sampson said.

Sampson is currently working with Sherry Southerland, Ellen Granger, Jonathon Grooms and Patrick Enderle on a project to refine and test a new instructional model called Argument-

Driven Inquiry. This three-year project is funded by a $1 million grant from the Institute of Educational Sciences, and the research is taking place in the science courses at the Florida State University School. Now in its final year, they have demonstrated that middle and high school students can become more proficient in science when they participate in laboratory activities designed using Argument-Driven Inquiry.

“Our research has the potential to make a real impact on the teaching and learning of science in our public schools,” said Sampson. “A number of schools here in Leon County are already starting to use Argument-Driven Inquiry in order to help students learn more during labs.”

Sampson also received FSU’s 2012 Marvalene Hughes Research Award at the Marvalene Hughes Research in

Education Conference, a College of Education celebration of the quality research being done across the college.

The conference offers opportunities for further collaboration across departments and attracted proposals from the College’s top researchers.

“I am thrilled to receive this type of recognition from my colleagues in the College of Education,” Sampson said.

“It is a real honor.”

Sampson’s research seeks to improve lab classes in middle and high schools by making lab participation more authentic and educative, thereby teaching students how science works. He said current lab practice does not teach students much about important concepts, the process of science, or even how to think.

“We try to make the lab experience much more authentic and much more educative for students,” Sampson said.

“What we mean by educative is that the labs actually do more to promote students’ learning of important concepts and the practices of science – How do you design an investigation? What counts as evidence? How do you communicate

to others effectively? – those different kinds of things.”

Sampson describes the typical science lab experience at high schools and middle schools as rote learning.

“Students are given a handout with a set of directions to follow, much like following a recipe. They mix some things together and something turns color. If it turns the right color, they got it right.

If it doesn’t, they do it again. Then they answer some analysis questions,” Sampson said. “Now, the problem with that is that’s not really how science gets done. It’s not very authentic in terms of scientific experience, and they don’t learn much from it.”

In his research, Sampson has been developing and working with the Argument-Driven Inquiry (ADI) model, which requires students to think critically and interactively with their materials. “The ADI model really is a way to transform traditional lab activities,” he said.

In his research, he has students in lab courses design their own investigations, develop their own claims, and justify these claims with the evidence they think is relevant. All the while students are interacting and peer reviewing each other’s work in a way similar to that through which research is done in the scientific community. Within the FSU-Teach program, Sampson uses his research to educate future math and science teachers in innovative new science-teaching methods such as the ADI model.

Sampson, whose biggest career goal is to influence the next generation of teachers, attributes much of his success to the environment at the College of Education.

“I have amazing colleagues, and there are great opportunities for collaboration,” he said. “It’s wonderful to have the support of this college that makes this possible.”

23 The TORCH

University Schools

Florida State

Sharpens theAim

By Suzanne Wilkinson, Director of Research and Teacher Education, FSUS

M

ore than 140 attendees from across the United States and three other countries convened at Florida State University in March for the “2012 International Association of Laboratory and Charter Schools Conference.”

Lynn Wicker and College of Education staff, with support from Dean Marcy Driscoll, hosted Sharpening the Aim: Targeted Approaches in Research, Teacher Education & Assessment Culture in Laboratory and Charter Schools, designed to help lab- and charter-school educators learn and share best practices and improve student outcomes.

“As the director of FSUS and a member of the IALS board, I believe that hosting the international conference here in Tallahassee was a wonderful opportunity to showcase our school’s programs, research projects and strong collaborations with Florida State’s teacher education programs,” said Wicker.

“I’m especially excited about the professional idea-sharing that happened during the conference with attendees from around the world.”

Formerly known as the National Association of Lab Schools, IALS transformed its name and conference purpose during the planning stages at the end of 2011. Wicker and the conference planning committee, chaired

by Suzanne Wilkinson, suggested adding “Charter Schools” to the title in hopes of reaching educators from Florida’s 500-plus charter schools. Also on the committee

were Jamie Mizell, Kathy Wolff and Robert Prater.

Meanwhile, the board resolved to rename the association from “National” to “International.” This rebranding enabled the 2012 conference to attract more teachers, administrators and professors than in previous years.

Attendees benefitted from three days of workshops, interactive seminars and site visits to the Tallahassee Museum, FSU College of Education, FAMU Lab School and FSU Lab School. During the opening session at the Turnbull Center, FSU President Eric Barron welcomed guests to Tallahassee and praised the University’s commitment to research and excellence. Participants heard a detailed overview of current reading research and strategies by Keynote Speaker Barbara Foorman, whose research on reading instruction and assessment is internationally recognized.

FSUS’s Parent Teacher Association helped with a silent auction during a reception hosted by Dean Driscoll. The educators in attendance networked and shared research and best teaching practices while being entertained by a string ensemble made up of students from FSU’s College of Music and the music department at FSUS. During the site visit to FSUS, participants attended presentations by FSUS teachers and a concert by the music department involving more than 100 students. They also visited exhibits on curricular programs such as art, the first responder/certified nursing

assistant program, forensics, archaeology, and a premier science classroom, as well as a flight simulator. Students from the Student Government Association, sponsored by FSUS Instructors Christina Arnold and Ashley Myers, served as the station tour guides.

Larry Scharmann, Dina Vyortkina, Vic Sampson and other COE faculty members worked with the planning committee to conduct seminars. One of the site visit highlights at the FSU College of Education was the Axis Remote Observation System, which allows preservice teachers to observe a live classroom on the FSUS campus remotely. Participants were able to experience the remote system and the collaboration between the college and the lab school.

“Truly incredible…this is how it is supposed to be,” remarked one participant.

The IALS planning committee heard similar comments about the Tallahassee Museum and FAMU Lab school site visit.

The University Center Club hosted a tea and coffee social overlooking the stadium before the concurrent sessions began on the final day.

Keynote Speaker Michael Kooi, executive director of the Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice, described the state of charter schools in Florida. The conference included more than 50 sessions, many of which can be viewed at www.fsus. fsu.edu/ials2012. Next year’s conference will be held in New Orleans.

Look who’s

studying work& careers

By Julia Kronholz, M.Ed. & Robert Reardon, Ph.D.

I

t stands to reason that scholars in business, sociology, economics, and industrial psychology would study the way people work. But at Florida State University the way people engage in their careers is also of interest to the Psychological and Counseling Services program in the College of Education.

Since its creation in 1958, this program has graduated 427 doctoral students. Almost 30 percent of them have studied work adjustment, career decision-making or related topics.

Today, educational and career choices, jobs, and preparation for employment are important areas of emphasis in higher education, according to policymakers and the public. As reports of unemployment and underemployment gain more national attention, the implications for career research are substantial. At FSU, these topics have been a focus of counseling research and practice in this graduate program since 1962.

A recent review of the 123 dissertations produced by these counseling students, and their professors, revealed investigation of a broad array of issues, people, settings and topics related to work. This research was directed by 23 major professors over the years and guided by faculty from throughout the university.

About 23 studies examined the effectiveness of career interventions such as computerbased guidance systems like Choices Planner.

Others investigated the effectiveness of the career course, Introduction to Career Development, offered at FSU since 1973.

Additionally, two students examined the effectiveness of various employer recruiting practices. These studies offer strategies for implementing best practices in effective career services.

Another group of studies examined the issue of stress in relation to work. Topics in a dozen such studies included women balancing home and family life, lawyers’ job stress, ways to cope with stress, burnout, and work addiction. These studies, along with many others, were designed to help counselors in their work with their clients. More than 20 researchers examined work behavior in relation to personality characteristics, relationships, decision-making styles, career thinking, and vocational aspirations.

Another frequent topic of research, found in 17 studies, was job satisfaction. This included the relationship of job satisfaction to marital and leisure satisfaction. In fact, many professional counselors possess natural interests in the overlap between career and personal adjustment. Varied work and educational settings were used in these studies, ranging from prisons to elementary

schools. Research participants included counselors, law enforcement and corrections officers, teachers, and nurses.

In recent years, counseling faculty and students have focused on cognitive information processing (CIP) theory, which was introduced in 1991 at FSU, as well as John Holland’s RIASEC theory launched in 1953. Information about both of these theories and related research is available on the FSU Tech Center’s website: http://www. career.fsu.edu/techcenter/. On this website, readers can find a 20-page bibliography related to CIP theory and related assessments.

Interestingly, information on Holland’s theory and assessments has been published in almost 2,000 articles in over 200 journals worldwide.

So, what is the takeaway? Useful knowledge is a tangible product of a research university like FSU. Dissertations completed by counseling students in the College of Education are valuable sources of information about important social issues in Florida, including how and why people work. Findings in these studies related to work behavior and satisfaction can be useful to policymakers, program developers and Florida citizens.

25 The TORCH

INSPIRED profiles in student leadership

26

Niu Gao

Accepts twoyear research position

By Corie Biandis

N

iu Gao, a doctoral student in Educational Policy, Planning and Analysis in the Florida State University College of Education, will spend the next two years working with an interdisciplinary group of scholars at Stanford University’s Center for Education Policy Analysis (CEPA) to research policies that promote and support highly effective teachers and school leadership.

“The Center’s focus on examining policies that promote educational opportunities and students’ long-run success is closely aligned with my research interest, and I am very excited about the research opportunities at CEPA,” Gao said.

Gao, who received a master’s in Economics from FSU, will be working with leading education policy and finance scholars Susanna Loeb, Michelle Reininger and Sean Reardon. Her focus is on the evaluation of educational policies aimed at improving student outcomes, with a special emphasis on disadvantaged populations.

“I am most looking forward to the opportunity of collaborating with prominent scholars on pressing education issues,” Gao said.

In 2012, Gao won the highly competitive New Scholars Award from the Association for Education Finance and Policy at its annual meeting in Boston, as well as the student research award at the College of Education’s Marvalene Hughes Research in Education Conference. Her poster was recognized at the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C., in November 2011.

“I am fully indebted to the College of Education and FSU for the research opportunities and support,” Gao said. “The extensive training that I have received from my home department [Education Leadership and Policy Studies] and the Department of Economics has given me the skills to conduct rigorous research. I have also benefited tremendously from the opportunities of working with nationally prominent scholars including Dr. Patrice Iatarola, Tim Sass, Anastasia Semykina, Lora Cohen-Vogel, Carolyn Herrington and Thomas Zuehlke. I am most indebted to Dr. Iatarola for her mentorship, support and encouragement, without which I would not have gone so far.”

27 The TORCH

Radiating

Garnet & Gold Student involvement beyond academic endeavors is the glue that binds success and achievement, while also producing lasting memories of the college experience.

Jessie Cedeno, who graduated in 2011 with a Social Science Education and Sociology double major and is now a Master of Science in Teaching (MOST) student, is a perfect example of how a College of Education scholar engages in learning both on and off campus.

Cedeno was inducted into the Garnet and Gold Scholar Society in the Fall of 2011 because of her excellence in the classroom and her service both to the community and to education.

28

“The Garnet and Gold Scholar Society was an early initiative of President Barron’s when he first came to Florida State,” said Greg Beaumont, associate dean and director in the Office of Undergraduate Studies.

“Barron recognized that many students were deeply engaged and involved with endeavors that enhance the educational experience and enhance the community.”

President Barron created the society, a transcript entry program, in fall 2010. The benefits of initiation abound.

“The first benefit is to the student,” said Beaumont.

“The activity and involvement add up, allowing the recognition. The student gains an enhanced understanding of what he or she is doing. The second benefit is a formal recognition at graduation. Students stand during the commencement ceremony and are formally recognized as members of the Garnet and Gold Scholar Society. Lastly, the student is presented a medallion designed by the FSU Master Craftsman Program during a special ceremony.”

The recognition ceremony is hosted by President Barron, Vice President for Student Affairs Mary Coburn and Dean of Undergraduate Studies Karen Laughlin, with Barron presenting the medallion.

Students that qualify are involved with at least three of the five engagement areas President Barron and the committee designated to be representative of this program: leadership, service, research, internship and international experience.

Cedeno started through the Center for Academic Retention and Enhancement (CARE) program, a bridge program for students who are the first in their families to attend college. She strongly believes in

By Emily Hudson

A

s students hand in their last papers, take their final exams and get ready to toss their caps into the air of the Leon County Civic Center, they are probably just as likely to reflect on their service activities as they are the classes they have taken or the hours they have logged on the third floor of Strozier.

giving back to the programs and people who have helped her. With that in mind, Cedeno became a mentor for Youth Programs of the FSU Organization at the Center for Leadership and Civic Education and the CARE program.

Students in the Garnet and Gold Society write a final synthesis paper after they are done with their three assessment areas.

“After you are done with your assessment areas, you write a paper to analyze the work you have accomplished,” said Cedeno. “It makes you think about what you are doing; how what you are doing affects you and affects the people you work with.”

“The program advisor reviews your paper. They help you think about and question what you wrote so that you are actually analyzing your words and thoughts to the best of your ability. It is a growing experience.

I had to think back on all my experiences with my mentees and think of how I helped them, how they helped me, and how we helped society as a whole.”

The education Cedeno has acquired while in the classroom coupled with her mentoring experiences in her service to the community and FSU have changed her life forever.

“College has been amazing. I have grown so much as a person. I have become more independent. I have seen the world through different eyes. Growing up in Miami, everyone is focused on the right here and right now. Nobody is as focused on the future. At Florida State, I have been able to think about the future; how I can make an impact on society. It is my driving force for wanting to continue on in my education,” she said.

After graduating with her master’s degree, Cedeno wants to work first as a teacher. Her next goal will be to become a principal. Most importantly, she aspires to open a community outreach center so she and other professionals can give back to young people in the community.

Jim Allen, co-director of the Office of Academic and Student Support (OASIS), also expresses the College’s pride in Jessie. “We’re proud of Jessie and students like her who take the initiative to become more engaged in the FSU community, both in the classroom and beyond. Garnet and Gold Scholars really set themselves apart from their peers by enhancing their experiences in areas such as leadership, professional development, research and responsible citizenship, all of which appeal to potential employers,” Allen said.

The College of Education applauds Cedeno for her induction into the Garnet and Gold Scholar Society, for her constant drive to educate herself and the community around her and for the example she sets for her peers.

“ College has been amazing. I have grown so much as a person. I have become more independent. I have seen the world through different eyes” 29 The TORCH

BY CORIE BIANDIS Haddy Njie, right, with fellow recipients of the 2012 World Bank Margaret McNamara Memorial Fund grant.

specification of our theoretical understanding of literacy-development linkages and generate new insights to guide related programming.”

HADDY NJIE

Receives $12,000 Dissertation Grant

H

addy Njie, a Ph.D. student in Sociocultural International Development Education Studies, recently received a $12,000 grant to assist with her dissertation from the World Bank’s Margaret McNamara Memorial Fund (MMMF). The MMMF provides grants to women from developing countries to help further their education and strengthen their leadership skills to improve the lives of women and children in developing countries.

“I am delighted to be selected as one of the recipients of the 2012 World Bank’s Margaret McNamara Memorial Fund grant,” Njie said. “It is a prestigious fellowship that is sought after by many female international students who are studying in the United States and Canada.

I am therefore elated to bring the award this year to Florida State University and to the College of Education.”

Njie, who is from The Gambia, a small West African nation along the Gambia River, is conducting her dissertation research in the urban fringe area of Serekunda on the outskirts of the Gambian capital, Banjul.

She is looking at how women with limited education use, interpret and integrate literacy into their everyday gender roles.

She has noted that adult literacy programs targeting women in developing countries who lack formal education have become common strategies for promoting human development, but that evidence suggests such initiatives are seldom effective.

New Literacy Studies (NLS), an innovative stream of social science research developed over the last two decades, has questioned assumptions about adult literacy programs and placed emphasis on careful examination of actual literacy practices embedded in everyday life. Njie is working to expand the body of NLS research.

“It has so far provided relatively little attention to the situation of African women or to the interactions between literacy usage and gender roles in a developing country context,” she said.

“My study on the everyday uses of literacy among women living on the urban fringe is devoted to addressing this gap in research. It should contribute to fuller

Researching in The Gambia has been a great opportunity for Njie, not only to contribute to the academic literature, but also to reconnect with family members she had not seen since she began her graduate studies in 2006.

“It is awesome to be home but also challenging in the sense that I have to catch up with the many changes in all sectors of development in the country and particularly with the evolution of the educational system,” Njie said. “This is a moment I truly value and appreciate; it is a highpoint in my life.”

In addition to the World Bank’s MMMF grant, Njie was awarded an American Association of University Women (AAUW) Fellowship to support her dissertation research. The AAUW provides support to outstanding women who have attained academic achievement and demonstrated commitment to women and girls.

Njie said receiving both awards makes her more appreciative of the hard work she invested in her dissertation prospectus and of the guidance she received from her major advisor, Dr. Peter Easton, as well as from the other dissertation committee members: Dr. Alysia Roehrig and Dr. Jeffrey Ayala Milligan, both of the College of Education, and Dr. Michael Uzendoski of the Department of Modern Languages.

“I am extremely grateful for these awards, yet humbled knowing that many deserving students applied but I was among the few chosen this year,” Njie said.

BY CORIE BIANDIS

TED STRATTON 2011 - 2012 Gubernatorial Fellow

T

heodore “Ted” Stratton, a doctoral student in Higher Education Administration in the Florida State University College of Education, was one of seven students from FSU to serve in the 2011-2012 class of Florida Gubernatorial Fellows.

Stratton and his fellow students were selected by Fla. Gov. Rick Scott for their outstanding leadership skills, strong written and oral communication skills, community activism and desire to serve the people of Florida. Each Fellow worked a minimum of 20 hours per week.

“After attending an information session and hearing some Gubernatorial Fellows from Class 6 speak, I was pretty fired up to apply and see if I could at least get past the first stage of the application process,” said Stratton. “An application, policy proposal, two panel interviews and a couple of months later, and I found out I was going to be a member of Class 7. I was very excited.”

During his fellowship, Stratton was placed with the Florida Department of Education, Division of Florida Colleges.

His main project was working with the Higher Education Coordinating Council, where he collaborated daily with staff members and leaders from the higher education delivery systems in Florida, including the State University System, State College System (formerly the Community College System), the

Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida (private nonprofits) and the Commission for Independent Education (the for-profit colleges).

“It meant a great deal, knowing that I was going to have the chance to represent my Florida, my academic program, and my family as a member of the Gubernatorial Fellows Class 7. Just having the chance to rub elbows with so many leaders in education and politics in Florida was very exciting. Also, having my tuition paid for was not too bad either,” said Stratton.

In addition to gaining firsthand experience within the Executive Office of the Governor and other state agencies, Stratton was co-editor of the Higher Education Coordinating Council’s annual report to the governor, the Florida Legislature and the Board of Governors.

Anne Marie West, director of FSU’s Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards, said the program provides Fellows a unique opportunity to engage in professional work in state government.

“These exceptional students have been recognized for their innovative ideas, academic excellence and deep commitment to public service,” West said. “Across the disciplines, our programs are preparing future professionals to serve as leaders in their fields, and we are pleased to congratulate

our outstanding Fellows on their success.”

The Gubernatorial Fellows participated in a weekly leadership series through which they met Florida leaders including the agriculture commissioner, attorney general, Senate president and House speaker, lieutenant governor and governor. They also traveled to Washington, D.C., where they met several members of Florida’s congressional delegation, including both of the state’s U.S. senators.

Stratton was appointed by Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson to be the student representative on the Articulation Coordinating Committee of Florida for a term ending in October 2013. Finally, he was tasked with a variety of other projects ranging from writing commencement speeches for Frank Brogan, chancellor of the State University System of Florida, to researching articulation agreements in other states.

“On top of learning and re-falling in love with Florida, my favorite part of the experience was by far the people,” Stratton said. “The other 12 members of Class 7 are incredible friends and will be colleagues forever. It truly was an unforgettable nine months and I would recommend the experience to anyone interested in public service.”

31 The TORCH

Shining On Off & the Court: G raduating with a 3.92 GPA, English Education major and All-American women’s tennis player Ekaterina “Katie” Rybakova has proven that a top athlete can also be a superstar in the classroom.

Throughout her college career, Rybakova never let the demands of practicing, traveling and facing intense competition on the court interfere with her performance in the classroom.

“I think having the athletic drive, and knowing how hard I can push myself and knowing the work ethic that it takes on the court really kind of trickles down into academics,” Rybakova said.

The College of Education graduate earned FSU’s Golden Torch award three times for the highest GPA in her sport. She holds a school record for All-ACC Honors. Her athleticism has taken her to the NCAA Individual Championships the last three seasons and placed her on the Capital One Academic All-American women’s at-large team.

Rybakova’s work ethic extends beyond the classroom and the court. She served on the Student Athlete Advisory Council, the equivalent of student government in the athletic department, and was the co-editor-in-chief of the “The Owl,” the first FSU undergraduate

By Emily Hudson

32 32

Ekate

f :

research journal. She also gave more than 84 hours of service to the community by mentoring and tutoring.

Even with her packed schedule, Rybakova decided to do an undergraduate thesis on the psychology of learning.

“I did an undergraduate thesis for many reasons. The first initiative of that reason was I really wanted to prove a lot of people wrong,” Rybakova said. “Everyone was telling me that you can’t be an athlete and you can’t have this huge time commitment to athletics and still do an undergraduate thesis, on top of work and on top of tennis. But when I started doing it, I realized that research was so important to the educational community. I learned so much through it that I am going to keep doing research if I start doing my master’s and my Ph.D.” Danita Townsend, athletic academic advisor for the women’s tennis team, said Rybakova is a role model to her teammates and the athletic department as a whole.

“She exemplifies what we want and expect from all of our student-athletes,” Townsend said.

Jennifer Hyde, FSU’s head coach for women’s tennis, said she could not be more proud, of Rybakova, “not just on the court but more importantly with the successes she has earned in the academic realm.”

Those successes are bound to continue as Rybakova plans to pursue her research agenda in graduate school.

erina Rybakova

33 The TORCH

Enga 2011

Passing the Torch: An Educator’s Legacy Lives On College of Education Week Distinguished Alumni Awards

events and philanthropy 34

aged The TORCH TORCH 35 The 35

Passing

theTorch: An Educator’s Legacy Lives On

3636

W

hen Robert Breuder arrived to take on the presidency of the 273acre College of DuPage just outside Chicago, he felt as though he’d inherited a huge aircraft carrier that was in dry dock.

“I think we had stayed in port a little too long; we needed to do some substantive realignment and retrofitting so that we could put this magnificent ship back

out to sea again,” Breuder said.

By Amber Smalley

B

reuder became the fifth president of the community college in 2009 and began his transformative mission immediately. Three years later, he had engaged the community in an unprecedented strategic planning process that now guides the College’s short- and long-term agenda. Breuder added more than 47 new academic degree and certificate programs for a total of 238 programs of study.

He also completely constructed or renovated more than 1 million square feet of educational space.

The construction of state-of-the art facilities included the Homeland Security Education Center, the Culinary & Hospitality Center and the Technical Education Center.

Under Breuder’s leadership, College of DuPage has boosted its enrollment by more than 5 percent.

In Illinois, the College is the secondlargest provider of higher education and the largest community college; COD is also the nation’s largest single-campus community college outside of California.

Despite the lingering recession, the College is thriving due to excellent stewardship of tax dollars. Even during a $550-million campus improvement project, the institution’s unrestricted reserves

have grown from 30.9 percent ($42.5 million) of the operating budget in the 2008 fiscal year to 72.4 percent ($120 million) in 2012.

The College’s Aaa bond rating from both major rating agencies has allowed Breuder to save the taxpayers supporting College of DuPage more than $3 million through the refinancing of existing construction debt.

In November 2010, at a time when the economy was at one of its low points, district residents showed their commitment to their community college in the form of a $168-million referendum for continued construction and renovation.

“This was a humbling gesture of support, and we intend to make good on their investment and faith in us by continuing to provide one of the most advanced community college experiences in the country,” Breuder said.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS Breuder was raised in Queens, N.Y. His family lived in a tenement building, and his father had a tailor shop on the ground floor.

“We used to climb three flights of stairs every day from my father’s

shop to get to our small flat,” Breuder said.

His family eventually moved to Glen Falls, N.Y., where he graduated from high school.

“Okay, what am I going to do?”

Breuder asked himself during the last semester of his senior year.

“Everybody was going off to college, and I was preoccupied with hunting, fishing and my girlfriend, Anita,” Breuder said.

Breuder made an appointment to see the school guidance counselor, Helen Lamb. He remembers her asking, “Well, it’s a little late, but what do you want to do?”

“I’m thinking about going off to college,” Breuder said.

“That’s a great idea, but you should have thought about that your junior year. Your grades are not very high,” Lamb admonished. “What do you see yourself doing for a living?”

“I think I’ll be a vet,” Breuder said.

Breuder remembers reaction to this day.

Lamb’s

“She fell on the floor and went into all kinds of convulsions. I thought she was dying on me, and when I realized it had nothing to do with her physical well-being – she was just laughing uncontrollably – I said, ‘What’s wrong with that? It’s

37

an honorable vocation, isn’t it?’”

“Not for someone with a C average, and where did you want to go?” Lamb said.

“I want to go Cornell. That’s the best college for veterinary medicine in the country,” Breuder said.

Breuder helped his guidance counselor back into her chair, and then she helped him get into Delhi Agricultural and Technical College in upstate New York, where he studied to become a veterinarian’s assistant. Breuder began

Services. That’s where, by a twist of fate, he met Maurice Litton, program chair for the Florida State University Higher Education program. Litton was traveling through Albany to do a guest lecture on campus at the time. Breuder had been taking post-graduate courses at SUNY Albany while employed as Director of College Housing at Sullivan County Community College (South Fallsburg, N.Y.).

Breuder built up the courage to approach

Robert Breuder and wi Litton since my time at Florida State. He was just an incredible human being,” said Breuder. “He was enormously warm, very personable, concerned about people as individuals and genuinely wanted them to be successful.”

Breuder remembers giving up everything to take the risk of moving to Tallahassee, where he entered the program with provisional status. Only after passing the preliminary exam, successfully completing the first semester’s course work and passing the GRE foreign language exam would he be considered for formal acceptance. “This was more risk than I had ever taken in my life” recalls Breuder.

“I’ve never met anyone quite like Dr. Litton since my time at Florida State.” his degree learning how to take care of cows. By the end of his second quarter of school, he came to a stark realization.

“I didn’t want to have to get up every day and go to the barn at 4 o’clock in the morning to feed and milk those cows.

It was December, well below zero and I hated all 120 of them. I’m now saying to myself, ‘What did I do and what am I going to do now? This isn’t going anywhere.’ I finally realized I just needed to take control of my life,” Breuder said.

A TWIST OF FATE

3838

Breuder managed to get into the State University of New York at Albany – the flagship university in the SUNY System, because he earned straight A’s at Delhi. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology and then a master’s degree in Community College Student Personnel

Litton after the lecture to discuss his previously rejected application to the Higher Education doctorate program.

Litton told Breuder he would try to help him get into the program if he agreed to retake his GRE. Breuder did.

A few months later, Breuder, his wife, and 1-year old daughter packed everything they owned in the back of their car and headed to Tallahassee, where they moved into Alumni Village. This marked the beginning of Breuder’s journey into higher education administration.

Interestingly, Breuder never took a class from Maurice Litton, though he certainly had a lot of exposure to him. Litton became Breuder’s major professor and mentor for the 18 months he spent at Florida State earning his doctorate.

“I’ve never met anyone quite like Dr.

“Maybe not as much as my mom and dad when they left what they called the ‘Old Country’ [when there were two Germanys] with a buck in their pocket.

Obviously, they were many times more courageous, but to give up my full-time job and pack all my belongings in your car – however little it may have been…”

Breuder said.

“God only creates a handful of extraordinary human beings, and Maurice Litton had to be one of them. He knew that it was traumatic for us to take this risk, and he was there for us.”

Aside from Breuder’s experience studying with Professor Litton and other

ife Wendy Breuder great faculty, like Sydney Grant and Ray Schultz, his fondest memory of his time at Florida State was living in Alumni Village. Breuder described a great sense of camaraderie between his student and faculty colleagues, and remembers everyone cooking on their Weber grill every evening after school.

“The guy next to you was cooking chicken, and the guy behind you was making hamburgers, and you were grilling hot dogs. If you didn’t like the hot dogs you were cooking, then you tried to trade for chicken or a burger.

The same things challenged all of us living there. None of us had any money, none of us could afford to go out and buy a steak, so it was a tradeoff between hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken,” he said. “The highlight was when Drs. Litton and Grant came to our apartment for dinner. I think we grilled hamburgers!”

Not long after those days in Alumni Village, Breuder graduated with his doctorate in Higher Education. His first position was Assistant Director of the newly created FSU State and Regional Higher Education Center where he worked alongside Lou Bender, Professor of Higher Education. After an eight-year stint at Brevard Community College (Cocoa, Fla.) and at the age of 37, he became the then youngest community college president in the nation at

Pennsylvania College of Technology, formerly Williamsport Area Community College, in Williamsport, Pa. After 17 years, Breuder traveled west to become President of William Rainey Harper College in Chicago.

for almost 32 years, I can look back and say my experience both inside and outside the classroom at Florida State is what allowed me to get a presidency at such a young age and hold onto it for over three decades.”

Breuder remembers approaching Litton a few days after he graduated with his doctorate in 1972: “Dr. Litton, I have a question for you.”

Breuder decided to make a $250,000 bequest to the Florida State Higher Education program in his estate, because he believes if it were not for Maurice Litton he would not have had the opportunity to go to Florida State at all.

Litton very slowly and quietly took off his black framed glasses to look up at Breuder.

“How do I refer to myself now?

Do I introduce myself as doctor?”

Breuder said.

“Robert Breuder has worked just fine for 27 years,” Litton said as he lowered his head and returned to reading a manuscript.

Any other professor could have given Breuder a long lecture on humility, but Litton did not. He counseled in his own way, and it imprinted.

“I don’t think Litton could improve in terms of how he shared his knowledge; how he was able to offer it; how he motivated, stimulated and drove us all to a standard of excellence in such a caring and thoughtful way,” Breuder said.

GIVING BACK This year, Breuder plans to recognize and honor Dr. Maurice Litton for his influence on Breuder’s education and career.

“Having been a College President

“I owe Dr. Litton my entire career in this business because he took a chance and believed in me,” he said. “I wish he were alive today so I could tell him that, but I think he knows it. Establishing the Maurice Litton Future Leaders Award seems so little for my wife, Wendy, and I to do to honor such a great man and educator.”

Breuder’s generous gift will help the College continue to provide extraordinary educational experiences for its Higher Education graduate students for years to come.

“I am very pleased that my gift will honor my mentor and a great major professor and be his permanent link to the University he loved,” Breuder said.

coe

week 2011

THE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION hosted the inaugural College of Education Week in conjunction with FSU Parents’ Weekend Oct. 24 – 29, 2011. COE Week was comprised of six days of symposia, presentations and events celebrating College of Education students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends. The week kicked off with the annual Dean’s Symposium and culminated in a pre-game tailgate before the FSU vs. North Carolina State football game. The following were among the week’s highlights.

DEAN’S SYMPOSIUM

THE DEAN’S SYMPOSIUM brings together education researchers and scholars, state policy makers, school administrators, teachers and teacher educators, agency officials, and FSU faculty and students to discuss educational issues of critical importance to the state and nation. The fifth annual Dean’s Symposium was titled “How Do You Know a Good Teacher When You See One? The Uses and Abuses of Value-added Methodologies.”

The program included keynote presentations by Dr. Daniel McCaffrey of the RAND Corporation and

by Joseph Martineau, Michigan’s director of educational assessment. McCaffrey is a noted scholar on value-added modeling. Superintendent Tom Townsend of the Putnam County School District presented on how one district analyzes teacher and student data to help improve teaching and learning. A panel discussion focused on how to improve the measurement of teachers’ effectiveness.

40 40

THE HAROLD F. COTTINGHAM COLLOQUIUM

for Professional Counselors and Psychologists, part of the Dean’s Symposium, featured College of Education alumni Dr. Peter Scanlon of South Bay Mental Health Center in Brockton, Mass., and Dr. Joel Gecht of ImpactSolutions Inc. in Cleveland, Ohio. Alumni, friends, faculty and staff attended the event, which showcased topics pertaining to successful innovative practice or research in psychological services.

TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE

AN ICE CREAM SOCIAL

was held in appreciation of the faculty and staff. Their hard work was honored at the event on the north side terrace of the Mode L. Stone building. All faculty, staff, and students were invited to join and enjoy ice cream provided by Lofty Pursuits.

FACULTY & STAFF APPRECIATION ICE CREAM SOCIAL

HAROLD F. COTTINGHAM COLLOQUIUM

HARDEE FELLOW INDUCTION CEREMONY

THE TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE

featured presentations related to technology in education by College of Education faculty, students and alumni, as well as Florida State University School colleagues and guest speakers. The 16 presentations used software and hardware that facilitates learning, teaching, assessment, and research in education.

The Higher Education program participated in COE Week with its annual induction ceremony for Hardee Fellows, graduate students in the Higher Education program who achieve a 3.8 overall GPA and have completed 18 credit hours. The event recognized new and returning Hardee Fellows.

Fellows are eligible for Hardee Center travel and research grants, as funding allows.

The TORCH TORCH 41 The 41

coe

week 2011

“

SUCCESSFUL PRACTICE AS AN EXPERT WITNESS” LECTURE FSU College of Education alumnus and president of Career Consultants of America, Dr. Michael Shahnasarian has 25 years of experience as an expert witness in determining income loss after an injury and has written extensively on this topic, including an expert witness bill of rights. His interdisciplinary lecture, “Successful Practice as an Expert Witness,” was offered for faculty and graduate students who are currently, or plan to, serve as an expert witness where their subject matter expertise is needed in legal proceedings. The presentation was also relevant for attorneys, policy makers, and leaders in government who seek to make best use of experts in litigation.

INTERNATIONAL DAY

THE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION hosted its first International Day in the Stone building atrium.

Faculty, staff and students were invited to mark where they came from on a map of the world, write in their native language what they feel education is, pick up a flag of their country, and learn about international programs and study abroad opportunities available for College of Education students.

42 42

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARDS BANQUET

EACH YEAR THE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION selects outstanding

TAILGATE AND STUDENT/DONOR SCHOLARSHIP RECOGNITION

alumni who have distinguished themselves through scholarly, creative and humanitarian achievement and service to their profession. This past year six alumni were recognized at the awards banquet.

COE WEEK

concluded with our annual tailgate and recognition of students and scholarship donors. College of Education faculty, staff, donors, students and their families gathered in the courtyard of the Mode L. Stone Building.

The band Low Flying Planes performed classics such as “Mustang Sally” and “My Sharona” during the festivities, which featured a classic Southern spread of fried chicken, shrimp, coleslaw, rice and cheese grits. A bounce house and carnival games were also provided.

The Second Annual COE Week will take place Oct. 8-13, 2012, and the College of Education is looking forward to a great turnout. For more information about the week of events, visit: www.coe.fsu. edu/coeweek.

Most importantly, Dean Marcy Driscoll recognized student scholarship recipients and the donors who generously funded the awards.

43 www.coe.fsu.edu/coeweek

The TORCH

2011 Distinguished

Alumni Awards The Florida State University College of Education proudly recognizes outstanding alumni who have distinguished themselves through scholarly, creative and humanitarian achievement and service to their profession. Peers nominate the candidates, and an esteemed committee of College of Education emeritus faculty selects the winners.

The College of Education named six recipients of the 2011 Distinguished Alumni Awards. The Distinguished Alumni were honored at a dinner during the first annual College of Education Week. The celebration was attended by College administrators, faculty and staff, nominators and the families of the winners.

Business & Industry

Christopher Iansiti M.S., Instructional Systems, 1994

Christopher Iansiti’s concepts on learning, education and leadership began to form at FSU, grew at Accenture and Delphi Performance Consulting, and crystallized at his national training and leadership firm, IANSITI Performance Group. The firm focuses on large-scale strategic learning to effect meaningful and lasting change. A hands-on director of the firm, Iansiti guides corporate leaders to make strategic learning

decisions using the “Think > Learn > Apply > Achieve” approach, a learning model to which he was introduced by the College’s Instructional Systems program. Iansiti has been supportive of the College of Education since graduation by coaching students, providing internships and hiring FSU graduates. Since 2005, he has served on the Instructional Systems Alumni Council and has chaired the Alumni Relations Committee.

Elementary or Secondary Schools Neal Golden

Ph.D., Mathmatics Education, 1977

In 1966, Neal Golden developed the first data processing/computer science course in a Louisiana high school. Since no materials were available for such a course, Golden developed his own. The effort culminated in 1975 with the publication of the first high school programming textbook, Computer Programming in the BASIC Language (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1975). As chair of the Technology Committee of the

44

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), Golden was appointed to the first Mathematical Sciences Education Board of the National Research Council in Washington, D.C. He was also a pioneer in academic games, establishing the New Orleans league and playing a vital role at the national level. He is the founding president of the Academic Games Leagues of America Inc.

Postsecondary Systems David Capuzzi

Ph.D., Counselor Education, 1968

David Capuzzi serves as a professor emeritus at Portland State University, senior faculty associate in the Department of Counseling and Human Services at Johns Hopkins University, and a member of the core faculty in the Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision in the School of Counseling and Social Service at Walden University. Previously, he served as an affiliate professor in the Department of

Counselor Education, Counseling Psychology, and Rehabilitation Services at Pennsylvania State University. He is a past president of the American Counseling Association, formerly the American Association for Counseling and Development. He is author/editor of nine textbooks used in counselor education departments and programs in the United States and abroad.

Postsecondary Systems John V. Dempsey Ph.D., Instructional Systems, 1988 John “Jack” Dempsey is director of the Innovation in Learning Center at the University of South Alabama, where he also holds an academic appointment as professor of Instructional Design and Development.

He received his master’s and doctoral degrees in Instructional Systems from FSU. A former Fulbright scholar, Dempsey has been a

department chair and directed the former USA Online Learning Lab for more than 10 years. He has authored numerous publications and is co-editor, with FSU’s Robert Reiser, of the award-winning Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology, now in its third edition.

Gove Government & Community Service Cornelia Orr Ph.D., Educational Research, Measurement & Evaluation 1982 Cornelia S. Orr serves as the executive director of the National Assessment Governing Board, the independent, bipartisan board that sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Orr has devoted her entire career to working with educational assessments. She served as director of testing and evaluation for Leon County Schools, as the program specialist for several state of

Florida assessment programs and as a national consultant on assessment and evaluation projects with Evaluation Systems Design Inc. Orr also served as Florida’s assistant deputy education commissioner, managing all of Florida’s assessment programs. Orr has taught measurement and statistics courses at both FSU and Florida A & M University.

Distinguished Educator Louis Brown

Ph.D., Special Education & Vocational Rehabilitation, 1969

Louis Brown received his Ph.D. in Special Education from FSU in 1969. Until his retirement in 2003, Brown served as a professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education at the University of Wisconsin. He retired in 2003 and is now an emeritus professor, lecturer,

expert witness and consultant. In the field of education his efforts have been focused upon developing service delivery models, curricula and values that prepare students with disabilities to live, work and play in integrated society.

benchmarks 46

Faculty & Staff Achievements

Extended Hands: Jimmy Pastrano

By Caroline Sams

“L

ife’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?’”

That is how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. regarded the importance of public service.

Florida State University’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Distinguished Service Award was founded in 1986 to honor a faculty member, staff member, or administrator whose life embodies King’s philosophy.

This past January, the College of Education’s Jimmy Pastrano was honored with this award at the 24th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Celebration.

He was selected for his dedication to guiding students along the best path in their respective programs. Students and faculty alike

testify to his ability to guide, to help, to encourage and to inspire.

“I have an open door policy with anybody,” said Pastrano, an academic program specialist. “I’ve always had my hand extended out.”

Pastrano said he does not feel deserving of the award because he does not go out of his way to help people − it is just in his nature.

“I am very honored and humbled to accept this award and follow the legacy of others who have received it,” Pastrano said.

Pastrano believes it is important for everyone to give back to the community in any way they can, using whatever skills or talents they possess. He cites the Peace Corps as an example. Besides King, Pastrano’s role models include President Lyndon B. Johnson and Mother Theresa.

He said they inspire him for their service to minorities and the impoverished.

And now Pastrano inspires us.

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Educational Leadership & Policy Studies

ELPS

Rhonda

Blackwell-Flanagan, associate in Educational Leadership/ Administration, received the 20112012 Graduate Teaching Award.

Jimmy Pastrano, academic program specialist in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, was awarded the 2012 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Distinguished Service Award on January 12 at the 24th Annual Dr. MLK Commemorative Celebration.

Bob Schwartz

was promoted to Professor of Higher Education and was elected to a three-year term as chair for the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies department, beginning July, 2012. Schwartz has been Director of the Institutional Research Certificate program at the College for over 10 years.

T.K. Wetherell,

president emeritus and professor of Higher Education, was honored

by Leadership Tallahassee with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 18th Annual Distinguished Leadership Awards on Sept. 20, at the University Center Club. The event celebrated those who have made contributions to the Tallahassee community through substantive achievements in the career and community arenas.

Carolyn Herrington, professor of Educational Policy, has been named co-editor of the scholarly journal Educational Researcher for the 2013-2015 volume years. The journal is considered the world’s most important publication for educational research and has the highest impact factor, meaning its articles are cited by researchers in the field more often than

those of any other journal. As a rough measure of the prestige with which it is regarded, Educational Researcher’s peer publications in other disciplines would include Science, Nature and the New England Journal of Medicine.

SPORT management Michael Giardina &Joshua Newman, associate and assistant professors in Sport Management, have written a book titled Sport, Spectacle, and NASCAR Nation: Consumption and the Cultural Politics of Neoliberalism.

This book critically examines the complex intersections of sport, consumer culture, and contemporary U.S. politics.

Based on extensive ethnographic research, the authors give a firsthand account of NASCAR’s recent ascent into the North American sporting mainstream. Along the way, they explore the unique bond between NASCAR and conservative U.S. political movements and their various Southern, Christian, militaristic, free-market alignments.

Cecile Reynaud, research associate in Sport Management, has been named Team Leader for the USA Women’s Sitting Volleyball team for the 2012 Paralympics Games. She traveled to London March 12-15 to tour the Olympic Village and competition sites, and returned for the Paralympics Games Aug. 29 – Sept. 8.

Reynaud also wrote Coaching Volleyball Technical and Tactical Skills to help coaches teach players essential volleyball skills and transfer the knowledge and ability they gain in practice to matches. This book provides in-depth discussions and coaching cues on the basic and intermediate technical skills of volleyball, both offensive and defensive, and shows how to detect and correct errors in players’ performance.

49 The TORCH

School of Teacher Education

STE

Mary

Frances Hanline, professor of Early Childhood Special Education, and Juliann Woods, a professor in the School of Communication Science and Disorders, have received a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to train more educators in specialized early intervention and support. The grant will support their Personnel Preparation in Early Intervention and Education Project. The five-year project aims to improve the quality and increase the number of personnel who are fully credentialed to serve children with disabilities from birth to age 5.

Amy Guerette,

associate dean for Academic Affairs, received the “2012 Outstanding Educator of the Blind� award by the Florida Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired.

50

Ithel

Jones,

a professor in the School of Teacher Education, had a new book, co-authored with Dr. Vickie Lake (University of Oklahoma), published on Feb. 1, 2012. The book is based on field trials of lessons developed with FSU student teachers in Leon County Schools.

Cristina Rios,

associate in Elementary Education, has been named the Panama City campus Professor of the Year.

Victor

Sampson,

assistant professor of Science, has been awarded the 2012 Early Career Research Award by the National Association for Research in Teaching (NARST). Recipients of this high honor must be in the first seven years of their career and demonstrating the ability to provide valuable and continuous contributions to research in science education. NARST, a worldwide organization, has been focusing its efforts on improving science education teaching and learning through research since 1928. Sampson accepted the award on March 27 at the 2012 Annual International Conference of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching (NARST) in Indianapolis.

Shelbie Witte,

assistant professor and coordinator of English Education, has written a new book titled Classroom Inspirations: Based on The Hunger Games which features reading strategies, writing activities, and lessons based upon vocabulary instruction frame ready-toimplement mini lesson plans focused on the popular novel The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Using reading, writing, art, music, and multimedia, the authors focus on ways to incorporate engaging literature along with the Common Core Standards. Classroom Inspirations: Based on the Hunger Games is the first volume in a series centered on young adult novels and best practices in literacy instruction.

Sherry

Southerland,

professor in Science Education, has written Teaching Science to Every Child: Using Culture as a Starting Point. The book provides timely and practical guidance about teaching science to all students. It gives particular emphasis to making science accessible to populations who are typically pushed to the fringe – especially students of color and English language learners.

Central to this text is the idea that science can be viewed as a culture, including specific methods of thinking, particular ways of communicating, and specialized kinds of tools. By using culture as a starting point and connecting it to effective instructional approaches, this text gives elementary and middle school science teachers a valuable framework to support the science learning of every student.

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Educational Psychology & Learning Systems

EPLS

Betsy Jane Becker,

professor of Educational Statistics, has been given this year’s Mosteller Award for her distinctive contributions to systematic reviewing. The award reflects her contribution to both the practice of research synthesis and its methodology.

Terri Pigott and Jeff Valentine of the Campbell Collaboration pointed out that she exemplifies many of the qualities of Fred Mosteller – a commitment to practical applications of statistics to improve society, and a personal concern for students.

Aubteen Darabi,

associate program director at Florida State University’s Learning Systems Institute, received the 2011 Innovators Award from the University. The honor recognized Darabi’s leading role in developing a performancebased training system that advances the knowledge and skills of seaport security personnel. Darabi was one of 10 faculty members recognized at the 7th Annual Florida State University Innovators Reception on Dec. 5 for having their technology commercialized through a license or option agreement in the fiscal year ending in June.

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Robert Eklund &Gershon Tenenbaum, professors in Educational Psychology, have written a book titled Measurement in Sport and Exercise Psychology that provides a complete analysis of the tools and methods used in sport and exercise psychology research. Each chapter of this accessible text presents key measurement variables and concepts, including their definitions; an evaluation of the measurement constructs and tools available; and an explanation of any controversies in each topic. The text includes access to an online resource that presents 14 measurement instruments in their entirety. This resource also contains additional web links to many other measurement instruments.

James

Klein,

professor in Instructional Systems, has written a book titled The Instructional Design Knowledge Base: Theory, Research and Practice. The book provides instructional design professionals and students at all levels with a comprehensive exploration of the theories and research that serve as a foundation for current and emerging instructional design practice.

Steven Pfeiffer,

professor in Educational Psychology and Learning Systems, was invited to speak at the Singapore National Library. Pfeiffer presented “Raising a Successful Child: Focusing on Both Strength of the Head and Strengths of the Heart” on April 16. The talk drew on Pfeiffer’s latest book, Serving the gifted: Evidence-based clinical and psycho-educational practice, which will be published later this year. Pfeiffer was a visiting professor last spring at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

multi- departmental achievements Faculty members:

Angel Canto (EPLS), Rebecca Galeano (STE), and Amy Guerette (STE) have each received a $12,000 Planning Grant from the FSU Council for Research and Creativity (CRC). Planning grants are primarily intended to provide faculty with initial funding to support an as-yet-unfunded line of research, with the expectation being that the initial funding will lead to the faculty applying for and receiving external funding support.

The FSU-Teach program

has received a $100,000 share of a $500,000 donation from AT&T to the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI).

Florida State is one of five universities among which the AT&T contribution to NMSI will be divided to support programs modeled after UTeach, a highly successful initiative that originated at the University of Texas-Austin in 1997 and enables students majoring in math, science or computer science to receive full teaching certification without adding time or cost to their degrees.

staff achievements Beginning this year,

the College of Education, in collaboration with the newly formed COE Staff Advisory Board, will recognize the sustained service of individual staff members who have served in increments of five years or more. Additionally, Dean Driscoll and the SAB have created the annual COE Staff Members Outstanding Service to the College Award, recognizing individual staff achievement in support of the college.

Our 2012 Sustained service awardees were Bryan Richards (EPLS), Erika Bettilyon (SPM) and Bunny Stripling-Hunter(STE).

Joshua Coleman in the Office of Information and Instructional Technologies recieved the 2012 COE Staff Member Outstanding Service to the College Award.

2011

PROGRESS REPORTS

1950

Alumni News And Notes

Myrtis Herndon

(B.S. ‘54 – PHYSICAL EDUCATION)

was inducted into the William H. Hollinger Hall of Fame for her contributions to athletics at Hiram College. Herndon is a Professor Emeritus of Physical Education and Exercise/Sport Science and Athletics at Hiram College.

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1960

Carol Hair Moore

(B.S. ‘62 – ELEMENTARY EDUCATION)

published three children’s books: Marvin the Magnificent Nubian Goat, Ruby Kate’s Scrumptious Tea Cake Party, and Busy Bumble Bee Rides the Waves. Moore’s website: http://www.iwishyouicreamandcake.com.

Nancy Cardwell Smith

(B.S. ‘63)

was honored by being named one of the sixteen 2011 Palm Beach County POWER WOMEN by the Florida Weekly newspaper. (www.FloridaWeekly. com Vol. ll, No. 1.)

Desmond Gray, Jr.

(B.S. ‘65)

is the executive secretary of the Tallahassee Kiwanis Club.

Robert Levy (M.S. ‘66)

was elected as president pro tem of the Plantation (Florida) City Council.

Clara Long Moore

(B.S. ’66, M.S. ‘76 – SPEECH AND LANGUAGE)

taught speech, language and hearing students for over 21 years. Moore has also successfully managed her rental real estate business for over 56 years.

Carolyn J. Owens

(B.A. ‘68),

executive secretary for the social science division, was selected as the 2011 recipient of the Margaret Hommell Staff Service Excellence Award presented by Franklin College. Owens joined

Franklin College in 2008 after a successful teaching career and 10 years at Butler University as the Director of Education for Clowes Memorial Hall. Owens retired in December of 2011.

James Louis Morrison

(PH.D. ‘69 – HIGHER EDUCATION)

presented “What Lies Ahead for America’s Community Colleges” at AACC’s Presidents Academy Summer Institute. View the video at: http://vimeo.com/26980380.

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1970

R. Anne Abbott

(M.S. ‘70)

has retired after over 30 years of teaching, the majority at University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point. Abbott plans on spending her time developing her own business: Abbott Solutions Inc. It includes Kids Sports Author-ity.com an

affiliate marking website that assists parents in helping their 3- to 12 year-olds become more physically active. Abbott will continue consulting in the area of wellness and health promotion.

Donna Laine Duke Hendrix

(B.S. ‘72)

received her master’s degree in 2008 from USF. After teaching for 38 years in Hillsborough County Schools Exceptional Education Visually Impaired Program, she retired in July of 2010.

Anna Zins Freed

(PH.D. ‘73)

opened a real estate brokerage firm - A&A Real Estate Brokerage, LLC, located in Sykesville, MD. Company also developed Woodlands of Whispering Pines in Crestview, Fla.

Lloyd Goodwin

(PH.D. ‘74)

was appointed interim chairman, Department of Rehabilitation Studies at East Carolina University in July 2009 for a period of three years. He is also a professor of Substance Abuse and Clinical Counseling.

Richard Magill

(PH.D. ‘74)

was named chair of the Department of Teaching and Learning in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University in June of 2010.

Ann Belcher

(PH.D. ‘75)

is working as the director of Office for Teaching Excellence at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing.

Robert C. Dawson

(PH.D. ‘75),

a longtime member of the Registry of College and University Presidents, has been selected by that group to serve as the interim vice president for University Advancement with California

State University, Stanislaus. Dr. Dawson also currently serves as a member and chair of the FSU College of Education Dean’s Development Council.

Susan Brown Foster

(B.S. ‘76)

published the textbook “Experiential Learning in Sport Management: Internships and Beyond” in July of 2011 with Fitness Information Technology, one of the two largest publishers of sport management textbooks.

Thomas “Tim” LoGuidice

(M.S. ‘67; PH.D. ‘76 – SOCIAL SCIENCE EDUCATION)

56

retired after 43 years of teaching. LoGuidice started teaching for Escambia County schools and served his last 20 years as professor and

director of faculty development at the University of Wisconsin – Platville.

Jane Thomas Crawford

(PH.D. ‘76)

became the new director of testing and academic success at St. Johns River State College in Palatka on January 3, 2011. She taught at Palatka High School for 25 years and served as the guidance counselor for 7 years.

Peggy Smith-Herbst

(B.S. ‘77)

is the vice president and editor-in-chief for science at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers in Orlando. She also serves on the Board of Trustees

for the Orlando Science Center and was recently elected Secretary on the Executive Committee.

Bruce Chaloux

(PH.D. ’78- HIGHER EDUCATION)

The Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C), an association of individuals, institutions and organizations of higher education engaged in online learning, announced

the selection of Chaloux as Sloan-C’s new executive director and chief executive officer.

Greg Jones

(B.S. ‘78)

has over 30 years as a physical education instructor. He is currently at Lawton Chiles High School in Tallahassee, Fla.

Jairo Eduardo Borges-Andrade

(M.S., PH.D. ‘79)

developed research studies from 19791993 for Embrapa (Brazilian Corporation for Agricultural Research). Borges-Andrade is also in collaboration with ISNAR (International Service for National Agricultural Research) in the Hague, Netherlands. Since 1993, he has been a professor at the University of Brasilia investigating learning and commitment at work, teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels and consulting on personnel training and development for public and private organizations. He was a senior research intern at IFPRI (International Food Policy Research

Institute)-Washington, DC (1990) and Universities of Sheffield, the U.K. and Groningen, the Netherlands (2001). He has published 73 articles, five books and 27 book chapters, and successfully supervised 27 master’s students and 15 doctoral students. For more than 10 years, Borges-Andrade has received a monthly fellowship and grant from CNPq (National Council for the Development of Science and Technology) as a recognition for standing at the top level of productivity among Brazilian Psychology researchers.

Janine Edwards

1980

(PH.D. ‘79)

has been appointed professor and chair of the Department of Medical Humanities and Social Sciences in the FSU College of Medicine.

Denise King Olson

(B.S. ‘80)

served as Reading First coach 2002-2008, Reading First regional developer 2002-2004. She currently serves as core curriculum elementary reading trainer and FAIR master trainer.

Stephen Sakellarios

(M.S. ‘81)

completed the book “Matthew Franklin Whittier in his own words”.

57 The TORCH

1980

Deborah Stubing

(ES.S ‘82)

is currently serving as state president for Florida Alpha Delta Kappa. Alpha Delta Kappa is an international organization for women educators.

Kent Noel

(PH.D. ‘83)

was just appointed vice president at the Education Development Center (EDC), a global nonprofit organization based outside of Boston, Noel has worked at EDC since 2003 and has served as EDC’s Director of the East and Southern Africa Regional (ESAR) Center in Nairobi, Kenya. He helped establish the center in 2005. In that role, he oversees education

improvement projects in seven countries.

During his career in international education development, he has served as a long-term education advisor and manager in Botswana, Turkey, Pakistan, Zambia and Kenya as well as a short-term consultant in many other countries.

Frances Sivik

(M.S. ‘83)

is currently a fifth grade special needs teacher at the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf. Sivik teaches deaf/hard of hearing special needs students and has been teaching at the school for over four years.

Rodney Reeves

(SPECIALIST; PH.D. ‘84)

is the principal at Lake Lure Educational Group: Training and Language Development.

Richard Leitner

(M.S. ‘08)

serves as the university department chair for the Statewide Sports Medicine and Fitness Technology Program.

Julia Athena Spinthourakis

(PH.D. ‘86)

is a tenured assistant professor at the University of Patras (Greece), Department of Elementary Education. She teaches Multilingual &

Multicultural Education. She is the President of the Children’s Identity and Citizenship European Association (2010-2012).

Martha Raskin Kessinger

(B.S. ‘87)

has worked for 25 years with seniors in Continuing Care Communities.

She has a blog for activities directors in independent living resident communities, rechargingretirees.blogspot.com.

Elizabeth Porter Anderson

(B.S. ‘88)

earned a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction since graduating from FSU.

Jeryl Rubel Matlock

(B.S.; M.S.; PH.D. ‘88),

58

adjunct professor in Educational Studies at Kaplan University, was one of three faculty (out of 80) to receive the Dean’s Award in recognition of outstanding service to the College of Arts and Sciences.

1990

J.R. (Ron) Langrell III

(PH.D. ‘90 – HIGHER EDUCATION)

has been appointed president and chief executive officer of Bates Technical College in Tacoma, Washington.

Lisa Sims Fraine

(B.S.; M.S. ‘93)

is currently working as an eSolutions consultant with the Florida Virtual School. The job provides support for districts in the Northeast to start their own virtual programs.

Stephanie Harron Keenan

(B.S. ‘93)

is currently serving her 18th year as a classroom teacher in Howard County Public School System.

She earned an M.Ed. in School Counseling (K-

12) from Loyola College in 1996 and earned National Board Certification as an Early Childhood Generalist in 2008.

Jessica Wallace

(B.S. ‘93 – ELEMENTARY EDUCATION)

recently co-authored the book “Oliver Vance, Pull Up Your Pants!” She earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Florida A&M University. Wallace accepted a

full-time faculty position at Strayer University’s Savannah Campus and was recently named the Associate Campus Dean.

Kimberly DiBiase Belknap

(B.S.; M.S. ‘94)

successfully renewed National Board Certification in AYA-Social Studies/History.

Melissa Malm Laudani

(B.S. 94 - ENGLISH EDUCATION)

graduated with an Ed.S. in Educational Leadership from FSU in Summer of 2012.

Kathryn Jarvis

(PH.D. ‘96 – HIGHER EDUCATION)

with Dr. David DiRamio, published “Veterans in Higher Education: When Johnny and Jane come marching to college”, ASHE Higher Ed series.

Michael P. McNeil

(M.S. ‘97)

was named director of the Alice! Health Promotion Program at Columbia University in New York City.

Additionally, he has been appointed as an adjunct instructor in Health Education at Lehman College, City University of New York and Health Services

Administration at the School of Professional Studies, City University of New York. In the recent past, he was also named a Fellow of the American College Health Association.

Nicole Collier

(M.S. ‘99 – ELEMENTARY EDUCATION)

taught elementary school in Georgia for several years before becoming an instructional coach focused on Reading and English/Language Arts.

In December of 2010, she completed her Ph.D. in Learning, Design, and Technology from the

University of Georgia. In July of 2011, Collier accepted a position as a postdoctoral scholar at the University of South Florida - St. Petersburg.

She is supporting the SunBay Digital Mathematics grant.

59 The TORCH

2000

Brien Schmauch

(B.S. ‘00)

is the owner of Pinnacle Massage Therapy in Tallahassee. PMT provides massage therapy to individual clients, to local high school athletes and to FSU athletes. Schmauch is an active

member of the Tallahassee Seminole Club, the Tallahassee Quarterback Club and various civic and business organizations in Tallahassee.

David Monetti

(PH.D. ‘01 – LEARNING AND COGNITION)

co-authored “Educational Psychology” through Wadsworth Publishers.

Shelly Clark Bell

(M.S. ‘02))

was named the principal of Elizabeth Cobb Middle School in Tallahassee, Fla.

Robert Moramarco

(B.S. ‘02)

was nominated for Teacher of the Year at Eastside High School in Gainesville, Fla. He has been developing Basketball Brothers, Inc. a non-profit organization that assists studentathletes, college coaches, and prep coaches

around the country. The basketball website is www.basketballbrothers.com and is the single largest prep organizing event in the State of Florida and looks to expand throughout the Southeastern United States.

David Murphy

(M.S. ‘02)

was named principal of Stanley Switlik Elementary School in Marathon, Fla.

Kamau Oginga Siwatu

(M.S. ‘02)

was promoted to associate professor of Education Psychology with tenure at Texas Tech University.

Sharifa Charlery

(M.S. ‘03)

received a juris doctorate in May of 2010 with honors. Awards and achievements during law school were: Law School Association Scholar; Chattahoochee Inn of Court – Pupil; Georgia Intrastate Moot Court Competition - Best Brief Award; Best Team Award; UGA Moot Court Team Executive Officer; UGA Mock Trial Team -

Board Member; “Journal of Intellectual Property Law” - Managing Editor; Black Law Students Association - Trial Advocacy Chair; Intellectual Property Society - Executive Chair. Employed as a judicial law clerk for Judge Brenda J. Hollar in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands.

Allyson Czarnecki Dees

(B.A. ‘03)

is working as a high school reading teacher in Baker County, Fla. She received an M.A. in Reading Education at the University South Florida.

Scott Sowell

(PH.D. ‘04 – SCIENCE EDUCATION),

a seventh- and eighth-grade science teacher at Darnell-Cookman Middle/ High School, won the Teacher of the Year award for 2011-2012 school year.

60

Erin Bufe Kurtz

(SPECIALIST; B.S., M.S. ‘05),

took a position as a guidance counselor at South Tech Academy in Boynton Beach, Fla.

Martin Balinsky

(PH.D. ‘06)

began a position as assistant professor of Earth Science and Geology at Tallahassee Community College.

Liz Campbell

(B.S. ‘07)

was named Regular Educator of the Year at Shugart Elementary in Garland, Texas. She is currently working on her master’s degree in Curriculum

& Instruction at the University of North Texas.

She has accepted a position as an instructional specialist teacher for Garland ISD.

Nicole Rogers Farris

(M.S./ED.S. ‘07 – COUNSELING)

recently opened her private practice, Farris Counseling Services LLC, in 2010. Farris is a licensed clinical professional counselor in Maryland.

Candace Hunter

(M.S. ‘08)

has been teaching in the field of special education since 2008 and graduated with a Doctorate of Education from Walden University in May of 2011.

Candace Ford Pinataro

(M.S. ‘08)

2010

is currently a sales consultant for Pearson Education in Tallahassee, Fla, and South Georgia.

Kimberly Newsome

(M.S.; ED.D. ‘09)

assumed the position of associate vice chancellor for Student Affairs at the University of North Carolina Asheville in January of 2011. Her position provides leadership and supervision to student activities, campus recreation, multicultural

student programs, new student orientation, leadership programs, family & parent programs, veterans programs, volunteer programs and civic engagement.

Aaron Ferral

(M.A. ‘10 - TEACHING)

is teaching Spanish for grades 6-8 at Sayre School, an independent school in Lexington, Ky.

Roxanne M. Hughes

(PH.D. ‘10 – EDUCATIONAL POLICY, PLANNING AND ANALYSIS),

educational research coordinator for the Center for Integrating Research and Learning at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee, Fla., received Recognition of Merit in the 2011–2012 PDK International Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award program. Her dissertation, “The Process of

Choosing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Careers by Undergraduate Women: A Narrative Life History Analysis,” investigates the reasons for women’s under-representation in STEM fields in college.

2010

Jennifer Iacino

(ED.D. ‘11 – HIGHER EDUCATION),

has been appointed dean of Student Development and Campus Life Online at Berkeley College. In this role, Dr. Iacino will be responsible for all aspects of student life through Berkeley College Online and will work closely with students, faculty and staff in the creative design and implementation of student development programs. Before coming to Berkeley College, Dr. Iacino served as an external evaluator for the Advancing Environmental Literacy Project, a grant-funded program of innovative sustainability curriculum at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, NC. She also has

worked with several programs at Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL, including the Women in Math, Science & Engineering LivingLearning Community; the Center for Leadership & Civic Engagement; and the Student Activities department.

Ashley Cyb

(B.S. ‘11)

serves as the account executive for University of Central Florida Athletic Association.

Amirul Mukminin

(PH.D. ‘12),

a Fulbrighter and alumnae of Sociocultural and International Education Development Studies (SIDES), ELPS, has received an Erasmus Mundus postdoctoral scholarship from the European Commission under the Lotus program. The Lotus is an Erasmus Mundus Action Two Partnership (EMA2) of European and South-East Asian Higher Education Institutions (HEI) and Associations aiming at fostering mutual enrichment and better understanding between the EU and South-East Asia (China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, and Thailand). During his postdoctoral

62

program at Groningen University, the Netherlands, Amirul Mukminin is going to do two research projects: (1) In search of effective teachers: Teacher education and teacher certification policy in Finland, the Netherlands, and Indonesia and (2) Coming to the Netherlands: Stories of Indonesian graduate students on the acculturative process at Dutch higher education.

You

BECAUSE OF As a two-time graduate

o f Florida State University and a current faculty member in the College of Education, I want to thank you for your devotion to this institution.

Through your financial support, you have helped me achieve success both as a student and as a teacher.

During my time as an undergraduate and graduate student, the support I received to purchase textbooks helped alleviate the costs of attending school. Because of you, I was able to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in English and a doctorate in Reading Education. I am now fulfilling my dream of being a professor and training future teachers.

As a faculty member, private support to the College has allowed me to start a summer reading program that introduces middle and high school students to college life at FSU and expands their vision for their educational futures. Because of you, these young adults can visualize their dreams of achieving college educations.

Your support has touched and will continue to touch the lives of countless students. I have been so inspired by the generosity of our fellow alumni and friends that I have begun making gifts of my own. Please join me in supporting the many bright, innovative and talented students and faculty in the College of Education by making a gift today.

Sincerely,

Elisa “Lisa” Scherff Bachelor of Arts in English and Ph.D. in Reading Education Classes of 1990 and 2002

Easy Online Giving At one.fsu.edu/one PAYMENT INFORMATION

Your annual gift

to the College of Education provides vital support for priority initiatives in the college. With an annual gift, you can designate your dollars to support a program or department that is meaningful to you, or you can give to our general fund, which allows the college to use the money where it is most needed.

This past year, gifts to the College were used to support some of the following initiatives: • Scholarships and assistantships; • Student travel to conferences; • Guest lectures; • Classroom experiences for promising young teachers; and • Student research symposiums.

By investing in the College of Education, you demonstrate how much you believe in and support our values and mission. Thank you for your support!

— Marcy P. Driscoll, Ph.D. Dean, College of Education Leslie J. Briggs Professor of Educational Research

* Please tear off and return the lower portion with your gift

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Enclosed is my check made payable to the FSU Foundation

the impact of your gift!

Cardnumber:

You could potentially double or even triple the impact of your gift to Florida State if you or your spouse is employed by a company that matches the charitable contributions of its employees. To find out if your employer has a matching gift policy, visit www.matchinggifts.com/fsu.

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connect

our goal Here at the FSU College of Education, our goal is not only to instruct and to guide but also to form close bonds among students, faculty, and staff alike.

We value the moments shared with you during your years here and cherish your pursuit of your hopes and dreams.

We are proud of the great heights you have reached and all that you are doing for the field of education.

To go along with our communication via traditional mail, we have greatly improved our social media channels to keep up with our loyal alumni and friends. Apart from keeping our news

slideshow CENN (College of Education News Network) current, our Facebook page is always active, as is our Twitter.

Both of these, along with our YouTube channel’s link, can be found below.

Make sure you check out our latest efforts on our news blog at fsuednews. com. We feel that social media is not just a trend. We intend to keep close relationships with all of our friends through these different channels. Don’t forget to visit our website coe.fsu. edu/alumni for your latest College of Education news and events!

facebook.com/fsu.education youtube.com/FSUeducation twitter.com/fsu_education tinyurl.com/fsu-edu fsuednews.com

try our new

iphone app

Download the FSU Education iphone app to stay connected to the College of Education (COE) and other departments on campus.

With this new mobile app you can apply for scholarships, make a gift, add COE and athletic events to your calendar, learn more about becoming a Seminole through the admissions feature, look up COE faculty and staff to find offices, email or phone numbers and store contacts with just a few taps.

Download the app for free from the Apple Itunes Store beginning November 2012!

64

credits Office of Communications TORCH Staff Dean

Marcy P. Driscoll

Writers

Editor & Director Amber Smalley

Corie Biandis Emily Hudson Caroline Sams Amber Smalley

Associate Editors

Layout & Design

Emily Hudson Nancy Kinnally

Kate Campbell

* design inspired by Gameinformer magazine

Editorial Assistant Photographers Kate Campbell

Ken Higgins Brittany Knight Ray Stanyard FSU Photo Lab

Contributors

Jennifer Chavis Ken Higgins Julia Kronholz Robert Reardon Courtney Stombock Suzanne Wilkinson Please tell us what you think about this issue of The TORCH at:

education. communications@ fsu.edu 65 The TORCH

1100 Stone Building 1114 West Call Street P.O. Box 3064450 Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4450

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Learn Today. Teach Tomorrow.

LEAD FOR A LIFETIME.