Fall 2021 Penn State College of Education Alumni Magazine

Fall Two Thousand Twenty-one

We are ...

BACK!

Contents Dean

Kimberly A. Lawless

Editor

Annemarie Mountz

Writers

Jim Carlson, Stephanie Koons, Annemarie Mountz

Photographers

Jim Carlson, Stephanie Koons, Annemarie Mountz

Contact Us

247 Chambers Building University Park, PA 16802-3206 814-863-2216 www.ed.psu.edu • edrelations@psu.edu Published twice a year by the Penn State College of Education

College of Education Alumni Society Officers

President: Joe Clapper President-elect: Jonathan Klingeman Immediate past president: Pam Peter Secretary: Sherry Yontosh

Directors Nicole Birkbeck William Clark Tonya DeVecchis-Kerr Jhan Doughty Kiley Foley Pam Francis Caleb Gildea Ramon Guzman, Jr. Jordan Humphrey Shubha Kashyap

Michelle Knotts Sarah Lozano Allison Mackley Amy Meisinger Ronald Musoleno John Rozzo Sharon Salter Catherine Tomon Jeannene Willow

Student Members Allie Lukac Rory Murphy Manar Salamah

Dean’s Message 1

Dean Kimberly A. Lawless provides a brief update

News & Notes 2

College welcomes 6 new faculty members

3

News in brief

Features 4

Critical student/adviser relationship maintained virtually during pandemic

7

We Are ... back in the classroom

8

Pilot initiative to address teacher shortage, lack of diversity in Title I school districts

10 Students develop cultural awareness through virtual exchange programs 12 Alumna raises funds to build library in Malawi 13 College of Education, World Campus team up to offer online D.Ed. program

Research 14 His ‘own story’ prompted Harris to help Black youth find sense of self 15 Black teachers more likely to discuss racism with students, research shows 16 Endowed professor studies mechanisms of educational inequality within urban schools 17 Research news in brief

Impact 18 Estate gift to support two areas of college 19 Giving Tuesday effort to benefit equity initiatives 19 Impact news in brief

Alumni The University is committed to equal access to programs, facilities, admission and employment for all persons. It is the policy of the University to maintain an environment free of harassment and free of discrimination against any person because of age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, creed, service in the uniformed services (as defined in state and federal law), veteran status, sex, sexual orientation, marital or family status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, physical or mental disability, gender, perceived gender, gender identity, genetic information or political ideas. Discriminatory conduct and harassment, as well as sexual misconduct and relationship violence, violates the dignity of individuals, impedes the realization of the University’s educational mission, and will not be tolerated. Direct all inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policy to the Affirmative Action Office, The Pennsylvania State University, 328 Boucke Building, University Park, PA 16802-5901, Email: aao@psu.edu, Tel (814) 863-0471.

U.Ed EDU 22-15

20 Doughty among 22 Alumni Fellow Award recipients

Development 21 Message from the Dean’s Development Council co-chairs 21 Outstanding alumni, friends selected for annual awards On the cover: Students, faculty and staff gathered on the Chambers Building portico for an ice cream social to kick off fall semester. Photo: Annemarie Mountz

Dean’s Message As it says on the cover of this magazine, We Are … Back! Back on campus, back in our classrooms and offices. It has been incredible to see our colleagues and students in our classrooms, halls and on our campus. I can feel the energy and excitement that only a residential academic environment can generate in the air. It has been rejuvenating after so much social distancing!

Back in March 2020, we thought it was hard to shut down in-person operations due to a pandemic. What we’ve been finding out this fall is that it’s even harder to open back up. We’re still not “back to normal.” We still are dealing with a lot related to the pandemic, along with our regular stressors.

We are all reorienting to working/learning with one another in the same space, and we are doing so when we still have a number of COVID mediation rules in place.

At the same time, there is optimism.

Dean Kimberly A. Lawless

While we have dedicated much of our attention to environmental conditions related to the pandemic, and will continue to do so, it is also important that we do not lose sight of the multitude of exciting initiatives that we are engaged in to push us forward. We have developed and begun implementation on an exciting strategic plan. We are revising existing and designing new programmatic options for students. We held our inaugural College of Education Research Day. Many of us are engaging in professional development or learning communities to expand our perspectives and broaden our practices. We are putting into practice many of the lessons we learned over the past 18 months. The list goes on and on … there is so much positive progress for us to focus on!

This positive progress is possible because we have remained a community — a community that is unified in the purpose of changing education by educating for change.

I’m truly excited to see how we will use our creative energy, our collective intellect and our faith in the transformative power of education to navigate this moment and emerge as a more just, equitable and empathetic community, both here on campus and beyond. I am honored to be on this journey with all of you.

There is a lot of good news in the pages of this issue, and I’m excited to be sharing all of it with you. Our featured story starting on page 4 is about our exceptional advising team and how they worked with our students during this pandemic to help them stay on track and make academic progress in the midst of the chaos and uncertainty that came with this pandemic. Their energy, go-with-the-flow attitude and enthusiasm for what they do is evident not only through the words of the story, but also through the photos that accompany it. (Hint: they would not pose for a “boring, serious” photo!)

A year ago, we started sharing our mantra of “Changing education by educating for change.” There are several stories in this issue that exemplify that ongoing effort. Learn about our pilot initiative getting ready to launch in Reading, Pennsylvania, to address the teacher shortage and lack of diversity in Title I school districts (page 8); an international exchange program that went virtual rather than cancel due to the pandemic (page 10); an alumna who helped get a library built in Malawi (page 12); the college’s new online D.Ed. program (page 13); and research that addresses many important topics, among other stories.

Finally, I want to call your attention to the #GivingTuesday article on page 19. This year’s event — which will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 30 — marks the seventh year that Penn State has participated in the international celebration of philanthropy. In the College of Education, we are using that day to raise financial support for the Office of Education and Social Equity (OESE). Visit https://raise.psu.edu/givingtuesdayedu to learn how you can lend your support this Nov. 30.

Penn State Education

1

News & Notes

College welcomes 6 new faculty members The Penn State College of Education welcomes six new faculty members this fall.

“Each individually brings expertise that will strengthen our already stellar faculty ranks.

Collectively, they add a dimension that will accelerate our ability to identify and address the systemic inequities that impede many individuals from meeting their full potential in meaningful ways,” said Dean Kimberly A. Lawless.

“Together, we will build upon our college’s existing commitment to change education by educating for change. I am excited to work alongside them.”

Mildred Boveda associate professor (special education) Mildred Boveda joins the college from the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State, where she was assistant professor of special education and cultural and linguistic diversity.

She earned her Ed.D. in exceptional student education from Florida International University, and her Ed.M. in education policy and management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

In her scholarship, Boveda uses the terms “intersectional competence” and “intersectional consciousness” to refer to educators’ understanding of diversity and how students, families and colleagues have multiple sociocultural markers that intersect in complex and nuanced ways. She designed the Intersectional Competence Measure to assess teachers’ preparedness for an increasingly diverse student population.

Learn more about Boveda at https://ed.psu.edu/ directory/dr-mildred-boveda online.

Janice Byrd assistant professor (counselor education) Janice Byrd joins the college from Kent State University, where she was assistant professor in the Counselor Education and Supervision program. She earned her Ph.D. in counselor education and supervision from the University of Iowa.

Byrd has experience working on teams to facilitate campus and community diversity trainings and has spoken on topics related to anti-racist pedagogy, advocacy and equity in school counseling.

Her scholarship seeks to situate the lived experiences 2

Penn State Education

of students of color within the broader ecological context to systematically examine how their personal, social, academic and career success is interrupted and/ or enhanced by school, family, community settings, relationships and policies throughout all stages of the educational pipeline.

Learn more about Byrd at https://ed.psu.edu/ directory/dr-janice-byrd online.

Aaron Campbell assistant professor (special education) Aaron Campbell earned her doctorate in educational psychology with an emphasis in special education from the College of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M University.

She earned her master’s degree from North Carolina Central University.

Campbell has focused her research on preventive and intervention strategies for children with and at risk for social, emotional and behavior problems with a specific focus on African American learners and improving academic outcomes. Her research is guided by her education, practicum and work experience in clinical psychology.

Learn more about Campbell at https://ed.psu.edu/ directory/dr-aaron-campbell online.

Paul Harris associate professor (counselor education) Paul Harris joins the college from the University of Virginia, where he was associate professor in the Counselor Education program and a faculty affiliate with the Center for Race and Public Education in the South. He completed his Ph.D. in counselor education from the University of Maryland, where the program’s emphasis was on promoting systemic equity, access and justice in schools through counseling.

Harris’ research focuses on investigating the college and career readiness needs and promise of underserved students; analyzing the identity development process of Black male student-athletes, and specifically the role of school counselors in facilitating their multidimensional sense of self; and examining the pre- and in-service school counselor training to ensure implementation of comprehensive school counseling programs that promote equity, access and justice.

Learn more about Harris at https://ed.psu.edu/ directory/dr-paul-harris online.

News & Notes Brandy Henry assistant professor (rehabilitation and human services)

College of Education, World Campus partnership with U.S. Army helps teach soldiers to be leaders

Brandy Henry, a Social Science Research Institute co-funded faculty member, joins the college from a joint appointment at the Columbia University School of Social Work and Mailman School of Public Health, where she was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the National Institute on Drug Abuse funded Training Program on HIV and Substance Use in the Criminal Justice System.

She received her doctorate and master’s degrees in social policy (behavioral health track) from the Brandeis University Heller School for Social Policy and Management.

The Sergeants Major Fellowship Program, a partnership involving the College of Education, World Campus and the U.S. Army, has now graduated six cohorts and 90 sergeants major, with the most recent cohort graduating this past August. The seventh cohort is now in the program.

Henry leverages years of practice experience as a clinical social worker, providing behavioral health services to criminalized populations to ground her research in the complexity of translating research to inform policy and practice.

Learn more about Henry at https://ed.psu. edu/directory/dr-brandy-henry online.

DeMarcus Jenkins assistant professor (education leadership) DeMarcus Jenkins joins the college from the University of Arizona College of Education, where he was an assistant professor of education policy studies and practice and an affiliate in the Department of Geography.

He earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Division of Urban Schooling.

Jenkins is an activist and urban scholar whose work considers the intersections of race, space and policy. His research focuses on the influence of spatial, social and political factors that foster and exacerbate inequalities for Black populations as well as the approaches that school leaders take to disrupt and transform these dynamics. Consistent throughout his research are practical solutions for school leaders and policymakers.

Learn more about Jenkins at https://ed.psu. edu/directory/dr-demarcus-jenkins online.

After completing their master’s of education in lifelong learning and adult education in one year, fellows teach three years in the Sergeants Major Course, which prepares the military’s next generation of leaders with the skills they need on and off the battlefield.

Graduates also have pursued doctoral degrees, been promoted to other Sergeants Major Academy and Army leadership positions, and have become business and community leaders after retirement from the Army, according to William Diehl, academic adviser for the fellowship program and associate teaching professor of education and coordinator of online graduate programs at Penn State.

Learn more at https://bit.ly/3BgZfZm on Penn State News.

Online course led by CSATS faculty shapes COVID-19 curriculum in schools nationwide Earlier this year, an interdisciplinary team of researchers at Penn State released an online course called “The Science of COVID-19.” Led by faculty in the College of Education’s Center for Science and the Schools (CSATS), the course was designed to give middle- and high-school students an opportunity to learn about how scientists approach and tackle a novel virus. Since then, the free course has reached about 2,500 teachers and students in all 50 states in the nation, and plans are underway to modify the course so that it remains timely and relevant for years to come.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, CSATS faculty contemplated how they could provide teachers with educational tools to inform their students about the pandemic in a free, easily accessible format. According to lead developer Matthew Johnson, associate professor of education (science education), the online course was designed for teachers who were unexpectedly thrown into remote teaching and didn’t have COVID-19 educational resources at the ready.

“This was an opportunity to help teachers with curricular material they don’t have the time or access to experts needed to develop these resources on their own,” he said.

In contrast to a traditional science curriculum that focuses on theories that were developed 50 to 150 years ago, Johnson said, the online course presents an opportunity to students “to learn about science as it’s happening.”

Looking toward the future, Johnson said, he and his colleagues expect that teachers will continue to use modified versions of the course from year to year.

Penn State Education

3

Features

Critical student/adviser relationship maintained virtually during pandemic

P

By Jim Carlson

erhaps a manner in which to encapsulate at least one of the many pandemic-related whirlwinds of activity in Penn State’s College of Education the past year and a half is simply this: When COVID-19 came, the students went but their academic advisers were there for them when needed.

They were needed then and they’re especially needed now, according to Greg Mason, director of the Advising and Certification Center.

Topics between students and advisers — with meetings conducted virtually before shifting to in-person this fall if that’s what the student prefers — range from keeping up with their educational plan to fallout from alternative grading to adjusting to virtual instruction and now adapting back to in-residence, and many more.

“I think one of the biggest challenges was getting to know a whole class — hundreds of new Photo: Annemarie Mountz College of Education students — and The advising team in the College of Education Advising and Certification Center includes (back, not having the in-person contact,” from left) , Elijah Ferguson, Greg Mason, Suzanne Brokloff, and (front, from left) Alyssa Adams, Stephanie Hopkins and Tiffany Benner. Not pictured are Sam Roan and Megan Schrock. said Mason, who oversees six advisers and three administrative that anxiety of being around a lot of people and many assistants and steps into the adviser’s role himself of our students haven’t had a large-group experience when necessary. or sat down in an office. They may be second-year “That fall (2020) class, the class that entered their second year this fall, are second-year students on their transcript, but in terms of their adjustment to college life — at a place like this that has such a strong kind of entrenched residential experience to it — they’re almost having a second first year. They are a lot like first-year students in terms of feet on the ground.”

Mason said he likes to ask students how they feel about not only being back on campus but about inperson meetings with their adviser.

“A common response has been kind of a mix of emotions — happy to be back on campus, happy to see all these people walking around and there’s the energy of starting a new semester,” he said. “But there’s still

4

Penn State Education

students but it’s the first time they’ve actually walked into our office to see someone.”

Advising is a significant part of all students’ academic odyssey. David Smith, associate dean for advising and executive director of the Division of Undergraduate Studies at Penn State, believes that advising is about building a relationship between the student and somebody at the University who can challenge their assumptions and help them recognize that there are multiple gateways to the things they might eventually want to do.

“The pandemic created all that much more uncertainty for our students about what the future would look like, how they were going to get through

Features school in the first place, whether they were safe and how they were learning the challenges of technology,” Smith said. “I think that relationship piece was really important, and I heard that a lot from many advisers.

“There was sort of a common bond between the student and the adviser that didn’t exist prior to the pandemic, because all the advisers were living through the same pandemic as the students were; they shared this experience.

It looked different in their different places and in their lives and different abilities to manage it, but they’re all confronting that same pandemic. I think it served as a starting place for a lot of conversations that contributed to the relationshipbuilding that I think is fundamental to good academic advising.”

Smith also noted that during the pandemic there was an increase across all demographic groups — such as first-generation or minoritized students — in terms of students connecting with advisers.

“There’s more work to be done to get every student engaged on a regular basis, but I think certainly during the pandemic many students have seen the value and have sought it out in a greater way,” he said.

Mason said his office had about

Smith said that between January and mid-August of this year, about 98,000 advising appointments were conducted University-wide, including at the commonwealth campuses.

together and everyone chipped in no matter the problem in many cases.

“We have to be very clear to students that we’re not therapists; our advisers don’t have a background or any sort of licensure certification as a therapist or mental health counseling or anything like that,” Mason said.

“We’re here to hear students out; if they trust us and we have that built relationship, we want to be in a position where students feel comfortable coming to us. If they’re comfortable disclosing something they can do that. But then we have to know that it’s our responsibility to refer them out appropriately so we’re fortunate that we have the Herr Clinic here in the college.”

Mason said that a student having a person in the advising office they can trust is paramount. “I Photo: Annemarie Mountz think that’s why for those of us Suzanne Brokloff, an academic adviser in the College of Education, speaks with Terrance Jefferson, a secondary education major. who are in this work, we keep “It’s high. it’s not as high as I doing it,” he said.

“Maybe people 2,000 unique advising appointments would like it,” Smith said. “The who were in really tough spots over during the first eight months of number of students seeking the course of the pandemic will 2021, not including new student advising during the year of the come out of it and have a kind of a orientation advising, which he pandemic did increase, not layer of resiliency and strength that said would add another 300. The necessarily by leaps and bounds, they didn’t have previously. totals are similar to the two years but it went up several percentage immediately pre-pandemic, he “I think the work that we points from previous years. It’s an noted. do, there are probably also a lot absolute positive, because I think with the pandemic and with many students not physically on campus and a lot of things happening remotely, there was an opportunity for it to decline, that students wouldn’t be able to connect.”

What Mason and Smith have seen at times are young adults who are reaching out for help. Mason said his College of Education team took on the mantra that everyone would get through the pandemic

of success stories that that we probably don’t even know about; I can think of a few students that went through difficult times and came out on the other side and are thriving now.”

Penn State Education

5

Features

Photo: Annemarie Mountz

The College of Education’s advising team, still masked but not adorned with props, includes, from left, Elijah Ferguson, Tiffany Benner, Greg Mason, Stephanie Hopkins, Suzanne Brokloff and Alyssa Adams. Not pictured are Sam Roan and Megan Schrock.

Helping students can be multifaceted and one warning Mason and his staff stress is overall behavior — not only on social media but across the board — particularly as an education student.

“That transition to becoming an educator doesn’t happen when you get your degree and your certification shows up; that’s an evolving thing and it starts as you start here,” Mason explained.

“That transition to being a role model and a mentor and somebody that you look to for guidance or being a leader in a school community and in other settings — that starts now.”

Pandemic or not, Smith said what was most rewarding in his opinion was how advisers stayed present for students. “Advising has been an exemplar of how education is really a one-on-one thing,” he said. “I think advisers have stayed present with individual students and recognize that students are unique, and their circumstances are 6

Penn State Education

unique, and the ability to help them depends on knowing the student as an individual.

“And the most unique thing about advising usually is that you meet a student early in their academic career and can watch them grow as an individual; they become better versions of themselves and more aware of their surroundings, more aware of how their education is going to better them and better their communities.”

The same goes for Mason, as whatever his duties are during a particular day or week, they all circle back to helping the students.

“Sometimes just a little bit of encouragement goes a long way when they know that somebody has an eye out for them,” Mason said. “It’s those students that you see who persevere, who take the challenges head on. They need help and support, but are willing to do what’s necessary, because they have those goals in mind, they

know why they’re here … those students keep me going.

“I think that’s true for a lot of advisers and it’s been true over the last year and a half too. This work has not been easy but knowing that we were going to be coming back and seeing students again and that students were going to be excited to be back as well has been a big motivating factor.”

Mason’s most noticeable takeaway from the various pandemic-induced adjustments to his job is to not take for granted time spent with students and to take advantage of the environment that the College of Education and Penn State overall provide for its students.

“This is really a wonderful space to be in. We model for students that we take our work seriously, that our work matters and that in that moment when we’re with students, we need to be present for them and expect them to be present with us,” he said.

Features

We Are ... back in the classroom

F

or as much effort that went into making Penn State’s College of Education accessible remotely during the pandemic, the equally significant endeavor to re-establish something that at least resembled normalcy this fall hasn’t gone unnoticed by the people who benefit most from it — students.

Maddy Russo, an elementary and early childhood education major from Selbyville, Delaware, is doing her pre-service teaching at West Branch Area Elementary School in Clearfield County and was more than pleased to put a halt to online classes.

By Jim Carlson

15 months got some love and attention,” he said. “We revamped some spaces. We also learned during the pandemic that we could be more efficient, digitizing business operations … work orders … conference room reservations.

The takeaway for the last 19 months was to not totally discard everything we were doing.”

The college and cooperating school districts collaborated to get prospective teachers back in the classrooms.

virtual route, and the Advising and Certification Center was wellpositioned to make the quick switch because most student information already had a digital footprint to enable advisers to work remotely.

“And we’re at a point now where we’ve attempted to come back to a normal, pre-pandemic way of doing things,” said Greg Mason, the center’s director.

Establishing relationships is what attracted Sarah Russell — who also is doing her pre-service “The College of Education (and teaching at West Branch — to an Bald Eagle Area School District) education major, and the fourthhave been awesome in trying to year student from Pittsburgh is pleased to be back in the classroom. “Being a senior and knowing what “I am an extrovert, it was like to have smaller so finally getting to be classes within the College around people in the Penn of Education, I was able State community has felt to understand all that we great so far,” said Russo, a were missing while being fourth-year student who is online,” said Russell, an enrolled in the 4+1 Special early childhood education Education Graduate major with minors in Program. “Zoom made Photo: Annemarie Mountz special education, deafness everything feel slightly and hearing studies and more ‘casual,’ even though Students were back in the classrooms around campus and within the human development and it was not, and this caused College of Education this fall. family studies. me to feel less planned out ensure that student teachers are in and organized.

Fourth-year student Meghan person this semester,” said Maddie Gerrity completed her pre-service “I find it interesting to teach in Mineo, a fourth-year student from teaching virtually and is pleased to such a unique time in the world.

Downingtown, Pennsylvania, who be in the classroom this semester at I would have struggled with is doing her pre-service teaching at Indian Valley Elementary Center in teaching lessons virtually, as the Milesburg Elementary School. the Mifflin County School District. students never would have gotten “Both worked with us ahead of the opportunity to bond with me in “I am an out-of-state student time during pre-student teaching person prior to this.” and having the in-person option to let us know that some schools made returning to State College The opportunity for students may be requiring vaccinations for much more exciting and optimistic,” to get back to “normal” didn’t student teachers to be in person said Gerrity, who is from Basking come easily. Much of what was which was really helpful in giving Ridge, New Jersey. “Learning that done within the college during us time to get that done. It’s really the College of Education was doing the pandemic had to be undone. great to be back in person and be everything it could to return their Facilities set up to be socially able to have the opportunity to student teachers back to in-person distanced were changed and all gain that experience of being in instruction helped to alleviate my classrooms underwent a similar a classroom to pursue my future anxiety. I actually felt motivated transition, according to Julian career.” and enthusiastic about my full-time Morales, director of operations in Counseling about students’ student teaching after pre-service the College of Education. careers also was forced to go the student teaching virtually.”

“Rooms unoccupied for Penn State Education

7

Features

Pilot initiative to address teacher shortage, lack of diversity in Title I school districts

By Annemarie Mountz

When College of Education Dean Kimberly A. Lawless tells people, “We are changing education by educating for change,” she means it. More than words, this mantra has launched a new vision within the college to identify the needs in communities across the commonwealth and then work to meet them.

This drive has led to the design of the Teacher-in-Residence Program (TRP), a pilot program nearing launch in the Reading School District. The fourth-largest school district in Pennsylvania, Reading is a Title 1 school district (schools with 40% of the student population that comes from lowincome households). Ninety-three percent of students in Reading qualify for free or reduced-price lunch and 25% of students are English-Language Learners.

“We have a huge teacher shortage here in Pennsylvania, and students are being negatively impacted by the fact that many of them are being taught by substitute teachers instead of certified teachers,” said Javier Lopez, director of strategic partnerships in the College of Education.

The number of emergency certified teachers in Pennsylvania has risen from 962 in 2015-16 to 2,178 in 2018-19, an increase of more than 126% in three years. The number of long-term substitutes in that same period increased by 113% to 2,152 from 1,009.

8

Penn State Education

Photo courtesy of Penn State Berks

Reading High School is one of the schools in the Reading School District that will be partnering with the Penn State College of Education in this pilot program.

Many of those teachers have degrees in fields other than teaching and have been granted emergency temporary certification by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. For them to become long-term teachers, these substitutes must get their Pennsylvania teacher certification.

“We get requests for nontraditional routes to certification; some of these individuals are looking to shift careers, while others are finishing their undergraduate degree in another major but have had recent experiences that have ignited a passion for teaching,” said Greg Mason, director of the Advising and Certification Center in the College of Education. “While we have had some students complete certification requirements post-bachelors, the demand for alternative pathways has grown in my 10 years in the college.”

The TRP proposes to address that need with a unique, condensed curriculum that enables teachers on emergency license to earn their certification in just 15 months, while they are teaching. The shorter time to certification also

makes the program more affordable.

Lawless is excited about the program, which she said will complement the portfolio already offered in the College of Education.

“Most of our teacher preparation and certification programs are geared toward the traditional undergraduate student population.

This program is designed for a different demographic – people who are already in the classroom, already have degrees in another field and are working to become certified teachers,” Lawless said.

The program initially will focus on those teachers in the Reading School District with emergency certifications; long-term substitutes; and paraprofessionals interested in becoming teachers in the district.

Because teachers in these categories tend to live in the communities where they teach, they also tend to reflect their community’s rich demographic diversity.

“The goal of this program is to help increase teacher diversity and prepare teachers with an

Features equity- and asset-based framework,” Lopez said. “This outcome would benefit the teachers, their students and the community as a whole.”

Lopez said research shows that students of color benefit from having teachers who look like them. “But one of the things that is not mentioned is every student in the classroom, including white students, benefits from a diverse teacher workforce,” he said.

The TRP is about more than just accelerated certification, however.

Gilmartin also sees value in collaborating with educational leaders in the Reading community. Their input in the process of selecting TRP participants will ensure local ownership and quality, he said, as well as allow program designers to measure results against teachers – substitute and otherwise – who have yet to participate.

“The Reading community is really invested in its children, and this is really what it comes down to. It’s about what’s in the best interests of their children,” Lopez said. “One quarter of the students in the Reading School District are English-Language Learners, meaning English is not their first language. These schools need certified teachers who use an asset-based approach to teaching.”

Lopez explained that an assetbased approach means that rather than viewing students as lacking a strong grasp of the English language, educators understand the assets of bilingualism students possess.

“We philanthropically can give money to help bring students of need to Penn State for expertise that’s there,” said Gilmartin. “This program goes the other direction and takes Penn State expertise and resources to the local community and applies them there. I think philanthropic dollars are very important to be used for that purpose, as it can make a real difference to people who would never be able to find their way to State College, no matter what kind of program you designed.”

“The Reading community is really invested in its children, and this is really what it comes down to. It’s about what’s in the best interests of their children.”

—

“Every student brings in strengths,” he said.

“And if we can prepare teachers to think about these students through an asset-based framework, students will have unlimited possibilities. And that’s what parents and teachers and community leaders want from their teachers — to look at their children with all their potential in mind.”

Programs like the TRP may take multiple years to develop and implement, but Lopez said the three ingredients needed for success all came together quickly and he projects a summer 2022 launch.

“First, our college leadership supports it, and that’s important. Second, we have faculty members who believe in it and are using their expertise to design a high-quality program,” Lopez said.

Another ingredient a program like this needs to be successful is financial resources.

“If we hadn’t had someone like John Gilmartin who believes in the program to help support it, we wouldn’t be here right now, about to launch the pilot,” said Lopez.

Gilmartin, a longtime and generous supporter of equity programs in the College of Education, said he was happy to support the TRP because the design of the program made good sense to him in terms of the University’s Land Grant mission.

“This is only a test,” Gilmartin said. “But it’s an important one.

I look forward to seeing what it proves.”

In addition to partnering with Reading School District, the TRP will partner with Penn State Berks in Reading. When the pilot is launched in Reading, the program’s courses Javier Lopez will be offered in a hybrid model where teachers in the program take some courses at the Berks campus and some courses online through World Campus. Eventually, Lopez wants to expand the program throughout Pennsylvania.

“We intend to prove that something like this can be done well through Penn State, because we have our commonwealth campuses throughout the state.

Seventy-five percent of Pennsylvania residents live within 15 miles of a Penn State campus, which means when we’re ready to expand it, this program will work in virtually every community in Pennsylvania.”

Lopez stressed the importance of programs such as the TRP, because of the changing demographics in the United States. Data from the 2020 Census show a more diverse population than at any time in the nation’s history. The overall racial and ethnic diversity of the country has increased since 2010, and the percentage of the U.S. population identifying as white alone (not Hispanic) is 57.8%, down from 63.7% in the 2010 Census.

“We’re thinking about that demographic shift and working to make sure all students are getting the education they need,” Lopez said. “This is critical to our country, to our democracy and to the future of the children who are going to be leading this country in the coming decades. We need to embrace the change and re-imagine the way we prepare teachers. I’m optimistic that we’re going to do it, and we’re going to start right here at Penn State.”

Penn State Education

9

Features

Students develop cultural awareness through virtual exchange programs

O

By Stephanie Koons

ne of the most significant setbacks to higher education caused by the COVID-19 pandemic was the cancellation of study abroad and international exchange programs. In the College of Education, aspiring English language teachers interested in immersing themselves in another culture were confronted with the harsh reality that their plans to live and work overseas were curtailed.

However, College of Education faculty members and their counterparts in Ecuador and Japan decided that they could make the most of the situation by facilitating meaningful cross-cultural dialogue in a virtual space.

“We thought, well, we’ll shift a little bit to try to develop some online experiences,” said Elizabeth Smolcic, teaching professor of education (English as a Second Language). “Many of our students don’t have a lot of experience with people from other countries. We noted that kind of an experience, whether it’s in person or dialoguing on Zoom … could be really transformative.”

For more than a decade, Smolcic said, the College of Education has been offering the Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) with immersion program in the Ecuadorian cities of Cuenca and Otavalo. The program began in the spring semester as part of a five-course, 15-credit teaching certificate program.

TESL certificate coursework would be completed during summer courses on-campus and then continued in Ecuador, where students engaged in a teaching practicum with a mentor teacher

10

Penn State Education

Zoom screen capture

When the pandemic canceled study-abroad and international exchange programs, faculty in the College of Education and their counterparts abroad brought the students together virtually.

who guided them through the design and instruction of a contentbased or theme-based English language course to Ecuadorian students.

When the program, along with other study abroad opportunities at Penn State, was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Smolcic and Magda Madany-Saa, a teaching assistant in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, put their heads together to figure out how they could give their TESL students some practical teaching experience.

During the fall 2020 semester, Smolcic and Madany-Saa cotaught a class, “Language and culture in the classroom: issues for practitioners” that was set up as a virtual exchange with their counterparts in La Universidad Nacional de Educación (UNAE), a public teacher’s college in Ecuador.

In the first session of the class, Penn State and UNAE students met as a group on Zoom and then were paired in one-onone partnerships: one U.S. and one Ecuadorian student. The

students were provided structured discussion topics they could reflect on later in writing. During that time, Smolcic said the students “developed friendships, learned a lot about language and culture, and multilingualism and global awareness.”

For the spring 2021 semester, Smolcic and Madany-Saa said they decided to increase the amount of time the U.S. and Ecuadorian students spent with each other in class. Diego Cajas, a faculty member at UNAE, Smolcic and Madany-Saa alternated teaching the class over seven weeks, when the Ecuadorian students joined their American counterparts via Zoom for group readings and discussion.

In the third phase, which started in the fall 2021 semester, the instructors combined the students’ in-class and out-of-class interactions so that they reaped the benefits of both formats. Forty Penn State and UNAE students — 20 from each institution — met for 10 weeks but the students also met outside of class to discuss topics related to intercultural competence and globalization.

Features Lucy Udell, a senior in the College of Education and Schreyer Honors College studying secondary social studies education, said that despite the inherent limitations of the virtual exchange program, she found it to be an overall beneficial experience.

“I think that speaking with someone who is not only from another country but is actively living in that country is a unique experience,” she said.

“In some ways, it was interesting to be able to speak ‘across borders’ about our different worlds and experiences outside of our shared ‘Zoom room.’ I was pleasantly surprised by how much I was able to learn about the different world perspectives and beliefs of the Ecuadorian students without being there.”

the Global Conversations in Japan course, said the program exceeded her expectations.

“Since this was a virtual program, I was surprised to see how much the students participated throughout the course,” said McGuinness. “They were so attentive and prepared for each class, and they were a pleasure to work with because they were so motivated to learn.”

According to Smolcic and Madany-Saa, the virtual format of the international exchange programs did not completely deter the participants from learning about each other’s cultures. Madany-Saa said that her TAs in the Kobe program were particularly impressed by the Japanese students’ punctuality and

“We noted that this kind of an experience, whether it’s in person or dialoguing on Zoom … could be really transformative.”

In addition to the partnership with UNAE, Smolcic and Madany-Saa forged a new partnership with Kobe College, a four-year, all-women’s liberal arts college in Hyogo, Japan. Global Conversations Japan originated in 2018-2019 when their colleague, Nathaniel Carney, a professor of applied linguistics at Kobe College, came to Penn State as a visiting scholar.

Carney, a 2005 graduate of the Penn State Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) master’s program, proposed offering a virtual English language course for Kobe students with Penn State providing instruction, which was launched in fall 2021. Madany-Saa was the instructor for the course, which included 10 Japanese students with four Penn State undergraduate students acting as teaching assistants (TAs).

Regan McGuinness, a senior majoring in Spanish business with a minor in TESOL, and a TA for

— Elizabeth Smolcic

organizational skills.

On the Kobe side, the students welcomed the opportunity to freely speak their minds during class – a departure from protocol in a collective society that values group harmony over individual opinion.

For the students in the Ecuador program, Smolcic said, their cultural lesson was that many Ecuadorians are passionate environmental activists.

The Penn State students had assumed that since Ecuador is a less developed country, its citizens wouldn’t be as environmentally aware as people in the United States. Smolcic said she and Madany-Saa knew that was a faulty belief since they’ve been to Ecuador and “know it’s incredibly rich in natural resources.”

Smolcic and Madany-Saa said they are both optimistic about the

future of the College of Education’s international exchange programs and the potential benefits of combining virtual technology with the traditional offerings.

They are hopeful that they will be able to travel to Ecuador in summer 2022 after teaching an introductory course in the spring.

They also are talking with UNAE about offering a virtual teaching practice so that the pre-service teachers “will be able to get a lot further along in their journey as English language teachers.”

In addition, Smolcic, MadanySaa, Cajas and Carney all expressed enthusiasm for continuing the virtual exchange programs.

According to Cajas, the UNAE/Penn State partnership was successful in its ability to facilitate the interaction and exchange of cultural and academic knowledge, while widening access to intercultural education.

“We may lack the physical touch but through the activities we have planned, students get to know each other and interact,” he said. “I do not see this as a loss but as an advantage for our Ecuadorian students because not many of them would have the resources to travel to a different country.”

Carney echoed Cajas’ sentiment that the virtual model was a leveling influence for many of his students.

“I think there is little question that students would prefer to physically study abroad but the reality is, even without the pandemic, not all students can afford to study abroad, and others do not study abroad because they do not feel they have the available time,” he said.

“In that way, I feel this virtual experience will continue to have value even post-COVID.” Penn State Education

11

Features

Alumna raises funds to build library in Malawi

W

By Stephanie Koons

hen Grace Park graduated from the College of Education in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in rehabilitation and human services (RHS), she had no clear idea of what career path she wanted to take other than being able to make a difference in people’s lives. Her curiosity and altruism led her to a post in Malawi as a volunteer in the United States Peace Corps, and she took a leading role in establishing a school library as part of an effort to create a literacy-rich environment for the students.

Park, who currently is pursuing a master of social work degree at the University of Michigan, moved to Malawi to serve in the Peace Corps in June 2019 to serve as a volunteer secondary school English teacher.

After pre-service training, she relocated to the southern district of Malawi to teach at a school called Luntha Community Day Secondary School (CDSS), which she found had a dire need for a proper library.

“I spent the first few months living and working alongside the community to truly understand what the needs are,” said Park. “I realized as an English teacher, part of my responsibility was helping out with the library.”

When Park started teaching at Luntha CDSS, she said, she assumed that the school had a library. To her surprise and dismay, she discovered that the “library” was a janitorial closet with a stack of books in every corner. Not only was the space visually unappealing, Park said, the system was inefficient as students would wait a couple of hours in line to place their request with a teacher, who would retrieve the books. She added that students would typically ask for textbooks since they could not see the variety of fiction and nonfiction

12

Penn State Education

the U.S. she kept in touch with Luntha students and teachers and realized that a physical presence was not essential to continuing her fundraising efforts for the library.

Park helped set up the campaign and started applying for grants.

The total project cost $13,000 in U.S. currency. The fundraising team found a donor that matched half that amount, $6,500, and raised the remaining funds on GoFundMe. Construction on the library started in August and Park said it is expected to be complete this fall.

Photo provided

When the pandemic hit, Grace Park found creative ways to continue her efforts to raise funds to build a library for students in Malawi.

books on the shelves.

“After speaking with both our school and community leaders, we realized that what our students don’t have is the freedom to even know what books are available to them,” said Park.

As part of a communitywide effort to construct a library at Luntha CDSS, Park joined a committee of local leaders that included the school’s head teacher, the head of the English department, a village chieftain and student leaders. Park took on the role of fundraising chair for the Luntha CDSS Library Project.

A wrench was thrown into the project, Park said, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced Park and her Peace Corps cohorts to evacuate Malawi — when she was only eight months into what was supposed to be a 27-month commitment.

“Literally a week after our first meeting, I had to leave (Malawi) and the whole project was put on standby,” she said.

Park said upon returning to

Park said that she attributes her interest in foreign cultures and humanitarian causes to her experiences at Penn State. One of her co-curricular activities was participating in PSU Project Haiti, a student organization that performs volunteer and fundraising activities throughout the State College, Pennsylvania, community to raise funds for its charitable partners in Haiti. After graduation, she completed an internship with Penn State’s Division of Development and Alumni Relations (DDAR), which gave her additional experience in fundraising.

“I would say I owe everything to my time at Penn State,” she said.

Park said after she finished her internship with DDAR, she tried to find ways to return to Haiti but a mentor from Penn State suggested the Peace Corps.

“What (the volunteers) were doing, living alongside the community they were serving, was what I wanted to do,” she said.

Park’s advice to current RHS students is not to feel too pressured by the expectations of everyone around them.

“Don’t settle for the first opportunity that comes your way,” she said. “Find what you care about and do what you can to serve those people.”

Features

College of Education, World Campus team up to offer online D.Ed. program

T

he College of Education soon will offer aspiring educational leaders the opportunity to expand their career opportunities by pursuing a doctor of education (D.Ed.) degree online through Penn State World Campus.

“The new online D.Ed. provides the opportunity for practitioners to advance their knowledge to apply research to solve problems facing educators, counselors and organizational leaders,” said Greg Kelly, senior associate dean for research and distinguished professor of education (science education).

According to Rayne Sperling, associate dean for Undergraduate and Graduate Studies, and professor of education (educational psychology), the College of Education has had plans to offer an online D.Ed. program “for some time” and hopes to be able to admit students starting in fall 2022.

“Some students have started to think about the program. Many of them have done a master’s with (the college), and they’re excited about the opportunity to continue their education with us,” she said. “We also know there are professionals around the commonwealth and the country that would like to have a D.Ed. from Penn State that they can access at a distance.”

Kelly said around the same time that students in the College of Education’s online M.Ed. programs were expressing interest in continuing their education at Penn State, the college was having conversations with colleagues in the World Campus about putting together an online doctorate program. “The college faculty

By Stephanie Koons

“We will be having our tenure-line faculty, world-class researchers, involved with this degree. That makes it different than some other (similar programs) that are out there.”

— Rayne Sperling

and leadership team also were interested in offering a doctorate to expand our portfolio and serve students in key areas,” Kelly said.

“Together with our faculty and college leaders, we developed the program and shared with colleagues in professional fields for comments and refinement.”

Sperling said the program will draw across disciplines and students can pick their area of emphasis, such as special education, higher education or educational leadership. In addition, the students will engage in a capstone project that is specific to their discipline.

“The degree is organized to build competency in research and allow for flexibility in the application of educational theory and methods to address topics relevant to students’ workplace contexts,” said Kelly.

Unlike a Ph.D., which is designed to prepare graduates for research and teaching roles, a D.Ed. is a professional degree designed for people who want to take leadership roles in various ways.

This practical focus makes the D.Ed. program easily adaptable to the World Campus model, Sperling said, as the knowledge gained in classes can be directly applied by working professionals who want

to implement change within their organizations.

While some people may use the D.Ed. to advance their careers with their current employers, she added, others could opt to expand their opportunities in other areas such as the private sector and government agencies.

Since master in education degrees are typically focused on a single discipline such as math education or special education, Sperling said, the multi-disciplinary D.Ed. would broaden that knowledge base and open potential career-path changes.

“We will be having our tenureline faculty, world-class researchers, involved with this degree,” said Sperling. “That makes it different than some other (similar programs) that are out there.”

The World Campus D.Ed. program not only will allow the students to expand their professional opportunities, according to Kelly, but will enrich the intellectual environment of the College of Education.

“The college benefits through the new avenues to improve education, counseling and leadership through connections we will be making with scholars enrolled in the program,” he said.

Penn State Education

13

Research

His ‘own story’ prompted Harris to help Black youth find sense of self

B

By Jim Carlson

ecause Paul Harris’ parents refused to let him believe that athletics was his only path to a successful future, he dedicated himself to being a similar protective factor for all students, especially Black youth, in their college and career readiness process.

Harris, formerly a high school counselor in Virginia, took firstgeneration, low-income, racial minority students on field trips to colleges to help build their self-efficacy and agency in their progress.

Now an associate professor of education (counselor education) in the College of Education’s Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education at Penn State, Harris evaluates interventions he designed, such as a group counseling curriculum called Men Passionately Pursuing Purpose (MP3).

MP3 was designed to promote the identity development and overall college and career readiness of Black male student-athletes. His goal, he said, is to help Black male student-athletes see their sport as platforms for a larger purpose.

He hopes for them to see themselves as more than an athlete – as an academic, as a scholar.

“I would say my own story is what sparked it all,” Harris said.

“As a kid growing up on Long Island, I attended a high school where 90% or so went on to two- or four-year colleges, so it was a really high-achieving space. And yet, my own identity was wrapped up in athletics way more than it was academics.

“When I reflect on that, I wonder

14

Penn State Education

School Counseling, the flagship journal for his profession, that focused on males of color and school counseling, and another with Teaching and Supervision in Counseling journal that focused on anti-racist counselor education.

Harris, formerly awarded a grant from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to design a mobile application, is applying for a new grant with colleagues and in partnership with Penn State athletic department, to build on such work.

Photo: Annemarie Mountz

Paul Harris is an associate professor (counselor education) in the Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education.

how that happened — this highachieving environment and yet here I am, this Black male feeling like my only way out was athletics.

I’ve since learned that many Black males across all contexts are socialized and conditioned to value athletics over academics and are deceived into thinking it is their primary vehicle to success instead of just one of many options.”

Harris continues to explore the college and career readiness process of Black youth. He analyzes the identity development process of Black male student-athletes and the role of school counselors in facilitating their multidimensional sense of self. And he examines the process of training school counselors to promote equity and access in K-12 schools.

Harris left his role as associate professor in the counselor education program at his alma mater, the University of Virginia, to come to Penn State. He has since served as a guest editor on two special issues – one with Professional

“The purpose of the proposed study is to unearth and explain the processes that promote a sense of belonging, mental health and multidimensional sense of self among Black student-athletes at predominately white institutions.

We are centering the voices of the student-athletes to help us do that,” he said.

He currently is teaching secondyear graduate students in the counselor education program and supervises them as they serve as interns at local elementary, middle and high schools. “We discuss what they’re experiencing in the field,” Harris said. “My job in those spaces is to provide guidance, to provoke thought and to help them effectively engage in whatever scenario they might encounter.”

He said that is an extension of the broader passion of his to promote equity and access in schools, which is a focal point of the College of Education under Dean Kim Lawless.

“Having a dean explicitly state and emphasize an anti-racist vision and strategic plan for the entire college is very rare; that was huge for me in choosing to move my family to State College,” he said.

Research

Black teachers more likely to discuss racism with students, research shows

By Jim Carlson

Research shows that Black teachers are more likely not only to recognize racism but also engage in conversation with their students and offer more nuanced and careful approaches to anti-racist pedagogy than their white counterparts.

team showing a 20-minute film about a jail scene to students and teachers at four preschools, a method known as video-cued multifocal ethnography.

One of the sites was a working class African American preschool in Washington, D.C., and the students started playing a game that U.S. preschool teachers would refer to as “cops and robbers.”

“But the 18 African American teachers that I interviewed in D.C. said, ‘well they are (playing cops and robbers) and also they’re not; it’s more,’” Henward explained.

Allison Sterling Henward, associate professor of early childhood and a core faculty in comparative and international education in the College What they told Henward was of Education at Penn State, and two Allison Henward this: “We have kids who are doctoral candidates at the University disproportionately experiencing familiar — Sung-Ryung Lyu and Quiana Jackson — published incarceration. We have kids whose neighborhoods have “African American Head Start Teachers’ Approaches been ransacked by police presence. In play, children act to Police Play in the Era of Black Lives Matter” in out and take in ideas that they see.”

Teachers College Record.

Those teachers, according to Henward, spoke about Their research examined how teachers negotiate the play reflecting structural racism. “That conflict conflicting tensions and enact antiracist approaches is between what they are supposed to do as ECE within Head Start classrooms that use comprehensive professionals and what these teachers have to deal and commercialized curriculums. with as Black women in a racist society,” Henward said.

Henward is an educational anthropologist who looked at four different cultural communities and Henward praised Head Start, citing that the has been involved with the Head Start project for federal program has an unparalleled background eight years. Since coming to Penn State in 2015, she and has had phenomenal success. “But one of the has examined how federal policy (Head Start) meets concerns, sometimes, is that the cultural communities the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse I study don’t always have representation in what the children, including how teachers negotiate conflicting curriculums are going to be,” Henward said. tensions and enact antiracist approaches within Henward also mentioned the idea that anti-racism Head Start classrooms that use comprehensive and is either too adult or not appropriate for children. “But commercialized curriculums. our research on racial socialization and our research “Commercialized curriculum is supposed to be on how parents interact with children, particularly meeting the needs of kids in all cultural communities,” children of color, show that parents of color have to Henward said. “But this research and my other start talking to children about racism to help them research in American Samoa shows that when teachers make sense of their everyday lives,” she said. are from some cultural and ethnolinguistic communities Research has shown that Black students want that do not always align with what’s in the curriculum, teachers who look like them, and Henward thinks that teachers have to do a whole lot of work to reframe is important. “But we also need the white teachers and things, whereas other teachers don’t. the white policymakers, and everybody who is working “A one-size-fits-all curriculum doesn’t always work; around this, to have a critical consciousness too, and my research does show that.” to understand that they don’t know what they don’t A wealth of information resulted from the research know,” Henward said.

Penn State Education

15

Research

Endowed professor studies mechanisms of educational inequality within urban schools

By Stephanie Koons

Over the course of his academic career, Gilberto Q. Conchas, the inaugural Wayne K. and Anita Woolfolk Hoy Endowed Professor of Education in the Penn State College of Education, has accumulated an extensive research portfolio with an overarching theme: public schools located in urban areas typically face the greatest challenges and the most acute problems.

“Fundamentally, my research is about the institutional mechanisms — in school and outside of school — that promote school success among lowincome youth and young adults,” he said. “Scholars have discovered a great deal about why such students fail in school but we know surprisingly little about the conditions under which they succeed.”

Conchas joined the College of Education in 2020 after serving as professor of educational policy and social context and founding director of Community Engagement & Student Success at the University of California Irvine. He earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from UC Berkeley and both a master’s and doctorate in sociology from the University of Michigan.

Conchas’ interest in educational inequality is closely intertwined with his personal history and ethnoracial identity as the son of Mexican immigrant farmworkers.

His work to date is a detailed examination of Latino, African American and Vietnamese students in schools and communities through the use of interviews, observations and document analysis.

assistant professor at the University of Maryland, worked together on conceptualizing the book, writing the book proposal, securing a book contract and soliciting chapter authors.

Conchas said the authors of “Race Frames in Education” argue race is a system of categorization designed for the purposes of power and hierarchy, and that this system of categorization is a historical and ongoing process that is referred to as racial formation.

“These processes are so deeply rooted in our daily interactions that even well-intentioned people can perpetuate negative or inaccurate racial classifications or meanings, especially if their perspectives are heavily influenced by a white racial frame,” he said.

He is the author or coauthor of nine books, with the most recent, “The Chicanx/o/a Dream: Hope, Resistance and Educational Success” published in 2020 with Harvard Education Press, which was awarded the 2021 American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE) Book-of-the-Year.

Conchas has continued to be prolific in his scholarly activities since arriving at Penn State. He is in the process of analyzing data for a book-length manuscript on the success of first-generation Vietnamese American, Chinese American, Korean American, African American and Latinx students.

Conchas’ newest project is a forthcoming edited book with TC Press, “Race Frames in Education.”

The book centers the concept of race as a socially and historically constructed master category, and corollary concepts that help interrogate how race is lived and experienced such as racial projects and racialization processes.

In addition, he was recently appointed editor-atlarge of the Journal of Leadership, Equity and Research (JLER), a new journal dedicated to educational leadership and social justice.

Conchas and his co-editor, Sophia Rodriguez, 16

Gilberto Q. Conchas

Penn State Education

“This has kept me quite occupied, but I simultaneously plan to continue my California-based research and expand it to Pennsylvania, both in urban and rural contexts,” said Conchas.

Research Interdisciplinary team works to improve mental health care for people with aphasia A team of researchers from Penn State’s colleges of Health and Human Development and Education recently completed a pilot program funded by a grant from the Schreyer Institute on Teaching Excellence.

Liza Conyers, professor of education (rehabilitation and human services), and Kristen Nadermann, assistant teaching professor of Liza Conyers education (counselor education) and Herr Clinic coordinator, are part of the group that developed the training program, “Preparing clinical students to meet the unique counseling needs of individuals with aphasia.” The program was the first step of an ambitious plan Kristen to train undergraduate students, Nadermann graduate students, practicing speechlanguage pathologists and practicing clinical rehabilitation and mental health counselors about the mental health concerns of individuals with aphasia, a condition that impairs people’s abilities to communicate.

Aphasia occurs when brain injury — most commonly due to a stroke — limits a person’s ability to understand or produce speech or written language.

Despite being a little-recognized condition, aphasia affects twice as many people as Parkinson’s disease.

The communication deficits resulting from aphasia lead to problems throughout myriad aspects of people’s lives, including mental health.

Learn more at https://bit.ly/aphasia_mental_health on Penn State News.

$4 million grant aims to prevent special education teacher burnout Special education teachers are at heightened risk for stress and burnout, which negatively impacts their effectiveness and wellbeing. With a new five-year, $4 million grant from the Institute of Educational Sciences, Penn State and Georgia State University researchers are teaming up with school districts in Georgia to develop and test an adaptation of the Cultivating Awareness and Resilience Jennifer Frank in Education (CARE) professional development program to support special education teachers.

Jennifer Frank, associate professor of education, is primary investigator on the project, which also involves

Deb Schussler, associate professor of education.

More than 220 special education teachers in elementary schools in the metropolitan Atlanta area will participate in a study involving three days of CARE training to practice skills such as mindfulness, caring and compassion for themselves and others, and managing classroom stress. They also will participate in monthly virtual Deb Schussler check-in meetings during the school year. In addition to measuring teacher, student and classroom outcomes, the study will determine the cost-effectiveness of the CARE program in a special education setting. Frank suggested that reducing burnout could lead to more special education teachers staying in the profession, benefiting both students and the school system.

Learn more at https://bit.ly/CARE_grant on Penn State News.

Framework could help teachers personalize professional learning In a study recently published in Educational Technology Research and Development, Penn State researchers propose the conceptual framework of digital badging system components as cultural tools — which serve to mediate interactions between people and their goals — that allows learners to personalize their professional development by making decisions Heather Toomey about what they want to learn and Zimmerman when.

Chris Gamrat, instructional designer in the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology and lead author of the study, and Heather Toomey Zimmerman, professor of education, examined how teachers planned and navigated various learning modules, and collected data on their progress, as well as their intended and completed professional activities.

The researchers also found that teachers’ navigation of the digital badging system differed from the intended design in terms of how they selected and completed learning activities.

The findings could inform design considerations for independent teacher professional development systems, making activity choice more flexible and encouraging learners to complete more professional learning activities. The work also encourages researchers to use sociocultural learning theory to consider the design of digital badges and how they can be used for personalized learning.

Learn more at https://bit.ly/learning_framework on Penn State News.

Penn State Education

17

Impact

Estate gift to support two areas of college

T

he Penn State College of Education has played a large role in Nancy Shemick’s life from the time she was a child, and now she is giving back by playing a large role in the life of the college.

Shemick, a 1977 Penn State alumna with a degree in health policy and administration who is an active, involved member of the College of Education Dean’s Development Council, has created a $1.5 million estate gift that will simultaneously honor both of her parents and bolster faculty recruitment efforts in two areas of the college.

The first $1 million of her gift will be used to establish an endowed professorship to be known as the Dr. John M. Shemick Workforce Education Professorship in the College of Education.

“My father joined the College of Education faculty in 1960 in Industrial Arts Education,” Shemick said. “During his 27 years here, he participated in the evolution of the program to what is now named Workforce Education and Development. My dad found a home at the College of Education preparing secondary technical and vocational educators, among others.”

The next $500,000 will be used to establish an endowed career development professorship to be known as the Dorothy D. Shemick Early Childhood Education Career Development Professorship in the College of Education.

“My mother returned to Penn State as a graduate student to get a teaching certificate, which prepared her to teach at the local vocationaltechnical school that is now the Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology,” Shemick said.

18

Penn State Education

By Annemarie Mountz The education Dorothy Shemick got at Penn State prepared her to develop a new curriculum in early childhood education for the school. “She knew we need to have people understand how to take care of young children.

Research tells us that early childhood education in a childcare setting helps better prepare children for lifelong learning,” said Shemick, and that was the focus of the program Shemick’s mother developed. Later, Dorothy Shemick started her own day care center and hired people who graduated from her program.

“We are grateful for Nancy Shemick’s longstanding support of the College of Education, Photo provided both in terms of her Nancy Shemick, top left, with her parents, John and Dorothy, time and her financial and her sister, Laura, at the Nittany Lion Shrine, in an old resources,” said Dean family photo.

Kim Lawless. “Her most for people, especially alumni, to recent gift to create these remain involved and stay abreast of professorships will give the college changes in the ecosystem. resources to recruit stellar faculty, so both programs can be as robust “It also helps you identify ways as possible.” you might be able to become more engaged in some of the work that’s Shemick has fond memories done, because not all of it is done on of roaming the halls of Chambers campus. There are many outreach Building as a young child on activities and summer programs Saturday mornings while her father was grading papers. She also values creating avenues for participation,” she said. the opportunities afforded her entire family through the college.

Her father was part of a team involved in a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) partnership to create an education plan for the Republic of Panama in the late 1960s. “We spent two years in Panama, and it made me bilingual. That was a great experience for me as a child,” she said.

Shemick said it’s important

“I always get a positive boost, a shot of positivity and optimism collaborating with the College of Education because you’re working with the future. You’re connecting with enthusiastic people. For me it’s the antidote to the negativity in the world. It creates this little ray of sunshine,” Shemick said.

“Giving for me, whether it’s time or money or other kinds of resources, is definitely a way of contributing to a positive future.”

Impact Education professor engages federal officials on HIV issues Liza Conyers, professor of education (rehabilitation and human services), was invited by Harold Phillips, director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, to make a brief presentation to leading federal officials in August to engage their participation in national strategic planning to end the HIV epidemic.

Conyers presented with her colleague Mark Misrok, executive director of the National Working Positive Coalition, and shared her insights and recommendations on how to address economic needs as key drivers of negative HIV care and prevention outcomes. She highlighted ways in which leaders from the Departments of Labor and Education can partner with leaders from the Department of Health and Human Services to reduce the economic disparities associated with vulnerability to HIV by improving access to vocational training and employment services.

One of the main issues that Conyers addressed at the meeting is the need for cross-sector coordination and collaboration across government and community-based health, workforce development, education, housing, legal and other service systems.

Conyers and Misrok recently cohosted a National Convening on HIV and Employment. A key recommendation that came from that convening, said Conyers, is the need to expand access to communitylocated employment services for people living with or at greater vulnerability to HIV. A well-rounded strategy for tackling the HIV epidemic, Conyers said, requires a strong focus on the social determinants of health. A lack of access to food, adequate income and other services all can undermine the health and well-being of people with or vulnerable to HIV. “It’s really important to bring everybody on board to address the social determinants that fuel HIV, and educational interventions have a key role to play in ending the HIV epidemic,” said Conyers. “It is great to see so much interest across the federal government.”

For more information, read the full story at https://bit.ly/3zlm79B on Penn State News.

effort to benefit equity initiatives Buoyed by the success of last year’s effort, and in support of the University’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, the College of Education’s Giving Tuesday campaign for 2021 once again will raise financial support for the Office of Education and Social Equity (OESE).

As its mission states, the OESE promotes and values diversity and multiculturalism; infuses diversity across the curriculum and student experiences; facilitates access to post-secondary opportunities; supports the advancement of outstanding underrepresented educators; and works toward the greater diversification of the education profession.

Above all, the OESE provides underrepresented and marginalized students a sense of community and belonging, a safe space where they can be themselves.

Visit https://raise.psu.edu/givingtuesdayedu to learn how you can lend your support this Nov. 30.

CSATS, College of Agricultural Sciences collaborate on pollinator education project Kathy Hill, director of the College of Education’s Center for Science and the Schools (CSATS), and Christina Grozinger, director of the College of Agricultural Sciences’ Center for Pollinator Research, are leading a team that has been awarded a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The grant will allow the team to partner with elementary school teachers in Pennsylvania to develop cross-disciplinary curricula to support their students in understanding pollinator research in the areas of food, agriculture and natural Kathy Hill resources.

One of the motivators for the project, Hill and Grozinger said, is that reforms in K-12 STEM teaching recommend using the practices of scientists to teach concepts in science. However, they added, teachers often lack a background in scientific research and find it challenging to generate science learning opportunities that do not involve leading students through linear, stepwise exercises, which contrasts with the actual dynamic, interactive work of scientists.

This curriculum will involve hands-on activities in school gardens and yards and be integrated with other subject areas important in elementary teaching such as language arts, math and computer science.

Learn more at https://bit.ly/CSATS_pollinators on Penn State News.

Penn State Education

19

Alumni

Photo: Stephanie Koons

Jhan Doughty spoke to a College of Education class as part of her return to the University Park campus as an Alumni Fellow Award recipient.

Doughty among 22 Alumni Fellow Award recipients

J

han Doughty, who graduated from the College of Education in 1994 and 2001, is one of 22 Penn Staters honored by the Penn State Alumni Association Oct. 6 with the Alumni Fellow Award, the highest award given by the Alumni Association.

Doughty is the senior program adviser, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), at Educational Testing Service (ETS) in Princeton, New Jersey. In this role, she is responsible for the strategic design and implementation of the talent management and diversity, equity and inclusion portfolio for NAEP which is the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America’s students know and can do in various subject areas.

Doughty’s previous roles at ETS include leadership positions in learning, organizational development, diversity and inclusion and talent management.

Her accomplishments include designing and implementing corporate-wide programs

20

Penn State Education

for women, veterans and underrepresented staff, as well as national talent pipeline programs with universities to provide opportunities for students to gain work experience.

Prior to joining ETS, she conducted post-doctoral research at Yale University School of Medicine and held positions at Miami University of Ohio where she was an adjunct assistant professor and served in leadership roles in the offices of the president and provost.

She began her career in higher education at Penn State as an adjunct assistant professor in the College of Education.

In 2015, Doughty was recognized

by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education as one of Top 25 Women in Higher Education.

She served on the College of Education Alumni Society Board of Directors and as the college’s 2013 spring commencement speaker.

Doughty also is the inaugural president of the Social Equity Alumni Network, formed earlier this

year as an official alumni Affiliate Program Group (APG) in the College of Education.

An APG consists of alumni or friends of Penn State who have a common interest in a particular academic, professional or extracurricular activity that is related to a specific college or campus program.

While earning her doctorate degree, Doughty received the Graduate School’s 2001 Graduate Assistant Outstanding Teaching Award and the college’s 1999 Graduate Student Recognition Award.

The Alumni Fellow program is administered by the Penn State Alumni Association in cooperation with the University’s academic colleges, campuses and the Office of the President.

Alumni are nominated by a college or campus as leaders in their professional fields and accept an invitation from the president of the University to return to campus to share their expertise with students, faculty and administrators.

Alumni Message from the Dean’s Development Council Co-Chairs It has been a year since our last message to the College of Education alumni community – and what an eventful year it has been. Our message focuses on two highlights, from a philanthropic perspective.

First, we are pleased to report that the College of Education enters the sixth and final year of the “Greater Penn State” campaign having completed the most successful single-year fundraising effort in the college’s history. This was aided by more than $9.33 million in commitments raised from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021. As of Sept. 24, 2021, total commitments exceeded $32.1 million, with a pathway in place to reaching $40 million by campaign’s end in June 2022.

Much credit is due to College of Education Director of Development Steve Wilson, his predecessors Simon Corby and Michelle Houser, and the hard-working development staff. None of this happens, however, without the dedication and generosity of our

Inspired by Dean Lawless’ vision, and in support of the goal of diversifying the student body, members of the Dean’s Development Council (DDC) have committed to endowing the DDC Educational Equity Scholarship, the revenue from which will be awarded to undergraduate students who contribute to the diversity of the student body.

Pledges have been confirmed, and the first funds are expected to be available by spring 2022 if not sooner.

Barb Kucharski (ED 1970) and Dave Kucharski (ENG 1970)

exceptional donors who once again have stepped up in support of the college. Thank you to all who have contributed and for being what makes Penn State great.

Second, the College’s new strategic plan positions the college to play a critical role in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in all facets of education.

Our thanks to the DDC members for their leadership, to Dean Lawless for her inspiration, and to Steve for his guidance.

If you are interested in contributing to the DDC Educational Equity Scholarship, or in learning how you can create similar support for College of Education students, please contact Steve Wilson at stw2@psu.edu.

Thank you again for your support of the College of Education.

You make a difference.

Outstanding alumni, friends selected for annual awards The College of Education Alumni Society recognizes those who have distinguished themselves in their profession. The 2021 Alumni Society honorees are:

relocated to State College and volunteer in many capacities.

Intermediate Unit 8, Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Justice, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (J.E.D.I.)

Outstanding Teaching

Alumni Excellence

Dwayne Kwaysee Wright, 2015 J.D. Penn State Law; 2015 M.Ed.; 2018 Ph.D. higher education. He is assistant professor of higher education administration in the Department of Educational Leadership and director of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Mary Ann Danowitz, 1969 B.A. political science; 1980 D.Ed. higher education. She is dean of the College of Education and professor of higher education at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Service to Penn State Harry Kropp, 1963 B.A. secondary education, and Edward Legutko. They are retired teachers from Greenwich Public Schools, Greenwich, Connecticut, who

Leadership and Service Thomas Butler, 1991 B.S. secondary education; 2008 Ph.D. educational leadership. He is executive director at Appalachia

Jennifer Wahl, 2012 M.Ed. educational leadership. She is a social studies teacher at Loyalsock Township High School in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Outstanding New Graduate Alyssa Marchunsky, 2016 B.S. elementary education. She is a third-grade teacher at Pennridge School District in Sellersville, Pennsylvania.

Nominate someone Visit bit.ly/education_alumni_ awards for nomination information.

Penn State Education

21

247 Chambers Building University Park, PA 16802

Nonprofit Org. US Postage PAID State College, PA Permit No. 1