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More Highlights From 2020-2021
MORE HIGHLIGHTS
FUTURE OF LEARNING SUMMIT
This inaugural summit brought together educators, thought leaders, policymakers, and students to listen to a series of 10 speakers and engage in a dialogue about how we learn today and consider how teaching and learning can and should evolve in the years ahead. The speakers consisted of a mixture of current SJSU students, Lurie College faculty, and external keynote speakers such as Arun Ramanathan, CEO of Pivot Learning Partners.
“What if we actually believed that multilingualism led to economic success and that it’s better to retain your language and also learn English? If we didn’t view children the moment they entered our schools as broken because they spoke the language of their parents, we might actually change that label and look at all kids as emerging bilinguals instead of viewing these children as broken and needing to be fixed,” said Ramanathan.
FACES OF LEARNING PROJECT
Student voice is central to the work of our college. Listening to and learning from our students, especially our students who have historically been marginalized, is essential if we are to work toward a more equitable and inclusive future of learning. The Faces of Learning Project engaged SJSU undergraduate students in a year-long project to learn about, reflect upon, and amplify the voices and experiences of their peers through the use of interviews and photography.
Meet our co-researchers, read through their book of student stories, and watch their panel discussion at sjsu.edu/education/faces
FROM 2019-2020
SPRING 2020 CELEBRATIONS
Despite the transition to a remote teaching, learning, and working environment for the latter half of the spring semester, we were intent on hosting many of our Spring 2020 Lurie College celebrations like our Dean’s Scholars Honors Ceremony, Celebration of Teaching Ceremony, Learning Showcase, and Graduation Celebration to highlight the academic achievements of our current and future students, even if those celebrations had to take place online.
Watch our video that recognizes our 218 Dean’s Scholars at sjsu.edu/education/deans-scholars Watch our video that recognizes our 64 Celebration of Teaching awardees at sjsu.edu/education/celebration-of-teaching Watch our video series of 10 students sharing their academic refelctions and insights at sjsu.edu/education/showcase Watch our video that recognizes our 581 Spring 2020 graduates at sjsu.edu/education/graduation
ACCESS AND EQUITY IN STEM
Our STEM+C Teacher Institute creates opportunities for our current SJSU students, recent alumni, and teachers in partner districts to develop their knowledge, skills, and abilities to teach math, science, and/or computer science and earn foundational teaching credentials through a culturally sustaining pedagogical approach. Thanks to a generous grant from the State of California and the CSU Chancellor’s Office, we are able offer the program at no cost. During Summer 2020, we offered the program fully online and grew our enrollment to over 120 future STEM educators.
“This was the best teacher training that I’ve had in 30 years. It was very thought-provoking and with the diversity of the students in the class, I learned a lot.” - Kelly Herz, 5th grade teacher at Stonegate Elementary School
Learn more about the institute and listen to our students’ testimonials at sjsu.edu/education/stem-institute
Clarissa Johnston, recent graduate of our moderate-severe credential program in our Department of Special Education, has known she wanted to support students in special education since she was young. “I wanted to become a special education teacher when I helped out with a camp called the Baby Fold camp in high school,” Johnston explained. “I was a day camp counselor for students with emotional disturbances. I just fell in love with them and I wanted to work with them however I could.”
Since Clarissa moved to California from out of state, she enrolled at Lurie College to clear her credential and continue pursuing her goals and dreams as an education specialist. While enrolled at Lurie College, Clarissa has also been teaching at Ryan STEAM Academy in the Alum Rock Union School District and was recently selected by her peers as the Teacher of the Year for both her school and district for the 2019-2020 academic year!
Watch our full video interview with Clarissa at bit.ly/lurie-clarissa-johnston
STATE FINALIST
Each spring, the CSU system hosts a statewide research competition made up of students from all of the CSUs, and SJSU identifies its finalists for that event from a campus-wide research competition. Communicative Disorders & Sciences Graduate Student Grace Shefcik was selected by Lurie College and SJSU to participate in the CSU competition for her research, which focuses on assessment of non-binary individuals’ self-perception of voice.
“Many trans people report a desire to modify their voice, and some receive services from a speech-language pathologist, or SLP,” said Shefcik. “During this initial assessment, the SLP will typically have the client report their self-perception of voice and voice-related concerns through a questionnaire measure. There currently exist two questionnaire measures that are widely used for this, but neither of these were developed for non-binary clients, so it would be inappropriate to use them for this population. In my research, I developed and validated the first questionnaire that assesses non-binary individuals’ self-perception of voice and voice-related concerns. I wanted to pursue this research to address a gap in resources available for this population.”
The COVID-19 crisis made abundantly clear the critical role that educators play in our society. With that in mind, we wanted to annually recognize the importance of all educators by highlighting individuals who have made a significant impact. During the end of the Spring 2020 semester, we sent out a wide call for nominations and received dozens of submissions of our alumni, such as Mario Rocha.
“Mr. Mario Rocha joined the O.B. Whaley Elementary School staff during the 2019-20 school year as a Resource Specialist Teacher. Immediately, he was a perfect fit for our student population, a diverse Title 1 school. He created an inviting learning environment where students easily made connections with him and felt his genuine love for them. Within weeks of him as the school’s new resource teacher, student absenteeism improved, students made academic gains, and students enjoyed school! Mr. Rocha is one of a kind, and we are so fortunate to have him as an educator.” - Mario’s nominator
Learn about dozens more Lurie College Educators of Impact at bit.ly/lurie-impact. Nominate more Educators of Impact by emailing barbara.ybarra@sjsu.edu.
EdD PROGRAM REACHES NEW HEIGHTS
During his first year as our Ed.D. Leadership Program Director, Dr. Brad Porfilio has led the department towards achieving several notable accomplishments!
“First, the program modified its mission and vision to reflect the program’s commitment to being the preeminent academic unit for preparing students to eliminate oppression within P-20 schools, ” said Porfilio. “Second, several Core Ed.D. faculty members generated new Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) in order to better ensure the program’s assessment effort improves student learning outcomes. Third, the faculty established several core key hallmarks of program including the program’s transdisciplinary nature, the option to complete a dissertation through the production of a documentary, the inclusion of global-learning experiences, a focus on social justice, and the support from a graduate writing fellow, in order to increase the amount of socially diverse learners admitted to the program. With the hallmarks of program established and articulated to students across the Bay Area, the program nearly doubled its applications from 2018-2019 and admitted its largest cohort. ”
Learn about our newest cohort of doctoral students at sjsu.edu/edd
Connie L. Lurie College of Education
One Washington Square San José, CA 95192-0071
The Shelley and Chris Swircek Endowment for Education will provide multiple scholarships for students preparing to become teachers. Read the full story at legacy.sjsu.edu/supporters-like-you.
You can positively impact and create opportunities for our Lurie College of Education students. Provide a monetary gift at sjsu.edu/education/give and learn about additional ways to get involved at sjsu.edu/education/alumni.
