ON THE MAP RESEARCH AND PUBLIC SERVICE HIGHLIGHTS BY MICHELLE KEARNS
In partnership with GiGi’s Playhouse Down Syndrome Achievement Center, a GSE professor and a PhD student developed a course to help
teachers learn to teach children with disabilities. UB students enrolled in the pilot independent study class, studied teaching techniques and then worked with children and families before creating an at-home activity or strategy. The course addresses a critical gap: Approaches to working with students with Down syndrome vary from school to school. Once teachers learn the right techniques, some children can learn to read at grade level. “With the nationwide wave of retiring teachers, colleges must prepare new educators for classrooms of today, which increasingly include students with a wide range of learning needs,” said co-instructor Claire Cameron, GSE associate professor of learning and instruction. Read the full story on page 34.
Adetola Salau, a GSE PhD student in the Department of Learning and Instruction and a dual citizen
of Nigeria and the U.S., studies as she works as the senior special assistant for education to the governor of Lagos State. Her efforts to transform Nigerian STEM education come from a core belief: A more hands-on and interactive curricula will help students solve problems more creatively and develop the skills to find satisfying careers. As she develops her dissertation work about teacher training, Salau aims to expand a new STEAM UP Lagos project that launched science clubs in more than 50 junior high and high schools. The goal: Expand the club to all 5,000 public and 20,000 private schools in the state. Read the full story on page 30.
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LEARN MAGAZINE | FALL 2021
