Please join the School of Education in congratulating its faculty, students, and SOE colleagues in affiliated centers on their achievements over the month of November 2015.

The School of Education monthly achievements is a regular feature of the news section of the SOE website. To submit achievements for the next installment, please email Jessica Henderson, writer in the School of Education, by the last day of the month. Please consider sharing recent awards or grants, publications, presentations, and collaborations across campus or in schools.

Please also look for these achievements in UDaily’s December 4 “For the Record Column.”

School of Education shares November 2015 achievements

Gary Allison, assistant professor of special education, gave an address titled “My 43 Years in Autism and Severe Disabilities: Lesson Learned” for UD Autism Speaks.

George Bear, professor of school psychology, published “Differences in classroom removals and use of praise and rewards in American, Chinese, and Japanese schools” in Teaching and Teacher Education, 53, 41–50.

Joan Buttram, director of the Delaware Education Research and Development Center and assistant professor in educational leadership, gave a presentation titled “Diverse Approaches to Educating the Public about Climate Change – Is There a Common Denominator?” for the American Evaluation Association in Chicago, IL.

Buttram also gave a presentation titled “Leadership Capstones: Content Analysis of Alternative Dissertation Capstone Projects” for the University Council for Educational Administration in San Diego, CA. This presentation was co-authored by Elizabeth Farley-Ripple, associate director of the School of Education, and Doug Archbald, associate professor of educational leadership.

Elizabeth Farley-Ripple, associate director of the School of Education, is featured as one of UD’s “women of research” in November’s issue of Research magazine. For more on this issue and Farley-Ripple’s colleagues at UD, please see the UDaily overview of the issue here.  You may access an online version of the “Women in Research” feature here.

Vickie Goettel, field instructor, and several SOE teacher candidates participated in Operation Christmas Child through the organization Samaritan’s Purse. Samaritan’s Purse supports people all over the world who are suffering from poverty, war, famine, and any other humanitarian needs.  Operation Christmas Child organizes the distribution on shoeboxes filled with goodies that are delivered internationally during the Christmas season. Tara Cerce, Lucy Font, Megan Kelly, Emma McMasters, Ali Miller, Caitlin Skipski, and Abby Whebale filled 15 shoeboxes with small toys, toothbrushes, notepads, art supplies, and socks. Others can participate in Operation Christmas Child here.

William Lewis, associate professor of literacy education, and undergraduate researchers Sean Krazit and Yvonne Rivera, presented “Graphic Novels, Text Sets and Critical Theory: Building Students’ Background and Disciplinary Knowledge to Engage and Enjoy Serious Books” at the Critical Questions in Education Conference in Baltimore, MD. They presented on instruction interventions designed to answer the questions “Why don’t we read serious books?” and “How are we doing at teaching the disciplines?”

Krazit, an Undergraduate Summer Scholar majoring in English Secondary Education, presented on the use of graphic novels to develop close reading skills. Rivera, a McNair Scholar double-majoring in English and Women and Gender Studies, presented on text sets aligned with a feminist critical lens. Lewis discussed the use of in-class reading frameworks for discipline-specific texts. (An article detailing this work will soon be published on the School of Education website.)

Roberta Golinkoff, Unidel H. Rodney Sharp Chair in Human Services, Education and Public Policy and professor of education, published a blog post in the Huffington Post with long-time collaborator Kathy Hirsh-Pasek titled “Unlikely Bedfellows? Cambridge University and the Lego Company” and a blog post for the Brookings Institution titled “Thank you, Sherry Turkle: Conversation is important for adults, but it is even more critical for kids.”

Golinkoff also chaired a plenary panel at the Boston University Conference on Language Development, “Looking back and moving forward: 40 years of the Boston Language Conference.”

She was also invited to attend Space and Mathematics: What’s the Connection? Science of Learning Center Conference at the University of Chicago, and she was invited to serve on the editorial board of a new open-access journal, NJP, Science of Learning.

Center for Research in Education and Social Policy

Spencer Hoernes, a UD junior and part-time researcher working under Allison Karpyn, associate director of CRESP and assistant professor in SOE, received a $500 grant to determine if there is a change in depression rates in the elderly population with the addition of a community garden that is wheelchair and visually impaired accessible in their community. The community garden, located at Lutheran Community Services, provides fresh produce to a lower income food distribution for Hanover Presbyterian Church in Wilmington. The recipients of the produce then help plant, tend to and harvest the vegetables. Monthly dinners that serve about 25 members of the community. In the future, dinners will be open to not only food recipients, but anyone in the local community to help strengthen community bonds among locals. The final project will be featured in UDaily.

Serita Moss, researcher, presented to the Community Engagement Living Learning Community (CELLC). Serita’s presentation focused on food access or lack thereof in Wilmington, Delaware and displayed a spatial analysis of which demographics are most impacted. She offered a visual display of supermarkets, small grocery stores, and corner stores to analyze the relationships between food sources, socioeconomic demographics, and nutrition-related disease.

CELLC is comprised of first-year undergraduate students from all majors that are interested in making a difference in the world. CELLC is a collaboration between the School of Public Policy & Administration and the Office of Service Learning. The activities are designed to expose students to social issues and sustainable solutions.

CRESP attended the American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting in Chicago. It was an exciting opportunity to introduce the center to other public health professionals and hear the new director’s focus going forward. Camara Phyllis Jones, the incoming president, announced that she intends to take APHA and its partners on a national campaign against racism, which she defined as a systemic and institutional issue, not an individual characteristic or personal moral failing. As the organization moves forward on its journey to achieve health equity, Jones called on the audience to keep three principles in mind: valuing all individuals and populations equally; recognizing and rectifying historical injustices; and providing resources according to need. This focus is critical to CRESP, as its interest in health equity is associated with racial disparities.

CRESP received an ACE Award to evaluate the effects of healthy food offerings at the Brandywine zoo concession stands. Allison Karpyn and Nicole Filion presented about the research through Poster Reviews at Nemours. It offered an opportunity for colleagues and community members to learn about the funded research, ask questions, and form new collaboration.

Professional Development Center for Educators

The Executive Leadership Academy, facilitated by Sharon Brittingham, project director, hosted its second to last workshop; speakers included Mike Jackson, Deputy Comptroller and Kathy Demarest, NCCVT Communications Specialist. Aspiring Superintendents practiced crisis management through communication activities.

Shortlidge Elementary School (Red Clay, priority school) invited Sharon Brittingham to teach and video a model lesson; teachers in the school were videotaped implementing instructional techniques shared during summer professional development.

Tammy Croce, Delaware Academy for School Leadership (DASL) associate, is working with the principal of East Dover Elementary School in the Capital School District to develop a focus school plan that will be approved by the DEDOE.

The Delaware Academy for School Leadership (DASL) has been asked to contract with the National Association for Secondary School Principals to facilitate a national professional learning community for over 70 principals from 14 urban school districts. Jackie Wilson and Alison Dubinski will facilitate this work.

Alison Dubinski, program coordinator for PDCE/DASL 21^st Century Grant Programs, partnered with the Food Bank of Delaware to support 21st Century programs in the Seaford School District.

Amy Trauth-Nare, associate director for science education in PDCE and assistant professor in SOE, published a book chapter with co-authors G. A. Buck and N. Beeman-Cadwallader. The citation follows: Buck, G. A., Beeman-Cadwallader, N., & Trauth-Nare, A. (2015). Examining the levels of reasoning used by urban elementary Black girls engaging in technology-enhanced inquiry. In M. Urban & D. Falvo, Eds., Improving K-12 STEM education outcomes through technological integration (pp. 86-107). Hershey, PA: IGI-Global Publishers. doi: 10.4018/978-1-4666-9616-7

John Kreitzer, DASL associate, and Deb Denson, DASL development coach, completed Day 3 of the new administrator DPAS II Boot Camp and worked with individual administrators to prepare for the credentialing assessment.

 John Kreitzer also conducted a professional development session on behalf of DEDOE for school administrators that addressed the topic of writing Individual Improvement Plans and Expectations for teachers.

John Kreitzer also facilitated the second session of the Aspiring Leader program for the Seaford School District.

Jon Manon, associate director of PDCE and assistant professor in SOE, presented a talk at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Fall Regional Conference in Atlantic City entitled “STEM Comes Alive in an Interdisciplinary Laboratory Setting.”

Emily Poag, DASL associate, facilitated teams to conduct two Comprehensive Success Reviews in the Woodbridge School District, working alongside district staff to identify strengths and recommendations for continuous improvement.

Jackie Wilson, interim director of PDCE and Ed.D. program coordinator in SOE, and presented the new Professional Standards for Education Leaders to superintendents and project directors from the Wallace Foundation Pipeline and Principal Supervisor Districts—fourteen urban school districts receiving funding from the Wallace Foundation

Jackie Wilson participated in two open house and information sessions for graduate students interested in the EDD Program for School Leadership. The first was sponsored by the Cecil County Public Schools and the second was hosted by the School of Education.

Jackie Wilson also attended a Capitol Hill Briefing sponsored by the Wallace Foundation on November 3. The purpose of the briefing was to share the new research conducted by Dr. Paul Manna (William and Mary) on the topic of Developing Excellent School Principals to Advance Teaching and Learning: Considerations for State Policy. Manna included citations regarding policy work that had been led the Delaware Academy for School Leadership.

Jackie Wilson and John Kreitzer participated in a panel discussion about principal evaluation for the National Governor’s Association and the Council for Chief State School Officers in Washington DC. They invited two Delaware Assistant Superintendents, Dr. Sylvia Henderson (Capital School District) and Dr. Sharon Pepukayi (Appoquinimink School District), to discuss their role as a principal supervisors. The focus of the conference was Supporting Principals to Improve Teaching and Learning.

Jackie Wilson and Tammy Croce led a Community of Practice for Delaware’s Principal Supervisors. Participants created a professional development plan based on their current job descriptions and the national competencies for principal supervisors. New professional standards for principal supervisors are under development by Council for Chief State School Officers.

PDCE staff led a full day of professional development for teachers and leaders in the Laurel School District. PDCE has a full partnership with the Laurel School District providing professional development and coaching in Literacy, Math, Social Studies, Science, and School Leadership. The staff met with the administration during the lunch break to receive feedback and to provide recommendations for next steps. This is the first time PDCE has had a full partnership with a DE school district in all four content areas and school leadership.

PDCE is excited to welcome John Epstein to our group as a new Math Specialist. John will work with Faith Muirhead and Jon Manon to provide professional development and coaching to PDCE partnership schools/districts and work in collaboration with the Delaware Math Coalition.