EDITORIAL: New Year Wishes for Elementary Education

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1 The Volume 1 Number 33 Volume 1 Number 33 UCF School of Teaching, Learning & Leadership UCF Stands for Opportunity... to Become a Leader in Education EDITORIAL: New Year Wishes for Elementary Education At the end of a year, I always try to reflect on the past year and think about the next. Resolutions and wishes always come to mind in thinking about the next year. I thought I would shares my hopes for redesigning the Elementary Education Initial Teacher preparation programs UCF has one of the best, if not the best, Elementary Education program in Florida at the present. However, the best of the present is no assurance of sustainability. I hope we are not going through the perfunctory motions of a cosmetic program change but, rather that we are redesigning the program to be responsive to the changing culture of education, particularly K-6 education, and to continue to be a high quality producer of elementary teachers. I hope that any changes made will be research-based and follow the developmental pattern of pilot testing and field testing before full implementation. I hope that all proposed changes going through developmental implementation will allow several faculty members to engage in research activities related to every change. Over time the economic crisis and retirements without replacement has caused the demographics of the faculty of the College of Education to change drastically. At the same time, we have added Tracks in the Ph.D. program that require the attention of the tenure-earning and tenured faculty. Thus, we need more high quality tenure track faculty members. I hope that all members of the Elementary Education faculty, particularly the tenured and tenure-earning faculty members, will participate in the search process for new faculty. I hope that the redesign will serve pre-service students who may teach beyond central Florida and desire professional training in various delivery modes. Prospective teachers who graduate in the next decade will likely be teaching on line, in different types of schools, in different countries, and in ways in which we cannot conceive at this moment in history. The establishment of a 4-year state college system is a real threat to the existing program, particularly if Seminole State College, Brevard Community College and Valencia State College decide to offer Elementary Education majors. The cost of a state college degree and the ease of access will result in many students choosing to major in Elementary Education at those institutions. I hope the redesign of Elementary Education will provide distinctive reasons why highly qualified applicants will choose Elementary Education at UCF Orlando. In summary, I hope that the redesigned Elementary Education program will be challenging, be innovative, be distinctive, have high quality faculty and students, provide experiences unique to a university education, and be able to provide data to show that UCF Elementary Education graduates are effective teachers. M. Hynes In This Issue Editorial: New Year Wishes for Elementary Education 1 Faculty Participation is Critical to a Successful Elementary Education Search. 2 New Tech Book Contains Chapters by Kaplan and Hynes 2 Plan to Attend UCF Literacy Symposium.. 3 Blessing and Cardullo to Help Volusia Implement Stanford Model... 3 It is Time: Students Need to Apply for Scholarships.. 3 Graduation News! Happy Hour News. 5-6 If You Teach a Class with Field Experience. 6 Calendar. 5 PAGE 1

2 Faculty Participation Is Critical to a Successful Elementary Ed Search Please contact Dr. Maria Cox, College of Education, (Suite 206, office 206D; ; mcox@mail.ucf.edu) to offer your assistance in the campus visits for candidates for the Assistant/Associate Professor, Elementary Education search. Faculty members are needed to pick up the candidates at the hotels, and take them to meals. The search committee has done a wonderful job identifying three high quality candidates for the position. Now, all Elementary Education faculty members are needed to attend the sessions when the candidates teach classes and offer research presentations so the best decision can be made in making recommendations to the Dean for the new hire. Put these dates in your calendars: Kathleen Wasserman will be teaching a lesson on January 11 between 11:00 AM and 12:00 PM in Dr. Michelle Kelley s RED 4519 class held in the Teaching Academy (TA) 201 ) Please watch for an announcement about a room change to TA 130 for the presentation. Also, she will offer a 9:30-10:30: Research Presentation/Question & Answer session. This is tentatively scheduled for ED 306 Brian Kissel will be teaching a class on January 18 from 11:00 AM to12:00 PM in Dr. Michelle Kelley s class. This is an RED 4519 class held in Teaching Academy (TA) 201. Please check with Dr. Cox about the location, it may be changed to TA 130 to allow better seating. He will be presenting a 9:30 to10:30 AM Research Presentation/Question & Answer session on January 19. It is tentatively scheduled in TA 420B. On January 19, Nancy Shelton will provide a Research Presentation/Question & Answer session from - 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM. The tentative location is TA 130, and she will be teaching a lesson on January 20 at 11:00 AM in Dr. Michelle Kelley s RED 4942 class. Again the course is offered in the Teaching Academy (TA) 201, but the session may be moved to ED 305. New Tech Book Contains Chapters by Kaplan and Hynes The International Society for Technology in Education has recently released a book, Playing Games in School: Video Games and Simulations for Primary and Secondary Education. This book, designed to help educators make informed decisions about the use of games in education to facilitate learning, was edited by College of Education faculty member, Atsusi Hirumi of Education Human Services. Dr. Jeffrey Kaplan and Melinda Stevenson, a Ph.D. graduate of UCF, contributed a chapter on games for Language Arts Education. Dr. Michael Hynes and Ph.D. graduate, Mansureh Kebitchi prepared a chapter manuscript related to Games in Mathematics Education. Dr Joe W. Burden contributed a chapter in the book related to games for fitness. Dr. Burden is a member of Child, Family and Community Sciences Department in the Sport and Fitness program. PAGE 2

3 Plan to Attend the UCF Literacy Symposium UCF, College of Education is proud to announce the 13th UCF Literacy Symposium that will take place on April 1, Over 500 educators are expected to participate in this event. This year's theme is: Response to Instruction (K-12). Presentations and discussions will focus on quality instruction and intervention models to meet all students' needs. K-12 educators, literacy experts, math and science experts, exceptional education specialists, speech and language pathology experts, and others will present on the topic. We are excited to announce that Dr. John Hoover, a Response to Intervention expert from the University of Colorado/Boulder, and Susan Ebbers, from the University of California/ Berkeley, a nationally known literacy expert specializing in vocabulary growth and instruction will be the keynote speakers. Cheryl Conley, the 2011 FL DOE/Macy's Teacher of the Year from Osceola Magnet Elementary School will also present her work on differentiated instruction and science. For more information on this event, please see or pventuri@mail.ucf.edu (Paige Venturino, Event Assistant) or vzygouri@mail.ucf.edu (Vicky Zygouris-Coe, Ph.D., Event Organizer). This is an admission-free literacy symposium for all Florida educators. Blessing and Cardullo to Help Volusia Implement Stanford Model Dr. Lewis Blessing and Ms. Vicky Cardullo are members of a Volusia County Public School team that will be visiting the Design School at Stanford later this week. Last spring Dr. Blessing and Ms. Cardullo were contacted by Suzanne Rawlings, the Gifted Program Administrator for Volusia County, for assistance in writing a grant to assist Volusia teachers in implementation of gifted strategies within the county. She wanted help to implement the Stanford model and to train her teachers in implementing the model. and she felt that university personnel could assist her. This week they will be meeting with personnel from the Design School at Stanford to learn as much as we can about the process and how we can effectively implement it within Volusia County. It Is Time: Students Need to Apply for Scholarships The College of Education offers many opportunities for students to receive scholarships. The deadlines for applying are near. All the scholarships are listed on the College of Education Web site, under "For Students," and then "Financial Assistance." Direct access at Please direct your students to this site. PAGE 3

4 STLL Faculty Hood Nine Doctoral Students at Fall 2010 Commencement Nine of the fourteen doctorates awarded in the fall 2010 commencement were mentored by STLL faculty. Four of the student received the Ph.D. in Education and five received the Ed.D. in Educational Leadership. Dr. Rosemayre Taylor mentored three dissertations, Dr. William Bozeman and Dr. Bobby Jeanpierre were each responsible for two student s research, and Dr. Juli Dixon had one student complete the doctorate. One graduate, Dr. Joyce Smolik, completed her Ph.D. in the Science Education Track with Bobby Jeanpierre after completing the K-8 Mathematics and Science M.Ed program, a part of the Lockheed Martin/UCF Academy for Mathematics and Science. Three students completed the Ed.S. in Educational Leadership. These students were mentored by Dr. Jan McGee. Seventy-six Graduate with Master s Degrees from STLL Programs Oddly enough there were exactly the same number of Master of Arts and Masters of Education degrees awarded at the fall 2010 commencement. Of the 36 who graduated with M.Ed. s, 10 received Reading degrees and 9 Educational Leadership degrees. Education Media-Instructional Technology, Elementary Education, K-8 Mathematics and Science, Mathematics Education, Science Education, Social Science Education and Teacher Leadership programs each produced M.Ed. graduates. Three STLL Students Graduate with Honors in the Major On December 15, three STLL students were honored at The Burnett Honors College Graduation Banquet for completing their undergraduate degrees with Honors in the Major. Sheila Bliss, Foreign Language Education mentored by Dr. Karen Verkler; Christopher Baltazar, English/Langauage arts mentored by Dr. Jeffrey Kaplan; and Rebecca Mordente, Elementary Education, mentored by Sherron Killingsworth Roberts were recognized at the event. PAGE 4

5 Elementary Education Led All STLL Programs with 173 Fall Graduates The fall 2010 commencement saw 243 STLL students march across the stage to receive bachelor s degrees. In addition to the 173 elementary Education graduates, there were some other notable numbers. Art Education deserves mention with 9 graduates, but it was not the next largest group. Both English/Language Arts Education and Social Science Education programs had 20 graduates each. There were 18 STEM graduates with Mathematics Education leading the way, and there were 3 Foreign Language Education graduates, too. Only Three Weeks until the HAPPY Hour Showcase Register Now! Faculty, staff, and pre-service students (both graduate and undergraduate), you are all cordially invited to the HAPPY Hour Student Showcase from 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 29, 2011! The Showcase is an in-house professional development event highlighting our pre-service teachers. The Showcase will consist of 85 students sharing teaching strategies, experiences, and projects in 56 different presentations. In addition, attendees can network with peers, a panel of Rookie Teachers of the Year, and visit educational vendors, and check out student organizations. There will be a Prize Patrol giving out door prizes all day long. Each Showcase attendee will receive a cool conference bag with goodies. In addition, the Showcase boasts the 2010 Florida Teacher of the Year Megan Allen as the keynote speaker! Early registration (which is done online) for the entire experience is a mere $5.00!!!! Registering online, which will qualify attendees for door prizes, begins Monday, December 10, 2010 and runs through Sunday, January 25, Beat the rush and register online now by going to the HAPPY Hour website at Click the icon on the left-hand side of the HAPPY Hour homepage and follow the directions to register. Late registration will cost $ Feel free to invite friends and relatives to attend the HAPPY Hour Student Showcase, which will be held in the Education Building Complex and the Teaching Academy on the Orlando campus of the University of Central Florida. Stay tuned for more details. If you have any questions, you may check out the Showcase information on the HAPPY Hour website or contact Dr. Verkler, HAPPY Hour Chair, at kverkler@mail.ucf.edu We'll see you at the Showcase! PAGE 5

6 Faculty Assistance Needed for HAPPY Hour Showcase Encourage your students to register for the Showcase. Pre-service teachers undergraduate AND graduate - are invited. To qualify for door prizes, they need to register online at by Sunday, January 23, See attachment to post and distribute to your students. Donate new textbooks, instructional resources, etc. for door prizes. Please drop off your donations in Suite ED 220 or contact Karen Verkler to pick them up. This is the perfect opportunity to re-gift unwanted presents! Showcase attendees are being asked to donate to A Gift for Teaching (an organization that provides free teaching materials to teachers at low SES schools). Help in this effort by donating new and/or used materials such as pencils, crayons, notebook(s), notebook paper, bulletin board materials, writing pads, books, treasure box reward items, etc. Anything you can donate will be GREATLY appreciated. Please drop off your donations in Suite ED 220 or contact Karen Verkler to pick them up. Support our student presenters by attending the Showcase. All faculty and staff are invited. Hutchinson is Newest member of HAPPY Hour Committee Dr. Cynthia Hutchinson is the veteran Elementary Education faculty member who contributes to the college in many ways. The HAPPY Hour Committee is very pleased to welcome Dr. Hutchinson as its newest member. She will be a tremendous asset to the committee and the future of HAPPY Hour. If You Teach a Course that Includes Field Experience... The following is information about 2 websites that should help your students schedule their field experience/servicelearning (not internships) in the Orange County Public Schools. We have a partnership with the AVID program in Orange County. The AVID program works with students in middle school and high school. They are very anxious to have our students help with this program. This website should make it easy to pick the school and times that are convenient. Since the AVID classes can each take several UCF students at the same time, 2 or 3 students might want to plan to volunteer together. Once they have scheduled their times they will need to the appropriate teacher. UCF students that want to volunteer in the elementary grades (or don t want to work with the AVID program) in Orange County Public Schools should use the following website to choose their school and teacher - (thepassword for this website is 11spring! ) Only the schools and teachers who want UCF volunteers are listed on the web-sites. Please contact Phil Koger (pkoger@mail.ucf.edu / ED 220F) if you have any questions about these websites. PAGE 6

7 Calendar of Events f= New Item This Week JANUARY Jan. 6 Application Deadline for AERA Grants Program Jan. 10 Graduate Student Evaluations Due Jan. 11 Internship I Orientation for Elementary Ed., Key West Ballroom, 8:30-11:00 am Jan. 11 Internship I Orientation for Secondary Ed. Key West Ballroom, 12:30-3:00 pm Jan. 12 Internship II / Graduate Orientation, Key West Ballroom, 8:30-12:00 pm Jan. 13 Florida Virtual School Kick-Off, TA 130, 9:00-12:00 pm Jan. 14 Faculty Excellence Awards Due Jan HAPPY Hour Student Showcase FEBURARY Feb. 8 Internship I Seminar for Secondary Ed., TA 117, 9:30-12:30 pm Feb. 10 Educational Leadership Recruiting Event, Brevard Community College, Lifelong Learning Building, Room 368 Feb. 14 Internship I Seminar for Elem. Ed, TA 117, 2:30-5:30 pm Feb ATE Conference - Orlando Feb Eastern Educational Research Association Conference, Hyatt Regency, Sarasota Feb International Society for the Social Studies Annual Conference MARCH Mar. 1 CICE-2011 Final Paper Submission Deadline for Conference Proceedings Publication Mar nd Annual National Youth-at-Risk Conference, Hyatt Regency, Savannah, GA Mar. 18 Application Deadline for UCF SOTL Award Mar. 24 Internship I Seminar for Secondary Ed., TA 117, 9:30-12:30 pm APRIL Apr. 1 13th Annual Literacy Symposium Apr. 6 College of Education Appreciation Breakfast, Student Union, 8:00 am-9:45 am Apr. 6 Founder s Day Pegasus Ballroom 10:00a.m.-12:00p.m. Apr AERA Annual Meeting - New Orleans, LA Apr. 11 Internship I Seminar for Elem. Ed., TA 117, 2:3 5:30 pm Apr. 14 Internship I Seminar for Secondary Ed., TA 117, 9:30-12:30 pm Apr UCF Book Festival PAGE 7