Marilyn A. Friga, instructor in the Department of Teaching and Learning in the College of Education at the University of Central Arkansas, recently was granted her National Board Professional Teacher (NBPT) re-certification. Originally, Mrs. Friga was certified in November 2001 in the area of Adolescents and Young Adulthood/Social Studies-History. The National Board Professional Teacher re-certification process includes providing evidence of advancing professional growth, increased student learning, and adherence to the highest standards in teaching. Friga continues to grow in and contribute to the education profession as a Praxis III Assessor/Reviewer and a Path Wise Mentor/Trainer for teacher educator candidates preparing to become classroom teachers and practicing classrooms teachers seeking opportunities to advance their reflection and professionalism. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification is the highest recognition for classroom teachers in the United States. At this time, approximately 82,000 U.S. teachers are national board certified including approximately 1,400 Arkansas teachers. UCA is extremely fortunate to have an instructor who has earned both her original National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification in 2001 and her re-certification in 2010.
Debbie Barnes, assistant dean of the College of Education, served as a consultant last year to Florida Gulf Coast University in preparing for their first NCATE review. She offered considerable advice about their preparation plans, particularly helping them improve and refine their Unit Conceptual Framework. The university recently completed their national accreditation review and NCATE was so impressed with the institution’s conceptual framework that they posted it on the NCATE website as an example for other institutions (see http://www.ncate.org/institutions/preconditions.asp?ch=42). Congratulations to Debbie for sharing her NCATE expertise and for gaining national recognition for this professional contribution.Teaching and Learning Seminar Builds Strong Business Education Program
Dr. Cheryl Wiedmaier and Ms. Brenda Linn, two faculty in the Department of Teaching and Learning, hosted a series of seminars designed specifically for business education teachers and teacher candidates called Building Strong Business Education Programs in the 21st Century .
Recently, Nine teacher candidates and practicing teachers attended the seminar traveling across Arkansas from locations as close as Conway to as far away as Newport. The evening began with dinner provided by the Department of Teaching and Learning followed by the first seminar. This seminar focused on Setting up a Mobile Classroom addressing issues including textbook adoptions, textbook orders, teacher resources, student organization (FBLA) activities, foundation scholarships, and other practical information.
This seminar also investigated program completers, site visits, Perkins funding, and other services available through an Educational Cooperative. Various professionals in their fields presented information relevant to their work to an audience that included undergraduate business teacher education candidates, graduate business education teacher candidates enrolled in the Master of Art in Teaching program, novice business education teachers, and veteran business education teachers.
A second seminar was held Nov. 15. The topics included preparing for the Praxis III, programs of study, program approval process, technology standards, training requirements, state curriculum frameworks, and end-of-course testing.
Dr. Tammy Benson, along with the faculty and staff in the Department of Teaching and Learning, extend their appreciation to the outstanding contributions these two faculty are making as they lead the way for practicing business education teachers and business education teacher candidates.
Dr. Mary Mosley, associate professor in the Department of Early Childhood/Special Education, sponsored two of her UCA graduate students to present with her at the Arkansas Reading Association’s annual conference on Nov. 18 in Little Rock. The annual conference is hosted by the Arkansas Literacy Teachers Educators (ALTE).While serving as president of ALTE, Dr. Mosley initiated the practice of Arkansas university faculty sponsoring one or two of their graduate students to present at their state reading conference. A portion of the annual ALTE dues are dedicated to funding the one day conference registration fees for sponsored graduate students.
Faculty from all Arkansas universities are encouraged to sponsor graduate students to present research findings on timely topics at the annual reading conference. UCA graduate students presenting at the 2010 Arkansas Reading Association annual conference include Melinda Francis, who will talk about Literature Circles, and Sarah Graham, who will address Writing Instruction and New Literacies. Congratulations to Melinda and Sarah for representing the UCA College of Education.
Programs Helps Non-English Speaking Children, Parents
Parents of English Language Learners (ELL) are participating in the second semester of a pilot project sponsored by the Reading Success Center. Dr. Mary Mosley, the director of the center, received a grant from the Faulkner County Literacy Council to obtain electronic materials and programs to assist parents of ELL improve their English literacy while their children are participating in weekly literacy instruction. Weekly literacy instruction is provided by College of Education graduate student clinicians at the COE Reading Success Center.
Funds from this grant have been used to purchase Leap Pads among other reading/writing materials. On the Leap Pads, parents and their children start by recording their responses to questions followed by listening to the correct answers both in English and Spanish.
Parents attend their children’s sessions to observe readi ng instruction and the teaching support modeled by the clinicians. Then Dr. Mosley and the parents meet briefly after the children’s sessions to discuss the instruction provided each child, answer parents’ question, address concerns, and extend practices. The goals are to promote competence and confidence for parents to enhance their children’s literacy at home and to assist clearer communication with children’s classroom teachers and medical providers. This semester three families have been involved in the ELL pilot program. Faculty and students are refining their program as they prepare to add more parents next semester.
Child Study Center Instructors Present at State AECA Conference
Five instructors from the UCA College of Education Child Study Center presented two sessions at the 49th annual conference of the Arkansas Early Childhood Association (AECA) held in Hot Springs October 14-16. Mrs. Kathy Moore, director of the COE Child Study Center, presented a session on using technology in the classroom. Previously a second grade teacher, Moore showed how she used technology to link her classroom of second graders to a science outpost on Antarctica, corresponding with a fellow Arkansan stationed there conducting science experiments.
During her session, Moore showed how the students learned about a land that most of them will never visit or even spend much time studying through the use of technology. Extending their focus on Antarctica, Moore developed lessons integrating every aspect of the curriculum, from language and literature to science and social studies, into the classroom explorations, making learning come alive for the students that she shared with the conference session participants.
In another conference session, instructors Mrs. Ruth Rowell, Mrs. Jamie Dallas, Mrs. Brenda Payne, and Mrs. Debbie Storment presented a session featuring science education in the pre-K and K classrooms. The presenters showed how to link the Arkansas Early Childhood Frameworks and the Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale (Revised) known as the ECERS-R scale to the classroom through the use of a learning center. The ECERS-R scale is an assessment tool used to rate the quality of Early Childhood centers based on seven subscales. An on-site assessor completes the ECERS-R; centers are rated on their scores. Materials for the learning center and simple science experiments were discussed and demonstrated to the conference participants.