Deborah Coffman Awarded the J. D. and Mary Lou Mashburn Award
Deborah Coffman, coordinator of professional development for the Arkansas Department of Education, is the recipient of the first J. D. and Mary Lou Mashburn Award presented by the Mashburn Center for Learning at the University of Central Arkansas.
The J. D. and Mary Lou Mashburn Award recognizes professionals who demonstrate a resolve and commitment to grow and sustain the UCA’s Mashburn Center for Learning mission. A key element of the operating philosophy of the Mashburn Center is to create resources and opportunities that encourage Arkansas educators to promote a sense of purpose, hope, academic achievement, and resilience for learners who struggle as they experience barriers to learning.
The success of the center can only be realized through the commitment and expertise of many individuals. J. D. and Mary Lou Mashburn founded the Mashburn Center for Learning in 1991. Dr. Mashburn and his family have generously shared their resources to help Arkansas educators work more successfully with struggling learners.
Coffman was recognized for her leadership and work with the Arkansas Adolescent Literacy Intervention. A testimony to Coffman’s leadership involves the participation of many Arkansas school districts in the Arkansas Adolescent Literacy Intervention including Bentonville, Lincoln, Cabot, Conway, Harrisburg, Magnolia, Monticello, Batesville, Fayetteville, Forrest City, White County Central, De Queen, Harmony Grove, North Little Rock, Ledbetter, McGhee, Beebe, Paragould, Bryant, Paragould, Oscar Hamilton, Camden Fairview, Drew Central, Benton, Greenbrier, Valley View, South Conway County, and a number of private schools. AALI focuses on providing professional development for educators to utilize routines and strategies that enable struggling learners to be successful.
“Deborah demonstrates the resolve to build and sustain best practices for helping struggling learners,” said Dr. Mark Cooper, director of the Mashburn Center for Learning.
Coffman’s colleagues agree that her ideas are a necessity to AALI. Patty Kohler-Evans, coordinator of professional development for the Mashburn Center, and Renee Calhoon, director of the AALI agree. Both stated that Coffman insists that a sustainability model for professional learning be integral to AALI.
Coffman said she is honored to receive an award with people who make a difference in the lives of students.
“As recipient of the Mashburn Award, I share this honor with all the partners who make such a difference in the lives of struggling learners – the UCA Mashburn Center for Learning, the Arkansas Department of Education, districts, schools, and the growing number of Certified Arkansas Professional Developers. These partners represent an outstanding team of educators,” she said.
Mashburn Center for Learning Awarded Arkansas Department of Education Grant
The Arkansas Department of Education awarded UCA’s Mashburn Center for Learning a grant worth $280,000 for school year 2011-2012 to fund its Arkansas Adolescent Literacy Intervention program.
“This grant makes clear their resolve to maximize success among all learners, especially learners who struggle,” said Dr. Mark Cooper, director of the Mashburn Center for Learning.
Dr. Cooper and the Mashburn Center for Learning team are pleased to continue the partnership with the ADE. The failure of struggling learners impacts the individual learner, the learner’s family, and the learner’s community. Believing that every learner deserves to achieve and succeed, the Arkansas Adolescent Literacy Intervention is designed to help teachers become more effective with all students, particularly struggling learners. It is also designed to help struggling learners work smarter as they work harder.
Approximately 25 Arkansas educators have become certified professional developers in the methodologies used to help science, math, literacy, and history teachers maximize academic success among adolescent learners. There are 19 additional teachers and instructional specialists completing their certifications within the next year. Co-investigators on the ADE grant include Dr. Patty Kohler-Evans, associate professor; Renee Calhoon, director of administration and teacher development for the Mashburn Institute; and Dr. Kathleen Atkins, associate professor and chair of the Department of Early Childhood/Special Education.
Teachers United Sends Books to South American in “Sarah’s Suitcase”
Teachers United, a student organization in the UCA College of Education for teacher candidates, recently embarked upon a significant service learning project that has made a world of difference.
The organization provided books for UCA alumna Sarah Graham’s class at an elementary school in Honduras. Members of Teachers United and faculty in the College of Education learned about Sarah Graham from Dr. Mary Mosley, retired faculty in the Department of Early Childhood/Special Education. Sarah’s classroom is in desperate need of children’s books, so TU members selected books from a wish list prepared by Sarah and packed a suitcase for Sarah’s mother to take to Sarah. The suitcase contained more than 50 books for Sarah and her students.
Sarah wrote: I tried to sneak the books into my classroom while the students were at lunch, but they were climbing the walls outside to watch through the windows. I let them in and chaos ensued. “We are the richest class in the whole world! We have more books than the library! I’ve never seen so many books!”
They were dancing in circles, hugging the books, and sneaking them out under their shirts. Please tell Teachers United that they have made me feel so very rich! The freedom to read aloud and know that I am not repeating the same books is incredible. I have shared the books with several other teachers and the library, and the best part is that all other teachers want a library now, too. (None of the teachers had a single children’s book in their classrooms when I arrived.) Thanks again!
Arkansas Curriculum Conference Rich with College of Education Faculty
During the first week of November each year, more than 1,000 Arkansas classroom teachers and school administrators gather at The Peabody Hotel and the Arkansas Old State House for the Arkansas Curriculum Conference.
The College of Education faculty was there to help lead the way. The theme of this year’s conference, Connecting the Common Core, was actively supported by the Arkansas Council for the Social Studies (ACSS); the Arkansas Council of Teachers of English and Language Arts (ACTELA); the Arkansas Council of Teachers of Mathematics (ACTM); the Arkansas Science Teachers Association (ASTA); the Arkansas Department of Education – English and Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science; the Arkansas Department of Higher Education; the University of Arkansas STEM Center for Mathematics and Science Education; and the University of Central Arkansas Outreach and Community Engagement, members of all eight organizations unite for two days in a format that allows educators to investigate practices they can integrate across the curriculum, instruction, and assessment in ever-changing educational contexts.
College of Education faculty participating at the 2011 ACC were Terri Hebert, assistant professor: Commonalities of Science and Literacy; Tammy Benson, associate professor and chair of the Department of Teaching and Learning: Creative Stories/Creative Kids: Reading, Writing, and Telling; Marilyn Friga, instructor, Robot Lesson Planning Skills; Nancy P. Gallavan, professor, and Marilyn Friga: Connecting Dr. Seuss and the Ten Themes of Social Studies;
Jeff Whittingham, associate professor: Booktalking 101: The Best Young Adult and Juvenile Books of 2011; and Gary Bunn, assistant professor: Have Mouth, Can Teach: The Impact of Questioning. Nancy P. Gallavan and Marilyn Friga: Geography Games that are Fun and Functional; Nancy P. Gallavan and Angela Webster-Smith, assistant professor: Communicating Classroom Assessments Effectively and Transporting Parents into Partners; Steve Ward, instructor: How Many Ps are in Your Classroom Pod?;
Donna Wake, assistant professor, Jeff Whittingham and Steve Ward, Reading in the Common Core; Michael Mills, assistant professor: Diversity in Literacy: Making Common Core Work for Students; and Jeff Whittingham with Donna Stephens, assistant professor of journalism in the College of Fine Arts and Communication: The Crisis Mr. Faubus Made: Arkansas Gazette and Central High School; Michael Mills, assistant professor: Emerging Opportunities in Common Core Literacy; Donna Wake and Michael Mills: Teaching Expository Structures with Digital Storytelling.
Jeff Whittingham served as president of the Arkansas Council of Teachers of English and Language Arts (ACTELA). As president, Whittingham helped arrange for children’s author Christopher Paul Curtis to speak at the ACC and to hold multiple presentations for hundreds of Conway Public School District students on the UCA campus on Wednesday, November 2, the day before the ACC. Additionally the College of Education and UCA Outreach & Community Engagement sponsored information booths in the exhibit hall.
Debbie Barnes Honored with SRATE Roy L. Lauter Distinguished Service Award
Debbie Barnes, assistant dean in the UCA College of Education, received the Southeast Regional Association of Teacher Educators (SRATE) Roy L. Lauter Distinguished Service Award for her cumulative and significant contributions to SRATE during the last ten years. Debbie was honored at the SRATE Awards Banquet held in October in Savannah, GA. SRATE, a regional collection of 15 states active in the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE), has been meeting for 58 years.
Debbie has served as vice-president, president-elect, chair of the SRATE annual conference, president, member of the SRATE Board of Directors, along with member of the Audit Committee and various ad hoc committees. Her dedication to Arkansas Association of Teacher Educators (ArATE), SRATE, and ATE reflect Debbie’s commitment to education and all teachers, P-12 through higher education. Join us in congratulating Debbie Barnes for receiving this honorable award!
Eight COE Faculty Present at SRATE
Eight faculty from the College of Education recently traveled to Savannah, Ga. to attend the 58th annual meeting of the Southeastern Regional Association of Teacher Educators (SRATE), where approximately 200 teacher educators gathered to share research and practices. SRATE is a regional collection of 15 states active in the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE).
This year’s conference theme, Research and Teaching: Realities, Innovations, and the Myth of “Waiting for Superman,” united the speakers. UCA faculty and presentations at SRATE included Nancy P. Gallavan, professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning and Angela Webster-Smith, assistant professor in the Department of Leadership Studies: Guiding Candidates with Effective Reflective Exercises; Stephanie Huffman, associate professor and Wendy Rickman, assistant professor: The Use of Social Networking Tools in the P12 Classroom; Mary Ellen Oslick, assistant professor, Department of Early Childhood/Special Education: Notable Books for a Global Society and More: Advancing the Social Justice Focus; Nancy Gallavan and Angela Webster-Smith : Reflecting on Defining Moments; Self Assessing Efficacy and Moral Development.
Additionally, Cheryl Wiedmaier, associate professor; Debbie Barnes, assistant dean; and Terry James, professor and chair of the Department of Leadership Studies attended SRATE. Debbie Barnes and Terry James are past presidents of SRATE; Nancy Gallavan is vice president and will chair the 59th annual meeting of SRATE in Little Rock in 2012. For more information, please go to http://www.srate.org/, http://candidate.coe.uca.edu/arate/ or contact Nancy P. Gallavan at ngallavan@uca.edu.
College of Education Faculty Active in Arkansas Association of Teacher Educators (ArATE)
The Arkansas Association of Teacher Educators (ArATE) met for their annual conference the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville for two days in September. This year’s conference explored the theme: “Creating a Global Community of Learners: Guiding the Future of Education” established by Jim Alouf, president of the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) and Professor at Sweetbrier College, VA, the luncheon guest speaker.
College of Education faculty and their ArATE presentations included Nancy P. Gallavan, professor, and Angela Webster-Smith, assistant professor: Enhancing Efficacy and Cultural Competence with Reflective Exercises; Jud Copeland, assistant professor: The Resource Description and Access (RDA) Cataloging Code: A Brave New World of Information Retrieval for Teacher Educators; Angela Webster-Smith, assistant professor, and Nancy P. Gallavan, professor: Using Defining Moments to Create A Global Community of Learners through Family and Culture; and Jud Copeland, assistant professor: Copyright and Intellectual Property Issues in the Global Community Learning Environment.
Other COE faculty presentations included Donna Wake, Assistant Professor, TL: The Effects of Early, Intensive Field Experiences on the Growth of Secondary Pre-Service Teacher Candidates; Cheryl Wiedmaier, associate professor; Marilyn Friga, instructor, and Brenda Linn, Instructor: Digital Resources to Support the Common Core Standards; Donna Wake, assistant professor; Lisa Daniels, associate professor; and Gary Bunn, assistant professor: Early Teacher Dispositions: Self-Efficacy in Entry MAT Pre-service Teacher Candidates; René Crow, assistant professor; Candice Barnes, assistant professor: National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators: The Next Step; and Mary Ellen Oslick, assistant professor: 2011 Notable Books for a Global Society and More: Advancing the Social Justice Forum.
UCA College of Education faculty serving on the ArATE Board of Directors include: Cheryl Wiedmaier, Nancy P. Gallavan, past president and editor of the ArATE Electronic Journal; Debbie Barnes, past president, and Terry James, past president. For more information about ArATE, please go to http://candidate.coe.uca.edu/arate/ or contact Nancy P. Gallavan at ngallavan@uca.edu.
Faculty Conduct Professional Development for Arkansas Educators
Dr. Donna Wake and Dr. Michael Mills, Assistant Professors in the Department of Teaching and Learning, provided Common Core, Lexiles, and Close Reading Strategies for educators in the Conway Public Schools. This professional development opportunity was coordinated through the Arkansas Great Bear Writing Project with curriculum developed by Drs. Wake and Mills and other teacher consultants associated with the Arkansas Great Bear Writing Project. Two cohorts of teachers participated in the project. One cohort of 40 high school science teachers met in the morning; a different group of 30 special education, foreign language, and vocational education teachers met in the afternoon.
Members of each cohort were mentored for three additional days by members of the consultant team; Drs. Mills and Wake leading the educators one day using the KWL approach in relationship to their knowledge of and affect toward the Common Core State Standards.
Dr. Mills presented educators with the challenge of examining the Common Core State Standards for their specific area of content, i.e., Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects in grades 6-12 as found on the web site: http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI_ELA%20Standards.pdf). Dr. Mills also presented the Lexile Measure used to assess text complexity and he discussed ways to review and evaluate texts for appropriateness for their students.
Dr. Wake probed the particular challenges linked to expository text and she shared research behind the “reading to learn” paradigm associated with expository text. Dr. Wake led teachers in an interactive activity to dissect selected text structures that help students in determining main ideas and defining key information found in various types of text. This activity was followed by another interactive activity focusing on the particular text access features unique to expository text. Dr. Wake also presented the concept of inquiry circles and the role of reader responsibility. Teachers enacted inquiry circles in a demonstration lesson to model how this strategy would work in their classrooms. Dr. Wake then led the teachers to discuss the role of writing in the content area. For more information related to any of these topics or strategies, please contact Dr. Donna Wake at dwake@uca.edu or Dr. Michael Mills at mmiles@uca.edu.
Dr. Donna Wake, assistant professor; Dr. Jeff Whittingham, associate professor; and Dr. Jamie Alea, director of field experiences, provided professional development for 80 non-traditional licensure teachers through the Arkansas Department of Education. The worksho p explored data analysis in the Teacher Work Sample (TWS) model. Drs. Wake, Whittingham, and Alea guided the teachers with student learning research projects by highlighting the purposes and practicality of data for establishing goals, planning instruction, engaging collecting evidence, tracking progress, and reflecting on outcomes. The roles of pre-assessment, formative assessments, and summative assessments in relationship to formal and informal data collection and analysis were linked to decision making to assist individual students, groups of students, and pedagogical efficacy.
Mid-South Distance Learning Conference Held in Little Rock
This fall the 2011 Mid-South Distance Learning Conference was held in Little Rock with College of Education faculty making presentations and learning new technologies.
Coordinated with the theme: Going the Distance: The Power of Collaboration, COE speakers and their presentations included Melinda Coleman, Oral Communications Teacher with the ADE Distance Learning Center and MAT graduate with Nancy P. Gallavan, professor: Eats, Shoots and Leaves: My Discoveries from Teaching Oral Communications Online; Haihong (Helen) Hu, assistant professor: Building Virtual Teams in Online Courses; and Nancy P. Gallavan: Engaging in Self Assessments that Reveal “What Matters” in Online Instruction.