Category Archives: General

Faculty, General, Professional Development, Special Events, Staff

Dean’s Sabbatical Lecture Series: Dr. Xiaoming Liu

Teacher Education Experiences of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse International Students in the U.S.: Perspectives of Five Chinese Students

Dr. Xiaoming Liu

November 1, 2017
12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Towson Room, Cook Library

Dean Laurie Mullen and the College of Education faculty and staff welcome you to the Fall 2017 College of Education Dean’s Sabbatical Lecture Series. Dr. Xiaoming Liu, associate professor in Elementary Education, will present a lecture titled Teacher Education Experiences of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse International Students in the U.S.: Perspectives from Five Chinese Students. Light refreshments will be served.

Continue for more details

Doctoral Programs, EDTL, Faculty, General

Dissertation Defense: Carrie McFadden

November 6, 2017
10:00 am
Hawkins Hall, Room 110

Dissertation Title: Motivational readiness to change exercise behaviors: The relationship between exercise, wearable exercise tracking technology, FIT values and BMI scores

Committee: Dr. Qing Li (Chair), Dr. Bill Sadera, Dr. Liyan Song, Dr. Andrea Brace

Abstract: The present study explored if the use of wearable exercise tracking technology during exercise supported increased exercise behaviors of frequency, intensity, and time, collectively known as FIT values. Research has shown that increased FIT values equate with stronger, more positive health outcomes and decreased obesity and chronic disease risk (ACSM, 2017). Young adults often gain weight during their college careers, in part due to decreased exercise activities (Butler et al., 2004; Delinsky et al., 2008; Gropper et al., 2012; Nelson et al., 2006). The purpose of this research was to better understand if the use of wearable technology during exercise might be a potential correlate with positive exercise behaviors among university students. This study employed a quantitative methodology that used the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1983) to describe where students were along a motivational continuum to exercise and to use a wearable tracking technology. This analysis illuminated the relationship between the regular use of wearable technology during exercise and increased exercise behaviors and simultaneously highlighted the potential of wearable exercise tracking technology to increase behavior. This research provides a quantitative investigation not yet fully explored in the literature about the intersections of wearable technology use, exercise behaviors and positive FIT outcomes. The findings of this study suggest that wearable exercise tracking technology may be connected with positive exercise FIT values and may play a role in increasing exercise behaviors in university students. Health educators can facilitate the use of wearable exercise tracking technologies as they educate students about the importance of the technology-provided data for both short- and long-term exercise behaviors and related health outcomes (Wortley, An, & Nigg, 2017).

Faculty, General

Patricia Doran awarded $2.2M to EMPOWER English language learners

Five-year grant helps undergraduate and graduate students improve their readiness to serve English language learners

Patricia Doran, Ph.D., associate professor, has been awarded a five-year, $2.2 million grant from the United States Department of Education Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA).

Entitled “English Learners Moving to Proficient Outcomes with Engagement and Rigor (EMPOWER),” Doran’s project will aid the increasing population of English learner students in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.

According to Doran, “COE faculty will engage in a multi-pronged effort to build capacity, with the COE and in the community, for serving our increasing population of English learner students.

“Our English learner students represent an incredible asset for our country, yet they also face unique challenges. We need to keep shining the spotlight on them and building our capacity to better serve and teach them,” said OELA Assistant Deputy Secretary José A. Viana.

“With this funding, we continue to deliver on our promise of equity, excellence and opportunity in supporting educators, students and families across the country. They are counting on us to help them soar.”

The grant provides support for selected College of Education undergraduates to take elective courses in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). Additionally, the grant involves a partnership with the educational non-profit Children’s Guild that operates two contract schools in partnership with Anne Arundel County Public Schools, Monarch Academy in Laurel and Monarch Academy in Annapolis. The grant provides support for 18 selected educators to complete a master’s degree in educational leadership with ESOL and special education coursework embedded.

The goals for the program include:

  • Creating a model set of schools, responsive to full continuum of English Learners (ELs) linguistic, cultural and instructional needs.
  • Develop, implement and disseminate coursework for preservice educators seeking elementary/elementary-special education certification in order to improve their readiness to serve ELs.
  • To effect systemic change in TU’s teacher education model by designing, offering and disseminating an innovative M.Ed. program that combines ESOL, leadership skills and responsive decision-making and identification.
  • Incorporate and disseminate family and community engagement strategies across all areas of EMPOWER programming.

Special Education Department Chair Betsy Neville, Ph.D., and Educational Technology & Literacy Department Chair Gilda Martinez-Alba are serving as co-Principal Investigators, and Ray Lorion, Ph.D., of Towson University Center for Application and Innovation Research in Education (CAIRE) will lead the evaluation effort for the project.

Towson University is one of 42 colleges and universities to receive funding from the $20 million award expected to serve approximately 1,796 pre-service and 9,731 in-service teachers nationwide.

TU produces 31 percent of Maryland’s teachers, with nearly 80 percent of recent TU graduates live and/or work in the state.

This story is one of several related to President Kim Schatzel’s priorities for Towson University: TU Matters to Maryland.

Commencement, Faculty, General, Staff, Students

COE Winter 2017 Commencement Speaker Nominations

We are seeking nominations for an undergraduate commencement speaker for the Winter 2017 commencement ceremony.

Students can self-nominate, nominate another student, and/or be nominated by a faculty member.  Nominations will go to the respective department chair and each department will then submit a final nominee for the undergraduate speaker to the Assistant Dean.

The Speaker Selection Committee will review the final nominees to make sure they have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA. Short interviews will then be scheduled with each nominee.

The selection of the final speakers will be based on the interviews in conjunction with the nominee’s academic performance.

Please complete this survey by Monday, September 25, 2017.

Call for Proposals, Faculty, General, Professional Development

2018 NCTEAR Conference: Proposals Requested

2018 NCTEAR Conference
National Council of Teachers of English, Assembly for Research
Proposals Due: September 30, 2017

Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, and Activism (IDEA):
Research and Practice for Success for All
March 16-18, 2018
Towson University

NCTEAR has been an open, inclusive, progressive, and friendly forum that welcomes participants from diverse research paradigms, educational practices, and ethnolinguistic backgrounds. 2018 NCTEAR would like to invite you to rethink the critical issues of inclusivity, diversity, and equity in our shared passions, dreams, and worlds of education where students, teachers, and diverse communities succeed in, through, and with our joint efforts of building the bridges.

Faculty, General, Staff

COE Calendar of Meetings Fall 2017

August 22 COE New Faculty Orientation
1:00 – 3:00 pm, PY 108
28 Classes Begin
September 11 Department Meetings (2:00 – 4:00 pm)
Graduate Directors Meeting (11:00 am – 12:30 pm) – HH 018
12 CAEP Leadership Committee (1:00 – 2:00 pm) – HH 014
TEEB Meeting (2:45 – 4:15 pm) – HH 408
18 COE Meeting (2:00 – 4:00 pm) – WVC, Ballroom A
25 College Council / Standing Committees (2:00 – 4:00 pm)
October 2 Department Meetings (2:00 – 4:00 pm)
9 Graduate Directors Meeting (11:00 am – 12:30 pm) – HH 018
College Council/Standing Committees (2:00 – 4:00 pm)
10 CAEP Leadership Committee (1:00 – 2:00 pm) – HH 014
TEEB Meeting (2:45 – 4:15 pm) – HH 408
30 COE Meeting/PLC Meeting (2:00 – 4:00 pm) – UU Potomac Lounge
November 6 Department Meetings (2:00 – 4:00 pm)
13 Graduate Directors Meeting (11:00 am – 12:30 pm) – HH 018
College Council/Standing Committees (2:00 – 4:00 pm)
14 CAEP Leadership Committee (1:00 – 2:00 pm) – HH 014
TEEB Meeting (2:45 – 4:15 pm) – HH 408
27 COE Meeting/PLC Meeting (2:00 – 4:00 pm) – UU Potomac Lounge
December 4 Department Meetings (2:00 – 4:00 pm)
11 Graduate Directors Meeting (11:00 am – 12:30 pm) – HH 018
College Council/Standing Committees (2:00 – 4:00 pm)
Last Day of Classes
12 CAEP Leadership Committee (1:00 – 2:00 pm) – HH 014
TEEB Meeting (2:45 – 4:15 pm) – HH 408
19 Last day of exams and the semester
COE Commencement Reception (4:00 – 5:30 pm) – UU Chesapeake
20 COE Commencement – (10:00 am) SECU Arena