Book group: There will be a lunch and book discussion for those who read Chris Emdin’s For white folks who teach in the ‘hood on March 31st in HH 305 at 12pm, lunch will be provided
Lunchtime Presentation: Dr. Simone Gibson, scholar from Morgan State, will come to present her research on effective teaching in racially and ethnically diverse classrooms on April 17th at 12pm. Lunch will be provided.
Please rsvp to jshiller@towson.edu.
Student’s Name: Alexandra Bayne-Greenwood
Dissertation Advisor: Dr. David Wizer
Committee Members: Dr. William Sadera, Dr. Todd Kenriech, and Dr. Scot McNary
Title of Dissertation: Patterns of Educator Learning Management Systems Use in a Secondary School: A Description of Use and Comparison between Educator Subgroups.
Date of Defense: 03/28/2017
Time of Defense: 10 a.m.
Location: Hawkins Hall 110
Abstract: Today, more than ever before, technology is defining the field of education. In fact, technology is growing so quickly that secondary classrooms are finding it difficult to keep up with its rapid changes. Tools such as Learning Management Systems (LMS) have become common in most secondary classrooms, but because of the increase in the quantity of technology flooding the classroom, guidelines have not been set to aid educators in the design and implementation process of technological tools. Furthermore, educators do not know if their educational choices benefit the students. Descriptive research was used to identify the current uses of LMS in secondary classrooms and educator perceptions of their use. Educators were categorized into subgroups by grade level, content area, years of experience, perception of LMS, frequency of use, and course ability levels. Correlational analyses were used to identify associations between educator subgroups and course homework submission and scores. Data was collected for 22 weeks in one middle school. Although LMS are tools used to connect the school environment to home, educator use was found to be associated with time spent in school, not away from it. Grade six educators were the grade level educators who were found to use the LMS most frequently. Mathematics educators were the content area educators who were found to use the LMS most frequently. While there was no correlation between total educator use and course homework submission and scores, content area use, specifically mathematics, displayed LMS use which increased course homework submission and scores. The findings encourage more transparency between educators about classroom technology use. Professional development that is structured, led by educators, held in small groups, and personalized will help educators to use big data in order to design and implement LMS into the secondary classroom.
Due to potential inclement weather, the Division of Student Affairs event “Diversity & Equity in Public Education”, featuring Dr. Jonathan Kozol and Dr. Laurie Mullen, has been cancelled.
We will share details with you should this event be rescheduled at a later date.
Supporting New and Early Career Teachers in Maryland Public School Systems: Perceptions, Reality, and Finding Communities of Support
Dr. Janese Daniels
March 15 2017, 1–2 p.m.
Towson Room, Cook Library
Dr. Janese Daniels, associate professor in early childhood education will present a lecture titled Supporting New & Early Career Teachers in Maryland Public School Systems: Perceptions, Reality, and Finding Communities of Support.
Light refreshments will be served.
About the Presentation
In this sabbatical presentation, findings from an exploratory study on the needs of new and early career teachers will be discussed. This study explored the needs of early career teachers regarding their perceived needs for support during the pre-tenure period, what types of support they received, and what they would like to have received to ensure that they remained in the profession beyond the pre-tenure period. Early findings indicate that early career teachers want multiple mentoring models, access to faculty in colleges of education from institutes of higher education, and that they seek a sense of professional community early in their careers. Recommendations for partnerships between IHE and local public school systems to help support new and early career teachers will be shared.
Both Matt Wynd (Director of Information Technology Support Centers) and Tricia Halstead (Manager, Blackboard Administrator) from OTS will be hosting a “Town Hall” meeting on March 13th from 1:00pm-2:00pm in 305 HH for the purpose of gathering feedback around your experiences with and use of Blackboard. This is an initiative from the Academic Committee on Technology and is part of an effort to ensure the investments TU has made in instructional technologies (in this case Blackboard) are, in fact, enhancing and improving the learning experience. They are acting as part of a subcommittee tasked with better understanding when, how and why faculty choose to use, or not to use, Blackboard in their courses.
Feedback from you at this meeting on March 13th, will help determine recommendations as to how best to promote and support Blackboard to better meet the needs of both faculty and students. To that end, they have a short list of questions that will be sent out before the meeting. You may use the questions as talking points or are invited to write out answers to the questions and either send them to OTS or bring them to the meeting. Their intent is to listen and learn from you. Since all colleges (and even the departments within) can vary widely in their needs, we are also interested in issues that may be specific to only your classes.
After consulting with the department’s faculty, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Janese Daniels as department chair in the Department of Early Childhood Education beginning July 1, 2017. Dr. Daniels joined the Department of Early Childhood Education in 2006 as Assistant Professor. She earned tenure and promotion in 2013 when she assumed her current role as Director of Early Childhood Graduate Programs. She holds a Ph.D. in Education-Human Development from the University of Maryland, an M.A. in Education-Instructional Systems Development from UMBC, and a B.S. in Psychology from Morgan State University. She has spent her entire career in service to public education, beginning as an elementary school teacher in Baltimore City Public Schools in 1992. Dr. Daniels looks forward to the opportunity to continue her service to the Department of Early Childhood Education, the College of Education, and Towson University.
Dr. Ocie Watson-Thompson is completing her 10th year as department chair in the College of Education. She will return to faculty and is looking forward to new challenges. Dr. Watson-Thompson shared the following regarding her 10 years as department chair: “I am so proud that I have been instrumental in continuing the legacy of excellence and leader in the preparation of early childhood educators. I have diligently worked to mentor and promote the leadership of a diverse faculty who are highly qualified and committed to all children, families and communities.”
Please join me in thanking Dr. Watson-Thompson and in welcoming Dr. Daniels as the new department chair in the Department of Early Childhood Education.
The Towson University College of Education invites you to the Student Affairs Diversity Speaker Series Event:
“Diversity & Equity in Public Education”
Featuring Dr. Jonathan Kozol
In Conversation with Dr. Laurie Mullen, Dean – College of Education
March 14, 2017
6:30 pm
SECU Arena
Jonathan Kozol is a highly honored education writer, and one of the most eloquent advocates for children of low income and for racial diversity in our schools and universities. Kozol has received the National Book Award for Death at an Early Age, the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award for Rachel and Her Children, and many other honors for his books Saving Inequalities, Amazing Grace, The Shame of the Nation, and Fire in the Ashes. He has been working with children in inner-city schools for nearly fifty years.
Jonathan Kozol is also the founder of Education Action!, a nonprofit organization intended to be a US national support structure aiming to help stem the flight of teachers from underfunded and racially segregated schools.
This event is open to the general public. Doors open at 6 pm.
Co-sponsored by: College of Education & Albert S. Cook Library
For more information, contact:
Mahnoor Ahmed
Associate Director, Student Diversity and Development
410-704-2051
We are seeking nominations for graduate and undergraduate commencement speakers for the Spring 2017 graduation 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 and graduate speaker to the Assistant Dean. Departments without undergraduate programs will only submit a nominee for a graduate speaker.
The Assistant Dean 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 form by March 3, 2017.
On behalf of the COE Faculty Development and Research Committee (FDRC), we would like to invite you to submit a proposal to present at our upcoming COE Faculty Research Forum scheduled for Monday, April 24, 2017. Scheduled during our regularly occurring COE meeting, this forum is an opportunity for COE faculty to come together to share completed research projects or works in progress and for us to collaborate around various areas of scholarship. This year we have added various options for presentation formats, including traditional roundtable discussions, panel presentations, and poster sessions. If you have questions about the event, please contact the FDRC representative within your department. Continue
Title: Universal Design in Action: Supporting Expert Learning
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
5:00 – 7:00 pm
University Union, Patuxent Lounge
Speakers:
Dr. Elizabeth Berquist
Baltimore County Public Schools Principals’ Panel
Participants will identify strategies for supporting expert learners, with a focus on executive functioning (interactive keynote). Participants will learn about how a focus on learner centered environments impacts instructional practices and school climate (Baltimore County Public Schools Principals’ Panel).