Upcoming Events
- March 3 COE Board of Advisors Meeting
- March 4-7 23rd Annual National Youth-At-Risk Conference, Savannah
- March 9 STEM Teaching & Learning Conference
- April 11 Dessert with the Dean
- April 13 Rural Based HIV Education & Training
- April 20 iPad Showcase
- May 11 Graduate Commencement
- May 12 Undergraduate Commencement
Click here for more calendar announcements. | |
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John Suddath Hall Memorial Scholarship Funded
John Suddath Hall believed in hard work and perseverance. That's what sustained him as he earned his Master's in Education at Georgia Southern in 1966 while working as a school principal. And that's why his wife, Gertrude, created a scholarship in his honor. The John Suddath Hall Memorial Scholarship is dedicated to a COE graduate student in Education Administration with preference given to a student who is also working in education while seeking their degree. The scholarship will be awarded for the first time Spring 2012.
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Faculty/Staff News |
- Michelle Rivera, IRC Coordinator, won this year's Betty-Ware Wray COE Staff Award.
- Dr. Deloris Liston, Prof. in CFR, had her book, "Pervasive Vulnerabilities," published in January.
- Dr. Robert Mayes, Dean's Office & Teaching & Learning, had a paper published in Quarterly Review of Distance Education, Fall, 2011.
- Dr. Sally Brown, Asst. Prof in CFR, was featured in a WTOC news story on her project to bring Nook readers to a class at Windsor Forest Elementary School.
- Three COE faculty received nearly $122,000 in TQ grants (see related article).
- Drs. Stephanie Jones, Lucillia Green, Charles Hodges, Kathryn Kennedy, Elizabeth Downs, Judi Repman & Kenneth Clark co-authored a chapter in the newly published "Developing Technology-Rich Teacher Education Programs: Key Issues."
- Dr. Marylnn Griffin will publish her paper, "School Principal Perceptions of Social Network Site Postings on Hiring Decisions" in Education Policy Analysis Archives in April.
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Show Someone You Care | At COE we deeply appreciate the support received from alumni and friends like you. Whether through endowed giving, annual giving or planned giving, every gift makes a difference and helps us continue our leadership role in preparing those who will teach, lead and serve future generations. If you're thinking about making a donation or want to honor an educator in your life, consider our Wall of Honor. Contact Dawn Oliver for more information. [email protected] 912.478.7477.
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Our New Name: Southern Educator
Welcome to the second edition of COE's online newsletter. In this issue we're highlighting faculty and staff accomplishments and bringing you up-to-date on happenings at COE.
We're also officially naming the online newsletter Southern Educator. COE has published Southern Educator for nearly 20 years, first in a newsletter form
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Dr. Thomas Koballa, Dean |
at and then as a newspaper. Southern Educator has always been our way of staying in touch with you -- our education family
-- as well as those interested in the important research, teaching, and service work at COE. We're carrying on this tradition and linking our respected past to our present accomplishments and future achievements.
p.s. In order to reach you, we need your email address. If you know COE alumni who are not receiving this newsletter, or know anyone else who would like to receive Southern Educator, please contact the Alumni Office at [email protected] or us at [email protected] |
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School Psychology Program Earns National Recognition
COE's graduate program in school psychology recently received National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) approval for its graduate program in school psychology. NASP is one of the specialized professional associations (SPAs) of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). COE's approval is conditional at present although NASP treats programs with full or conditional status equally in terms of the rights and benefits of NASP approval. Georgia Southern is one of only two schools in Georgia to earn this recognition at the Ed. S. level.
"NASP recognition is a big step for COE's school psychology program," said Dr. Thomas Koballa, COE Dean. "It indicates the high achievement level of our faculty and the academic rigorousness of our program content and field experience," he continued.
According to Dr. Jeff Tysinger, School Psychology Program Coordinator and Associate Professor, NASP approval also means that Ed.S. students in school psychology are automatically eligible for the National Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) credential through NASP. For more information on NASP approval, click here.
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Faculty Receive Nearly $122,000 in
Teacher Quality Grants
Three COE faculty received a total of $121,739 in Teacher Quality Grants for 2012-2013 to work collaboratively with other COE and Georgia Southern faculty in deepening content knowledge for K-12 teachers. Funding to support Improving Teacher Quality Grants comes through the Board
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A participant in Dr. Bennett's 2011 TQ workshop learns to take a water sample. |
of Regents of the University System of Georgia. The grants specifically aim at strengthening and deepening teachers' content knowledge in their academic subjects with emphasis on how this new knowledge affects teaching practices and student learning.
The three lead faculty are Dr. Missy Bennett, Associate Professor in Teaching and Learning; Dr. Sally Brown, Assistant Professor in Curriculum, Foundations & Reading; Dr. Sabrina Ross, Assistant Professor Curriculum, Foundations & Reading; and Dr. Chuck Hodges, Assistant Professor in Leadership, Technology & Human Development. For more information on te grants, click here. |
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COE Race to the Top Pilot Enhances
Student-Teacher Experience
COE's student teachers will be more prepared for the state's new Teacher Keys Evaluation System (TKES) thanks to a project allowing COE to pilot the Teacher Assessment on Performance Standards (TAPS) part of TKES. The evaluation system is part of the state's Race to the Top grant, an ambitious federal program that supports new approaches to school improvement. COE is one of five institutions piloting the evaluation system. "We want our teacher candidates to be well prepared for the performance expectations they will be required to demonstrate as teachers and to be familiar with how they will be evaluated," said Dr. Deborah Thomas, Associate Dean for
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Dr. Greer discusses the evaluation system with COE faculty. |
Undergraduate Teacher Education and Accreditation. "It also increases the marketability of our candidates to be on top of this cutting edge assessment," she continued.
In January, COE's early childhood faculty participated in a workshop led by the Board of Education's Dr. Kania Greer, an evaluation systems specialist in the Division of Teacher and Leader Effectiveness, Office of School Improvement. "Our faculty is eager to learn the keys and participate in the pilot," Thomas said. "We had a number of middle grades teachers attend the workshop just to become familiar with it," Thomas continued.
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iPads in the Classroom: Learning and Fun
Toy or tool, that's been the debate surrounding the iPad from the time it was introduced. Now several years into the new technology, there may not be a definitive answer but many classroom teachers are embracing it. One thing is clear: mobile technology is here to stay.
iPads are seismographs, decibel meters, storyboards, speech therapy assistants and can even be used as a mobile classroom monitor! That's what COE faculty heard from three educators at a special "Voices from the Field" mini-conference held at COE last month. The consensus from the teachers: iPads are a great teaching tool and fun. The mini-conference was part of a
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A screen shot of an iPad as a seismograph. |
year-long investigation into the use of iPad technology by COE faculty and staff that will culminate with a spring campus-wide conference and later, a publication of the findings. COE provided full-time faculty and staff with iPads as an opportunity to design, develop and implement innovative pedagogical strategies to meet the needs of its 21st century educator candidates. In addition, it supports the college's commitment to diversity by allowing faculty and administrators to engage in a collaborative exploration of new tools specifically designed to meet the needs of its candidates as well as the needs of the learners these candidates will serve.Click here for more information on the iPad mini-conference. |
Members of  First District RESA for the first time held a monthly meeting at COE. The Feb. 15 meeting featured a presentation by Ware County Superintendent Joseph Barrow on the county's Direct to Discovery (D2D) program and TeleHealth. The presentation was part of a discussion on overcoming the bandwidth barrier.
COE Dean Dr. Thomas Koballa talks with students at "Donuts with the Dean," the first in a series of events held throughout the semester to bring together the dean, students, faculty and staff in an informal setting. The next event, "Dessert with the Dean," will be held April 11, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. outside the COE building.
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