33rd Pullias Lecture Looks at Learning with Games

Keynote speaker Dr. James Paul Gee (at left) riveted a nearly 200-person audience at Davidson Conference Center last night with the 33rd Earl V. Pullias Lecture, a presentation that departed radically from years past with a focus on video games and their impact on traditional learning.

Gee spoke about Big "G" Games as a product of software (or in education parlance, "curriculum") merged with a passionate affinity space (or in education, "a learning community").  Gee is the Fulton Presidential Professor of Literacy Studies at Arizona State University.

Dr. Henry Jenkins, who holds a joint appointment with Annenberg and Rossier, provided commentary on Gee's remarks, citing the interactivity of online communities around cultural phenomena such as Harry Potter. Dr. Tracy Fullerton, of the Interactive Media Division of USC's School of Cinematic Arts introduced Gee.  Dean Gallagher and Dr. Bill Tierney, director of the Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis, which sponsors the Pullias Lecture, welcomed the guests.

Look for full coverage of the 33rd Pullias Lecture in USC News. Video of the entire event will be on the USC Rossier YouTube Channel soon, too. (Pictured above, Tracy Fullerton, left, with Henry Jenkins).

Dean Gallagher Presents to Mayor, other officials

On April 1st, Dean Gallagher and David Galaviz, Executive Director of USC Local Government Relations, briefed Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, LAUSD School Board President Monica Garcia and numerous representatives from other local colleges and universities on USC's research and advocacy in support of public school choice, Federal Promise Neighborhood Initiatives and other civic engagement strategies.

Dean Gallagher gave a brief description of the Investing in Innovation Fund (i3) grant with LAUSD, and an update on its implementation. Dr. Dominic Brewer, Dr. Julie Marsh, and Dr. Katharine Strunk are evaluating the effects of the Public School Choice Initiative on student and other important outcomes for LAUSD. The meeting was part of Mayor Villaraigosa's initial "Collaborative Learning to Strengthen School Reform" session.

MAT@USC in the Headlines

U.S. News & World Report featured the MAT@USC's new iPhone and iPad application. The app allows MAT@USC students to access all of their course work and information - including prerecorded videos - and interact with fellow students and faculty members, while taking advantage of the user-interface benefits that the iOS platform provides.

Read the story.

Los Angeles Times also noted that the MAT@USC online master's degree program, which launched two years ago, has grown tenfold to enroll roughly 1,400 students nationwide.  The acknowledgement came in a story on declining enrollment in other teacher credentialing programs.

Read more.

Kezar's Research in Chronicle of Higher Ed

The Chronicle of Higher Education highlighted research by Dr. Adrianna Kezar, which indicates that non-tenure-track faculty members could enhance student learning if institutions gave them mentors and input on curricula.

It's critical for them to have better working conditions because the success of their students depends on it, Kezar said at the American Federation of Teachers' annual conference on higher education issues.

Read the article.

Faculty Present at National TESOL Convention

Four faculty members in the MAT-TESOL program recently gave presentations at the International Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Conference in New Orleans.

Dr. Robert Filback presented "Going online: Redesign of an established masters in TESOL program."

Dr. Heather Robertson moderated a panel titled "The Role of Intensive English Programs in Higher Education" for the Higher Education Interest Section, for which she is the Past Chair.

Donna Brinton presented in a TESOL Pre-Convention Institute titled "Essentials of Teaching Pronunciation," and also in a panel of presenters in a session describing the "U.S. Department of State English Language Specialist Program."

Dr. Christian Chun presented "Realizing Students' Meaning Making Potential: EAP and Critical Literacy Pedagogy."

Ragusa Meets with Homeland Security

Tierney Talks about Shared Governance

Dr. Bill Tierney offered the opening talk on Academic Quality and Shared Governance at the annual meeting of the Association of Governing Boards on Sunday, April 3.

He spoke about the need for Board members to gain an understanding of the changing nature of teaching and learning and try to help transform the cultures on their campuses.

Ahmadi Presents on Muslims in America at UCLA

Rossier Researchers Head to New Orleans for AERA

Dozens of Rossier faculty, students, and alumni will be attending and presenting their research at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in New Orleans from Friday, April 8 to Tuesday, April 12.

If you are heading to AERA, stop by the Rossier School of Education Reception on Sunday, April 10 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Rex Room on Bourbon Street.

The reception will honor Dr. Bill Tierney, AERA President-Elect, Dr. Estela Mara Bensimon and Dr. Dominic Brewer, 2011 AERA Fellows, and Dr. Ron Avi Astor, recipient of the Promise Award from Conflict Resolution and Violence Prevention Special Interest Group of AERA.

This week, CHEPA's 21st Century Scholar blog features a two-part exploration on Surviving and Thriving at AERA by Tierney. 

CUE Leads Benchmarking Workshop at USC

CUE will conduct a benchmarking workshop called "Using Data to Design Effective Action Plans" for practitioners from Los Angeles Trade Technical College, Pasadena City College and Glendale Community College this Friday, April 8th, at USC's Tutor Center.

Led by Dr. Rosita Ramirez, CUE project specialist and business administrator Dominic Alpuche, they will use institutional data from each college to assess what barriers may affect the success for students of color on the path to transfer, and facilitate campus leaders and practitioners in setting benchmarks for campus action plans.

The workshop, funded by the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, provides a hands-on opportunity for the community colleges to use CUE's interactive Benchmarking Equity and Student Success Tool™ (BESST) to more clearly identify intervention points and set both short-term and long-term equity goals. Workshops have already been held at Santa Ana College, Diablo Valley College, Los Medanos College and Cosumnes River College.

Welcome Mike Chung!

 

The newest member of the Faculty Affairs Office is

Mike Chung, Senior Specialist for Faculty Affairs and Evaluation. Chung was most recently Program Coordinator for the Seeds Head Start Career

Advancement Partnership grant at El Camino Community College.

 

In his new position, Chung will assist in managing the tenure dossier process and provide assistance to Rossier's Salary, Promotion, and Tenure Committee. He will also assist in implementing the faculty annual performance review process, and monitor faculty course evaluations. He will be reporting to Paula Thompson, Assistant Dean for Faculty Affairs.

Alumnus Remembered

Dr. Richard Miller Clowes (BS '38, MS '50, EdD '60), a leader in California public education for over fifty years, passed away on March 23 at the age of 94. He graduated from USC in 1938, later earning his MS in Education in 1950 and his Ed.D. in 1960.

He was Superintendent of Loara School District, Anaheim, Enterprise School District, Compton, and served in the US Marine corps from 1945 to 1946. Superintendent of Schools in Oxnard and Burbank, he was Associate California State Superintendent of Schools and later Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools.

He returned to USC, where he was Executive Associate Dean of Education until his retirement in 1991.

Professional Development on College-Going Culture

On March 25th, The Office of Professional Development Programs (PDP) presented a workshop to the Southern California College Access Network (SoCal CAN), an alliance of 30 nonprofit organizations who promote a college-going culture in schools throughout Southern California.

Wendy Marshall, Ed.D. TEMS candidate 2012 and PDP staff presented College Access: Hitting Close to Home, a workshop that discussed the role of parents in college access. Through a powerful role-playing activity, participants experienced the relationship between social capital and college access.

This experience was followed by research that illuminated the college access path and practices that organizations can implement to reach and support parents.

USC Men CARE Teaches Students About Stalking

USC Men CARE, a project initiated by Dr. Melora Sundt and funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, teaches and empowers college men to  prevent sexual assault on and off campus by identifying warning  signs, educating their peers, and applying intervention techniques.

On Friday, March 25, the project, which is led by Todd Henneman and operated out of the USC Center for Women & Men, held a Student Summit at the  Davidson Conference Center for 40 college students from across Los  Angeles. The summit taught participants about leading peer-education discussions that address stalking.

While the program was federally funded for several years, USC Men CARE has now become fully institutionalized into USC Student Affairs, and will be operated by USC's partner, Los Angeles Community Colleges.