M E S S A G E
F R O M T H E D E A N
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 We had a terrific and busy summer, and now we're ready for the fall semester, a new influx of students, and cooler temps.
Another exciting development: Our building is a major hub of activity, especially since the new and very popular streetcar has a stop in front of our building.
Congratulations to one of our Teaching, Learning & Sociocultural Studies grads, Cyndi Giorgis, who is the new dean of the College of Education at the University of Texas at El Paso.
Giorgis earned a doctoral degree in language, reading and culture and a master's degree in library sciences from the UA, and a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Chadron State College in Nebraska. Her professional journey began as an elementary school teacher and included time as a school librarian, coordinator, and director of library enhancement programs in the Tucson Unified School District.
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EDUCATION ACCOUNTABILITY?
Well, now there's a forum for that.
At the upcoming Education Accountability Session, you will learn where the candidates stand on issues that affect our children, our economy, and our families.
You also will hear from candidates for state and local offices, including the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Pima Community College Governing Board.
DETAILS
The forum is Sunday, September 28, 4 p.m., at Most Holy Trinity Parish, 1300 N. Greasewood Road.
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OPENING THE DOOR TO ECUADOR
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Associate Professor of Practice
Cindy Volk with some of the
students in Ecuador
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Associate Professor ofPractice Cindy Volk led a group of 17 people, including UA undergraduate interpreting/deaf studies students and deaf community members, on a trip to Quito, Ecuador, for two weeks this summer to work in schools for deaf children.
The trip was quite the collaboration. On their first day, they met with the Ecuador Department of Education, the United States Agency for International Development, the United States Embassy, and the Federation of the Deaf.
"Our College of Education students prepared lessons and activities prior to going and presented those in the classrooms, while working with the classroom teachers there," Volk said. "After school each day, we met with teachers and administrators to discuss the education of deaf children there and in the United States.
"The partnership and cultural-educational exchange between Ecuador and the UA gave our students a greater understanding of diversity and living in a multicultural and globalized world."
For the year prior to the trip, the group met once a week and learned Ecuadorian sign language, which is different from American Sign Language, in preparation for the trip. They stayed with families from Quito, which made the trip even more meaningful.
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The group worked with these
deaf middle school girls
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Johnson (in the tan shirt)
with the team in Bolivia
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Our Earth Education Research and Evaluation Team is working with an environmental nonprofit organization, Fundación Gaia Pacha, in Bolivia to implement the first earth education program in Latin America: Earthkeepers or Cuidadores de la Tierra.
As you probably already know, we offer the Earthkeepers program at our Cooper Center for Environmental Learning, and now it also is offered to children in other parts of the U.S., Canada, and several other countries in Europe, Asia, and the Pacific.
The children who participate will spend three days and two nights at the Centro de Ecología Aplicada Simón I. Patiño and in Los Troncos natural area in Lomas de Arena Regional Park outside of Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia. They will learn key ecological concepts, experience the wonders of nature, and prepare for how they can lessen their impact on these natural systems when they return to school and home to complete the program during the remainder of the school year.
We are working with staff from Fundación Gaia Pacha and three university students from Santa Cruz to conduct research on this implementation.
As the international program coordinator for The Institute for Earth Education, Teaching, Learning & Sociocultural Studies Professor and Department Head Bruce Johnson oversees the development and implementation of these programs and leads sessions on earth education around the world.
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TEACHERS: LOOKING FOR FIELD-TRIP IDEAS?
The Cooper Center for Environmental Learning offers several different adventurous and hands-on learning experiences for students in grades K-8 from Southern Arizona and beyond. Our programs, from our traditional half-day, full-day, and overnight trips to our multi-night Sunship III and Earthkeepers, give each learner a better understanding of key ecological concepts while opening them up to the wonders of the natural world that surrounds us, seen in the beauty of the Sonoran Desert.
The single-day offerings are the Traditional Experiences for K-8 students. Each grade level has different curriculum and the field trip can be anywhere from 3 hours to 24 hours. This is also when teachers and parents lead afternoon Activity Centers.
The multi-day offerings are two programs that are three days and two nights and both have a component to complete at school after the trip at the Cooper Center. These programs are more time-consuming and require significant preparation and volunteers, but are some of the most powerful learning and bonding experiences we offer.
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DISABILITY & PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL STUDIES
 Doctoral graduate Gita Upreti, now an assistant professor of special education at the University of Texas at El Paso, is the 2014 recipient of the University of Texas Regents' Outstanding Teaching Award. Read more here.
Congratulations to the first graduating class of our School Psychology Educational Specialist Program in Chandler this summer. Not only did the students in the cohort all graduate, but each one already has a job -- just more proof about the importance of the Chandler program in contributing to the need for school psychologists in the Greater Phoenix Area. TEACHING, LEARNING & SOCIOCULTURAL STUDIES 
Assistant Professor Nicole Kersting wrote a commentary, Why Engineering Teacher Evaluation Systems Is Best, which appeared in Teachers College Record. She notes that taking an engineering design approach can lead to solid designs for teacher evaluation systems, provide opportunities for improvement, and create accountability. Until October, 
Dean Ronald W. Marx |
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1430 E. Second Street, Tucson, Arizona 520.621.1462
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