Education News Archive
Caroline Adkisson Named First Year Teacher of the Year
Caroline Adkisson has been named the First Year Teacher of the Year in Charlotte-Mecklenberg Schools. She teaches mathematics at Ardrey Kell High School, and is a 2007 graduate of the Master Teacher Fellows Program. Congratulations, Caroline!
Elizabeth Jackson and Amy L. Mueller Named Jerry A. Hall Award Winners
The winner of the 2008 Jerry A. Hall Award for Elementary Education is Elizabeth G. Jackson. The winner of the 2008 Jerry A. Hall Award for Secondary Education is Amy L. Mueller. The awards are given each year for excellence in student teaching. The presentation will be at the College Honors and Awards Ceremony to be held on Sunday, May 18 at 2:00 p.m. in Brendle Recital Hall. Congratulations to our winners!
Emily Houlditch named WSFC Schools' Oustanding First-Year Secondary Teacher
Emily Houlditch, who teaches English at Reagan High, has been named Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools' Outstanding First-Year Secondary teacher. She was an extremely bright student in Wake Forest's Master Teacher Fellows program and is a teacher who connects with all of her students in order to draw them into a fruitful and engaging study of English. She is one of the many outstanding teachers our program has helped to become outstanding teachers over the years. It is fitting for Wake Forest to lay claim to some of this fine honor.
Stephanie Heyburn and Erynn Carroll receive 2008 Memory Scholarship
Professor Jasper L. Memory, Jr., served Wake Forest University from 1929 until 1971, completing his career as Chairman of the Department of Education. To honor Professor Memory and to further the cause of education, his family and friends created a scholarship fund. A Memory Scholarship from this fund is awarded each year to a student in Education. The criteria for selection include: demonstrated commitment to the teaching profession, application to the Teacher Education Program, grade point average and the attainment of Junior classification. In 2008 we have two Memory Scholarship winners:
- Ms. Stephanie Heyburn in the Elementary Education program
- Ms. Erynn Carroll in the Secondary Social Studies Program
Congratulations!
Elementary Education students and department faculty to present research on handheld computers in Vienna, Austria
Four elementary education seniors, Ella Burns, Emily Hoppe, Elizabeth Jackson, and Hannah Mendelson along with Drs. Ann Cunningham and Kristin Bennett will be traveling to Vienna, Austria to present their research on using Handhelds in the Classroom at the ED-MEDIA Conference this summer.
Anthony Hall receives 2008 Student Teacher Scholarship
The Education Department is proud to announce that one of its undergraduate students, Anthony Hall, has just been named as one of the three recipients of the 2008 Student Teacher Scholarship, given by the North Carolina Council for the Social Studies. Anthony will receive a $1000 scholarship as a winner of this statewide compeition.
Math Educators Present research at North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics conference
All four graduate students in math education presented along with Dr. McCoy at the North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics Annual Meeting in Greensboro on October 11. They described original projects connecting mathematics and real-life applications. The presentations were "What Can I Learn from my Shadow?" by Austin James, "Regression Relay" by Ashley Lumpkin, "Graphing Goes Live" by Lauren Brooks, "Pulse Rates and Fitness" by Jason Sinquefield, and "Choosing a GREEN Car" by Leah McCoy. Another presentation was given by Sarah Greer, MAEd 2007, on "Discovery Lesson for Algebra Using SketchPad."
Foreign Language methods course students and alumni of the Foreign Language Education Program participated in the 2007 FLANC Conference.
The recent Foreign Language Association of North Carolina’s annual conference was held in Winston-Salem this year and provided an opportunity for WFU students and graduates to engage with a state-wide professional learning community. Several recent alumni served in leadership capacities on the FLANC Board and/or led concurrent sessions. FL Education program graduate, Leslie Baldwin (class of 1999), led the conference as President of FLANC. Krishauna Hines (class of ‘03) served as 2nd Vice-President, and Hannah Adams (Class of ’05) assumed the position of FLANC Board secretary. Amy Talley (Class of ’05) and Cecilia Jimenez-Santos (Class of ’05) co-presented a concurrent session with Drs. Redmond and Cunningham in addition to leading their own concurrent sessions.
Department of Education Welcomes New Faculty
The Department welcomes Dr. Kristin Bennett and Dr. Adam Friedman to the Wake Forest University faculty this fall. Dr. Bennett moved from the rank of visiting faculty to tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Elementary Education program and Dr. Friedman is a new tenure-track Assistant Professor in the secondary program. Both Dr. Bennett and Dr. Friedman are experienced and accomplished teachers and researchers, and the department is proud to announce their addition to the faculty.
VIF Graduation 2007 Held July 6
After spending the past three summers in the Department of Education, July 6 was graduation day for another class of Visiting International Fellows (VIF). The VIF program attracts international teachers who commit to three years in American classrooms and spend their summers pursuing completion of MAEd requirements. Since the program began in 2001, 38 teachers from countries around the world have graduated from the WFU VIF program and there are 26 candidates currently enrolled. More information about the WFU Visiting International Fellows program and a photo gallery from the 2007 graduation are available at www.wfu.edu/education/vif.
22nd Annual AP Summer Institute Huge Success
Wake Forest University Department of Education successfully hosted the 22nd
Annual College Board endorsed Advanced Placement Summer Institute for training and certifying high school teachers to be teach AP courses. The week long intensive training offered eleven courses to over two hundred teachers from sixteen states and eight different countries. All attendees who successfully complete the coursework receive two graduate credit hours in Education. The Education Department received top ratings for its excellent instructors, technology, organization and location.
More information about the AP Summer Institute is available on the Wake Forest University APSI website
Scott Baker Publishes Book on History of Desegregation
The Department of Education is proud to announce the publication of a new book by Dr. Scott Baker on the history of desegregation titled Paradoxes of Desegregation. Press release for this book (PDF format).
Mary Lynn Redmond Named Chairperson for 2006-2010
As Joseph Milner prepares to retire from his long-standing position as Chair of the Department of Education, Mary Lynn Redmond has accepted the position for a four year term, beginning in July 2006 and ending June 2010. Please join us in welcoming Dr. Redmond in her new role!
Three Teacher Candidates Present at NCETC
Katie Ball, Katie Chinlund, Rory Gavin, Rebecca Hix, Emily Johnson, Stephen Lyday, and Melanie Schneider, teacher candidates in the elementary education program, presented "Increasing Student Engagement in the Elementary Classroom with Digital Video and Interactive /PowerPoint" at the North Carolina Educational Technology Conference on December 1, 2005. The candidates shared examples of how technology can be used to increase student engagement and motivation by showing interactive PPT products that were used with K-5 students. Two teacher candidates shared examples of digital video anchors as welll as anecdotal evidence of student responses to those videos when they were used in the classroom, and one candidate demonstrated how MovieMaker2 can be used to quickly create engaging classroom videos. All the teacher candidates did an outstanding job articulating the value of meaningful and relevant use of technology to increase student engagement and motivation in diverse classroom settings.
Mary Lynn Redmond Receives Award from ACTFL
Dr. Mary Lynn Redmond, Associate Professor of K-12 Foreign Languages, is this year’s recipient of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Anthony Papalia Award for Excellence in Teacher Education. This award is presented annually by ACTFL to recognize a faculty member who has demonstrated commitment to excellence in pedagogy. Dr. Redmond will be recognized at the ACTFL Annual Conference in Baltimore, MD in November.
Please join the Department of Education in celebrating the recognition of our colleague for her excellence in foreign language instruction.
2005 Hall Award Winners Announced
The Hall Awards Committee is proud to announce the 2005 Hall Award Winners! The recipient for Elementary Education is Nathalie Davis. The Secondary Education recipient is Michael Belcher.
WFU Receives Award for Exemplary Teacher Education Program in Foreign Languages from New Visions in Action
Wake Forest University was the first university to receive an award from New Visions in Action for an exemplary foreign language program in the area of teacher education. The school was recognized for its commitment to technology, and the Education Department's programs specifically were praised for the way in which technology instruction is paired with training in good instructional design. For full details, please visit the New Visions in Action site.
Nine Student Teachers Present at National Conference
Nine Elementary Education Student Teachers presented at the North Carolina Educational Technology Conference in Greensboro, NC in December. Katie Aholt, Lauren Beyer, Bethany Bronson, Rebecca Rhodes, and Ann Lacy demonstrated how to use technology to promote literacy in the home by sharing their Story Sacks created in the Arts and Movement course under the instruction of Tracy Wilson. Mallory Barbour, Megan Constance, Cristina Kazelman and Emily Warden presented artifacts from their technology portfolios and coursework that represent different phases of the Elementary Education program and demonstrate the growth of their skills and dispositions as technology-using professional educators.
Emerging Teacher Leaders Conference Set for January 14th and 15th, 2005
The second annual Emerging Teacher Leaders Conference is scheduled for this January 14th and 15th. A keynote speech (speaker to be announced) on the afternoon of the 14th will start off the conference, with further speakers and events on the 15th. Please see the Emerging Teacher Leaders Network website for more details in the coming weeks.
Three Hall Award Winners Named
The Hall Award was established to honor the memory of Jerry Hall a longtime member of the Wake Forest Education Department. Each year the Award is given to students who have distinguished themselves as student teachers. Award winners receive a monetary award.
Betsy Browder excelled as a fourth grade teacher in one of Winston Salem’s most diverse elementary schools. She developed exceptional relationships with her students. The professors who supervised her work wrote that she commands the best from her students. At the conclusion of one lesson, several students approached a supervising professor telling her they did not want to leave Betsy’s classroom. We are very pleased that Betsy may stay in Winston-Salem and teach. The Awards Committee is proud to present the 2004 Hall Award in Elementary Education to Betsy Browder.
The Award’s Committee made two awards in secondary education in 2004.
In addition to excelling as a math major here at Wake Forest, Sarah Greer has a gift for making math accessible to young people. Poised and imaginative, she knows how to take complex subject matter and present it in a clear and understandable way. Sarah has already received several job offers, and we are hopeful that she will remain here in Winston-Salem and became part of our Teacher Leader network. We are very pleased to present one Hall Award in Secondary Education to Sarah Greer.
Todd Duncan has a command on the past that makes history come alive for his students. His lessons on key historical events teach students to master facts, and to use them to support interpretations. Todd knows how to draw students into an historical conversation. Although Todd has just attained senior status, he has already demonstrated exceptional skill as a teacher and leader of young people. We are pleased that Todd is going to enrich his academic preparation with an additional minor in international studies. We look forward to recognizing Todd’s achievement at the 2005 Award’s Ceremony.
We congratulate Betsy Browder, Sarah Greer, and Todd Duncan.
Graduates Enter Their Teaching Careers
Of the May and August graduates of the Secondary Education Program, twenty-three have already accepted teaching positions for the 2004-2005 school year. They will be teaching in five different states, and two foreign countries. The location of these and other recent graduates' teaching positions will be displayed on the ETLN map page, located at http://www.wfu.edu/education/ETLN/gradmap.
Network Upgrades in Education Classroom Scheduled for July 7
Tribble Hall, which includes the Education Department, is scheduled to be upgraded on July 7. The new network infrastructure will feature faster wired connections, better insulation from malicious attacks from the Internet, and wireless access from within Tribble Hall. Network resources will be unavailable from approximately 8:00am to 5:00pm. During this time, network services such as email, the Internet and network printing will be unavailable.
New Students Enter Master's Program
Twenty-six new graduate students began their Secondary Education master's studies in June. This cohort represents fourteen different undergraduate universities across the US. Please view their photos at http://www.wfu.edu/education/gradtea/educ0405.html.
The Emerging Teacher Leaders Network is online!
The Emerging Teacher Leaders Network (ETLN) is a project of the WFU Education Department to provide support and assistance to our recent graduates as they enter the teaching profession. This site provides links to curriculum resources, grant and scholarship opportunities, and communication tools to facilitate communication between graduates and Department of Education faculty. Learn more about the ETLN by visiting http://www.wfu.edu./ETLN
Faculty Member Elected to ISTE Board of Directors
Ann Cunningham was recently elected by her colleagues to the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Board of Directors. Previously President of the Special Interest Group for Teacher Educators, Dr. Cunningham will be installed at the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) in New Orleans in June and will serve for two years as the representative of all ISTE Special Interest Groups. For more information about the ISTE Board of Directors, please visit http://www.iste.org/.
Mathematics Education Graduate Students Honored
Stefanie Buckner and Jessica Munley were recently awarded CAPE Awards from the Mathematics Educational Trust of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. These scholarships are given to six outstanding full-time students to support their development as mathematics teachers by attendance at the NCTM national conference.
Buckner and Munley are both master's students in mathematics education. They attended the NCTM Conference in Philadelphia on April 20-24, where they were recognized at the Awards Banquet. Their advisor, Dr. Leah McCoy, also attended the conference.
Faculty Member Directs Institute for Developing Engaging Classrooms
Joe Milner will serve as Director of the Institute for Developing Engaging Classrooms which is sponsored by the WS/FC Schools. The Institute will be a part of NC Governors School from July 19-23. Twelve outstanding teachers will participate in this project.
Redmond Receives Awards for Foreign Language Instruction
Mary Lynn Redmond, Associate Professor of Education recently received
two awards from the foreign language field. On February 21, the South
Carolina Foreign Language Teachers Association presented her with the
Friend of Foreign Language Award at their annual conference held in
Columbia, SC. Redmond was recognized for her contributions to South
Carolina's foreign language programs and her work with teacher
preparation in South Carolina over the past 10 years. On March 19,
Redmond received the Outstanding Teaching Award, Post-secondary, at the
annual meeting of the Southern Conference on Language Teaching which was
held in Mobile, Alabama. She was commended for her leadership in the
field of foreign language education and for her accomplishments as a
foreign language educator and advocate for quality K-12 foreign language
study.
Milner Receives Distinguished Service Award
Joe Milner, Chair of the Department of Education received the 2004 Distinguished Service Award from the North Carolina Association for the Gifted and Talented. The award was given for his teaching, his publications, and his leadership of the North Carolina Governor's School as its Director.
National Network for Early Language Learning Comes to WFU
Mary Lynn Redmond, Associate Professor of Education, has been named Executive Secretary of the National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL). The appointment was made official at the annual conference of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages held in Philadelphia in November. NNELL is an organization whose mission is to promote opportunities for all children to develop proficiency in at least one language in addition to their own. NNELL works to facilitate communication among teachers, teacher educators, parents, program administrators, and policymakers to develop foreign language programs of excellence. NNELL began in 1987 and has had its headquarters since that time at the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, DC. Beginning December 1, the Department of Education at Wake Forest University serves as the new home for NNELL. For more information about NNELL, visit the website: www.nnell.org.
Mathematics Educators Present
A group of mathematics education graduate students shared their expertise with colleagues at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Regional Meeting in Charleston, South Carolina, on November 6, 2003. The topic of the presentation was “Spreadsheet Skills: A Technology Tool for Standards-Based Mathematics.” Those participating were Stefanie Buckner, Crystal Chappell, Erika Gibson, Jessica Munley, Tracey Siler, and their adviser, Dr. Leah McCoy. A copy of the handout materials is available at http://www.wfu.edu/~mccoy/spreadsheet.pdf.
A similar presentation was given at the North Carolina Council of Teachers
of Mathematics Meeting in Greensboro, North Carolina, on October 10, 2003.
The presenters at that conference included Graduate Students, Stefanie Buckner,
Crystal Chappell, Erika Gibson, Wayne Miller, Jessica Munley, and Tracey Siler,
Undergraduate Students, Sarah Greer and Sarah Kimball, and their Adviser, Dr.
Leah McCoy.
Ninth Annual Research Forum
Thirty graduate students in the Department of Education presented the results of their research projects on December 10, 2003, at the Ninth Annual Research Forum. Each master's student designed, conducted, and reported an original field-based study of some aspect of secondary teaching. Results were presented in poster format, as well as orally and in writing. Approximately 100 faculty, students, and guests attended the Forum which was held in the Benson Center on campus. More information is available at http://www.wfu.edu/education/gradtea/forum03/.
Fall Technology Classes Taught by WFU Alum
Wake Forest Alumnae Jeanie Marklin '95 returned to the education department this fall as an adjunct professor. She is currently teaching Technology in Education while Dr. Ann Cunningham is on sabbatical. Marklin has taught high school English in the public school system for 5 years. She earned her MAEd from Wake Forest in 2002 and wants to pursue a PhD in education in the near future.
Mathematics Research Focuses on the Mississippi Delta
Dr. Leah McCoy continued her research in the Mississippi Delta during the past summer, where she has been involved in a multi-year study of mathematics teachers and teaching in the rural public schools of Mississippi and Louisiana. The ethnographic study includes observation and interview data from teachers and students.
Evans Presents at European Conferences
During the past summer, Dr. Bob Evans presented two papers at conferences in Europe. In June, he participated in a conference of Baltic Area Science Education Institutions, involving faculty and researchers from the University of Oslo, the Danish University of Education, and the Institute for Science Education at the University of Kiel in Germany, among others. The gathering was designed to find common research interests among the Baltic countries and to collaborate where possible. Dr. Evans's paper, entitled "Science-teaching Self-efficacy Beliefs and the Science Teaching Environment of First-Year Elementary Teachers," dealt with research on new elementary teachers. In August, he and his colleagues from the Danish University of Education presented a paper entitled "Self-efficacy Belief Changes and Science Teaching Environment Related to Teaching Profiles among First Year Danish Elementary Teachers." Their study addressed a mechanism by which school environments can interact with and modify teacher beliefs about self-efficacy and, consequently, the quality of science teaching and learning. The presentation was part of the European Science Education Research Association 2003 Conference, which met in August in Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands.
Geography Study Tour Traverses Europe
Dr. Bob Evans [Education] and Dr. J.K. Curry [Theatre] again this summer led a group of Wake Forest students on EuroTour, a guided study tour of Europe. The group visited 11 cities in nine countries over a 34-day period. Students could enroll either in a Theatre course, which involved live performances in many of the cities, or a Geography course, where participants studied topics as diverse as the death penalty in the European Union and financial risk among eastern and western Europeans.
Wake Forest Recognized for Support of K-16 Foreign Language
Wake Forest University has been recognized by the Foreign Language Association of North Carolina (FLANC) for outstanding support of foreign language study in North Carolina. At its October meeting, FLANC will bestow its "Friend of FLANC" award on the University for its efforts to help strengthen and provide quality K-16 foreign language instruction across the state. Receiving the award on behalf of Wake Forest are Associate Provost Sam Gladding, Dean of the College Paul Escott, and Education Chair Joseph Milner. The reform project, directed by Dr. Mary Lynn Redmond, is sponsored by the WFU-based Alliance for Language Learning, a coalition of key leaders in higher education and business who are working to improve the state's foreign language programs.
McCoy and Shaw Published in Middle School Mathematics Journal
Dr. Leah McCoy, along with former graduate student Jeanie Shaw, recently published an article entitled "Patchwork Quilts: Connections with Geometry, Technology, and Culture," in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Journal, Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School. The article is a description of a project designed by McCoy and Shaw and implemented at Our Lady of Mercy School in Winston-Salem, NC. The students examined traditional quilt patterns, researched a pattern on the internet for cultural and historical significance, explored the geometric properties of the figures, and presented their results to the class.
Milner Leads Group to Australia
Department Chair Joe Milner, Kelli Zellner, Brooks Ranton, and Mary Graciano have been awarded funds to support thier role as National Council of Teachers of English delegates to the International Federation of Teachers of English meeting in Melbourne, Australia, in July 2003. They plan to produce a book focused on teaching acts and student responses in association with this international conference.
Two Students Garner Jerry A. Hall Student Teaching Awards
Two outstanding undergraduate education students were recently recognized for their excellence in student teaching. Amanda Jones, the Elementary Education award winner for 2003, is known as a creative, hardworking, and always-smiling student whose excellent performance consistently raises the bar for her fellow students and for the program in general. Jess McKay, a senior science education minor, was recognized as the outstanding student teacher in the secondary field. Jess manifested a remarkable ability to teach complex, abstract ideas in ways that students understood. He has a deep love for adolescents that takes him out of the classroom and into the lunchroom and out to the ballfields. Both students are well-regarded by their Education faculty and have given particularly exceptional service to the students with whom they worked during their internships.
Newest Graduate Cohort Begins Secondary Education Masters
The Department's Secondary Education Program welcomed 26 Master Teacher Fellows and 6 Master Teacher Associates into the latest cohort of graduate students. Their 13-month program leads to advanced licensure and a Master of Arts in Education and includes studies both in education and in the individual content disciplines. Their on-campus coursework is also supplemented by experiences in the field, including tutoring and mentoring with Winston-Salem/Forsyth County summer school students. More information regarding these graduate programs can be obtained from Dr. Leah McCoy, the program director.
Top-Notch Iowa Teacher Speaks to Secondary Ed Students
A special treat for teacher candidates this spring was the visit to campus of Gail Wortmann, an anatomy and physiology teacher from Ottumwa, Iowa. Gail has earned recognition for her skills through numerous awards, such as the Presidential Teacher, Pioneer Mentor, and the Iowa State Teacher of the Year, 2001-2002. Gail shared her teaching and professional development expertise with teacher candidates on March 25.
Diversity Seminar Raises Key Issues
Brian Johnson [MAEd '92], a teacher in Philadelphia, conducted a diversity seminar for secondary education students on February 24, 2003. Brian is a co-founder of Education for Educators and has presented seminars for teachers in several states. His focus in the workshop was teaching teachers to recognize and honor the diversity in their students.
Hand-held Computing Comes to Educational Psych Class
During Spring 2003, students in Educational Psychology (EDU 311) experimented with wireless handhelds for completing field assignments, controlling presentations, and participating in interactive classroom activities this semester. The Department of Education continues to work with the Research and Development team at Information Systems to develop innovative strategies for integrating technology into teacher preparation.
A Plan for Model Foreign Language Programs
Dr. Mary Lynn Redmond was awarded an R.J. Reynolds research leave for the spring semester of 2003 to direct the state's foreign language reform project entitled "VISION 2010: A Plan for Model Foreign Language Programs" in the North Carolina Public Schools. This project is the first statewide initiative of its kind, and it endeavors to implement an articulated K-12 foreign language program in each of North Carolina's 117 school districts. Redmond's research in this regard focuses on the implementation of VISION 2010 in selected school districts and the research design for a longitudinal study to collect data on students' language development.
Cunningham's Month by Month Phonics Selected by NYC Public Schools
The Month by Month Phonics program developed by Dr. Pat Cunningham and her colleague Dorothy Hall has been chosen by the New York City Public Schools for implementation in approximately 700 of its 900 elementary schools. Training of NYC teachers begins during Summer 2003. Cunningham and Hall are well-known across the country for the Four Blocks model for primary student literacy.
