October 2016
Volume 5 Issue 1
Upcoming Events
 
October 23-25 
National Youth-At-Risk Conference West

October 25
Innovation Studio Professional Development Event -- Spark
COE 3157, 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.

November 3
Nonprofit Career Fair 
Russell Union, 2-4 p.m.

November 7-10
Georgia Southern University Homecoming Events
November 11 
College of Education Visit Day
November 16 
Education Career Fair
Russell Union, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

November 18
Win a 3D Printer for your school DEADLINE (5 p.m.)
November 21-25
Thanksgiving break for students, no classes

November 24-25
University closed for Thanksgiving 

December 5-8
Final Exams

December 9
Commencement at Hanner Fieldhouse



Georgia Southern COE Employment Opportunities   

  The College of Education at Georgia Southern University currently has open faculty positions.






Southern Educator
is published monthly by 
Georgia Southern
 College of Education.








COE introduces new and revised degree programs
 
   Beginning as early as this fall, the College of Education is introducing several new and revised degree programs. 
   A total of three new graduate programs are being introduced including:  Master of Arts in Teaching in Early Childhood Education (MAT Early Childhood); Master of Education in Evaluation, Research, Assessment, and Learning (M.Ed. EARL); and a Master of Education in Teaching Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students (M.Ed. TCLD). This semester, the college also introduced a revised Master of Education in Educational Leadership (M.Ed. Ed Leadership) that adheres to the newest regulations administered by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC).
   At the undergraduate level, the college is excited to announce the return of the Bachelor of Science (B.S.Ed.) program in Secondary Education for undergraduate students interested in teaching at the high school level.

   To learn more, click on the degree program below: 
COE's Meca Williams-Johnson receives University Excellence Award
 
  Associate Professor Meca Williams-Johnson, Ph.D., was awarded Georgia Southern University's Award for Excellence in Instruction presented during the annual Fall Convocation earlier this semester.
   Drawing on her previous experience as a middle school educator, Williams-Johnson said that she has always wanted to serve as an advocate for educators and youth who are seeking the best options for their educational circumstances. Currently, she teaches research courses in the College of Education for students from undergraduate to doctorate levels. Williams-Johnson explains that she enjoys research because it allows students to investigate critical problems in teaching and learning.
New faculty welcomed to College of Education
 
  Georgia Southern's College of Education (COE) was excited to welcome four new faculty members to the COE team this semester. All four faculty joined the Department of Teaching and Learning.
   Last year, in Fall 2015, the college introduced eight new faculty members across all three departments. 
Annual Jack Miller Award recipients named
 

   The Jack Miller Faculty Awards are given annually to recognize Georgia Southern University's College of Education (COE) faculty for demonstrated excellence in areas of teaching, service, and/or scholarship. Awards can be given in each area along with an additional Educator of the Year Award, which recognizes scholarship in all three of the considered areas.
   For the 2016-2017 academic year, three COE faculty members received Jack Miller Awards including (pictured above, l-r):   Cordelia Zinskie, Ph.D.,  Jonathan Hilpert, Ph.D., and  Sabrina Ross, Ph.D.
Wilson receives 2016 Betty-Ware Wray Award
 
    The Betty-Ware Wray staff award is given annually to a College of Education (COE) staff member who has excelled in their job performance as well as University service. The 2016 award recipient was CATES Administrative Specialist  Lisa Wilson . Wilson has been an employee of the COE Dean's Office since 2013 and is responsible for facilitating off-campus graduate courses, PLU credit, and curriculum and catalog support. She also serves as the webmaster for the College.
 
Faculty Updates

Nancy McBride Arrington, Ph.D. , associate professor, Dept. of Teaching and Learning, presented in a symposium at the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) Conference in Dublin, Ireland in September.  In the session, Dr. Arrington shared from her recently-published book chapter, (June, 2016), A journey of service-learning: Three different professional lenses. In Lake, V. & Winterbottom, C. (Eds.). Praxeological learning: Service-learning in teacher education.  Hayuppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Beth Durodoye, Ph.D., LTHD Department Chair, and the entire Educational Leadership faculty will attend the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) Convening, October 24-26, 2016, in Augusta, GA. Past convenings have been attended by the two EDLD Principal Investigators (PIs) for this project, Dr. Teri Denlea Melton, EDLD Programs Director, and Dr. Devon Jensen, EDLD EdD Coordinator. However, the proximity of this meeting makes it possible for Dr. Dan Calhoun, Dr. Juli McBrayer, Dr. Toby Jensen, and Dr. Mac Brinson to join Melton and Jensen as they work to advance the CPED Principles of Social Justice through the development of scholar-practitioners who work to solve problems of practice through applied research.

Amanda Glaze, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Dept. of Teaching and Learning interviewed as an evolution expert as part of a special issue of Lateral Magazine. Click here to read the article. Glaze also served as the co-editor and chapter author on a forth coming book on evolution education in the Southeast.

Glaze is also currently a co- investigator  for a team representing the Smithsonian Institution that was just funded under the NSF Discovery PK-12 (DRK12) for Learning Evolution Through Human Examples, a level III Late Stage grant totaling $1,083,000 over five years.

Alma Stevenson, Ph.D., associate professor in the Dept. of Curriculum, Foundations, and Human Development and Scott Beck, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning will be making two presentations during the month of October. They will present a research study, recently published in Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, regarding Mexican American racial identities during the Conference on Immigration to the US South at the University of South Carolina.  They will also present  "Hollywood Goes to College: What You Think You Know May Mislead You" at the College Experience and Opportunities Workshop for prospective Latino undergraduates at Georgia Southern.

Staff Updates

Academic Advisors for COE's Graduate Academic Services  Ben Wentworth and  Matt Dunbar presented at the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) annual conference in Atlanta on October 7. Their presentation entitled "Advising Future Graduate Students" explored how to have conversations with students about graduate school, researching graduate programs, and interdepartmental collaboration to effectively communicate with students.
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