Golinkoff and Colleague Take Home National Psychology Award
University of Delaware H. Rodney Sharp Professor Roberta Golinkoff and her long-time collaborator, Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek, a professor at Temple University, are joint recipients of the American Psychology Association (APA) Award for Distinguished Service to Psychological Science. The announcement came from the APA Board of Scientific Affairs in early October. The award was created to recognize individuals who’ve made outstanding contributions to psychological science through their commitment to a culture of service. The APA stated that both Golinkoff and Hirsh-Pastek have shown a commitment to disseminating and translating psychological research and making it accessible to policy-makers and the general public through publications, public lectures and advisory roles with child-related organizations. To read more about Golinkoff's award, follow this link to the UDaily story.
Four Doctoral Students Participate in Chinese Exchange Fellowship
SOE students Tim Snyder, Karen Girton-Snyder, Elizabeth Soslau, and Scott Richardson spent three weeks in China this summer as part of a cultural exchange called the “Fellowship for Enhancing Global Understanding.” They all had different objectives in mind. Soslau wanted to study educational reform in China. Richardson, who has studied in Asian countries before, had the goal of identifying differences between the American and Chinese education systems. Snyder and Girton-Snyder said they wanted to see the role technology played in both elementary classrooms and at the local universities. To hear more about their experience, follow this link to the UDaily story.
Popularity Grows for UD Autism Certification Program after Going State-wide
The Autism Certification Program has come a long way in the past few years at the University of Delaware. Formerly, teachers who wanted to become certified only had a few options. But just last year, the School of Education started offering courses at sites all over the state. To read more about how this program is growing, follow this link to the full story.
Sharon Walpole Creates Podcasts to Aid Teachers in Delaware Classrooms
Teachers in Delaware have new resources at their fingertips as a result of the School of Education teaming with the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) to create instructional podcasts to help teachers implement the nation's Response to Intervention initiative in their classrooms. The overall goal of Response to Intervention hinges on helping students who are struggling with basic learning skills, like reading. The series of 11 podcasts includes lectures, readings, and activities, and are designed to be viewed by teams of teachers at the same grade level. The podcasts could potentially help strengthen a teacher's understanding of reading instruction and assessment for grades K-3. "This allows people to work in groups of four or five, with their grade-level colleagues," said Sharon Walpole, associate professor in UD's School of Education. "I think that, in and of itself, is a positive professional development venue." For more on Walpole's work on these podcasts, follow this link to the UDaily story.
Alumni Take Home 2008-2009 Commitment to Education Awards
Three University of Delaware alumni have received recognition for their dedication to the field of education. The Education Alumni Association honored the individuals at a dinner back in May at the Hilton Christiana. All of them are graduates of the School of Education within the College of Education and Public Policy.
Deborah Ziegler, BS ’75, M.Ed. ’77, Ed.D. ’88, received the "Outstanding Education Alumni" award. Ziegler has held many positions in the education field including teacher, adjunct assistant professor and director of the Delaware Early Childhood center. She is currently the Associate Executive Director for Policy and Advocacy Services at the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), the largest international professional organization in the field of special education.
Sharon Keller, BS '74 and Sarah Farr, BS '77, were both recipients of "Commitment to Education" awards. Keller (pictured on the right) has been in the field of education for 35 years and has recently served as the director of student services for the Colonial School District. Farr, a 32-year educator, currently oversees the special education programs including the three statewide programs housed in the Christiana School District. The programs include the Delaware Autism Program, the Delaware School for the Deaf and the Delaware Deaf-Blind Program.
