ETE Program Nationally Recognized
In 2010, the Elementary Teacher Education (ETE) program was nationally recognized by the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI), the national organization for elementary education programs, for the next accreditation cycle. All undergraduate teacher education programs on the University of Delaware campus were either "nationally recognized" or "nationally recognized with conditions" recently during the current accreditation review. In related news, Elementary Teacher Education students performed very well on the Praxis II content area tests in 2009-10.
- 41 percent of candidates earned the ETS Recognition of Excellence on the Elementary Education: Content Knowledge test, which is awarded to the top 15 percent of test takers.
- 100 percent of the middle school mathematics, science and English candidates passed their respective Praxis II test.
- Five out of 24 middle school mathematics candidates earned a perfect score on their Praxis II test.
More than 50,000 Turn Out for Ultimate Block Party in NYC
Central Park in New York City turned into a playground on Sunday, 3 October 2010, filled with innovative games and learning activities for children. With the cooperation of prominent artists, scientists and educators, the Ultimate Block Party featured more than 25 playful games and mini-classes that helped bring learning alive. The first-ever Ultimate Block Party event welcomed more than 50,000 people. Visitors had the opportunity to explore different stations around the Naumburg Bandshell that featured activities associated with construction, adventure, physical play, technology, music and dance, language, and make-believe play. To read more about the UBP, follow this link to the UDaily Story.
Campus Memorial Service to Celebrate the Life of Professor Barbara Curry
The University of Delaware will be holding a memorial service for Barbara Curry, professor in the School of Education, on Sunday, Oct. 17, from 2-4 p.m., in the Gore Recital Hall of the Roselle Center for the Performing Arts. Curry passed away on Sunday, Sept. 26, after a courageous fight with lung cancer. She taught graduate courses in the master's and doctoral degree programs in educational leadership and since 2005, she was coordinator for the Ed.D. specialization in higher education. Curry was also an affiliated faculty member of the Department of Women's Studies. To read more about Barbara Curry, follow this link to the UDaily Story.
New Law Requires Criminal Background Check for Student Teachers
Any University of Delaware student registered to participate in student teaching after January 1, 2011, is now required to have a complete state and federal criminal background check and a child protection registry check prior to student teaching placement. The state of Delaware passed this new law on June 30, unifying student teaching requirements across the state. To read more about these new requirements, follow this link to the full story.
Race to the Top Funds Accelerated Graduate Teaching Degree Program
The University of Delaware now offers a new degree option for prospective graduate students within the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD). The Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree is a fast-tracked, cohort graduate program designed for students who want to pursue a teaching career. The MAT program is unique in that it is designed to accommodate students with different career backgrounds. For recent college graduates who have a general subject degree in the areas of math or science, this program offers a graduate degree and teacher certification in just one year. The program is also open to people who've decided to leave their current career and become a teacher. The program is a part of Delaware's successful application for Race to the Top funds. This special type of teacher education is considered a residency program because after a summer of coursework, the students are placed in a school within the New Castle County Vocational Technical School District to work with a strong team of teachers. Coursework is designed in a way that is very integrated with the resident's placement. Race to the Top will support the program with $1.65 million over four years, helping to pay some of the development costs as well as stipends for the residents and school partners. For more on the MAT program, follow these links to the UDaily Story and the Master of Arts in Teaching.
Elementary Teacher Education Program Debuts New Student Organization
Students in the Elementary Teacher Education (ETE) program at the University of Delaware now have a new student organization, created specifically for their major. The Association of Pre-Professional Leaders in Education (APPLE) was designed to help ETE students connect with each other and allow them to grow professionally by meeting and networking with people in the education field. There are currently 600 students in the ETE program within the School of Education (SOE), with about 150 students in each graduating class. Read more about this in the UDaily story.
$10 million Grant Funds Mathematics Research Center at UD
The Institute of Education Sciences, a research branch of the U.S. Department of Education, has awarded a $10 million grant to University of Delaware Prof. Nancy C. Jordan and her two colleagues at Vanderbilt University and Carnegie Mellon University to fund a five-year research and development center aimed at understanding difficulties students have in math. The Center on Improving Mathematics Instruction for Students with Mathematics Difficulties, administered at UD, will focus on improving math instruction for elementary and middle school children who have problems with math concepts, specifically fractions. To read more about the research project, follow this link to the UDaily Story.
$880,000 Grant Funds Project to Help Struggling College Writers
The National Center for Education Research, a center in the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences, has awarded an $880,000 grant to Charles MacArthur, professor in the School of Education at the University of Delaware, to fund a three-year research project aimed at helping improve the writing skills of college students. The goal of the project is to develop and evaluate a writing curriculum and instructional methods to aid students in community college developmental English composition courses. To read more about the project, follow this link to the UDaily Story.
$1 Million Teaching American History Grant
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has announced a $1 million Teaching American History grant award to the University of Delaware's Delaware Center for Teacher Education (DCTE) and its partners in the Red Clay and Christina school districts, the Office of Educational Technology, the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History, Delaware Public Archives and the Delaware Historical Society. Grant author and project director Fran O'Malley of the DCTE and Institute for Public Administration explains the shift in the new Teaching American History Freedom Project. “While the Freedom Project retains the fundamental objective of deepening teachers' content knowledge, it places additional emphasis on historical thinking,” he says. For more on this award, follow this link to the UDaily Story.
Murray Weighs In on Improving Link Between National Teaching Standards and Accreditation
Published this past spring, Accomplished Teachers, Institutional Perspectives is a book that discusses the value and utility of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) from the perspectives of policymakers, administrators and practitioners in the field of education. Frank Murray, H. Rodney Sharp Professor in the School of Education and the Department of Psychology at the University of Delaware, is a contributor to the book. Accomplished Teachers, Institutional Perspectives challenges the nation's PK-12 and postsecondary education system, state and local governing bodies and NBPTS to strengthen the link between the NBPTS standards and assessment process and teacher preparation, program accreditation and state licensure. To read more about this book, follow this link to the UDaily Story.
Education Graduate Students Present Research at Annual Forum
After hours of exploration and study, University of Delaware education graduate students had the opportunity to showcase and share their current research projects with colleagues, faculty and the public. On Friday, May 7, UD's School of Education (SOE) hosted its annual graduate research forum at the Perkins Student Center on Academy Street. The forum featured more than 25 posters and presentations from students in the SOE master's degree and doctoral degree programs. To read more about the event, follow this link to the UDaily story.
Basketball Players Team Up with The College School for Occupational Therapy
At The College School, occupational therapists have designed a basketball group as a form of occupational therapy for students who have delayed social and motor skills. Recently, players on the University of Delaware men's basketball team stopped by one of the lessons to help the students work on their basketball skills. Players reviewed dribbling, passing and shooting, as well as being a team player. To read more about this special lesson, follow this link to the UDaily Story.
New Economic Education Doctoral Program Meets Demand in Growing Field
The need for financial literacy and an understanding of core economic issues are growing and so is the demand for professionals and scholars who can educate the community and influence school curricula about core economic issues. Students who graduate from the new, innovative Ph.D. program in economic education at the University of Delaware will be experts in this fast-growing field. To read more about the program, follow this link to the UDaily Story.
$2.3 Million Certificate Program Grant for Students with Disabilities
The U.S. Department of Education has awarded the University of Delaware a $2.3 million grant to fund a five-year education project designed to expand postsecondary opportunities for young adults with intellectual disabilities (ID). This model demonstration project will give students with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to enroll in a two-year Career and Life Studies Certificate (CLSC) program. To read more about this project, follow this link to the UDaily Story.
UD Alumnus Named Delaware Teacher of the Year
Joseph Masiello, a sixth grade English teacher at Cab Calloway School of the Arts in the Red Clay School District, has been named Delaware's Teacher of the Year for 2011. A 1982 graduate of the University of Delaware College of Education and Human Development with a bachelor's degree in education, Masiello has been an educator for more than 26 years in the First State. To read more about this year's winner, follow this link to the UDaily Story.
