July 2018 Newsletter
School of Education Professors Awarded $2.5 Million Grants from James S. McDonnell Foundation
When it comes to engaging student
dialogue, new teachers face a variety of challenges in the
classroom. Now a group of UC Davis School of Education professors
are looking to change that. Professor Steven
Athanases and six colleagues—UC Davis School of Education
Professors Lee Martin,
Alexis
Patterson, Danny
Martinez, Jennifer
Higgs and Megan
Welsh, alongside a professor at Stanford University—have
secured a $2.5 million grant from the McDonnell Foundation to
head a project exploring how new teachers can more rapidly learn
the skills needed to lead classroom discussions. Additionally,
School of Education alumni who are now classroom teachers
will also be on the team to help with the development and testing
of new tools and processes.
The McDonnell Foundation has also
awarded $2.5 million to a team of researchers at Northwestern
University and UC Davis co-led by School of Education Prof. Cynthia Passmore.
Passmore’s team will expand our understanding of how teachers
learn to do new things in the classroom by studying how teachers
working within the Next Generation Science Standards can help
guide their students to actively build, test and revise science
ideas. Read more about these grant projects here.
Dr. Cati de los Ríos Joins School of Education Faculty
Dr. Cati de los Ríos will join the
School of Education as an Assistant Professor on July 1.
Currently an Assistant Professor of Education, Culture and
Society at UC Riverside, she has expertise in ethnic studies,
literacy, youth engagement and social change. Dr. de los Rios was
recently recognized with two 2018 American Educational Research
Association (AERA) Outstanding Dissertation Awards from the
Critical Educators for Social Justice Special Interest Group
(SIG) and the Hispanic/Latinx Research SIG. In addition, she
holds teaching credentials in Bilingual Cross-Cultural Language
and Academic Development and Secondary Spanish Language and
Literacy and previously taught high school. Welcome, Dr. de
los Rios!
Passmore Launches NGSS-Aligned Resource Website for Biology Teachers
The Next Generation Science
Standards (NGSS) are being described as exciting, engaging and
more equitable, but they are also presenting a new set of issues
for teachers. Prof. Cynthia Passmore and a group of science
educators dedicated to helping teachers navigate NGSS
standards have launched a new resource website
called MBER-Bio. MBER-Bio
provides high school biology teachers with instructional
materials and lesson sequences they can use every day throughout
the the school year. The resource website also includes forums
and a customizable design space.
“NGSS asks teachers to do something very new in their classrooms,” said Passmore. “This resource is written to be started on day one of the school year and continues to the last day in sequence. It even includes instructions on how to set up a classroom for this style of teaching. It’s built around the ideas that NGSS promotes. We think it’s unique—the standards are new, and there are scant resources for teachers.” This platform for sharing instructional materials and teaching supports was designed and tested from the ground up by teachers who used it daily. The site’s features are available for a one-time $23 membership fee. Explore the site at modelbasedbiology.com.
UC Davis Team Receives Grant to Help Reduce African American Child Deaths
In
Sacramento County, African American children are dying at twice
the rate of their peers. Dr. Maisha Winn, UC Davis
Chancellor’s Leadership Professor and Co-Director of the School
of Education’s Transformative Justice in Education Center (TJE),
and Dr. Lawrence
Winn, TJE co-director, have received a $125,000 grant to
evaluate the Black Child Legacy Campaign (BCLC), an initiative of
Sacramento’s Steering Committee on Reduction of African American
Child Deaths (RACCD). They will be joined by Dr. Vajra
Watson, Director of Research and Policy for Equity at UC Davis.
Read more about the BCLC and the new evaluation
project on
our website.
Teacher Ed. Faculty Members Fortes
and Pomeroy Retire
Dr. Michele Fortes, lecturer and supervisor in the multiple subject credential program, and Dr. Rick Pomeroy, lecturer and supervisor in the science credential program, recently retired from the School of Education. Michele and Rick have been incredible mentors to hundreds of teaching credential candidates who are now wonderful teachers and in turn, helping thousands of students themselves. Congratulations on this new phase of your lives, Rick and Michele!
To celebrate her retirement,
Michele is giving back to the School of Education
through the Fortes Bilingual Award
Fund, which will support students who are passionate about
bilingual education but need financial support to reach their
goal. By making a gift to this
scholarship today, you can help Michele directly support
future bilingual credential students and the students they will
one day teach. Gifts to the School of Education can be made in
Rick’s honor to the Young Scholars
Program. View photos from their retirement celebration
on our
website.
FACULTY NEWS
Professor Peter Mundy was
recently named President Elect of the International Society of
Autism Research (INSAR). INSAR provides scientific collaboration,
mentorship and education to better the lives of the individuals
and families living with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Professor Maisha
Winn was elected as a Member at Large for the American
Educational Research Association (AERA) Council and Executive
Board. The Council is the legislative and policy body for AERA, a
national research society.
Professor Kevin
Gee has earned tenure to become an Associate Professor
in the School of Education. He is also holds a Faculty Research
Affiliate with the Center for Poverty Research. His primary
research examines the nexus between health and education.
Professor Danny
Martinez was awarded the Janet Emig Award by the
National Council of Teachers of English for his English
Education article “Imagining a Language of Solidarity for
Black and Latinx Youth in English Language Arts Classrooms.”
Professor Jennifer
Higgs was recently awarded a Division K Outstanding
Dissertation Award from the American Educational Research
Association (AERA) for her dissertation A National Study of
Talking to Learn Across Digital and Face-to-Face Contexts in K-12
Classrooms.
PHOTOS AND VIDEOS
Congratulations, Class of 2018!
We are so proud of our recent
School of Education graduates! The field of education is lucky to
have you, and we have been fortunate to walk alongside you. We
are counting on you to go out and make the world a better
place! Check out some highlights from the School of
Education’s graduation ceremony at the Mondavi Center in
the photo
album on our website. Miss the ceremony? Watch a video of the
celebration here.
Beta Lab Van Profiled by KVIE
Professor Lee Martin’s Beta
Lab, a mobile lab studying how young students learn and
develop through making and tinkering, was recently profiled in
a KVIE Public
Television video. Take a look inside the Beta Lab van to
learn more about how Prof. Martin is bringing equitable STEM
learning opportunities to students across the Greater Sacramento
region.
Credential/MA Program Showcased in New Video
“Choose UC Davis if you want to be
challenged, if you want to be around some of the most inspiring
people,” says Sara Luci (Cred. ‘17, MA ‘18) in Become a Teacher: The
UC Davis Difference, a new video highlighting our
Credential/MA program. See our students and alumni in action and
learn more about why School of Education alumni are so sought
after by school districts.