News
Dean Speaks on Next Generation Science Standards
On July 10, 2013, Dean Harold Levine addressed the California State Board of Education on the adoption of Next Generation Science Standards.
“The next-generation standards demand next-generation teachers,” Levine said. Most of them learned science the old way, which is what these new standards are designed to change. “In order to break this cycle, teacher education programs must evolve innovative ways of educating our new teachers into a world of hands-on learning, interactive teaching and new habits of mind that prioritize conceptual understanding, learning how to learn and learning across academic fields,” he said. Read full coverage at EdSource.
Schools with fewer needy students decry California funding change
LA Times - June 17, 2013
An article in the LA Times on the recently approved new funding formula for schools references a study Associate Professor Heather Rose wrote for the Public Policy Institute of California this spring. In it they quote Rose.
“‘There’s a lot of uncertainty. Nobody really knows’ how much money it will take to boost needy students, she added.”
Learning to Teach: A Four-Pronged Approach
Chris Faltis - OpEducation Blog, Education Week - June 12, 2013
Education Week’s OpEducation Blog invited six teacher preparation experts to respond to the following questions:
Are New Teachers Ready to Teach?
“Teacher preparation has been a hot topic for years in the education community. But now more than ever the nation seems focused on teacher quality and performance in the classroom. How well are teacher education programs preparing future teachers? What elements are essential for the successful preparation of novice teachers entering the classroom?”
Philanthropists Who Established School’s First Endowed Chair Make a Gift to the Power of 10 Scholarship Fund
Dolly and David Fiddyment, who established the UC Davis School of Education’s first endowed chair in 2006—the Dolly and David Fiddyment Chair in Teacher Education—recently made a gift of $3,000 to support the Power of 10 Scholarship Fund. Here they share their reasons for supporting the fund and their hopes that others will continue to help the School grow the fund between now and June 30, 2013.
Moving Toward a Coherent School Finance System
Article by Heather Rose in Leadership - May/June 2013
UC Davis School of Education Associate Professor Heather Rose has written an article mapping out the principals for a rational school finance system in California. In the article, she describes how Governor Jerry Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula meet many of the principals outlined and juxtaposes the new proposal against California’s current system. The article appears in the May/June 2013 issue of Leadership, a magazine published by the Association of California School Administrators. Access the magazine online here. Rose’s article appears on pp. 12-15.
School of Education Alumni Receive Soderquist Award for Exceptional Support to UC Davis
Redenbach and Gelatt also To Be Honored at School's Honoring Educators Awards Ceremony on May 21, 2013
Sandi Redenbach (BA ’72, Credential ’73) and Ken Gelatt (BS 67, Credential ’68) have been selected as the 2013 recipients of the Charles J. Soderquist Award at UC Davis.
The Soderquist Award was named in honor of the late Charles “Charlie” Soderquist—a UC Davis alumnus, management professor, and well-known Sacramento-area entrepreneur and philanthropist. The award, which was created by a philanthropic gift from the Soderquist estate, recognizes exceptional volunteer leadership and support of philanthropy at UC Davis, and honors UC Davis supporters whose efforts as volunteers have made a significant and lasting impact on the university.
“We are both so honored by this recognition,” said Redenbach. “We’re still in a little bit of shock.”
Prize-Winning Author Will Discuss Her Cuban, American Roots
By Jeff Hudson, Davis Enterprise - Feb. 8, 2013
Margarita Engle, the 2013 featured author in the School’s annual Words Take Wing children’s literature lecture series, is the focus of this article by Jeff Hudson of the Davis Enterprise. Engle spoke on campus on Tuesday, February 12.
National Science Teachers Association Recommends Book by School’s Director of Sacramento Area Science Project
Success in Science through Dialogue, Reading and Writing
by Arthur Beauchamp, Judi Kusnick, Rick McCallum
A new book on the use of literacy to teach science, co-authored by Sacramento Area Science Project director Arthur Beauchamp, has been recommended by the National Science Teachers Association.
Alumnus Makes $5,000 Matching Gift to Power of 10 Scholarship Fund
John Brown (Credential '72)
Inspired by his fellow alumna Sandi Redenbach, who made a $5,000 matching gift to the School’s Power of 10 Scholarship Fund in November, John Brown (Credential ‘72) has made an additional gift of $5,000. Every gift to the fund will be matched dollar-for-dollar by John’s gift.
John, who served as a jet fighter pilot in the Air Force, knows how hard it is to juggle life’s demands while also pursuing the dream of college and a career in teaching.
Integrating Digital and STEM Practices
Article by Tobin White and Lee Martin in Leadership - December 2012
Professors Tobin White and Lee Martin have penned an article on how schools can leverage the ways students are already using mobile digital devices to organize and support learning activities in STEM content areas in the November/December 2012 issue of Leadership, a magazine published by the Association of California School Administrators.
Their article, which “calls attention to opportunities, often missed, to capitalize on emerging media for innovative and even transformative educational use,” appears on pp. 22-26. Access the magazine online here.
Profs. Heckman and Abedi Study Algebra for All
EdSource - August 2012
EdSource features a look at a recent study that Professors Paul Heckman and Jamal Abedi and Jian-Hua Liang (EdD ‘09) at the California Department of Education released on the connection between success on California’s Standards Test and subsequent success in Algebra in ninth grade.
UC Davis receives $1.6 million grant to aid K-12 students
Sacramento Bee, July 10, 2012
UC Davis has received a $1.6 million grant from the S.D. Bechtel Jr. Foundation that will allow it to improve science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education in schools throughout Davis and Dixon.
“We want to provide (children), as future citizens, with a lens into what it is that scientists actually do,” said Cindy Passmore, the UC Davis associate professor who is leading the project. “The exposure will help them make an informed choice about whether they want to go into (science and math) fields or not.”
$1.6 million grant to raise STEM achievement in K-12 schools
UC Davis News Service Release - July 9, 2012
Eliminating second-year science mandate is fast fix with long-term damage
By Rick Pomeroy in Thoughts on Public Education
Rick Pomeroy, lecturer/supervisor for the science teaching credential program in the School of Education and president of the California Science Teachers Association, wrote this piece on Governor Brown’s proposal to end the mandate that requires a second year of science for high school graduation. “As a way to fix a dysfunctional budget process, this makes absolutely no sense,” writes Pomeroy.
Rick Pomeroy discusses Governer’s Proposal to Cut Science Requirement in High Schools
Listen to the discussion at NPR/KQED "Forum" - June 7, 2012
In an hour-long discussion of Governer Brown’s proposal to eliminate the required second year of high school science education, Rick Pomeroy talks about the possible implications and concerns about reducing science instruction at a time when educators and business leaders are calling for students to receive more instruction in science. Dr. Pomeroy, who is the School’s science credential lecturer and supervisor and the president of the California Science Teachers Association, begins to speak at minute 14. He also answers caller’s question. Listen to the conversation here.
Vajra Watson Discusses New Book, Learning to Liberate
C2Y Podcast, March 28, 2012
Vajra Watson, director of research and policy for equity, discusses her work with youth and her new book, Learning to Liberate: Community-Based Solutions to the Crisis in Urban Education, on this podcast put out by Connect To Youth (C2Y), located in Toronto, Canada. The interview is conducted by Wolfgang Vachon. Listen here.
