March 29, 2024

Teachers for Tomorrow Explore UMW’s College of Education

Eighty high-schoolers from Prince William County fanned out across the University of Mary Washington’s Seacobeck Hall earlier this month on a field trip for future educators. The Teachers for Tomorrow participants controlled mini-robots in the makerspace, put their heads together in collaborative classrooms and tapped into the minds of current UMW College of Education (COE) […]

Former Peace Corps Director Urges Service for UMW Education Students

When she arrived in Tunisia to teach English to a roomful of teenagers, former Peace Corps director Jody Olsen, then in her 20s, worried she’d made a mistake. “My first thought was to head for the door,” she said of the 1966 experience that ended up charting her course. Instead, “I said, ‘Good morning, I’m […]

UMW Workshop Shares Makerspace Magic With Stafford Educators

The University of Mary Washington’s College of Education (COE) hosted a hands-on field trip last month for Stafford County Public School teachers, who left with plenty of lessons to take back to their classrooms. The main goal of the day was helping educators discover new, innovative resources to implement into their academic toolkit. Each one […]

College of Education Countdown is Complete: Six Things About Seacobeck

Future educators began filling its classrooms and meeting spaces this semester, but a ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday made it official: Seacobeck Hall is the new home of the University of Mary Washington’s College of Education and Office of Disability Resources. A years-long renovation transformed the building – which served as a dining hall for decades – […]

Win-Win: UMW Grad Students Help Fill Area Teacher Shortage

Last fall, Chloe Wade taught art under the supervision of an experienced teacher. This semester, she’s the one in charge. “I’m having an amazing time being in my own classroom and getting to choose the lessons myself,” said Wade, whose students at Falmouth Elementary in Stafford are experimenting with tempera paint and watercolors. A graduate […]

College of Education Graduates to New State-of-the-Art Home

Barbara Bishop Mann ’66 remembers making peanut butter and jelly crackers on linen-clad tables. Gayle Petro ’79 pumped pink frozen yogurt from a newfangled machine. Susan Doig ’91, M.Ed. ’06, and friends got creative, making potato skins by topping tubers with salad bar staples and cranking them through a grill-type toaster. “A lot of bonding […]

College of Education Awarded Accreditation

The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) recently announced that the University of Mary Washington was awarded accreditation for its College of Education (COE), one of the first institutions to undergo a virtual site visit through this accrediting body. In 2010, the same year UMW’s education program became the College of Education, the […]

UMW Supports K-12 Teachers in Online Teaching

After doing their best to teach remotely for three months due to the global pandemic, Virginia’s K-12 teachers got word in June that they likely would return to teaching this fall – and at least some of it would be online. The sudden switch in spring had been hard enough; few of the state’s teachers […]

Free UMW Course Turns COVID-19 Inside Out

Political leaders and health experts who communicate the impact of COVID-19 to the public are just like anyone else. Some hit the mark. Some don’t. Understandable terms, relatable ideas and the confident presentation of useful information are key to delivering a successful message, said UMW Professor of Communication Anand Rao. And competent public discourse during […]

Teacher of the Year Shares Mission of Equity at UMW

Rodney Robinson was inspired to become a teacher because of his mother. Growing up in rural Virginia, segregation and poverty hindered her own education, but it didn’t stop her from finding her calling teaching young children in her home daycare. “She always taught us that every child deserves the proper amount of love to get […]