Antonio Causarano, associate professor of education, will give a presentation titled “Race and Education in Fascist Italy” about Italian dictator Benito Mussolini’s education program. According to The Free Lance-Star, “It will focus on ‘the historical aspects of race in fascist Italy and how the ideology of race was an integral part of the education of fascist youth during the 20 years of fascist regime,’ he said.” Sponsored by the Fredericksburg-Este Association, the free lecture is open to the public and will be held on Friday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. at St. George’s Episcopal Church at 905 Princess Anne St. Read more.
College of Education Puts Out Call for Proposals for STREAM Conference Oct. 26
The College of Education will host our new STREAM Conference on Saturday, October 26, 2019 from 9 to 1 p.m. STREAM education takes STEM and expands it to include reading and the arts because we know those are other important ways to teach 21st century skills to our students. We are currently putting out a call for proposals for our conference. We are looking for faculty, teachers, administrators, coaches, librarians…anyone who has innovative and engaging ideas they want to share with other educators in the area that use STREAM education to promote 21st century skills in the classroom. Ideas for sessions include using augmented and virtual reality, 3D printing, and the design process to enhance teaching and learning in schools.
There will be 3 different types of sessions for which we need presenters:
- Open sessions – where participants can come in and gets hands-on experience building activities or learning skills with the help of an expert. This is a time to play and explore with new ideas.
- Workshop – where participants are walked through an activity and leave with something they can take into their classroom. This is more structured than the open session.
- Presentations – participants can hear about ideas and strategies that are being used in the classroom and how they can integrate them into theirs.
Please share with educators who you believe would be great potential presenters. We are looking for presenters from all different subjects and grade levels. They can go to https://sites.google.com/view/coestreamconference/home for more information and to fill out the call-for-presenters form. We will be taking proposals until September 20, 2019. Presenters will be notified by September 27, 2019 if their proposal was accepted for this year’s conference.
Please contact Kristina Peck, Director of Clinical Experiences, at (540) 654-1351 or kpeck@umw.edu if you have any questions.
Meadows Provides 3D Design/Printing Workshops in Borneo
George Meadows, professor in the College of Education, recently delivered a series of on-site workshops on 3D printing and design to an Education Team from HUTAN. Headquartered in Sukau, Malaysia, HUTAN is a French NGO that researches Malaysian Borneo wildlife including Oranghutan and Pygmy Elephant. The Education team works with local people, focusing on issues linked to human-wildlife interaction. They hope to use the 3D printer to build models that can be used in their teaching. Meadows has worked with HUTAN several times in the past on both educational issues and technical issues such as the use of video-equipped drones to survey re-forestation efforts.
Russell Named Associate Director of Center for Teaching
A message from UMW Provost Nina Mikhalevsky:
Dr. Victoria Russell has accepted the position of Associate Director of UMW’s Center for Teaching. Victoria is an Associate Professor in the College of Education and former Program Director in Special Education. She received her Ed.D. from George Washington University in Special Education (2005), Master’s degrees in both History (1995) and Curriculum & Instruction (1996) from the College of William and Mary and a B.A. in History from Loyola University New Orleans (1993).
Victoria brings a wealth of professional development experience to this position. She has over 20 years of teaching experience in both K-12 and university settings and was a special education teacher in Maryland public schools. She specializes in inclusive practices and assessment and has had considerable experience thinking through accessible curriculum design and teaching these practices to future teachers. Victoria will be starting in this new position on June 25.
COE Partners to Debut ‘Intelligent Lives’ Documentary
The award-winning documentary Intelligent Lives will premiere on the Fredericksburg campus Thursday, March 7, from noon to 3:30 p.m. in the Hurley Convergence Center Digital Auditorium. A panel discussion will follow the film, which stars three pioneering young adults with intellectual disabilities – Micah, Naieer, and Naomie – who challenge perceptions of intelligence as they navigate high school, college, and the workforce.
The documentary is co-hosted by UMW’s College of Education and Gladys H. Oberle School in Fredericksburg. Admission is free, but registration is requested at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/intelligent-lives-tickets-54981928428.
“Intelligent Lives is a film to help us better understand the value and potential of the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by challenging our assumptions about intelligence, said COB Dean Peter Kelly. “I am grateful to partner with the Gladys H. Oberle School to share this important learning experience with students, teachers, and educators in the area.”
Academy Award-winning actor and narrator Chris Cooper contextualizes the lives of these central characters through the emotional story of his son Jesse, as the film unpacks the shameful and ongoing track record of intelligence testing in the U.S.
“People with intellectual disabilities are the most segregated of all Americans,” said Dan Habib, a New Hampshire-based filmmaker who is the documentary’s producer, director and cinematographer. “Only 17 percent of students with intellectual disabilities are included in regular education. Just 40 percent will graduate from high school. And of the 6.5 million Americans with intellectual disability, barely 15 percent are employed.”
Meadows Presents at Leadership Learning Exchange
George Meadows, professor in the College of Education, presented at the Spotsylvania County Schools Leadership Learning Exchange program on June 24. The title of his presentation was “In the Sandbox with Dr. Meadows: Makerspaces, Engineering, Robotics and New Technology for Your Classrooms.”
During the presentation, participants explored several new technologies and Meadows demonstrated and discussed possible applications in education. The technologies included 3-D printers and scanners, alternative input devices, circuitry components such as LittleBits and Circuit Stickers, and physical computing devices such as the Hummingbird board and the Arduino. Meadows also discussed the role of engineering labs/makerspaces and examples of existing educational makerspaces.