College of Education Newsletter

The many rainy, chilly days we have had lately always make me think of this poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. If you’ve heard the line “into each life some rain must fall," here’s the origin. I love the message of hope and spring renewal. - Vicki

The Rainy Day

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart, and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

The College of Education is celebrating another successful Day of Giving! Thanks to the joint effort from faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of the College, we exceeded our fundraising goal. In total, we raised over $26,000 from 90+ donors, and we couldn't have done it without our incredible community. The College of Education Student Emergency Fund alone raised $9,404, which will all go directly to students in the form of emergency scholarships. One of the highlights from the day was our Donation Table in Mashburn, which gave students and employees the opportunity to give what they could. The table brought in 15 additional donors, most of whom were students. We love to see our students start to give back even before they graduate! We are so grateful for the generosity and support of our community and look forward to an even bigger Day of Giving next year!

UCA past and present GATE students received multiple awards at the Arkansans for Gifted and Talented Education (AGATE) annual conference on February 23rd.

Laura Marshall, a graduate of the GATE program and current PhD student, received the AGATE Educator Award. The purpose of this award is to recognize those individuals in the field of education who have made significant contributions to the education of gifted and talented students.

Susy Gooch, a graduate of the GATE program, received the AGATE Challenger Award. The purpose of this award is to honor and recognize a person or persons who risked taking an unusual (creative, different, innovative) step in a direction most people would probably not think of or consider.

Mike Gray, a graduate of the GATE program and current ASTL student, received the AGATE Curriculum Award. The purpose of this award is to highlight the importance of differentiated curriculum and to recognize outstanding curriculum units. Mike Gray's curriculum unit was developed in the GATE curriculum course taught by Dr. Nykela Jackson. Mr. Gray also received a $1000 scholarship for graduate tuition from AGATE.

Sarah Cooper, a new student in the GATE program, received a $1000 scholarship for graduate tuition from AGATE.

Dr. Debbie Dailey, Chair of the Department of Teaching and Learning, and Coordinator of the GATE program, received the Martha Ann Jones Norton Service Award. The purpose of this award is to honor and recognize a member of AGATE for outstanding service to the organization.

*See photos below (left to right):

Mike Gray

Laura Marshall

Dr. Debbie Dailey

Educators Rising recently hosted its first program of the semester. Students participated in an engaging program facilitated by Dr. Riva Brown from the PHBrown Group. Future educators and professionals learned ways to use social media to enhance their personal and professional lives. Educators Rising is advised by Dr. T.K. Anderson and Dr. Nykela Jackson (Department of Teaching and Learning), and Ms. Catherine F. Miller (Department of Elementary, Literacy, and Special Education).

Mrs. Lisa Herrington (Department of Elementary, Literacy, and Special Education) recently participated in Reading Day at Julia Lee Moore Elementary in Conway, AR. She dressed as the book character Pinkalicious and read the book to two kindergarten classes.

Also participating in Reading Day were some of the students from Mrs. Herrington's Child and Young Adult Literature class (Stephanie Givens, Nicole Ball, Anna Kerr, Emily Wood, and Sydney Tanner).

*See photos below (left to right):

Mrs. Herrington as Pinkalicious

Emily Wood, Nicole Ball, Mrs. Herrington, Stephanie Givens, and Sydney Tanner

Anna Kerr

Teacher Candidates in Ms. Catherine Miller’s (Department of Elementary, Literacy, and Special Education) SCI 4410 class explore biological concepts through direct experiences. Each candidate selected a fruit or vegetable to plant and monitor over the remainder of the semester. Candidates will journal weekly about how changes to the environment impact the progress of their plant growth.

*See photos below

Dr. Michelle Buchanan (Department of Teaching and Learning) was recently recognized as a member of the Leadership Council of Exceptional Children (CEC) inaugural cohort.

Leadership CEC included individuals identified as early leaders in the Council of Exceptional Children organization. This program was developed by the Leadership Development Program Subcommittee of the Leadership Development Committee (LDC). For one year, the cohort committed to meet once a month and were provided resources, activities, professional development, networking, and opportunities for professional mentoring/coaching experience.

Last fall, Dr. Stefanie Sorbet (Department of Elementary, Literacy, and Special Education) and Dr. Lesley Graybeal (UCA) presented a workshop on active learning strategies at the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Academic Leadership (CETAL) mini conference. Their article that highlights the ideas from their presentation was recently published in Faculty Focus. You can access the article by going to https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-classroom-management/building-student-ownership-through-active-learning-strategies/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=email_this&utm_source=email.

Missed an issue? You can view past issues of the COE Newsletter by going to https://uca.edu/education/coenewsletter/.