College of Education Newsletter

Welcome to the July edition of the UCA College of Education Newsletter! As the sun shines brightly, we are delighted to bring you the latest updates, inspiring stories, and valuable resources from our college and the education community. This newsletter aims to keep you informed about our ongoing initiatives and accomplishments of our faculty, staff, students, and alumni. As this is our sixth year to produce a monthly newsletter, we would like to start a new feature where we welcome contributions from our esteemed readers! If you have a heartwarming story, a successful teaching strategy, or a research finding to share, please reach out to us at tlc@uca.edu. Your contributions could inspire and empower fellow educators worldwide.

We hope you enjoy reading this summer newsletter and find it informative and motivating. Remember, education is a journey, and together, we can make a difference. Wishing you a wonderful summer filled with learning and growth!

-Vicki Groves-Scott

It's with a sad heart that we share the news that Karen Sullards, one of the founding members of the COE Dean's Advisory Board, recently passed away. Karen Sullards '72, '75 was introduced to teaching while her mother taught in the 3-room Tupelo, AR Elementary School. Karen loved to go to school during recess and ring the school bell. When her father returned from Korea, the family moved to Conway and Arkansas State Teachers College (ASTC) for her father to finish his degree. Karen began her relationship with the University that would become an integral part of her life. Karen’s family lived in Wingo Hall and she attended the Irby School on the ASTC campus, ate breakfast in the bookstore (on the bottom floor of Main) and waded in the fish pond in front of McAlister Hall. In 1955, Karen proudly walked across the stage in Ida Waldran and received her ASTC Baby of Arts degree (an honorary degree granted to children of graduating veterans and nontraditional students who had lived on campus).

After graduating from State College of Arkansas (SCA) in 1972, Karen began her teaching career. She spent more than 40 years as an Arkansas educator, primarily in the Pulaski County Special School District (PCSSD). Karen had a number of roles in education throughout her tenure: classroom teacher, instructional specialist, assistant principal, and principal. She has worked as a School Improvement Director for the Arkansas Department of Education and as a capacity builder for the Arkansas Leadership Academy - a leadership development provider for teachers and administrators. Even though she has(Delete) retired at least twice, she continued to be an active supporter of public education and UCA, including serving on the Dean's Advisory Board and the UCA NOW Campaign Steering Committee. Her passing is a great loss, to Arkansas, to UCA, and to the College of Education.

Leslie Gomes (Department of Student Transitions) and Dr. Thomas Bruick (Department of Leadership Studies) recently served as facilitators at the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Academic Leadership (CETAL) Teaching Excellence Institute. There were 22 participants and 13 facilitators.

This is the third year that CETAL has offered the week-long institute. According to their website, themes of the of institute were:

• a deep dive into the characteristics of the UCA student body
• the science of learning and memory
• inclusive pedagogies
• executive function skills

For more information about the CETAL Teaching Excellence Institute, please visit https://uca.edu/cetal/teaching-excellence-institute/.

The College of Education is proud to announce the tenure and/or promotion of several of its faculty.

Dr. TK Anderson, Department of Teaching and Learning, was promoted to Clinical Instructor III.

Dr. Michael Mills, Associate Dean, was promoted to Professor. Dr. Mills also serves as faculty in the Department of Teaching and Learning.

Dr. Charlotte Parham, Department of Leadership Studies, was awarded tenure and was promoted to Associate Professor.

Dr. Amy Thompson, Department of Elementary, Literacy, and Special Education, was awarded tenure and was promoted to Associate Professor. Dr. Thompson also serves as Program Coordinator of the Master's in Literacy/Dyslexia program.

* Photo Info (Clockwise from top left): Dr. Michael Mills, Dr. Charlotte Parham, Dr. TK Anderson, and Dr. Amy Thompson

Ms. Catherine Miller (Department of Elementary, Literacy, and Special Education) shared some exciting moments from her summer Science Concepts course.

Zoo Exploration: Students concluded their explorations of their Animal and Plant life Units with a Visit to the Little Rock Zoo. They observed animal life and made real life connections about the relationship between habitats and diet.

Organization of the Universe: Student’s explored the Universe using resources from NASA and the Star Walk App. They were able to use technology to locate various constellations in the sky. Lastly, students completed a Phases of the Moon Oreo Lab in order to describe the different phases of the moon.

Faith Forrest recently published an article on the Edutopia website with Dr. Jessica Herring-Watson (Department of Teaching & Learning). The article describes their work with iPads and stop motion animation in the middle school math classroom. The article can be read at this link: https://www.edutopia.org/article/hands-on-multisensory-learning-middle-school-math.

Faith is a graduate of UCA's Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT/Middle Level) program and will graduate in Spring 2024 with an Education Specialist degree in Digital Age Teaching and Learning.

*Photo info: Faith Forrest (L) and Dr. Jessica Herring-Watson

Ronit Glickman is a current student in the MSE Literacy/Dyslexia program. She is a founding member of The Reading League-California and currently serves as the Director of Regional Equity. Ronit is passionate about Literacy/Dyslexia and has worked tirelessly in California to advocate for change and legislation. That passion has led to California legislating mandatory universal screening.

Mollie Mae Henager (College of Education Director of Development) was recently honored by Arkansas Business as part of the 2023 class of 20 in their 20's. This list recognizes 20 young rising business and community leaders. The 2023 class will be featured in the September 2023 edition of Arkansas Business.

https://www.arkansasbusiness.com/.../20-in-their.../honorees

Dr. Amy Thompson (Department of Elementary, Literacy, and Special Education), Dr. Sun Thao (Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders), Dr. Sana Tibi (Florida State University), and Abigail Rains, Aubrey Butler, and Jasmin Martinez (Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders students) recently had their presentation proposal accepted at an international conference. Their presentation entitled Emerging Trends in Education: Active Learning for Students with Reading Deficits was accepted at the annual conference of the Asian Pacific Society of Speech, Language, and Hearing held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Anne Cowie joins the Department of Leadership Studies as a full-time faculty member this year for the Library Media and Information Technologies (LIBM) program. She has been an adjunct instructor for the program since January of 2022.

Anne has been recognized as a Teacher of Influence by the Arkansas Governor’s School and a Most Influential Teacher by Arkansas School for Math, Science and the Arts. She is a National Writing Project Teacher Consultant and a member of the American Association of School Librarians. Anne Marie is a governor-appointed Commissioner on the AR PBS Commission, currently serving as that board’s treasurer.

Anne serves on the University of Central Arkansas LIBM Advisory Board. She was a 2013 and 2018 member of the Arkansas Department of Education’s Instructional Media Specialist Frameworks Revision Committee. She has been a member of AAIM since 2006, served as AAIM Student Media Festival and Banquet Chair & Co-Chair, Publicity Chair, Appointed Board Member, and is a frequent presenter at AAIM conferences.

Laura Marshall joins the Department of Teaching and Learning as a Visiting Instructor. She previously served as a Gifted and Talented Facilitator for Pulaski County Special School District for eight years. She has 16 years of experience as an elementary educator and received Arkansas’ Gifted & Talented Educator of the Year in 2022. Laura is also a current Leadership and Equity Ph.D. student at UCA and will complete her doctorate within the next two years. She has an undergraduate (Park Administration) degree from Arkansas Tech University (ATU), as well as her Master of Arts in Teaching from UCA, and a second Master’s in Teaching English as a Second Language from ATU. Laura is an advocate for twice-exceptional and underrepresented students. Her dissertation topic is “How to Promote Induction of English Language Learners and Twice-Exceptional in Gifted and Talented Programs.” She has received multiple grants and coordinated many events for her district including robotics, spelling bees, science fairs, STEAM, and school gardens at her previous school. She has been a mentor for novice teachers for years.

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