Judith Herb College of Education

FREE TO TALK: An Interactive Conversation About Mental Health

FREE TO TALK: An Interactive Conversation About Mental Health

November 9, 2021
7-8 p.m
Collier Building Room 1200 (Health Science Campus)


Dr. Spann – Distinguished Alumni Winner

Congratulations to Dr. Sammy Spann (PhD ’09), the Judith Herb College of Education’s Distinguished Alumni winner. Dr. Spann was recognized at the UToledo Homecoming Gala on Oct. 8, 2021.

 

Aside from UToledo’s president, Dr. Sammy Spann may be the most popular name on campus in the eyes of students. As associate Vice President and dean of students, Spann has unparalleled experience with the university. First starting as an employee of UToledo in 2002, Spann now offers leadership, administrative oversight and support to the Division of Student Affairs and several other offices.

Yippee Sammy!


Grant Award: LAUNCHING EDUCATORS FOR ALL LEARNERS

The Judith Herb College of Education has recently been awarded a grant from the Ohio’s Dean Compact.

The project, entitled Launching Educators for All Learners: UToledo’s Dual License Initiative, will redesign the University of Toledo’s successful graduate-level licensure programs for middle childhood education and adolescent and young adult education. The outcome of this work will result in inclusive graduate-level teacher preparation programs which prepare educators to meet the needs of all learners, particularly those with diverse learning needs. The revised programs will be grounded in culturally responsive practices and leads to dual licensure (e.g., middle childhood education + 4-9 intervention specialist; adolescent young adult education + 7-12 intervention specialist) and a Master of Education.

The two year project is in collaboration with school partners Toledo Public Schools and Washington Local Schools. The co-principal investigators are Richard Welsch, Jenny Denyer, and Rebecca Schneider.

Program redesign is an exciting opportunity to ensure further Rocket educators are well prepared for launching their careers as educators.

 


Best Wishes Student Teachers

Best wishes to our Fall 2021 student teachers!  The candidates began the semester with a day of professional development and learning on campus.  These bright candidates are eager to begin teaching and making an impact on young learners.  Have a wonderful semester!

Special thanks to all of our partner schools for mentoring the next generation of #RocketEducators


Study Shows Motivation is Key for Teachers to Overcome Racial Bias in Classroom

Study Shows Motivation is Key for Teachers to Overcome Racial Bias in Classroom

New research focused on college students training to become K-12 teachers emphasizes the need to recruit and enroll more diverse students in teacher education programs.

The study about culturally inclusive teaching published in the journal Learning and Instructionshows the motivation to appear unprejudiced alone does not result in a positive and meaningful change in teachers’ classroom-related beliefs and instructional practices.

For this to happen, it is important that teachers are also motivated to be unprejudiced — that is, to act in an unprejudiced way because it is personally important to them as opposed to acting unprejudiced because it is the politically correct thing to do or they feel pressured by others.

“All of us carry biases — it’s natural because we’re human,” said Dr. Revathy Kumar, professor of educational psychology in The University of Toledo Judith Herb College of Education. “What we do about our awareness of those biases makes a difference to our students, their comfort in the classroom, their academic efficacy, self-esteem and academic performance. It is vital for teachers to be motivated to be genuinely unprejudiced to overcome racial bias and create an inclusive learning environment.”

The study found that pre-service teachers’ genuine desire to be unprejudiced was positively associated with their endorsement of culturally and motivationally supportive instructional practices. A genuine desire to be unprejudiced also was negatively associated with expressions of explicit bias toward minority students.

The study also shows that the positive impact of being motivated to be unprejudiced — the preservice teachers’ commitment to promoting respect in the classroom and adapting instructions for culturally diverse students — gets amplified if the teacher-in-training also wants to appear unprejudiced.

“However, just wanting to appear unbiased in the absence of a genuine desire to be unbiased is insufficient,” Kumar said. “Every student should feel that he or she belongs, not isolated or alienated. This can only happen if we create culturally inclusive learning environments that are responsive to students’ academic, social and emotional needs. This requires teachers to become aware that they and their students are cultural beings.”

The research adds additional credence to ongoing advocacy efforts proposing that it is essential for Black and other minority students to see members of their community present in the teacher workforce.

The study used a sample of 258 college students studying to become teachers — 82% white, 9.7% Black, 3.1% Latinx, 1.6% Asian American, 0.7% American Indian, 2.7% biracial and 1.6% other.

Findings indicated that white pre-service teachers on average displayed a distinct and significant preference for white students over Black students, whereas minority teachers on average didn’t show preference.

“What is valued in society influences how we think and feel even about our own group,” Kumar said. “Therefore, it is important to note minority pre-service teachers are not insulated from holding bias toward students of color.”

“I would love to follow these same pre-service teachers into the classroom,” Kumar said. “We have all these beliefs and biases, and we have these motivations to be or to appear prejudiced. How are these beliefs and motivations going to translate into classroom behavior? For preservice teachers, most will advance into student teaching, but many still are not in the classrooms when they are taking important pedagogical courses such as educational psychology. They are not yet dealing with real students and students from different groups. They are talking about these issues at an abstract and intellectual level.”

Kumar, who emigrated from India in 1991, studies culturally inclusive teaching, self and identity processes and achievement motivation. She was a high school chemistry teacher before earning her Ph.D. in education and psychology at the University of Michigan and transitioning to teach future educators at the collegiate level.

“There has been a distinct difference in the last two years in the way people are responding to my work,” Kumar said. “People are starting to recognize culturally inclusive teaching as critically important in educational psychology. It’s not easy on our children. There is a social-cultural power dynamic in our educational institutions and definite link between power and knowledge that is valued.”

For teachers, Kumar said the key is to cultivate open-mindedness rather than anti-racist training because “open-mindedness includes a repertoire of intellectual virtues such as intellectual humility, intellectual diligence and intellectual courage. Developing these intellectual virtues enable us to become aware of our biases, have the humility to acknowledge that we hold biases and have the courage and persistence to overcome them.”

written by Christine Billau

Fingerprint Day – Aug 24th

COMPLETE YOUR BACKGROUND CHECK IN GILLHAM HALL

ONE DAY ONLY!

As a convenience for our students, fastfingerprints will be at the Judith Herb College of Education to process background checks on Tuesday, August 24, 2021

current background check is required to be on file before any field experience begins. Background checks are current for one calendar year.

This is a great opportunity to get your background check completed without having to go to the UT Police Dept. or to an off-campus business.

Background checks are required for students who are:

  • taking EDU 1700 Intro to Education
  • taking CIEC 4340 Infant & Toddler
  • completing any professional education-level method/practicum experience

 

Tuesday August 24, 2021

9:30 a.m to 2:30 p.m.
Student Services – 3100 Gillham Hall

Appointment required. Click Here. 

Registration Forms:   (bring the completed registration form with you to your scheduled appointment)

Cost:  $72 for BCI & FBI background check

Payable: cash, check, or credit card

Individual student responsible for payment


CELEBRATING SUCCESS: Chelsey Neff

CELEBRATING SUCCESS: UToledoNEWS recognizes the Class of 2021 with a series of stories featuring students receiving their degrees at spring commencement.

Chelsey Neff (AYA major) was features in the news series on April 30, 2021.

Click here read the whole story.


KAPPA DELTA PI INDUCTS 25 NEW MEMBERS

ZETA EPSILON, UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO’S CHAPTER OF KAPPA DELTA PI, INTERNATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY IN EDUCATION, INDUCTS 25 NEW MEMBERS

Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society in Education, is pleased to announce that 25 students were inducted virtually into the Zeta Epsilon Chapter of the society at the University of Toledo.

Because of continued restrictions of COVID, it was not possible to hold an in-person gathering to induct and celebrate the academic achievements of the twenty-five University of Toledo students joining Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society. As a result, this year’s inductees into the Zeta Epsilon Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society completed a virtual induction ceremony.

The Society inducts only those individuals who have exhibited the ideals of scholarship, integrity in service, and commitment to excellence in teaching and its allied professions. Selection as a member of Kappa Delta Pi is based on high academic achievement, a commitment to education as a career, and a professional attitude that assures steady growth in the profession.

Spring 2021 KDP Inductees

Tara Beyer Madelyn Eye Matthew Kimura Elizabeth Razzoog
Megan Brown Nicole Goe Mackenzie Kruszka Andrew Rinck
McKenzie Camerieri Chitranjan Greer-Travis Cali Leiby Tiffany Rowland
Caitlin Colter Jamison Halliday Melanie Miller Grace Schlageter
Sarah DeWitt Claire Hensley Amanda Nagy Raymond Tomanski
Averia Dunbar Amber Hunter Victoria Pope Ashley Vargas
      Stephanie Wheeler

About Kappa Delta Pi
Kappa Delta Pi, International Honor Society in Education, is a 501 (c) (3) organization established in 1911 to recognize and promote excellence in education, provide a reasoned voice for significant issues, and link learning communities of educators. Through its programs, services, and strategic partnerships, KDP supports the professional growth and teaching practices of educators throughout all phases and levels of their careers. The organization currently has more than 600 chapters and an active membership of nearly 40,000 worldwide.


INCREASING EQUITY AND ACCESS – professional education admissions

INCREASING EQUITY AND ACCESS – changing professional education admissions criteria

 

There is a growing skepticism about standardized test scores. Concerns about bias, reliability, and objectiveness have some researcher questioning if standardized test scores should be used in high-stakes situations.

The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CEAP), the national accrediting body for the Judith Herb College of Education, has approved a revised set of standards: the 2022 CAEP Initial Level Standards

 

One important change with the revised standards is that colleges of education are no longer required to monitor standardized test scores in reading, writing, and mathematic skills for future educators.  This change is a direct result of CAEP’s action to create more socially just and equitable practices.  Standardized tests have presented barriers to candidates from underrepresented minorities and low socioeconomic backgrounds.  Hence, standardized test scores are no longer required for institutions to be accredited.

 

In turn, the JHCOE has adjusted our requirements for admission to professional education to align with the 2022 CAEP Standards.  We have removed the testing requirement, effective immediately.  The college’s requirements for admission to professional education can be found at this link:  https://www.utoledo.edu/education/studentservices/praxis-information.html

* photo credit – Franziska Barczyk for NPR

This change will afford a more diverse group of students the opportunity to enter professional education-level and matriculate to graduation. #RocketEducator

 


Teacher Hero Poster Project

Lately, educators have been heroes. While pandemic teaching might be the hardest thing teachers have done,  many educators have gone above and beyond to ensure student learning.  There is stress, there is anxiety, there is vulnerability….yet there is also joy and passion.

The Teacher Hero Poster Project was completed by the faculty, staff, and students of the Judith Herb College of Education.  Posters were created to motivate educators as they participated in the Lucas County Health Department’s vaccination clinics, which was held on UToledo’s campus.

Thank you educators for what you do each day!

          


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