Meetings/Events

Congratulations

Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships. Our very own CD Graduate Student, Rebecca Tomaszewski, claimed the Individual National Championship title in the women’s cross country event. Rebecca becomes the first ASU Cyclist to ever win an individual national championship and to our knowledge, only the 2nd female athlete (along with Mary Jane Harrelson) in ASU history to win a national championship title! This is quite an accomplishment! General information about the championships can be found at: http://www.ncca.lmc.edu/

Sympathy

The RCOE community extends its sympathy to the family of Dr. Mayrelee Newman. Dr. Newman joined the faculty of Appalachian State University as an associate professor in educational media and director of the Institute on the Learning Resource Center of the Two-Year College in 1969. She spent the summer of 1973 as a visiting lecturer at Washington State University, and in 1972-74 she acted as principal investigator and project director for Maximizing Learning Opportunities in three counties of western North Carolina. In 1979, she took a one-year leave of absence from Appalachian to serve as program officer of the Fund for Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) for the United States Department of Education in Washington, D.C. She retired as a professor emerita of leadership and higher education in December 1989 and remained a resident of Boone, N.C.

Dr. Newman’s areas of special interest included adult education, Scandinavian folk schools, continued improvement of teaching and learning, international education, occupational training, and literacy. Her special scholarly efforts included two visits to Scandinavia to research folk schools (1977 and 1986), seven weeks in Egypt studying adult technical schools and literacy training (1979), and two semesters as director of the Appalachian House in Washington, D.C.

Becoming a Digital Nomad: Life as a Visiting Professor in Two EU Universities

Roberto Muffoletto (C&I) spent the 2007-08 year in the Netherlands and Poland under a grant from the International Program Office. He will share some of his experiences in working with two different universities and administrating and teaching in an online graduate program from outside the USA in a presentation, Monday, Oct. 27 from 12-1 in 03. Pizza and drinks provided. Session is sponsored by the RCOE International Committee.

Successful NCDE Conference

The National Center for Developmental Education held the 4th International Conference on Research in Access and Developmental Education at the Condado Hotel and Resort in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The conference was designed to highlight the growing body of U.S. and international research in developmental and access education. Over 350 professionals attended, about 10% from other nations.

The conference theme was “Diversifying Higher Education through Research.” The conference featured 96 presentations on topics consistent with this theme. Claire Ellen Weinstein, the internationally renowned cognitive psychologist from the University of Texas delivered a keynote address along with Ansley A. Abraham who heads the Compact for Diversity, Doctoral Scholars Program with the Southern Regional Education Board. Hunter R. Boylan (LES/NCDE) also delivered a keynote address. Appalachian State University faculty members Barbara Bonham (LES), George Olson (LES) and Elizabeth Carroll (ENG) also presented at the conference.

Although the staff of the National Center for Developmental Education designed and delivered the conference, it was also co-sponsored by the Association for the Tutoring Profession, the College Reading and Learning Association, the National Association for Developmental Education, the National College Learning Center Association, and the University of Puerto Rico System.

Infusing K-12 Curriculum with Global Perspectives

The following workshop should prove useful to students as well as faculty:

A Workshop to Develop Intercultural Learning & Teaching Skills
Friday, Nov. 7th, 2008 ; 8:30am – 4:30pm The Broyhill Inn & Conference Center

An interactive agenda of skill building, dialogue, & exploring how to integrate international resources into K-12 classrooms:

• Opening speaker, Dr. Curtis Ryan, “Islam & the Arabic World”
• “Utilizing the Arts to Teach World Cultures” – The A+ School Program
• “Cultural Correspondents Program” – NC in the World
• “Panel Discussion with NC Returnees of the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program”
• “The Material World & Hungry Planet”, Ms. Trudy Moss, Media Specialist at Watauga High School
• Globally-Oriented Experiences & Community Programming

Opportunities for participants to develop a portfolio of internationally-infused teaching skills & curriculum resources ! Contact info: Phone: 828-262-2046 E-mail: asugo@appstate.edu International Outreach Programs I.G. Greer, Room 238 Register online at: www.international.appstate.edu/outreach/events.html

New Teachers and Diversity

A report from the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality and Public Agendas entitled "Are New Teachers Ready for Diverse Classrooms?" offers some interesting observations. The study found that 76 percent of new teachers said that teaching in an ethnically diverse student body was covered in their teacher preparation training, but only 39 percent said that the training helped them in actual practice.

One of the surprising findings noted was that new teachers in affluent/suburban communities often felt less prepared and were more anxious about teaching diverse groups than their counterparts at "high needs" schools. (http://www.publicagenda.org/files/pdf/lessons_learned_3.pdf)

Toyota International Teacher Program

All classroom and library teachers of grades 6-12 who have been teaching for at least 3 years are eligible for this program. The Toyota International Teacher Program values diversity and educators of all subjects and school types are encouraged to apply. Educators are selected through a competitive application process and are expected to implement projects in their classrooms and communities upon their return.

This is a fully funded project, one worthy of bringing to the attention of cooperating teachers and others in the public schools within which we work.

http://www.iie.org/programs/toyota/application_instructions.html

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“Change is a Journey, not a Destination.”
—M. Fullan