Virginia Tech School of Education Newsletter - Spring 2023
REIMAGINING THE FUTURE
SOE NEWS
With National Science Foundation appointment, School of Education Alumnus Seeks to Reach STEM's "Missing Millions"
The National Science Foundation and other national organizations are increasingly using the term "missing millions" to signify talent lost to the country's lack of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.
Using skills he learned as a student in the counselor education program in the School of Education (SOE), alumnus James Moore is leading the charge to reach those millions and create opportunities for underserved communities across the United States.
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The Stigma is Real: Alumna Seeks to Break Down Barriers in the Mental Health Field
For Bethany Lackey, graduate of the counselor education doctoral program, there is nothing more important than breaking down stigmas and barriers within the mental health field with her ultimate goal to increase accessibility for all.
She is well on her way, as co-founder of A Tree Planted Collective (ATP), a non-profit, mental health practice in Roanoke that strives to maintain a people and community first model, she has created a space where families and individuals from diverse backgrounds can access a variety of services based on their needs.
RESEARCH EXCELLENCE
School of Education Research Team Crunches School Climate Survey Data
Ten years ago, a school district near Richmond asked for Gerard Lawson’s help with suicide prevention programming following a string of suicides.
Now, Lawson, a professor in the counselor education program, and a team of students and faculty in the School of Education are continuing to help schools across the state by collecting and analyzing school climate data.
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AWARDS
Virginia Tech School of Education Doctoral Students Recognized with the K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders Award
Doctoral students Jordan Westcott and Clint Whitten were selected to receive the K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders Award, recognizing their commitment to academic innovation in the areas of equity, community engagement, and teaching and learning in higher education.
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Two School of Education Facullty Honored with Professor Emeritus Status
George Glasson, professor and leader of the science education program from 1996 to 2021, established himself as a leader in science education and place-based education through his funded research, service to K-12 educators locally as well as internationally, and publications, outreach, and presentations on best practices in science education. Glasson has been recognized for excellence in science teacher preparation, consulting to enhance science instruction with in-service teachers, and engagement in initiatives devoted to diversifying the professoriate through recruitment and mentoring of underrepresented graduate students.
Gary Skaggs, professor in the educational research and evaluation program, was Principal or Co-Principal Investigator on grants researching standard setting in large-scale educational testing as well as author or co-author of more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and reviews. Over the years, he held leadership positions in several professional organizations, including the National Council on Measurement in Education, which honored him in 2005 with its Bradley Hanson Award in recognition of educational measurement excellence. He taught undergraduate and graduate courses, serving on more than 50 master’s degree and Ph.D. committees in educational research and evaluation.
UPON REFLECTION
More Than Corn: Preparing Teachers for Iowa's Rural Schools
Guest author Erika L Bass, assistant professor of English education at the University of Northern Iowa, tells us how rural places in Iowa are dedicated to empowering their citizens. How does this impact teacher preparation programs?
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What Do Google Images Tell Us About Rural Places?
Shikhar Kashyap, doctoral student at the VT School of Education, asks questions that affect us all. What results come up when searching for rural America or rural India? Are those stories accurate and representative?
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Thank you for your generous gifts on Giving Day!
EVENTS
RESEARCH & PUBLICATION HIGHLIGHTS
Sharrika Adams, with alumnus Michael Kutnak, published “A Mathematical Model of Non-Clinical Case Management Hours in Student Affairs,” Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice 59 (2022), pp. 435-449.
Catheryn Foster, with Melody Causby, published “Instrumental Music Education in Rural North Carolina: A Descriptive Study,” Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education 234 (2022): 63–88.
Marcus Johnson, with Imogen Rose Herrick et al., published “Strategies and Challenges to Teaching for Conceptual Learning,” Teaching Learning for Effective Instruction, ed. Michelle M. Buehl and Jane S. Vogler, Theory to Practice: Educational Psychology for Teachers and Teaching 3 (Charlotte, North Carolina: Information Age Publishing, 2022), pp. 145–68
Brett Jones, with alumnus Stephan Munz, published “Increasing Athletes’ Engagement and Performance Using the MUSIC Model of Motivation,” Journal of Contemporary Athletics 15.4 (2021): 263–81
Tonisha Lane, with Shawna M. Patterson-Stephens, Ebony N. Perez, and Devona Foster Pierre published "Examining Relationships that Matter: A Qualitative Study of Black Women in Doctoral Education" Journal of African American Women and Girls in Education 2.1 (2022): 27-46. She also published "Culturally Relevant Mentoring: A Differentiator for Institutional Change" with Sylvia Wilson Thomas et al.
Barbara Lockee, with alumna Qing Zhang, published “Designing a Framework to Facilitate Metacognitive Strategy Development in Computer-Mediated Problem-Solving Instruction,” Journal of Formative Design in Learning 6.2 (2022): 127–43.
Charles Lowery, with Michael Hess, published “One School Leader’s Storied Response to the Opioid Crisis: A Narrative on Moral Literacy,” Brave Space-Making: The Poetics and Politics of Storytelling, ed. Lynn M. Harter and Brittany L. Peterson (Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing, 2022), pp. 581–98
Carol Mullen published “I Write as an Uninvited Guest on Indigenous Land: Recentering Allyship in Education,” Educational Studies 58.4 (2022): 495–510 and “‘Navigating Uncharted Waters’: New Teacher Mentoring and Induction,” Research in Educational Administration and Leadership 7.4 (2022): 751–85, with Educational Leadership and Policy Studies alumna Mattie Fallen. She also published "Emotional Disability and Strategies for Supporting Student Outcomes: Interviews with K–12 Special Education Teachers,” Teacher Development: An International Journal of Teachers’ Professional Development 26.4 (2022): 453–71 with alumna Turonne Hunt and “Impacting Student Achievement: Principals’ Instructional Leadership Practice in Two Title I Rural Schools,” Journal of School Leadership 33.1 (2023): 3–25. with alumna Judy Cox
Dana Robertson co-edited Innovations in Literacy Professional Learning. Strengthening Equity, Access, and Sustainability (New York, New York: Guilford Press, 2023), with Leigh A. Hall, and Cynthia H. Brock. His individual contributions to the volume were “Introduction. Innovation, Equity, and Sustainability in Literacy Professional Learning,” pp. 1-18, with Brock, and “Using Digital Tools to Promote Teacher Agency and Enhance Teacher Professional Learning,” pp. 191–212, with Lauren Breckenridge Padesky, Alexis Barney, and Noelle Clark.
Marcus Weaver-Hightower published "South Africa’s Voortrekker Monument and 1820 Settlers National Monument: Monuments to Cultural Violence,” Special Issue on Colonial Violence and Monuments in Global History, Journal of Genocide Research 24.4 (2022): 549–67.
Laura Welfare, with Jasmine Graham, Norma L. Gray-Vines and Michelle Ghoston, published "Stress, Coping, and the Strong Black Woman: An Empirical Analysis" Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development 50.3 (2022): 162-170. She also published "Modeled Wellness: How Perceived Supervisor Explains Supervisee Personal Wellness" Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision 15.1 (2022) with alum Kevin J. Doyle.
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