School of Education Students receive Awards at Honor’s Day
The School of Education honored more than 60 students for academic excellence and leadership at the School’s Annual Scholarship and Awards Program held on Sunday, March 21st, 2010 at the Morris University Center.
The School of Education is pleased to have the support of individuals, faculty members, and organizations that provide annual or endowed scholarships assisting deserving students. The Scholarship and Awards Program is a way to recognize outstanding students, to thank scholarship sponsors for their generosity, and to introduce them to the student receiving their scholarship.
The School of Education at SIUE is unique in its combination of undergraduate and graduate professional programs that prepare individuals for a wide range of careers. The School of Education not only prepares highly qualified PreK-12 classroom teachers and administrators, but also professionals in exciting and high-need areas including sports management, community recreation, clinical psychology, speech-language pathology and audiology, and instructional technology. We are proud of the achievements of our students including those recognized as the recipients of awards.
Psychology Students Win First Place Award
Psychology students Jillian Elhoffer and Meghan George recently won a first place award for their poster titled, "Yes, I CAN!...(get some job satisfaction) - An Organizational Initiative Affecting Weight Loss, Mood and Job Satisfaction." The students presented the poster at the Great Plains Students' Psychology Convention that was held March 27 at Missouri State Western University.
KHE Student Named Outstanding Teaching Assistant
Tara Eaton, Masters Student in Exercise Physiology, was named the Outstanding Teaching Assistant at SIUE this year. Originally from Carmen, IL, Eaton received her Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise and Wellness from SIUE in May of 2008 and began work on her Master’s Degree in the fall of 2008.
As a teaching assistant, Tara was responsible for teaching two sections of KIN 205 (Personalized Shape-Up) and even had the chance to teach a lecture-based course in the summer of 2009, KIN 270 (Personal Wellness). Also a graduate assistant, her responsibilities included coordinating the testing schedule for the Weight Management Clinic that is sponsored by the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education.
Tara received “above-average” remarks on her course evaluations having 80% of her students indicating “above-average” or “excellent” on all 22 of the items on the evaluation. Her students believed she was fun, energetic, and passionate about the subject matter she taught.
Her nominator, N. Kay Covington, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Program Director for Exercise and Wellness, mentioned in her letter that Tara “exceeds our expectations and represents the best of the best.” Not only is she an outstanding teaching and graduate assistant, but she also is a great student, being “among the top ten percent of students I have taught,” said Covington. “She has become the ‘go-to’ Graduate Assistant for other GA’s in our department.”
Aside from her teaching assistantship, Tara was involved in the Kinesiology and Health Education Student Association and enjoys tutoring other students. In her spare time she enjoys relaxing, being with her family, and meeting new people. She dreams of maybe one day owning her own studio for training or working in Corporate Wellness and after graduation, she plans on finding a corporate wellness position in St. Louis, possibly becoming part-time faculty or even pursing another Master’s Degree.
Her advice for other students is “Don’t limit yourself to one path, keep your options open and don’t settle for one thing.” And she also advises other graduate students to apply for graduate assistant positions because they open up other options.
Other nominators included Curt Lox, Ph.D., Chair and Graduate Program Director of Kinesiology and Health Education, and Bette Bergeron, Ph.D., Dean of the School of Education.
SIUE’s Literacy Program Receives National Recognition
The Literacy Program, in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, prepares teachers to be literacy leaders and earn K-12 Reading Specialist Certification. Under the direction of Dr. Stephanie McAndrews, this relatively new Master of Science in Literacy Education degree was approved in the fall of 2005 and the Post Master’s certificate was approved in the spring of 2007.
After an extensive review by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) in consultation with the International Reading Association (IRA), the department received notice in February 2010 that SIUE’s literacy program joins the elite group of universities as a nationally recognized program for the preparation of reading education professionals. Other than ISU, SIUE is the only university in central or southern Illinois to receive this honor. The previous year the program was nationally recognized with conditions. To address these conditions, the program now includes more leadership and coaching experiences, helping our candidates to shift from just providing diagnostic instruction to students, to supporting other teachers in meeting the reading and writing needs of all students.
The program includes foundational courses for K-12 language, reading, and writing development; a clinical sequence where candidates assess and tutor K-12 students in our Cougar Literacy Clinic; and a leadership sequence to support other professionals in enhancing students’ literacy development. As of May 2010, the department will have 77 graduates from the program who are all teachers and reading specialists in their schools. The children in this region are positively impacted in meaningful ways as a direct result of being taught by graduates of SIUE’s literacy program or taught by teachers who received support from our graduates.
Dr. Kirk Receives $75,000 Grant
Dr. Stacie M. Kirk from the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders has been awarded a $75,000 grant from Active Living Research, a national program office of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, to investigate physical activity and its relationship to the development of early literacy skills. Dr. Kirk will continue her work from a previous grant awarded from the Graduate School at SIUE to carry out a collaborative study with Special Education (Early Childhood) and Exercise Physiology (Obesity Prevention, Dr. Erik P. Kirk) in partnership with the East St. Louis Head Start program.
The purpose of the study is to determine the impact of implementing a teacher-led physical activity program in a Head Start program on: 1) increasing physical activity levels, and 2) improving early literacy in African-American (AA) preschool children. An exploratory aim will explore issues such as program satisfaction by teachers, children and families. It is anticipated that the results from this study will help provide a basis for developing an effective and economical approach for treating overweight or obese AA children, a group at high risk of developing obesity and delays in early literacy development that can be disseminated nationwide to other Head Start and childcare programs.
In addition to Dr. Stacie M. Kirk as Principal Investigator, project staff include: Dr. Erik P. Kirk, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Senior Staff, Physical Activity, Dr. Curt L. Lox, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Senior Staff, Behaviorist, Dr. Ken Schechtman, Washington University in Saint Louis Medical School, Senior Staff, Behaviorist, Dr. Dale Walker, Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas, Project Mentor.
Health Education Students to Participate in Travel Study to Ghana
Five SIUE Health Education Students will be participating in a five-week international internship travel study in Ghana this summer. The program is aimed at providing health education students with a unique field experience. It will provide students with opportunities for academic, social, cultural, and personal enrichment. Students will have the opportunity to learn about health issues in developing societies.
Students will intern with non-profit and government organizations that provide health related services. They will assist in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of health programs. They will also have the opportunity to experience the Ghanaian culture and investigate the social and cultural factors that impact health education, promotion, prevention and care in a developing society such as Ghana. Students will be expected to attend a one week class after returning from Ghana to prepare and present their internship experiences to other health education students and faculty. They will also be required to submit a reflection paper/report on their field experiences. Faculty members will be invited to attend the students’ presentations.
Students that will be participating from the SIUE Health Education program include: Afua Attobra, Lacie Guithues, Sekinat Lawal, Fifame Oussa, and William Quamson.
