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July 8, 2019
by Baylor Instant Impact
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An American Intern in Paris [07/08/2019]

Rachel Renbarger, an educational psychology doctoral student at Baylor, is in the midst of a six-month data-analysis internship in Paris with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The OECD offers many internships — 40 in education alone. However, Renbarger was the only intern selected as a data analyst for the study on social and emotional skills. “Day to day, I’ll be doing a lot of teamwork and a lot of collaboration,” Renbarger said.

During her time working on the study, the main focus is on field data – working to make sure that everything is set to run smoothly later in the study. “I think it’s going to be really great to collaborate with people who are from outside the U.S., because I haven’t done that before,” Renbarger said. Continue Reading →

May 30, 2019
by Baylor Instant Impact
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SOE Hosted 12th Annual Higher Education Conference [05/30/2019]

Baylor School of Education and the Department of Educational Leadership hosted the 12th annual Christian Higher Education Leadership Seminar on the Baylor campus May 19-22. The seminar is sponsored by the International Association of Baptist Colleges and Universities (IABCU) and is geared toward leaders of faith-based colleges and universities.

The 30 participants included faculty, deans, program heads, and future administrators in Christian institutions of higher education from across the country. Speakers at this year’s Seminar comprised university professors, chaplains, provosts, directors, deans, and academic scholars.

Dr. Rishi Sriram, associate professor of higher education and associate chair for the School of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership spoke at this year’s seminar and completed his third year as the conference’s director. Continue Reading →

March 4, 2019
by Baylor Instant Impact
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School Psychology for the 21st Century [03/04/2019]

By Dr. Julie Ivery
Centennial Faculty Guest Blog

Do you know what a school psychologist is? If so, you either are one, or you are friends with one. If not, don’t worry, because this is a question many people ask. We’re hoping this blog can help everyone better understand just some of the hundreds of roles a school psychologist fills!

School Psychology is a specialty of professional psychology that focuses on the science and practice of psychology with children and families, learners of all ages, and the schooling process. It also is consistently ranked as one of the best social service jobs in the United States by U.S. News and World Report.

READ MORE at Baylor.edu/SOE/100

February 7, 2019
by Baylor Instant Impact
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SOE’s Sport Management Grads Contributing to Elite Baylor Basketball Programs [02/07/2019]

Graduates of the Sport Management Program on the men’s basketball staff are Aditya Malhotra (fourth from left, black shirt), John Jakus (center, gray suit), and Ty Beard (second from right).

Sport Management graduate Kaylin Rice (center) counts cheering on the sidelines among her duties as Associate Director of Operations for the Lady Bears.

Four graduates of the Baylor Sport Management master’s program are making significant contributions to two of the nation’s elite basketball programs, and they’ve done so without leaving campus. Right here at Baylor, these graduates were a part of NCAA Tournament runs for both the women’s and men’s basketball teams, and helped the Lady Bears achieve a No. 1 national ranking and Big 12 regular season and tournament championships.*

Three graduates are working in the men’s basketball program and one in women’s basketball. They said that the Sport Management (SPM) program, which they completed through the School of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership, taught them to foster personal relationships as well as master financial management, facility and event management, marketing, psychology, and ethical issues in the sports world. Each Sport Management MSEd student also completes an internship. Opportunities are available in Baylor Athletics as well as in outside agencies including the American Football Coaches Association, Boys & Girls Clubs, Sodexo, SMG, Baylor IMG, and McLennan Community College. Continue Reading →

October 15, 2018
by Baylor Instant Impact
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EnAbled Grant Renewed by AT&T Foundation [10/16/2018]

AT&T Foundation

Pictured at the presentation of the grant award are student mentors with AT&T Foundation and Baylor representatives. Front L-R: Dr. Tamara Hodges, Becca Waits, Deborah Keel of the AT&T Foundation, Stephanie Fritz, Chris Krause of Baylor Development. Back L-R: Kelsey McCarty, Brenda Davis, Ally Yturralde, Felicity Frost

Baylor School of Education’s EnAbled for College project recently received a $75,000 renewal grant from the AT&T Foundation. The mentoring program increases marginalized high school students’ likeliness of choosing higher education by covering topics ranging from completing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to how to talk to a professor.

The program began with graduate students from the Department of Educational Psychology mentoring 52 disabled, at-risk or low socioeconomic status high school students through the process of reaching higher education. Since 2014, the program has served more than 150 students in McLennan County in Central Texas. Of those students, 71 percent were from low socioeconomic homes, 48 percent had a disability, and 74 percent were first generation students. With the help of the EnAbled program, 97 percent of the participants were accepted into college. Continue Reading →

October 2, 2018
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Dissertation Project Will Immerse Students in a VR Experience [10/02/2018]

School of Education doctoral student Amanda Gardner at Armstrong-Browning Library

Imagine, for just a moment, that you are sitting at the desk of your favorite author, walking through the halls of her home, gazing out of the same windows. You can begin to understand who she was as an individual and the circumstances that made her who she was. That deep level of understanding and appreciation of the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning is the goal for Baylor School of Education doctoral student Amanda Gardner’s interactive video dissertation project.

“Location and zeitgeist help us understand what we’re reading and what we’re experiencing,” Gardner said. “I can’t take a class of students to those unique places, but I can bring a 360 experience to them.”

360-degree film creates a final product in which the viewer can see the entire room in 360 degrees. GoPro’s Odyssey was used for this film.

After learning about 360º film technology, known as Cinematic Virtual Reality (CVR) in a Baylor Film and Digital Media course, Gardner became interested in its implications for high school English classroom learning. Dr. Gretchen Schwarz, her dissertation chair and an authority in media literacy, supported Gardner in combining her new interest in CVR technology with her passion for English to study the impact of the new and potentially appealing platform.

“I think Amanda is very creative,” Schwarz said. “What’s amazing is that this is just the beginning of her study, and hopefully it will be an engaging way for students to interact with the author and with the literature.” Continue Reading →

May 29, 2018
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Baylor SOE Launches Online EdD Program [05/29/2018]

Dr. Brooke Blevins recorded the lectures for her online fall semester class in the 2U studios in Maryland. The lectures will complement live class interactions between professor and students.

Baylor School of Education (SOE) is launching its first online program — the EdD in Learning and Organizational Change through the Department of Curriculum & Instruction (C&I). The new program is accepting applications immediately with a deadline of July 9, 2018, for fall 2018 classes.

Baylor is offering the program in partnership with the company 2U, Inc., to deliver instruction.

Dr. Sandi Cooper, professor in C&I and director of the program, said 2U is providing the technology platform, student support services, marketing and analytics, while the University and SOE faculty in C&I will maintain responsibility and control for all academic functions —admissions decisions, teaching, guiding students’ research work, and any other academic-related matters.

“At the core of the instructional delivery model is a genuine respect for what has always made Baylor great — a caring Christian environment, a strong and independent faculty, a commitment to academic rigor and scholarship, and a community of learners engaging in the critical interplay that comes from the intimacy of a live classroom,” Cooper said. Continue Reading →