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January 23, 2020
by Baylor Instant Impact
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School Psychology Students and Faculty Win Poster Award [01/23/2020]

School Psych

School Psychology graduate students Ally Yturralde (left) and Felicity Frost (center) receive the Best Poster Presentation Award from Dr. Laurie Klose of Trinity University, TASP chair of poster presentations.

Graduate students from the School Psychology Program in the School of Education’s Department of Educational Psychology garnered awards at the annual Texas Association of School Psychologists (TASP) conference late last year. Professionals from across the state gathered to enhance their knowledge in this dynamic profession and engage in professional growth. Leaders in school psychology from across the nation presented research on a variety of topics over the course of three days.

Baylor students Ally Yturralde and Felicity Frost, who are both pursuing the Education Specialist degree in School Psychology, were awarded “Best Poster Presentation” at the conference, along with Baylor School of Education senior lecturer Dr. Tamara Hodges. Their poster presentation, titled “Promoting Post-Secondary Education for At-Risk Students,” presented an overview of a pilot study that showed the effects of a college preparation program for low-socioeconomic status high school juniors and seniors at risk of not attending post-secondary education and who may have a disability. TASP conference participants learned about implementation, outcomes, and benefits of the college preparatory mentoring program. Continue Reading →

December 16, 2019
by Baylor Instant Impact
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SOE Sport Management Student Headed for Final Four [12/16/2019]

Shelly Stafford (#5) will experience her first Final Four this week — and her second graduation from Baylor. She will miss the commencement ceremony but graduate with an MSEd in Sport Management.

Barely 18 years old when she enrolled in Baylor a semester early in January 2015, volleyball middle blocker and MSEd student Shelly Stafford has seen a lot of dramatic changes in the last five years. Even her name has changed.

“I got married, so that’s pretty life-changing,” Stafford said. “The [Baylor] experience overall has truly been life changing. Baylor’s environment is just love. I have just felt so loved by everyone, and they really push me and inspire me to be my best every day — in the classroom, on the court, and in the community.” Continue Reading →

December 6, 2019
by Baylor Instant Impact
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SOE Master’s Students Worked Behind the Scenes at ESPN College Gameday [12/06/2019]

Gameday

Baylor SOE Sport Management students and ESPN hosts on the Gameday set: (l-r) Desmond Howard, Scott Visey, Stacy Falconieri, Reece Davis, Amber Corcoran, Shelly Stafford, Sarah Edmondson, Lee Corso, Matt Gillette, Kirk Herbstreet, Caleb Clark, Mike Muto, Hayden Johnson, S.K. Stevens, Maura Walsh

Students in the Baylor School of Education Sport Management program had the opportunity to work closely with ESPN College Gameday when the national broadcast aired from McLane Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 16, for the Bears’ matchup with the Oklahoma Sooners. The SOE master’s students worked with ESPN staff to ensure the broadcast and weekend events ran smoothly as hundreds of Baylor students and fans converged on the stadium to participate.

College Gameday, an ESPN football pre-game show, broadcasts live from various colleges and universities all across the nation. The show covers the college football stats and predictions for the upcoming games that day. Continue Reading →

November 20, 2019
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Faculty and Student Literacy Research Recognized by International Literacy Association [11/20/2019]

Dr. Kelly Johnston

Dr. Kelly Johnston (center with certificate) was recognized at the ILA Conference.

Baylor School of Education faculty and doctoral students in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction garnered recognition and presented research at the International Literacy Association’s annual conference in October. The International Literacy Association is a global advocacy and membership organization of more than 300,000 literacy educators, researchers, and experts across 86 countries.

Dr. Kelly Johnston, assistant professor of literacy, and Dr. Phil Nichols, assistant professor, both received recognition as finalists for the ILA’s Outstanding Dissertation Award. Baylor was the only university with two representatives recognized among the finalists. Continue Reading →

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 →