News | Instant Impact

January 14, 2022
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Impact Newsletter Online [01/14/2021]

The newest issue of Baylor Impact newsletter (Fall 2021) is now online. If you are an SOE graduate and did not receive a newsletter in the mail, please let us know by emailing BaylorImpact@baylor.edu. To make sure you don’t miss any future communications, you can also update your information online at this link: Update Your Information

This Impact issue features the work of faculty, students, and alumni who are making a difference.

The cover story, Talent Discovery, shares exciting news about the new Baylor TIP (Talent Identification Program), launching THIS YEAR! If you’re a teacher with high-ability students or the parent of such a student, be sure to connect with Baylor TIP for information. All the contact info is included in the story (scroll to the bottom).
Once again, a Baylor senior was honored as the Texas Clinical Teacher of the Year. Read all about Alex Ronnenberg’s award and her continued career at Hillcrest PDS.
Our annual update includes program news on the rapid growth of graduate programs and the post-graduation success rate of our BSEd graduates. And you can meet our newest faculty members here.
If you’re an educator who is overly stressed, you might want to learn how Dr. Bradley Carpenter is addressing this issue and join the weekly mindfulness online gathering.
Our alumni profile shares the work of PhD graduate Rebecca Tipton DeClue, who is a school psychologist.
And don’t miss meeting the inspirational couple Kim and Ken Wiseman, who are giving to the SOE to encourage Christians to stay in education.

January 13, 2022
by Baylor Instant Impact
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BCSL Offers “Culture of Joy” Workshop for Educators [01/13/2021]

Baylor Center for School Leaders (BCSL) is hosting an afternoon workshop, combined with a Baylor men’s basketball ticket, for teachers, principals, superintendents, and other school or district leaders. The workshop, titled “Leading a Culture of Joy,’ will be Tuesday, Jan. 25, from 1-5 p.m., and the registration deadline is Monday, Jan. 17. The event is $45 per person, and schools are encouraged to bring teams of educators to attend. Registration is online here: REGISTER

Dr. Matt Thomas, director of the center, said the workshop is focused on learning how to foster a system of effective and broad-based leadership within schools.

“The range of challenges in today’s schools means that a school leader cannot possibly meet the demands on their own, even if they are distributing tasks,” he said. “Leaders need to harness the collective expertise of a diverse range of people to tackle the myriad challenges.” Continue Reading →

December 29, 2021
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Baylor SOE Alumna Wins 2021 Book Accolades [12/29/2021]

Photo of Dr. Mary Landon Darden by The Wacoan

Baylor School of Education graduate Dr. Mary Landon Darden, MSEd ’91, EdD ’06, has won a national award for her book Entrepreneuring the Future of Higher Education: Radical Transformation in Times of Profound Change, published earlier in 2021 by the American Council on Education and Rowman & Littlefield. Darden’s book was named by the American Book Fest as “Best Education/Academic Book of 2021.”

American Book Fest is in its 19^th year of delivering the “Best Book Awards,” covering numerous categories of books from mainstream and independent publishers.

Entrepreneuring the Future of Higher Education was also honored by Book Authority, which provides book recommendations from thought leaders and experts, rated as #36 on its list of “58 Best University Books of All Time.”

Entrepreneuring the Future of Higher Education addresses the financial considerations — even before COVID-19 — that were forcing the closing of increasing numbers of American colleges and universities, especially independent ones. Darden argues that higher education leaders must embrace an entrepreneurial spirit to face the challenges of the 21^st century, rather than relying of what she terms the “wobbly two-legged stool that supports virtually every American school — tuition and endowment.” Her goal is to provide institutional leaders with a “nuts and bolts” guide and tools to move on from merely surviving and into thriving.

Darden describes herself as a “higher education futurist.” She received her doctorate in higher education administration from Baylor in 2006 through the Department of Educational Leadership (then the Department of Educational Administration). Continue Reading →

December 8, 2021
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Learning in Real Time [12/08/2021]

After each classroom session during “clinical rounds,” Dr. Neil Shanks (right) and secondary education students paused for in a brief review before heading to the next class for observations.

Secondary teacher-education majors in the Baylor School of Education’s (SOE) undergraduate program enjoyed a new field experience on Professional Development School (PDS) campuses this fall. It was the first semester that students went through the full immersion into a new course component, “instructional rounds,” on school campuses.

Dr. Madelon McCall, clinical associate professor and coordinator of the secondary education program, said the SOE’s program is modeled on clinical rounds for medical students.

D. Madelon McCall prepares students for their clinical rounds.

“It is similar to medical rounds in that students learn about the content, go observe it in practice, and then come back together and spend time debriefing with their professor,” McCall said. “Our students also write a reflection on their observations to discuss what they learned during the rounds.”

The rounds are embedded in an academic course at the junior level and give students the opportunity to observe patterns in classroom environments, student-teacher relationships, and instructional and classroom management strategies. Continue Reading →

December 1, 2021
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Baylor School of Education Graduate Honored with Statewide Teaching Award [12/01/2021]

Alexandra Ronnenberg received statewide recognition for her teaching as a Baylor senior at Hillcrest PDS.

Alexandra Ronnenberg, who graduated from Baylor University in May with a B.S.Ed. in elementary education, has been named Clinical Teacher of the Year for the state of Texas, honored for her outstanding instruction and interaction with children while a senior at Baylor.

She is the fourth Baylor intern to receive the award in the last five years it has been presented. No award was given in 2020 due to COVID-19.

Ronnenberg received the award that honors senior-level teacher-education students from the Texas Directors of Field Experience (TDFE), the organization of faculty members within university teacher-education programs who supervise field experiences. The award was presented during this fall’s statewide meeting of the Consortium of State Organizations for Texas Teacher Education.

November 11, 2021
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Baylor EdD Student, U.S. Army Veteran Honored with Pat Tillman Scholarship [11/11/2021]

EdD student Erika Neuman is pictured (front row, center) with the active-duty and military veterans in Cohort Six of the EdD in Learning and Organizational Change. Cohort Six is in the fifth term (of nine total in the program) and was on Baylor’s campus in October for an immersion experience.

U.S. Army veteran, fifth-grade teacher and Baylor University doctoral student Erika Neuman has been named a Pat Tillman Foundation Scholar in recognition of her military service and her mission to educate children.

Tillman Scholars are U.S. service members, veterans and military spouses chosen based on their service, leadership and potential. Of more than 2,000 applicants, only 60 are named each year. Tillman Scholars are awarded academic scholarships, lifelong leadership development opportunities and a diverse, global community of high-performing mentors and peers. Neuman, who is enrolled in the University’s Doctor of Education in Learning and Organizational Change online program, is the second Baylor student to receive the honor.

“The Pat Tillman Foundation offers this incredible network of scholars and other professionals in every field at various universities and government institutions,” Neuman said. “It is an amazing group of veterans and selfless leaders who support one another and strive to see the other scholars succeed. The whole mission of the Tillman Foundation is empowerment, building leaders and service to others and that is exactly what this incredible organization does. I am honored to be among their ranks.”

Read full story at Baylor Media site . . . .

October 30, 2021
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Former Teachers Go All Out for Halloween [10/30/2021]

Some intense “teacher” vibes emanated from the second floor of Marrs McLean Science Building on the Baylor campus to celebrate Halloween. Faculty and staff in the School of Education’s Department of Curriculum & Instruction (C&I) decided to decorate doors along the hallway and host trick-or-treaters at Baylor’s traditional event.

Dr. Sandi Cooper and her first-place door, which featured candy tagged with QR links to math activities (see links in the story).

And when former K12 classroom teachers gain access to butcher and construction paper, amazing designs are bound to happen! Many enlisted the help of their own children in designing their doors, and some had help from Baylor teacher-education students (particularly from 1312 and 3380 courses) — providing great training for decking out their future classrooms and bulletin boards.

The idea to go all out for Halloween came from doctoral student Ashleigh Maldonado, said graduate program director Dr. Lakia Scott. “It started as a decorating contest, and then we wanted to share it with more people, and faculty were eager to pass out treats, so we arranged to be a site for Baylor’s Treat Night for children of employees,” Scott said. “It was a lot of fun and showed the great community we have in the C&I department — especially because a student suggested this, and then everybody jumped on board.” Continue Reading →

October 4, 2021
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Cherry Award Nominee to Speak Tuesday in School of Education [10/04/2021]

By Kourtney David

Baylor Cherry Award nominee Dr. Hollylynne S. Lee, professor of mathematics and statistics education at North Carolina State University, will speak at Baylor at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 5, in Marrs McLean Science Building, Room 101. Lee is one of three finalists for the prestigious award, and if she receives it, she will teach in residence in the School of Education’s Department of Curriculum & Instruction during a semester in 2022.

Lee’s lecture, “Data Moves and Discourse: Design Principles for Strengthening Statistics Education,” will be relevant to teachers and future teachers at all levels as she explores how to foster discourse and engagement with data. Prior to Lee’s work at the university level, she served as a K-12 teacher.

Lee says that in today’s society, we all need to be fluent with statistics — for making everyday decisions, making sense of visualizations and statistics given in the media, and preparing for many careers that utilize data. But statistics is one of the hardest subjects for students to learn. With so much data flowing in all facets of life, how do we prepare teachers to give students the tools they need for statistical literacy? Continue Reading →

September 16, 2021
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Dr. Krys Goree served as author of new NAPDS “Nine Essentials” [09/16/2021]

When the National Association of Professional Development Schools (NAPDS) decided to update its foundational “essentials” document, the national organization included representation from the Baylor University School of Education (SOE) to help lead those efforts.

Baylor was one of the first universities to fully implement the Professional Development Schools (PDS) model, a clinically based educator preparation program in partnership with local schools to train preservice teachers.

Krys Goree, Ph.D., clinical faculty and director of the SOE’s Office of Professional Practice, served on the NAPDS committee that spearheaded the three-year effort to update What it Means to Be a Professional Development School (PDS): The Nine Essentials. Originally written in 2008, the Nine Essentials provide guidance for school-university partnerships and PDS campuses who work together to prepare teachers.

READ MORE . . .

September 13, 2021
by Baylor Instant Impact
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SOE Faculty Member Honored by Baylor and Waco Chamber [09/13/2021]

Baylor School of Education associate professor Dr. Lakia Scott became the first Baylor faculty member to be named as the university’s “Champion of Change” earlier this year.

Baylor University launched the “Champions of Change” awards to recognize and acknowledge the accomplishments of faculty, staff, and alumni (one of each annually) who have demonstrated efforts to “foster greater appreciation and advancement of diversity, inclusiveness, and equity for communities of color at Baylor and in Waco.” A diverse and representative volunteer advisory committee sought nominations and made the final selections for the inaugural honorees.

Scott’s efforts in equity enhancement have included promoting the recruitment and retention of first-generation college students and students of color through advising student organizations; establishing a reputation for being empathetic and supportive of students from traditionally marginalized backgrounds; and focusing her research on multicultural awareness, diversity practices, and urban education and literacy. Continue Reading →

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