May 8, 2023
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Educational Psychology PhD Students Honored for Teaching [05/08/2023]

L-R: Dr. Tonya Davis, professor of educational psychology, with graduate instructor award recipients Nori Ryland and Maryann Hebda, both PhD candidates in the Department of Educational Psychology.

By Collyn Sebastian

Maryann Hebda, a second-year PhD candidate doctoral student in the Department of Educational Psychology, and Nori Ryland, a fourth-year PhD candidate in the Department of Educational Psychology, were both recipients of the Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award for their teaching during the Spring 2022 semester.

This award is given by the Baylor Graduate School fo graduate students who work as Teachers of Record and who are recognized for their outstanding teaching by students, and faculty. Recipients are honored at a luncheon, given a plaque, and awarded an additional travel award to use to attend conferences that will further their teaching careers. Continue Reading →

April 29, 2023
by Baylor Instant Impact
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New Baylor Initiative Promotes Ministry with and by People with Disabilities [04/29/2023]

As Autism Acceptance Month celebrates and encourages the acceptance of people on the autism spectrum and recognizes that they are valued members of society, a new Baylor initiative in launching to build inclusive practices within communities of faith. Dr. Erik W. Carter, the Luther Sweet Endowed Chair in Disabilities in the Baylor School of Education and executive director of the Baylor Center for Developmental Disabilities (BCDD), is helping launch a new initiative to support churches in creating more welcoming and accessible experiences for people with autism.

Read the Baylor News story to learn specific actions churches can take to expand inclusion and belonging.

READ MORE . . . .

April 19, 2023
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Honoring Excellence in Education [04/19/2023]

Gov. Greg Abbott (far right) was on hand with Dr. Bill Sterrett (right of check), who is a past Milken recipient, to present a Milken Award to an outstanding Texas teacher. (Photo by Beaumont Fox 4 News)

The presentation was dramatic. Everyone waited anxiously in a jam-packed but hushed elementary school gymnasium in Beaumont, Texas, as the governor spoke: “A teacher who has shown excellence, who has helped you learn more, and done a great job, and this teacher’s name is Jenna Dean.” The crowd erupted with applause, and the surprised teacher walked to the front of the assembly.

Dr. Bill Sterrett

Baylor professor Bill Sterrett stood behind a large check made out to Ms. Dean for $25,000. While he serves as the educational leadership department chair in Baylor’s School of Education, Sterrett is also part of a unique group of K12 educators, as a previous recipient of the Milken Educator Award, known as the “Oscars of Teaching.”

Founded in 1987, the Milken Educator Award recognizes mid-to-early-career educators for their impact in the classroom and provides an unrestricted gift award of $25,000. To date, nearly 3,000 exemplary teachers and principals have been recognized in surprise school assemblies that include state and local officials, teachers and staff, and students.

Sterrett received the award in 2008 as principal of Woodbrook Elementary School in Charlottesville, Virginia. He was commended for fostering a community of collaboration, motivation, and high expectations at the school. But the award was just the beginning. Milken Educators are given access to powerful networking and development tools throughout their careers in education. Continue Reading →

April 11, 2023
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Operation Warmth for Warriors Launched by SOE Students [04/11/2023]

Operaation Warmth for Warriors

Baylor School of Education’s master’s program in Sport Management has launched a project to help homeless veterans in Texas and set a Guinness World Record at the same time. And they need help from the Baylor family and beyond.

Operation Warmth for Warriors has set a goal of providing 1,000 sleeping bags for homeless Texas veterans. Organizers have a bulk source for quality bags for $20 each. To reach their goal, they need to raise $20,000, and contributions can be made at this Baylor page:

Baylor Operation Warmth for Warriors

According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, quoted in the Texas Tribune earlier this year, Texas has about 2,000 homeless veterans. Texas and California have the largest veteran populations in the nation.

Dr. Mar Magnusen, associate professor of sport management in the Department of Educational Leadership, said the sleeping bag project will not only help veterans unable to find housing, but the distribution through veterans’ service providers will create a connection point for future services to veterans. Continue Reading →

March 27, 2023
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Baylor Alumnae to Discuss Leading Texas Libraries [03/27/2023]

Libraries

LEADING BAYLOR LIBRARIES (click for more event info)
Friday, March 31, 2:30 PM
Armstrong Browning Library and Museum

The Baylor Libraries will host a conversation, co-sponsored by the School of Education and featuring SOE alumna Mary Woodard, with Texas State Library and Archives Commission Director and Librarian Gloria Meraz and Texas Library Association President Mary Woodard, a School of Education graduate, on their journeys in education and librarianship, the current state of libraries in Texas, and the future of Texas libraries.

Mary Woodard

Gloria Meraz, director and librarian of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, and Mary Marlow Woodard, president of the Texas Library Association (TLA), will be interviewed by Lori Fogleman, Assistant Vice President for Media and Public Relations at Baylor University on Friday, March 31, at 2:30 p.m. CDT at the Armstrong Browning Library & Museum. Conversation and a reception will follow. This event is free, open to the public, and available both in person and via Zoom Webinar.

Meraz and Woodard, both Baylor alumnae, hold the two highest positions in librarianship in Texas. Through the two organizations, their reach extends into all 254 counties and every metropolitan and rural area in the state.

Baylor librarian Kathy Hillman, who has worked with both women through TLA, said, “Mary and Gloria represent the best of our university and the best of our profession. For them to serve simultaneously is a first for Baylor since the fledgling Texas Library Association helped establish the state library and archives in 1909.”

Woodard graduated from Baylor in 1985 with degrees in Elementary Education and English and earned her library science degree from Texas Woman’s University in 1987. She served in the Mesquite Independent School District for 35 years as a school librarian, technology facilitator, and director of library services. In 2022, Woodard was elected president of TLA, the largest state library association in the United States. Continue Reading →

March 23, 2023
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Baylor SOE Grad Honored for Mentoring Baylor Students [03/23/2023]

Story and Photo by Katy Durham, Panther Nation News, Midway ISD

Amy Smith, a Baylor School of Education 1999 graduate and biology teacher at Midway High School, was honored for her work mentoring Baylor students. She was named as the 2023 Outstanding Mentor Teacher by the South Central Area Network for Professional Development Schools. This regional honor recognizes exceptional educators who share a dedication to the field of teaching and the partnership between institutions of higher education and pre-K-12 schools.

Smith has hosted 13 Baylor students as full-year interns (senior student teachers), one-semester interns, and teaching associates (Baylor juniors) over the course of her 16 years as a mentor teacher at MHS.

“Mrs. Smith is a master mentor teacher,” Dr. Robin Wilson, Smith’s nominating colleague and Baylor University Professional Development School site coordinator, said. “She has developed an art for disseminating and exchanging her best instructional practices with interns assigned to her classroom.” Continue Reading →

March 16, 2023
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Baylor University Announces $1.5 Million Gift Establishing New Chair in School of Education [03/16/2023]

Erik Carter Baylor University today announced a $1.5 million gift from anonymous alumni establishing an endowed faculty chair position to support innovative research and teaching focused on the flourishing of children and youth with disabilities. With an appointment in the Baylor School of Education and leading the Baylor Center for Developmental Disabilities, the faculty chair will accelerate interdisciplinary scholarship across the University and beyond.

The School of Education has named Erik W. Carter, Ph.D., as the inaugural chairholder. Carter previously held The Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Special Education at Vanderbilt University and co-directed the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. In this role, he will serve as executive director for the Baylor Center for Developmental Disabilities (BCDD) and help launch a new interdisciplinary institute on faith and disability.

Dr. Rishi Sriram Named Senior Scholar [03/13/2023]

Dr. Rishi Sriram

Dr. Rishi Sriram, associate professor in Baylor School of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership and director of the MSEd in Higher Education and Student Affairs, was selected as a Senior Scholar of ACPA (American College Personnel Association), a leading association in the field of higher education student affairs that advocates for the integration of research and scholarship in the practice of student affairs.

ACPA describes its Senior Scholars as “senior members of the profession who have made exemplary and sustained contributions to ACPA’s mission of transforming higher education by creating and sharing influential scholarship, shaping critically reflective practice, and advocating for equitable and inclusive learning environments.” A maximum of 12 scholars may hold the position. Continue Reading →

March 3, 2023
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Dr. Kelly Johnston: Literacy Studies Takes Reading Beyond the Printed Page [03/03/2023]

Kelly Johnston By Kelly Craine

Often when people hear the word literacy, they think about learning to read, but literacy involves much more than reading from the printed page. Literacy encompasses the everyday ways people use language to make meaning and communicate, said Kelly C. Johnston, B.S. ’04, Ed.D., assistant professor in the Baylor University School of Education, whose research focuses on how children and youth engage with literacy across diverse contexts and the implications for literacy development and well-being.

“It includes reading, writing, speaking and listening. Those are the fundamental things that we do with language to make meaning and communicate,” Johnston said.

READ MORE: BAYLOR MEDIA SITE

February 13, 2023
by Baylor Instant Impact
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Baylor SOE Graduate Receives National Dissertation Award [02/13/2023]

Dr. Jennifer Gonzales

As a doctoral student in education at Baylor University School of Education, Jennifer Gonzales, EdD ’22, explored deeply the role of data-informed practices in K-12 mathematics education. Simultaneously, in her fulltime career as an instructional specialist for mathematics, curriculum, and instruction in San Antonio’s Northside ISD, Gonzales noticed that evidence-based practices were not always reaching students. Teacher knowledge of best practices was not the problem, she believed, but gaps existed between the knowledge of the teachers and their actual teaching in the classroom.

For her dissertation at Baylor, Gonzales set out to discover the cause of the gaps and remove barriers to student learning. Her dissertation research — a five-phase mixed-methods study titled “Leveraging the Role of an Instructional Coach to Close Middle School Mathematics Teachers’ Knowing-Doing Gap: A Mixed Methods Experimental Study” — earned her the Dissertation Award from the national School Science and Mathematics Association (SSMA). Dr. Brooke Blevins, former Baylor faculty member and now dean of the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences at the University of Idaho, served as chair of Gonzales’ dissertation.

Gonzales follows two previous Baylor Department of Curriculum & Instruction recipients of the SSMA Dissertation Award — Ryann Shelton, PhD ’20, and Kurt Salisbury, MSEd ’03, PhD ’21. SSMA is a national organization, with international members, that was founded in 1901. The Dissertation Award recognizes dissertations related to science education, mathematics education, or integrated science and mathematics education and comes with a cash award and opportunities to share research. Continue Reading →