At the North Carolina Professional Development Institute this weekend in Winston-Salem, Science Education faculty set up a stylish booth where they could disseminate information about our degrees and certificate programs. Brochures, candy and a slideshow showcasing the programs were an effective means of advertising the great work in Science Education at ECU. It also helped that an ECU pirate, Abby Colley, won the Outstanding Student Teacher award and that so many Science Education faculty were present at the gathering.
Abby Colley–A Pirate who Does Us Proud
On November 6, 2014 at the NCSTA conference in Winston-Salem Abby Colley received the Outstanding Student Teacher Award. Abby is a well-deserving graduate from the Elementary Science Concentration and is currently teaching 4th grade at Ayden Elementary in Pitt County. When she was a student at ECU her clinical teacher stated, “She excelled in the classroom with her passion, creativity, and willingness to collaborate with other teachers… I have seen her dedication for this field in her lesson planning, success of implementation of goals taught, and her responses to questions asked by her students…She is deserving of this award.” Congratulations, Abby. We are proud to have you as one of our pirates!
Dr. Rose Sincrope Receives Award for Excellence in Mathematics Education
Dr. Rose Sincrope was presented the W. W. Rankin Memorial Award for Excellence in Mathematics Education, the highest honor that NCCTM can bestow upon a member during the 44th Annual North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCCTM) Conference held in Greensboro, NC on 30-31 October 2014. As noted by Dr. Lee V. Stiff, “Dr. Sinicrope has provided exceptional leadership to NCCTM over many years, having served as a member of its Special Awards Committee, Trust Fund Committee, and Program Committee for numerous Annual Conferences, as well as a Regional President, member of the Board of Directors and the Executive Board, and a Vice-President for Colleges at the regional and state levels of NCCTM.”
Dr. Sincrope has also been a leader in Mathematics Education at ECU, winning two Excellence in Teaching Awards and publishing in many mathematics education journals such as, the Arithmetic Teacher, the Mathematics Teacher, and School Science and Mathematics. She is a student advocate and a passionate mathematics educator.
Not One, Not Two, but Many from ECU were Award Recipients
At its 44th Annual North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCCTM) Conference held in Greensboro, NC on 30-31 October 2014, ECU was featured mightily during the Awards Ceremony. Two ECU Mathematics Education faculty, Dr. Ron Preston and Dr. Rose Sincrope were recognized with the highest honor that NCCTM can bestow, the W. W. Rankin Award. MATE senior, Rebekah Currie, double majoring in a BS Mathematics Education and a BA in Mathematics won the Outstanding Mathematics Education Student from the Eastern Region award. Several alumni also were recognized as the Outstanding Secondary Mathematics Teacher for their school districts. Congratulations to:
W.T. Edwards, Columbus Co. – Class of ’11
Jennifer Simmons, Onslow Co. – Class of ’97, current student MAEd IT (Onslow Cohort)
Renea Baker, Pitt Co. – Class of ’92
ECU rises to the top once again!
MATE Student Named Outstanding Mathematics Education Student
Congratulations to Rebekah Currie, named the Outstanding Mathematics Education Student from the Eastern Region of NCCTM!!! She received her award during the 44th Annual North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCCTM) Conference held in Greensboro, NC on 30-31 October 2014,
Rebekah is a senior double major (BS Mathematics Education and BA Mathematics), Maynard Scholar, member of the Honors College, member of the Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society, intern at South Central HS, student worker in the MSITE office, Vice-President of the Gamma Chapter, and is very active in the community. Rebekah was nominated by the faculty, provided professional information and experiences for the nomination form, and then her materials were considered by the NCCTM Awards Committee. We all agree that they picked the right candidate for the award!
Dr. Preston is Recipient of Highest Honor at NCCTM Conference
During the 44th Annual North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCCTM) Conference held in Greensboro, NC on 30-31 October 2014, Dr. Ron Preston was presented the W. W. Rankin Memorial Award for Excellence in Mathematics Education, the highest honor that NCCTM can bestow upon a member.
According to the Chair of the W. W. Rankin Award Committee, Dr. Lee V. Stiff, “Dr. Preston is universally regarded as an excellent mathematics teacher, a scholar of mathematics education, and as a person whose service to NCCTM and the teachers of NC is exemplary.”
Dr. Ron Preston has enhanced the quality of mathematics education in North Carolina through his service at East Carolina University in the Department of Math, Science, and Technology through his teaching, his advising and his role as Director of Students. Through his involvement in the greater community, he has been instrumental in the success of such programs as: the North Carolina Project in Improving Mathematics, the Noyce Scholars Program, and the North Carolina Middle Math Project.
Dr. Preston has provided leadership to the North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCCTM) having served as: the Program Chair of two Annual Conferences, a member of the Board of Directors and the Executive Board, and a Regional President. Currently, Ron is the newly-elected President of NCCTM He assumed his position as president-elect on 1 May and will serve in that position for a year, becoming president for a two-year term on 1 May 2015.
GAMMA CHAPTER PANEL – AN INSIDERS GUIDE TO GETTING A JOB!!
On Wednesday, October 22, 2014, the Gamma Student Chapter of NCCTM hosted a 12 person panel consisting of principals, math department chairs/lead grade level math teachers, and a director of human resources. These “insiders” represented elementary, middle, and high school mathematics and shared their knowledge from a combined 185 years of educational expertise. The full panel was introduced to an audience that consisted of approximately 50 students and six MATE faculty members before breaking into smaller subgroups for elementary, middle, and high school. The conversations within the smaller groups provided the opportunity for panel members to share unique insight for their given educational context, and for Gamma students to ask important questions about not only the hiring process, but also how to become the best math teacher possible. One main theme heard from panel members in each subgroup was that they are looking for, “good math teachers that want to be great math teacher” and that there are supports in place to help them achieve greatness in the math classroom.
Our sincere thanks goes out to the “insider” panel, consisting of the following individuals:
Elementary
- Chena Cayton – Principal, Wahl-Coates Elem School, Pitt County
- Karin Stefko – Kindergarten Teacher, Wahl-Coates Elem School, Pitt County
- Coni Clark – Third Grade Teacher, Wahl-Coates Elem School, Pitt County
Middle Grades
- Charlie Langley – Principal, CM Eppes Middle School, Pitt County
- Barskdale Thompson – Sixth Grade Teacher, CM Eppes Middle School, Pitt County
- Kristen Coleman – Sixth Grade Teacher, CM Eppes Middle School, Pitt County
- Thomas Sisson – Seventh Grade Teacher, CM Eppes Middle School, Pitt County
High School
- Jerry Simmons – Principal , New Bern High School, Craven County
- Brad Johnston – Principal , Farmville Central High School, Pitt County
- Renea Baker – Dept Chair , DH Conley High School, Pitt County
- Tina Petty – Dept Chair, Southside High School, Beaufort County
Human Resources
- Delilah Jackson – Director of Human Resources, Pitt County Schools
COE and MSITE Faculty Instill Confidence and Inspire Success
In a recent interview, senior Elementary Education (with a concentration in Science) major, Beth Wantz, credits COE and MSITE faculty with having a profound influence on her life. She feels that they “truly care” about their students and go above and beyond to help them succeed. She gives particular credit to Tammy Lee, explaining that, “Ms. Tammy Lee has inspired me in so many different ways. She has pushed me with my assignments and lessons throughout my college career because she knows what I am capable of doing. Mrs. Lee has given me many opportunities outside of school that will greatly benefit me as a teacher, such as taking me to the National Science Teacher Association Conference in the fall of 2013. With doing this, Mrs. Lee has given me the confidence that every effective teacher must have in order to benefit their students. Mrs. Lee has also taken the time to teach me how to be a good teacher and a good person. She is my biggest influence and my role model.”
Teachers teaching teachers–clearly a step in the right direction.
Science Education Club On the Path Towards National Recognition
It’s official! The Science Education Club has completed all the requirements and workshops to be officially registered as a student organization at East Carolina University. This has been a two year project that was finalized by the work of graduate student Megan Garner, and undergraduate elementary science concentration students: Beth Wantz, KC Hart, Kayla Sager, and Lauren Brewington. The club is under the direction of faculty adviser, Tammy D. Lee who speaks with pride of the student’s accomplishment, “We are very excited to have this recognition at the university level so we can now apply for national recognition at the National Science Teacher’s Association. The students have been diligent in their work and pursuit of this recognition which demonstrates their dedication and desire to be a part of science education and to have others participate in a student organization of a collected interest, Science! I am honored to be a part of this journey with these students.” For more information about the Science Education Club visit them at their website or contact Tammy D. Lee at leeta@ecu.edu.
Dr. Abbie Brown Continues to Collect Awards: His Latest, “Immersive Learning Award “
Abbie Brown, a Professor in the College of Education’s Instructional Technology program, is a recipient of an Immersive Learning Award for his podcast series, Trends & Issues in Instructional Design, Educational Technology,& Learning Sciences. The award is sponsored by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT), and recognizes media production projects that contribute to the field of instructional technology and demonstrate significant increase in learning. The podcast is co-produced by Professor Brown and Professor Tim Green of California State University, Fullerton.
Using the app Flipboard to collect articles related to instructional technology from a wide variety of education, science, and design sources, Brown and Green publish, Trends & Issues in Instructional Design, Educational Technology, & Learning Science
( http://flip.it/Iy0rD ). To synthesize the instructional technology trends and major issues reflected by the articles presented in their Flipboard magazine, Brown and Green produce a bi-weekly podcast, Trends & Issues in Instructional Design, Educational Technology, & Learning Sciences, available through iTunes, the audio-content site, Stitcher (http://www.stitcher.com ), and their own podcast website, http://trendsandissues.com .
Brown says, “I’m gratified that the podcast series is popular. My colleague, Tim and I are a bit in awe of its reach. The Flipboard magazine has over 12,500 readers, and the podcasts have been downloaded to every continent except Antarctica.”