College Updates
Creating content that inspires all learners
 Children's media often takes a one-size-fits-all approach to creating content that fails to meet the needs of populations outside the mainstream. A new casebook and design guide co-authored by Professor Katie Headrick Taylor aims to inspire educators and designers to create media and programs for diverse children and their families.
School provides living textbook for future educational leaders
 Students at Highline's Chinook Middle School are an integral part of a living textbook designed to deepen understanding of instructional leadership and offer authentic practice to the UW's Danforth Educational Leadership Program cohort.
Leading researcher in out-of-school education joins UW
 Influential education researcher Bronwyn Bevan joins UW College of Education as a senior research scientist, bringing her expertise on how institutional settings influence learning opportunities to the Pacific Northwest.
In memoriam: Professor Theodore Kaltsounis
 Professor Emeritus Theodore “Ted” Kaltsounis, who joined the UW College of Education faculty in 1967 and enjoyed a distinguished career as a scholar and leader, passed away Dec. 13, 2015.
Kaltsounis led a 13-year project to help democratize his native Albania through reforming its education system by training hundreds of educators and creating curriculum materials to teach Albanian children the principles of democratic governance as the country emerged from decades of communism.
Ted also served as chair of the UW Faculty Senate and as president of the National Council for the Social Studies. He authored many books, including one of Silver Burdett Ginn’s most successful social studies textbooks for elementary students. Ted remained active in university affairs even after his retirement, spearheading the creation of the UW Jackson School of International Studies’ Hellenic Studies Program and a study-abroad program for UW students in Greece.
Read more about Ted's life on the Greeks in Washington website.
College of Education debuts on Instagram
 Follow our new Instagram channel (@uweducation) for updates on the latest happenings around the College of Education. We look forward to sharing scenes of life at the College, previews of upcoming events and much more!
Alumni News
Tyrone Howard (PhD '98) to speak on education of African American males
Tyrone C. Howard, professor and associate dean for equity and inclusion at UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, will present "Black Male(d): Peril and Promise in the Education of African American Males" on Jan. 11. Howard's talk will describe conceptual, empirical and practical interventions that school leaders, practitioners and concerned community members can use to improve the schooling experiences and outcomes for African American males.
The talk is 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the UW Club. RSVP by Jan. 5 to the Center for Multicultural Education at centerme@uw.edu or 206-543-3386.
Student Features
Student leads initiative to diversify STEM workforce
Stephanie Gardner is leading a sea change in achievement by historically underrepresented students in STEM majors as director for the Pacific Northwest Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation at UW.
Q&A: Using clickers to increase student learning
Peter Wallis, PhD student in learning sciences and human development, is co-editor of the recently published book Clickers in the Classroom: Using Classroom Response Systems to Increase Student Learning.
L4L student honored by superintendents' association
Helen Joung, L4L student and principal of Olympics Hills Elementary School, is the 2016 recipient of the AASA Educational Administrative Scholarship Award in recognition of her commitment to providing exemplary leadership on behalf of students in public education.
PhD student in special education earns national award
Doctoral student Maggie Schulze has been invited to join the eighth cohort of the Division for Research Doctoral Student Scholars. Schulze is one of 10 scholars selected for this national award, which includes opportunities to study with an extended network of scholars across the country, to contribute to raising the standard of special education research and to foster collaboration among colleagues.
Recent Funding Announcements
College of Education faculty receiving awards for new grants and competing renewals in December 2015 were: Jondou Chen, Ana Elfers, Ann Ishimaru, Gail Joseph, Margaret Plecki, Carly Roberts, Janet Soderberg.
New Awards:
PI: Ann Ishimaru / Co-PI: Jondou Chen
Title: SEA-SESEC-UW Partnership
Sponsor: Seattle Education Association
Amount awarded: $12,000
PI: Gail Joseph
Title: School Age and Youth Development Quality Programming
Sponsor: Raikes Foundation
Amount awarded: $533,213
PI: Gail Joseph / Co-PI: Janet Soderberg
Title: Seattle PS Program Evaluation UPK
Sponsor: Third Sector Intelligence (Originating Sponsor: City of Seattle)
Amount awarded: $51,272
PI: Margaret Plecki / Co-PI: Ana Elfers
Title: Program Evaluation for Using and Managing Teacher and Principal Evaluation Data and Program Sustainability
Sponsor: WA Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (Originating Sponsor: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation)
Amount awarded: $250,595
PI: Carly Roberts
Title: Using Lesson Study to Improve Teachers’ Capacity for Implementing Evidence-Based Practices for Students with Significant Disabilities
Sponsor: Arc of Washington Trust Fund
Amount awarded: $9,757
Honor Roll
Professor, alum honored for paper's impact
Professor Sheila Valencia and Marsha Riddle-Buly (PhD '99) received the P. David Pearson Scholarly Influence Award at the 2015 annual meeting of the Literacy Research Association for their study "Below the bar: Profiles of students who fail state reading tests." The award honors scholars for a paper, article, etc. that has demonstrably and positively influenced literacy practices or policies at the national, state, district or classroom level.
The award committee cited the authors' unique approach to analyzing the profiles of readers who fell into the lowest quartile on a high-stakes test, which provided clear evidence of the very different profiles of weaknesses, as well as strengths, of students who struggle with reading acquisition.
Published at the start of the "Reading First Era," the study was particularly important in beginning the shift away from interventions that used a limited and often inappopriate emphasis on decoding, at the expense of other critical areas such as vocabulary and comprehension. By providing evidence for why limited interventions —just as limited instruction—fail to meet the needs of children, Valencia and Riddle-Buly set the stage for significant changes in policies and practice for learners who require additional support through excellent instruction within and beyond the classroom.
Kerdeman explores preparation of educational researchers
Can self-doubt play a transformative role in the preparation of educational researchers? Professor Deborah Kerdeman explores that question in her new paper "Preparing Educational Researchers: The Role of Self-Doubt," recently published in Educational Theory.
Drawing on Hans-Georg Gadamer's notion of Bildung, Kerdeman reframes the view of self-doubt that other recently published articles on the subject assume and shows why self-doubt can be transformative.
Nolen joins assessment task force
Professor Susan B. Nolen will participate on the Task Force on Assessment Education for Teachers, a group of 22 educators, assessment experts and thought leaders who will work to advance the use of assessments to promote teaching and learning. In particular, the group will examine programs and resources that foster an understanding of how to use assessment to provide every student with an equitable K-12 education.
Knowledge in Action presented
Professor Susan B. Nolen and Professor Emerita Catherine Taylor presented work from the Knowledge in Action project, "Assessment in a project-based AP course," at the fall Washington Educational Research Association conference.
New resources: assessing goals midyear, successful PD
New educator resources from the UW's Center for Educational Leadership include:
Email us to list an award or achievement in an upcoming eNewsletter »
Events
January 11, 11 a.m.
January 21
February 5
February 23, 7:30 p.m.
March 1 and 31
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Alan Moore on Washington's teacher shortage; Noah Zeichner on teaching climate change; UW's school psychology program honored; Virginia Berninger on dyslexia facts and fiction; UW District Leadership Design Lab helps create first principal supervisor standards; Ken Zeichner on the Every Student Succeeds Act