Teaching Quality

UW Professor Philip Bell is the recipient of the 2015 Washington Science Teachers Association (WSTA) Teacher of the Year Award for Higher Education. Bell, who holds the Shauna C. Larson Chair in Learning Sciences at UW College of Education, is being recognized for the work he and his team have done to help develop and implement the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) with a focus on equity, in partnership with a network of organizations across the state and country.

The University of Washington is launching a new effort to strengthen the nation's early care and education workforce by increasing access to programs preparing these professionals.

A flood of new technologies can change how people learn, live and work nearly overnight. For educators like Elzena McVicar, who teaches elementary English language learners in Seattle Public Schools, it's easy to feel overwhelmed.

"I know that I’m expected to teach 21st century skills to my students, but I only have four computers in my classroom, so I had a big problem of practice," McVicar said.

Encouraging students to ask questions, to conduct thoughtful experiments and even to get a bit messy in the lab are among the many joys Erin Flynn and Gretel von Bargen experience in their biology classes.

Dr. Mia Tuan begins her first day as dean of the University of Washington College of Education today, assuming leadership of the nation's No. 6-ranked education school.

Mia Tuan, a distinguished scholar who has worked to strengthen equity and inclusion in educational settings, will officially assume the deanship of the University of Washington College of Education on July 1.

Dr. Tuan joins UW after serving as a professor of education studies at the University of Oregon. During her 18 years at UO, she held a number of leadership roles, including interim dean of its College of Education, associate dean of its Graduate School, and director of the Center on Diversity & Community.

In Washington's Highline School District, as many as 25 languages can be spoken in a single classroom. That presents a serious challenge to educators who want to provide English learners with rigorous, grade-level appropriate curriculum.

While Advanced Placement is looked at by many as the main brand of rigorous coursework in the United States, it has come under scrutiny for lagging research on how students learn and what counts as learning.

Researchers from the University of Washington College of Education presented their work retooling the AP Government course to take a project-based approach to learning during an April 18 session at the American Educational Research Association's annual meeting.

Brigitte Tennis, a teacher at Stella Schola Middle School in Redmond and 1982 graduate of the University of Washington College of Education, will be one of five educators in the United States to be inducted in the National Teacher Hall of Fame for 2015.

Tennis is the first Washington state teacher in more than two decades to receive the honor. The opportunity will allow her to meet President Obama and offer advice to his administration on education policy.

The University of Washington has named Dr. Mia Tuan, a distinguished scholar who has held several leadership roles at the University of Oregon over the past 18 years, as Dean of the College of Education.