Teacher candidates and teachers attend a luncheon while traveling to the Arkansas Intermediate Education Association conference in Little Rock.
The College of Education and Health Professions' WE CARE Strategic Plan includes practical tools to generate impactful research that improves people's lives, increase transformative learning opportunities for students, and build meaningful partnerships across the state. Packed with goals and strategies.
Faculty, staff, and students continue to develop proposals and apply for funding to conduct projects involving innovative research, programming, and outreach. Since the dean launched her WE CARE in August 2022, 86 projects have been funded through his wellness and education initiatives. From collaborative research projects to conferences that benefit networking and industry knowledge, the experiences and projects gained through Strategic Plan funding improve the career readiness of our students while improving the lives of all Arkansans.
“It’s great to see such high levels of participation in WE CARE-funded projects. It is our students, staff, and faculty who are making our vision a reality by demonstrating,'' said Dean Kate Mamiseishvili. “I am extremely proud of this initiative, which has already had a meaningful impact in communities across Arkansas and empowered students.”
Teaming up for education and health
Vaping in schools and social mediaThe research project conducted by Associate Professors Paige Dobbs and Kara Lasater, funded through WE CARE, is an ongoing effort to examine e-cigarettes in schools from the perspectives of students, administrators, and teachers. In this project, middle school and high school students will analyze marketing and sales strategies for selling e-cigarettes and e-cigarette materials. Through interviews with teachers and school administrators, Dobbs and Lasater study schools' approaches to e-cigarettes and policies to determine effective outcomes for reducing e-cigarette use. In March, student researchers will present their project results at the annual EAST conference in Hot Springs. EAST, short for Education Accelerated by Service and Technology, brings together more than 3,500 students, teachers, parents, and community leaders to showcase projects that make a difference in their communities and network with colleagues and industry experts. Build.
Another project funded under the Team Up for Education and Health Funds category was Team up to support children (TUSK). This professional development series for teachers and caregivers provides resources and opportunities for collaboration to address social, emotional, and behavioral health disparities in Arkansas schools.
The interdisciplinary faculty team of Renee Speight, Suzanne Kucharczyk, and Rachel Glade hosted several events throughout 2023. In the spring, the team held a symposium on Mount Sequoia focused on building knowledge about basic prevention and response measures to improve preparedness for large-scale disasters. student needs. Over the summer, TUSK offered early career professionals an online summer learning series covering a wide range of topics, from understanding student behavior to engaging and supporting student families. In December, the team followed up its summer series with a symposium in Little Rock that focused on activities in which professionals explore evidence-based practices and how to apply them in diverse settings. It was held.
Student outdoor experience
Student Field Experience Funds support experiential learning for students throughout Arkansas, providing students with opportunities to deepen their understanding of education and health issues and explore careers across the state.
Using these funds, 25 teacher candidates traveled to Little Rock to attend the annual conference of the Arkansas Intermediate Education Association. Candidates in special education and child education programs interested in the intermediate level can learn from intermediate education leaders and experts, connect with school leaders in Arkansas, and connect with teachers and university faculty at other educational institutions in the state. I had the opportunity to build a relationship with.
With funding from WE CARE, four Spanish language education graduate and undergraduate students attended the annual conference of the Arkansas Association of Teachers of Foreign Languages. Students had the unique opportunity to meet other experts in the language education field and attend sessions led by practicing educators. As with these students, a current teacher will receive her one-year membership in the organization by attending the conference.
This spring semester, faculty members Marcia B. Inbaugh and Christine Ralston will accompany seven early childhood education and graduate education interns to the Arkansans' annual conference for gifted education in Hot Springs. is. In addition to the opportunity to learn from and network with educators across the state, students also have the opportunity to present information they have learned to meet the needs of advanced learners. Interns also serve as ambassadors and share their experiences with the College of Education and Health Professions' teacher preparation programs.
About the College of Education and Health Professions: The six academic departments in the College of Education and Health Professions prepare students for a variety of careers in education and health professions. In addition to its longstanding role of preparing educators and educational leaders, the university also trains nurses, speech-language pathologists, public health professionals, recreation and sports professionals, counselors, occupational therapists, athletic trainers, and exercise scientists. I am training.
