- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock /news-archive/tag/bronwyn-macfarlane/ ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Tue, 09 Apr 2019 12:53:27 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 MacFarlane receives Early Leader Award for significant contributions to gifted education /news-archive/2019/04/09/macfarlane-receives-early-leader-award-for-significant-contributions-to-gifted-education/ Tue, 09 Apr 2019 12:53:27 +0000 /news/?p=73932 ...]]> A University of Arkansas at Little Rock professor has been recognized for her significant contributions and service as a leader in the field of gifted education. Dr. Bronwyn MacFarlane, a professor of gifted education, received the 2018-19 Early Leader award from the National Association for Gifted Education (NAGC). The Early Leader Award is given nationally to the individual with the most potential and exceptional early leadership track record based on their professional contributions to the field of gifted education in their early career. “The awards program shines a light on those who are making a difference in supporting gifted children as they reach to achieve their personal best,” said NAGC Executive Director M. René Islas. “Dr. MacFarlane is an accomplished author and speaker who is guiding work at the local, state, and national level.” In another honor, MacFarlane has also received the Faculty Excellence Award in Research and Creative Endeavors for the College of Education and Health Professions. MacFarlane is the editor and writer of four books about educational processes for high-ability learners. She is currently chair of the National Association for Gifted Education STEM Network, has also served as guest editor of Roeper Review, a journal on gifted education, and writes the national column, “The Curriculum Corner,” in Teaching for High Potential magazine. MacFarlane published three of her books in the last three years and her latest book,” (2018), provides educators and parents with a guide about delivering school-wide change, serving learner needs, developing critical thinking and content mastery, and showcases specialized schools that are differentiating for specific areas of talent development. In the past 15 years, MacFarlane has taken note of the increased demand for more specialized school programs such as STEM education. She believes that combining the lessons of gifted education is the way to make a winning formula for providing great STEM education as well as other educational programs. “STEM education has been a topic of interest for many years,” she said. “Some school leaders and teachers may find themselves tasked with starting or revising a STEM program and there is a lot to consider in offering quality programs. How do we begin? What are the best materials to use? How will this program make a difference in supporting student growth and development? To offer STEM programs is important, but you want to deliver high-quality STEM programs that will offer students an advanced understanding in STEM topics and we can learn the how-to’s from the field of gifted education, such as ways to deliver curriculum and instruction with powerful, quality, and best-practice strategies.” In the upper right photo, Dr. Bronwyn MacFarlane (middle) receives the 2018-19 Early Leader award from Dr. Jonathon Plucker (left), NAGC president-elect and professor at Johns Hopkins University, and Dr. Sally Krisel, NAGC president and faculty at University of Georgia, at the 65th Annual Convention Celebration of Excellence Awards Ceremony of the National Association for Gifted Children. ]]> ��Vlog��ý Little Rock announces college-level Faculty Excellence award winners /news-archive/2019/03/07/faculty-excellence-2019/ Thu, 07 Mar 2019 14:10:12 +0000 /news/?p=73647 ...]]> The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Faculty Excellence Awards by honoring 17 of its top faculty members at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 11, in the College of Engineering and Information Technology Auditorium. Since 1989, when the first award was given, the event has provided a way to recognize the great work of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock faculty and is made possible through the valued contributions of the Office of the Chancellor, the Office of the Provost, and the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Chancellor’s Circle. A panel of external judges will review the achievements of the college-level winners and select the university-wide winners in the categories of teaching, research, and public service. The three university-wide winners will each receive a cash prize of $5,000. The event is free and open to the public. A reception will follow the awards ceremony in the Engineering and Information Technology Building lobby. For more information, contact the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Office of the Provost at 501-569-3204. The following is a list of college-level winners: Public Service

Avinash Thombre, professor of applied communication, College of Social Sciences and Communication
Linda Holzer, professor of music, College of Arts, Letters and Sciences
Beth McMillan, professor and chair of the Department of Earth Sciences, George W. Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology
Alicia Mitchell, visiting assistant professor of law and director of the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, William H. Bowen School of Law
Clifford Franklin, associate professor of audiology and speech pathology and research integrity officer, College of Education and Health Professions

Research/Creative Endeavors

Tusty ten Bensel, associate professor of criminal justice and graduate coordinator, College of Social Sciences and Communication
Mariya Khodakovskaya, professor of biology and interim associate dean, College of Arts, Letters and Sciences
Mary Yang, associate professor of information science, George W. Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology
J. Lyn Entrikin, Charles Baum Distinguished Professor of Law, William H. Bowen School of Law
Bronwyn MacFarlane, professor of gifted education, College of Education and Health Professions
Guarav Kumar, professor of accounting, College of Business

Teaching

Cheryl Johnston, senior instructor of applied communication, College of Social Sciences and Communication
Naoki Hakutani, associate professor of music, College of Arts, Letters and Sciences
Jin Wook Lee, assistant professor of systems engineering, George W. Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology
Lindsey Gustafson, professor of law, William H. Bowen School of Law
Jeffrey Carmack, associate professor of nursing, College of Education and Health Professions
Ahmad Naeem Bajwa, assistant professor of management, College of Business

]]> Check out these unique course selections for fall 2018 /news-archive/2018/08/07/unique-course-selections-fall-2018/ Tue, 07 Aug 2018 16:25:12 +0000 /news/?p=71335 ...]]> The fall 2018 semester is right around the corner. For students still searching for an interesting course to fill out their , the University of Arkansas at Little Rock has some great choices. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock courses offer students the chance to learn about political themes in classic horror films and literature, real estate development and property management, as well as how teachers can meet the social and emotional needs of gifted and talented children. Check out the following guide for courses that explore interesting and unique topics: ANTH 2316-01 and 2316-02: Cultural Anthropology 12:15-1:30 p.m. Monday and Wednesday or 10:50 a.m.-12:05 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday This course examines the concept of culture, cultural processes, and anthropological theories. Topics include marriage, economics, gender, ethnicity, and socialization. Students will gain a better understanding of the hows and whys of cultures, which they can apply in their everyday lives. This is a great course for anyone planning to work with a variety of people, including those majoring in business, criminal justice, education, finance, political science, or international relations. ENG 4350: The Politics of Horror 12-15-1:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday by Kris McAbee Inspired by the 2017 breakout hit “Get Out,” this seminar interrogates the features of cinematic and literary horror to ask how this genre is particularly suited to political commentary. We will cover a range of films including “Get Out,” as well as “The Blob” (1958), “The Night of the Living Dead” (1968), and “The Shining” (1980), alongside literature like Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” (1605), Walpole’s “The Castle of Otranto” (1765), Le Fanu’s “Carmilla” (1871), Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” (1892), and Jackson’s “The Lottery” (1948). The class offers an exceptional opportunity to analyze texts in different media across several historical periods to encourage students to think about cultural production in reference to the frightening stakes of legal, economic, racial, and gender politics. This course is the Fall 2018 Cooper Honors Seminar but is open to all students. ENGL 4100: Horror on Film 6-8:40 p.m. Wednesday by Kris McAbee Offered in conjunction with The Politics of Horror, this one-credit course will feature screenings of all the horror films discussed in The Politics of Horror course. The course is open to all students, even if they are not enrolled in The Politics of Horror. ENGL 4370 and ENGL 5370: Seminar on Toni Morrison 4:30-5:45 p.m. Monday and Wednesday by Laura Barrio Vilar This seminar provides students with a unique opportunity to study key works by Nobel- and Pulitzer-Prize winner Toni Morrison. Infused with a womanist approach, Morrison’s writings cover a wide range of topics from race and gender relations, family, socio-economic, and cultural survival to slavery, war, and infanticide. Students will consider not only Morrison’s major works of fiction, but also her ideas about literature, language, and her goals as a writer. This course counts toward both the minor in Race and Ethnicity and the minor in Gender Studies. FINC 4397: Real Estate Development and Property Management 6-8:40 p.m. Thursday by Elizabeth Small This seminar has interdisciplinary characteristics combining the real estate process with an entrepreneurial approach and a corporate umbrella approach. The course analyzes an eight-stage model of real estate development using examples in the local community as well as national cases. Students learn the value of city planners, legislators, regulators, contractors, lawyers, and lenders throughout the development process. Site visits and conversations with developers, lenders, and contractors are all a part of the educational environment. Learning from the experiences of those in ownership, property management, construction, and consultant rolls is a crucial part of the class experience. Students end the semester by presenting a development project of their own creation. GATE 7363: Affective Needs of the Gifted Online course by Bronwyn MacFarlane This graduate course is a study in the social and emotional needs of gifted children. Emphasis is placed on responding to affective needs of gifted students and development of social skills through lesson planning, teacher training, and parent awareness. GEOG 4300: Spaces of Violence Online course by David Baylis In this class, students will approach violence from a social geographic perspective. This course will address the following topics: gendered, sexualized, and racialized violence; serial killers as urban gentrifiers in the Revanchist City; memorializing and erasing landscapes of violence; imagined geographies of violence; crime mapping and its applications and errors; violence, violent spaces, and popular culture; and the role of place in the production of moral panics. HIST 3326: Islam and the Modern Middle East 12-12:50 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday by Katrina Yeaw What are the root causes of the Arab Spring? What are the origins of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict? What role does Islam play in Middle Eastern politics? This course focuses on these and other issues fundamental to understanding the modern Middle East from the 19th century to the Arab Spring demonstrations in 2011. This course will address the following topics: the decline of the Ottoman Empire, imperialism and colonialism, nationalism, the emergence of modern nation states, oil, political Islam, the Arab-Israeli conflict, gender identities, American intervention, and the Arab Spring. HIST 4356 and HIST 5356: History of Race and Ethnicity Online course by John Kirk The course examines the history of race and ethnicity in the United States from prehistory to present with a focus on selected topics in the experience of the nation’s diverse and multicultural heritage. The course is unique in being the only one at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock to provide a comprehensive history of race and ethnicity in the United States and is one of two core classes for the Race and Ethnicity minor. HIST 4393: Haitian Revolution in World History 6-8:40 p.m. Monday by Nate Marvin This course explores the events and significance of the Haitian Revolution (1789-1804) from its beginnings to the present day. The revolution that transformed the largest and most brutal of Europe’s slave plantation colonies into the independent nation of Haiti unfolded in a series of major historical precedents. What began as a home-rule movement among white colonists became a civil rights struggle among free people of color, eventually setting the stage for the largest slave uprising in the history of the Americas. Despite its world-historical significance, the Haitian Revolution was once marginalized in historical writing and college curricula. In this course, students will think critically about that obfuscation and other such “silencings” of history and analyze the wealth of new scholarship on the importance of the Haitian Revolution in world history. Topics will include the revolution’s effects on the demographics and culture of the early United States; politics and philosophy in France, Great Britain, and Germany; Latin American independence movements; the African slave trade; the abolition movement; and other 19th- and 20th-century struggles against racial inequality and colonialism. INTS 2303: Intro to International Studies 12:15-1:30 p.m. Monday and Wednesday by Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm This course provides a broad interdisciplinary introduction to globalization. The course will explore the many different facets of globalization: economic, political, cultural. Students will examine important debates about globalization such as its affects, whether it is positive or negative, whether it is a new phenomenon, and what the future may hold. In addition, the course will discuss various forms of resistance to globalization. PHIL 3370: Existentialism 6-8:40 p.m. Wednesdays by Keith Robinson In philosophy, literature, and film, existentialist ideas problematize our understanding of freedom and responsibility and challenge our attitudes to the meaning of life and death. Existentialist thinkers pay special attention to moods like nausea, anguish, and anxiety and the ways in which they structure our experience of daily life. This course explores this influential philosophical and literary movement through readings of selected texts as well as viewings of selected films with existentialist themes. PHY 4399 and PHY 5399: Biophysics 3-4:15 p.m. Monday and Wednesday by Gregory Buisbiers This is a new class at the boundary between physics and biology. This class will give students the tools they need to understand the living world from a physicist’s perspective. This class will cover topics that students will not see in any other class, such as scaling laws, fractals, and bio-tribology. POLS 4331: International Organizations 10-10:50 a.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday by Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm Many are concerned that international organizations like the United Nations and the World Trade Organization increasingly affect our lives. This course will explore the conception and modern functions of international organizations and the international and domestic political forces that impact their effectiveness to help people assess whether such concerns are overblown. In particular, the course will focus on the role of international organizations in issues of war and peace, human rights, and development. Students will conduct research on and participate in international organization models, including a United Nations Security Council simulation. POLS 4341: International Human Rights 9-9:50 Monday, Wednesday, and Friday by Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm This course provides a philosophical and political exploration of human rights. It will begin with an intellectual history of human rights before examining the international politics of human rights. Students will look at international law dealing with human rights, and the different ways in which human rights are promoted globally. Students will discuss the conditions under which countries are likely to comply with international human rights law and norms, as well as the circumstances under which states are willing to enforce human rights obligations. RELS 3300: Theories of Religion 9:25-10:40 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays by Edward Hale This course provides an overview of theories about religion, as well as methods in the study of religious traditions. It explores such questions as “What makes something religious?;” “What is the relationship of religious practices and beliefs to other areas of life?;” and “Where did religion come from?” It covers approaches to the phenomenon of religion from several disciplines, including anthropology, sociology, psychology, and history.]]> Gifted education, STEM equals winning combination for ��Vlog��ý Little Rock teacher /news-archive/2018/05/30/gifted-education-stem-research/ Wed, 30 May 2018 13:56:30 +0000 /news/?p=70667 ...]]> As a gifted education professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with more than a decade of experience, Dr. Bronwyn MacFarlane is always looking for ways to share the gift of education. In the past 15 years, MacFarlane has taken note of the increased demand for more Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. She believes that combining the lessons of gifted education is the way to make a winning formula for providing great STEM education. “STEM education has been a hot topic for 12 to 15 years now,” she said. “Some teachers may find themselves tasked with starting a STEM program. There is a lot to think about. How do I begin? What are the materials to use? To offer STEM programs is important, but you want to deliver high-quality STEM programs that will offer students an advanced understanding in STEM topics. That is what we can learn from the field of gifted education – ways to deliver curriculum and instruction in powerful, quality, and best-practice strategies.” MacFarlane recently explored this topic by serving as a guest editor of the Roeper Review, an academic journal. The special issue explored integrating STEM education with gifted curriculum. The refereed articles in the special issue explored curriculum planning in STEM education, robotics programs, how to integrate the arts into STEM education, measurement of the success of academic programs, and international STEM education programs. “Serving as guest editor is an important scholarly task as the guest editor identifies a specific topic that needs to be further addressed in a special publication. Before this special issue came out, I led the creation of a 2016 book titled It has been well received as a guidebook for educators and also translated into Arabic,” she said. “This special spring journal issue of Roeper Review takes it a step further with the latest research that has focused on integrating STEM and gifted education practices, so it moves us forward in understanding what works and how educators can offer programs that are really high-quality and powerful learning experiences.” MacFarlane pointed to the Girls in STEM Leadership Conference on campus as an example of a high-quality and powerful learning experience that promotes STEM education. The ��Vlog��ý Little Rock STEM Education Center hosted three conferences during the spring 2018 semester for hundreds of girls in the seventh and eighth grades. MacFarlane served as a guest speaker on a panel discussion led by women working in STEM fields. “I spoke to the girls about my work as an educator and a scholar. I described research findings about characteristics of successful achievers and how we can learn from patterns of success,” she said. “We had a really enthusiastic response from all the students in attendance. They wanted to know how we successfully achieved our goals so they could do that for their own personal journeys.” MacFarlane also serves as the nationally elected chair of the with more than 1,000 members in the National Association for Gifted Children. She is continuing to add to the body of research for gifted education with a new book coming out this summer, The new 2018 book focuses on how to serve high-ability learners in specialized schools and deliver school-wide educational change. ]]> ��Vlog��ý Little Rock offers unique class choices for summer 2018 /news-archive/2018/04/09/unique-summer-classes/ Mon, 09 Apr 2018 14:17:07 +0000 /news/?p=70091 ...]]> Students who are on the lookout for an interesting summer class have many options recommended by the professors of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock classes offer students the chance to learn how to craft effective nonfiction stories through digital media as well as how teachers can meet the social and emotional needs of gifted and talented children. Check out the following guide for choices that explore unique topics in African politics, gangs, crimes against humanity, sports marketing, and the portrayal of the Holocaust in film. For more information about summer registration and to look up course offerings, visit ualr.edu/summer. ANTH 4313: Race and Human Variation Online class taught by Kathryn King July 9 to Aug. 10. The course will examine how cultural ideas about race still have a significant impact on the lives of minorities. CRJU 3311: Gangs Online class taught by Timothy Brown July 9 to Aug. 10 This course examines the historical, cross-cultural, and current state of gang involvement. CRJU 3305: Crimes Against Humanity Online class taught by Tusty ten Bensel July 9 to Aug. 10 The purpose of this course is to highlight mass murders, torture, sexual violence, ethnic cleansing, and genocidal activities that have occurred since the 20th century. The course will examine specific cases, such as the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and Darfur. Students will be exposed to various aspects of wartime atrocities, weaving toward history, politics, crimes, international law, and human right discussions. In addition, students will be exposed to the psychology of the perpetrators, bystanders, and victims of genocidal events. Lastly, the international community’s response to this crime in the form of international judicial bodies will be detailed, exposing students to contemporary international criminal justice processes. FREN 2301: Reading French for Research Online class taught by Zac Hagins May 29 to July 31 This course is designed for advanced undergraduate and graduate students wanting to read scholarly texts in French for research purposes. Students will gain knowledge of the French language to engage with a variety of texts, with the help of a dictionary. Students will also learn to maintain the original text’s essence and integrity, an aspect of translation essential for research but that escapes the capabilities of electronic translators. Each students will work on a course project translating parts of a scholarly article or book chapter of his or her choosing, while building a lexicon related to his or her area of research. No prior knowledge of French is necessary. GATE 7363: Affective Needs of the Gifted and Talented Online class taught by Bronwyn MacFarlane May 29 to July 2 This graduate course is a study in the social and emotional needs of gifted children and is a perfect course for current and future educators. Emphasis is placed on responding to affective needs of gifted students and development of social skills through lesson planning, teaching training, and parent awareness. HHPS 2330: Intro to Sport Management Online course taught by Katie Helms July 9 to Aug. 10 This course provides students with a general overview of the various segments of the sport industry. This course will focus on the principles and theories of administration and management as they apply to sports, fitness, leisure, and recreation services. HHPS 3334: Sport Marketing Online course taught by Katie Helms July 9 to Aug. 10 This course presents an overview of the various techniques and strategies used in meeting the wants and needs of consumers in the sport industry as well as understanding how sports can be used to assist in the marketing of other companies and products. Areas to be addressed are the uniqueness of sport marketing in comparison with traditional marketing, an overview of the segments of the sport industry, the importance of market research and segmentation in identifying the right sport consumer, the use of data-based marketing in reaching the sport consumer, an overview of the marketing mix as individual units and the relationship between those units, and the development of sponsorship and endorsement packages. POLS 3301: Seminar: The Holocaust in Film Online class from July 9 to Aug. 10 by Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm This course uses film as a medium through which to better understand Nazi Germany’s attempt to exterminate Europe’s Jewish, Roma, and other minority populations. Students will read historical analyses of the politics of the Holocaust, within Germany, across Europe, and globally. In addition, the class explores how filmmakers use the tools at their disposal to depict the brutal events of the Holocaust, and how actors, screenwriters, and directors portray the complex motivations of those caught up in it. POLS 4370: Readings in Political Science: African Politics Online class taught by Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm from May 29 to July 2 In the wake of the popularity of the film “Black Panther,” there is renewed interest in understanding the political and economic development of contemporary sub-Saharan Africa. In general, post-independence Africa has failed to modernize the economy and lift sizeable portions of the population out of abject poverty. Most countries suffer from corruption and high levels of foreign debt. Dictatorships have been frequent. Ethnic and racial conflicts are comparatively common occurrences. Nonetheless, Africa also presents many exceptions to these characterizations. In this course, students will examine several explanations for these patterns, including the legacies of colonialism, characteristics of African states, the role of ethnicity and culture, and the actions of international actors. The class considers the historical evolution of African politics as well as contemporary issues such as democratization, civil war, economic development, and infectious disease. RHET 4347/5347: Topics in Nonfiction Writing: Digital Nonfiction Online class taught by Londie Martin from July 9 to Aug. 10 More than ever, daily life requires, invites, enchants, or otherwise calls people to express themselves and advocate for others through digital multimodal communications, the combination of sound, image, word, and movement. The class will consider how alphabetic text has been privileged as the primary method of creating and circulating knowledge, and students will attempt to shake up this privilege by crafting digital narratives that explore multimodality, challenge assumptions of linear storytelling, and advocate for community concerns. Join us this summer as we craft true stories, play with new media, think about how stories and communities shape each other, and make cool stuff for real audiences. ]]>