/news-archive/tag/elementary-education/ 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Thu, 14 Mar 2019 13:48:10 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /news-archive/2019/03/14/book-chapter-promoting-friendship-transgender-students/ Thu, 14 Mar 2019 13:48:10 +0000 /news/?p=73692 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock professor publishes book chapter promoting friendship for transgender students]]> A University of Arkansas at Little Rock professor has published a book chapter that will help elementary education students learn how to be allies to transgender students. 聽 The chapter, 鈥�Trans*Forming the Middle Level English Language Arts Classroom: Reading George to Promote Ally-ship,” was published by Rowman & Littlefield in the 2018 book 鈥淨ueer Adolescent Literature as a Complement to the English Language Arts Curriculum.鈥� Dr. Judith Hayn, professor of teacher education, was assisted in her research by 15 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock elementary education students who took the ELEM 4301: Integrated Literacy and Language II class during the fall 2017 semester. The students include Olivia Bing, Misty Carmona, Lindsay Connell, Keeley Dodson, Molly Faircloth, Christin Hall, Robert Jones, Erin Long, Sarah McPherson, Whitney Patton, Hannah Sanders, Cassy Siegler, Megan Tarvin, Lori Terry, Hollyn Townsend, Jonalyn Williams, Kaitlin Wright, and Kathleen Yeary. The book chapter gives lesson plans on how elementary education teachers can teach lessons on friendship and tolerance through the book 鈥� to fourth- and fifth-grade students. The book is about a transgender student in the fourth grade who wants to play the role of Charlotte in the class production of 鈥淐harlotte鈥檚 Web,鈥� but George鈥檚 teacher says she cannot try out for the part because she鈥檚 a boy. 鈥淭his is the first book written by a transgender author about a transgender student in middle school,鈥� Hayn said. 鈥淔or me, it鈥檚 a story of friendship. George has a friend who becomes her best friend ever by backing George鈥檚 attempt to play Charlotte in the school play. This book teaches young students how to be open, accepting, and tolerant.鈥� Having the students鈥� help on her book chapter was a serendipitous turn of events. Hayn, who does not teach elementary education, was not supposed to be teaching the class. She volunteered to substitute for a fellow professor who was out for the semester due to an injury. 鈥淭his was a good experience for young teachers who are going to teach in K-6 classes,鈥� Hayn said. 鈥淚 asked them if they could help me write a book chapter on how to use this book for fourth- and fifth-grade students. They read the book, and they came up with lesson plans, classroom activities, and all the sources the teachers need. The only horrible part is that the students didn鈥檛 get to see the book chapter because they have already graduated, but I thank them at the end of the article.鈥� The students came up with chapter summaries, discussion questions, reading comprehension quizzes, vocabulary activities, journal assignments, author studies, and other classroom activities to help teachers instruct their students on the book. 鈥淚 was quite pleased with the maturity of their work,鈥� Hayn said. 鈥淏y the end of the semester, the students were absolutely ready to go into any classroom with any book, controversial or not, and know how to teach a book to their students.鈥� ]]> /news-archive/2018/12/04/virtual-food-drive/ Tue, 04 Dec 2018 14:00:08 +0000 /news/?p=72859 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock holds virtual food drive to fight food insecurity in Arkansas]]> The University of Arkansas at Little Rock College of Education and Health Professions is running a virtual food drive in partnership with the to raise money for those facing food insecurity issues in Arkansas.聽 Rather than asking for donations of food items, a virtual food drive asks for financial donations. This allows the Arkansas Food Bank to buy the specific food staples they need and in larger quantities for less money than donated items. Due to agreements the Arkansas Food Bank has with local grocery stores, a $1 donation can buy five substantial meals for food-insecure Arkansans. The College of Education and Health Professions learned about the Arkansas Food Bank after having the school鈥檚 retreat at the organization. 鈥淲e are touched by the whole thing, but we are really touched by children,鈥� said Dr. Bruce Smith, interim director of the School of Education. 鈥淢ost of us work in teacher education, and it鈥檚 inconceivable to us that so many children have to worry about this.鈥� According to the Arkansas Food Bank, one in five people in Arkansas struggles to provide enough food for their families, and 25 percent of Arkansas children have limited access to adequate food. Dr. Anarella Cellitti, associate professor of elementary education, and Dr. Daryl Tate, assistant professor of learning systems technology education, headed the virtual food drive committee. The drive will run through Jan. 1. Visit to donate.]]> /news-archive/2018/05/17/african-american-history-new-york/ Thu, 17 May 2018 14:23:19 +0000 /news/?p=70598 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock students win free trip to New York City to explore African-American history]]> Eight University of Arkansas at Little Rock students have won a free trip to New York City to explore African-American history after winning an essay contest.聽 In honor of Black History Month, 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity held an essay contest in February for undergraduate students. In 600 words or less, students answered the question: How has any one organization, movement, place, or period in New York City鈥檚 history contributed to the African-American struggle for freedom and equality? Winners include McKenzie Baker, international studies major; Deuntay Bennett, economics major; Sean Corrothers, accounting major; Jessica Doyne, professional and technical writing major; Ravan Gaston, political science major; Kimberly Maurer, English-secondary education major; Tieranee Ransom, elementary education major; and Tori Williams, English major with a creative writing emphasis. The eight winners will visit New York City July 9-15. Airfare, lodging, meals, and entrance to site visits will all be covered. Students will stay at and visit sites such as the Studio Museum of Harlem, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the African Burial Ground National Monument, Black Theater of Harlem, Apollo Theater, Ellis Island, Louis Armstrong Museum, and Grant鈥檚 Tomb. The Anderson Institute began the essay contest in 2017 in which eight 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock students won a trip to Washington, D.C. to visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture and other historical sites. ]]> /news-archive/2017/03/23/june-h-williams-scholarship-elementary-education-endowed-little-rock/ Thu, 23 Mar 2017 18:58:45 +0000 /news/?p=66653 ... June H. Williams endows scholarship to support elementary education]]> The June H. Williams Elementary Education Scholarship has been endowed in the School of Education in honor and memory of Helon Brown Williams. The first awards will be given to students in spring 2017. Williams鈥� career in teaching began in south Florida before she moved back to Little Rock and taught second grade at Meadowcliff Elementary. 鈥淲hen teaching at Meadowcliff, I had many student-teachers from 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淭hose dedicated students inspired me to create this scholarship.鈥� This is the fourth endowed scholarship the Williams family created to support 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock students. It joins scholarships created by Williams鈥� brother Alfred Williams, sister-in-law Elaine Eubank, and father, Grainger Williams. 鈥淗er desire to create this scholarship is another shining example of the generosity and philanthropic heart of the members of the Williams family,鈥� said 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Associate Vice Chancellor of Alumni and Development Andrea Angel. For more information on 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock philanthropy opportunities, contact the Office of Alumni and Development at 501.569.8429.  ]]> /news-archive/2016/11/23/ualr-research-team-finds-benefits-of-engineering-lessons-for-first-graders/ Wed, 23 Nov 2016 20:26:49 +0000 /news/?p=65831 ... STEM Starters+ finds engineering lessons help first-graders]]> After extensive investigation through the STEM Starters+ program, researchers at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock found that even at the first-grade level, students can benefit from engineering lessons. Students who participated in the STEM Starters+ lessons not only developed a greater understanding of engineering, but they also learned more science and were more highly engaged in learning. 鈥淲e have some really spectacular results from this study,鈥� said Dr. Ann Robinson, professor of educational psychology and 糖心Vlog传媒LR Jodie Mahony Center for Gifted Education. 鈥淏efore these students can even spell engineer, they can learn about it.鈥� Robinson led the project as principal investigator in collaboration with the Museum of Science in Boston. She was joined by project director Kristy Kidd of 糖心Vlog传媒LR and external evaluator Dr. Jill Adelson of the University of Louisville. STEM Starters+ is a five-year, $2.5 million project funded by the U.S. Department of Education. It began with researchers introducing engineering curricula into four Arkansas school districts with high rates of culturally diverse and low-income children. Those school districts included Cabot, El Dorado, Little Rock, and the Pulaski County Special School District. 鈥淭o put the increases of engineering knowledge results from this study in context, we found that STEM Starters+ produced effects approximately 50 percent greater than many other STEM curriculum interventions in education,鈥� Robinson said. Prior to STEM Starters+, the school districts included in the study did not provide first-graders with engineering lessons. Researchers investigated whether students could be exposed to and engage in engineering programs at a much earlier age than is typical in elementary school education. 鈥淲e have uncovered academic talents in young children through exposure to curriculum focused on the engineering design process and innovative thinking,鈥� Robinson said. 鈥淥ur approach is particularly important for low-income children who have had to develop talents for tinkering and improvising at an early age.鈥� Researchers analyzed data for more than 1,300 students in 62 first-grade classrooms in 18 schools. They investigated the effects of the program by comparing students participating in STEM Starters+ and those learning science and math as usual. Both groups were assessed using a science content test constructed using resources from the and the . Students who participated in the STEM Starters+ curricula also completed an emotional and behavioral engineering engagement test following the program. 鈥淭he new study of STEM Starters+ clearly shows that primary school children can increase their science achievement and engineering knowledge when provided with this exceptional learning opportunity,鈥� said Ann Bain, dean of the 糖心Vlog传媒LR College of Education and Health Professions. 鈥淭he participating teachers utilized the knowledge and skills gained through our professional development in order to make a positive difference in the lives of these children,鈥� Bain said. 鈥淭he research and project implementation have had amazing results that will hopefully result in future engineers and scientists.鈥� In the future, the project will include further studies of children ranging from second to fifth grade. 鈥淥ur collaboration with the Museum of Science, in charge of developing the engineering curricula implemented as part of STEM Starters+, provides us with the opportunity to learn a great deal more about how young children learn engineering, what engages them, and how schools can incorporate engineering design and innovation into classrooms,鈥� Robinson said. For more information, contact Robinson at aerobinson@ualr.edu or visit the project鈥檚 website. Pictured above, Researchers involved in the STEM Starters+ project. From left: Dr. Jill L. Adelson, external evaluator, University of Louisville, Kristy Kidd, project director, Jodie Mahony Center, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Dr. Ann Robinson, principal investigator, Jodie Mahony Center, School of Education, University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Contributed photo.聽]]>