Faculty Highlights
Prof. Juan Flores
Prof. Flores was elected Vice President of the Board of Directors of the California Association of Bilingual Teacher Educators. The California Association of Bilingual Teacher Educators is a newly established organization that is affiliated with the California Council of Teacher Educators and with the California Association of Bilingual Education.
Prof. Flores is co-editor of the Association of Mexican American Education (AMAE) Journal. Under the leadership of the Executive Board, the AMAE Journal was first published in 1982 with the expressed purpose of providing a forum for addressing issues of importance to the education of Mexican American children. The AMAE Journal is the only refereed journal dedicated to examining Mexican American education.
Prof. Flores was invited as a speaker by Hungkuang University in Taichung, Taiwan, March 23, 2008. Prof. Flores spoke on the topic of Teacher Performance Assessment in an online delivery format. He also lectured at National Changhua University, National Taichung University, and Asia University. Bilingual education is becoming popular in Taiwan as increasing number of Taiwanese schools offer dual language and English classes in elementary and secondary schools.
Prof. Dawn Poole
Prof. Poole presented at the annual CUE national conference, Palm Springs, CA, March 2008, a qualitative study examining the trends of the Computer Using Educators (CUE) National Conference sessions in the past 30 years.
Prof. Poole’s research, An Analysis of CUE Conferences from 1980-2007: Structure and Content, was published in OnCUE, March 2008.
Prof. Poole made two presentations, Developing Student Writing Skills Using a Word Processor and Getting the Most out of Microsoft Word at the Educational Technology Conference, held March 2008, in Enochs High School, Modesto, CA.
Prof. Poole conducted a workshop, Getting the Most out of Microsoft Word, at a professional development workshop hosted by the Ceres Unified School District Summer Institute. This was a 2.5 hour hands-on workshop for Ceres Unified teachers focusing on the MS Word 2003. Participants learned about toolbars, tables, read-only files, creating form letters and labels, and using the Track Changes features of the software.
Prof. Nancy Jean Smith
Prof. Smith was “identified as a stakeholder who could contribute important perspectives” and is working as a Thought Partner with The Academics and Professional Development Department of the San Francisco Unified School District and the San Francisco Education Fund. She is working with Associate Superintendent of Instruction, Francisca Sanchez, and key stakeholders to guide the development of a framework for teacher professional development in the District. The group’s charge is to design collaboratively a framework that will guide the district’s efforts to meet its goals and objectives in the new strategic plan and balanced scoreboard.
Prof. Ramon Vega de Jesus
Prof. Vega de Jesus is a primary investigator in a research project dealing with integrating science and diversity education. A joint project with UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, and San Francisco State University, Prof. Vega de Jesus has been involved in this grant-funded project since its inception in 2007. Prof. Elmano Costa, Teacher Education, and Prof. Michael Stevens, Biology, are partners at CSU Stanislaus. The preliminary findings of this research project will be presented at the annual National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) conference in 2009. The proceedings of the conference presentation are expected to be published in a journal. The research team is currently analyzing the collected data and plans to publish a series of 10 articles based on the research. This research project led to a redesign of a course, EDMS 4130, Science and Health Methods, for the Multiple Subjects Credential Program candidates, to align with CREDE standards for science and health education. The research involves examining the (student) participants’ practices in student teaching and in their first year of teaching as a result of their learning in the course. There are control and experimental groups at both CSU Stanislaus and San Francisco State University.
Prof. Vega de Jesus has published a letter to Paulo Freire, titled The Fire of Conscientization Still Burns in Sonia Nieto’s new book, Dear Paulo: Letters from Those Who Dare Teacher.” Sonia Nieto is Professor Emeritus of Language, Literacy, and Culture at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Amazon.com describes this new book as “a heartfelt response from teachers, academics, and community workers to the work on the internationally renowned educator and author Paulo Freire. From newly minted teachers terrified of facing their first day in the classroom to seasoned academics whose work has largely been inspired by Freire, this collection is both a loving memorial and a call for action to work for social justice, praxis, and democracy, ideals envisioned and brilliantly articulated by Paulo.” Fifty percent of the royalties of the book will be donated to two non-profit organizations: Seeds of Solidarity (SOS) and Teaching for Change. Seeds of Solidarity, www.seedsofsolidary.org, is an organization that “provides people with the inspiration and practical tools to grow food and use renewable energy, linking environmental and social justice through community-based action. Teaching for Change, www.teachingforchange.org, “provides teachers and parents with the tools to transform schools into centers of justice where students learn to read, write, and change the world.” The organization aspires to accomplish its mission through publications, professional development, and parent organizing.