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News and Events
Spring 2012
Improving Middle School Language Arts Through Research
Professors Lapp, Fry, and Fisher Co-Edit Voices From The Middle
Drs. Doug Fisher, Nancy Frey, and Diane Lapp are the editors of Voices From the Middle, a journal of the National Council of Teachers of English that focuses on research and practice in middle school. This prestigious, national publication offers articles on research and best practices in middle level reading, writing, speaking, and listening in the visual and language arts. The journal’s mission is to be the cornerstone for the ongoing professional development of language arts educators. Published four times per year, it comes out in hard copy, but it also has an online presence which includes podcasts designed as interviews with contributing authors.
A Career of Outstanding Public School Service
Professor Diane Lapp Receives Prestigious Manning Award
At the annual International Reading Association Conference in May, 2011 Dr. Diane Lapp was honored as the recipient of the John C. Manning Public School Service Award which is given to educators who have made considerable contributions to public education throughout their career.
In her acceptance speech, Dr. Lapp said:
“The cultural and economic characteristics of the students I have taught throughout my career have remained very similar. I have always been drawn to urban schools catering to economically needy students. It is through their eyes that I have seen a world that differs from the Beaver Cleaver world of my home which prepared me for school in ways that were very familiar to my teachers and thus allowed me to have successful relationships with them and experiences that supported my learning. This is not always the educational experience of urban children of poverty who are often misunderstood, misdiagnosed, mistreated, and uncared for because of unfamiliarities that exist between their families and their teachers. I have witnessed these differences being exhibited in uncaring ways to these students through the labels that are placed on them, the instructional tracking that occurs for them, and the predictions that they will drop out anyway. It is because of what I have viewed in many urban schools that I continue to work to prepare teachers in field based settings that allow them to self-evaluate as being a very significant variable in whether their students become a positive or negative statistic. I remain hopeful that through their field based experiences and readings, these new teachers will continue to gain positive insights about students who differ from themselves and, as a result, will view meeting these students’ needs as a surmountable challenge they are prepared to achieve. As this happens, student-by-student, teacher-by-teacher, my dream of a true university/school partnership becomes a reality.”
SDSU Reading Recovery Program Receives U.S. Department of Education i3 Investing in Innovation Grant
Dr. Sharan A. Gibson Leads Effort in San Diego and Beyond
The SDSU Reading Recovery Program is providing intensive and expert professional development for Reading Recovery teachers and teacher leaders in three states (California, Colorado, and Utah) through a 4-year, i3 Scale Up Grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Education. Reading Recovery is an extraordinarily effective literacy intervention for lowest achieving first-grade children, with most children progressing to grade level or above in literacy within about 16 weeks (40 hours) of individual instruction. Professor Sharan A. Gibson supports Reading Recovery implementation within such school districts as San Diego Unified School District, Long Beach Unified School District, Torrance Unified School District, Washington County School District (Utah), and Boulder Valley School District (Colorado). The i3 Reading Recovery: Scaling Up What Works grant is also supported by a generous contribution of matching funds from the Walton Family Foundation.
National Recognition for Professors Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher
Innovative Work of SDSU Literacy Faculty Members Celebrated
The Association of Educational Publishers’ “Innovation Award” has been given to Dr. Nancy Frey and Dr. Douglas Fisher for their cutting-edge book (co-authored with Carol Rothenburg) Implementing RTI with English Learners. This work explains instructional methods that all teachers can use to ensure that English learners are successfully achieving in core curriculum areas.
But there is more. “Thinking and Comprehending in the Mathematics Classroom,” co-authored by Professors Frey and Fisher with Heather Anderson, was published in the prestigious Princeton University Press volume The Best Writing on Mathematics: 2011. This article examines how literacy, broadly conceived as thinking in words and images, impacts learning in mathematics.
Dr. Fisher and Dr. Frey are excited and honored by these awards. “I’m thrilled with the recognition we have been receiving from our work while on sabbatical,” Dr. Fisher said.
Contesting the Meaning of Disability
Dr. Scot Danforth Co-edits Leading Disability Studies Journal
In public schools and many parts of society, a disability is viewed as a problem, something unfortunate, perhaps even shameful. The field of disability studies examines and critiques our everyday ways of thinking about disability. The journal Disability Studies Quarterly, co-edited by SDSU Professor Scot Danforth and Professor Brenda Brueggemann of The Ohio State University, is leading the movement for cultural change, pushing open new doors for persons with disabilities.
Disability Studies Quarterly, the official scholarly publication of the Society for Disability Studies is a multidisciplinary and international journal of interest to social scientists, scholars in the humanities, disability rights advocates, creative writers, and others concerned with the issues of people with disabilities. DSQ is committed to developing theoretical and practical knowledge about disability and to promoting the full and equal participation of persons with disabilities in society. It is available free at http://dsq-sds.org/index.
Exploding the Myth of the High Achieving Asian American Student
Dr. Valerie Pang’s article in Educational Researcher questions cultural stereotypes
It is widely assumed that Asian Americans are a “model minority” reaching great heights of educational achievement. Not so fast, say Professor Valerie Pang her research colleagues Peggy P. Han and Jennifer M. Pang in their article “ Asian American and Pacific Islander Students: Equity and the Achievement Gap.”
Professor Pang and her colleagues studied more than 1 million Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) and White seventh graders in a statewide California testing program between 2003 and 2008, examining their reading and math achievement. They found that the common idea of AAPI students as a high-achieving, model minority is a myth. The evidence indicated that AAPI students are diverse in their achievements and demonstrate a continuum of academic performance.
33rd Annual Summer Reading/Language Arts Conference
Providing annual professional development for local educators
Every summer, for going on 33 years, the San Diego State University Summer Reading/Language Arts Conference has provided local educators an exciting and informative opportunity for professional development. Featured speakers include leading researchers, practitioners, and authors from California and across the United States. The 33rd annual conference will be held in Student Services 150 on the following days/times: June 18-22, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.; June 5, June 26, & July 10, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.
This year's conference theme is new K-12 Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and how they will affect public school teaching.
Conference attendees will gain practical instructional ideas about how to:
- teach students to evaluate online resources and new media
- use 21st century media like iPads and the iPod touch
- engage and support learning and instruction
- promote students learning to write, read, and speak the academic language of their content areas
- group for instruction (even in math!)
- use mind-mapping strategies to support creative and critical thinking
- create practical writing instruction in all subjects
The line-up includes a California teacher of the year speaking about high school science instruction, SDSU's own Professor Barbara Moss on understanding the Common Core Standards, and numerous authors who will share ideas that motivate readers and writers of all ages.
Last Modified 02/3/12 02:49
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