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Faculty/Department Highlights
May 2012
Linda Meloy, C&I, received the employee award for Excellence in Education at the 23rd Annual President's Excellence in Diversity Awards reception.
Betsy Hommel, C&I was given special recognition for Contributions to Diversity at the 23rd Annual President's Excellence in Diversity Awards reception.
Pamela Godt, C&I, recently presented a workshop for the Western Illinois Reading Council at New Copperfield's Bookstore on The Most Exciting New Children's Books of 2012. The audience included members of the State Illinois Reading Council from Chicago in addition to local teachers and students in the area.
Kathy Barclay, C&I, presented two sessions at the International Reading Association's annual convention in Chicago - So You Are Going To Adopt: Choosing and Using a Core Reading Program and Reading to Learn WHILE Learning to Read: Meeting the Common Core Standards for Nonfiction Literature. She also delivered two presentations at Plain Talk About Reading conference of the Center for Development and Learning in New Orleans entitled, When Writers Read and Readers Write: The Reciprocal Relationship Between Reading and Writing and A High 5 for PreK.
Frances Steward and Diana Goff, C&I, presented along with 10 students in the PreK-8 Science Update Conference. The participating science teachers enjoyed the topic of popcorn, fiction and nonfiction books, technology and hands-on activities.
April 2012
Susan Massey, C&I, had an article published online in the Early Childhood Education Journal. DOI 10.1007/s10643-012-0524-y. The article, From the reading rug to the play center: Enhancing vocabulary and comprehensive language skills by connecting storybook reading and guided play, will also be published in an upcoming print version.
Kathy Barclay, C&I, presented What Your Core Reading Program Can Do for You at the Massachusetts Association conference on April 12.
October 2011
Kathy Barclay, C&I, published the article, Thinking About the Way Children Use Language in the International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, Vol. 1, No. 13, September 2011.
Ann Curtis, retired Infant and Preschool Center director, recently had an article written about her and the bench placed in the playground outside the Center in her honor in the McDonough Voice.
Nancy Chu, C&I Emeritus professor, participated in History Day, an event sponsored by The Western Illinois University Archives and the McDonough County Historical Society. She and others taught local sixth graders about historical places in Macomb.
Terry Smith, C&I, was featured in the McDonough Voice for the Monster Mash project with local schools. This is a global project that includes 42 classrooms in the United States, Russia, Australia, Canada, Korea and England. To see all of the monsters visit www.smithclass.org/proj/Monsters/index.htm.
Barry McCrary, LEJA, and Christine Anderson, C&I, hosted a community forum discussion panel concerning Keys to Success or Pitfalls for Failure on October 26.
Francis Steward, C&I, along with 10 WIU students, helped area children in the Reading Scavenger Hunt on October 7 in support of Paint the Town Pink event. The WIU students guided children with the read aloud approach, higher order thinking questions, and vocabulary enrichment in fiction and nonfiction books. Children enjoyed 10 reading stations, books, and treats, while the WIU students bonded with the children through sharing the books, stories, and pictures. See pictures from the event on the Cohesion blog!
September 2011
Dr. Kathy Barclay, received a grant from the Illinois Reading Council for $78,567, for the project, Illinois Reading Council Journal - Year 9.
Frances Steward and Diana Goff, C&I, and Steward's summer class, C&I 476 donated 50 plus books for the students of the vastly devastated elementary schools of Joplin, MO. Anna Olsen, ELED student, and her brother, a freshman at Galva High School, delivered the books to the Joplin Distribution Center in July through the Methodist Ministries in Joplin. Pictures are available on the Cohesion blog.
Don Powers, C&I and the Maurice G. Kellogg Science Education Center, facilitated a five-hour Project Learning Tree Workshop on Sept. 16. Twenty-two undergraduate students participated in the workshop which focused on environmental activities related to trees and tree resources and habitats. View pictures on the Cohesion blog! Powers also conducted a STARLAB Workshop for 27 WIU undergraduate students on Sept. 23. During the five-hour Friday afternoon workshop the students participated in a number of activities such as measuring the location of the Sun, learning to read star charts, and observing sunspots with a solar telescope. The participants also visited the portable STARLAB Planetarium where they learned how to locate various stars and constellations as well as legends accompanying those constellations. The Maurice G. Kellogg Science Education Center hosted the STARLAB Workshop.
Pamela Godt, C&I, presented Banned and Determined: Examples of Censorship of Children's Books as part of ALA Banned Books Week in the Malpass Library. Photos are available at facebook.com/wiulib.
Debbie Lee, C&I, presented a two-part workshop on Conscious Discipline for the Rock Island Regional Office of Education. As follow-up on the workshops, Lee will be arranging monthly support groups for those implementing the program in their classrooms.
Christine Anderson, C&I Special Education Program, presented twice at the Ninth Biennial International Conference on Children and Youth with Behavioral Disorders, "Facing the Future - Building on the Past Celebrating CCBD's 50th Anniversary" in New Orleans, LA. She will be presenting with graduate student Kimberly Powers on Powers' research using PALS as a reading intervention for her students with emotional behavioral disorders and Anderson will be presenting with Barry McCrary, LEJA, relating to a collaboration of services between the School of LEJA and the SPED program.
May 2011
Congratulations to Dr. Kathy Barclay. Dr. Barclay received the Excellence in Scholarly Activity Award!
April 2011
The Society of Educators (SOE) in the Quad Cities hosted a tech night and demonstrated SmartBoards at Wells Elementary on April 7. SOE is advised by Susan Massey, C&I. Massey also presented the workshop, Print Referencing: Making the Most of Book Reading Experiences to Promote Early Literacy at the Ready to Learn Conference held at the Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency office in Bettendorf, IA. The conference was sponsored by WQPT and targeted early childhood professionals working in homes, centers, churches, and schools.
Frances Steward, C&I, was awarded during the week of April 18, 2011, an Honoring Our Professors of Excellence Certificate for outstanding instruction and dedication to Western Illinois University students. For the selection process, Laporsha Glass submitted a narrative entitled, The Professor's Impact on You, in the course, RDG 433: Introduction to Corrective Reading. The UHDS Academic Initiatives Committee sponsored the ward.
On April 7, 2011, 19 Early Childhood Education students, Jean Wolf and Diana Goff joined over 200 early childhood professionals from across the state of Illinois for Early 
Childhood Advocacy Day, 2011, at the State Capitol in Springfield, IL. All participants received background information and engaged in a brief training session to prepare them to talk with representatives about funding for programs for preschools and for family programs in Illinois. This experience helped the students grow as individuals and as prospective teachers. Eight students met with their representatives from their home districts, shared information about the importance of funding programs for young children and asked for their support in this area. The experience opened their eyes about how one person can make a difference and about the impact individuals can make when ‘we stick our heads together and stand up for what we believe’. Through their collective voice and their collective presence (all in yellow shirts) with other professionals, the students felt like they have a voice in changing the future.
The COEHS Faculty Scholars hosted Dr. John Creswell from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln to present, The New Methodology of Mixed Methods Research: Its Development and Expansion. The 2010-2011 Faculty Scholars include, Kathy Barclay, C&I; Donna McCaw, EDL; Sandra Watkins, EDL; Laura McArthur, DFMH; Hoyet Hemphill, IDT; Leaunda Hemphill, IDT; Seung Won Yoon, IDT; Dean Alexander, LEJA; Bonny Mhlanga, LEJA; and Vladimir Sergevnin, LEJA.
The Maurice G. Kellogg Science Education Center hosted a five-hour astronomy workshop for 25 undergraduate education students. During the workshop the students learned how to locate stars and constellations in the night sky and experienced a number of activities designed to increase their knowledge about the universe and the solar system. The participants also visited the inflatable portable STARLAB Planetarium where they were able to apply their knowledge about the stars and constellations. The STARLAB Workshop was facilitated by C&I's Don Powers.
Ann Curtis, Infant and Preschool Center, gave a full day of training to directors of child care centers in the Child Care Connections Resource and Referral Region of Illinois (Peoria). Her two half-day workshops were on Leadership in Action and Parents as Partners.
Kathy Barclay, C&I, completed a two-part statewide seminar, What Can You Do With a Good Book? She also presented a session at the Massachusetts Reading Conference, What We Know About Early Literacy: How Contemporary Research and Brain-based Instructional Models Can Inform Our Teaching.
Pamela Godt, C&I co-wrote two papers which were presented at the recent Illinois Reading Council State Reading Conference: Books for Struggling Readers Grades 4-12 and K-5/6 Reading Practices Inventory for Selected Illinois School Districts: Preliminary Results, Research Insights, and Audience Discussion. Godt also had her article, Leadership in Reading: Literacy Leaders in Illinois Rate What's Most Important and Least Important in the Field of Reading Education Today published in the Illinois Reading Council Journal.
March 2011
If you are interested in children's literature, the CLEC Annual Open House is for you!! WIU's Children's Literature Examination Center hosts a 3,000+ book collection of recently published books which includes most of the recent award winners for you to peruse. The open house will be held April 14 from 2-6 pm and on April 15 from 8 am - 12 pm. The event is held in Horrabin Hall Room 1.
The Maurice G. Kellogg Science Education Center will host the 25th Annual PreK-8 Science Update Conference on Friday, April 15. The conference, held in Horrabin Hall, will include 50-minute concurrent sessions and a series of mini-sessions. Further details will be released at a later date.
Representatives from the Infant and Preschool Center and the Exercise Science Student Association participated in the McDonough County YMCA's Kiddie Karnival.
Deborah Lee, C&I, spoke at a workshop hosted by the student committee of the Quad Cities Association for the Education of Young Children (AEYC), a group of Early Childhood students sponsored by the local AEYC affiliate on Conscious Discipline. Students were responsible for preparing the workshop, including doing the advertising, organizing and handling of the details.
Multiple COEHS faculty members and students attended Inextricably Linked: Gender Liberation, Queer Liberation, and the End of Racism and White Supremacy in the Quad Cities. Those who participated were: Andrea Hyde, EIS; Lance Ternasky, Dean's Office; Lindsey Garrison, EIS student; Amanda Halfacre and Emily Fairchild, CSP students; Suzanne Bailey and Kim Dodson, LEJA; Sharon Maroney, C&I; and Bill McFarland, CNED.
Dr. Kathy Barclay, C & I, and eight students from the Early Childhood Program (pictured right) attended the Illinois State Reading C
onference in Springfield on March 17-19. The students had an opportunity to meet several well-known authors and illustrators of children's books, including Marc Brown, creator of the Arthur series. Dr. Barclay presented two sessions during the conference: (1) What Your Core Reading Program Can and Cannot Do for You; (2) Connecting the Teaching of Skills With the Joy of Reading. She co-presented a third session, "So You Want to Be An Author? Writing for the Illinois Reading Council Journal," with Dr. Jon Jones, C & I.
Christine Anderson, C&I Special Education program, presented Pre-Service Teacher Survey and Collaboration Between the United States and Jordan at the SITE Conference in Nashville, TN.
Christine Anderson, C&I Special Education program, and Barry McCrary, LEJA, presented Exploring the Current Challenges and Successful Interventions in Meeting the Educational and Social Development Needs at the 48th Annual Meeting of Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences in Toronto, Canada.
Sara Simonson, C&I, presented an in-service on Robust Vocabulary Instruction to K-6 teachers at Ridgewood Elementary School in the Milan-Rock Island School District.
Spring 2011 Student Teachers (148) attended an all day seminar held in the Union. Program presentations and presenters included:
- Ben Bishop, student teacher supervisor for West Central Illinois-"Classroom Management, It's All About Procedures and Routines"
- Charles Bolton, student teacher supervisor for West Central Illinois- "Bullying in the Public Schools"
- Dennis Cromer, student teacher supervisor for the Chicago Suburbs- "First Year Teacher Mentoring Programs"
- Keith Erickson, student teacher supervisor for the Quad Cities-"Preparing for a Job Interview"
- Jacqlin Richmond, Coordinator for Field and Clinical Experiences-"Did You Know? The First Year of Teaching"
- Linda Sienkiewicz, student teacher supervisor for the City of Chicago- "Liability and Teachers"
February 2011
The Maurice G. Kellogg Science Education Center sponsored a Project WET workshop for 13 Elementary Education and Special Education undergraduate students. WET stands for Water Education for Teachers and is a national environmental program for K-12 students focusing on water's unique physical and chemical characteristics; water's importance to all life; water's connection to the Earth; and water's role in social and cultural constructs. During the workshop the participants took part in a variety of interdisciplinary activities from the Project WET Guide and each participant received a copy at the end of the workshop. The workshop was facilitated by C&I faculty members, Sebastian Szyjka and Don Powers.
Scott Brouette, Infant and Preschool Center, and Debbie Lee, C&I, hosted the QC Project Group meeting.
Kathy Barclay, C&I, presented Meeting Individual Needs: Literacy Learning Centers in PreKindergarten to 40 teachers and administrators in Aurora, IL.
Kathy Barclay, C&I, presented a statewide webinar, sponsored by the Illinois Resource Center/Illinois State Board of Education, for prekindergarten teachers and administrators entitled, Teaching with Intention, Part II. She also conducted a full-day workshop in Aurora, IL for 75 prekindergarten teachers and administrators on the topic of Meeting Individual Literacy Learning Needs.
Linda Meloy, C&I/Special Education graduate program, presented the mini workshop, Realities of Reading Needs at the Secondary Level, at the National Association of School Psychologists Annual Convention in San Francisco, CA.
Francis Steward, Jon Jones, and Diana Goff, C&I, along with WIU students judged two sessions of Write It! Do It! for the Western Illinois University Science Olympiad tournament. Illinois junior high and high school students had to apply science, reading, and writing skills with objects. The Maurice G. Kellogg Science Education Center as part of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction hosts the annual event.
November 2010
Pamela Godt, C&I, and Leaunda Hemphill, IDT, presented the CITR workshop, Techniques for Encouraging Students to Read at the Malpass Library.
Sebastian Szyjka, C&I, presented, Density Should Not Be Difficult, a middle school activity designed to take the difficulty out of learning about the concept of density at the Illinois Science Teachers Association Conference in Springfield, IL.
Melissa Stinnett and Angela Ferree, C&I, collaborated in a presentation titled Promises to Keep: The Dual Support of Mentoring and Literacy Coaching at the annual conference of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers in Omaha, NE.
Debbie Lee, C&I, presented Walking the Walk: Modeling Intentionality for Pre-Service Teachers at the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Conference in Anaheim, CA.
Abha Singh, C&I, presented Integration of Science and Math (STEM) in the Pre K-3 Classroom at the Illinois Science Teachers Association (ISTA) in Springfield, IL. The presentation provided inquiry-based activities that can be implemented at the Pre K-3 level pursuing Integration of Science and Math using everyday materials. Singh also presented the second NIMS workshop on Environmental Science and Biology to in-service teachers from Rockford School District in Rockford, IL. This is a follow up meeting from the Summer.
Kathy Barclay, C&I, presented Implementing a Reading/Writing Workshop in Pre K to teachers at MacArthur School in Macomb.
Don Powers, C&I and the WIU Maurice G. Kellogg Science Education Center, attended the Illinois Science Teachers Association Annual Conference on Science Education in Springfield, IL. During the conference, he presented a session titled, Introducing STEM Activities in the Elementary and Middle School Classroom.
Dr. Fred Isele, C&I, presented at the 2010 National Conference for Geographic Education in Savannah, GA, the 2010 Illinois Council for the Social Studies Conference in Lisle, IL, and the 2010 National Council for the Social Studies in Denver, CO during the Fall 2010 semester. He has also been elected Executive Director for the Illinois Council for the Social Studies in 2010.
