Along with Dr. Timpthy Keiper (Western Washington University), Dr. Garcia recently served as co-editor of a special issue of Social Studies and the Young Learner (SSYL), "Immigration and Citizenship."  The journal presents articles that focus on what K-6 teachers are doing to help the children of new immigrants transition into school while learning the fundamental of citizenship education. The journal also highlights what teachers are doing that assists children understand each other while learning about the diversity that is a part of American society. Two Nevada elementary school teachers - one in Las Vegas and one in Reno - contributed to the special issue. Social Studies and the Young Learner, Vol. 22, (2), November/December 2009.

Read the summary of the Nov/Dec 2009 issue here.

Social Studies and the Young Learner can be found here.

The first issue of the Journal of Teacher Education under the editorship of the UNLV editorial team has been recently published. The inaugural double issue of the JTE features many prominent scholars in teacher education addressing the topic of Bold Ideas to Improve Teacher Education and Teaching.

In conjunction with the publication of the inagural issue, editors Sandra J. Odell and Elizabeth Spalding interview leading scholars Linda Darling-Hammond and David Labaree about what works and what doesn't in education reform.

Drs. Odell, Spalding, Wang, Klecka, and Lin serve as the co-editors of the Journal of Teacher Education.

Dr. Janelle Bailey, along with colleagues from Sonoma State University and Chicago State University, has been awarded a grant from NASA to study students' learning about cosmology - the large scale contents and evolution of the universe. This $499,596, three-year project will use the big ideas of modern cosmology - the nature of space and time, dark matter and dark energy, and the Big Bang - to teach STEM skills and science content to introductory level undergraduate students and pre- and in-service teachers. A three-module, interactive, web-based cosmology curriculum will require students to master not only key scientific concepts, but also the processes that lead to our current understanding of the universe. Dr. Bailey's role in the project includes designing and implementing an internal evaluation of the modules to determine their effectiveness as well as to understand students' learning processes about the topic.

The start date for the project is slated for July 2010.

Kathleen Schaeffer, a math teacher at Bob Miller Middle School and a former student in UNLV's National Board Certification CTE program, has been named Nevada Teacher of the Year by the Nevada Department of Education. Former Nevada governor Bob Miller, whom the school is named after, was in attendance at the surprise celebration assembly, along with other local government officials.

Bob Miller Middle School has the distinction of being the only school in Nevada to have two teachers that have won this award.

For more information, please click here.

Learning & Technology doctoral student Michael McCreery was recently interviewed by Channel 8 News. The story highlighted his dissertation research and the potential benefits of online gaming environments. View the video below or visit Channel 8. Drs. Boone and Schrader are co-chairing the dissertation committee.

This position exists to offer leadership and administer the daily operations of the Professional Development Office, especially with advising students in the Master and Post Baccalaureate Teacher Licensure Programs. The Professional Development Office supports and advises 300+ students seeking teaching licensure.

Additionally, a Managing Editor will direct the daily operations of the Journal of Teacher Education (JTE) Office. The Managing Editor for JTE will ensure the smooth flow of the Journal operation for the next 5 years. The Journal of Teacher Education is the top ranking journal in teacher education with approximately 700 manuscripts adjudicated yearly.

In summation, this position accomplishes the coordination and management of the Professional Development Office as well as the Journal of Teacher Education Office.

For more information, click here.

The College of Education at the University of Nevada Las Vegas is serving as the new headquarters for the Journal of Teacher Education. JTE's first issue under the direction of the new editorial board will be released as the January/February double issue. The new editorial panel will consist of C&I's very own Drs. Sandra Odell, Elizabeth Spalding, Jian Wang, Cari Klecka, and Emily Lin. The inaugural issue will focus on the issues and ideas that have been crucial to developing and sustaining scholastic excellence in teacher education.

Additionally, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) will be holding it's 62nd Annual Meetings & Exhibits in Atlanta, Georgia on Februrary 19th through Februrary 22nd, 2010. In what is termed a 'major forum' the JTE editorial team will be there to engage in a broad-based discussion on topics including political engagement, learning to teach for diversity, and challenging popular assumptions, among others. For more information and registration, click here.

A recent article in US News & World Report describes UNLV's agreement with the Department of Defense to creating an online virtual high school. The outcome of the 10.3 million dollar contract will ultimately be available to the 1.2 million students in Department of Defense Schools throughout the world.

The Department of Defense Education Activity program, in collaboration with UNLV, has been working on implementing an online curriculum to be introduced during the 2010-2011 school-year. The program will allow students in military families, who often have to move to many different schools during their parents' careers, additional flexibility in meeting their academic needs.  According to C&I's Dr. Greg Levitt, the courses are being designed to have the same level of rigor and substance as traditional classroom courses. Several C&I faculty have had an integral role in developing and implementing the program.

The Southern Nevada Writing Project is celebrating its 25th anniversary as a National Writing Project site on Saturday, October 17 from 9-3 at the Bennett Professional Development Center on the UNLV campus. In the morning teachers representing years will come together to write, share writing, renew acquaintances, and reconnect to talk about the teaching of writing. At the end of the morning we will be submitting writing to the National Gallery of Writing.