Neag School of Education
Reimagining the Ballpark Experience Amid COVID-19
Andrew Girard MA ’19 has been preparing for baseball’s opening day since this past September. As the stadium operations manager for the Hartford Yard Goats, Girard oversees the maintenance and facility enhancement projects at Dunkin’ Donuts Park in Hartford, Connecticut. When he learned that the season start date would be delayed due to COVID-19, he and his team began creating systems to ensure that fans would feel comfortable and safe when they were able to return to the park.
Strategies for Fostering an Emotionally Safe School Environment
Schools play a critical role in fostering emotional safety for adults and students. In responding to COVID-19, schools planning to reopen must include efforts that define a safe school environment as having not only physical elements such as cleaning practices, ventilation conditions, and physical distancing protocols, but also emotional elements.
Associate Vice President for Global Affairs, Yuhang Rong, Appointed to CAEP Board of Director
Associate Vice President for Global Affairs Yuhang Rong, Ph.D., was appointed as a member of Board of Directors on July 1, 2020 by the Council of Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), the national accreditation agency for educator preparation programs. UConn’s Neag School of Education is accredited by CAEP.
Reading and Language Arts Center Champions Literacy Amid Pandemic
In the wake of the pandemic, schools have pivoted to online learning. Rachael Gabriel, associate professor of literacy education and director of Neag School of Education’s Reading and Language Arts Center, knew she wanted to help the education community amid this major shift.
Students Build Fictional World With Real Educational Impact
Polykosmia is a universe dreamed up by students in two classes led this spring by Stephen Slota (he/him, they/them), Neag School assistant professor-in-residence of educational technology. The project, an exercise in both worldbuilding and lesson planning, involved designing everything from mythologies to local governments to individual character arcs. Students also learned how to adapt worldbuilding activities into K–12 classrooms and how to design lesson plans that connected story objectives in a fictional world with learning objectives in the classroom.
A Message From the Neag School Equity and Social Justice Committee
Our hearts ache. George Floyd’s life matters. Breonna Taylor’s life matters. Ahmaud Arbery’s life matters. Black lives matter. Racist violence is killing Black people and destroying our community, nation, and larger world. The violence happens every day. Every single day.
Anti-Racism Resources for Students, Educators, and Citizens
We are reaching out to share resources that we believe might be helpful as you reflect on the current and ongoing racism in our country. We hope that these resources will help you reflect on and process the current moment. Of course, this list is not exhaustive, as there are so many dynamics, so many theories, so many histories to grasp in order to do our work of understanding anti-racism. We hope it will, though, provide a place for you to start or some new directions to go. As you find useful resources, please continue to share and learn together.
What We Know About Online Learning
The situation with COVID-19 has challenged many school systems to consider how to extend their teaching and learning into virtual settings from home. Sometimes called “distance learning” because the teacher and the students are not in the same room, this form of virtual teaching and learning has a rich history and several forms. The use of technology, particularly the internet, to support remote learning is nothing new.
Alumni, Students Assist in UConn’s Transition to Remote Learning
The University had originally planned to conduct remote learning for two weeks following spring break, but growing health concerns led to a fully online transition for the Spring 2020 semester. UConn faculty members, some of whom had never administered remote courses before, had to transition their coursework quickly to align with the new remote teaching style. Neag School alumna Karen Skudlarek ’88 (BUS), ’16 MA and her colleagues at CETL have been instrumental in the process.
New Online Graduate Certificate on Educating Bilingual Learners
The Neag School's new online graduate certificate program offers general education teachers and other school personnel an opportunity to learn how to better support English Learners in their classrooms. The four-class, 12-credit graduate certificate can be earned fully online, making it accessible to educators across the country. The deadline to apply is May 15.