TECS Candidate Search Events

Come participate in the selection of the next professor for TECS

Meet Ranita Chervalu, candidate for

Assistant Professor, Tenure Track,

Primary Education (Grades K-2) Child Development

Wednesday, December 4

Job Talk: 

2:30 – 3:30  Furcolo 228

Title: Negotiating Identities in Early Childhood Teacher Education: Learning from Preservice

            Given the burgeoning diversity amongst populations of young children, as well as the continued marginalization of children of color and children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, teacher education has turned its attention to the development of multicultural teacher education practices that aim to help preservice teachers engage in culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogies. The scholarship that informs the development of such practices is largely shaped by the experiences, needs, and perspectives of White preservice teachers (Sleeter, 2001). And yet, simultaneously there have been numerous calls to diversify the teaching profession. The discourse surrounding preservice teachers of color has centered on recruitment rather than understanding their learning needs with respect to teacher preparation.

            In shifting the discourse from recruitment to multi-culturally responsive teacher preparation, Ranita Cheruvu will present her research on the experiences of early childhood preservice teachers of color in a PWI.  Through the lens of critical race theory, her research examines how four preservice teachers of color negotiate their understandings of their racial identities with their experiences in an early childhood multicultural education course that provides a continuous space for deliberate and critical identity work. Based on an analysis of written course work and a series of interviews with each participant, findings from this study elucidate the experiences of preservice teachers of color in the context of learning to teach children from diverse backgrounds. Findings also shed light on the multiple ways that preservice teachers of color negotiate their layered, nuanced, and shifting identities.

Graduate Student Round Table:

10:00 – 10:45  Furcolo 21C

Candidate Search Events

Come participate in the selection of the next professor for TECS

Meet Ysaaca Axelrod, candidate for

Assistant Professor, Tenure Track,

Primary Education (Grades K-2) Child Development

Monday, November 25 

Job Talk - 4:00 -  Furcolo 219

¿Tu te acuerdas de ganchulinas?”:Longitudinal research with young emergent bilinguals

This talk discusses data from an ethnographic case-study of young Latino children starting as 4-year-olds in a Head Start classroom through their first grade year in a dual-language program in a public school.  The children attended a bilingual Head Start program that followed a play-based curriculum and focused on the socio-emotional development of the children. The flexibility of the curriculum in this setting allowed time and space for the children to play and develop at their own pace, positioning them as knowers and learners. The children then moved into a public school setting with a narrow “literacy focused” curriculum, with strict boundaries established between languages and a narrower definition of what “counts” as literacy. In spite of this, these children continued to draw on their linguistic resources, making space for play and developing their identities as multilingual children in ways that are often not captured by the curriculum, but are visible to those who seek to listen to the children and see their strengths and growth over time. 

Graduate Student Open Forum - 10-10:45 - Furcolo 100

Events for Graduate Students

The Graduate School's Office of Professional Development presents

Two Professional Development Brown Bags for Grad Students

The "So What?" Question: How to make anyone care about your research

and

Time Management

--- Descriptions: ---

The "So What?" Question: How to make anyone care about your research
Can you impress people with a concise, well-articulated description of your research and why it matters?

We'll be discussing the importance of answering the "So What?" question for

-- Developing standout grant proposals and journal articles
-- Becoming an effective networker
-- Impressing hiring committees and other interviewers

Meet with other grad students from across the disciplines to discuss this essential skill!

Two sessions:

Tuesday, November 19, 11:30 - 12:30
Featuring Dr. Felicity Autino, a Mellon Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow with the Five College Consortium's Culture, Health, and Science Program

Wednesday, December 4, 12:00 - 1:00
Featuring Associate Professor Julie Hemment, Dept. of Anthropology

See registration and location info below.

==

Time Management
Having trouble balancing the demands of your research, your job, and your personal life? Need tips on getting/keeping yourself organized and on target for all of your projects? At these sessions we'll talk about effective time management strategies so that you can better use your time and maximize your productivity, while keeping your sanity.


Two sessions, both facilitated by Chris McKenzie-Willenbrock of the UMass Amherst Office of Workplace Learning and Development. Chris specializes in understanding the challenges of working in a large public research university.

Friday, November 22, 12:00-1:00
or
Tuesday, December 3, 12:00-1:00


Info for all brown bags:
All sessions will be held in the Goodell Building Lounge (5th floor)
Bring your lunch; we'll supply cookies, coffee and tea!
Registration is requested for these sessions (in case of a change in location or schedule).
See the registration links on the GrantSearch blog at http://blogs.umass.edu/gsgs/2013/11/06/upcoming-brown-bag-events-time-management-and-the-so-what-question/
Questions? Email us at gsgs@grad.umass.edugsgs@grad.umass.edu>

We look forward to seeing you there!

Candidate Search Events!!

Come participate in the selection of the next professor for TECS

Meet Alissa Lange, candidate for

Assistant Professor, Tenure Track,

Primary Education (Grades K-2) Child Development

Job Talk: 

Thursday, November 14, 1:30 @ Marks Meadow 128

Title: Improving early STEM education for children through research-based programs, professional development, and home-school-community connections

Early math and science skills are strong predictors of later academic success (Duncan et al., 2007; Grissmer et al., 2010). However, U.S. children fare worse than children from many other comparable countries on international comparisons of math achievement (Mullis et al., 2000; National Mathematics Advisory Panel, 2008). In addition, there are significant achievement gaps in subjects such as math and science between children who are members of groups considered of at-risk for lack of school readiness (e.g., dual-language learners) versus those who are not members of these groups (National Research Council, 2009; Sarama & Clements, 2009). Unfortunately, early childhood teachers are generally not well prepared to teach young children early science and math (Buxton, Lee, & Santau, 2008), and lack the confidence to do so (Copley & Padrón, 1999; Greenfield, Jirout, Dominguez, Greenberg, Maier, & Fuccillo, 2009). Fortunately, high quality programs and practices can make a difference. This presentation will outline our recent efforts to improve early STEM education, such as those to positively impact math outcomes for young children at-risk for lack of school readiness, to improve the quality of STEM teaching within the early childhood workforce, and to connect school, home, and community environments around early learning goals. These studies emphasize research-based approaches, highlight the value of linking content areas (e.g., math and language), and take the perspective that STEM can be enjoyable and accessible for all young children, and that teachers and families play a powerful role in children's development of these important skills.

Graduate Student Round Table:

Friday, November 15, 11:00-12:00 @ Furcolo 219

The Fortnightly Lunch Series: Dr. Aline Gubrium

The Children, Families, and Schools Concentration of the College of Education

proudly present

The Fortnightly Lunch Series

Please join us for

“WOAA!: Women Organizing Across Ages for Justice through Participatory Visual Media Making"

Wednesday, November 6

11a.m. – 12 p.m.

Furculo Hall, Room 22

   

Aline C. Gubrium, Ph.D.

Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health Education

Dr. Gubrium’s research uses participatory, digital, visual, and narrative methods to study the sexual and reproductive health knowledge and decision-making of marginalized women and youth. As a major methodological innovation, she uses digital storytelling to engage research participants in reflecting on sexuality, reproductive health, and related aspects of lived experience. From early research with African-American women living in a southern rural community, to work with women using Depo-Provera contraception and more recent projects working with Latino/a youth to address barriers to sexual communication and sexuality education, the driving question across the board is how the participants view their sexual and reproductive health experiences, in particular, how they make sense of, respond to, and confront the many influences that shape their sexuality. 

The Children, Families and Schools (CFS) Concentration Now Accepting Applications

The Children, Families and Schools (CFS) concentration in the Department of Teacher

Education and Curriculum Studies at University of Massachusetts at Amherst is now

accepting applications for Fall 2014 admission to our doctoral program.

The CFS doctoral program (http://www.umass.edu/education/departments/tecs/childfamilies-

schools) is designed to address the growing concern for meeting the educational

and developmental needs of children in the varied settings in which learning and

development occur. Doctoral students in our program can expect dynamic and varied

interdisciplinary coursework including but not limited to: human development, children

and childhood(s), families and communities, gender and childhood, the development of

mathematical ideas, teacher preparation and development in early childhood and

elementary school, childhood and disability, and general curriculum in early education

and care settings. Our faculty examine these issues from disciplinary perspectives ranging

from the developmental to anthropological and beyond, and encourage students to read

widely. Students work closely with their faculty advisor to craft a unique program of

study, taking advantage of the many opportunities for independent study, funded research

positions and teaching assistantships. The doctoral program offers robust preparation for

research and scholarship applicable to a range of academic, private sector and public

policy careers. Our department is home to multiple teacher education programs, a premier

education journal and funded research projects, so the array of possible professional

development experiences awaiting students are many. Our program is aligned with

NAEYC standards.

We invite you to be a part of our doctoral program. Applications are now being

accepted for the Fall 2014. Deadline for applications is January 15th, 2014. Funding in the

form of fellowships, scholarships and teaching or research assistantships is available on a

competitive basis for qualified applicants. Visit the Graduate Admissions website

http://www.umass.edu/gradschool/ for details about the application process or contact Dr.

Sally Galman, Associate Professor and CFS program coordinator

(sally@educ.umass.edu). We look forward to hearing from you.

October 11: International Day of the Girl Child

Friday, October 11, 2013 is International Day of the Girl Child

On December 19, 2011, United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 to declare October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child, to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.

Girls face discrimination and violence every day across the world. The International Day of the Girl Child focuses attention on the need to address the challenges girls face and to promote girls’ empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights.

Come honor this special day with two great events

Dr. Laura Lovett

Associate Professor in the Department of History

Room 228 Furculo Hall

10 - 11 a.m.

Professor Lovett specializes in twentieth century U.S. women's history with special interests in the histories of childhood, youth movements, and the family. She explores generational dialogues concerning gender roles and the place of children in the women's movement in a new collection of history written for the public, When We Were Free To Be: Looking Back at a Children's Classic and the Difference It Made. Her first book revealed the unacknowledged legacy of eugenics in a range of reforms regarding populism, irrigation, conservation, and housing, which indirectly or directly promoted selective reproduction. Conceiving the Future: Pronatalism, Reproduction and the Family in the United States, 1890-1930, was published by the University of North Carolina Press in 2007. She is currently researching the intersection of eugenics and housing reform and their resulting influence on discriminatory housing policies in the United States and Europe. From 2008 to 2011, she was the Director of the Five College Women's Studies Research Center. She is also a founding co-editor of the Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth.

‘Born Into Brothels’

Mark’s Meadow Auditorium

2 p.m.

Born Into Brothels is a documentary about the inspiring non-profit foundation Kids With Cameras, which teaches photography skills to children in marginalized communities. In 1998, New York-based photographer Zana Briski started photographing prostitutes in the red-light district of Calcutta. She eventually developed a relationship with their children, who were fascinated by her equipment.

After several years of learning in workshops with Briski, the kids created their own photographs with point-and-shoot 35 mm cameras. Their images capture the intimacy and color of everyday life in the overpopulated sections of Calcutta. Proceeds from the sale of the children's photographs go to fund their future education. Directed by Briski and filmmaker Ross Kauffman, Born Into Brothels was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004 as part of the documentary competition.


Sponsored by the Children, Families, and Schools Concentration of the College of Education, UMass Amherst

For questions, contact Dr. Sally Campbell Galman at sally@educ.umass.edu