Friday, January 31, 2014

Upcoming Event from UMass Center for Research on Families

Language and the Early Development of Emotion Regulation


Presenters: 
PAMELA COLE, PH. D. Liberal Arts Research Professor of Psychology and Human Development and Family Studies at Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Cole is jointly trained in clinical and developmental psychology; earning a MA at the College of William and Mary and a Ph.D. at the Pennsylvania State University.
Event Dates: 
Thu 27th, February 2014


Event Time: 
4:00pm
Location: 
Campus Center, Room 917

This lecture will address the role of both parental language input and toddler language ability as contributors to the development of emotion regulation by the time a child is preschool age. Cole is widely published in the area of the development of emotion regulation in early childhood and its implications for the development of both child competence as well as child psychopathology. Her work includes attention to cross-cultural variations in emotion and its socialization, and in the underlying role of the young developing brain in response to the child’s emotional environment.
During her visit to campus, Dr. Cole will also be consulting with Dr. Elizabeth Harvey on her project entitled, “A Longitudinal Study of Emotion Regulation in Preschool Children with Symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” which she is preparing for submission to the National Institutes of Health.
The Tay Gavin Erickson Lecture series brings internationally recognized speakers with expertise in family research to campus each year. The lecture series began in 1999 through an endowment established in memory of Tay Gavin Erickson.

Fees: 
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

Monday, December 2, 2013

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


Tuesday, November 19, 2013

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!

Friday, November 8, 2013

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 & PadrĂ³n, 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