Congratulations to these members of the NIU College of Education family!
Pi-Sui Hsu, an associate professor in the Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment, received an Outstanding Capstone Mentor Award from the NIU Honors Program.
Students completing Senior Honors Capstone projects can nominate their professors; Cassandra Sendra, whose project was titled, “Middle School 4-week Unit Plan: Dual-Country Middle School Science Air Quality Curriculum Guide,” nominated Hsu.
“I believe Dr. Hsu should receive the outstanding capstone mentor because she is extremely supportive, always available to help and is open to collecting ideas from others,” Sendra wrote.
“When I say that Dr. Hsu is extremely supportive, I mean that she goes above and beyond to help you stay focused on your assignment and is there when you may miss a deadline or fall behind. She assists you with coming up with a plan to get you back on track, she is always looking to encourage you and ensure that you have all the tools necessary to complete what you are working on.”
Hsu “helped focus and refine my project to ensure that I am hitting not only my performance expectation for the science unit I am completing but to expand and engage the students further, the nomination continued. “This has allowed me to gain ideas from a master’s degree engineering student, an engineering professor and veteran teachers.”
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Bottom: Jason Underwood and Megan Holt.
Four representatives of the Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment attended and presented at the OLC Accelerate (Accelerating Online Learning Worldwide) 2022 conference in November.
The group consisted of Olha Ketsman, assistant professor; Jason Rhode, associate professor and associate vice provost for Teaching, Learning, and Digital Education; Jason Underwood, instructor and director of Instructional Design and Development for the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL); and Megan Holt, doctoral student and Online Teaching coordinator for CITL.
Ketsman delivered two sessions: “Blended Learning in Technology Integration Courses: Perspectives of Pre-service Teachers” and “A Comparison of Mobile Technology and Traditional Laboratory Instruction in a Science College Classroom: A Mixed Methods Investigation.”
Rhode, Underwood and Holt presented “Digital Badges to Promote Improving Accessibility of Digital Course Materials and Being a Champion for Accessibility.”
Rhode also served as a panelist for the Leadership Network Symposium: “Engaging Emerging Leaders Across Diverse Contexts.”
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