As the initial dust of COVID-19 settled in the spring, Laurie Elish-Piper and David Walker began mulling what the virus meant for the near future of the college’s signature hands-on learning programs. “It became pretty apparent that our entire Educate and Engage
Read moreNo picnic, no problem: College welcomes new students during ‘reception’ on Zoom
During a normal year, new students to the NIU College of Education are invited to a Sunday-before-classes picnic each August where they meet new people, make new friends and match names-and-faces of some of the faculty and staff who will guide them
Read moreAll-College Meeting goes virtual, shares optimism for a ‘modified’ fall semester
Laurie Elish-Piper opened Tuesday’s All-College Meeting by quickly acknowledging the elephant in the virtual room. COVID-19 continues to impact the world, and returning to a new semester of teaching and learning will bring “challenges and situations that are quite different than what
Read moreCI, College of DuPage ink 2+2 agreement for seamless Elementary Education path
Future B.S.Ed. in Elementary Education majors who want to start their studies at the College of DuPage can transfer seamlessly into the NIU College of Education. Thanks to a newly signed, non-cohort-based 2+2 agreement between COD and the Department of Curriculum and
Read moreHouston, we have liftoff! Two COE alums reach stars with Texas teaching awards
Jessica Dyra and Aimee Zepeda are proof of the power of positive role models. “I’ve always liked school, and as I grew up, I saw how much of an impact my teachers had on me,” says Dyra, who is from Crystal Lake.
Read moreJenn Jacobs nets federal grant to create national women’s sport summit in Belize
Alternative Spring BAE 2.0 will touch down in Belize in Spring 2020 with a different mission than its Engage Global debut in 2019, thanks to a $10,000 award from the U.S. Department of State. Jenn Jacobs, an assistant professor of Sport and
Read moreFirst cohort of Finland travelers return, minds open to innovative philosophies
Amanda Surrusco hadn’t expected the freedom. Maria Almeida hadn’t expected the differentiation. Kyle Conway hadn’t expected the trust. Surrusco, Almeida and Conway, three of the four NIU College of Education student-travelers on the inaugural Educate Global trip to Finland this May, witnessed
Read moreEducate U.S., Engage U.S. celebrate second year of journeys to North Dakota, Colorado
Sometimes the second time around is just as sweet as the first. May 2019 saw the return of Educate U.S. in North Dakota and Engage U.S. in Colorado and Nebraska; both new options of the NIU College of Education programs debuted in
Read moreAlternative Spring BAE travelers absorb life lessons in teaching Belizean coaches
NIU’s inaugural travelers in the Alternative Spring BAE program arrived in Belize with a good idea that they would learn as much as would the 24 youth sport coaches they’d gone to teach. What they hadn’t realized was that their true objective
Read moreEducate Global travelers to visit Finland
Educate Global will send its first group of travelers to Finland this May for a two-week immersion in the Finnish Comprehensive School Curriculum, Content and Language Integrated Learning Method. Students will learn Finnish philosophies in classroom management, lesson planning and project work
Read moreNew Educate Local program transports Special Ed majors to try literacy projects in alternative Chana Education Center
For years, Mary Gardner has required her LTCY 300 students to create theoretical “listening center” projects on paper. Gardner, an instructor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, expects these assignments to propose good nonfiction texts to read aloud to children. She
Read moreAbove and beyond: Ten students earn right to wear Educate and Engage stoles
Ten graduates of the NIU College of Education sported something new when they crossed the stage during the Dec. 15 and 16 commencement ceremonies. Blue stoles emblazoned with the words “Educate” and “Engage” boldly conveyed that the students took full advantage of
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