UT Tyler School of Education

School of Education Highlights

“We dream, we think, we do!” This motto describes the work that occurs in the School of Education. The following provides highlights of the ways we are leading the way as we strive to advance the teaching and learning experiences of students and teachers.

Degree Programs:

1. The new UT Tyler Ed.D. in School Improvement was approved and the first cohort of student has been admitted. The goals of the Ed.D. in School Improvement are to:
    
   1. Produce the next generation of educators who understand the philosophical and historical perspectives of school reform, diversity, learning opportunities for all, and can address educational issues using a variety of strategies.
   2. Develop critical reasoning and a deep understanding of improvement science and change theories to address challenges in school improvement contexts. This will include the skills to provide transformative leadership to schools that are failing, at risk of failing or are seeking ways to continuously improve to meet academic, social, and emotional standards.
   3. Provide opportunities to develop doctoral students’ ability to approach challenges in innovative data-driven ways, including the use of interdisciplinary teams, as well as expand their problem solving, creative design, communication, and collaboration skills.
   4. Conduct research of practice and responsiveness to improve teaching and learning experiences, counseling and support services, school leadership, educational organizations and structures, and all other educational disciplines.
2. The faculty teaching in our undergraduate programs have also been diligently engaged in revising our program to infuse more research-based practices, provide stronger field experiences, and promote stronger reflective practices by students to document their growth as an educator. These changes are currently being finalized so look for announcements on this soon.
   
   

Grants: School of Education have been very engaged in writing and securing grants in 2019-2020.

1. Dr. John Lamb’s grant proposal, Math Matters, for rural education funded by the Greater Texas Foundation.
2. Dr. Yanira Oliveras-Ortiz had her grant proposal, Central America Regional Security Initiative, funded to assist the Belize government with pre-service teacher development.
3. Dr. Anna Consalvo had her grant proposal, Sparking the Connections: Building Youth Literacy for Life in  a STEM-Focused School, funded by the Dollar General Foundation.

 

Publications: Here are selected publications representative of our faculty’s work.

1. Doepker, G.M., McGrail, E., & Rieger, A. (2018). Using Comic Books to Improve Three Elementary Students’ Reading and Writing Skills: A Multi-Case Study Analysis. READ: An Online Journal for Literacy Educators, 4(6), 4-27.
2. Rueter, J. A., Dykes, F. O., & Masters, S. (2019). Employing a Community of Inquiry Framework to Understand Graduate Students’ Perceptions of Supports in Asynchronous Online Courses Focused on Assessment. Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice, 4(2).
3. Delello, J. A., McWhorter, R. R., & Lawrence, H. (2019). Fostering a Community of Inquiry in Online Discussions. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 21 (3), 11-18.

 

Work in the Schools and Community: School of Education faculty are involved in our local community and schools. You will find faculty and our students engaged such as:

1. Stop the Summer Reading Slump programs – sessions conducted at the Glass Center and Salvation Army
2. Strengthening the teaching of writing in elementary classrooms
3. Classroom management supports
4. Numerous literacy initiatives
5. Addressing the Teacher Shortage Issues

 

You can find School of Education faculty working in school districts across East Texas. Some selected districts are:

• Brenham ISD
• Brownsboro ISD
• Chapel Hill ISD
• Jacksonville ISD
• Tyler ISD
• Whitehouse ISD

In addition, our faculty and students work with numerous community organizations to help better educational opportunities and our community.

• Academic Rodeo
• Goodwill
• North Tyler Day Nursery
• Salvation Army
• Tyler Day Nursery
• Tyler Area Partners for Education (TAP4Ed)

The 2019-2020 academic year was a strong one for the School of Education. Please join us as we dream, think, and do to make education stronger for every student and teacher.