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Wednesday, December 18, 2019

COE News in Brief

COE News in Brief graphic

Accomplishments, awards, events and more — here’s a glance at a few things you may have missed in the College of Education over the past month:

On (and off) campus

➤ Dr. Nick Johnson, assistant professor in the School of Teacher Education (STE), and students in his mathematical methods class wrapped up a semester teaching third graders at Ella B. Allen Elementary in Bonita. Working in the classroom of San Diego State University alumna Jen Landay (’08, ’19), each teacher candidate was paired with an elementary student buddy to learn about that child’s mathematical thinking. Candidates then enacted an instructional activity with their buddies in small groups.

“Sustaining this weekly routine over the course of a semester allows teacher candidates to build relationships with young people, and to connect theory and practice in the learning and teaching of math,” Johnson said. “One of my hopes is that they'll be better prepared — and more likely — to teach math in ways that center children's math ideas and sense-making when they have their own classrooms.”


➤ Our students got into the giving spirit for the holidays. The College of Education Student Council and the Counseling and Social Change Club co-hosted a toy drive to help provide gifts for children at the Casa Hogar Unidos por Siempre orphanage in Tijuana.


➤ More than 60 COE students attended Aztecs for Education’s (AFE) fourth annual holiday party on Dec. 7 at the National Geographic Gallery in La Jolla. The event raised $600 for future AFE programming, while STE faculty generously donated $450 to support students’ eDTPA fees and study abroad programs.

“I am in awe of what a small group of SDSU Liberal Studies students can do when they put their heads, hands and hearts together,” said Dr. Virginia Loh-Hagan, director of the Liberal Studies program and faculty advisor of AFE. “The AFE Winter Mix and Mingle was a fabulous time — there was dancing, photo-fun, lots of laughs and even more merriment. It was a great way to celebrate the end of the semester!”


Faculty and staff accomplishments 

➤ Dr. Sonia Peterson, assistant professor in the Department of Administration, Rehabilitation and Postsecondary Education (ARPE), was awarded a Service Learning Faculty Fellowship by SDSU’s Division of Academic Engagement and Student Achievement. The fellowship will enable Peterson to create a service learning section of her GEN S 420: Disability & Society course in which up to 20 students will volunteer with a community agency that serves individuals with physical and/or mental disabilities. It will be offered starting fall 2020.

“I am really excited about the project,” Peterson said. “It will help us recruit students for our MS rehab counseling program and other projects.”