Faculty members and students in the College of Education and Allied Studies are often out in the community. They provide instruction, volunteer their services at local schools that need a hand with various programs, and visit K-12 classrooms to give presentations or provide supplemental education in different subjects. (Photos are at bottom.)
Below are a half dozen faculty members selected from the college’s many who give back on a regular basis.
Dr. Andrea Cayson, assistant professor of Elementary and Early Childhood Education
Dr. Cayson has worked over the course of the past three semesters with two Brockton elementary schools to fortify the math skills of both her students and those of area youngsters.
Dr. Cayson begins each semester working with the principals and math specialists at the Baker and Barrett Russell schools to devise a schedule and find out what math concepts she and her students should concentrate on. Next, she and her students conduct an assessment on the selected concepts and use this information to devise a conceptual approach to the material and develop lesson plans.
During the semester, Professor Cayson and her students strive to visit the schools five times, so her students can gain teaching experience. At the end, they conduct a post assessment to find out if their lessons were effective.
“Here we’re really focused on what the kids at the schools need instruction on, not so much just on what we need to learn how to teach,” Dr. Cayson said. “There’s always growth, so we know we’re meeting the needs of the elementary students and also meeting the needs of our teacher candidates.”
Dr. Mary Connor, associate professor of Special Education and Communication Disorders
Dr. Connor currently teaches two classes at Taunton’s Mulcahey Elementary School in early childhood special education and classroom management for special education teachers.
Having worked at Head Start and in lower income and underserved schools before coming to BSU, Dr. Connor is familiar with a wide variety of issues faced by schools like the Mulcahey. When she realized her BSU students weren’t as familiar with these issues or those concerning diversity, poverty and challenges connected to teaching students whose first language is not English, she knew some hands-on work was necessary.
“We can talk about these issues in the classroom, but there’s nothing like seeing them,” she said.
Since the classes Dr. Connor teaches are held right at the Mulcahey School, it allows BSU students to work directly with classes full of elementary students. The first year of this initiative, Dr. Connor taught the behavior management course on site and had seven BSU teacher-candidates sign on. The second year, that number tripled, and more sessions were added, along with the early childhood special education course.
Teaching students who are facing various challenges can certainly be discussed and dealt with in coursework, but “when (the students) get into a classroom they get to see it,” Dr. Connor said. “This is just a tremendous opportunity. This is the community we serve.”
Dr. Stephen Krajeski, assistant professor, Secondary Education and Professional Programs
If you see Professor Stephen Krajeski in an Einstein wig, you know he’s on a mission.
That mission is to bring science to local schools. Recently, he’s been the Scientist of the Month at the Huntington Elementary School in Brockton, where he taught students how to make circuits using standard batteries and wires, as well as other hands-on lessons; worked with Brockton High School’s Future Teachers Club leading them through the development of a lab-based lesson plan; and took his methods class to the Edison Academy, which is part of Brockton High, where his students learned to create lesson plans and practice leading a class for students there. At Edison, Dr. Krajeski also works with an evening class for nontraditional students seeking their GED. This fall, he'll reprise his role as Scientist of the Month, this time at Brockton's Davis K-8 School.
Where does the Einstein wig come in? Usually for the younger students, Professor Krajeski said.
“I really love being out there,” he said. “I feel that as a university that we need to serve the community.”
Dr. Krajeski said he wants to get the word out that any school needing help with science instruction should contact him. “I’d be thrilled to do that,” he said.
His email is stephen.krajeski@bridgew.edu.
Dr. Heather Pacheco-Guffrey, assistant professor Elementary and Early Childhood Education
Dr. Heather Pacheco-Guffrey’s students are regulars at the Baker and Barrett Russell schools in Brockton. It’s the place where they learn how to stand before a classroom full of youngsters and deliver to them their earliest lessons in science and engineering.
A course taught by Professor Pacheco-Guffrey provides during one semester the instruction her students need and then puts them to work in elementary classrooms the next.
“The idea is to teach our students to include science in a meaningful way, and it gives them a nice unit of science to use,” she said.
Dividing the academic year into half classroom instruction and half student teaching is an ideal model, Dr. Pacheco-Guffrey said.
“They have the opportunity to immediately translate the theory and new learning about the content and strategies into practice with real-life students who haven’t had a lot of science and haven’t had a lot of engineering,” she said.
The schools also benefit, since many in-service teachers are still grappling with the new statewide science standards, Dr. Pacheco-Guffrey and her students have been able to provide support for them.
Overall, she’s glad to be part of the outreach that her college and institution place such a high value on.
“It’s so wonderful to work at university that’s so focused on this mission,” she said.
Dr. Sarah Thomas, assistant professor of Secondary Education and Professional Programs
Students at Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School have a new ally when it comes to conquering challenges with reading and writing: Professor Sarah Thomas and the students in her English strategies class.
First came a pilot program that went over well.
“The students from Southeaster were so engaged, they were excited, and my students said it was a very powerful experience.”
This semester, ten of Dr. Thomas’ students took turns teaching at the local vocational school. They got to try out new teaching strategies and along the way opened new doors for the Southeastern students. The high schoolers produced not just essays and stories, but poems and social media content.
“The (Southeastern) students said to us, ‘This was a lot of fun, when are you coming back?’” Professor Thomas said.
Professor Thomas also works with an international NGO called Greenlight for Girls. Saturday, April 13, BSU will host one of the organization’s events. Greenlight for Girls introduces girls aged 11 to 15 to STEM, showing them the fun side of math, science and engineering in the hope they’ll stay with it.
“Research shows that those are the ages when girls leave these subjects,” said Dr. Thomas, who has been involved with the organization for several years.
More information is at http://greenlightforgirls.org.
Dr. Patricia Emmons, associate professor and chairwoman of Elementary and Early Childhood Education
Dr. Patricia Emmons has worked at both the Huntington Elementary School in Brockton and in Belize, where BSU has helped build and develop schools. In this work, Professor Emmons has delivered to countless young people coursework and instruction in mathematics. (Story and photos by John Winters, G ’11, University News & Media)
