Titan Education Excellence Award Winners -- 2006-2007
The
College of Education is recognized for its reputation
of excellence in preparing teachers and educational
leaders. In recognition of the inauguration of the
College of Education in July 2004, two awards are granted
annually. These awards honor excellence in teaching
and educational leadership of a Fullerton graduate
as well as the high quality of educational endeavors
accomplished in partnership with Cal State Fullerton
and its many school- and district-based programs.
Individual Category
Linda Knudsen
Saddleback Valley Unified School District
Linda teaches
at Los Alisos Intermediate School in Saddleback Valley
Unified School District and will receive her master’s
in Educational Leadership in May, 2006. She has demonstrated
teaching and leadership skills in developing instructional
themes that integrate the life sciences, implementing
technology to support student learning, using unique
approaches in teaching genetics and heredity, and
in mentoring and coaching her science teacher colleagues.
She has written several grants in the last five years
totaling $30,000 in support of a variety of innovative
science projects for her students. Via one grant, she
organized science assemblies for the school that brought
science-based standards presentations on animals and
survival mechanisms. The most recent grant is a $10,000
Toyota Tapestry/NSTA award for A Spool of DNA that
teaches her 7th grade students state science standards
and requires writing and research skills for their
presentations. This grant provided technology and materials
in support of teaching her students forensics and genetic
engineering techniques. She further serves as peer
coach in this project for her colleagues so that all
the science teachers and students at Los Alisos have
benefited.
Our congratulations to Linda, an outstanding science
educator who in less than six years, has had a significant
positive impact on her students and her peers.
Partnership Category
Teachers as Artists Program
Dr. Teresa Crawford
Elementary and Bilingual Education Department
Ginger Geftakys
Elementary and Bilingual Education Department
This partnership includes
CSU Fullerton’s Ginger
Geftakys (part-time faculty) and Dr. Teresa Crawford,
both of the Elementary and Bilingual Education Dept.,
Topaz School in the Placentia-Yorba Linda School District,
and Golden Hill Elementary in the Fullerton School
District. Principals Susan Fendell and Kathy Kreil
scheduled three professional development sessions for
their teachers and student teachers on drawing and
painting techniques integrated with content areas – science,
social studies and language arts. The teachers and
student teachers then planned subject matter curriculum
that incorporated art techniques, allowing K-6 students
to express through a visual medium what they had learned.
Concepts of scale and art vocabulary are but a few
elements that enriched the students’ learning.
This year, 50 teachers, 5 Fullerton student teachers,
and hundreds of elementary students have participated
in this program. The beautiful artwork that appears
on the walls of the Education Classroom Building is
a sample of the students’ creative work.
In a milieu of focus on test
outcomes, including art in the curriculum in conjunction
with academic subjects sends the important message
that the arts do play a key role in students’ learning
processes.
Congratulations to Ginger Geftakys, Teresa Crawford,
Principals Kathy Kreil and Susan Fendell, master teachers,
student teachers, and K-6 students.
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