Mete Akcaoglu
Faculty receive tenure, promotion
The College of Education would like to congratulate the following faculty on their successful tenure and/or promotion effective August 1, 2022.
- Elizabeth Barrow, Ed.D., Associate Professor of Middle Grades and Secondary Social Studies Education
- Shelli Casler-Failing, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Middle Grades and Secondary Mathematics Education
- Mete Akcaoglu, Ph.D., Professor of Instructional Technology
- Carl “Kip” Sorgen, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Educational Leadership
- Steve Tolman, Ed.D., Associate Professor of Higher Education Administration
- Peggy Shannon-Baker, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Educational Research
College of Education 2022 Jack Miller Award winners announced
The Jack Miller Faculty Awards are given annually to recognize Georgia Southern University College of Education (COE) faculty for demonstrated excellence in the areas of teaching, service and/or scholarship. Awards can be given in each area along with an additional Educator of the Year Award, which recognizes scholarship in all three of the considered areas.
For the 2022-2023 academic year, four COE faculty members received Jack Miller Awards including Shelli Casler-Failing, Ph.D., Kristen Dickens, Ph.D., Mete Akcaoglu, Ph.D., and Taylor Norman, Ph.D.
The Jack Miller Educator of the Year was presented to Shelli Casler-Failing, Ph.D., associate professor of middle grades and secondary mathematics education. The Educator of the Year is an accolade that is presented to the COE faculty member who demonstrates excellence in all three of the areas of the Jack Miller awards including teaching, scholarship and creative activity as well as service. Casler-Failing joined the COE in 2017 where she serves as the program director of both the M.Ed. in Middle Grades Education and M.Ed. in Secondary Education. The recipient of the Faculty Service Award, Faculty Development Award, and the University Faculty Research Seed Grant, Casler-Failing is active in researching and investigating mathematics education through the use of LEGO robotics, STEM education, and the preparation of student teachers for mathematics education. Active in the regional schools, Casler-Failing has provided numerous robotics sessions to teachers and participates in College and University events to promote the use of robotics and technology in mathematics education.
Recent publications authored by Casler-Failing include a robotics article in The International Journal for Technology in Mathematics Education, a co-authored article on a STEM afterschool program in Current Issues in Middle Level Education, and a co-authored article on social justice curriculum in STEM education in the Journal of Educational Research and Practice.
Associate Professor of Counselor Education Kristen Dickens, Ph.D., was awarded the 2022 Jack Miller Award for Teaching. Dickens joined the College in 2015, and teaches master’s level courses in clinical mental health counseling. A Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Georgia, Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS), and National Board Certified Counselor (NCC), she also serves as the faculty advisor for the University’s Gamma Sigma chapter of Chi Sigma Iota International Professional Academic Honor Society (CSI) for counseling. While at Georgia Southern, Dickens has pursued several service opportunities aligned with her commitment increasing awareness and action related to diversity, equity, and inclusion in counseling and the university community. She has served the public school community as well as the City of Statesboro as a diversity trainer and consultant and is an active leader in the International Association for Counseling. Her pedagogy is centered on promoting counselor development and understanding of best multicultural and ethical clinical practices to aid clients in their mental health journeys.
The recipient of the 2022 Jack Miller Award for Scholarship and Creative Activity is Mete Akcaoglu, Ph.D., professor of instructional technology. An eight-year veteran in the College, Akcaoglu is completing a two year National Science Foundation (NSF) grant entitled “Project GAME: Developing and Piloting a Game Design-Based Computer Science Curriculum.” The $299,895 grant provided Akcaoglu the opportunity to implement game design curriculum into middle school classrooms at DeRenne, Metter, and Screven Middle Schools as well as the STEAM Academy in Bulloch County. Through the efforts of Project GAME, Akcaoglu and grant team members have reached over 300 rural middle school students. Akcaoglu is also a grant team member for the $500,000 funded GEER II Grant for addressing literacy learning loss in K-5 students through tutoring from regional college students.
Recent publications by Akcaoglu include an article on computer programming in middle schools in the journal Computers in the Schools as well as children’s problem-solving strategies in solving game-based logic problems in The International Journal of Technology in Education and Science. His research focuses on the design and evaluation of technology-rich and innovative learning environments for developing critical thinking skills in K-12 children, particularly in using game-design activities as a means of scaffolding students’ problem solving skills and STEM interests.
Taylor Norman, Ph.D., associate professor of middle grades and secondary English education, received the 2022 Jack Miller Award for Service. Co-chair of the National Youth Resilience and Advocacy (NYAR) Conference since 2019, Norman assisted the University’s longest running and largest conference through a name change and virtual offerings through the pandemic. Since joining the College in 2018, she has also assisted in hosting and planning several events with Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools (SCCPSS) and the Chatham County community including “L.O.V.E. is the Answer Workshop” for SCCPSS school resource officers, police and probation officers focusing on implicit bias, race and policing, as well as “Bridging the Gap,” a SCCPS Campus Policy outreach to students and families support effort.
Recent publications by Norman include “Critical Friendship as Vital to the Development of RPCK,” published in Social Studies Research and Practice as well as “Methods of a Narrative Inquirist: Storying the Endured Teacher Identity,” published in The Qualitative Report.
About Jack Miller
Jack Miller was the former Dean of the College of Education at Georgia Southern. He endowed the Jack Miller Faculty Awards in 1994 after leaving to accept the position of Dean of the College of Education at Florida State University. Miller retired in 2016 from his position as the President of Central Connecticut State University. Miller passed away in April 2018, leaving behind a legacy as a passionate and dedicated leader in higher education across the nation.
For more information about the Jack Miller Awards or to view past recipients, visit https://www.georgiasouthern.edu/coe/awards/
Graduate students to host first-ever Georgia Southern Technology in Education Conference
Previous graduate students in the Ed.S. Instructional Technology program capstone courses have completed research papers to culminate their work in the program. This semester, however, faculty proposed a new idea to assist with the development of leadership skills resulting in students coordinating the first-ever Georgia Southern Technology in Education Conference (GTEC). The conference, which is free and open to the public, will be held virtually on Thursday, April 14, from 6-9 p.m.
Presentations from the graduate students will include low-cost tech, online tools and application, curricular inclusion, fast formatives, gamification, increasing engagement and more.
“This is the first time this has ever been done in our program,” said Lucas Jensen, associate professor of instructional tech. “They have built the entire conference from scratch, including the schedule, presentations, marketing materials, registration system, website, and more. They plan on conducting professional development relevant and useful educational technology topics that will benefit teachers, instructional technologists, and beyond.”
The one-day conference will utilize the expertise of 14 graduate students who are completing the education specialist degree this semester.
“We want to provide attendees with tools and knowledge that they can use in their classrooms immediately,” said Ed.S. Candidate Ben Lingenfelter. “In some cases, we also want to help them change their mindsets about technology and how it can help them in their day-to-day work.”
The conference tagline, “Learn from the experts…and from colleagues,” was coined after many of the candidates expressed their initial lack of confidence as “experts.”
“Many of us haven’t thought of ourselves in this way, in this role, so we needed to change the way we thought about ourselves,” added Lingenfelter. “With the new degree, we have new qualifications and need to grow into our new roles as tech coaches.”
For more information and to register for the conference, visit www.gtec.tech
Georgia Southern awarded more than $500k to train literacy tutors for Chatham and Bulloch Counties
Georgia Southern University has been awarded $517,575 to train elementary education literacy tutors who will work in select schools in Chatham and Bulloch Counties.
The University piloted summer tutoring last year with the support of University President Kyle Marrero and the Regional Education Collaborative (REC), made up of local higher education institutions and K-12 schools. Previously funded with CARES Act funding, the pilot provided the framework for the most recent grant, prepared by several members of the College of Education (COE).
“Last summer, we responded quickly to the need for support that our schools communicated during summer instruction, due to the learning loss experienced during COVID,” said Alisa Leckie, Ph.D., COE assistant dean for partnerships and outreach. “We saw a positive impact and response from that summer tutoring experience. We decided that as COVID continues to impact students across all levels, we would focus and refine our tutoring efforts and apply for funding to support a robust literacy tutoring support program for our partners in Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools and Bulloch County Schools.”
The grant, titled “Mitigating Pandemic Literacy Loss in K-5 Students: Utilizing a Responsive Approach with College Students as Tutors,” received funding from Gov. Brian Kemp’s second installment of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER II), and is being implemented this semester at Georgia Southern.
“We are developing both virtual and in-person training opportunities to start this semester,” said Leckie. “For students in teacher preparation programs at Georgia Southern, we will now implement a tutoring component within their pre-professional block, which are the three College of Education courses they take together when entering their teaching programs. These students will complete tutoring sessions throughout the semester with the same student or small group of students. We have also crafted virtual training with resources for literacy tutoring to be completed by any student interested in participating in the program.”
This summer, 60 tutors will be hired to supplement literacy instruction and one-on-one engagement within 10 elementary schools in Savannah-Chatham and Bulloch Counties. Tutors will be solicited from the University as well as members of the REC, including East Georgia State College, Ogeechee Technical College, Savannah State University and Savannah Technical College. Tutors will provide instructional assistance with phonics, vocabulary and reading comprehension.
“Learning to read by the end of the third grade impacts the life trajectories of students,” said Sally Brown, Ph.D., professor of literacy education and principal investigator of the grant. “By helping young readers become proficient readers, we ensure success in their academic futures and ultimately their workforce capabilities. The GEER grant works toward this goal.”
The tutoring services provided by college students offer a win-win scenario for all involved.
“Providing individual and small-group support during the summer will help more K-5 students get the intense academic support needed to master specified skills,” said Elizabeth Williams, Ed.S., program coordinator for undergraduate elementary education program. “Additionally, our education students will gain the critical skills needed to effectively differentiate instruction and help students with academic gaps as well as give our students an additional perspective on teaching.”
The project team includes: Brown; Leckie; Williams; Mete Akcaoglu, Ph.D., associate professor of instructional technology; Selçuk Doğan, Ph.D., assistant professor of elementary and special education; and Marlynn Griffin, Ph.D., professor of educational psychology and coordinator of the COE’s pre-professional block.
Application for student tutors will open late March.