P1060651FIRST Robotics is hosting a high school robotics competition this weekend (April 4 & 5) at OSU Gill Coliseum. It is the first time that this event has been held in Corvallis. Corvallis HS, Crescent Valley HS, and Philomath HS will be among 30 teams competing to go to regionals in Portland. Admission and parking is free so bring the entire family. See schedule below.

The robotics program is a STEM program that encourages high schoolers to apply engineering and math to build a robot to achieve a variety of tasks. It also encourages problem solving, critical thinking, and team work. If you want to learn more about what the robotics program is about, stop by the pit area and ask for a tour. Any team would be happy to tell you about what they do.

Friday, April 4

1:50 pm                               Opening Ceremonies

2:15-4:30 pm                     Qualification Matches

5:00-7:00 pm                    Qualification Matches

Saturday, April 5

9:00-9:30 am                    Opening Ceremonies

9:30-12:00 pm                  Qualification Matches

12:00-12:15 pm                 Alliance Selections

1:15-4:30 pm                      Final Rounds

4:30 pm                               Awards Ceremony

UPDATE: Competition Results

Here are the results of the FIRST Robotics Competition at Gill Coliseum…

Corvallis High School placed second overall out of 30 teams. Both CV and CHS qualified for District Competition in Portland facing over 100 teams from the Pacific Northwest.  The majority of the teams in were from well-funded teams from Washington with major support from Boeing. Yet, Corvallis and Crescent Valley qualified for the FIRST World Championship in St. Louis on April 23-26, 2014, representing a total of four robotics teams in Oregon to go.

In nine days, these young adults have an opportunity to compete with hundreds of other teams from the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Israel, etc. As a College that supports STEM how can we show our support for robotics in our own community? If you are interested in discussing outreach opportunities or donations, please contact Sue Helback.

Follow live action at the FIRST World Competition (see FRC = “First Robotics Competition”.)

http://championship.usfirst.org/

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Karen Thompson teaching

Assistant Professor, Karen Thompson, was awarded the AERA Bilingual Education Research Special Interest Group 2014 Outstanding Dissertation Award at the AERA Annual Meeting in Philadelphia on Sunday, April 4.

The Outstanding Dissertation award is part of a competition open for recent and in-progress graduates, who earned or will earn a PhD or EdD degree between January 2012 and December 2013. The topic of the dissertation should be related to the area of bilingual education research, including work with any language-minority population and either qualitative or quantitative research methodology. The Dissertation Competition Committee will be comprised of researchers representing the broad areas of expertise within bilingual education research, and who are members in good standing of the Bilingual Education Research SIG. The criteria used for evaluating the applications submitted will center on the quality of the dissertation (rigor of methodology and theoretical and educationally applied contribution to the field), as well as the innovations generated by the research work.

Thompson’s dissertation is entitled “Are We There Yet? Exploring English Learners’ Journey to Reclassification and Beyond.”

Here’s a brief one-sentence summary of her dissertation below:

I use nine years of longitudinal, student-level data from the Los Angeles Unified School District, combined with interviews and observations from a cohort of San Francisco Bay Area students initially classified as English learners, to explore the time that English learners (ELs) take to acquire English proficiency, the factors that are related to students’ English acquisition trajectories, and the relationship between reclassification as proficient in English and later academic outcomes.

Congratulations to Karen Thompson on this outstanding achievement!

In conjunction with the national Take Your Sons and Daughters to work day, OSU is hosting Bring Your Kids to Campus Day on April 25th, 2014. Bring your Kids to Campus Day is way to celebrate family, the importance of education and to highlight the myriad of family-friendly activities on campus.

Register in advance and each child in your family will receive a snack bag with a reusable water bottle, fruit, cheese, and veggies thanks to Childcare and Family Resources, Beaver Beginnings, Be Well. Be Orange, and Pacific Source Healthy Life!

Snack bags will be available on April 25th at the event table between Snell and Waldo Hall from 9am-3pm.

Parents must remain with their children at all activities unless otherwise noted. Bring your kids to campus to show them where you spend the day!

The College of Education is very excited to be part of this year’s festivities. See the flyer below for a list of all the activities:

Flyer

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Register Here!

Men’s Development and Engagement is excited to announce Oregon State University’s Healthy Masculinities Conference.

Hosted by Oregon State University’s Memorial Union, Corvallis, OR.
May 1st: 2:00p-7:00p
May 2nd: 10:00a-4:00p

This year’s conference theme is: “Genuine Masculinities: What is it to you?”

The Healthy Masculinities Conference will provide an opportunity for OSU, the Corvallis community, and beyond to engaging in dialogue about healthy masculinities and how healthy representations of masculinity make our campus and community safer and more habitable. We believe that offering alternative representations to negative masculinities is key to making this change.

Keynote Speaker: Gabe Wright

Cost: OSU Students, Staff, Faculty: FREE!
Non-OSU Affiliates: $40
Free Lunch Included on Friday!

Register Here!

aBigham-Brett_021_The College of Education in collaboration with the College of Liberal Arts presents a Special Seminar by Brett Bigham entitled “Oregon State Teacher of the Year: The Path to Advocacy.” The seminar will take place on Friday, April 18, 2014 from 10:30 – 11:30 a.m in 202 Furman Hall.

BRETT’S BIO:

Brett Bigham is the first Special Education Teacher in Oregon to be named Teacher of the Year. He is a fierce advocate for at-risk youth and children with Special Needs. Brett is a graduate of OSU and the Department of Communications.  In his role as teacher he works with a variety of students with emotional, physical and communication issues he has built a program around the communication skills he received from his program at OSU. Brett was a member of the OSU Forensics Team and won over 50 state and national awards for the Beavers and in his current role he is traveling the state and country as Oregon’s Ambassador for education.

State Representative Sara Gelser will be joining us for this special seminar as well.

 

fiestas1Congratulations to the FIESTAS Project team (Kathryn Ciechanowski, SueAnn Bottoms, Jennifer Bachman, Jenny de la Hoz, and Ana Lu Fonseca) for being nominated and selected to receive the Outreach & Engagement Vice Provost Award for Excellence Diversity Award for the FIESTAS Project!

The FIESTAS Project team will be recognized for their outstanding work and presented with a plaque and a team award of $1,000 (service and supplies index fund) at the O&E Awards for Excellence Luncheon, Wednesday, April 16, 12 – 2pm, at the CH2M Hill Alumni Center

Learn more about the FIESTAS Project: http://education.oregonstate.edu/fiestas-families-involved-education-sociocultural-teaching-and-stem.

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Marine Science Day at the OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Oregon

Saturday, April 12, 10am-4pm – Schedule of Events

Join the OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center (HMSC) in Newport for Marine Science Day! HMSC will open its doors for a behind-the-scenes peek at the cutting-edge research, education and outreach in marine sciences that makes this marine laboratory unique. Meet researchers from Oregon State University and six government agency partners (see below). Explore with interactive science displays presented by marine scientists and special family-friendly activities by Oregon Sea Grant, the Oregon Coast Aquarium and US Fish and Wildlife.

Come learn what’s new on the Oregon Coast’s most dynamic Marine Science campus.

For more information, see hmsc.oregonstate.edu/marinescienceday

TO VOLUNTEER – please go to our volunteer sign-up link: http://www.volunteersignup.org/JCWWD. Volunteers serve as greeters and guides, and shifts are two hours – parent/child teams welcome!

For accommodation requests related to a disability, or for other questions, email maryann.bozza@oregonstate.edu or call 541-867-0234.

Note: Most Marine Science Day exhibits and activities will be indoors, although visitors are advised to dress for the weather as portions of tours, paths between buildings and some exhibits will be outdoors. The OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center is located at 2030 SE Marine Science Drive in Newport, Oregon.

Marine Science Day partners:

Oregon State University

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

US Environmental Protection Agency

US Fish and Wildlife Service

US Geological Survey

US Department of Agriculture

Oregon Coast Aquarium

It’s official: American Promise director Michèle Stephenson is coming to OSU next month.  Our College of Education CLD group is organizing and hosting her visit with the generous support of several campus partners.

  • On Monday, April 14, we will show the short 30 minute version of the film and host a panel discussion about the Black male experience in predominately White schools. This will take place in the Corvallis High School Theater, starting at 4 PM.
  • On Tuesday, April 15, we will show the longer 80 minute version of the film, followed by a talk with director Michèle Stephenson.  This will start at 7 PM in Milam Auditorium.

American Promise poster with sponsors

American Promise follows two boys, one of which is Michèle’s son Idris, from kindergarten through high school graduation.  It centers on their experiences as two of just a few African-Americans at the prestigious Dalton School.  It speaks to the unique experience of African-American boys in schools, to visibly standing out as an ‘only’ at school, to parenting styles/concerns, to issues of social class, etc.

View the official American Promise film trailer below.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfA939LmPbU]