WATSON COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
In May, 217 students earned degrees from the Watson College of Education, including 101 enrolled in graduate-level programs. The Watson College held a reception for graduates and their families the evening before the official commencement ceremony in Trask Coliseum. Earlier in the week, a reception was held to honor WCE’s eight new Ed.D. graduates. more...
On May 13, the Watson College of Education held a second annual conference titled “Making Innovation a Priority in NC Schools: Exploring Innovative Practices.” Mebane Rash, CEO of EducationNC was keynote speaker. At the event, she announced the launch of an EdNC platform to share innovative practices in NC schools, developed in partnership with the Watson College. more...
Provost Marilyn Sheerer, Watson College Dean Dempsey and faculty members in WCE’s higher education program welcomed representatives from 25 community colleges to campus for a leadership gathering on May 16. The full-day event was designed to launch WCE’s new Community College Leadership Certificate and build a foundation for future leadership development collaboration. more...
UNCW has received a $394,606 grant though the National Science Foundation to use virtual reality technology to design a curriculum based on the life cycle of the loggerhead sea turtle. The goal of the project is to engage elementary age students in STEM. PIs Jim Stocker and Toni Pence have assembled a team of science, computer science and special education faculty, and external partners including Fort Fisher State Park and the Bald Head Island Conservancy, to support the initiative. more...
Watson College undergraduate programs are included among the nation’s top 20 on lists compiled by BestColleges.com and College Choice. WCE graduate programs have also received top national rankings: the M.Ed. in Teaching English as a Second Language is ranked 10th by BestColleges.com and WCE’s Ed.D. program ranks 2nd on Affordable College’s list of top doctoral programs in Educational Leadership. more...
Seventy-five educators from across the country gathered at the Watson College in June for the inaugural Elementary Social Studies Education Summit. WCE associate professor Lisa Buchanan organized the event in partnership with faculty members from Appalachian State, ECU, the University of Georgia and the University of Washington Bothell. more...
UNCW presented New Hanover County Schools with a 2019 UNCW Community Partner Award for Excellence in University Engagement on May 1. UNCW’s Office of Community Engagement presents the awards annually to recognize outstanding individuals and community partners that work with the university to serve the greater Wilmington area. more...
Research by Watson College Higher Education assistant professor Kevin McClure, titled “Cost Efficiency and Privatization at Public Research Universities in the United States,” is one of nine research papers included in the American Educational Research Association’s “Study Snapshots” released on May 22. The selected papers provide a glimpse into new education research. more...
UNCW Chancellor Jose V. Sartarelli and Watson College Dean Van Dempsey welcomed C. Philip Byers to D.C. Virgo Preparatory Academy on May 6. Byers is a member of the UNC Board of Governors and chair of the Subcommittee on Laboratory Schools. On April 30, Dean Dempsey and Principal Sabrina Hill-Black welcomed members of the Downtown Wilmington Rotary to the school. more...
James and Barbara Goodmon, recipients of the 2019 Public School Forum of North Carolina Jay Robinson Education Leadership Award, were honored at a gala event May 30 in Raleigh. The award recognizes leaders who have demonstrated innovative, creative and effective leadership for public education in North Carolina. The Watson College was a Champion Sponsor of the event. more...
The Watson College is proud to share a new video featuring some of UNCW’s “Great Faculty,” including WCE associate professor and science educator Amy Taylor. The video also features L.J. Randolph, associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, and coordinator of WCE’s M.A.T. and M.Ed. programs in Spanish education. more...
A new We Are UNCW video features Snipes Academy Music Teacher Christa Faison ’13. The video produced by UNCW’s media production team was first shared on the UNCW website in June. more...
James DeVita and Erica Collins ’19 are featured in We Are UNCW profiles. Amy Garrett Dikkers is featured in a Seahawk Stories video about the Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program. The Watson College is pleased to share these stories and other news. more...
Join UNCW MarineQuest for a World Oceans Day event at Fort Fisher State Park on June 22. Participants will learn how to conduct a wetland assessment for the new citizen science project Storm Surge Protectors and help clean up beaches with WCE’s 2TC team. Registration is open. more...
Action Based Learning (KidsFit) and UNCW’s College of Health and Human Services will host a 3-day National Training Workshop on the UNCW campus in June. The program is designed for K-12 educators and faculty instructors interested in learning more the link between purposeful movement and academic performance. Register with a colleague and take advantage of a special Buy One Get One for 50% Off offer! more...
Sue Combs and Rebecca Clark have worked to integrate Action Based Learning at D.C. Virgo. Embracing a philosophy that kids learn better when they are active, and more recent research that links cognitive performance with intentional strategies to promote “brain breaks,” the school now offers an ABL Learning Lab for students in grades K-3. more...
WCE faculty members Elizabeth Crawford and Cara Ward used three HundrED innovations to prepare WCE elementary education pre-service teachers for work in multicultural classrooms and a global world. A blog they authored about the work was featured on the HundrED website in May. more...
In January, MarineQuest introduced Turtle Trash Collectors, a program designed to teach children the importance of keeping beaches and oceans clean. A story about the 2TC program written by Youth Programs Director Sue Kezios and MarineQuest 2TC Project Coordinator Laura Sirak-Schaeffer was featured on the NOAA Marine Debris website in May. more...
UNCW MarineQuest has launched a new citizen science project called Storm Surge Protectors. The project was featured in a Teachable Moments post on the NC Environmental Education website in May. more...
WCE associate professors Jale Aldemir and Hengameh Kermani led a trip to Sweden in May, as part of an international studies program offered by the Watson College. Five undergraduate students and two graduate students participated in the field experience. more...
WCE MAT students Fia Binford, Meagan Denny and Jennifer Velrti along with 14 in-service teachers from across the state participated in a Design for Change cohort with The Exploris School during the spring semester. Elizabeth Crawford coordinated the program in partnership with Exploris teacher Shannon Hardy. Design for Change is a framework used by educators throughout the world to design meaningful student-led projects. more...
Jennifer Gamez, a middle grades student at WCE, is one of five students named as Marian Drane Graham Scholars by the University of North Carolina System. She will participate in an eight-week immersive and experiential summer program, designed to help the students develop leadership skills and gain a better understanding of key issues facing public higher education. more...
Eleven 2019 graduates of WCE’s master’s program in higher education presented and defended their culminating research projects at a symposium at the Watson College on May 9. A hooding ceremony followed the research showcase. more...
WCE's Kappa Delta Pi chapter held a year-end banquet on April 25 to honor graduating seniors, celebrate service hours and elect new officers. Kappa Delta Pi is an international honor society, dedicated to scholarship and excellence in education. more...
The Watson College Leadership Team welcomed district leaders from Harnett, Hoke and Robeson Counties to a luncheon on campus on April 29. The group discussed potential partnership opportunities related to educator preparation, teacher retention and professional development. more...
More than 170 partnership teachers, student interns and faculty attended a dinner hosted by WCE’s PDS office on May 2. The event is held each semester to celebrate the college’s collaborative work with partnership schools, teachers and interns. more...
UNCW summer camps and summer enrichment programs start in June. Check out the great programs available this summer through MarineQuest, Engineering Expectations and UNCW’s Junior Seahawk Academy! more...
An exhibit titled “Then, Now and The Future” highlighting the work of 43 D.C. Virgo sixth graders was on display in the Watson College atrium in June. On June 6, Virgo students visited UNCW with teachers Karla Nobles and Kemeka Sidbury to view the exhibit, participate in a mock college class and tour campus. more...
CTE teacher Rachel Langdon and 19 students from Clayton High School participated in a future teachers event at the Watson College on April 30. The students are all enrolled in the Future Teachers of North Carolina program at Clayton HS. more...
Forty-eight high school students from Mosley Career Readiness Academy visited the Watson College to present digital stories on April 23. The event was the culmination of a teacher professional development partnership focused on effective programs for English language learners that spanned the 2018-19 academic year. more...
UNCW’s Engineering Expectations was cohost of the 2019 ROCAME Regional Jamboree. More than 100 middle and high school students participated in the event, held May 4 at the Watson College. more...
Thirty-five WCE faculty members participated in a Grants Collaborative Workshop at the Watson College on May 16. Bill Sterrett, interim associate dean of the Office of Teacher Education and Outreach coordinated the event in partnership with colleagues across campus. more...
Brian Brinkley, director of the Education Lab at the Watson College, earned his Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction from N.C. State University in May. Please join WCE in congratulating Dr. Brian Brinkley. more...
The Watson College held a reception for graduates and their families on May 10, the evening before WCE’s official commencement ceremony in Trask Coliseum. The event was held in the atrium of the Education Building. more...
WCE’s Department of Educational Leadership held a reception on May 8 to honor Ed.D. graduates Holly Fales, Leah Frierson, Maria Greene, Robert Guzman, Adam Hall, Todd Harris, Natalie Rackley and Holly Whistler. Chancellor Sartarelli, Provost Sheerer and Graduate School Interim Dean Carol McNulty joined Dean Dempsey, Marsha Carr, WCE faculty, graduates and families at the event. more...
