Speakers & Panelists
Biographies—Keynote Speakers
Dr. Don Leu, Neag Endowed Chair in Literacy and Technology, University of Connecticut, RPCV, Marshall Islands, Micronesia 1969-73
Donald J. Leu is the John and Maria Neag Endowed Chair in Literacy and Technology and holds a joint appointment in Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Psychology at the University of Connecticut. He directs the New Literacies Research Lab at the University of Connecticut and is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Reading Association and the Reading Hall of Fame. He is a past President of the National Reading Conference. A graduate of Michigan State, Harvard, and Berkeley, Dr. Leu’s work focuses on the new skills and strategies required to read, write, and learn with Internet technologies and the best instructional practices that prepare students for these new literacies. He has more than 100 research publications and seventeen books on topics that range from phonics and phonemic awareness to teacher education and the new literacies of online reading comprehension. He has given keynote addresses in Europe, Australia, Asia, South America, and North America. He is currently a Principal Investigator on a number of federal research grants (CTELL, The New Literacies of Online Reading Comprehension, and NAEP Secondary Reanalysis). His work has been funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, the North Central Educational Research Lab, the Carnegie Corporation, the Institute for Education Sciences, PBS and the Annenberg Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Australian Council of Educational Research, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). He recently published the Handbook of Research on New Literacies (Erlbaum, 2008) with Julie Coiro, Michele Knobel, and Colin Lankshear. Return to top
Dr. Fernando Reimers, Ford Foundation Professor and Director of the International Education Policy Program, Harvard University
Fernando M. Reimers is the Ford Foundation Professor of International Education and Director of Global Education and of International Education Policy at Harvard University. He teaches courses on the relationship between education policy, democratic citizenship and instructional improvement. His course 'Education Policy Analysis and Research in Developing Countries' focuses on some of the core education challenges in the development field. His course 'Education, Poverty and Inequality in Latin America' is an examination of the options to improve learning opportunities in high poverty schools in Latin America. He recently led a group of nine faculty at the Graduate School of Education in the design and implementation of a core course on high school reform in the United States. He is advising a cross-national study of democratic citizenship skills and civic education in Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Paraguay. He is also conducting a large research project to examine professional development approaches to improve literacy instruction and several studies on civic education in Mexico. A fellow of the International Academy of Education and member of the Council of Foreign Relations and of the Advisory Board of the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, National Academy of Sciences, Professor Reimers is best known for his theory of 'Informed Dialogue', an approach to bridge scientific research and education policy through the mapping and mobilization of social networks. Professor Reimers is also known for his studies on the quality of education in developing countries and for his research on the relationship between education policy and instructional improvement in high poverty schools. He is the Director and creator of the International Education Policy Program at Harvard University. Return to top
Ms. Betsi Shays, Executive Director of the Alliance for Learning and Leading, Alexandria Public Schools
Betsi Shays spent 27 years teaching 1st - 10th graders, including two years in the Fiji Islands as a Peace Corps Volunteer with her husband, Chris. She worked at the Peace Corps from 1998-2007, as Director of Peace Corps’ World Wise Schools program and then served as Director for the Center for Field Assistance and Applied Research. The Center supports programming and training at over 70 posts around the world. Along the way Ms. Shays earned a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Administration at Columbia University, Teachers College. Ms. Shays more recently worked at the Department of Education in the Office of Postsecondary Education as Director of President Bush's National Security Language Initiative – a joint effort among the departments of Education, State, Defense, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to dramatically increase the number and proficiency level of Americans speaking critical foreign languages. Return to top
Panelists and Presentations
Dr. Elizabeth Crawford, Professor, College of Education, Armstrong Atlantic University, Savannah, Georgia
Dr. Nancy Luke, Professor, College of Education, Armstrong Atlantic University, Savannah, Georgia
Ms. Jo Lamas, Lower School Division Head at St. Andrew’s School, Savannah, Georgia
Dr. Crawford, Dr. Luke and Ms. Lamas are members of a university/school partnership and collaborators in a global education curriculum project in which PreK to 4th grade educators are partnered with Peace Corps Volunteers through the Coverdell World Wise Schools program. Together, they are developing and piloting culturally-infused units of study based on the World Wise Schools resource Building Bridges that align with the pre-established school curriculum. Their presentation will outline preliminary findings of their research, as well as share student work samples and instructional examples within the context of research-based, best practices for integrating developmentally appropriate technology within the global education curriculum. Their goal is to engage participants in determining opportunities for global education in their specific contexts with an emphasis on young learners. Return to top
David Donaldson, Director of Education, U.S. Fund for UNICEF
For 11 years Mr. Donaldson has been working in the field of education. Throughout that time the Peace Corps Coverdell World Wise Schools program has been an important resource for him in and outside of the classroom. Mr. Donaldson will share his experiences utilizing Coverdell World Wise Schools’ resources (e.g. Correspondence Match, Speakers Match, and Building Bridges), as a Peace Corps Volunteer (Slovakia), and as an educator. He will also highlight the importance of global education by tying in his experience as a former Education Program Specialist with the Coverdell World Wise Schools program and his current role as the Director of Education at the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. Return to top
Paula Patrick, Coordinator of World Languages, Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax, VA
Beatrix Preusse-Burr, Specialist of World Languages, Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax, VA
Fairfax County Public Schools emphasizes integrating culture in every lesson. A recent partnership with Coverdell World Wise Schools has afforded the Fairfax K-12 teachers of world languages the opportunity to allow students to experience the language and culture of various countries through the posted lesson plans, videos, and podcasts that are available online. High school students in the upper level language classes have translated the volunteers’ video scripts to add another authentic dimension to the world language classroom. Ms. Patrick and Ms. Preusse-Burr will share the unique virtual professional development opportunity they have established with teachers and how teachers have in turn applied using the World Wise Schools resources in their classrooms. Return to top
Lisa Solmose, Science Coordinator, New Jersey Department of Education
Before entering the field of education, Ms. Solmose worked as a conservation biologist studying diseases affecting big cats (lions and leopards) in Tanzania and Sri Lanka. Upon her return home from the field, she felt the need to share her experience with young people in hopes of inspiring them to consider work in a country outside of the United States. While working on a project for the Department of Education, Ms. Solmose was introduced to the Coverdell World Wise Schools and was thrilled with the program, its incredible materials, and the diverse opportunities available to students and teachers. Since her introduction to Coverdell World Wise Schools, she has recommended and referred many New Jersey teachers to the program because she considers it to be such a phenomenal resource. Ms. Solmose has been instrumental with the infusion of Coverdell World Wise Schools resources and materials into all nine of New Jersey’s curriculum frameworks. Return to top
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