Some have lost parents and even entire families to a civil war that lasted 12 years, yet others narrowly escaped getting caught up in the endemic gang life in El Salvador before finding their professional calling, and they have put the details down on paper. Deep in concentration, some fighting back tears, 17 middle school teachers and administrators from the Central American country read each other's autobiographical essays that were published in personalized books they can take with them when they complete their six months of study at California State University, Dominguez Hills. “Some were raised by grandparents when their parents were killed in the revolution in El Salvador. ... Read More
Teacher Education
Janet Andrade: Leading the Way Toward Science Education Earns Alumna Accolades
On the heels of receiving four pink slips in as many years, California State University, Dominguez Hills alumna Janet Andrade was recently named the 2012-2013 Project Lead The Way (PLTW) California Teacher of the Year for her ability to engage students at Bud Carson Middle School in Hawthorne in progressively advanced hands-on engineering activities. The award was presented during the 2nd Annual Statewide PLTW Conference held in Sacramento in February. “I was shocked when they announced my name. It was very unexpected,” recalled Andrade (Class of '03, B.A. public administration; '07, teaching credential, multiple subject; '11, M.A., education curriculum and instruction), who is only ... Read More
Danny Brassell Reads Between the Lines to Inspire
Danny Brassell is big on reading, but he is no book snob. The California State University, Dominguez Hills professor of teacher education pointed out that there are myriad forms of reading materials, from newspapers and magazines, to electronic readers as well as the Internet, emails and even text messages. It doesn't matter to him what people read, he just wants them to get turned on to reading. “Reading doesn't just mean it's in a really old book,” said Brassell, a librarian's son. “If people want to read Sports Illustrated on the toilet, that's what they should be reading.” He also absolves readers from books they aren't enjoying. “If you don't like the first ... Read More
PEGS: Helping Graduate Students to Prepare for Thesis
Cleveland Goode made below-average grades as a University of Nebraska undergraduate student. But things improved dramatically years later in his graduate studies at California State University, Dominguez Hills with the help of the Promoting Excellence in Graduate Studies (PEGS) program. Now in the university's marital family therapy master's program, he has a 4.0 grade point average. “My writing abilities and the central tools that were needed, I didn't have them in undergrad. I was good at taking tests,” Goode revealed, adding that when he returned to school to pursue a graduate degree at age 51 he had some fears about the deficiencies in his academic writing skills. “[PEGS] was a really ... Read More
Where X = iPad: Summer Institute for Algebra Teachers Integrates Tablet Technology
Twenty-one teachers from middle and high schools in the south region of the Los Angeles Unified School District were back in the classroom for three weeks this summer, but unlike during the school year, they were not in front of the class. Instead, the teachers had become students again, broadening their knowledge in mathematics through the California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) Math Project, a professional development program for K-12 algebra teachers funded by the California Subject Matter Project (CSMP). CSUDH has been a regional CSMP partner since 1986 and each summer puts on these three-week-long institutes teachers receive intensive instruction in mathematics ... Read More
