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
Teacher Education
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
Business, Nursing Faculty Work to Address Nursing Shortage in African Nation
Sometimes all it takes to accomplish a task, to move forward, to succeed is that one thing that's just out of reach. But with it, everything will fall into place. Such appears to be the case for the nursing program at the Hubert Kairuki Memorial University (HKMU) in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. The private university seeks to play a larger role in addressing the drastic health care shortage in that country and sees online instruction as a viable way to increase the number of nurses - as well as future nursing faculty - it educates. However, one main barrier to moving forward is lack of expertise in developing such a program. With over 30 years of delivery nursing education via ... Read More
Doris Okada (1937- 2011): Professor Helped Build Special Education Programs at University
Doris Okada, emeritus professor of special education, died on Nov. 28 of complications from atypical Parkinson's disease. Her career at California State University, Dominguez Hills included service as a faculty member from 1975 to 2003, a stent as chair of the Graduate Education Division and coordinator of special education programs, and founder of the university's Infant Toddler Development Center (ITC) for children with special needs, where she was serving as director until shortly before her death. She was awarded the Lyle Gibson Distinguished Teaching Award in 1987; the CSUDH Disabled Student Services Award in 1984 and 1987; and the Distinguished Public Service Award in 1985. She also ... Read More