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Washington State University
College of Education

International Efforts

College inks new MOU w/ Okinawa

Washington State University and the College of Education have signed two Memorandums of Understanding with Okinawa Prefecture city and educational leaders, to pave the way for more Okinawan students to attend WSU.

In consecutive signings, vice president for international programs Asif Chaudhry was the lead authority from WSU. The first signing was a program renewal that will bring secondary education students to the WSU campus in July for an immersive three-week experience. The Okinawa American Language and Culture Camp was housed under the Intensive American Language Center, but will transition away from the IALC and toward the College of Education.

“Our hope is to have even more programs with Japan, and, in this case, get even more Okinawan students,” said Paula Groves Price, the college’s associate dean for diversity and international programs.

As part of this renewal, associate professor of literacy Jane Kelley will spend a week in Japan in August also teaching English.

The other MOU was between the College of Education and the Kitanakagusuku Board of Education, for the Online Developing Okinawa Through English (DOTE) program. Using web conferencing and other technology, students in that Japanese school district will take part in a series of weekend classes to help advance their language acquisition and use.

Dean Mike Trevisan represented the College of Education in the signing.

 

Photos from the signing are located at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/118927064@N04/albums/72157680839531582

First Dominican-born PhD student in WSU history set to graduate

By: Trevor Havard – College of Education Intern

Abraham Barouch-Gilbert, a PhD student in the Educational Psychology program, is believed to become the first Dominican-born PhD graduate in WSU history.Gilbert

“Being the first known Dominican PhD graduate is a great accomplishment and the beginning of a new journey,” he said.

Barouch-Gilbert is not only excited about his current accomplishment, but also what it will allow him to do for the Dominican moving forward.

“It means I have the privilege of contributing directly to Dominican higher education and society at large,” he said. More specifically, Barouch-Gilbert will continue to research student experiences when on academic probation in the Dominican, along with teaching and mentoring processes in higher education.

At WSU, along with being a PhD student Barouch-Gilbert worked as a research assistant for University Recreation performing research and assessments. He received two research grants from his university back home in the Dominican Republic, the Technological Institute of Santo Domingo, with which he produced multiple poster presentations for the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and WSU’s academic showcase, as well as a manuscript that is slated for publication this November, along with two research papers currently under review.

“Upon graduation I will contribute in full to higher education in the Dominican Republic.”

Cougs with strong showing in Malaysia

The 13th annual EARCOS Teachers’ Conference was held in Malaysia on March 26-28. Officially, the theme was “Language for Life.”

Unofficially, it was “Cougs Take Over Malaysia.”

Led by our International School Leadership Program (ISLP) leads Forrest Parkay and Walt Gmelch, as well as other educational leadership folks like Glenys Hill and Teena McDonald, the college hosted a successful Cougar Gold and Washington Wines Reception.

Here are a few photos of the reception:

For more info on the ISLP, visit: http://education.wsu.edu/certification/international/.