School of Education

Viano receives NSF CAREER award to study high school policy and STEM

Colleen Rich — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 18:35:38 +0000

Viano receives NSF CAREER award to study high school policy and STEM Colleen Rich Wed, 10/04/2023 - 14:35

Samantha Viano, assistant professor in the Education Leadership program in ��AV’s School of Education, was recently awarded a prestigious Early Career Development (CAREER) Program grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Samantha Viano. Photo provided

As the principal investigator on “Second Chance STEM: Uncovering school policies structuring access to and engagement in high school STEM credit recovery,” Viano will address online credit recovery (OCR), a topic that was the subject of her dissertation for which she received a National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation Dissertation Fellowship.

Online credit recovery allows students who fail a course to retake it online to earn course credit to graduate. Over the past 20 years, students have increasingly retaken their failed courses online, Viano said. She added that there are significant concerns that OCR may be detrimental to student learning and may only serve to push students to graduate without learning course content.

In a summary of her research proposal submitted to NSF, Viano points out that the data on student performance in online credit recovery courses compared with traditional face-to-face (F2F) credit recovery is mixed.

“Correlational studies suggest OCR leads to higher graduation rates, particularly for minoritized students, but lower STEM test scores, postsecondary enrollment, and earnings compared to students in F2F credit recovery,” she wrote. “Conversely, studies that randomly assign students to F2F/OCR Algebra One find few differences in course completion, learning, and downstream outcomes when variables like student to teacher ratios and classroom seat time are kept constant.”

Viano will analyze approaches to online credit recovery and face-to-face credit recovery for STEM courses across 14 high schools located in a large, diverse school district. Her study will focus on STEM learning outcomes, particularly for minoritized students, and examine broader trends in OCR policy through a nationally representative survey of school leaders.

“I am interested in how schools structure opportunity around credit recovery to understand whether students are being pushed through high school or being assigned to online courses in a personalized manner,” Viano said. “This CAREER grant will allow me to better understand school-level policies on credit recovery.”

The NSF CAREER Program grant is described as one of NSF’s most prestigious awards given in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. NSF states that activities pursued by early-career faculty should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research.

I am interested in how schools structure opportunity around credit recovery to understand whether students are being pushed through high school or being assigned to online courses in a personalized manner,” Viano said. “This CAREER grant will allow me to better understand school-level policies on credit recovery.”

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Nicole Beadles

Jeannine Harvey — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 16:45:08 +0000

Nicole Beadles Jeannine Harvey Wed, 08/30/2023 - 12:45

Assistant Professor and Academic Program Coordinator, School Psychology Prog, College of Education and Human Development

Contact Information

Phone: (703) 993-5127
Campus: Fairfax
Building: West Building 2007
4400 University Dr.
Mail Stop: 4C2

Email: nbeadles@gmu.edu

Personal Websites

Personal Website

School Psychology, School of Education

Biography

Dr. Beadles has been teaching at George Mason since 2011. She is the Academic Program Coordinator for the School Psychology Program and has been in this role since 2013. Dr. Beadles teaches graduate classes in social emotional assessment and ethics and law in school psychology. She has taught doctoral and undergraduate students, as well, in the areas of developmental psychopathology and lifespan development. Dr. Beadles also supervises students as they complete intellectual and comprehensive assessments in the university psychology training center.

Dr. Beadles worked as a school psychologist in public schools in the local area, as well as in international schools in Geneva and Brussels, prior to coming to Mason. She is a licensed clinical psychologist through the Board of Psychology and a certified school psychologist through the State Department of Education. She also is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist.

Degrees

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Clinical Psychology May 2006

University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA

Curry Program in Clinical and School Psychology (APA accredited and NASP approved)

Educational Specialist (Ed.S.), School Psychology July 1998

James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia (NASP approved)

Master of Arts (M.A.) School Psychology July 1996

James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) May 1995

Georgetown University, Washington DC

Major: Psychology, Minor: Italian

Research

Regan, K., Weiss, M. Beadles, N., & Rowe, E. (2019). Project Synergy. Interdisciplinary Preparation in Special Education, Early Intervention, and Related Services for Personnel Serving Children with Disabilities who have High-Intensity Needs - Focus Area B (CFDA 84.325K), Office of Special Education Programs, US Department of Education, Washington, D.C. (I was designated as co-PI) $1,384,040 Submitted
Initiated the Assessment Database, a project compiling years worth of testing data at GMU’s training clinic (ongoing)
Developed and analyzed teacher, student, staff, and parent surveys measuring the effectiveness of the behavior modification plan (Level System) at JLG-RICA (fall, 2005).
Dissertation on the prevention of depression in patients with brain tumors.
Conducted literature review and planned study design in collaboration with a pediatric neuropsychologist on the late-effects of traumatic brain injury on growth and maturation (Spring, 2003).
Program evaluation of Montgomery County school psychological services.
Initiated and completed a study on the tolerance of personality differences in a college setting (1994-1995).

Off the Clock: Dominique Banville says curling is more than straight-up fun

Lauren Reuscher — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 20:21:59 +0000

Off the Clock: Dominique Banville says curling is more than straight-up fun Lauren Reuscher Tue, 01/17/2023 - 15:21

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Life is much more than time spent on the clock. In this series, we highlight the unique hobbies and volunteer activities of Mason's talented faculty and staff.

Dominique Banville refers to curling as "chess on ice." Photo provided.

The thing about curling, Dominique Banville said, is it’s a precision sport.

“And a precision sport demands so much of you as an individual,” the academic program coordinator for ��AV’s health and physical education licensure program said. “It’s you and this piece of granite that you want to put in a perfect spot. When the stone is not going where you want it to, what is Plan B? What is Plan C? So it’s highly cerebral. It is absolutely chess on ice.”

Banville, from the small town of La Malbaie, Quebec, didn’t get serious about curling until she moved to the United States. That was 1999, when she started at Mason and joined the Potomac Curling Club.

An avid golfer, who also loves to ski, read mystery novels, and listen to music, Banville said she wishes she had more time to hone her curling.

“Right now, I curl once a week, and it’s not enough,” she said. “I’ll just go back to golf. You just got to hit balls. And in curling, you have to throw so many stones to be precise.”

What finally got you serious about curling?

I had curled two or three times in Canada. My dad was a curler, and we would watch it on TV. But I’m a skier, so in Canada I was skiing every weekend. When I moved here in 1999, I went to the Scottish Fair in Alexandria, and there was a booth for the Potomac Curling Club. I said, ‘You curl down here?’ They looked at me and said, ‘You know curling? You must be Canadian.’ So I started curling with them and eventually we signed a lease to build our own facility in Laurel, Maryland. The members literally built it. One member was an architect, another was an engineer. I was on my hands and knees to level the sand for the ice.

A curling stone weighs about 42 pounds. How do you throw it?

When we teach it, we say imagine you have a clock in front of you. Twelve is right in front of you, two o’clock is on the right, 10 o’clock is on the left. When you want a turn, you’ll go from two o’clock to noon. It’s 10 to 12 on the other side, so not even a quarter turn and you’ll see it curl. But it depends on the ice as well. You need to read the ice to figure out how much it moves. Sometimes you have negative ice when the stone will actually go in the opposite direction.

Do you prefer throwing the stone or sweeping?

I do love to sweep. That’s when it becomes more of a team sport because you can really impact the trajectory of the stone with a good sweeper. If you messed up with your shot, you can make it up by sweeping even harder.

What is the most memorable experience you had on the ice?

The region we belong to is called the Grand National Curling Club. It basically covers the entire East Coast of the U.S. They have an event for women and men with less than five years of curling experience. I remember at the event making the most incredible shot I ever made. There was a stone on the left and I had to hit it and roll to the right to be on the button and score. It was a very difficult shot, and I made it. I was, like, my curling career could end right now, and I would be happy.

What else do you enjoy in your spare time?

I play a lot of golf, so there is not a lot of spare time. I play pickleball as well. I love watching sports on TV; junior hockey, Canada just won the gold medal. I love to read murder mystery novels. And I absolutely love music, so I have music on all the time.

What is your Mason job like?

I’m also the faculty-athletic representative for Mason. Every NCAA institution must have a faculty-athletic rep. I’m appointed by the president to ensure student well-being, academic integrity, and institutional control. I’m in constant contact with the Athletics Department in terms of students’ academic successes, and I also have to sign off on waivers. I’m basically the eyes and ears of the president to the Athletics Department. I mean, it’s not like I’m a spy, but it's more like let’s work together to make the academic experience the best it can be for these student-athletes.

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Mason PhD student wants to make education equitable and accessible

Colleen Rich — Mon, 21 Feb 2022 14:44:04 +0000

Mason PhD student wants to make education equitable and accessible Colleen Rich Mon, 02/21/2022 - 09:44

Jehad Halawani was selected as a Graduate Inclusion and Access Scholar (GIA) with the Center for International Education, a highly competitive scholarship for first-generation college students from underrepresented populations within their doctoral field of study at Mason. Photo by Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications

Without deliberate exposure to other cultures, it is difficult to fully understand inequality.

Jehad Halawani, a second-year PhD student at ��AV, became acutely aware of educational inequality when she began teaching high school physics in her home country of Palestine, where infrastructure is lacking and resources are scarce.

While the lack of funding is understandable because Palestine is under occupation, Halawani said, the lack of teacher training and mentoring led to limits on learning. She struggled to ensure her students received the best education possible but regularly grappled with how to teach them critical consciousness (critical reflection, critical efficacy, and critical action) and self-directed learning.

“There was no teacher preparation prior to joining the faculty [in Palestine], and I had no training in general education pedagogy, classroom management skills or lesson plans,” she said.

Upon her family’s arrival in Virginia, Halawani taught physics in both Prince William and Fairfax County public schools. There was a stark difference in the Palestinian and U.S. approaches to education, though she said she found that the U.S. educational system has its own shortcomings. She quickly realized that if she wanted to learn more about program structures and grow as an educator, she needed to expand her own schooling.

She was attracted to the teacher preparation programs in Mason's School of Education, and once she completed her MEd in Curriculum and Instruction in 2018, she began looking for the right PhD program, which for her included a program with faculty who were inclusive, supportive and intellectually aligned. She also wanted to learn skills to help her conduct research and learn how to ask the right questions.

“The PhD journey can be lonely at times and having structures and people in place to support students and their beliefs was important for me,” she said. “I wasn’t just looking for funding or coursework—I was in search of an ideologically aligned place.”

Once accepted into the Learning Technologies Design Research program with a focus in International Education, Halawani was selected as a Graduate Inclusion and Access Scholar (GIA) with the Center for International Education, a highly competitive scholarship for first-generation college students from underrepresented populations within their doctoral field of study at Mason.

“Jehad has brought a unique background and perspective to both the PhD program and within her field,” said Associate Provost of Graduate Education Laurence Bray. “She sees herself as a citizen of the world and emulates inclusivity while teaching others about the importance of making a difference."

Halawani is also working as a graduate research assistant for Supriya Baily.

“The best relationships between an advisor and a student are ones that are built on a foundation of mutual respect, trust, support and encouragement,” Baily said. “She is fearless, both in articulating what she knows and being humble and curious what she doesn’t. This makes her a wonderful person to work with because she engages intellectually and compassionately.”

Halawani has expanded her collaboration skills through helping Baily with her upcoming book, as well as with conference planning, presenting, and research, in addition to her work on her own dissertation.

She believes that the best teaching practices include encouraging students to take initiatives in their learning while helping them develop a critical mind—allowing them to make adjustments that will better themselves. Jehad also believes two of the most important things that can make a difference in education are to teach students to think for themselves, and to allow them to fail.

“Any science person knows you can spend hours seeking one result if you even get it at all. Oftentimes we fail and need to restart, which is acceptable—but we don’t teach that in schools,” she said.

As she refines her research, Halawani said she is guided by an inner desire to discover how to make education equitable, accessible, and achievable for everyone.

“Displacement has allowed Palestinians to be more resilient and adaptive to change and as such, I think of myself as a global citizen,” she said. “Because of that, I’ve created my own path. I am a global citizen who will work with disadvantaged communities around the world and find ways to make learning better."