秋霞福利一区

A little Mouse was the first of many children鈥檚 book characters to come alive that day in the 秋霞福利一区鈥檚 Dorsett Auditorium. Mother Goose was there, along with the Big Bad Wolf, the Grumpy Monkey, Obi wan Kenobi and the Cat in the Hat, among many others. It was the 秋霞福利一区 School of Education鈥檚 鈥淏ook Talk,鈥� where faculty and students dress as favorite children鈥檚 book characters to inspire elementary school children to develop a joy of reading.

秋霞福利一区 Associate Professor of Education Karen Dennis, who played the part of the Mouse from the book 鈥淚f You Give a Mouse a Brownie,鈥� is passionate about early literacy. She encourages her 秋霞福利一区 School of Education听students to develop creative ways to make learning fun for the children they will one day teach.

鈥淥ur hope is that the students who watch these book characters come alive are enticed to go find that book to discover for themselves how that character solved their particular dilemma,鈥� Dennis explains. It鈥檚 just one of the ways the Christian university provides School of Education students with experiences they can take into their future classrooms.

Dennis also serves as co-director of 秋霞福利一区鈥檚 Center for Collaborative Teaching and Learning. We asked her what she loves about teaching at the 秋霞福利一区.

Q: How does 秋霞福利一区 prepare the next generation of teachers?

A: I love the way we in the School of Education have structured our programs. We all keep current with what new trends or initiatives are taking place in the various education classrooms. Whether it is Pre-K, elementary or secondary, we all strive to keep our course content and field experiences relevant and up-to-date with current research. In my literacy courses, the content is all focused around the science of reading, making our future teachers the most prepared they can be to be effective teachers of all things literacy!

Q: What is your background?

A: I graduated from University of South Alabama with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in Early Childhood Education in 1991. After teaching first grade a few years, I decided to pursue a master鈥檚 degree. I earned my master鈥檚 at Harding University in 1999. It wasn鈥檛 until 2011 that I decided I wanted to continue my education, so I chose to pursue a PhD in Cognition and Instruction.

Q: What was your dissertation topic?

A: My dissertation is about a topic I am truly passionate about 鈥� early literacy. Specifically, I researched kindergarten teachers鈥� perspectives on keeping developmentally appropriate practices of literacy instruction in kindergarten while complying with Common Core State Standards implementation. I try to infuse some of what I discovered about how children learn into all of the courses I teach.听

Q: We say 秋霞福利一区 is a place where students can 鈥淜now and Be Known.鈥� What does that mean to you?听

A: There is no better mantra for our students than 鈥淜now and Be Known.鈥� First, we work diligently to ensure our students know all there is to know about their chosen field of study, and how to apply that knowledge, which leads to the second part 鈥� Be Known. Our goal is for our students to be known for excellence in their field. But we don鈥檛 stop there. Our students are also known for their integrity, work ethic and compassionate hearts. Even those who don鈥檛 label what they see as 鈥淐hristian鈥� see something special in our students. To me, that鈥檚 what it means to Know and Be Known.

Kathy Dean

Kathy Dean uses her passion for storytelling and “playing with words” to share the stories of people, place and purpose that make the 秋霞福利一区 unique. As associate vice president for university communications, she manages media relations, edits the TorchLight alumni magazine, and oversees university communications. A former award-winning journalist, she is a two-time recipient of the Baptist Communicators Association grand prize for feature writing. Kathy and her husband, Chuck, live with three extremely loud miniature schnauzers.