Peabody Reflector

What if a fifth grader could learn college-level physics concepts? What if the platform used to teach those concepts could be accessed very simply online through a Web browser? What if that new methodology allowed students to write computer programs, progress at their own pace and provide the teacher immediate feedback on individual progress? Read More

Among the 23 lively students in Miss Smith’s third-grade class (all names have been changed) are several children with disabilities: Katie, who has dyslexia; Billy, who experiences occasional seizures; John, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and several students with behavioral problems. Read More

A couple of hours south of Nashville lies a place inhabited by manned rockets and moon rocks that gives witness to America’s stellar past and beckons young and old to come and contribute to its future. It is the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama’s No.1 tourist attraction, and Deborah Barnhart is leading it to new frontiers. Read More

Camilla Benbow, Patricia and Rodes Hart Dean of Education and Human Development, raised the Vanderbilt Peabody flag while visiting the South Pole on a National Science Board trip. Elisabeth Dykens, professor of psychology and human development and director of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, was appointed to the board of directors… Read More

Bruce Compas, holder of the Patricia and Rodes Hart Chair of Psychology and Human Development and professor of psychology, won the Joe B. Wyatt Distinguished Professor Award this spring. The award, created to honor Chancellor Joe B. Wyatt upon his retirement in 2000, is given to a full-time faculty member… Read More

Commencement took place on Friday, May 13, this year and was forced indoors because of rainy weather. Rebecca Barden of Nashville, shown above with Dean Camilla Benbow, left, and Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos, right, was the Founder’s Medalist for Peabody, graduating with a bachelor of science in human and organizational… Read More

At first glance, these alumni do not seem to share much beyond their undergraduate major, human and organizational development. Read More

Mary Louise Hemmeter, associate professor of education, is the lead Peabody researcher for the National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning. Peabody is one of seven institutions that will compose the center. Helping foster children’s learning and readiness for school through the federal Head Start program is the goal of… Read More

Brain scans of adolescents with dyslexia can be used to predict the future improvement of their reading skills with an accuracy rate of up to 90 percent, new research indicates. Advanced analyses of the brain activity images are significantly more accurate in driving predictions than standardized reading tests or any… Read More

Jeremy Kane’s emergence as a key figure in Nashville’s charter schools movement may well have taken root in seventh grade. That was the year he transferred from a Metro Nashville public school to Montgomery Bell Academy, a private college preparatory school. Read More

If one travels north on 20th Avenue South in Nashville, the dome on the Wyatt Center—known to many alumni as the Social-Religious Building—comes into view. The building sits on the crest of a hill, so it should not be a surprise as it suddenly pops up amid the trees… Read More

Fizzy’s Lunch Lab—an interactive Web series with cartoon characters acting out funny stories to emphasize the importance of good nutrition, a balanced diet and physical activity—was nominated for a Daytime Entertainment Emmy Award. And there’s a Peabody connection. Sharon Shields, professor of the practice of human and organizational development; Heather… Read More

Jessica Lewis and her family are Vanderbilt through and through. She and her husband, Hi Lewis, BA’99, MEd’01, received their undergraduate and graduate degrees at Vanderbilt. Their two children were born at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and attend the Vanderbilt Child Care Center. Read More

Paul Dokecki was born and raised in Brooklyn and came to Nashville in 1962, 10 days after his wedding to his wife, Katherine, to start a doctoral program in clinical psychology at Peabody. “The culture shock was significant at about every level,” he says. Read More

This academic year is an exciting one for all those associated with Peabody College, as 2010-2011 marks our 225th anniversary. Read More

Two hundred and twenty-five years is a long time for an institution to survive. Founded as Davidson Academy in 1785, what is now Vanderbilt’s Peabody College initially existed under various names—Cumberland College, University of Nashville, State Normal College of Tennessee, Peabody Normal College. During those years, Peabody’s primary innovation was its continued existence in a region not always responsive to higher education. Read More

New research based on preliminary data in a pilot study has found no significant difference in achievement gains on standardized math tests between students in charter schools and those in traditional public schools. The findings have spurred the collection of additional data for continued analysis. Ellen Goldring, Patricia and… Read More

Richard Dreyfuss (right) discussed the importance of civics education at an event moderated by John Siegen-thaler (left) at the Tennessee governor’s residence on Oct. 12. On Tuesday, October 12, Peabody and Owen Graduate School of Management joined with Tennessee’s First Lady, Andrea Conte, to welcome actor and education activist Richard… Read More

Identifying and developing a process for transferring key elements that make some high schools in large urban districts more effective at improving outcomes for low-income and minority students as well as English language learners is the focus of a new national center at Peabody. Read More

Improving math instruction for elementary and middle school children experiencing problems with fractions is the focus of a $10 million grant from the Institute of Education Sciences, a research branch of the U.S. Department of Education. Among the collaborators in the new Center on Improving Mathematics Instruction for Students with… Read More