Reflector Summer 2011

The abbreviated lives of Emily, BS’03, MEd’05, and Lauren Failla, BS’07, bear witness on an all-too-personal basis that out of tragedy comes triumph. The sisters, alumnae of Peabody’s human and organizational development program, died in tragic accidents, four years and half a world apart from each other. Read More

Reading into Reading First Data In the Winter 2010 edition of the Peabody Reflector, there is an article with the heading “Early Reading First data shows impressive gains.” This article, a summary of results of a preliminary study, describes research that appears to be seriously flawed. Based on the summary… Read More

Start Where You Are, But Don’t Stay There: Understanding Diversity, Opportunity Gaps, and Teaching in Today’s Classrooms (Harvard Education Press, 2010) by H. Richard Milner, associate professor of education. The book details strategies for closing the achievement gap by refocusing attention on opportunity gaps to successfully teach students in diverse,… Read More

Bickman Improving mental health services is the aim of a $3.8 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to Peabody’s Center for Evaluation and Program Improvement and the Indiana University Center for Adolescent and Family Studies (CAFS). The five-year project will examine how to improve mental health services for youth… Read More

When Roberta and Don Miller were pursuing their doctorates at Peabody in the early 1990s, they undertook a special project that examined funding in higher education. That’s when they made a $1 million dollar commitment to the school. Read More

The rhythm of columns, archways and architectural curves is apparent from above, as seen in the colonnade between the Wyatt Center (Social Religious Building) and East Hall. The photographer did not climb a gingko tree to get the shot; he made use of a construction lift before it was… Read More

Illustration by Roger Chouinard Visit Peabody College’s Web site at http://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/ Bonnie Arant Ertelt, Editor Donna Pritchett, Art Director Michael Smeltzer, Designer Nelson Bryan, Class Notes Editor Contributors: Joanne Lamphere Beckham, Kurt Brobeck, Katharyn Castro, Kara Furlong, Max Gertz, Jennifer Johnston, Melanie Moran, Jim Patterson, Lisa Robbins, Cindy Thomsen… Read More

Popular discussions about how technology is shaping our personal, social and professional lives tend not to reference education schools. Read More

Vanderbilt junior Amanda Polcari tutors Ravia Burton as part of The After School Program, known as TAP, coordinated by Peabody seniors Samantha Pomplon, Megan Goetsch and Samara Orkin. Vanderbilt provides student tutors for the program, which was originally conceived by the Rev. Frank Gordon and his wife, Tam Gordon, of… Read More

Peabody College was named the No. 1 graduate education school in the United States for the third consecutive year by U.S. News & World Report in the rankings released March 15. The U.S. News & World Report rankings are based on statistical analysis of programs, student and faculty surveys along… Read More

Student achievement improved and teacher turnover declined in schools participating in the Texas state-funded District Awards for Teacher Excellence (D.A.T.E.) program, the National Center on Performance Incentives (NCPI) at Peabody has found. “Our findings suggest that, more often than not, participants in the D.A.T.E. program had a positive experience and… Read More

Farran Children who attended state-funded prekindergarten classes gained an average of 82 percent more on early literacy and math skills than comparable children who did not attend, researchers from the Peabody Research Institute have found. The initial results are from the first rigorous longitudinal study that has been conducted… Read More

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