Strengths and Potential Creating a Culture of Inquiry Creating Interdisciplinary Synergy Enhancing Communication Creating a Community of Scholars Research Opportunities Future Directions “The College of Education is a turbocharged engine propelling UTEP where external funding is concerned.” Washington Advisory Group

National Network for Educational Renewal School-University-Community partnerships Service-learning Bilingual education Cooperative learning Strategic themes topics: Areas of COEd strength with potential for further investigation “[COE] has built strong partnerships with K-12 schools and regional communities over the years as well as, more recently, interdisciplinary partnerships with faculty and programs in Liberal Arts, Health Sciences, Engineering, and Science/Mathematics.” Washington Advisory Group STRENGTHS & POTENTIAL

Bilingual Education Mathematics and Science Second language acquisition English Language Learners (ELLs) Diversity in higher education Strategic themes topics: Areas of COEd strength with potential for further investigation “ [The College] has obtained and implemented numerous grants, mainly from the U.S. Department of Education... These grants have focused primarily on teacher training and outreach …and provide significant opportunities for publishable follow-up and outcomes research on student achievement.” Washington Advisory Group STRENGTHS & POTENTIAL

“The College has a well-articulated plan to build on existing activities and partnerships, exploiting the fact that the relatively isolated local area is virtually a “closed loop” in which to conduct research.” Washington Advisory Group UTEP was selected as one of 11 universities to receive $5 million as part of the Carnegie Corporation’s Teachers for a New Era Initiative. This visionary reform initiative is designed to build on existing strengths to stimulate development of excellent teacher education programs. UTEP and the other 10 selected universities are engaged in developing research and policy for development of this national dissemination model. Strategic themes topics: Areas of COEd strength with potential for further investigation STRENGTHS & POTENTIAL

Creating a Culture of Inquiry Developing the Infrastructure Faculty recruitment and socialization Creating a vibrant, powerful environment Identifying Research Interests, Expertise, Directions Reorganizing (Optimal Use of Intellectual Resources) Release time, Review of Tenure and Promotion Policies Web Portal to Enhance Information Sharing & Communication “The challenges this College faces are the familiar ones: lack of research oriented tenured faculty to mentor the new junior recruits; teaching loads that Include a lot of time in the field…” Washington Advisory Group CULTURE OF INQUIRY

TNE/ELL (Inter-institutional) FIPSE (UTEP, UNT, UND, UM) UTEP/UACJ Critical Pedagogy Adult Literacy (the GREAT Center) TETC and Hewlett Packard (COEng-COEd as co-PIs) COEd-COLA Faculty—(Bilingualism, cognition, school improvement) Service learning initiatives (with COLA’s Center for Civic Engagement) TAMU/Sam Houston U./UTEP (ELL Research) UTA/UTEP (Research Academies) “Among the specific potential sources of funding they are pursuing are Interdisciplinary collaborations to respond to RFPs from NIH, NEH, etc. in the areas of health, education, and community development, building on existing grants as seed money for larger research projects; and getting further grants from Carnegie and FIPSE. One of these grants, for example, examines the ways in which innovative teaching impacts engineering students to Improve retention.” Washington Advisory Group INTERDISCIPLINARYSYNERGY

Faculty meetings have been convened to discuss research needs have yielded a variety of areas of need as well as strengths and potential for growth. Suggestions from COE faculty include the need to: rethink faculty roles and rewards build strong infrastructure increase technology access provide mentors for untenured faculty reorganize and encourage collaboration across departments provide ORSP-type support at college level ENHANCING COMMUNICATION

Second Language Acquisition/ELLs Bilingual Education Diversity in higher education (preparing future faculty) School-University-Community Partnerships School Improvement Technology/Distance Learning Parent Involvement Education for a Democracy/Social Justice Service Learning Curriculum and Instruction U.S.-Mexico Linkages Leadership Development Educator Retention Alternative Programs (ATCP, CATE, Job-Embedded Model for Paraprofessionals) AREAS OF STRENGTH

RESEARCH NEWS …. is a collaborative tool for the College of Education. The web portal features include: project pages latest news discussion boards document sharing relevant web links calendar and polls College of Education faculty have started using many of the Research News features to collaborate on strategic planning and project work.

Creating a Community of Scholars Professional Development Schools (schools as “laboratories”) Interdisciplinary work with Liberal Arts//Science Relationships w/community partners = Research opportunities Engage Students (UG, ATCP, Grads) in Scholarly Work Research Conferences Strong Linkages with School Districts = Partnerships on Grants for School Improvement “The College has a proposal for a new Ph.D. in Teaching and Learning, stressing literacy, including bilingual literacy in science and mathematics.” Washington Advisory Group COMMUNITY OF SCHOLARS

“There are also exploitable opportunities for comparative research on education in the U.S. and Mexico.” Washington Advisory Group Second Language Acquisition/ELLs Bilingual Education Diversity in higher education (preparing future faculty) School-University-Community Partnerships School Improvement Technology/Distance Learning Parent and Community Involvement Education for Democracy Service-Learning Curriculum and Instruction Social Justice Leadership Development Recruitment and Retention RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

Research (Discovery) Teaching (Teaching/Learning) Service (Engagement) Faculty support Rethinking faculty roles and rewards Integration Emerging Forms of Scholarship The College of Education led the initiative to join CASTL The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Interdisciplinary collaboration Focus on student learning