Conversations with the Dean
Tackling Tough Conversations in the Classroom
For educators, having honest conversations about race and identity can be challenging to navigate. But these critical conversations can have many positive outcomes, including strengthening students’ sense of belonging and civic engagement. For this Conversations with the Dean, Dean Penny Bishop is joined by BU Wheelock’s Christina Dobbs, an associate professor of English education, and […]
Empowering Students to Plan for Their Futures
Educators play an important role in setting students up for future success—among other things, they foster social emotional skills, help with career exploration, and support executive functioning. And these are just some of the ways they support academic growth, self-awareness, and identity formation, all in service of connecting students to a brighter future. For this […]
How Strong School Leaders Drive Student Success
High-quality school and district leadership are a critical part of student success. But developing and sustaining effective leaders can present challenges as leaders navigate growing demands and competing priorities. So how can research and practice intersect to support the development of effective leaders? For this Conversations with the Dean session, Dean Penny Bishop is joined […]
Empowering Learning Outside the Classroom
Today’s digital technologies have the potential to transform and enhance learning opportunities for children, particularly those from underrepresented communities. The innovative strategies used in digital education can support young learners from a wide variety of backgrounds, providing access outside the classroom to high-quality resources that address diverse learning needs. For this Conversations with the Dean […]
How AI Will Change Education
The growth of AI signals some positive opportunities for both students and teachers, including automating tasks such as grading and providing greater access to resources. At the same time, it’s not without significant concerns, including the potential the students will use AI to cheat on assignments or tests. Finding the balance between innovation and ethical […]
New Year, New Potential
As the new dean of BU Wheelock, Penny Bishop is taking up many mantles, including as host of the webinar series, Conversations with the Dean. But the first webinar of the year flipped the script on the usual format, with BU Wheelock faculty member Anthony Abraham Jack asking the questions. “This month we called an […]
Building a Lasting Legacy
As Dean David Chard prepares to say farewell to his role as dean of BU Wheelock, he sat down for a final Conversations with the Dean webinar—but this time, he was the one being interviewed. Chard, who will step down as BU Wheelock dean at the end of June, was interviewed by Mary Churchill, associate […]
Can We Make School Safe and Supportive for All?
While schools need to maintain discipline to function smoothly, many schools err on the side of discipline over inclusion. The result? Students of color and low-income students are disproportionately excluded from the classroom through suspensions, expulsions, and referrals to the juvenile justice system. And once a student has been excluded from the classroom, the likelihood […]
How Can Teacher Preparation Stay Relevant?
Traditional teacher preparation programs housed in institutions of higher education are finding themselves having to adapt to the new reality that fewer people are studying to become teachers. As a result, these programs are building new partnerships, changing their curriculum, and adopting new recruitment methods to keep themselves relevant. For this Conversations with the Dean […]
What Schools Can Do about the Special Education Teacher Shortage
Students with disabilities need kind, empathic teachers to guide them throughout their educational career, but many school districts are struggling to recruit and retrain special education teachers. Inaccessible buildings, a lack of resources, isolation from other teachers, an unmanageable workload, and other inequities are all barriers that face special ed teachers who may be enthusiastic […]