College of Education and Human Development

Given a chance to use role-playing to solve real-world problems, middle schoolers who might be overlooked for advanced academic programs can perform just as well as their high-achieving peers, research by George Mason University assistant professor Anne Horak has shown. For the third consecutive year, the curriculum written for that research has won an award. Read more...

When Callie Brownson became quality control coach for Dartmouth’s football team, she had no idea she was making history as the first full-time female Division I football coach. Even now, after all the attention, including stories by the Associated Press, Sports Illustrated and The Washington Post, Brownson said the whirlwind is still difficult to believe. “To me, it was kind of crazy there hadn’t been another female coach at this level,” she said. That Brownson was the first did not surprise those who knew her at George Mason University, from where she graduated in 2016 with a degree in Health, Fitness and Recreation Resources. Read more...

Fred Schack’s colleagues at the College of Education and Human Development described him as “steady,” “consistent,” and “dependable.” If there was work to be done, he would volunteer to do it. He was also remembered for always being on time, pitching in with colleagues, and always supporting students. Basically, “he was there,” says Rich Miller, a professor of kinesiology at Mason. Schack, who retired from his position as a professor of kinesiology and physical education this past June, died in September following a short illness. He was 76. More than half of his life was spent as a faculty member at George Mason University. Read more...

Fostering Student Computational Thinking with Self-Regulated Learning is a new $3.5M (over 5 years) NSF-funded STEM+C grant that will advance research and development of new transdisciplinary approaches to computational STEM teaching and learning. Read more...

Anna Evmenova, Kelley Regan, and Amy Hutchison won a $2.5M award (over 5 years) for “WEGO-RIITE: Writing Efficiently with Graphic Organizers - Responsive Instruction while Implementing Technology Effectively” funded by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), U.S. Department of Education. Read more...

George Mason University was ranked as one of the nation’s top institutions for diversity, innovative learning and a campus atmosphere that allows its students to thrive, in U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 rankings, released Monday. For a second consecutive year, Mason is the top-ranked institution in Virginia for campus diversity and tied for 25th nationally. Mason also tied for 28th nationally for educational innovation and was one of only 96 national institutions listed as an “A+ School for B Students,” a category that identifies universities that create an atmosphere in which spirit and hard work fosters student success. Read more...

A new NSF award was granted to Amy Hutchison and colleagues for a project that brings together faculty from George Mason University and Old Dominion University, the non-profit group CodeVA and Norfolk City Public Schools (NCPS) to broaden participation in Computer Science in Virginia. Read more...

For the past four years, Seth Hunter has been researching teacher evaluations and teacher observations in Tennessee. Before coming to Mason just a few months ago, Hunter worked in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Education while he was a doctoral candidate at Vanderbilt University. It was his extensive work with Tennessee education standards that brought him back to the state in July, when Hunter was invited to a Tennessee Education Research Alliance (TERA) summit to discuss his research findings. Read more...

When the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture began planning its sports gallery, the first call museum director Lonnie Bunch made was to Dave Wiggins. Wiggins, a professor of sport history at George Mason University, is Bunch’s longtime friend. But he is also an acknowledged authority on the African American experience in American sport. Read more...

Thanks to digital technologies such as laptops, smartphones and tablets, students are creating personal learning environments in which they choose the tools, times and methods by which they learn. Institutions should help students make the best use of those technologies, George Mason University professor Nada Dabbagh said. Read more...