Academic and Student Resources

The School of Education’s numerous academic resources enrich intellectual inquiry and provoke philosophical debate. There is a strong tradition of faculty carrying theory into community action through the creation of programs and centers that not only advance research and academic dialogue, but also provide models for change and innovation.

Academic Resources

Education House

Located at 179 Bay State Road, Education House is a specialty undergraduate residence house opened in the fall of 1990. Education House provides a unique opportunity for Boston University students to address the future of education from the perspective of those who will be called upon to provide leadership. Students have opportunities to participate in education programs that provide a focus on the serious study of the educational profession.

Eligibility: Boston University undergraduates who are in good standing within the University community are eligible to apply for residence.

Undergraduate Student Government

Undergraduate students are represented within the School of Education and Boston University by an active undergraduate Student Government (SG). In addition to planning and providing educational and social functions, SG is the voice of undergraduate students at the School of Education. Undergraduates, through SG, are also active participants in the Boston University Student Union. Contact them at sedsg@bu.edu for more information.

Graduate Student Association

Organized over 30 years ago, the School of Education Graduate Student Association (GSA) seeks to promote programming for the graduate students in the School of Education and Boston University community. The GSA plans and sponsors events to assist School of Education graduate students to acclimate to the University, promote awareness of current issues in Education, and develop a sense of community.

The GSA membership consists of current and former School of Education part-time and full-time graduate students. Meetings are scheduled periodically throughout the academic year. All current School of Education graduate students and alumni are welcome to participate in the GSA and the events sponsored by the group. Contact them at sedgsa@bu.edu for more information.

Instructional Materials Center (IMC)

A multimedia technology resource center for the SED community. At the IMC, students, faculty, and staff have access to various technologies and expertise that facilitate research, communication, collaboration, and the production of digital and paper-based educational resources. The center supports a wide range of instructional and communications aids, including extensive computing and printing resources, multimedia classrooms, telecommunications, scanning, digital video, and graphics.

The Pickering Educational Resources Library

Th

The Center for Character & Social Responsibility

Th

The Kevin Ryan Library for Ethics & Education

Opened in the spring of 2001, the library houses a reserve collection of books in moral education and ethics, both classical and contemporary, a video library, and practical resources in character education. The library offers students, scholars, visitors, and area teachers a place to study, conduct research, participate in interdisciplinary roundtable discussions and lectures, and review the work of the Center for Character & Social Responsibility (CCSR). The library also provides professional instructional space for CAEC-sponsored seminars and institutes.

The Center for the Study of Communication & the Deaf

The center is devoted to both applied and theoretical research to benefit the Deaf and their families. Faculty and students have focused on three major research themes: the acquisition of signed languages, the impact of language on the education of the Deaf child, and the developmental assessment of bilingual approaches to the education of Deaf children. A variety of community services focus on projects assisting the hearing parents of Deaf children and on workshops and presentations to area agencies. The center has begun to create assessment instruments to determine ASL development in Deaf children.

Additional research interests of the center are the languages (American Sign Language (ASL) and English), family structure, the educational systems, and the social service networks of Deaf children and adults. Currently, the center is conducting four projects. The first project examines the role of language in the thinking of Deaf children. The second project is investigating the relationship of American Sign Language in Deaf children’s process of learning to read English. The third project focuses on the learning of American Sign Language as a second language. This project is currently developing ASL evaluation materials for Hearing persons, as well as for Deaf children. The last project concentrates on the development of an ASL/English curriculum for Deaf children, specifically grades preschool to fourth grade. A primary goal of the center is to provide state-of-the-art information to professionals in the education of the Deaf, related professionals, and the families they serve.

Contact the center’s director, Robert Hoffmeister, at 617-353-5191 (voice and TTY) or email rhoff@bu.edu.

sedGreen

se

The Microcosmos Project

This project in the Science Education Program, available to students and faculty in both the School of Education and the larger University communities, advocates an interactive approach to teaching. The program integrates microbial life studies and innovative science-education pedagogy with the science methods courses, and includes a small study area, a pond and plant display, and gallery exhibits on important science content developed by current students. For more information, contact Dr. Douglas Zook at 617-353-2030 or email dzook@bu.edu.

International Symbiosis Society

Located in the Science Education Program, the International Symbiosis Society is made up of biology researchers and educators from around the world. The society fosters learning and sharing about the importance of symbiotic systems, including coral reefs, lichens, and forest communities.

The Journal of Education

Founded in 1875, the Journal of Education is the oldest continuously published education journal in the United States. Since 1952 it has been published by the Boston University School of Education. Addressed to both scholars and practitioners, it includes essays and reviews on a wide range of topics.

Community Outreach

The Boston University School of Education has a long tradition of community service that grows out of the vision of its founders in 1918. Dr. Arthur H. Wilde, first dean of the School, wrote, “Our policy has been to keep in as vital touch with the everyday work of the schools as we could—to know the needs of the teachers and of the school officers and to give immediate satisfaction to those needs, yet with a view to the broader education of these teachers and officers.”

The Boston University/Boston Public Schools Collaborative

This collaborative is the administrative organization at the University that oversees more than a dozen programs created in support of the Boston Public Schools. In 1975, court-ordered school desegregation in Boston stimulated an unprecedented commitment by Boston-area colleges, universities, and businesses to help the city’s schools and children. Boston University has been and continues to be an active participant. University resources contribute to the support of a full-time director who initiates and seeks funding for new programs, which involve faculty and students in serving the needs of Boston schoolchildren. For more information, please email Ruth Shane at rshane@bu.edu.

The Boston University Initiative for Literacy Development (BUILD)

This collaborative effort enjoys the support and contributions of the School of Education, and the Boston University Financial Assistance and Student Employment offices. With Federal Work-Study funds made available by Boston University in support of the federal America Reads and local Read Boston programs, 150 literacy tutors provide assistance in one hospital, eight after-school, and six in-school programs serving elementary schoolchildren in Boston and Chelsea. For eligibility information, contact the Work-Study Manager at 617-353-2387. For information about the program, please write to Ruth Shane; email: rshane@bu.edu or visit the BUILD website.

Boston University School of Education Consortium

In 1977, the Boston University School of Education and a selection of Boston-area school districts, social service agencies, and overseas universities came together to form a consortium for the mutual exchange of expertise and training. Since that time, Consortium school systems and social service agencies have provided SED students with a variety of settings in which to pursue student-teaching, school-based counseling experiences, and administrative internships. For more information, contact Jo-Anne Richard, 617-353-3239, email: jrichard@bu.edu.

Step UP

Boston University is one of five universities involved in Step UP, an unprecedented collaboration with the Boston Public Schools and the city of Boston to help 10 local schools. Step UP was formed in the fall of 2006 and provides comprehensive, coordinated services aimed at improving student performance. Boston University’s two partner schools are William Monroe Trotter Elementary School in Dorchester and English High School in Jamaica Plain. Based on the needs identified by each partner school, BU aims to help Trotter and English make improvements in areas such as instruction and tutoring, after-school support, student wellness and safety, and family and community engagement.

International Programs

The School of Education offers a variety of programs abroad and to students from around the world. Faculty from the School of Education have led programs in more than a dozen countries on six continents.

The School of Education attracts many international students to several of its programs. For example, of particular interest to international students is our Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Program. The Physical Education & Coaching and Health Education programs have brought students from many parts of Asia, Latin America, Europe, and Africa to study at the School.

Since 1985, the School of Education has implemented a student-teaching program as part of a larger International Initiative. This program has promoted opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to study abroad in Australia, Ecuador, and England. Eligibility for student teaching abroad needs to be discussed with and approved by academic advisors.

Read about international opportunities on the BU Study Abroad website.