A Spring of Accomplishments

Speakers Bureau Work With Partner Schools

One of CTL's partner schools, Roosevelt High School, has had its application to be a fully inclusive LAUSD school accepted beginning in Fall 2022. As part of the CTL's Speakers Bureau, Dr. Tamarah Ashton has been consulting with the school and its educators on co-teaching and other inclusive practices for the last 4 years. Dr. Amy Hanreddy joined the team this year in providing support for the paraprofessionals. They are becoming integral to the instructional process for ALL students! We are proud of Roosevelt High's commitment to inclusive practices and to the CSUN faculty who are helping facilitate that commitment. 

Dr. Wendy Murawski Appears on Practical Access Podcast 

Practical Access is a podcast out of the University of Central Florida that highlights inclusive education. In a recent episode conducted during the Centennial Council for Exceptional Children conference, the CTL’s Executive Director Dr. Wendy Murawski was featured. That episode is now LIVE. Listen to the episode here.

New CTL on the Cutting Edge News Brief

The Center for Teaching and Learning is proud to present a new CTL on the Cutting Edge news brief. We are happy to highlight The Organization for Social Media Safety, a national organization that started here close to CSUN and focuses on providing social media safety. Please feel free to share this publication with your various organizations, faculty, and teachers. Disseminate widely.

Upcoming TCARE Newsletter

TCARE is a peer-reviewed national newsletter that the CTL publishes twice a year. TCARE stands for Teachers Connecting to Advance Retention and Empowerment. In our upcoming issue, CTL will be putting a spotlight on school leaders. Articles will be by and from administrators, department chairs, superintendents, and teacher educators who have a critical role in setting the stage for success. Those interested in writing an article for TCARE are encouraged to submit them by 4/30. Be sure to get on the CTL’s mailing list for this and other publications and events by mailing ctl@csun.edu and simply saying “I’d like to be on the mailing list.”

Education on the Edge Event 

Every year, the CTL hosts its annual Education on the Edge event, finding and highlighting individuals who are on the cutting edge of education. These events are co-sponsored by the Schools First Federal Credit Union, allowing the CTL to bring in excellent content and speakers while making the event free to the public.

This semester, the Education on the Edge event will take place on May 10th, 5:00-6:30 p.m. PST on Zoom, allowing a more national audience to join us. We are honored to share the award-winning work of a recent CSUN alumnus, Avery Fox.

Together, participants will view a screening of Translucent, a moving 24-minute documentary about a young adult’s gender transition journey. Translucent was a finalist for the 48th Annual Student Academy Awards. CSUN alum, Avery Fox, is both the subject of the documentary and creator of the film. Avery will join a diverse panel of varying perspectives on the topic of how educators can best support transgender individuals. Q&A will be encouraged.

Presentation at the Council for Exceptional Children Conference

Dr. Wendy Murawski, the Executive Director and Eisner Endowed Chair of the Center for Teaching and Learning, presented recently to 400 educators at the national Council for Exceptional Children conference with co-author Dr. Jackie Rodriguez on the topic of Special Education law and advocacy. Drs. Murawski and Rodriguez published a book by a similar title in 2022: Special Education Law and Policy: From Foundations to Applications and were speaking on the content of that book to the participants at CEC.

SIMPACT

SIMPACT is going strong! If you haven’t had a chance to experience the CSUN award-winning immersive learning simulator, now is the time. Check out www.csun.edu/simpact or contact the CTL to find out how to get SIMPACT to do a demonstration for your department or school. Dr. Wendy Murawski, SIMPACT Director, recently did a invited presentation at the American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE) on SIMPACT’s work and its impact on mental health through a grant financed by the Keck Foundation. In addition, SIMPACT is being used by multiple universities, to include CSUN, CSUCI, CSUDH, CSULA, UCLA, LMU, APU, and many more. In fact, educators and mental health professionals are not the only ones to benefit from the use of SIMPACT. Recently, members of the California Self-Storage Association also found themselves participating in SIMPACT scenarios as they built their own professional skills in a half-day workshop.