Tag: Fischler College of Education & School of Criminal Justice

Students Film Police Recruitment Commercial

A group of criminal justice students from NSU’s Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice and members of NSU’s Sociodrama Club: Stage for Change, had the opportunity to take part in a unique project: filming a commercial.

The students, along with School of Criminal Justice Associate Professor, Grace Telesco, Ph.D., were asked by Davie Police department to film a recruitment commercial.

Telesco is no stranger to working on short productions, having worked on commercials while serving as an officer with the New York City Police Dept and produced the instructional film “Run, Hide, Fight” detailing what one should do when in a mass shooting situation for the NSU Community.

Telesco enlisted the help of several Sociodrama/Criminal Justice students, including Shannon Hetzel, Laila Horton and Alejandro Suarez, along with her work study students. She also enlisted the efforts of Dan Deien, who also helped with “Run, Hide, Fight.”

The theme of the video is “Live, Work, Play,” and includes beautiful shots of South Florida while demonstrating the day-to-day activities of Davie Police.

”We’re attracting, you know, a particular candidate to come to the police department to live here, where it’s beautiful and there’s so many things to do,” Telesco said.

The students are working in all stages of the creation: pre-production, production, and post-production.

“The writing of the script, the creation of the call sheets, location selection, site surveys – they are responsible for all of that,” Telesco said. “Scheduling all of the cops, scheduling and interfacing with the Davie Police Department, to get all of these cops on the set to do what we want them to do, so that it looks real not staged.”

The work doesn’t stop there. The students have helped in other aspects of the commercial as well, including sound, lighting, flying drones and even acting cameos.

Many are just learning this for the first time. The students all volunteered for the duties and despite the hard work, they are enjoying the process.

“We’ve had a lot of an awful lot of fun, but it’s been an awful lot of work. It’s early hours, get up call is at 8 in the morning, go all the way until 4 with very little breaks and they aren’t getting credit,” Telesco said. “They love working together. They like working with me. We get excited about a lot of stuff so that’s why they’re in it.”

The commercial is expected to be completed in the coming months.

Fischler Professor Publishes Paper on Special Needs Patients

Maria Levi-Minzi, Ph.D.

Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice Professor Maria Levi-Minzi, Ph.D., has recently published a paper focusing on the dental treatment of children with autism spectrum disorder and other special needs.

The paper, called “Parent Perception of Child’s Behavior during the Initial Dental Visit among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Cross Sectional Study,” came out of a study that was done by two pediatric dental residents.

“Children with special needs have different sensitivities and it can be hard to get any child to sit in a chair,” Levi-Minzi said. She gave some examples of the things these patients may struggle with, including sensitivities to tastes, smells, and sounds, as well as the tools shoved in their faces.

Levi-Minzi serves as a program evaluator for grants funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration. The grants supported the study which examined if parents knew how to best manage their child during the first dental visit. Researchers looked at two different outcome measures and an analysis score. They would then try to complete a certain number of tasks during every dentist visit, such as cleaning, and would look at those scores to see if a certain patient or parental characteristic was associated with a higher or lower score.

“We’re really just trying to understand if there were certain types of patient or parental characteristics that contributed to doing better at a dental appointment,” Levi-Minzi said. “If we could find out more information about that, then maybe we could try to help providers to better understand how to prep people for the appointment.”

According to the research, it was revealed that Hispanic individuals completed fewer tasks during dental appointments, something that made researchers question whether it was part of a language barrier or cultural aspect. Something else researchers picked up on was that the older the child is, the better the child did in the dental appointment. With information like this, the hope is to train dentists for more successful visits.

Currently, Levi-Minzi is working on two other papers related to special needs children.

To read the full paper, click here.

Posted 03/14/23

College Sponsors 2023 BCPS Caliber Awards

NSU’s Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice (FCE&SCJ) served as one of the sponsors for the 2023 Broward County Public School Caliber Awards.

The event, which took place on Feb. 3, recognizes, and celebrates outstanding teachers, principals, assistant principals, and school-related employees in the Broward County School District.

FCE&SCJ served as a platinum sponsor for the event and provided a $5,000 scholarship to the four respective winners of the Teacher, Principal, Assistant Principal and School-Related Employee of the Year.

At the event, the college was represented by Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Kenneth Rockensies, Ed.D, and Director of Graduate Admissions, Leonard Jacobskind, Ed.D.

Rockensies was given the opportunity to deliver a two-minute speech to voice the mission of the Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice. He also thanked the Broward County Public Schools for their continued partnership with the college.

This is not the first time the Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice has served as a Platinum Sponsor for the Caliber Awards. The college has previously served as a sponsor going back to as early as 2018.

Posted 03/12/23

Fischler Professors and Alums Publish Book Chapter Together

A team of three professors and two doctoral alumni from the Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice have published a new book chapter.

Gina Peyton, Ed.D.; David Ross, Ed.D.; and Vanaja Nethi, Ph.D.; and two doctoral graduates: Melissa Tara Sasso, Ed.D.; and Lucas A. DeWitt, Ed.D., recently published the chapter “Proven Best Practices in Guiding Non-traditional Dissertation Students to Degree Conferral in the United States.” It was published within the Palgrave and Macmillan book by editors Mulligan, Ryan, and Danaher, titled “Deconstructing Doctoral Discourses: Stories and Strategies for Success.”

Peyton said the theme of the book focuses on the different perspectives of many of those involved in the education process, including the students, advisers, and dissertation chairs. Furthermore, their chapter discusses methods of helping non-traditional doctoral students who are often professionals with full-time jobs and family commitments.

“They have all these other challenges that they’re faced with in terms of work life and family life, and aging parents, sick children or being ill themselves. Students have all these other obstacles that they’re dealing with, in addition to trying to complete an Ed.D. program. Our perspective is how do you work with this type of population? What do they need in terms of getting through the process successfully?”

One thing that Peyton said that helps these non-traditional students is having a strong support system.

“The literature supports that if you don’t have a good dissertation chair-student relationship, the success rate is not as high. Between all the resources that we offer, and then the individual attention that we offer our students, is why we have a pretty successful rate with our students who graduate.”

Peyton was also grateful that she and her colleagues were able to include the point of view of two recent doctoral graduates who previously went through the process. “Drs. Sasso and DeWitt wrote a lot about what they needed as well as provided the necessary steps to succeed, for example a solid support system and good time management skills.

According to Peyton, students, advisors, and dissertation chairs could all benefit from reading this book.

“It gives all of our experiences.”

Congratulations Peyton, Ross, Nethi, Sasso, and DeWitt! For more information on the book chapter, click here.

 

Education Alum Named Dean of Campus at Community College

A graduate from the Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice has taken on a new leadership role.

Brad Wood has been named the Dean of Findlay Campus, Owens Community College in Toledo, Ohio.

Brad Wood

Wood is a double graduate of NSU. In 2008, he received a degree in Allied Health and Nursing and then in 2015, he earned his Master of Arts in Teaching and Learning.

Wood previously worked as a physical therapist assistant for about 32 years. But when he decided to make a career change and pursue teaching, he earned his bachelor’s degree in health science. Then, he decided to continue his education and earned his masters from Fischler.

He went on to serve as a program director, but when the Dean position opened up, he decided to take the plunge and apply. Wood said he felt a mix of joy and relief upon learning he had been chosen.

“I was ecstatic. I’m not going to lie, it was a relief,” Wood said. “When I received a phone call, it was like a major load had been lifted off my shoulders and relief. Just knowing one way or the other was really good.”

The process took a total of three months and for the final part, Wood gave a presentation to the whole college where he had to give a five-year plan for the campus. One of his goals is to implement more programs on the campus.

“I have already been out into the community, talking to manufacturers, talking to schools, talking to hospitals, and discussing what the community actually needs from us, and what programs would actually be viable to be on this campus to allow students to come onto campus.”

He also said he wants to provide new pathways for students to reach success, either through connecting them to other universities, to businesses out in the community or other options.

“I’m excited to move forward in this role to help the college, but mainly to help students succeed,” Wood said.

Wood also voiced his gratitude for the degrees he earned from Nova and how they helped him prepare for the role.

“The hard work that Nova gave me along with the knowledge, the background, and the professionalism, allowed me to secure this position here.”

Congratulations Brad! Fins up to you!

Posted 02/19/23

Fischler Academy Students Visit Austria, Study Education System

A group of Fischler Academy students recently had the opportunity to visit Austria in December 2022, where they learned about the country’s education system.

The Austria trip was part of Fischler International, a program where Fischler Academy students get to go to different countries to see the education system and learn more about the countries themselves. The specific area the students visited was Vienna, the country’s capital where they got to see what the schools were like and learn more about the culture.

The goal of these international trips is to not only learn about the educational systems in those different countries, but for Fischler Academy students to learn different concepts that they could potentially apply to their careers.

“One of the things we thought was impressive is that a lot of kids have independence in Austria and were expected to build things on their own and be the masters of their own destiny,” said Fischler Academy Director Luke Williams.

Williams gave an example of how students as young as fourth grade used handsaws and other equipment to design and build their own pinball machines that you would not see in the United States and were given more independence. He also gave an example of how students as young as 2 years old were even changing their own diapers.

“Teachers were there to help facilitate that process. It wasn’t so much that the teacher is constantly telling them ‘Do this, do that,’ but that they had that freedom, that independence to do so.”

The students also got the chance to see the University of Vienna, where they learned more about its history, the programs it offers, and tour the campus.

“It was great to learn more about this historic university,” Williams said.

Other visits are planned, with a Fall 2021 cohort planning to visit Italy, specifically Rome, to learn about the education system and see what the schools are like in Italy.

Posted 02/19/23

Fischler Academy Student Heads 3rd Grader Responsibility Project

A Fischler Academy student is heading a project teaching elementary school students responsibility while tackling a common problem in class.

Danielle Gross, a junior at NSU’s Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice Fischler Academy program, is the newest head of the Responsible Pencil Project, an initiative where third-grade teachers are presented with a numbered set of four pencils for each student. The teacher assigns a set to each student and records the number.

Then, if somebody finds a pencil, the number will show which student it belongs to. Once a month, teachers do a class pencil count to see how many still have their pencils and sends the number to our NSU team. Prizes are awarded accordingly.

In addition to teaching the students responsibility, it also helps ensure that each student has a pencil (making their teacher’s life a tiny bit easier) as well as keeping NSU connected with its alumni.

Several Fischler alumni — Sherilynn Soto, Hannah Parisealt, and Aryanna Chang — who are currently working as third-grade teachers have joined the project. They were then encouraged to recruit their fellow co-teachers as well.

“It’s been awesome because no one has asked for a pencil,” Pariseault said.

Teachers at Davie Elementary were also asked to participate, with positive results.

“They are a lifesaver in my classroom,” said Davie Elementary teacher Mrs. Jeter.

The Responsible Pencil Project is a Skunks Works project. Gross is not the originator of the project, but she took responsibility of it earlier this year as a Skunk Works Team Leader.

Skunks Works Team Leaders are student employment positions at NSU where the students identify problems in K-12 education and then work as a team to develop a solution.

The term Skunk Works is often used to refer to a group within an organization that is given a high level of freedom while they work on a special or secret projects. It originally was used by security, arms, and aerospace company Lockheed Martin to refer to a secret project that resulted in the development of advanced aircrafts.

Posted 01/21/23

Alum Gets Key Post at Caribbean University of Puerto Rico

Rosado

Jesus M. Santiago Rosado, Ed.D., a 2017 Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice graduate, has been appointed Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs at Caribbean University of Puerto Rico.

Santiago has developed a career in the educational field, standing out in the areas of professional teacher development, academic leadership, university teaching, research and administration of higher education.

Posted 01/08/23

Miami Edison High-Schoolers Participate in Shark Speak Program

A group of students from Miami Edison Senior High School are getting in-depth English lessons thanks to a student at the Fischler Academy at NSU’s Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice (FCE&SCJ).

The five high school students currently visit NSU’s campus where they partake in the Shark Speak project with Fischler Academy student, Gisel Egeraige, and Fischler Academy alumna Eloise Nieto.

Shark Speak is an interactive English acquisition program that accelerates the learning of the 100 most commonly used English words. The project was developed by Nieto and project supervisor Daryl Hulce.

The program is designed around using the 100 words in everyday settings such as going to the store or what is likely to be heard at school. At the core of the program is an activity called “May I Have… Please?,” where items that appeal to the learners, such as food and personal care products, are placed on a table and the students are taught to politely ask for them.

The students use the phrase “May I have… please?” filling in the blank with the items on the table. This repetition makes learning fun and provides a feeling of quick success for the students.

The lessons are led by Egeraige, who is in turn coached and supervised by Nieto, who teaches English as a second language at Miami Edison. The students have been taking well to the lessons and have spoken highly of the experience. Nieto said that additional students have even approached her and asked to participate in the program.

For more information on the Shark Speak program, please contact Daryl Hulce at hulce@nova.edu.

Posted 12/11/22

LEC Conference Connects, Engages, And Inspires

NSU’s Learning and Educational Center (LEC), under the direction LEC’s executive director, Diane Lippe, Ed.S., hosted a two-day virtual conference that showcased a variety of NSU educators presenting on a wide array of topics. The theme for the conference was, “Connect, Engage, Inspire,” and it gave NSU faculty and staff an opportunity to share their knowledge and practices with other educators at the university. Presentations covered teaching strategies, technology tools, BEDI (belonging, equity, diversity, and inclusion) practices, student engagement, and more. Some sample presentation titles were: “That’s Debatable: How to Create Better Writers Using Micro-Debates,” “Developing and Using Vision Statements to Enhance Course Design and Improve Student Outcomes,” and, “Connecting Faculty and Student (Re)Engagement with Relationship-Rich Education.”

Presenters represented the Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice, the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship, the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, the Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences, the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, as  well as the Writing and Communication Center and the Learning and Educational Center. The conference also included two highly engaging presentations by Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs, Ron Chenail. According to conference organizer Marti Snyder, Ph.D., “Opportunities such as this year’s virtual conference facilitate sharing of teaching and learning best practices across NSU. We were thrilled to have 250 registered attendees representing all NSU colleges and many offices. We are grateful to our attendees, presenters, LEC staff, and the LEC Advisory Council for their contributions to this successful event.”

Congratulations to the Learning and Educational Center for organizing and hosting the 2022 Teaching and Learning Conference!    To watch the video recordings of the conference presentations, please visit the conference playlist here. You can also visit the Learning and Educational Center’s website here.

Posted 12/11/22

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