Final exams for autumn semester will officially end on December 12th and the winter break will start. We would like to give our warmest congratulations for those graduating during autumn commencement on December 16th. We wish you and those you love all the good fortunes of life, health, happiness and peace throughout the New Year.
We will see again when the spring semester starts on January 7, 2013.
Happy Holidays!
Dr. David Stein, Associate Professor, Workforce Development and Education and Dr. Constance Wanstreet, Adjunct Assistant Professor, College of Education and Human Ecology received the 2012 Shauna Schullo Best Distance Teaching Practices Award for their Information Session Presentation, “e-Coaching and Feedback Practices to Promote Higher Order Thinking Online” at the Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning, this past August, in Madison, Wisconsin.
This award is named for the late distance educator, Dr. Shauna Schullo. The award was instituted to recognize an Information Session presented whose session contributed significantly to the practice of distance education. Award recipients are determined by session attendee evaluations, facilitator evaluations, proposal review ratings and a proceedings paper.
As recipients of this award, Dr. Stein and Dr. Wanstreet will receive complimentary registration to the Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning (for the year following their presentation) and will be invited to present at the conference.
During the months of July and August 2012, I had the privilege of studying abroad in London, England at the University of Greenwich. The program I was a part of was a literature program in which I and nineteen other Ohio State students studied English literature dating from the Shakespearean Era to present day. Over the course of the six weeks I spent abroad, our group studied under six professors from the University of Greenwich who also led us on excursions throughout the city to notable venues such as London Bridge, Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, the British Museum, and the British Library.
As a fourth year student studying Corporate Training and Development within the college of Education and Human Ecology at OSU, many of the students who joined me in the program often wondered how it was relevant to my studies as the group consisted primarily of English majors. Surprisingly, I found my time abroad to be valuable in developing my skills as a potential prospect working within a business setting.
As we all know London hosted the 2012 Summer Olympics, which happened to be taking place during the time I was there. Over the years, London has established itself as a cultural melting pot as seen through the diverse populace brought in through industry and tourism. Being in London during the Olympics amplified the diversity of the city tenfold as people from all over the world came to root on the athletes representing their nations. Watching the Opening Ceremonies in particular really gave me a sense of the love people have for their country as fans from all over the world cheered equally as loud regardless of whether their nation had five representatives or five hundred.
Throughout my time as a Corporate Training and Development student here at OSU, many of the courses I have taken have stressed the importance of celebrating diversity and creating an inclusive environment in the workplace. Being in London opened my eyes to a part of the world I had never experienced and allowed me to embrace a way of life outside of the United States. It was incredible how different societal norms are in a country that many would probably think is similar to America. I feel as if now more than ever I am ready to take on any challenges that may come my way regarding future careers and working with people from different backgrounds. America itself is a melting pot of countless numbers of people coming from different ethnicities. I feel as if my time abroad really developed my ability to understand and work with people different from myself and enhanced my urge to continue traveling and see more of the vast world we live in.
Please RSVP to wde@ehe.osu.edu by 5 pm on 5.30.2012 and let us know if you plan to attend the 2012 WDE Student Forum! It will be held on Thursday, June 7th from 4 pm to 8 pm in 412 PAES Bldg.
We will have several great student presentations, hear from our guest speaker and WDE alumnus, Dr. Susan Johnston and share a meal together! We look forward to seeing you on June 7th!
Congratulations Dr. David Stein and Dr. Connie Wanstreet! They have been selected to receive the Shauna Schullo Best Distance Teaching Practices Award for their 2011 Information Session Presentation, “e-Coaching and feedback practices to promote higher order thinking online” at the Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning.
The award will be announced and presented to them this August at the 28th Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning in Madison, Wisconsin.
The S. Schullo Best Distance Teaching Practices Award was instituted to recognize an Information Session presenter whose session contributed significantly to the practice of distance education, especially in the areas of:
The Shauna Schullo Best Distance Teaching Practices Award was created in memory of our colleague, known for her collegiality and respected for her commitment to quality distance teaching. We are pleased and proud to present the award to, David and Connie, as dedicated professionals who generously share her expertise, passion, and high standards for distance teaching.
Shu-Chen Chiang graduated with a Ph.D in Workforce Development and Education on March 18, 2012.
After my graduate school training in education, I was a middle school teacher for five years. Although I got along well with students, I came to realize that I wanted to fulfill myself by doing something different. Returning to school for a Ph.D. was a big change in my life and I am glad that I made it finally!
Due to my background and training, I am extremely interested in youth school-to work transition. My big question was “What is the value of college education? Moreover, what is the connection between college education and job opportunity? Given today’s workforce situation this question was very intriguing to me.
To further expand this line of inquiry, I applied event history analysis in my dissertation and learned that the third year is a threshold year both for remediated and non-remediated college students. Given that, schools can develop timely strategies to help students success.
With the completion of my doctoral degree, I was offered a post-doctoral research position with the Center of Educational Policy and Evaluation at National Taiwan Normal University. I plan to be a post-doc researcher for two years to enrich my research skills, preparing me to move forward to a tenure track faculty position. Currently my research assignment includes an investigation of the labor market outcomes of higher education graduates. I am very excited as this is a good fit with my research interests!
I am indebted to the training by our department, Workforce Development and Education (WDE), especially the mentoring by Dr. Hawley and Dr. Stein. So long, all my friends in WDE, hope to meet you at a conference or see you in somewhere very soon!
This quarter WDE will host a series of Community Building Activities which will allow our students, faculty and alumni to interact in a variety of venues. These will include a book discussion forum, research presentations and mix and mingles. We hope that you will take this opportunity to engage in scholarly conversation and interact with your peers outside of the classroom!
Book Discussion and Review
Our book for the quarter is How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching by Susan Ambrose, Michael W. Bridges, Michele DiPietro, Marsha C. Lovett and Marie K. Norman.
We have ordered copies of this book which will be available on a first come first serve basis to WDE graduate students.
We will meet twice during the quarter to discuss the book. To participate please email smunn@ehe.osu.edu by Wednesday March 28, 2012. The discussion schedule will be determined once the group is formed. In your email, please also include if you would prefer a hard copy or kindle version of the book.
Everyone is welcome to participate!!! If you would like to receive credit to participate in the book discussions it is recommended that you sign up for EDU PAES 914.03 (Course # 27997).
WDE Research Presentations and Discussion
There will be at least two presentations by current WDE faculty and/or doctoral students regarding their current research. We will be announcing the presenters, topics and dates shortly.
Last quarter several great presentations were given 
by our newest WDE graduates including Dr. Shu-Chen Chiang (WI 2012 graduate), Dr. Mercedes Sanchez, Dr. Brian Wang and Dr. Charles Saunders (AU 2011 graduates). You can view copies of their presentations on the WDE website.
To participate, or if you have any questions/suggestions please contact Sunny Munn at smunn@ehe.osu.edu.
WDE is trying something new!
Welcome to the WDE Blog! In lieu of producing a quarterly (or not so quarterly) newsletter 
you can find information about WDE faculty, students, alumni and events on the WDE Blog as information becomes available. Blog posts will include a variety of categories to keep you informed.
Another option is to peruse the WDE Newsletter delivered straight to your in-box which summarizes the weeks most interesting content from the WDE Blog. Don’t worry – we won’t bog you down with emails! If nothing new and exciting happens in the WDE community then there will be no newsletter for that week!
If you are interested in past WDE Newsletters you can view them on the WDE Website.
Thank you in advance for visiting the WDE Blog and participating in our community! We want to hear from you!! If you have any questions, or have content to be posted to the WDE blog please email wde@ehe.osu.edu. Please include the title, written content, web links and any photos or media to be included in your post. Thanks again!
The WDE section head works with the faculty to manage the programs and interact with the director of the School of Physical Activity and Educational Services (PAES). This is a rotating position among the WDE faculty. Drs. Hawley, Stein and Zirkle have all held this position and now it is my turn. The section head monitors the promotion, recruitment and admission of graduate and undergraduate students into WDE, assures scheduling and staffing of all WDE courses, manages correspondence with students, colleagues and friends of WDE, and attends or arranges working sessions with faculty and administrators in PAES. The WDE faculties have some special challenges as we move courses and programs to semesters, and realign colleges and sections into departments.
Dr. Ruth Dohner in the classroom
My graduate study was at The Pennsylvania State University and I have been a professor at Ohio State for 33 years. When the College of Education and Human Ecology merged I moved the Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Education B.S., Post-baccalaureate, and Master’s degree programs from Human Ecology to join Career and Technical Education (CTE) in Workforce Development and Education. FCS is historically one of several career areas in CTE and in Ohio is organized together in the state system to establish effective secondary programs. The goal of FCS programs is to strengthen individuals and build strong families to nourish strong communities and members of the workforce.
At Ohio State Family and Consumer Sciences Education is a Bachelor’s of Education, post-baccalaureate (already have a B.S. degree and seeking a FCS teacher license), and a Master’s of Education in WDE which includes a FCS teacher license. The course work is a combination of general education, human ecology, education, and sequence of FCS teaching methods and field experiences. FCS ED provides scholarships for all the students each year they maintain the required academic and admission standards. Family and Consumer Sciences teachers are in demand in Ohio.
Dr. Ruth Dohner with her daughter Alexis and grandson Scottie
My recent academic work has been to develop standards for students in the Ohio Family and Consumer Science secondary programs. This includes inquiry projects to assist students to successfully transition at educational points from middle to high school and from high school to post-secondary education. My current work is to develop healthy food and lifestyle secondary courses and to prepare FCS teachers in educating middle and high school students to lead healthy and environmentally sustainable lives. A new course available during Maymester and summer semester is titled Toward Just, Healthy, and Secure Choices. This is a course to study environmentally sustainable, healthy food practice and is designed for FCS ED students and invites all students interested in designing a healthy lifestyle.