Teacher Education
News & Events
School of Education, Health, and Society
Miami grad is 'Student Teacher of the Year'
3/19/09
The Ohio Association of Teacher Educators has named Curtis Bradshaw, a December 2008 Miami University graduate, Ohio’s 2008 Outstanding Student Teacher.
“This is an exceptional honor not just for Curtis, but for Miami,” said Carine Feyten, dean of the School of Education, Health and Society. “Seeing our talented students excel is always gratifying.”
Bradshaw, who majored in middle childhood language arts and social studies education, student taught sixth grade in his hometown at Clinton-Massie Middle School with language arts teacher Michelle Howell and social studies teacher Betsy Wellman.
His Miami coursework and field experiences in five diverse schools, which ranged from urban to rural, helped him feel prepared and comfortable student teaching. "I not only had a broad theoretical background in education entering student teaching, but I also entered my internship with a great deal of practical ideas for lessons plans and curriculum development, “ he said.
Bradshaw credits the advising he received at Miami with helping him graduate in three-and-a-half years. He currently is substitute teaching in Clinton County and is applying for a full-time position this fall at the elementary or middle school level.
“Curtis is a natural in the classroom,” said Ellen Hill, who supervises the placement of about 400 Miami student teachers annually. She noted that his evaluations from professors and cooperating teachers were exceptional.
For example, Tom Misco, assistant professor of teacher education, said Bradshaw “understands how to structure learning experiences that allow students to understand content in fun and meaningful ways” and that his lessons plans “demonstrated an exquisite flair for engaging students, to be sure, but also for ensuring mastery of state and local curriculum objectives.” “I fully expect him to operate as a seasoned teacher during his first year in the profession,” wrote Misco in his nomination letter.
Bradshaw distinguished himself academically at Miami, graduating summa cum laude.
A 2005 graduate of Clinton-Massie High School, he is the son of Ed and Bunny Bradshaw of Wilmington.
In a visit to discuss the importance of strengthening the teaching profession, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland met with students and faculty from Miami’s School of Education, Health and Society (EHS) May 27.
Ensuring high-quality educators in every classroom is a critical part of the governor’s Education Reform Plan.
Chris Rose, a senior in integrated mathematics education, and Todd Edwards, assistant professor of teacher education, demonstrated an interaction with Madeira High School math teacher Steve Phelps. They used two free software programs, Skype and GeoGebra, to engage high schoolers in critiquing and improving a geometry problem that student teachers had been using – less successfully – in the classroom.
The opportunity via technology to receive immediate feedback is invaluable, Rose told the governor, and is a vital way to link teacher candidates to today’s classrooms.
EHS Dean Carine Feyten provided the governor with background on the school’s name change of two years ago to better reflect the influence of a student’s family life and community on how s/he learns.
Robert Hendricks, Tierionna Morris and Catherine Wolfe, education students in the school’s Urban Cohort Initiative, told Strickland how how important they feel it is to teach in city schools and to apply the holistic teaching approach of Education, Health and Society to urban environments.
Faculty from Miami and Talawanda schools shared other examples of employing technology and reaching students from different cultural backgrounds and languages.
Miami is in the second year of a five-year U.S. Department of Education grant to create a state model for preparing teachers to educate students in all subjects via an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program.
The governor praised the Miami educators and students for having the courage to “think differently” and to work toward reform instead of conforming. “We’re in danger (in this country) of squeezing out what makes our education great: creativity and innovation.”
Strickland, who last visited Miami in fall 2007, thanked the students for pursuing education and especially for planning to teach in urban schools. “What strikes me about students I meet at Miami is their high degree of self-confidence and maturity,” he said.