Spectrum - Volume 20 Issue 10 October 30, 1997 - Teaching programs honored at Excellence in Education Conference

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Teaching programs honored at Excellence in Education Conference

By Sandy Broughton

Spectrum Volume 20 Issue 10 - October 30, 1997

Wayne Worner, retired interim dean of the College of Education at Virginia Tech, and most recently Quillen chair of excellence in teaching and learning at East Tennessee State University, will be keynote speaker for the 14th annual Excellence in Education Conference at Virginia Tech, November 6 and 7.
Worner's address, "Virginia Education: a 25-Year Retrospective," will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6 in the Donaldson Brown Hotel and Conference Center auditorium. The public is invited to attend, free of charge. Presentation of the award-winning programs will take place from 9 a.m. to noon Friday, Nov. 7 in Donaldson Brown. Reservations for the awards luncheon can be made through the Donaldson Brown Center.
Worner joined the Virginia Tech faculty in 1971. A former school superintendent, he has researched the role of school leaders, advised school superintendents and state agencies on administration issues, and oversaw a major project funded by the Danforth Foundation to prepare principals for the 21st century.
During his 25 years at Tech he served as director of the Division of Administrative and Educational Services, director of the Division of Curriculum and Instruction, special assistant to the dean, acting dean, and interim dean. Upon his retirement from Virginia Tech, he was appointed Quillen chair at East Tennessee State University, a position he held for one year. He maintains his ties to the College of Human Resources and Education as chair of the Board of Directors for the Institute for Connecting Science Research to the Classroom.
Since its inception in 1983, the Excellence in Education Awards Conference has recognized innovative approaches to teaching and learning in Virginia's public schools and community colleges. The Awards Conference, presented annually by the College of Human Resources and Education at Virginia Tech, has become a forum in which public-school educators from throughout Virginia gather to present ideas and exchange information with Tech professors. This year, it is held in conjunction with Virginia Tech's 125th Anniversary Celebration. The conference provides recognition for educators and strengthens the partnership between Virginia Tech and public schools.
Selection of award winners is highly competitive. This year, 134 programs competed. Twelve award winners and 19 certificate-of-recognition recipients were chosen. Among this year's award winners is the English Department at Virginia Tech for "Partners in Literacy," by faculty member Nancy Metz. The project is a partnership between a second-grade classroom and a college-level composition class that uses the Internet to create reciprocal teaching and learning relationships.
For the third year, the Excellence in Education conference will include the World of Work awards, presented by the Blue Ridge Training and Education Council in recognition of teachers with an exceptional ability to create an educational experience that uses real-world applications.
Entrants are judged on the integration of academic, technical, and career education in preparing students for the workforce and enhancing the education and economic-development potential of the Blue Ridge Region of Virginia. Seven Virginia public-school educators will be presented awards.
For more information, call the College of Human Resources and Education at 1-5056.