Spectrum - Volume 18 Issue 10 October 26, 1995 - Education conference November 1 & 2

A non-profit publication of the Office of the University Relations of Virginia Tech,
including The Conductor , a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year

Education conference November 1 & 2

By Sandy Broughton

Spectrum Volume 18 Issue 10 - October 26, 1995

Vito Perrone, director of the Teacher Education Programs at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and senior fellow at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, will deliver the keynote address for the 12th annual Excellence in Education Awards Conference, November 1 and 2 at Virginia Tech.

Perrone's address will be held Wednesday, Nov. 1, at 7:30 p.m. in the Donaldson Brown Hotel and Conference Center (DBHCC) auditorium. The public is invited to attend, free of charge. Presentation of award-winning programs and exhibits will be held from 8 a.m. to noon the following morning, Thursday, Nov. 2, in the DBHCC. Reservations for the awards luncheon can be made through the Donaldson Brown Center.

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 Education, has become a forum in which public-school educators from throughout the commonwealth gather to present ideas and exchange information with Tech education professors.

Selection of award winners is highly competitive. This year, 179 programs competed. Eleven award winners and 15 certificate-of-recognition recipients were chosen. They include a community-college writing project for senior-citizen students that focuses on their personal stories, memories, and histories; an interdisciplinary oceanography course that uses the Internet to connect elementary-school students to people sailing around the world; and a primary-school project that involves parents, students, and teachers in construction of home-made learning games.

Perrone began his career in education in 1956 as a public-school teacher. After completing a Ph.D. in history and education at Michigan State University, Perrone joined the faculty at Northern Michigan University, where he was dean of common learning and dean of graduate studies. He became dean of the New School of Behavioral Studies in Education at the University of North Dakota in 1968 and dean of the Center for Teaching and Learning in 1972, a position he held for 14 years, during which he was a visiting professor at Harvard University. From 1986 to 1988 he was vice president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. In 1988 he joined the Harvard faculty as director of teacher education and chair of Teaching, Curriculum, and Learning Environments while retaining a position as senior fellow at the Carnegie Foundation.

Perrone is the author of numerous books and articles on education. His latest book is A Letter to Teachers.

For more information, call the College of Education at 1-5056.