Author: Mark McGowan

‘Replace judgment with curiosity’

Educate Global travelers return to United States with eyes open to power of classroom diversity

  • December 4, 2017
After 14 hours in the air, there was obviously no need to tell Marcus Lewis that he wasn’t in DeKalb anymore. Yet his first steps off the plane into a...

Read more

Breaking the Silence

Suicide ‘survivors,’ counselors discuss uncomfortable subject, stigma

  • October 17, 2017
For Adam Carter, the moment came some 15 years ago in the preschool classroom where he taught. Three-year-old Malcolm would not – or perhaps could not – sleep during the...

Read more

A walk in the woods

NIU’s Project SLIDE couples lessons in biodiversity with preparation for teaching diverse learners

  • July 20, 2017
A chance to explore and learn in a natural, outdoor setting is uncommon for most fifth-graders at Golfview Elementary School in Carpentersville. But students and faculty from the NIU College...

Read more

A passport to transformation

Educate Global provides ‘world of opportunity’ for NIU students flying to teach in China, Taiwan

  • June 26, 2017
Thirty-seven NIU College of Education students are traveling to teach in Asia this summer, a “business trip” guaranteed to enrich and shape their professional lives in amazing ways. Part of...

Read more

Bailey Fisch (left), Special Education major, and Nycol Durham (right), Early Childhood Education major

Lone Star lessons

Educate U.S. travelers celebrate another successful trip to Texas

  • June 22, 2017
One by one, the names of Farias Early Childhood Center students are called as the morning attendance is taken. When there is no response – no “Here!” or “¡Aquí!”– a...

Read more

Fighting back against injustice

K-12 teachers to explore equity at Social Justice Summer Camp

  • June 5, 2017
Question: Can K-12 teachers without a deep understanding of social justice concerns effectively engage and enlighten their students on those topics? Joseph Flynn, James Cohen and Mike Manderino would say...

Read more

‘Who is going to make that breakthrough today?’

NIU alumna, grad student Ashley Van Sickle honored for excellence in teaching

  • April 20, 2017
Ashley Van Sickle loves foreign languages and cultures. While earning her NIU bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, she pursued a minor in Spanish. Her licensure endorsements include English as a...

Read more

Five ways to make sure tech benefits your kids

How can parents capitalize on the lure of phones and tablets?

  • March 27, 2017
Parents can’t help but worry. Phones, tablets and apps galore are competing for the undivided attention of their children and teens – and chances probably seem good to many moms...

Read more

NIU Physical Education major Brandon Palmer helps fifth-grader Yvonne Chanda learn how to start a fire.

Taking it outside

P.E. majors flock to Lorado Taft for intense hands-on experience in teaching outdoor education

  • March 20, 2017
Bright sun peeked through mist and bare trees just after 10 a.m. on a late February day as the first hints of record warmth boldly unleashed an early spring. For...

Read more