Teachers in the College of Education are doing homework during their lunch breaks.
Jayne Fleener, the new dean of the College of Education, has invited her entire faculty to attend brown-bag lunches to observe faculty research presentations. And the attendance is growing with each meeting.
Faculty members and graduate students meet about once a month to present research and ideas they may have on how to improve the college.
“Everyone has to eat, and these lunches are a great opportunity for faculty members to share their work,” said Kelly McFatter, assistant chair of curriculum and instruction for the College of Education.
Dusty Ballew, a mathematics major with a concentration in secondary education, said he thinks these lunchtime dialogues will be a benefit to students.
He quotes the discussions will help students in turn because the teachers will be able to see the pros from different teaching styles and be able to discard some of the cons that they see as teachers.
Fleener said she views building a community within the college as a primary concern.
“A strong working community increases the potential for collaboration among faculty members as the conversation reveals similarities between researchers’ work,” Fleener said.
She said she sees research as a valuable piece of the College of Education’s plan to raise its standards as the entire University strives for national excellence.
“People in the United States are beginning to realize that the process of education is exceedingly complex,” she said. “The old ‘quick fixes’ haven’t worked, and we now realize that in order to increase the quality of education, everyone needs to be involved in working towards that goal,” said Fleener.
Another area that Dr. Fleener hopes to address is furthering diversity within the college.
“We haven’t done as good a job as we could have in promoting diversity among students as well as the faculty. We also need to make sure that we have a comfortable environment for that diversity,” said Fleener.
Despite the challenges her new position has brought her, Fleener said she is excited to be at the University, and the faculty is excited to have her as well.
“She’s a true scholar and not just a bureaucrat,” William Pinar, a professor in the College of Education and a former member of the search committee to find a new dean for the college, said. “Her focus on math and science will reinforce the goals of the College of Education and the Flagship Agenda.”
“There is a lot of activity going on at LSU right now. Part of my job is to encourage that activity and see that it is allowed to grow. These brown-bag lunches are one way I hope to do that,” Fleener said.