U-M experts available on back to school issues

ANN ARBOR—As students get ready to head back to the classroom, a host of education-related issues will again be high on the agenda. The University of Michigan has several experts in various disciplines available to discuss the current hot topics in education, including:

Hand-held computers in K-12, technology in education: Elliott Soloway, a U-M professor of electrical engineering and computer science with appointments in engineering and the School of Education, researches the use of technology in education and the development of software that better serves learners and is principal investigator for the Center for Learning Technologies in Urban Schools. He can be reached at (734) 936-1562 or email at soloway@umich.edu

The achievement gap and education issues for urban students: Percy Bates, a professor in the School of Education and director of Programs for Education Opportunity, is an expert in minority education issues and public school desegregation issues related to equity in the areas of race, gender and national origin. He has also done research on the recruitment of minorities and women in the workplace and effective retention plans. He can be reached at (734) 763-9910 or (734) 665-8341 or email at pbates@umich.edu

Academic red-shirting, factors predicting school readiness, early literacy: Frederick Morrison, a professor in psychology and education at U-M, is one of the nation’s top experts on early childhood readiness for school including reading disabilities and early development issues. He is also a senior research scientist for U-M’s Center for Human Growth and Development. He can be reached at (734) 763-2214 or email at fjmorris@umich.edu

On-campus mental health: Carol Mowbray, a professor in the School of Social Work and director of the school’s National Institute of Mental Health research center, is available to discuss on-campus mental health issues. To appropriately meet the needs of students with mental illness, academic institutions and mental health programs need to form collaborations, where they clearly spell out who will do what, and not shirk the necessary responsibilities or pretend that the problem simply isn’t there, said Mowbray. She can be reached at (734) 763-6578 or cmowbray@umich.edu

Writing instruction, literacy, teacher education: Anne Ruggles Gere, a professor of education and English, is one of the nation’s foremost scholars on literacy and the art of writing. She’s also focused on the mismatch between populations in teacher education and those in public schools. She can be reached at (734) 647-1259 or email her at argere@umich.edu. or jwadley@umich.edu

soloway@umich.edu

pbates@umich.edu

fjmorris@umich.edu

cmowbray@umich.edu

argere@umich.edu

jwadley@umich.edu