Unit: School of Teaching and Learning

Recognizing inclusivity in rural spaces in young adult literature: Dr. Michael Young serves as juror for the Whippoorwill Award  

A man stands holding a book in front of a presentation board.

The whippoorwill is a bird known for its distinct song in many remote spaces. The Whippoorwill Award shares this bird’s name to honor young adult and middle-grade literature that brings diversity, inclusion, and authentic stories of rural people and rural places to the pages. Dr. Michael Young (he/him), an assistant professor of elementary literacy education in the School of Teaching and Learning, is one of the jurors of the Whippoorwill Award.   

RSO spotlight: Meet the National Association for Education of Young Children (NAEYC) 

Six female college students sit at a long table holding up multi-colored homemade cards

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) student chapter at Illinois State University was established over 20 years ago as a collaborative effort with Heartland Community College. The primary objective is to provide professional development opportunities, fostering an environment where students can learn and grow.

Metcalf School partnership provides middle-level teacher candidates window into world of emerging adolescents 

College students and middle school students sit in small groups at tables playing games

Halle Modloff, Annalina Nelson, Brian Tondi ’21, Justina McGuinn, and their classmates are all part of Dr. Meghan Kessler’s course Introduction to Young Adolescent Development and Middle Level Schools. Kessler, an assistant professor of middle level education in the School of Teaching and Learning, has partnered with Mike Jones ’96, M.S.E. ’18, and Andy Goveia ’13, M.S. ’18, both teachers at Metcalf School, to provide her teacher candidates with an immersive and meaningful semester.