Student Spotlights
2023 WINNER OF THE INAUGurAL DEAN’S PRIZE!
Kelsey Romney, Education Honors Student (class of 2023), was one of three Honors students to have received the inaugural Dean’s Prize for outstanding honors capstone theses/projects at a virtual ceremony held Thursday, June 22, 2023. Students were nominated by their honors program directors for exemplary research, and each received a $500 prize.
Kelsey’s capstone thesis studied racial and gender diversity in children’s books. She analyzed works on the Common Core Text Exemplar List, a list of recommended books for schools to use in states that have implemented the Common Core State Standards. Her committee members included Dr. Paula Pilonieta and Dr. Dr. Stephen Hancock. Read more about her award in the Niner Insider.
2022 UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH CONFERENCE WINNERS!
Congratulations to our Education Honors students who won awards at the conference for their research!
Goeun Grace Park: Honors Award in Interdisciplinary Studies
Spencer Reece: Education and Communication Oral Presentation Award
Korinne Talley: Global Research Award
HAYLEY MCNEILL – EDUCATION HONORS PROGRAM 2020
Accolades:
- Kappa Delta Pi’s 2021 National First Year Teacher of the Year
- UNC Charlotte’s 2020 Student Teacher of the Year
- Guest Speaker for EDUC 3789
- 2020 Commencement speaker
- NASA Space Grant Teacher Scholar
- Kappa Delta Phi Honor Society in Education
- Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society
- 2019 Student Marshal
Summary:
During my time as a CATO College of Education honors student at UNC Charlotte, I was privileged with the opportunity to develop and implement my own research project. Throughout my courses at UNC Charlotte, I noticed that I developed a strong passion for K-2 students, as well as academically gifted students in mathematics. With the help of Dr. Drew Polly and Dr. Cindy Gilson, I was able to research two questions:
1) What are K-2 teachers’ perceptions of their students’ mathematical self-efficacy between students needing more rigorous tasks and their classmates?
2) How do K-2 teachers differentiate their instruction to meet advanced and non-advanced students’ mathematical needs?
My research stemmed from a strong interest in this topic as many K-2 students are not identified as gifted until the 3rd grade. My research found that many teachers believe that their advanced students portray a higher self-efficacy in mathematics versus non-advanced students. In addition, the research showed that the majority of teachers utilize cooperative learning and place their students in groups based on ability.
Participating in the honors program at UNC Charlotte provided more rigorous coursework, additional support, research experience, and ultimately helped me achieve my goals. I am currently in UNC Charlotte’s M.Ed program in Elementary Education with a concentration in AIG. I am also living my dream of teaching 2nd grade at Blythe Elementary!