First cohort of World Campus D.Ed. program welcomed to campus for summer summit

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — During the week of July 29 through Aug. 2, the collaborative Penn State World Campus and College of Education Doctor of Education (D.Ed.) program’s students were welcomed to the University Park campus for a week to not only meet and interact with their D.Ed. peers but be immersed in the one-of-a-kind Penn State experience.

“Even though the students in our World Campus/College of Education Doctor of Education program are already fully Penn Staters, the opportunity to bring them to our wonderful campus and allow them to meet one another and our world-class faculty makes their experience that much greater,” said Joe Polizzi, director of the World Campus D.Ed. program.

The World Campus D.Ed. program is a 37-plus credit, inquiry-intensive and practically oriented interdisciplinary degree program for professions in the education, counseling, government and human services sectors. Offered in flexible, asynchronous format, this degree offers the opportunity for students to engage in advanced research-oriented professional learning and practical application beyond the master’s degree. The program draws from several disciplines and allows students to customize their curriculum by choosing from a range of emphasis areas, including adult education; organization development and change; higher education; learning, design and technology; educational leadership; and special education.

Throughout the week, the D.Ed. students were involved in academic workshops, social activities and cultural events including a tour of the College of Education and the University Park campus, presentations by several members of the college’s faculty on topics ranging from artificial intelligence (AI) in schools, academic bullying, the access and use of the world-class Pattee and Paterno Libraries' resources and participation in several group discussions and activities designed to develop their research skills and capstone projects.

There were also opportunities to visit Penn State landmarks such as the Arboretum at Penn State, Berkey Creamery and new Palmer Museum of Art as well as take in a State College Spikes baseball game.

“The academic portion of our week obviously took the bulk of our time, but it was very important to allow our World Campus students an opportunity to experience all that Penn State as a university has to offer,” Polizzi said. “By engaging in enrichment and social activities, it will hopefully only further bond these students to each other and make them feel even more like the vital part of Penn State they are. We greatly enjoyed having them visit us and look forward to the opportunity to host our next cohort next summer.”

On Monday, the day was highlighted by a leadership session including representatives from each of the four College of Education departments.

On Tuesday morning, the students visited the Pattee Library for a discussion led by Distinguished Librarian Elisa Stern Cahoy on exploring innovative search strategies for capstone projects. In the afternoon, it was Katherine Bode-Lang, director of education and outreach program in the Penn State Office for Research Protections presenting a lecture on research ethics and responsible conduct of research.

A trio of speakers addressed the group on Wednesday as College of Education Associate Dean for Access, Equity and Inclusion Leah Hollis discussed academic bullying, followed by afternoon presentations from H.L. Batschelet Chair of Education Gerald LeTendre on global perspectives of artificial intelligence in schools and Professor of Education in Learning, Design and Technology Heather Zimmerman on place-based learning processes.

College of Education Associate Dean for Undergraduate and Graduate Studies Rayne Sperling gave a Thursday morning presentation on research tools and implementation before the week culminated on Friday with a talk by Penn State World Campus Associate Vice Provost Karen Pollack, who discussed 25 years of World Campus student success.

“Each and every one of our speakers and presenters were engaging and demonstrated that no matter how a student receives an education at Penn State, everything our faculty has to offer is readily available to all students,” Polizzi said. “Our rigorous and competitive acceptance process means those who earn a D.Ed. through our World Campus will be among the very best and most qualified individuals their chosen career fields have to offer.”

For more information about the program, visit the World Campus D.Ed. program website.