College of Education and Human Development

George Mason University was ranked as one of the nation’s top institutions for diversity, innovative learning and a campus atmosphere that allows its students to thrive, in U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 rankings, released Monday. For a second consecutive year, Mason is the top-ranked institution in Virginia for campus diversity and tied for 25th nationally. Mason also tied for 28th nationally for educational innovation and was one of only 96 national institutions listed as an “A+ School for B Students,” a category that identifies universities that create an atmosphere in which spirit and hard work fosters student success. Read more...

When the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture began planning its sports gallery, the first call museum director Lonnie Bunch made was to Dave Wiggins. Wiggins, a professor of sport history at George Mason University, is Bunch’s longtime friend. But he is also an acknowledged authority on the African American experience in American sport. Read more...

When the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture began planning its sports gallery, the first call museum director Lonnie Bunch made was to Dave Wiggins. Wiggins, a professor of sport history at George Mason University, is Bunch’s longtime friend. But he is also an acknowledged authority on the African American experience in American sport. Read more...

George Mason University’s Kate Dunn had just begun high school when she first realized that coaching football was what she was always meant to do. Her passion for the game runs deep. “I love the teamwork and the dedication that is required,” she said, “and that you never know everything. You can always get better.” Dunn joined a panel of accomplished women who coached men in sports during the “Breaking Gender Roles: Women Coaching Men” Symposium on April 18, hosted by Mason’s Division of Sport, Recreation and Tourism and the Center for Sport Management. Read more...

One of the College of Education and Human Development’s youngest programs has completed the accreditation process, providing further proof that the new classes are equipping students with the tools they need to succeed in the field of athletic training. The Master of Science in Athletic Training (MSAT) program at Mason, housed on the Science and Technology campus, recently received accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education, or CAATE. Read more...

The power of sport is what Jiordan Carter says she’ll remember most about being in South Korea, attending the Winter Olympic Games and volunteering for the Paralympics in PyeongChang, as part of George Mason University’s inaugural Olympic Study Abroad Program. “Being able to go to the Olympics was amazing,” said Carter, a junior sport management major. “I love that sports can bring people together from all walks of life. I wanted to be able to work in an industry that all people can relate to and enjoy.” Read more...

More than 20 adjunct faculty from colleges and disciplines across the university—as well as an equally diverse group of facilitators—met on March 5 to talk, share their visions, practice as educators, and begin to design a self-study teacher research project. After brief introductions by the facilitators and warm welcoming remarks by College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) Dean Mark Ginsberg and Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning (SCTL) Director Shelley Reid (sponsors of the project along with Faculty Affairs and Development in the Office of the Provost), participants formed critical friend teams to create and share the initial sketching of a personal-situated teaching inquiry to improve their students’ learning. Read more...

The 2018 Winter Olympics have officially begun in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and top athletes from around the world are currently competing in 15 events over more than two weeks. But there’s more than just sport at this worldwide mega event—there’s also diplomacy. Read more...

The Mason Arts Research Center does not have a physical structure at George Mason University. But its co-directors want to make it a highly visible hub of research into how arts participation affects child development. It will do so with a two-year, $150,000 renewable grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the vision of co-directors Thalia Goldstein, assistant professor of applied developmental psychology; Adam Winsler, professor of applied developmental psychology; and Kim Sheridan, associate professor of educational psychology. Read more...

As the scope of potential short- and long-term damage from brain injuries in football becomes clearer every day, the mad scramble is on to try to address the crisis, which threatens the very existence of the sport. And while the leading chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, research at Boston University has made the most headlines, two scientists at George Mason University have been working on a potentially groundbreaking diagnostic tool that could change the way we test for and treat brain injury across the sports world and beyond. Read more...