Meet the Coordinators

  "It is important that teachers know and care. Know about what they teach (content) and care very deeply about that knowledge and the children they are teaching (pedagogy). This content and pedagogical knowledge must be continually and consistently nurtured and strengthened throughout one's career."
— Francis (Skip) Fennell, PhD

 

Dr. Fennell earned his bachelor's degree from Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania and a master's from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania prior to receiving a PhD from The Pennsylvania State University. In 1997, Dr. Fennell was named an Alumni Fellow in Education, the highest award given by the university's alumni association. He offers experience as a classroom teacher, a principal, and a supervisor of instruction.

Widely published in articles and textbooks related to elementary and middle-grade mathematics education, Dr. Fennell has also authored chapters in yearbooks and resource books published by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. In addition, he has played key leadership roles with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the Research Council for Diagnostic/Prescriptive Mathematics, the Mathematical Sciences Education Board, the National Science Foundation, the Maryland Mathematics Commission, and the Association for Mathematics Teacher Educators. He is currently president-elect of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Dr. Fennell has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including Maryland's Outstanding Mathematics Educator (1990), McDaniel College's Professor of the Year (1997), and the CASE - Carnegie Foundation Professor of the Year (1997). He has also has been the principal investigator on grants from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, the Maryland Higher Education Commission, and the EXXON-Mobil Foundation.

ffennell@mcdaniel.edu

"Effective instruction starts before and continues long after the lesson is over. It is more than a classroom moment when the teacher interacts with the students. Instead, it involves preparation and planning of activities before a lesson, plus the student's assessment and the teacher and student's own reflective self-evaluation afterwards."

— Ochieng' K'Olewe, EdD

Dr. K'Olewe received a BS in Economics as well as a BBA in Marketing from Iowa State University. He subsequently earned his master's degree in Secondary Education from Northern Illinois University and his doctorate in Education from West Virginia University, focusing on Curriculum and Instruction in Social Studies.

Dr. K'Olewe has been both a classroom teacher and a supervisor of pre-service teachers. Prior to joining McDaniel College in 1997, he taught and supervised secondary education for over 8 years in Maryland and West Virginia schools.

His research interests include: school curriculum and identity in Africa, the history of school curriculum reform in Africa, and action research in the social studies classroom. Dr. K'Olewe is a member of the Middle States Council for the Social Studies, National Council of Social Studies, Comparative and International Education Society.

okolewe@mcdaniel.edu