Six teachers from Ohio named as Scripps Communication Fellows

Ohio University’s Scripps College of Communication has named six PK-12 teachers in the state of Ohio to the Communication Fellows Program.

The Communication Fellows Program offers teachers with curriculum development in communication across PK-12 levels of instruction. Fellows receive graduate-level professional development credit, project support and generous stipends, while also taking part in networking opportunities.

“Our goal each year is to provide teachers with communication tools and skills that they can use in their classrooms and beyond to best help their students,” said Scripps College of Communication Dean Scott Titsworth. “This year’s cohort is once again filled with skilled and dedicated teachers, and I am looking forward to seeing all that the group accomplishes in the year ahead.”

Each year, the Fellows take part in a three-day residential program on Ohio University’s Athens Campus. This year, the residential program was held on July 9-11 and featured sessions focused on a wide range of subjects including information networking, digital camera production, podcasting, esports, virtual reality and Adobe Creative Cloud.

Selected fellows receive free tuition for a graduate-level online course, a $1,500 stipend and a $1,000 classroom stipend. College faculty members serve as mentors for the Fellows, supporting the teachers as they develop and complete their project proposals during the residential experience and throughout the year.

The 2024 Scripps Communication Fellows

• Bryce Culwell teaches at the Christian Life Academy in Jackson, Ohio. Culwell’s proposed project will focus on data visualization journals. From Culwell’s Communication Fellows application: “creating math journals to document data related to student grades, attendance, etc. Then utilizing data visualization software, students will transform the collected data into presentations.”
• Mehmet Celik teaches at the Horizon Science Academy in Cleveland, Ohio, and plans to focus on video editing, poster design, and newspaper creation. Celik’s proposal focuses on “senior students teaching them video editing, poster design, and newspaper creation skills to facilitate connections with colleges. Materials needed are a laptop with video editing software and graphic design software for post creation.”
• Deborah Housh, a teacher at the Dayton Regional STEM School, in Kettering, Ohio, proposed a project that will utilize digital media creation. Housh’s proposal will follow “best practices in design communication instruction to develop a project-based learning for the course in partnership with Dayton International Peace Museum (IPM). How can we propel the mission of the IPM and support our community through creation with motion graphics and design technologies.”
• Derek Henry teaches at River Valley High School in Bidwell, Ohio. Henry’s project will focus on publishing a school newspaper. “Capturing a story with a camera allows the experience to come back to the classroom, sharing through photos and journaling."
• Jade McDaniel teaches high school students at Dayton Regional STEM School in Kettering, Ohio. McDaniel’s project will focus on technical reading, writing, and chemistry. “Using KiwiCo. Crates, a type of STEAM-based project kit, as models, high school students will create a lab that helps sixth graders understand measurement concepts. Junior students will design instruction booklets utilizing different software programs and learn how to conduct useability tests to build their own ‘lab crates’.”
• Katlyn DeLong teaches at Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School in Dayton, Ohio. DeLong’s project proposal includes starting “a journalism class for grades 9-12 that teaches students how to be critical thinkers, effective writers, cooperative teammates, and creative designers. The end goal is to create an online newspaper/journal with a biweekly publication, instead of the current monthly publication.”

For more information on the program, please see the Scripps Communication Fellows website.