How does a professional educator go from kindergarten teacher to College Professor of the Year?
Professor of Education Dr. Debra Dyer will share that journey, what she learned along the way, and lessons Keuka College students can take from her experience when she delivers the College’s 2019-20 Professor of the Year Lecture on Tuesday, Sept. 29, during Wolf Pause (12:30-1:30 p.m.).
Dr. Dyer’s selection as Keuka College’s 2019-20 Professor of the Year was announced last month during Community Day. The lecture, traditionally a centerpiece of the annual Academic Convocation, is being showcased this year as a special stand-alone event.
During her virtual presentation via Zoom (see link below), Dr. Dyer will share how lessons she learned early in life have made her who she is today, and how those lessons are demonstrated at Keuka College.
An active Early Childhood Education advocate and scholar, Dr. Dyer has been instrumental in developing and maintaining the College’s strong Early Childhood program since her arrival on the College campus in 2006.
To her students, Dr. Dyer is known as a tough—but fair—instructor who sets high expectations. She has also conducted extensive research on exemplary early childhood approaches to learning across the globe, particularly in Reggio Emilia, Italy. She was able to spend time in Reggio Emilia during a sabbatical in the Spring of 2015, where she observed and collected data in Infant, Toddler, and Pre-School settings in that region’s globally-renowned methodology to Early Childhood Education. She brought back what she learned to enrich and enhance her own students’ approach to Early Childhood Education.
On campus, she has served on the Faculty Development Committee and Faculty Council, and she has worked with the National Association of the Education of Young Children to develop a pathway for Keuka College students to earn the Infant/Toddler Credential.
In addition, Dr. Dyer has attended many professional conferences coast to coast, both as a participant and presenter. She has published an Early Childhood textbook, now in its second edition, that’s used in colleges and universities across the country. She has also served as a consultant for a Rochester-area school district as it worked to re-imagine its early childhood curriculum.
