Begeske named INCEC 2024 Outstanding Professor of the Year
The Indiana Council for Exceptional Children (INCEC) selected Dr. Jasmine Begeske to be its 2024 Outstanding Professor of the Year.
Begeske, a clinical assistant professor of special education in the College’s Department of Educational Studies, is a former P-12 special education and art education teacher. She is a teacher educator, artist, and researcher who focuses on inclusive, equitable, and accessible opportunities in education. Her research centers on program evaluation measuring access and accessibility to arts education for vulnerable populations and developing and individualizing creative assistive technology solutions for improved accessibility to learning. Her artistic practice includes experimental printmaking and participatory arts projects that include individuals with disabilities as makers.
“Within her courses, Dr. Begeske is actively working to provide opportunities for pre-service teachers at Purdue to develop positive, collaborative relationships with the students, families, and faculty within the classrooms and schools in their field experiences to work towards greater outcomes for their students,” said colleague Jennifer Smith, who nominated Begeske for the award. “One way this is done is through targeted assignments within her courses that ask students to participate in non-academic activities to recognize the diversity of students and families and create positive partnerships across all stakeholders (i.e., students, families, greater school community). Results from data collected indicate positive responses from the pre-service teachers. These results have been presented at conferences and very well-received as an assignment that other institutions/instructors are interested in incorporating into their own programs/courses.”
Along with Smith, in 2021 Begeske co-founded the Center for Research and Equipment for Assistive Technology in Education (CREATE), a College of Education makerspace for assistive technology creation and instruction. INCEC selected Smith as the 2023 Outstanding Professor of the Year.
INCEC celebrated its award recipients on March 6 and presented Begeske with her award. The recipient of this award must be a professor who (1) has demonstrated his/her knowledge, skill, and sensitivity in teaching university students about persons with disabilities; (2) often goes above and beyond what is normally expected in his/her profession; and (3) serves as a role model and inspiration to his/her students and colleagues.
The Indiana Council for Exceptional Children is a subchapter of the Council for Exceptional Children and recognizes leaders in the field of special education.
Source: Jasmine Begeske, begeske@purdue.edu