Office of Learning
The Office of Learning oversees all undergraduate education in the College of Education as well as the initial teacher licensure programs and advanced educator licensure programs housed in, or affiliated with, the College of Education, including online programs.
About
About the Office
The Office of Learning is responsible for the coordination of teacher education at Purdue, which is distributed across six colleges: Agriculture, Education, Health and Human Sciences, Liberal Arts, Purdue Polytechnic Institute, and Science. Essentially, the Office orchestrates the intersections of student academic support services such as advising and recruiting; clinical field experiences; program revision and development; state and national accreditation; and licensure for Purdue’s 17 undergraduate and five graduate educator preparation programs.
From the Associate Dean for Learning
There is no sugarcoating the fact that we live in challenging times; sociopolitical tensions are fracturing a planet figuratively and literally on fire, which inevitably affects the wellbeing of our Purdue students as well as their current and future P-12 students. I know it is challenging to hold on to hope in such a precarious climate (socially and ecologically speaking). However, I entreat you to consider that hope can be more than a thing that passively gets held. Rather, if we conceptualize hope as a verb–a deliberative action taken among people in relationship, working toward a common goal–it helps our collective effort to fight the good fight in serving our schools and communities. We in the College of Education firmly believe public education can and must play a key role in bettering our society for everyone. Along with Heather McGhee (2021)*, I do not accept the inevitability of the zero-sum game: the notion that, in order for some folks to benefit, other folks will have to give something up. As John F. Kennedy said in his elegant metaphor for economic prosperity: “A rising tide lifts all boats.” To that end, I want you to know that this Office sees you and supports your efforts to protect the future of our young people through education, offering you the same compassion and ethic of care we hope you will provide your students.
Please know that I have an open-door policy; I welcome productive dialogue on anything and everything related to teaching and learning in the field of educator preparation. Contact Julie Correll (see above) to make an in-person or virtual appointment.
Tara Star Johnson
Associate Dean for Learning
*McGhee, H. (2021). The sum of us: What racism costs everyone and how we can prosper together. Random House.
Each time [someone] stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, [they] send forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.
Robert F. Kennedy sr.
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