Ebert Receives Teaching Excellence Award

Hartsville, S.C. — Coker College education professor Edward S. Ebert II has received the 2007 Excellence in Teaching Award from South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities, Inc. (SCICU).

The award is given to one faculty member at each of the 20 SCICU member institutions who demonstrates the highest standards in teaching methods and encourages students to strive for excellence. Award winners, who were honored at a banquet recently in Columbia, receive a certificate and a $3,000 professional development grant.

Ebert, who joined the Coker College faculty in 1991, holds a Ph.D. in the psychological foundations of education and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of South Carolina. He teaches courses in educational psychology, elementary science methods, child development, classroom management, assessment, and creative problem solving.

For eight years prior to pursuing his doctorate, Ebert was a classroom teacher with the Texas City Independent School District. He has worked extensively with college students and classroom teachers on the study of creative thinking as it applies to cognitive processing and its application to the classroom setting.

Ebert  is a member of the South Carolina Science Council, National Science Teachers Association, Association for Educators of Teachers of Science, and the International Organization for Science and Technology Education. He and his wife, Dr. Christine Ebert, associate provost at the University of South Carolina, collaborate on projects involving science education and creative thinking.  Their book, “The Inventive Mind in Science,” a resource book for teachers, was released in 1998. 

In 2000, the Eberts and Dr. Michael Bentley of the University of Tennessee authored “The Natural Investigator: A Constructivist Approach to the Teaching of Elementary Science,” a science methods textbook published by Wadsworth. A revised edition was published earlier this year by Corwin Press. 

Ebert’s newest textbook, “School: An Introduction to Education,” was published this year as well by Wadsworth/Thomson. He is also completing work on “Culture X Goes to School” for Scarecrow Education Publishers.

SCICU was established in 1953 to promote the cause of independent higher education in South Carolina. Today, SCICU comprises 20 private institutions located throughout the state in pastoral communities, small towns, and urban settings. These colleges and universities serve the needs of more than 32,500 students. 

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May 21, 2007