CEHD student, alum, and assistant professor publish edited volume on classroom materials

June 14, 2022

Department of Curriculum and Instruction PhD student Darren LaScotte, alum Cory Mathieu (’21 PhD, current assistant professor at University of Wisconsin–Green Bay), and Assistant Professor Sam David recently published an edited volume with Springer. New Perspectives on Material Mediation in Language Learner Pedagogy is in print and available now.

The book includes novel and diverse perspectives on the role that materials play in language pedagogy. It demonstrates how pedagogical materials mediate classroom teaching and learning, a subject that has been up to now under-researched.

Readers will also find novel contributions offering a diversity of language teaching contexts, learner populations, and topics in the theory and practice of second and foreign language teaching.

The book is ideal for use as supplemental reading in a wide variety of applied linguistics, second/foreign language education, TESOL, and instructional course design courses.

Research and leadership program brings 14 Kazakhstan scholars to CEHD

June 14, 2022

CEHD International Initiatives is hosting 14 international visiting scholars from Kazakhstan as part of its first Bolashaq Scholars program focused on research and leadership. Scholars are coming from different regions and institutions of Kazakhstan, including Almaty, Nur-Sultan, Pavlodar, and Shymkent. The program is funded by the Bolashaq International Scholarship, a highly prestigious Fellowship in Kazakhstan supported by the government.

The six month program (June 1-November 30) is designed to provide a structured experience that supports scholars in building knowledge and capacity in research methods, innovative teaching approaches, and academic leadership. Designed as a cohort model with individualized experiences, each scholar is paired with one local faculty during their time on campus. As a group, they will participate in organized seminars, workshops, field experiences, and projects and will work one-on-one with the assigned faculty mentor during fall 2022.

Andrew Furco receives prestigious lifetime achievement service-learning award

May 3, 2022

Professor Andrew Furco is flanked by Amy Meuers, NYLC CEO, and Jim Kielsmeier, NYLC Founder. Photo by Bruce Silcox.

The National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC) recently presented its Alec Dickson Servant Leadership Award to Andrew Furco, a professor in the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development. Furco was honored at the council’s National Service-Learning Conference held April 20-22.

Furco, also a former associate vice president for public engagement at the University, was honored for his profound impact on the field of service-learning through widely recognized academic and policy leadership. Over the past 30 years, he has become one of the most sought-after service-learning and civic education scholars in the world, not only because of his generosity, but also for his open mind and heart for different cultures, as well as for his capacity to shed light and encourage service-learning models different from those in the United States.

He has published more than 80 works, including five books and more than 75 journal articles, book chapters, and monographs on the subject, including the books Service-Learning: The Essence of the Pedagogy, Service-Learning Through a Multidisciplinary Lens, and Service-Learning: How Does it Measure Up?

The Alec Dickson Servant Leadership Award has been presented by the NYLC annually since 1998. Recipients personify leadership, courage, creativity, and compassion in the field of service-learning. Past recipients of the award include Shirley Sagawa, national expert on children and youth policy and author of federal service-learning legislation; the late Senator Paul Wellstone, his activist wife, Sheila, and teacher/daughter, Marcia; Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, former Maryland Lieutenant Governor and Maryland Student Service Alliance founder; Carol Bellamy, former executive director, UNICEF; among others.

2022 Spring Assembly honors faculty and staff retirees

May 2, 2022

At the 2022 Spring Assembly, CEHD saluted those faculty and staff members who are leaving us. We thank them for their service and wish them well in the next chapter of their lives.

Judy Cook, a valued research staff member in the Institute of Child Development, will retire on April 29. She has devoted her 30-year career to two research studies at the University of Minnesota: The Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation, and the Minnesota Twin Registry. Judy holds much pride in being associated with both studies. She is thankful for having known many good people along the way, and has especially enjoyed seeing graduate students make their way through grad school and go on to have stellar careers. Judy plans to spend more time with family and friends in retirement, and travel–especially up to the north shore, one of her favorite places.

Mark Davison will retire as a professor in the Department of Educational Psychology Quantitative Methods of Education in May after 48 years at the University. His research interests include educational measurement, scaling (particularly multidimensional scaling) and the assessment of growth in educational settings. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and the American Educational Research Association, author of Multidimensional Scaling, editor emeritus of Applied Psychological Measurement, an editorial board member for the Journal of Adult Development, past-president of the American Psychological Association Division 5, former chair of the association’s committee on psychological testing and assessment, and former co-director of the Minnesota Interdisciplinary Training in Education Research Program.

Robert delMas will retire as an associate professor of educational psychology in quantitative methods in education in May after 30 years at the University. His primary research focuses on the study of educational experiences that promote conceptual change and development and the assessment of conceptual understanding. He has been a co-PI with other leaders in statistics education on five projects funded by the National Science Foundation and served as an adviser to other NSF-funded statistics education projects. He also served as a member of the Research Advisory Board of the Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education and as an advisor to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching StatWay project. He is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and served as the chair of two of its committees on statistical education. His distinguished work in teaching has earned him a University of Minnesota University College Distinguished Teaching Award in 1997 and the CEHD Distinguished Teaching Award in 2016.

Currently the foundation professor in the department of psychology at Arizona State University, Abi Gewirtz was the inaugural director and founding faculty member of the Institute for Translational Science for Children’s Mental Health in CEHD. Abi has spent her career working to understand and help families who are under stress. In addition to her academic publications, she is also the author of “When the World Feels like a Scary Place: Essential Conversations for Anxious Parents and Worried Kids,” which is a timely and practical guide for parents on how to talk with their kids. Abi was also my mentor to full professor.

A highly recognized expert on Minnesota fish, Associate Professor Jay Hatch has devoted his professional life to two core endeavors: understanding the aquatic biology of the Upper Midwest and sharing his ecological knowledge with University undergraduates through a perpetually sold-out experiential learning field study course, called “Nature in the City.” He will retire in May. Many of Jay’s students over the years have become elementary school teachers, and he has been a beloved co-teacher for his colleagues whether through first-year learning communities or through his study abroad course in Akumal, Mexico. Jay joined the General College many years ago (which is when he and I first became colleagues), and in 1998 he became part of the Academy for Distinguished Teaching Professors as a recipient of the Horace T. Morse-Alumni Award which is the highest honor for undergraduate teaching at this University. He has been a highly ranked Morris dancer for longer than that, and his penchant for shameless word play has made him one of our most pun-derful colleagues.

Lori Helman is a professor in curriculum and instruction and has been the director of the Minnesota Center for Reading Research at the University. She retired in January. Lori is an elementary teacher, a teacher educator, a researcher, and an author. Her areas of interest focus on reading difficulties, effective teaching practices for multilingual students, and the implementation of school-wide systems of support. She is an international leader in literacy research and policy. For example, Lori served as a member of the International Literacy Association’s Standards 2017 Committee and was instrumental in revising the national standards for reading teachers and literacy professionals. Lori also received the Jerry Johns Outstanding Teacher Educator in Reading award from ILA in 2016. Lori has had a significant impact in the state of Minnesota through her teaching and advocacy work, including the Higher Education Literacy Partnership, Leaders in Reading Network, and Path to Reading Excellence in School Sites.

Beth Magistad is retiring in May after almost 20 years as the director of the Parent and Family Education program in the Department of Family Social Science (FSOS). She is a fierce advocate for parents and families across Minnesota. During her tenure as director, she led a complete revision of the fully online program. She is: a master teacher, a critical leader on the FSOS undergraduate curriculum redesign committee, and a sought out across the country for her expertise in teaching pedagogy and scholarship.

Scott McConnell, a professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, will retire in May. He came to the U of M in 1986 as an assistant professor in the program then called Psychology in the Schools Training Program. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1989 and Full Professor in 1995. Since joining the University, Scott has been part of the School Psychology and Special Education programs, and held the Fesler-Lampert Chair in Urban and Regional Affairs. Past appointments have included directing the Institute on Community Integration and the Center for Early Education and Development. At the University, he has served on the Senate Research Committee, an ad hoc Grants Management Redesign Committee, and the University Northside Partnership Oversight Committee. His research focuses primarily on preschool-aged children, and the skills and competencies that will enable them to learn and participate in school and other settings. Most recently, he has been working with U colleagues and commercial organizations to foster broader dissemination of research-based practices and procedures that help improve young children’s academic success.

Megan Morrissey has a long history at the School of Social Work as a student, administrator, and educator. She will retire after 30 years of service in May. Megan completed a Master of Social Work degree in 1987 and PhD in 1997, both from the School of Social Work. In addition, she held three key leadership positions beginning with director of MSW admissions from 1992 to 1999, followed by director of the MSW program from 1999 to 2021, and associate director of the school since 2007. Trained as a social welfare historian, Megan has taught required history courses in the master’s and doctoral programs as well as courses in social welfare policy and social work macro practice and community organizing. Megan has been actively involved in local and national professional organizations such as the National Association of Social Workers, the Council on Social Work Education, and the Minnesota Conference on Social Work Education, where she served as president for two terms. One of Megan’s most notable accomplishments during her tenure was to successfully lead the school’s MSW program through four accreditation cycles, most recently in 2021. She plans to spend her retirement years outdoors, hiking, biking, kayaking, and skiing.

Jean Quam was professor and former dean of CEHD. She retired in January 2022. Jean joined the School of Social Work as an assistant professor in 1980. Over the course of her career that has spanned more than four decades, she established a sterling legacy as a faculty member, researcher, academic leader, and social work educator. Jean’s scholarly work has focused on social work practice with older adults, and particularly on the needs of aging GLBTQ-identified persons. In 1991, she became director of the school and went on to raise funds for the school to move into its own building on the St. Paul campus. Under her leadership, the school established distance education programs around the state and built a strong portfolio of endowed scholarship funds. In 1992, Jean and Professor Esther Wattenberg created the school’s Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare. In 2006, after 16 years as director of the School of Social Work, Jean agreed to serve as the senior associate dean in the University’s newly reorganized “New College of Education and Human Development,” which became the academic home for the School of Social Work. Two years later, she was appointed Dean; a position in which she served for over 11 years. Jean stepped down from her role as collegiate dean in 2020 and returned to a position on the social work faculty. During her tenure as dean, she raised over $100 million for the college, secured funding from the legislature to construct a new building for the Institute of Child Development, combined a developmental child care center with a laboratory school and secured funding for a renovated building, and worked with the Medical School to establish the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain. She also built the most diverse faculty and student body at the university. Jean has also served in leadership roles for several prominent social work organizations, including the National Association of Social Workers, the Society for Social Work and Research, the Council of Social Work Education, and the National Association of Deans and Directors of Schools of Social Work. Jean continues to stay connected to the School of Social Work and remains active in the social work community.

Karen Seashore, a Regents Professor and the Beck Chair of Ideas in Education in the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development, will retire in May. During her time at the U, she was active in service to CEHD as department chair, associate dean, director of CAREI, and the inaugural director of undergraduate education in OLPD. In 2010, she was appointed as a Regents Professor. National and international recognition of her work includes election as vice president and senior fellow of the American Educational Research Association, along with lifetime achievement awards from the University Council for Educational Administration, Division A of AERA, the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement, and the National Staff Development Council (now known as Learning Forward). She also received both excellence in teaching and advising awards from CEHD. She is most proud of the 85 PhD students whom she advised to completion during her career. She now resides in Boulder, Colorado, but is knitting a maroon and gold scarf.

Throughout her 34-year career as a professor and Extension specialist in the Department of Family Social Science, Marlene Stum has been a tireless advocate for aging families . Her work is in the areas of: financial decision-making in later life, family inheritance, and family financial exploitation of elders. Marlene is the creator and author of “Who Gets Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate?” a sought-after curriculum and set of resources to help families make fair and just decisions about inheritance and estate planning. Marlene is a fellow in the Gerontological Society of America and has won numerous awards for her research and engagement work on financial decision-making and financial security in later life. She is retiring this June.

Diane (Dee) Tedick is a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. She will retire in May. Her career has been defined by excellence in teaching, advising, and program development as well as by a deep commitment to supporting multilingualism and linguistic diversity in schools and society. Her international standing as a world expert in dual language and immersion education has drawn students to CEHD from around the globe. Her award-winning research, outstanding program development efforts, and deep engagement with her students’ work has made a lasting impact on so many individuals as well as on the broader field of immersion and language education.

Mark Umbreit is a professor and founding director in 1994 of the Center for Restorative Justice & Peacemaking at the School of Social Work. He will retire in May. Mark had been a doctoral student in social work at the University from 1985 to 1987, and then served as a research director in the Center for Youth Development and Research in the School of Social Work from 1987 to 1990. Mark joined the social work faculty as an assistant professor in 1990. He is an internationally recognized practitioner and scholar with more than 40 years of experience in the fields of restorative justice, mediation, spirituality, forgiveness, and peacemaking. In September of 2019, the International Association of Schools of Social Work recognized Mark among the 50 most notable social workers in American history, based on his global impact as a practitioner and scholar. He was also ranked among the 50 most influential contemporary social work faculty in the U.S. by the Journal of Social Service Research, based on the depth and range of his work as a practitioner and scholar. Mark will continue as co-director of the Center for Restorative Justice & Peacemaking at the University of Minnesota, Duluth.

Associate Professor Susan Walker is the longtime director of the Parent and Family Education program in the Department of Family Social Science and is a staunch advocate for parent education across the state. Susan is the creator of Parentopia, a web-based application that complements parent learning and engagement through Minnesota’s early childhood family education programs. In addition, she recently addressed the UN on digital technologies and families as part of the United Nations 59th Commission for Social Development.

SSW research symposium: best methods to provide virtual healthcare to African immigrants

April 15, 2022

School of Social Work Assistant Professor Saida Abdi will present a research symposium, “Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Virtual Engagement Methods for African Immigrants: Examining of African Immigrant and Refugee Communities Healthcare Access during the COVID-19 Pandemic,” on Wednesday, April 20, from noon to 1 p.m.

COVID-19 has highlighted health disparities consistently experienced by Black communities. However, disparities experienced by African immigrants are too often subsumed in data for all Black/African Americans. Several factors place African immigrants at greater risk of both acquiring coronavirus and experiencing severe symptoms or death: working high-contact jobs as essential or frontline workers, living in high-density housing, stigma, lack of culturally and linguistically appropriate information, and fears related to immigration status.

Abdi and colleagues received a grant from the National Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to determine culturally and linguistically appropriate methods for African immigrants to receive health care virtually. The team developed a community-based participatory research project aiming to build the capacity of African-led organizations to conduct patient-centered research during the COVID-19 crisis. The project documented the experiences of African immigrant patients in accessing and using virtual platforms.

Abdi will present her findings, along with Anisa Ali, the program director and cultural broker for the Somali American Parents Association, and School of Social Work PhD student Ndilimeke Nashandi. They will share recommendations to engage African immigrants through virtual platforms while also offering lesson learned to aid future research partnerships.

Bios:

Anisa Ali is a program director and cultural broker for the Somali American Parents Association. Her work focuses on training educational support staff to serve students ages 14 to 21 through individualized educational plans and pre-employment transitional services. Over the past decade, Ali has worked to support Somali families who have children with disabilities to navigate the American education system.

Ndilimeke Nashandi is a PhD candidate and research assistant in the School of Social Work. Her research interests include culturally responsive child welfare services and the academic achievement of girls. Over the past decade, Nashandi has worked to strengthen community systems, increase funding for organizations working in the HIV field, and strengthen collaboration between higher education institutions and civil society organizations.

Saida Abdi is an assistant professor in the School of Social Work. Her research focuses on factors related to resilience among refugee and immigrant children and families and the use of community based participatory research. Over the past decade, Abdi has worked to build community partnerships to increase mental health knowledge and services in diverse refugee communities focusing on children and families impacted by violence and migration.

Two CEHD PhD students receive John DePodesta Leadership Fellowship

March 23, 2022

CEHD PhD students Sheetal Digari (left) and Ashley Watson are recipients of the John DePodesta Leadership Fellowship. The fellowship provides graduate students in business, public policy, sociology, or education the opportunity to co-design or launch a new venture in partnership with existing educational organizations that seek to improve the quality of postsecondary education.

Digari is a third-year PhD student in Comparative and International Development Education (CIDE) within the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development (OLPD). For her project, she plans to develop a multicultural orientation module that will provide a supportive learning environment and experience for students of all backgrounds and help students smoothly transition into careers.

Watson is a fifth-year PhD student in OLPD’s CIDE program. Her project will address persistently high dropout rates in higher education by designing interventions during the first two pivotal years. Read more.

CEHD to conduct site visit to Infinite Campus

March 22, 2022

For the spring partnership exploration event, CEHD, with Ryan Warren as the point person, has organized a site visit to Infinite Campus (IC) on Tuesday, April 19, from 2 to 5 p.m. and all interested CEHD faculty and staff are invited to attend. IC is a local, innovative K12 Student Information System (SIS) company interested in deeper research relationships with the University and CEHD. Over the last couple of years, the college has solidified a partnership between IC and the Learning Informatics Lab (LIL), so the beginnings of an interesting partnership from which to build are established. For those whose research or interests align, please consider attending. Items you can expect at the site visit include:

A building tour and company introduction with the founder and CEO of IC—Charlie Kratsch
Identification of the company’s mission/vision, customer base, technical stack, K12 and other government agency relationships
Identification of current work and a discussion of company/faculty research interests
Socializing with faculty members from multiple CEHD departments/centers and potentially other colleges within the University

IC will provide refreshments for all attendees. Desired outcomes for CEHD faculty are:

A deeper understanding of IC and the research direction of the company
Introduction to key members of the company to allow for deeper exploration or follow-up post event
Stronger awareness of the research of other CEHD faculty whose interests align and may result in collaboration, potentially with IC datasets or research interests
If you are interested in attending, please complete this brief form by Thursday, March 31. If you have any questions, or are interested but the date and time do not work for you, please email Ryan Warren directly at rwarren@umn.edu. More information provided by Infinite Campus is below:

Infinite Campus is a Minnesota-based education technology company founded in 1993. Our platform manages student and staff data for more than 2,100 local educational agencies serving 8 million K-12 students across 45 states, and we provide data collection and management services for 6 state educational agencies. Our dataset includes 130 million student-years of demographic, enrollment, program, behavior, health, schedule, attendance, curriculum, and assessment information. In addition to strong local and state K-12 relationships, we also have ongoing research and development partnerships with funders like the Institute for Education Sciences, National Science Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Schmidt Futures. This includes a strong partnership with the University of Minnesota, whose postdoctoral researchers at the Learning Informatics Lab are visiting scholars embedded at Infinite Campus.

CEHD teacher candidates testify at bill hearings

March 15, 2022

Francisco Duran-Enriquez, a teacher candidate at CEHD, testified at the March 8 hearing of HF3917 (Rep. Heather Keeler): the Higher Education Increase Teachers of Color Act, designed to increase the diversity of Minnesota’s teacher workforce. The bill would provide an additional $8.5 million in fiscal year 2023 for the aspiring teachers of color scholarship pilot program. Its current appropriation is $1.5 million. The bill would also appropriate an additional $1.5 million to the underrepresented student teacher grant program in fiscal year 2023 and increase its base amount moving forward to $2.625 million from $1.125 million. View the testimony.

Previously, CEHD teacher candidate Bari Idee-Igboh testified in support of HF 3079 (Rep. Hodan Hassan): the E12 Increase Teachers of Color Act at a February 16 House Education Finance Committee hearing. The E12 bill is asking for an additional $28 million in investment with substantial increases to Grow Your Own grants and The Collaborative Urban and Greater Minnesota Educators of Color grants. View the testimony.

Both Duran-Enriquez and Idee-Igboh are in the Multiple Pathways to Teaching’s MN Grow Your Own Teachers program (MNGOT) in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Laura Mogelson, director of Multiple Pathways to Teaching, also testified on both bills on behalf of the Minnesota Association of Colleges of Teacher Education.

Frances Vavrus receives 2021-22 Award for Outstanding Contributions to Graduate and Professional Education

March 8, 2022

Professor Frances Vavrus, Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development, is the recipient of a 2021-22 Award for Outstanding Contributions to Graduate and Professional Education from the University of Minnesota.

Those who receive the honor become members of the Academy of Distinguished Teachers (ADT). The title “Distinguished University Teaching Professor” or “Distinguished University Teacher” is conferred upon recipients.

Vavrus, a professor of comparative and international development education and associate chair of OLPD, has made outstanding contributions to graduate and professional education through innovative, internationally focused program and curriculum development. She is an award-winning teacher and advisor whose active, collaborative model of leadership and pedagogy has influenced generations of students who are now academic and professional leaders around the world.

An in-person award ceremony is planned for Monday, April 11, from 4 to 6 p.m. Further information will be provided as it becomes available.

Two C&I faculty members receive $5,000 from U for upcoming diversity speaker series

March 1, 2022

Department of Curriculum and Instruction (C&I) Professors Stefanie Marshall and Bhaskar Upadhyay recently received $5,000 from the University’s Institute for Diversity, Equity, and Advocacy for a proposed speaker series on “Democratizing Teacher Education: Creating Systems and Policies for Social Justice and Equity.”

The series, planned for March and sponsored by CEHD and C&I, will feature Rita Kohli of UC Riverside and author of Teachers of Color: Resisting Racism and Reclaiming Education. Kohli will hold a research talk and host two workshops: One for students and alumni of the Teacher Scholars of Color (TSoC) program and the other for the department. A second speaker will be Thomas Philip of UC Berkeley. Philip and colleagues have a recent work entitled “Program Redesign Toward Democratic Teacher Education” published in the Teachers College Record. Philip will conduct a research talk.

The funding comes from a new initiative, Faculty Driven, which invites faculty to creatively address equity and diversity needs within their departments. The program provides funding for faculty to develop programs that strengthen the University’s diverse community of scholars.

CEHD Announces Research Acceleration Program Winners

March 1, 2022

The winners of the CEHD Research Acceleration seed grant program have been announced. The program is open to all CEHD faculty and P&A researchers and awards are given in two classes of projects: Developmental and “Jump Start.”

The Developmental Project award of $200,000 over two years was presented to Gerald August (FSOS), Timothy Piehler (FSOS), and Mimi Choy-Brown (SSW) for their project, “Using Mobile Health Technology to Optimize Evidence-Based Treatment of Youth Depression.”

The goal of the Developmental Project program is to grow existing interdisciplinary partnerships and support novel studies that break new ground or extend previous work in new directions.

Three “Jump Start” Project proposals of $25,000 each went to:

Katie Pekel (OLPD), Sara Kemper (CAREI), and Ellina Xiong (CAREI), in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Education’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Center for “Piloting an Intervention to Support Culturally Responsive School Leadership in Minnesota Schools”
Ceema Samimi (SSW), Alex Fink (SSW), Terresa Moses (CDES), and Catherine Squires (HHH), in partnership with the Twin Cities Innovation Alliance and the Science Museum of Minnesota for “Unsettling Observation: Reimagining digital school safety”
Renata Ticha (ICI), Brian Abery (ICI), Vassilios Morellas (Electrical & Computer Engineering), and Maryam Mahmoudi (ICI) for “Enhancing physical activity among older adults using Nao, a socially assistive robot (SAR)”

The goal of the Jump Start Project program is to support research at the early stages of project development to obtain pilot data for future grant submissions.

Four CEHD postdocs to present at PPFP Spring Research Symposium

February 22, 2022

Four CEHD postdoctoral fellows are taking part in the upcoming President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (PPFP) Spring Research Symposium, taking place February 28 and March 1 at the University. The symposium is an opportunity for postdocs to present their research and receive substantive feedback on their presentations.

All four CEHD presentation take place on March 1. They include:

9:40-10 a.m.
Aditi Rajendran, Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development (OLPD)
“Creating the ‘Well:’ Teachers Unions and Racial Justice Leadership”
In this time of racial reckoning, education leaders face heightened responsibility to address the pervasive and enduring racism in our schools and systems. In particular, a wave of activism and attention to racial equity from educators and their unions highlight a powerful, yet unexamined, source of education leadership. Rajendran will explore what it means for a teacher’s union to prioritize racial equity as something that unions do.

10:20 to 10:40 a.m.
Hyejin Hwang, Department of Educational Psychology
“Reading Comprehension and Content Learning in K-12 Settings”
Reading comprehension and content learning are critical for students’ academic and career development. In this presentation, Hwang will give a brief overview of her research program related to reading comprehension and content learning in K-12 settings and discuss her previous and current research, as well as steps for future research.

11:20-11:40 a.m.
Emmanuel Bonney, Institute of Child Development
“Phenoscreening: A Novel Approach for Quantifying Early Behaviors of Autism in Economically Deprived Communities”
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental disorder with increasing prevalence worldwide. However, there is an enormous global imbalance in the understanding of autism. While autism is often identified around 4 years in most high-income countries, children with autism in many African countries are often diagnosed later. The delays in diagnosis results from profound shortages in resources or healthcare providers specialized in autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders. Bonney implemented a novel screening strategy known as phenoscreening to quantify specific phenotypes across multiple domains in infants and toddlers in Uganda. Preliminary findings from this research will be discussed.

11:40 a.m.-noon
Maria Gutierrez de Jesus, OLPD
“Community Radio as an Educational Tool to Revitalize Indigenous Languages”
Radios in Indigenous communities serve multiple purposes, from keeping the population informed about current affairs, articulating traditional knowledge, reaffirming the importance of the oral tradition, sharing traditional music and other cultural and artistic expressions, and maintaining Indigenous languages alive. de Gutierrez de Jesus will engage in a discussion of community radio as an educational tool that contributes to the revitalization of Indigenous languages.

In addition, Vice President for Equity and Diversity and OLPD Professor Michael Goh will give the keynote address from 9 to 9:20 a.m. on March 1. Register.

Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov. Flanagan visit Campbell Hall site to announce new budget proposal

January 19, 2022

CEHD Dean Michael C. Rodriguez, U President Joan T.A. Gabel, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, and Governor Tim Walz visit the site of Campbell Hall, the new home of the Institute of Child Development.

Governor Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan visited the construction site of Carmen D. and James R. Campbell Hall on Tuesday, January 18, to announce his proposal of a $2.7 billion jobs and projects plan, which includes $213.8 million for the University of Minnesota.

Campbell Hall, the new home of the Institute of Child Development (ICD), was also the first site Walz visited in 2019 for his public building project proposal.

“This project was the one we highlighted as the first place we wanted to stop and one that needed to be done,” Walz said. “The world-class research that’s done here on our children and for our children fits in perfectly with what the lieutenant governor and I oftentimes talk about – we want Minnesota to be the best place in the country for children to thrive in.”

ICD received $29.2 million from the state in 2020 to update its existing facilities. The last major renovation to the ICD building was in 1960. As a former ICD student, Lt. Gov. Flanagan experienced the limitations of the outdated facility first-hand.

“I graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in child psychology and American Indian studies. I walked the halls as a student here,” she said. “I had meetings with my graduate student advisor while sitting on the floor because there wasn’t enough room in the overcrowded office to be able to meet. So seeing this space is just truly remarkable. We know there was insufficient space and dated resources, which really kind of held back not only our students themselves but really the future around young people.”

At the Campbell Hall groundbreaking ceremony in June 2021, Carmen D. and James R. Campbell (center) with former ICD Director Megan Gunnar (left) and current ICD Director Kathleen Thomas (right).

Construction of Campbell Hall is expected to be completed in August 2022 at a total cost of $43.8 million. In addition to state funding, the project has been supported by the generosity of many private donors, including U of M alumni and lead donors Carmen D. and James R. Campbell, the building’s namesake. CEHD and ICD are grateful for their support.

More information about Walz’s proposal can be found on the Minnesota Management and Budget website.

More information about the Campbell Hall project can be found on the College of Education and Human Development website.

CEHD project with Bhutan concludes, Schuelka and Johnstone Present in Dubai

January 18, 2022

Advocacy meeting at the University of Birmingham–Dubai Campus on inclusive education and employment for persons with disabilities. Pictured: Chris Johnstone (U of M), Marilena di Coste (The Butterfly NGO), Dr. Sarah Benson (University of Birmingham), and Matt Schuelka (U of M).

In December, Lecturer Matthew Schuelka and Associate Professor Christopher Johnstone, Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development, travelled to Dubai, UAE, to engage with the University of Birmingham (Dubai campus) and participate virtually with a conference being held in Bhutan. The conference was the final event for the project titled “Understanding, Developing, and Supporting Meaningful Work for Youth with Disabilities in Bhutan.” The project was a recipient of the prestigious Global Challenges Research Fund grant awarded by the British government, and involved the University of Minnesota, University of Birmingham, and Royal Thimphu College in Bhutan. Schuelka was the lead for the project, which also included Johnstone, and Brian Abery and Renáta Tichá of the Institute on Community Integration as co-investigators from the U of M.

The Bhutan project sought to understand and enhance the current reality for inclusive employment and social participation for young adults with disabilities in Bhutan; provide advocacy, coordination, and interventions to support increased awareness and activity in this area; and also work toward sustained support and awareness for inclusive employment and social participation for young adults with disabilities in areas with limited resources and that are significantly rural in nature. Through the project, multiple surveys, scoping, mapping, and policy economy analyses were conducted. During the intervention phase of the project, several inclusion coordinators were hired in Bhutan to facilitate inclusive employment with disabled clients; advocacy and training workshops were conducted; and 11 persons with disabilities received grants to start their own businesses or pursue other professional and training goals. The impact of the project was profound, and provides further evidence that sustained support and a small amount of start-up capital makes a significant and positive impact on the lives of persons with disabilities from socio-economically marginalized communities. Publications from the project are currently in development.

A video on the project was produced by the Institute on Community Integration in 2020, titled Bhutan’s Future Challenge, and can be found here. Schuelka also produced a full-feature documentary film through project funding, with award-winning Bhutanese filmmaker Arun Bhattarai, called Dreams of Birds Flying in the Sky. The film explores the lived-realities of persons with disabilities in Bhutan and is currently being screened at international film festivals. The trailer of the film can be found here.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, travel to Bhutan is not currently possible. However, technology allowed the project to simultaneously host the conference live in Bhutan and in Dubai. Abery and Tichá also participated in the conference virtually from Minnesota. While in Dubai, Schuelka and Johnstone also gave lectures at the University of Birmingham as well as engaged with several local UAE organizations around issues of inclusive education and inclusive employment.

Inclusive art

January 4, 2022

Pop artist Keith Haring once said, “Art is for everybody.” Perhaps the best illustration of the statement is the Institute on Community Integration’s (ICI’s) Art for All: The Stephanie Evelo Program for Art Inclusion.

The program connects artists with disabilities to the broader arts communities around the Twin Cities. Through exhibits and other events, Art for All (AFA) creates inclusive spaces for discussing, promoting, selling artists’ work, and expanding their practice. The AFA endowment was founded by Sheryl and David Evelo, in partnership with ICI, in memory of their daughter, Stephanie Evelo. She was a gifted artist and a dedicated employee and colleague of ICI.

Since its founding, AFA has hosted several exhibits, the most recent entitled entrance, located in the Blythe Brenden-Mann Community Center at the new home for ICI, the recently opened Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain. “It’s a nod and celebration of emerging artists, the first artists in the new building, the first in the entrance of the Art for All Gallery,” says Program Manager Nik Fernholz. “entrance is when we are first taking notice of artists who are not in the mainstream art world and who typically are not taken as serious artists.” The exhibit, which was to run until the end of the year, has been extended into January.

Up next for AFA is a collaboration with ICI’s LEND Fellowship program. Students at Transition Plus, a high school in Minneapolis, will produce a mural project with their art teacher while AFA will curate a practicing artist with a disability to guide the project throughout its three-to-five-month production. “There will be a focus group of students, muralists from the community, and other artists with disabilities to drive the content and the connection to the community,” Fernholz says. “This curated artist will receive a split solo show in the Art for All Gallery and the art spaces throughout the high school, and AFA will have a group show featuring the upper-class students who are transitioning into a broader art practice after high school.”

Learn more at art.ici.umn.edu

CEHD team taking part in $1 million Digital Learning Challenge

December 15, 2021

A cross-departmental team from CEHD is one of 33 nationwide—and the only from the U or Minnesota—moving forward in the Digital Learning Challenge, a competition to modernize, accelerate, and improve the processes for studying effective learning and education. The competition is run by XPRIZE, a world leader in designing and operating such events to solve humanity’s grand challenges.

Members of CEHD X Team include John Behr (Educational Technology Innovations), Bodong Chen (Department of Curriculum and Instruction), Clay Cook (Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development), Kim Gibbons (Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement), Panayiota (Pani) Kendeou and Kristen McMaster (Department of Educational Psychology), Frank Symons (CEHD Associate Dean of Research), and Ryan Warren (Innovation and Partnership Officer).

The Digital Learning Challenge incentivizes the use of AI methods, big data, and machine learning to better understand practices that support educators, parents, policymakers, researchers, and the tens of millions of Americans enrolled in formal education every year. The experiments conducted for the challenge will build understanding of educational processes that are working well and ones that need to be improved to achieve better outcomes.

A judging panel of experts is now reviewing the registered teams’ technical submissions and will determine which teams will move on to the pilot study phase of the challenge. Competitors include educational institutions like CEHD and also individuals, for-profit companies, 501(c)(3) private foundations, and public charities from across the country. Meet the judges.

“We’re encouraged to see so many teams coming from different backgrounds and sectors to work toward improving something as essential to society as how people learn,” said Mark Schneider, the director of IES. “By harnessing the ingenuity of these technological innovations we can be several steps closer to closing the achievement gap and improving the educational methods of yesterday.”

For the pilot study, teams will have six months to demonstrate the capabilities of their systems in an accredited education institutional setting and then 30 days to launch a replication study with at least one unique learner demographic. Top teams will build systems to conduct rapid, reproducible experiments and demonstrate the educational infrastructure in a formal learning context. The final experiments must be replicated at least five times within 30 days with three or more distinct demographics. The winner of the competition will receive a grand prize of up to $1 million.

Learn more about the Digital Learning Challenge.

Matthew Schuelka gives keynote at international festival in India

December 14, 2021

Matthew Schuelka, a lecturer in the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development, (OLPD) and researcher at the Institute on Community Integration (ICI), was a featured keynote speaker at the recent Anjali International Children and Youth Festival Dialogues in Disability feature series. The event was held in Bhubaneswar, India and broadcast virtually. Schuelka spoke on the topic of disability and Buddhism. The Anjali Festival is the largest children’s festival in India, and organized by the State Disability Information and Resource Center, India (SWABHIMAN).

According to the event organizer, Sruti Mohapatra, “When planning an event such as this, it is imperative to gain the participation of experts in the field. Dr. Schuelka’s willingness to share his time and expertise in this important yet unexplored area was critical to the success of the dialogues. We were fortunate to have a wide range of speakers from different fields and different parts of the world.”

A current lecturer and also PhD graduate of OLPD (CIDE, ‘14), Schuelka is a globally recognized researcher and advocate for inclusive education and disability rights. He has consulted on projects with UNICEF, UNESCO, and the World Bank regarding disability-inclusion issues. He is currently involved with multiple projects at ICI, including inclusive employment for persons with disabilities in Bhutan, using robotics as assistive technology in Japan, and another new project on transition from school to employment for youth with disabilities in Singapore.

Schuelka’s most recent book, Global Directions in Inclusive Education, is set to be published in late December and available for pre-order now from Routledge.

Stefanie Marshall named to committee on STEM education equity

November 16, 2021

Stefanie L. Marshall, assistant professor of science education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, has been named to the ad-hoc committee on equity in preK-12 STEM education organized by the National Academies. There were 350 nominations submitted for the committee and 15 people were selected.

The committee will examine the evidence base related to educational equity and STEM education, plan a series of regional field engagement sessions, and develop recommendations and a research agenda for the field. The committee will follow up with a report that discusses how systemic inequity in STEM education can be addressed at all levels of the PreK-12 system to promote success in STEM for all students, regardless of background, demographic status, and community.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are private, nonprofit institutions that provide expert advice on some of the most pressing challenges facing the nation and world. By bringing the rigor of a National Academies’ consensus study process to this critical issue of STEM education equity, the project will provide actionable recommendations for education policy and program stakeholders.

Innovative institute for brain development now open

November 2, 2021

The new Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain (MIDB) is open and ready to lead the way in understanding how young brains develop and apply that knowledge during the age periods when the biggest difference can be made. Its mission is to advance brain health from the earliest stages of development across the lifespan, and to support each person’s journey as a valued community member.

“MIDB is home to University of Minnesota researchers, educators, M Health Fairview care providers, policy experts, and community members who are working side by side to better understand how young brains develop and how we can pool resources, intellect, and our motivations to improve brain health across the lifespan for families right here in Minnesota,” says Damien Fair, Redleaf Endowed Director of MIDB and a professor in the Institute of Child Development (ICD) and the U of M Medical School. “Our bold aspiration is that our curious, inspired, and strategic collaboration will allow us to better understand how to provide an optimal environment for all of our youth to maximize brain health so that every child is set up for success.”

The mission of MIDB aims to:

Lead in research and innovation to understand how a child’s rapidly developing brain grows and thrives.
Educate and provide opportunities for scholars across intersecting disciplines to maximize each individual’s brain health in early childhood and adolescence.
Collaborate and engage communities to quickly advance and apply findings to improve the health of local and global communities, working in partnership to ensure that social supports are available across the lifespan.
Merge research with M Health Fairview clinical care to improve patient and families’ experiences.

“MIDB is unique in that it is not dedicated to any one neurobehavioral disorder as most other centers are, but instead seeks to discover basic processes by which the brain develops. Through that approach, we can understand the root causes of many neurobehavioral disorders that affect our state’s children,” says Michael Georgieff, co-director of MIDB, professor at ICD and the U of M Medical School, and a neonatologist at M Health Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital. “With support from our funders and collaborators, MIDB provides a one-stop setting for children and families by housing researchers, health care providers, educators, and advocates together in one location where they can enhance each other’s knowledge with the goal of improving our children’s future. We are excited for MIDB to open and support Minnesotans in a setting that is convenient, welcoming, and serene.”

Located on East River Parkway near the University’s Twin Cities campus, the 10.2-acre property includes a two-level building with a research center, clinic, and support area, as well as a community center and an attached parking lot. MIDB provides one location to connect world-renowned experts across the disciplines of neuroscience, brain imaging, bioengineering, genomics, pediatrics, psychology, psychiatry, disabilities, child health care policy, and developmental brain health across the lifespan. It is a one-stop destination where diverse expertise comes together to accelerate discovery and improve brain health throughout life.

“We want MIDB to be a place where we think about how we can provide support to a child—whether it’s an infant or a 3-year-old we’re assessing for a developmental disability—and their family so that when this person is an adult, they have a great life,” says Institute on Community Integration Director Amy Hewitt. The Institute on Community Integration’s work in applied community research, tele-outreach, interdisciplinary training, and community outreach is a valuable asset for the MIDB.

Led by CEHD and the University’s Medical School, MIDB aims to address access to care and the hurdles individuals and their families encounter when seeking medical, educational, and community-based resources and support.

The development of MIDB, a first-of-its-kind institute in the country, was made possible by a $35 million naming gift from Minnesota Masonic Charities, $15 million from the Lynne & Andrew Redleaf Foundation (which also gave $6.5 million to related initiatives in psychiatry and child development), as well as generous investments by the Otto Bremer Trust, Blythe Brenden-Mann Foundation, and Drs. Gail A. Bernstein and Thomas J. Davis Trust.

“The Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain is another example of how we can unite the incredible expertise of the University with the capacity of Minnesota Masonry to benefit our entire state and, indeed, the world,” says Eric Neetenbeek, president and CEO of Minnesota Masonic Charities.

Housed in the Office of Academic Clinical Affairs, MIDB is an interdisciplinary institute that leads and brings together educators and researchers from across the University as well as M Health Fairview clinicians.

CEHD welcomes new faculty members

October 4, 2021

CEHD is welcoming several new faculty members this year, including Charisse Pickron in the Institute of Child Development (ICD); Meixi and Stephanie Sisco in the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development (OLPD); and Xiaoran Sun in the Department of Family Social Science (FSOS).

Charisse Pickron
Charisse Pickron is an assistant professor in ICD. She received her BA in psychology from Mount Holyoke College and her MS and PHD in developmental psychology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her areas of interest include cognitive development, developmental neuroscience, early childhood, infancy, perceptual and motor development, and social and emotional development.

“I study topics of perceptual and socio-cognitive development using a variety of measures, including behavioral, electrophysiological, and eye-tracking,” she says. “I envision a research team of undergraduate & graduate students as well as staff all committed to engaging with and learning from one another as well as with our larger community.”

Meixi
Meixi is an assistant professor in OLPD. She has a BSc in education and social policy from Northwestern University, a MEd in educational psychology and a PhD in learning sciences and human development from the University of Washington-Seattle. “She studies community and land-based education; culture, learning, well-being, and human development; STEM-Art education; and Indigenous Southeast Asia.”

“From mangrove forests to highland mountains, I grew up navigating languages, and knowledge systems across Hokchiu/MinQiang in Singapore and Lahu communities in northern Thailand,” she says. “These experiences center my life’s work on an enduring concern: how can schools contribute to the collective livelihoods and future wellbeing of Indigenous young people, their families, and the lands and waters where they live?”

Stephanie Sisco
Stephanie Sisco is an assistant professor in OLPD. She holds a BA in communication and history from the University of California-Davis, a MSEd in human resource development from Northern Illinois University, and a PhD in human resource development from UMN. Her areas of interest include diversity management; employee networks; social and participatory learning, culture in organizations; critical theory; and race-conscious equity and social justice.

“My research seeks to understand how social issues appear at work and influence the learning and development of professionals of color,” she says. “I aim to identify and challenge business practices that negatively impact the employability, experience, and advancement of racial minorities.”

Xiaoran Sun
Xiaoran Sun is joining the Department of Family Social Science this December as an assistant professor. She received her BS degree in psychology from Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China and master’s and doctoral degrees in human development and family studies from Pennsylvania State University. She receives her postdoctoral training in the Departments of Pediatrics and Communication at Stanford University and the Stanford Data Science Scholars Program. Her areas of research include family systems, adolescents and young adults; achievements and well-being; technology and cultural contexts; computational social science, big data and machine learning, and longitudinal dyadic data modeling.

“My research is mainly focused on how family systems shape well-being and achievement outcomes across adolescence and young adulthood in different cultural contexts, and the role of technology in these processes,” she says. “In addition, with my data science background, I am particularly interested in applying innovative methods and data to family and developmental research.

CEHD News Kevin Moe

CEHD News Kevin Moe