The researchers’ paper received the second most votes from the journal’s board for Article of the Year, earning the Honorable Mention Award which is given to researchers who contribute to the advancement of the science of assessment to inform intervention in schools.
McMaster and her colleagues will receive will their award at the upcoming business meeting of the Council for Educational Diagnostic Services, held during the annual convention of the Council for Exceptional Children in Tampa, Florida, February 7–10.
Hannah Boldt didn’t always know she wanted to be a counselor. Initially, she pursued a degree as a saxophone player. She switched her major to international studies with the intention of working in international aid in West Africa, however upon graduation found a career in the software and I.T. sector where she worked for four years. Now a second-year counseling and student personnel psychology (CSPP) student, Hannah is excited to finally be on her path to becoming a counselor or therapist.
She says it was her own winding road to find her passion that drew her to the field of career counseling and personal therapy.
“I want to normalize the student experience of not knowing what to do, or graduating in something and not using it,” Hannah says.
We sat down with Hannah and asked her a few questions about her experience as a CSPP student and what insights she’d like to share with other prospective students. Here’s what she said:
What surprised you along the way?
“I was surprised at the amount of emotional energy it takes to be a counselor. I knew what I was getting into, but my expectations weren’t prepared for the amount of personal reflection and growth I would be doing. Overall, I’ve experienced a lot of emotional growth.”
What’s something you’ve most enjoyed about your experience?
“I was ready to be back in school and learning, after taking 4 years off in between my undergrad and master’s. I came in with the expectation to be a sponge and take in everything. It’s been so exciting and exhilarating to learn more about the field of psychology and counseling.”
How would you describe the student experience and what does that mean to you?
“In CEHD as a whole, I’ve been impressed with the opportunities for engagement. Every day, there’s a different talk or seminar going on and it feels like there’s a spirit of engagement and learning. Sometimes I think I signed up for a little too much. I’m working three jobs and go to school full time.”
How have your professors helped you along the way?
“All three of my professors in the CSPP program have gone above and beyond their role. It seems like they take a vested interest in my growth as an individual and professional. I work with Dr. Ohrtman doing clinical placements and she is communicative and dedicated to connecting, networking, and helping me professionally. My adviser, Dr. Howard, helped me with the emotional journey transitioning from work and adjusting to a graduate program. She also suggested that my practicum be with Student Counseling Services, which has challenged me to grow outside my comfort zone. Lastly, Dr. Berger has been always accessible and an excellent advocate to better the program.”
What would you like prospective students to know?
“Grad school is tough. Also, it’s incredibly worthwhile. I’ve been challenged to grow as a person and define my values and what I stand for. In the counseling program, I appreciate the advocacy element. It’s not just having these values, but the responsibility to take action. You have to be prepared to do emotional work and self reflection. As a result, you will grow as an individual and come into your own.”
How has your cohort helped you along the way?
“My cohort has been so helpful and important to me. There’s 35 of us, but we have a strong bond because we are all going through the process of discovering ourselves and the profession together. We all came in with different experiences, and it’s helpful to have people to lean on when things get tough and to normalize the experience.”
What are you looking forward to with graduation?
“Having a job that I look forward to going to and getting paid for something I love doing, is what I’m most excited for. I’m ready to use what I’ve learned and put it into practice. It’s great to feel like I’ve arrived at what feels like my ‘calling’ after 27 years of wondering what I was meant to do as a professional.”
This post was originally written by Ciara Metzger.
Ginny Zeyer started her special education career at 16 years old, babysitting a child with autism. Her drive and willingness to learn led her to earn licenses in every disability, develop work and transition programs, alternative education, and administration. Now, she finds herself as a supervisor of the developmental disabilities (DD) program at the University of Minnesota.
Growing up, Ginny thought she wanted to be an elementary teacher.
“The more I worked in special education, the more passionate I got. I saw an opportunity for how much more we could be doing as educators.”
She continues, “There’s so much you can do in special education. You can teach disabilities, build curriculum, develop programs in schools. I’ve written grants to help at-risk students in a work program and had the opportunity to start a new alternative education school.”
In the Department of Educational Psychology, Ginny loves working with younger teachers.
“It’s nice to feel like I have so much impact on them from my background and experiences. I give them ideas, and they give me ideas. I’m constantly learning, and the students here are very appreciative.” Zeyer says.
Ginny’s advice to students: “Take advantage of all the learning that happens in the classroom. It will prepare you to have a successful teaching experience. Also, build relationships with your professors. It will help you progress through all the skills you need, and they know what skills you need.”
Outside of work, Ginny enjoys cooking and trying new recipes (chicken piccata, creme brule, sweet potato gnocchi, etc.). She also enjoys spending time with her 19 year old grandson who lives in the Twin Cities.
This article was originally written by Ciara Metzger.
The Center for Education Innovation’s (CEI), Thank a Teacher program provides an opportunity for students to recognize their teachers that have made a positive impact on their education and development through unsolicited feedback. Dr. Rose Vukovic, director of undergraduate studies and associate professor in the special education program recently received one of these “thank you” notes in an official letter from CEI, showcasing her continued impact on students’ lives.
The note reads:
“Thank you so much for a great semester Rose. The environment you made in the classroom made it such a nice place to want to come and learn more each session. I feel I have gained a lot of knowledge from this class and that is all because of the way you presented the material and made it such a welcoming and connected learning environment.
Turner’s research will lay the groundwork for future studies and help uncover best practices for providing Native Americans with experiences, support, and encouragement to pursue engineering and consider faculty roles.
Members of the Minnesota Youth Development Research Group (MYDRG)
Eleven proposals from students and researchers in the Minnesota Youth Development Research Group (MYDRG) have been accepted as presentations at American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) annual meetings, April 13-17 in New York City. The presentations reflect the group’s aim to explore methodological and substantive challenges in youth development, relying on the tenets of positive psychology, ecological perspectives of youth development, and the translation of research to practice.
MYDRG presentations accepted for AERA/NCME 2018
Mental distress: Risk and protective factors among American Indian youth. [AERA SIG – Indigenous Peoples of the Americas] Paper Session: Place, Pathways, Persistence, and Protection in Schooling. (Ozge Ersan, Youngsoon Kang, Michael Rodriguez, Tai Do, Rik Lamm)
School and community sports participation and positive youth developmental: A multilevel analysis. [AERA SIG- Research Focus on Education and Sports.] Paper Session: Youth Development through Sport in a K-12 Context. (Kyle Nickodem, Martin Van Boekel, Youngsoon Kang, Rik Lamm, Michael Rodriguez)
Social capital, self-control, and academic achievement in adolescence: A structural equation modeling approach. [AERA SIG – Social and Emotional Learning] Paper Session: Social and Emotional Learning and Academic Achievement. (Wei Song, Kory Vue, Tai Do, Michael Rodriguez)
The role of out-of-school-time positive experiences on risky behaviors. [AERA Division G – Section 1: Micro-analyses of the social context of teaching and learning] Roundtable: Qualitative Research Perspectives on the Roles of Students and Teachers in the Social Contexts of U.S. Public Schools. (Rik Lamm, Kory Vue, Kyle Nickodem, Tai Do, Michael Rodriguez, Martin Van Boekel)
Do LGB students feel safe and why does it matter? [AERA SIG – Research Focus on Education and Sports] Paper Session: Youth Development through Sport in a K-12 Context. (Rik Lamm, Kory Vue, Tai Do, Kyle Nickodem, Michael Rodriguez)
In what ways do health behaviors impact academic performance, educational aspirations, and commitment to learning? [AERA Division H – Section 1: Applied Research in Schools] Paper Session: Examining Non-Cognitive and Behavioral Outcomes. (Julio Cabrera, Michael Rodriguez, Stacy Karl, Carlos Chavez)
A pathway to resilience for students who experience trauma: A structural equation modeling approach. [AERA SIG – Adolescence and Youth Development] Paper Session: Leadership & Social Relationships in Adolescent Development. (Youngsoon Kang, Mireya Smith, Ozge Ersan, Michael Rodriguez)
Investigating socioeconomic status proxies: is one proxy enough? [AERA SIG – Survey Research in Education] Paper Session: Latent Analyses with Surveys in Education Research. (Julio Cabrera, Stacy Karl, Carlos Chavez, Michael Rodriguez)
Response processes in noncognitive measures: Validity evidence from explanatory item response modeling. [NCME]. (Michael Rodriguez, Okan Bulut, Julio Cabrera, Kory Vue)
Measurement invariance in noncognitive measures: Validity approach using explanatory item response modeling. [NCME]. (José Palma, Okan Bulut, Julio Cabrera, Youngsoon Kang)
Comprehensive partitioning of student achievement variance to inform equitable policy design. [NCME]. (Kyle Nickodem, Michael Rodriguez)
Varma’s three-step project will investigate how board games can support middle school students’ STEM learning and problem solving behaviors by:
Designing and implementing a professional development program to help teachers in a local district effectively incorporate games into their curriculum.
Involving parents in the process by making them aware that the games they play at home can help their kids develop science and engineering thinking skills.
Working with experts in computer and cognitive sciences specify and gather behavioral data from students’ game play for use in future studies.
The goal of the study is to gain a better understanding of how games support learning in formal and informal learning environments by answering specific research questions.
Do students show improved understanding of science and engineering practices after playing various board games?
Do students show improved understanding of science and engineering practices after playing high vs. low strategy games?
How do teachers incorporate games into their science classroom practices?
How do families view games as supports for science learning and family activities in general?
Varma plans build on this initial research with iterative studies leading to the design of digital games to support teachers in their science instruction.
William Bart, professor in the Department of Educational Psychology’s psychological foundations of education program, has been appointed to the Education Commission of the European Chess Union. Over five million students receive chess instruction in European schools to facilitate mathematics achievement and promote the development of critical and logical thinking skills.
Congratulations to Professor Bart on this important role!
Veronica Fleury, assistant professor in the Department of Educational Psychology’s special education program, has been awarded a $30,000 grant from the Organization for Autism Research (OAR). The project, Students and Teachers Actively Reading Together (START), will evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of an adaptive shared reading intervention for preschool children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
START’s first-stage intervention will be traditional dialogic reading—which encourages adults to prompt children with questions and engage them in discussions while reading to them—delivered in small groups of three to four students. Children who respond well to dialogic reading will continue with the group intervention. Those who are slower to respond will be randomized to one of two intensified instruction conditions.
This proposal is related to an application submitted to the Institute of Education Sciences for a larger four year development project that is currently under consideration.
Mark Davison, professor in the Department of Educational Psychology’s quantitative methods in education program, and his colleagues recently wrote a blog post for Psychology Today on their assessment, MOCCA (Multiple-Choice Online Causal Comprehension Assessment). In the post, the researchers describe how MOCCA can be used to get to the root of reading comprehension struggles.
Nidhi Kohli, associate professor in the Department of Educational Psychology’s quantitative methods in education program, and her colleagues recently published an article, “Detecting multiple random changepoints in Bayesian piecewise growth mixture models,” in Psychometrika. The article highlights a piecewise growth mixture model Kohli and her colleagues developed using a Bayesian inference approach that allows the estimation of multiple random changepoints (knots) within each latent class and develops a procedure to empirically detect the number of random changepoints within each class.
The study makes a significant advancement to Kohli’s existing research program in piecewise growth models. In all of the previous methods and applied substantive studies, researchers hypothesized and prefixed the number of unknown changepoint locations (i.e., the number of changepoints were specified in advance). There is no existing methodological study that empirically detects the number of changepoints (i.e., considers the number of changepoints as unknown and to be inferred from the data) within a unified framework for inference. This is limiting for many applications.
Piecewise studies of educational data typically assume one changepoint (Sullivan et al. 2017; Kohli et al. 2015b; Kieffer 2012). However, it is plausible that many learning trajectories will have at least two changepoints: one preceding a period of accelerated growth (an “a-ha” moment) and another preceding a period of decelerated growth (a “saturation point”) (Gallistel et al. 2004). Multiple changepoints are also plausible for many physical growth processes. For these and other applications a flexible inferential framework that allows for an arbitrary number of latent changepoints, as well as individual variation and population heterogeneity in the form of latent classes, is needed. This method fulfills that need.
The article includes a user friendly R package that makes easy for researchers and practitioners to apply this method to their data sets.
Asha Jitendra, professor in the Department of Educational Psychology’s article, “Is Mathematical Representation of Problems an Evidence-Based Strategy for Students With Mathematics Difficulties?” was recognized by the Council for Exceptional Children’s e-newsletter as a top read article from the journal—one of the most respected in special education. Jitendra’s article evaluates the quality of the research and evidence base for representation of problems as a strategy to enhance the mathematical performance of students with learning disabilities and those at risk for mathematics difficulties.
On November 7, Panayiota (Pani) Kendeou, Guy Bond Chair in Reading and associate professor in the Department of Educational Psychology’s psychological foundations of education program, presented her research on “Educational Technology for Teaching Reasoning and Reading Skills in Education” to the United States Congress.
Bart’s keynote titled, “Making School Chess Research Relevant,” will make the constructive proposal that there should be international centre for scholastic chess research to improve its quality, push its relevance and pool resources. Chess instruction is used in schools throughout the world because of its positive effects on student mathematical achievement and student thinking skills.
Annie Hansen-Burke realized her interest in supporting students when she was in high school. She pursued degrees in social work and psychology at Briar Cliff University, and wasn’t sure which path she would pursue. During her senior year, she reflected on her interests.
“I wanted to know how I could help make sure kids were not falling through the cracks, give support to those that were at risk for not completing school, and create a welcoming, healthy school climate. When I did an online search for those interests, school psychology kept coming up.,” Hansen-Burke says.
Her search for school psychology programs led her to the University of Minnesota to earn her Ph.D. At the time, Sandra Christenson was working with Check and Connect, an intervention program used with K-12 students who show warning signs of disengagement with school and who are at risk of dropping out.
“I came to the University of Minnesota largely because of Dr. Christenson. One of the elements [of her work] that appealed to me was building relationships with kids and removing barriers for them to be able to complete school.”
Now, Hansen-Burke aims to be a role model for other students. She teaches classes and coordinates fieldwork for the school psychology program.
“Working with graduate students is amazing. They bring so much energy into their work, and the level of commitment and creativity I see from them is inspiring. As a supervisor, it keeps me on top of my game because I have to be a good role model for them.”
She continues, “I’m also excited about the intellectual environment in this field. The amount that there is to know—what currently exists and what hasn’t been discovered—is thrilling to me. My learning curve has never really flattened out.”
One of Hansen-Burke’s current projects is with School Psychology Embedded Teams, working to solve the challenge of bringing school psychologists to fill the need in our school systems, while giving students the experience they need to graduate under APA guidelines.
The embedded teams model allows students to participate multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), a model of practice that relies on multiple tiers of instruction that work together to prevent school failure. MTSS includes assessments, evidence-based instruction, interventions, and data-based decision making.
As an alumna and instructor of the school psychology program, Hansen-Burke wants prospective students to know how they can benefit from the University of Minnesota.
“We pride ourselves on being thought leaders in the field of school psychology, and the faculty is awesome. They’re young, productive, and creative researchers. It’s exciting to be in this environment, both as a co-worker and a student.”
She adds, “Our dual emphasis on research-based practice and MTSS is our calling card. For people who value research and want to change systemic outcomes for kids, this is where you want to be doing it.”
Outside of school psychology, Annie considers herself a podcast aficionado and listens to about 30 different podcasts. She also has 5-year-old twins (boy and girl) who keep her busy.
Alumna and former associate professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, Darcia Narvaez, recently received the Expanded Reason Award for research, an international award acknowledging innovation in scientific research and academic programs sponsored by University Francisco de Vitoria and the Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation.
The Expanded Reason Award for research was given to Narvaez for her work represented in her book, Neurobiology and the Development of Human Morality: Evolution, Culture and Wisdom, which has received several awards.Narvaez accepted the prize at a ceremony at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in Vatican City on September 27.
Narvaez obtained her Ph.D. in educational psychology from the University of Minnesota in 1993, was an assistant—and later —associate professor in the College of Education and Human Development from 1993-1999, and is currently a professor of psychology at the University of Notre Dame.
Math is interesting in that we routinely task young children with learning very sophisticated concepts. We now teach kids in third grade things that took mathematicians centuries to figure out. My research revolves around gaining better insight into how people understand abstract math patterns and concepts, and why some people are better at these skills than others. Hopefully, by better understanding math cognition, teachers will be able to develop better instruction and curricula.
“The new program is designed to teach students about the principles of behavior,” explains McComas, “how to recognize the influence of social interactions and other environmental variables and recommend changes to improve the day-to-day lives of people with disabilities.”
Now approved by the national Behavior Analyst Certification Board, the A.B.A. program is designed prepare students to sit for their Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) exam and to work with people with disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorder and developmental disabilities.
“The M.A. is a good fit for psychology and education majors and those interested in applied research who want to make a difference in the world around them,” McComas says.
A full-time, on campus program, the M.A. in special education with an emphasis in A.B.A. is currently accepting applications for fall 2018. Students who enroll in the program will be required to complete 36 total credits (nine credits in four semesters), including three semesters of practical experience working alongside a BCBA. They’ll also complete a final research project, guided by University of Minnesota faculty and staff, like McComas, who are experts in the area of applied behavior analysis.
“We’ll approach applied behavior analysis from a scientific perspective,” McComas says. “Students will be challenged to become consumers of research and prepared for the real world through supportive supervisory experience, which is essential when working with people with disabilities.”
Amy Hewitt
Amy Hewitt is a senior research associate with the Institute for Community Integration at the University of Minnesota and has worked for over 30 years to improve community inclusion and quality of life for children and adults with disabilities and their families.
“This new program is timely and responds to a critical need in Minnesota. With newly implemented policies that fund early intensive behavioral intervention for people with autism and the focus on positive behavioral support in the MN Olmstead Plan there is a high need for qualified professionals,” Hewitt says. “This program will help to ease the high demand to grow this workforce.”
Graduates of the program will help meet the state and national need for BCBAs who work with people with disabilities to identify opportunities to make positive behavior changes leading to more fulfilling lives.
Kristen McMaster, professor in the Department of Educational Psychology’s special education program, keynoted the 50th anniversary conference of the Korean Educational Psychology Association (KEPA) on October 20. McMaster presented her research on “Using Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies to Promote Reading Achievement for Students at Risk.”
Congratulations to Dr. McMaster on this great honor!
The three scholars shared their research around data-based instruction. McMaster presented her work “Using Data-Based Instruction (DBI) to Support Students’ Early Writing Development.” Shin shared his meta-analysis on “Relations between CRM (Oral Reading and Maze) and Reading Comprehension on State Achievement Tests.” Finally, Jung discussed the results of her meta-analysis on the “Effects of Data-Based Instruction for Students with Intensive Learning Needs.”
The ICER is an international conference, organized by Education Research Institute atSeoul National University, held annually for the purpose of disseminating and supporting research in education as well as of building academic networks within the Asia-Pacific region. ICER has become a special venue for international academics to share educational research outcomes and to discuss core educational issues in the region. Since the year of 2000, more than 4,000 people from more than twenty countries have attended the event.
