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UCI Researchers awarded Spencer Foundation grant to improve recruitment of Black teacher education candidates

6/21/2021

 
​The Spencer Foundation awarded a team of UCI School of Education researchers a Racial Equity Special Research Grant to identify existing teacher recruitment practices of two university-based teacher preparation programs in Southern California and recommend promising practices for improving the recruitment of Black candidates.
 
The research project was initiated in response to a problem of practice identified by Dr. Acacia Warren, Single Subject Coordinator, MAT + Credential Program. Recognizing the pressing need to increase the number of Black teachers in the K-12 settings, Warren approached Carlos Sandoval, a fifth-year doctoral student who has extensive expertise in improvement science. 
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Brandy Gatlin-Nash
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Elizabeth van Es
Sandoval leads a network improvement community as part of the California Teacher Education Research Improvement Network (CTERIN). Together, Warren and Sandoval recognized an opportunity to contribute to research on teacher recruitment and retention of under-represented communities, while simultaneously responding to a problem that plagues teacher preparation nationally. 

The research efforts of this initiative will be supported by Assistant Professor Brandy Gatlin-Nash, who will serve as principal investigator on the project, and Elizabeth van Es, Co-PI and professor and faculty director of the School of Education’s MAT + Credential Program, and Professor Rossella Santagata.
 
“The teaching profession has had long-standing challenges recruiting Black teachers,” Gatlin-Nash said. “Though some research has surfaced promising strategies for recruiting Black candidates, few studies center on unveiling existing practices of recruitment, particularly as experienced from the lenses of both teacher educators and candidates.”
 
To gather data, the researchers will interview teacher educators, prospective and current Black candidates, and program alumni, and conduct a review of the literature on teacher preparation to identify promising strategies for improving recruitment.
 
“Our research activities will help us to establish an improvement network by developing a shared problem analysis,” van Es said. “We consider this project the first step in initiating an improvement network focused on improving the recruitment of Black teacher candidates across universities in California.”
 
The Spencer Foundation invests in education research that cultivates learning and transforms lives. In honor of the Foundation's 50th Anniversary, the Foundation launched The Racial Equity Special Research Grants program to support education research projects that will contribute to understanding and ameliorating racial inequality in education.

​The UCI teacher education program (MAT + Credential) awards students with a master’s degree and teaching credential in 14 months. The program is committed to advancing equity and justice and sees the recruitment of future Black teachers as central to disrupting persistent educational inequities for Black and Brown students. The School takes an improvement approach to teacher preparation, centering practitioners’ expertise and research interests to drive change that is relevant and timely for the profession.

Adriana Villavicencio awarded Hellman Fellowship

6/21/2021

 
​The UCI Office of Academic Personnel awarded Assistant Professor Adriana Villavicencio a 2021-22 Hellman Fellowship Award, given to promising assistant professors who show innovation, dedication to inclusive excellence, and capacity for great distinction in their research.
 
Through the award, Villavicencio will study the outcomes of a racial justice program across three public high schools in Orange County.
 
Existing studies of anti-racism programs for educators have shown promising outcomes related to teacher practice, but have primarily focused on changes at the individual level and less on organizational change. What distinguishes this study from prior research is its focus on a school-wide intervention that aims to change organizational policies and practices versus professional development (PD) that may only change the behavior of a few participating teachers.
 
The intervention is also innovative in that it is implemented over an entire school year, which is potentially more impactful and sustainable than the typical one-time anti-racist or implicit bias workshops. Building on a pilot study that Villavicencio led in New York City, this study will employ mixed methods to examine the outcomes of a​ yearlong racial justice program on student experiences; teacher beliefs and practices; and school and district policy.
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Adriana Villavicencio
“A growing number of school districts and educational leaders are pursuing ways of advancing racial justice in schools, but some of these efforts are short lived, perpetuate harm, or focus only on individuals and not at all on systemic change,” Villavicencio said. “This study will not only deepen the field’s theoretical understanding of the processes that generate justice-oriented change, but also provide educators and policymakers with evidence-based recommendations for addressing systemic racism in schools.”
 
Villavicencio’s research focuses on K-12 educational policy and school practices that deepen or disrupt inequities for minoritized communities of students and families. In her previous position as deputy director of the Research Alliance in New York City, she led a longitudinal study of the Expanded Success Initiative, a precursor to My Brother’s Keeper and one of the country’s largest initiatives targeting Black and Latino male students.
 
Her recent book, Am I My Brother’s Keeper: Educational Opportunities and Outcomes for Black and Brown Boys, published by Harvard Education Press, examines how districts and schools can embed racial equity into sustainable policies and practices in contrast to initiatives that come and go. In May, Villavicencio presented her research during a book talk and Q&A, featuring School of Education Dean and Professor Richard Arum and Douglas M. Haynes,, Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at UCI. Watch here.
 
The Hellman Fellows Fund was established at UCI in 2013 through the generosity of Chris and Warren Hellman. Learn more.
​

Jennifer Cabrera recognized as “Outstanding DECADE Representative”

6/21/2021

 
UCI Graduate Division and the UCI Office of Inclusive Excellence named third-year doctoral student Jennifer Cabrera an “Outstanding DECADE Representative for 2020-2021.”

​DECADE – Diverse Educational Community and Doctoral Experience - promotes inclusive excellence in graduate education by providing a supportive community of faculty, staff, and students; resources tailored to fit specific needs, and professional development and leadership opportunities.
 
Cabrera will receive $1,000 in July in recognition of her service advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion across the UCI campus.
 
Cabrera is specializing in Human Development in Context (HDIC). Her research examines how online social platforms can serve as supportive spaces for Latina students’ success in higher education. As a member of the Connected Learning Lab, she works on projects to increase the inclusivity of young Latinx students in STEM and analyze online supportive spaces for Latina adolescents. Professor Stephanie Reich and Associate Professor Glenda Flores (UCI School of Social Science) serve as her co-advisors.
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Jennifer Cabrera

Teaching Climate Change for Grades 6–12: Empowering Science Teachers to Take on the Climate Crisis Through NGSS

6/11/2021

 
UCI Science Project Director Kelley T. Le released a new publication providing teachers with design and implementation support for teaching about climate change.
 
The title of the book is Teaching Climate Change for Grades 6–12: Empowering Science Teachers to Take on the Climate Crisis Through NGSS.
 
Le directs the UCI Center for Educational Partnerships (CFEP) Science Project. Project staff work with schools and districts to review curricula for NGSS alignment, create district pacing plans, develop benchmark assessments, offer professional development at UCI or in the district/school catered to site needs, and support science educators in the classroom through lesson studies and sustained partnerships.

Publication Overview
 
Nearly one-third of the secondary science standards relate to climate science, but teachers need design and implementation support to create empowering learning experiences centered around the climate crisis. Experienced science educator, instructional coach, and educational leader Dr. Kelley T. Le offers this support, providing an overview of the teaching shifts needed for Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and to support climate literacy for students via urgent topics in climate science and environmental justice – from the COVID-19 pandemic to global warming, rising sea temperatures, deforestation, and mass extinction. Teachers also will learn how to engage the complexity of climate change by exploring social, racial, and environmental injustices stemming from the climate crisis that directly impact students. 
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Kelley Le
By anchoring instruction around the climate crisis, Dr. Le offers guidance on how to empower students to be the agents of change needed in their own communities. A range of additional teacher resources are also available at www.empoweredscienceteachers.com.​

Zhiling Shea awarded AERA/NSF Dissertation Grant

6/10/2021

 
​The American Educational Research Foundation (AERA) awarded doctoral candidate Zhiling Shea a 2021 Dissertation Grant in support of her research examining interventions for disadvantaged children in early childhood education.
 
The grant, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), provides a $25,000 stipend, professional development, and training activities to connect Shea with a community of scholars.
 
Shea’s dissertation research focuses on the effects of early programs on disability, special education, and social-emotional outcomes for disadvantaged children.
 
“Compared to more economically advantaged children, many children with special needs from low-income families exhibit alarming gaps in academic and social-emotional outcomes,” Shea said. “A central question my research addresses how well early programs and policies build early learning foundations for disadvantaged children.” 
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Zhiling Shea
​Shea will gather data from multiple national-level data sets including American Community Service (ACS) data, Digest of Education Statistics (DES), Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and Head Start Classroom-based Approaches and Resources for Emotion and Social Skill Promotion (HS CARES) data.
 
By providing insight into the implementation of state disability policy and identifying effective skill-specific interventions and classroom processes for disadvantaged children in early educational programs, Shea’s research will address three field-specific needs:

  1. The need for evidence on the percentage of children identified with learning disability, including how these children are being placed and served at the state level
  2. The need for understanding who benefits from skill-specific curricula interventions in the Head Start population
  3. The need for clarifying casual evidence of classroom process quality on child social-emotional development in preschool interventions
 
“Ensuring that young children benefit from their early learning experience is critical to forming a strong and productive society,” Shea said. “Effective early learning experiences should allow all children to exhibit positive behavior and achieve their developmental potential in later learning.”
 
“Zhiling’s dissertation is award-worthy because she uses rigorous methods to answer important questions in ECE policy for children with developmental vulnerabilities,” said Assistant Professor Jade Jenkins. “That is very rare.”

Jenkins and Distinguished Professor Greg Duncan are Shea's co-advisors.

​
The grant detailed above is 100% funded by the IES.

Professor Santagata receives 2020-21 Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentorship

6/10/2021

 
​The UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) awarded Professor Rossella Santagata the 2020-21 Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentorship.
 
The award recognizes faculty members who exhibit excellence in training, professional development, ongoing support, evaluations and feedback, and impact on learning and development.
 
Santagata, who has worked at UCI for 15 years, estimates that she has advised more than 100 undergraduate students on their research in collaboration with her graduate students.
 
“Mentoring is extremely rewarding,” Santagata said. “As a professor, I see students’ growth right in front of my eyes and the positive impact is evident in the next steps they take in their careers, many going on to graduate degrees. In addition, the diversity of backgrounds of UCI undergraduate students brings fresh perspectives to the research process. Their questions and their wonderings push me to think about ways I can make my work even more meaningful and applicable to a wider audience.”

​Many of Santagata’s mentees gain valuable research experience as members of UCI’s Center for Research on Teacher Development and Professional Practice. ​
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Rossella Santagata
“Dr. Santagata has been an incredibly supportive faculty mentor for the research assistants at our lab,” said doctoral candidate Jiwon Lee, one of Santagata’s advisees. “Her vision of equitable learning is always enacted in the way she creates multi-varied learning opportunities and experiences for research assistants to become researchers who think deeply and critically. All of our undergraduate research assistants have successfully been funded through two UROP projects this year, and two of them have been accepted to Ph.D. programs for this coming fall.”
 
Santagata’s award was announced during UROP’s 28th annual symposium – Discovering New Paths - on May 21. 

School of Education project scientist receives IES grant to study personalizing literacy instruction for English learners

6/7/2021

 
​The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) awarded School of Education project scientist Jin Kyoung Hwang ‘15 a four-year, $1.69 million grant to study personalizing literacy instruction for English Learners.
 
Hwang and her research team will research literacy instruction among students who are in the process of acquiring English language and literacy skills. Their project will extend Hwang’s previous work, in which she assessed the use of A2i individualizing instruction technology and the Optimizing Learning Opportunities for Students (OLOS) observation system, which centered mostly on monolingual English-speaking students in mainstream classrooms.
 
“With growing numbers of English learners, it is important to address their instructional needs and help them to achieve proficient literacy skills to succeed in school and in life,” Hwang said. “The results from this project will help us gain a better understanding of how to better support English learners and inform literacy practices and education for teachers who interact with English learners daily.”
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Jin Kyoung Hwang
​Hwang anticipates finding diverse interactions that occur among English learners and their teachers during literacy instruction and that certain interactions will be associated with English learners’ later language and literacy outcomes.
 
“I expect that the current A2i algorithms might be enhanced by considering English learners’ first language and literacy skills and other cognitive factors,” Hwang said. “This will help us accurately assess what English learners need to obtain proficient literacy skills and make it easier for teachers to personalize literacy instruction based on their students’ skills.”
 
Hwang will serve as principal investigator on the grant. UCI School of Education Professor Young-Suk Kim; along with Ashley Adams, assistant professor at San Diego State University; and Kevin Grimm, professor at Arizona State University, are serving as Co-PIs.
 
Hwang received her B.A. in English Language and Literature from Sookmyung Women’s University in Korea, her Ed.M. in Education from Harvard, and her Ph.D from the UCI School of Education. 


​The grant detailed above is 100% funded by the IES.

Khamia Powell awarded President’s Dissertation Year Fellowship

6/3/2021

 
Doctoral candidate Khamia Powell is one of six doctoral candidates campus-wide to be awarded a 2021 President’s Dissertation Year (PDY) Fellowship.

​The fellowship provides a $23,000 stipend, tuition, fees, summer research support, and a $500 travel allowance to support Powell’s dissertation research.
 
Powell is pursuing an explanatory mixed methods study of the influence of immersive experiences on culturally responsive teaching practice.
 
“My research grew from my concern, as a previous educator, that cultural mismatches between teachers and students may deepen educational inequities as the United States becomes more diverse,” Powell said. “I believe that teachers can serve as change agents – dismantling systems of oppression – in their classrooms by engaging in more culturally responsive practices thereby offering learning opportunities that are accessible to all students.”

Powell’s study addresses two questions:              
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Khamia Powell
  1. To what extent do immersive experiences develop teacher empathy and critical consciousness?
  2. How do immersive experiences alter, promote, or inhibit the enactment of culturally responsive practices?  

“I hypothesize that teachers who engage in this study’s professional development utilizing immersive experiences will develop a depth of awareness and sentiment that will inspire them to engage in more conscious decision-making and thus an increased intentionality regarding the enactment of culturally responsive classroom practices,” Powell said.
 
Powell recognizes that there is a gap in literature that explains how to effectively translate culturally responsive theory into practice and methods to develop teachers who are prepared to meet this critical need. She intends for her findings to provide valuable insight for teachers, school leaders, and districts about the conditions that support and limit efforts to disrupt racism and inequity in schools.
 
Powell is specializing in Learning, Teaching, Cognition, and Development for her doctoral work. Distinguished Professor Jacquelynne Eccles and Assistant Professor Adriana Villavicencio serve as her advisors.​

Professor Simpkins named 2021 Society for Research in Child Development Mentor

6/3/2021

 
The Society for Research in Child Development’s Towards 2044: Horowitz Early Career Scholar Program named Professor Sandra Simpkins a 2021 Horowitz Program Mentor. Simpkins is one of ten mentors to be selected nationwide to the program’s inaugural cohort.
 
As a mentor, Simpkins will provide educational and professional development for a scholar from an underrepresented group. The pair will engage in a series of monthly seminars and meet in one-on-one sessions through December 2021, giving the emerging scholar a launching point for a career in the field of child development.
 
“I am honored to support early career scholars,” Simpkins said. “It is one of the greatest joys of being a professor.”

​Simpkins is a developmental psychologist, studying child and adolescent development. She researches how families, friendships, and social position factors (such as ethnicity and culture) shape adolescents’ organized after-school activities and motivation. 
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Sandra Simpkins
She is currently working on research focused on the positive outcomes of youth’s participation in activities as well as the predictors and correlates of high school students’ STEM motivational beliefs. ​She is PI on grants from the John Templeton Foundation and the National Science Foundation to support positive development from childhood through young adulthood. Simpkins directs the Center for After School and Summer Excellence (CASE) and Project REACH and co-directs the After School Activities Project.
 
The Frances Degan Horowitz Millennium Scholars Program (MSP), developed in 1999, encourages and supports scholars from under-represented ethnic/racial groups from North America in pursuing graduate work in developmental science. The program changed its name to Towards 2044: Horowitz Early Career Scholar Program in 2021. The updated name identifies the year when the adult population of the United States is estimated to become a diverse majority.
 

Sirui Wan awarded Graduate Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship

6/3/2021

 
UCI Graduate Division awarded doctoral candidate Sirui Wan a Graduate Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship (GDDF) in support of his doctoral research studying students’ achievement-related choices. The fellowship provides $5,000 for summer 2021 dissertation research.
 
Wan’s research seeks to understand the factors that influence students’ achievement-related choices during their school years, and to provide empirical evidence on how to best support all students’ learning and reduce inequities in educational outcomes.
 
“My dissertation research is focusing on understanding the development of students’ beliefs of whether he/she is ‘a math person’ or ‘a reading person’,” Wan said. “Believing that one is either can have fundamental influence on students’ academic achievement and for their educational and career choices. For example, girls may avoid pursuing a math-intensive field for future careers because they perceive themselves more as a reading person than as a math person even though they get good grades in math.”

Wan believes that his research has implications for educational policies and interventions. 
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Sirui Wan
​“Society values specialization and pushes students to pursue specific fields early for potential economic benefits,” Wan said. “But if the goal is to help every student pursue what they value and achieve their potential, it might be worth allowing students to delay when to make educational choices and give them more time for exploring to develop and find their passion.”
 
Wan is specializing in Human Development in Context (HDiC) for his doctoral work. Associate Professor Drew Bailey and Distinguished Professor Jacquelynne Eccles serve as his co-advisors. 
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