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More than 40 Lynch School of Education faculty, staff and graduate students traveled to Chicago last week to present their latest research at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, a gathering of 15,000 researchers from around the world.
New studies examined literacy instruction for English Language Learners, a new writing curriculum, cognitive motivation in students, teacher opinions about mobile technology and new approaches to bilingual education. There were also analyses of race, class and justice in education, the guiding principles of charter schools, effective communication by school leaders, and how teachers respond to national education reform initiatives.
“The research conducted by Lynch School faculty, graduate students and our alumni explores many of the most important issues in education both in the US and around the world,” said Lynch School Dean Maureen Kenny. “The AERA conference offers one of the premier platforms to foster the far-reaching influence of our scholarship by sharing it with a global audience.”
Faculty were also honored for their work. Associate Professor Laura M. O’Dwyer and alumna Shelagh Peoples, PhD ’12, were recognized with the Springer Award for the best research report in the journal Learning Environments. Assistant Professor Rebecca Lowenhaupt was presented with the Journal of Educational Administration’s Outstanding Paper Award for 2015.
Among faculty presentations, Associate Professor Patrick Proctor and Catherine Michener LSOE PhD ’14 offered a scientific look at the art of teacher talk. Their two-year study of classrooms in six schools found the specific ways teachers talk to their students – known as talk moves – had a direct impact on literacy skill building.
Associate Professor Martin Scanlan and a team of graduate student researchers examined schools in the Two-way Immersion Network for Catholic Schools, an initiative of the Roche Center for Catholic Education. The project detailed how networks formed among teachers and between schools as the schools made the significant shift from monolingual to bilingual instruction to serve increasingly diverse student populations.
Associate Professor Paul Poteat conducted a survey of high schoolers that found students who are bullied because of sexual orientation have willing defenders among their classmates – motivated by leadership, courage, altruism, their beliefs in justice and having lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender friends.
Assistant Professor Vincent Cho and doctoral student Joshua Littenburg-Tobias PhD ’15 reported on a new survey instrument to examine teacher attitudes toward mobile technology in the classroom. The instrument will examine teacher concerns about using mobile technology to teach non-cognitive skills, its role in educating the “whole student,” and the impact of “digital distraction.”
Professor Maria Brisk has spent seven years working with teachers to develop the Genres in Writing curriculum, which utilize multiple writing genres to help students develop writing and literacy skills. Her study of the effect of the program in a Boston school found the curriculum helps teachers improve literacy skill-building in elementary students and raises student performance on internal and external assessments.
Boisi Professor of Education and Public Policy Henry Braun discussed how he and colleagues are developing a research agenda on college rankings to better understand if rankings actually help students and universities make better or poorer decisions.
Faculty offered expert commentary on a range of issues: Associate Professor Leigh Patel participated in a series of panels on the conference theme of justice in education and supporting diverse communities through research and practice; Professor Dennis Shirley, an expert on educational change, discussed successful education reform strategies in Ontario, Canada; and Brennan Professor of Education Andrew Hargreaves joined a panel discussing results of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development’s global survey of 100,000 teachers.