May 2019
THE COLLEGE INSIDER
NEWS ABOUT FACULTY, STAFF, AND STUDENTS
OF THE UA COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
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Lia Falco and Kevin Henry named 2019 Erasmus Circle Fellows
Congratulations to the college’s newest 2019 Erasmus Circle Fellows, Assistant Professor
Lia Falco
and Assistant Professor
Kevin Henry
! Erasmus Circle Fellows are faculty leaders who have demonstrated excellence in their fields. They are nominated by their department heads and former Erasmus Circle Fellows and are selected by the College of Education National Advisory Board. The title of Erasmus Circle Fellow is one of the highest honors bestowed upon its faculty by the College of Education. Falco, a faculty member in the Department of Disability & Psychoeducational Studies, and Henry, a faculty member in the Department of Educational Policy Studies & Practice, have demonstrated integrity in research, instruction, and service. They will be recognized at the Annual Erasmus Circle and Donor Recognition Reception on March 28.
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Jina Yoon awarded NSF grant to research the roles teachers play in peer victimization
Studies have shown that whether and how children defend their victimized peers has a significant impact on a victim’s adjustment. Although much research has focused on individual factors and on class-level dynamics of victimization, less is known about the role of teachers. The NSF grant will allow Yoon, Bauman, and Toomey to address research questions like “What is the association between teaching practices and peer victimization?” and “What is the association between teaching practices and students’ desires to defend their victimized peers?” Their research will include a sample of teachers and students in fourth and fifth grade classrooms.
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Jaclyn Wolf receives GPSC Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award
Congratulations to Disability and Psychoeducational Studies doctoral student
Jaclyn Wolf
, who won an Outstanding Teaching Assistant Achievement Award from the
Graduate and Professional Student Council
. Winners of the award demonstrate outstanding teaching practice, facilitate and inspire student learning, and sustain a high level of dedication to students. Learn more about GPSC Achievement Awards at
gpsc.arizona.edu/gpsa-week
.
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Leah Durán receives 2019 Urquides Laureate Award
Last month, Assistant Professor
Leah Duran
received the Uriquides Laureate Award. The Urquides Laureate Award honors outstanding contributions by College of Education faculty and academic professionals in bilingual education on behalf of children.
Durán began her career in education teaching elementary school in bilingual and ESL classrooms in Texas. Her research explores the relationship between language, literacy, and young children’s learning, with a focus on bilingual Latinx children.
She served as the Richard Ruiz Scholar in Residence
in Guanajuato, Mexico, a position that involved both teaching and public scholarship. At the national level, she participated in the Advocacy Working Group of the Bilingual Special Interest Group AERA. At the university level, she co-chairs the COEBE committee, which has been working to establish an endorsement program of bilingual study for local in-service teachers. Congratulations, Leah!
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College of Education and School of Anthropology program awarded 2019 Heritage Award by Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission
Furthermore, Chavarria and Mills were interviewed by the
Arizona Daily Star
about the project last month. Read the full article
here
.
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Students in Linking Southwestern Heritage through Anthropology
program touring Tumacacori National Historical Park.
Photo credit: Mike Christy, Arizona Daily Star
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New minor in
American Sign Language approved
The college is excited to announce that the new American Sign Language minor has been approved! Thanks to the efforts of faculty members in the
Department of
Disability and Psychoeducational Studies, students will have the opportunity to learn more about American Sign Language and Deaf Culture. Learn more about the new minor
here
.
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ASL 1 and 2 now offered for dual enrollment credit between the University of Arizona and local high schools
Beginning in fall 2019, American Sign Language courses will be offered for dual enrollment credit between the UA and local high schools. There will be a coordinated effort between the college’s ASL 1 and 2 classes and those at local high schools. Students will be able to receive college credit for ASL 1 and ASL 2 for the corresponding classes they are taking in high school. College faculty members will be working closely with the high schools to utilize the same curriculum and ensure high school teachers are prepared.
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Desiree Vega selected as HSI Fellow for next academic year
Congratulations to Assistant Professor
Desiree Vega
on her selection as a 2019-2020 HSI Fellow! As the HSI Fellows Program seeks to serve students from diverse backgrounds, particularly Hispanic undergraduate and graduate students, the program serves as one of many strategies for strengthening the University of Arizona's institutional capacity and exceeding the federal criteria required to be a designated Hispanic Serving Institution.
Thank you to Associate Professor
Nolan Cabrera
and Assistant Professor of Practice
Vanessa Perry
who participated as HSI Fellows during the 2018-2019 academic year.
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Promoting support and safety in Arizona schools
In an effort to promote safe and supportive school climates in the state of Arizona, a group of UA College of Education and Arizona State University researchers organized a forum for statewide
professional organizations, including the
Arizona School Administrators
and
Arizona School Counselors Association
. Led by Professor
Kris Bosworth
, the group included several faculty members from the College of Education, including Professor
Carl Liaupsin
, Associate Professor
Michael Sulkowski
, Assistant Professor of Practice
Jennifer Kirkpatrick
, Postdoctoral Research Associate
Lukretia Amanda Beasley-Knecht
, Technical Expert
Kelly Bristow
, Graduate Assistant
Paige Brown
, and Adjunct Assistant Professor
Cindy Ruich
. Supported by funds from the Lester and Roberta Smith Endowment, the forum was held in Chandler and featured presentations on school climate interventions, Multi-tiered Supports Systems (MTSS), team decision making, and evidence-based practice. Participants will continue to meet to coordinate training on school climate and safety for 2020.
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Education Policy Center celebrates approval with inaugural lecture series
Last month, the Education Policy Center was approved (yay!) and they kicked off celebrations with two lectures featuring education experts from throughout the country.
The inaugural lecture, titled
Race, School Choice, and the Politics of Transformation
, featured
Michigan State University
Assistant Professor of Teacher Education
Chezare A. Warren
. In his talk, Warren addressed topics of race, education policy, and school reform.
On Monday, April 29, the EPC hosted the second lecture, titled
Civil Rights and Education in the Trump Era
, which featured
UCLA
Research Professors
Patricia Gándara
and
Gary Orfield
. Gándara centered her lecture on the impact of immigration policy on the education of Latino and other students in Title I schools while Orfield focused his lecture on the renewed threats to affirmative action and declining access to higher education.
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Celebrating the college’s Paul Lindsey interns
Last Friday, the college held a private reception to celebrate and showcase the work of the 2018-2019 Paul Lindsey graduate and undergraduate students. The
Paul Lindsey interns
presented their work in our community to an intimate group of College of Education faculty members, deans, and Paul Lindsey himself.
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Using virtual reality to provide equitable access to field learning
Assistant Research Professor
Sanlyn Buxner
collaborated with
Arizona State University
faculty members to research how virtual field experiences can increase access to field learning. They published their findings in
Immersive, interactive virtual field trips promote science learning
.
Mead, C., Buxner, S., Bruce, G., Taylor, W., Semken, S., & Anbar, A. D. (2019). Immersive, interactive virtual field trips promote science learning. Journal of Geoscience Education, 1-12.
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Analyzing the dynamics and implications of mentor-preservice teacher interactions
Associate Professor
Kristin Gunckel
collaborated with
Northern Arizona University
Assistant Professor
Martha Canipe
to study the mentor-preservice teacher hierarchy and how it often dominates mentor-preservice conversations. Their findings are published in
Imagination, Brokers, and Boundary Objects: Interrupting the Mentor–Preservice Teacher Hierarchy When Negotiating Meanings.
Canipe, M. M., & Gunckel, K. L. (2019). Imagination, Brokers, and Boundary Objects: Interrupting the Mentor–Preservice Teacher Hierarchy When Negotiating Meanings. Journal of Teacher Education.
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Measuring the dimensions of the life goals and aspirations of students
Assistant Professor
Lia Falco
and Associate Professor
Jessica Summers
recently published a study about developing a quantitative measure that captures the dimensions of youth purpose (intention, engagement, and prosocial reasoning) with a focus on students’ life goals and aspirations. Falco and Summers propose a novel perspective on student motivation and present findings from the development and validation of their new measure in
The Development and Validation of a New Measure of Adolescent Purpose
.
Summers, J. J., & Falco, L. D. (2019). The Development and Validation of a New Measure of Adolescent Purpose. The Journal of Experimental Education, 1-24.
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Grad students, faculty, and staff: We want to highlight and promote your research!
To feature your research on our Research Highlights page,
complete and submit the form at the link below. Please contact
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Be sure to send in your news for the next
College Insider
!
We're interested in workshops, publications, new faculty and staff,
stellar students to feature, and awards. Click the link below to submit.
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Spotlight on Stellar Students!
Garrison Tsinajinie is a College of Education doctoral candidate in the Special Education Program. No stranger to the University of Arizona, in 2010, he graduated with his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor in special education and in 2011, he completed his Master of Arts in Special Education. It was during his undergraduate years that he became involved with the
McNair Achievement Program
and worked on his first research project. Through the program, he also met Associate Professor of Practice
Irene Topor
and Professor Emerita
Jane Erin
, both of whom have retired since then, but have had a lasting impact on his career. No surprise that they were faculty members in the special education doctoral program he is in now. The program and their mentorship instilled a sense of assurance that he
can
engage in research and science and it offered him an opportunity to learn more about the doctoral program they were a part of. When he was offered a scholarship from the
National Leadership Consortium in Sensory Disabilities
to return to the UA for the special education doctoral program, years after completing his master’s degree, he was thrilled to follow in their footsteps.
His research as a doctoral candidate focuses on finding ways to support people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities, especially those in Indigenous communities. Being of the Black Streak Wood People (Tsi’naajinii) born into the Big Water Clan (Tótsohnii) from the Navajo Nation, he is committed to finding ways to support members of Indigenous communities who have visual impairments. In the five years between graduating from the master’s program and beginning the doctoral program, he worked as an itinerant teacher for visually impaired students in Window Rock, Arizona, near his hometown of Kinlichee. He worked with children and adults ages 3-21 within multiple school districts on the Navajo Reservation and used a wide range of technology, including a braille writer and braille notetaker, to match the needs of each student. Now, as a doctoral candidate, he’s focusing on how students can access the Navajo language using assisted technology. “The unique symbols that are on top of the letters indicate whether tones are high or if they are nasal tones. So I’m researching how you can integrate these details of the Navajo language into assisted technology.” In the last two years, the development of the Navajo braille code has been a significant contribution to his field of work. Prior to its development, people with visual impairments had no way of reading the Navajo language, so the Navajo braille code is a major breakthrough for accessibility.
While Tsinajinie knows he can have the greatest impact working on research at an institution, he says he’s most inspired by the thought of going home to work with his students and their families again. He says, “Engaging in research that will ultimately benefit my community and the students back home is the driving force of my work.”
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