Greetings to all Division A graduate student members!
We hope you had a great experience attending the 2017 AERA Convention at San Antonio. 2016-2017 Division A Graduate Student Council members worked very hard in order to provide best services and resources to our graduate students. Because of your participation and GSC members’ hard work, we are able to provide high quality of our various initiatives, including webinars, UCEA events, and scholarship/mentorship programs. We also hosted our two annual events at the 2017 AERA Convention—the Dialogic Forum and the Fireside Chat.
This year, we had our first GSC thank-you get-together orientation in San Antonio. Division A graduate students represent approximately 30% of Division A’s total membership, we are dedicated to have Division A and AERA hear our voices and continue to provide various platforms to our graduate student members. I am proud to announce that 2017-18 in-coming GSC members will keep this tradition in the following year. The new GSC members are a group of talented and resourceful individuals. Some of them are former participants of our scholarship/mentorship initiatives (e.g., Dialogic Forum, Foster-Polite Scholar, Clark Scholar); some of them have participated in AERA & UCEA events for years; some of them have publication experiences. We are going to have another great year in working with all of you!
This year, we had our first GSC thank-you get-together orientation in San Antonio. Division A graduate students represent approximately 30% of Division A’s total membership, we are dedicated to have Division A and AERA hear our voices and continue to provide various platforms to our graduate student members. I am proud to announce that 2017-18 in-coming GSC members will keep this tradition in the following year. The new GSC members are a group of talented and resourceful individuals. Some of them are former participants of our scholarship/mentorship initiatives (e.g., Dialogic Forum, Foster-Polite Scholar, Clark Scholar); some of them have participated in AERA & UCEA events for years; some of them have publication experiences. We are going to have another great year in working with all of you!
Members of the Graduate Student Council meet to hand off responsibilities.
dialogic forum
The 2017 Division A Dialogic Forum was a great success with six faculty mentors and twelve graduate scholars in attendance at Friday's event during AERA. The Dialogic Forum matches graduate scholars, who have had their research-in-progress reviewed and accepted for submission, with faculty mentors from their fields in educational administration and leadership. After a wonderful breakfast and time of making connections, the scholars met with their mentors to receive feedback and guidance on their research.
It was a privilege to lead, coordinate and organize this year's Dialogic Forum, and to work with the wonderful scholars and mentors who participated. The enthusiasm for this gathering was expressed in this year's evaluations, as participants indicated a very positive experience with some of them wishing for more time to learn from one another. This is a great model for collaboration, networking, advising and growth in research design. I hope even more scholars and mentors will participate next year!
-Amy L. Gearhart, Chair
It was a privilege to lead, coordinate and organize this year's Dialogic Forum, and to work with the wonderful scholars and mentors who participated. The enthusiasm for this gathering was expressed in this year's evaluations, as participants indicated a very positive experience with some of them wishing for more time to learn from one another. This is a great model for collaboration, networking, advising and growth in research design. I hope even more scholars and mentors will participate next year!
-Amy L. Gearhart, Chair
All 2017 Division A Dialogic Forum Mentors and Mentees
2017 Division A Graduate Students talking with their mentors about their research over a delicious breakfast.
More 2017 Division A Graduate Students talking with their mentors about their research over a delicious breakfast.
And more 2017 Division A Graduate Students talking with their mentors about their research over a delicious breakfast.
fireside chat
Division A's Fireside Chat Focused on STEM Education and Leadership: Equitably Accessing the Playing Field. Dr. Issam Abi-El-Mona moderated the panel. With over 25 years of teaching experience in science and math education combined across elementary, middle and high school, Dr. Abi-El-Mona's teaching practices emphasize current science education reform strategies, mainly inquiry based models and the use of scientific argumentation. He has taught in overseas American international schools. He is a published author of both research based science education journals and science curriculum textbooks. He has worked with the United Nations on global education development programs and has participated in the development of science curricula implemented in the Middle East.Among his various services, Dr. Abi-El-Mona is the founding chair of the Department of STEAM Education at Rowan University and currently chairs that department. He heads the science education program at Rowan University and co- directs as well as coordinates outreach training programs with the College of Engineering and Science and Math departments as well as regional school districts.
Distinguished panelists included Dr. Alexis Martin, Dr. Erin Peters-Burton, and Dr. Tia Madkins. Dr. Alexis Martin is the Director of Research at the Kapor Center for Social Impact, where she conducts research on issues of access and opportunity in the technology pipeline. Prior to her work with the Kapor Center, Dr. Martin taught future educators at U.C. Berkeley & Sonoma State University and worked with teachers in professional development inquiry groups examining equity in their classrooms. She has also taught high school social studies and done outreach with students who were the first in their families to attend college.
Dr. Peters-Burton's experience as an engineer and a secondary science teacher for 15 years helps her relate research to practice in science and engineering education. She has won several state and national awards for her work in secondary science education and holds a National Board Certification in Early Adolescent Science. In 2005, Dr. Peters-Burton was selected as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow for the NASA where she advised the agency in their development of curriculum for teachers across the United States. Her work at NASA led her to be chosen as a member of the committee developing the first K-12 National Engineering Standards. In addition to her work with science education in Virginia and nationally, she spends time doing classroom research in developing student scientific epistemologies. Her work has shown promise in demonstrating a connection between content knowledge and nature of science knowledge. She continues to develop research projects that investigate ways that students and teachers can utilize self-regulation not only to learn scientific knowledge but also to learn how scientific knowledge is developed and validated.
Dr. Tia Madkins is the postdoctoral scholar for the Trustey Family STEM Teaching Fellows in the Center for STEM Education at the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Madkins’ research interests include K-12 STEM teaching and learning with emphases on equity-focused elementary science education and teacher education. Her research also focuses on teacher workforce diversification with an emphasis on increasing the number of Black women in teaching via alternate routes into the teaching profession.
The panelist discussed the following central question: How do we [STEM educators- practitioners and leaders] transform the power of STEM knowledge and scholarly discourses into public will, engaging practice, and responsive policy?
The discussion included the panelists thoughts on:
Those attending engaged in the discussion with the panelists in an interactive way and greatly enjoyed the conversation as we grappled with current issues in STEM Education and Leadership.
Distinguished panelists included Dr. Alexis Martin, Dr. Erin Peters-Burton, and Dr. Tia Madkins. Dr. Alexis Martin is the Director of Research at the Kapor Center for Social Impact, where she conducts research on issues of access and opportunity in the technology pipeline. Prior to her work with the Kapor Center, Dr. Martin taught future educators at U.C. Berkeley & Sonoma State University and worked with teachers in professional development inquiry groups examining equity in their classrooms. She has also taught high school social studies and done outreach with students who were the first in their families to attend college.
Dr. Peters-Burton's experience as an engineer and a secondary science teacher for 15 years helps her relate research to practice in science and engineering education. She has won several state and national awards for her work in secondary science education and holds a National Board Certification in Early Adolescent Science. In 2005, Dr. Peters-Burton was selected as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow for the NASA where she advised the agency in their development of curriculum for teachers across the United States. Her work at NASA led her to be chosen as a member of the committee developing the first K-12 National Engineering Standards. In addition to her work with science education in Virginia and nationally, she spends time doing classroom research in developing student scientific epistemologies. Her work has shown promise in demonstrating a connection between content knowledge and nature of science knowledge. She continues to develop research projects that investigate ways that students and teachers can utilize self-regulation not only to learn scientific knowledge but also to learn how scientific knowledge is developed and validated.
Dr. Tia Madkins is the postdoctoral scholar for the Trustey Family STEM Teaching Fellows in the Center for STEM Education at the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Madkins’ research interests include K-12 STEM teaching and learning with emphases on equity-focused elementary science education and teacher education. Her research also focuses on teacher workforce diversification with an emphasis on increasing the number of Black women in teaching via alternate routes into the teaching profession.
The panelist discussed the following central question: How do we [STEM educators- practitioners and leaders] transform the power of STEM knowledge and scholarly discourses into public will, engaging practice, and responsive policy?
The discussion included the panelists thoughts on:
- How do you identify STEM education?
- How is that identification different from the perceptions of STEM afforded by current policies in the nation?
- In what way(s) do you envision equal opportunity in STEM education affordable to all students now and the future?
- Gender, race and ethnicity have been identifiers of academic achievement gaps among students. For instance, test scores on the NAEP Mathematics tests for 4 and 8th graders have shown a persistent 20+ achievement gap for at least two decades among whites and their black and Hispanic counterparts. However, NAEP scores also show that all students have higher average scores for example in 2011 than they did in 1990. Does this mean that we are improving in STEM education? Please elaborate with a focus on what factors you feel are major barriers or facilitators for addressing equal opportunity in STEM Education.
- What are the pathways to achieving equal educational opportunity in STEM Education?
- What implications do such pathways have towards STEM Educational leadership? What are your thoughts on how that looks/ will look like in our K-12 school system? In higher education?
- In summary, where do you currently see equal opportunity and leadership in STEM education heading towards? What implication(s) will that have on K-12 and higher education institutions?
Those attending engaged in the discussion with the panelists in an interactive way and greatly enjoyed the conversation as we grappled with current issues in STEM Education and Leadership.
Dr. Erin Peters-Burton, Dr. Tia Madkins, Dr. Alexis Martin, and Dr. Issam Abi-El-Mona
Division A Business Meeting
The Division A Business Meeting provided graduate students with an excellent opportunity to network with established and emerging scholars in the field. It also offered a glimpse at the work that is being done across the various Division A committees, such as the Equity, Inclusion, and Action Committee, and the extensive time and planning that goes into organizing the high-quality conference sessions at AERA. In addition to updates on graduate student membership, newsletter readership, and the newly reestablished Early Career Mentoring Seminar Program, this year’s Division A award winners were recognized for their outstanding work. Dr. Terrance Green (University of Texas at Austin) received the Emerging Scholar Award and Dr. Lauren Bailes (University of Delaware) received the Outstanding Dissertation Award. This year’s Foster-Polite Scholarship awardees were also recognized: Brandon Clark (Iowa State University), Chandler Patton Miranda (New York University), Bryan Duarte (University of Texas at San Antonio), and Jason Burns (Michigan State University). Following the business meeting, as part of the Division A/Division L/UCEA/Sage Publications joint reception, this year’s Clark Scholars presented their research posters. Overall, attendance at the business meeting and reception was a great way for graduate students to get more involved in the division and develop networks of support with faculty and fellow students.
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