Over the course of the year, you've met the different committee members that contribute to your Division A Graduate Student Committee. Here are the final three members who have contributed this year.

Please consider applying to be a committee member! The call of AERA Division A graduate student applications is now open, but all applications must be received electronically by Monday, April 2, 2018. Email completed applications to Donna Druery at [email protected].

Apply for (1) incoming junior representative and (2) one-year committee member appointments (See more details below). To apply, both appointments require a submission of your CV and a 500 word statement of interest. Graduate students who apply for the junior representative position will automatically be considered for committee member positions. If you would like to be considered for only one of the positions or if you will graduate in May 2019 and are only eligible for a one-year committee member appointment, then please specify that in your statement of interest.

(1) CALL  FOR APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2019-2021 DIVISION A GRADUATE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE POSITION 
 
AERA Division A (Administration, Organization and Leadership) invites applications for a two-year appointment to serve as Graduate Student Representative in Division A and in the AERA Graduate Student Council (GSC). To be considered, applicants must be full-time graduate students through May 2021 and should have leadership experience and a strong interest in leadership and mentoring of graduate students in Division A and AERA. The position offers a unique opportunity to get involved in Division A matters and to work closely with scholars in the field. Other benefits of the position include meeting and working with graduate students both within Division A and from different disciplines. In year one, the Junior Graduate Student Representative works closely with the Senior Representative (Donna M. Druery) in the capacities of the position as listed below. In year two, the Junior Representative moves up to Senior Graduate Student Representative and mentors the incoming Junior Representative on all Division A and AERA activities. Senior Representatives attend the AERA Coordinated Committee Meeting (CCM) with expenses paid. Both Junior and Senior representatives are expected to attend the fall convention for the University Council of Educational Administration (UCEA) and the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). Junior and Senior Representatives receive a stipend to support their travel to the AERA annual meeting. 

Description of Responsibilities: 
• Student advocacy, community building and self-governance 
• Communicate with students and faculty about opportunities for graduate student involvement in AERA, Division A and UCEA 
• Direct and coordinate initiatives to extend participation in Division A for graduate students 
• Support and coordinate tasks of Division A Graduate Student Committee Members 
• Plan the Division A Fireside Chat for AERA annual meeting 
• Continue to build and strengthen current sessions available for Division A graduate student members and potential members at AERA as well as mentoring 
• Direct and coordinate the Foster Polite scholarship program. 
• Contribute to the planning of graduate student events for the UCEA convention with Division L graduate student representatives and UCEA 
• Contribute to AERA Graduate Student Council activities (GSC) activities and initiatives 
• Establish relationships and collaboration with graduate students across other AERA Divisions 
 
Graduate students who are interested in applying for the position submit: 
• an updated vita 
• a 500 word statement of interest explaining how you are involved in Division A and experiences that may have prepared you for this position. 
 
(2) CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2018-2019 DIVISION A GRADUATE STUDENT COMMITTEE MEMBERS 
 
AERA Division A (Administration, Organization and Leadership) invites applications for a one-year appointment to serve as Graduate Student Committee Member in Division A. To be considered, applicants must be full-time graduate students through May 2020. Applicants for both positions should have leadership experience and a strong interest in leadership and mentoring of graduate students in Division A and AERA. The position offers a unique opportunity to get involved in Division A matters and to work closely with scholars in the field. Other benefits of the position include meeting and working with graduate students both within Division A and from different disciplines. Graduate Student Committee Members works closely with the Senior and Junior Representative and assume responsibility for the duties as listed below. Committee Members are encouraged to attend the fall convention for the University Council of Educational Administration (UCEA) and the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). 
Description of Responsibilities: 
• Assist Junior and Senior Representatives with annual meeting planning 
• Student advocacy 
• Self-governance 
• Communicate with students and faculty about opportunities for graduate student involvement in AERA, Division A and UCEA 
• Create announcements for upcoming events and scholarships 
• Coordinate the annual AERA Division A Foster Polite Scholarship and Dialogic Forum 
• Coordinate the graduate student work-in-progress roundtable session at AERA 
• Write newsletter articles for the fall, spring and summer Division A and GSC newsletters 
 
Graduate students who are interested in applying for the position should submit: 
• an updated vita 
• a 500 word statement of interest explaining how you are involved in Division A and experiences that may have prepared you for this position.

In Case You Missed It, you can still watch the connect series! Your host is GSC member Brandon Clark.
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Theme: Educational Leadership and Teacher Support
Featuring:
Dr. Jason Salisbury, University of Illinois - Chicago
Dr. Kristen Shawn Huggins, Washington State University
Dr. Hans Klar, Clemson University
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Need funding for New York? Have a paper accepted to Division A? Apply for the Foster-Polite Scholarship!

Deadline is February 7th, 2018.

Purpose: The purpose of this scholarship is to recognize and promote scholarly excellence in doctoral students who are members of Division A and who are enrolled in an educational administration, school leadership, or related program.

Award: Four awardees will receive $500 to assist with expenses related to attending the AERA Annual Meeting in April 2018 in New York City, NY.

Application: Email completed applications to [email protected] with the subject line “2018 Foster-Polite Scholarship Application.” Applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. EST on February 7th, 2018.

Application must include:

• A blinded (no name or university) electronic copy of an accepted proposal.
• An electronic copy of the acceptance notification from AERA (pdf format).
• A 250-word personal statement on the significance of the scholarship to your professional development and/or participation in the annual meeting.
• Personal information including: name, phone number, e-mail address, and institution.

Applicant criteria for eligibility:

• Applicant is a member of AERA Division A at the time of submission.
• Applicant is a current graduate student.
• Applicant is the single or first author on a paper or poster submission accepted for presentation for any session of Division A at the 2018 AERA Annual Meeting.
• Applicant will attend the Division A Business Meeting to receive the award.
  

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All applications will be blind-reviewed by Division A Graduate Student Committee representatives and former Foster-Polite Scholarship awardees. Late applications, incomplete applications, and unblinded proposals will not be reviewed.

Decisions will be sent via email on March 5, 2018.
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​Best regards,
Bryan J Duarte
Foster-Polite Scholarship Chair

Another great connect series hosted by GSC member Brandon Clark. Enjoy this discussion with these leaders in research on educational technology and leadership.
This conversation addresses,
1) What is technology leadership in education? 
2) What are the guiding tenets of technology leadership in education?
3) What are the challenges faced by technology leaders in schools? 
4) How can technology leadership enhance social justice in education? 
5) How can technology leadership enhance school leader preparation, practices, and policies?

From Junior Rep. Donna Druery:

​The UCEA conference on November 14-19th in Denver, Colorado was a rousing success. One of the Division A planning meetings was held with Dr. Michael Dantley, Dr. Susan Faircloth, Dr. Cristobal Rodriguez, Dr. Rosa Rivera-McCuthchen, Senior Rep, Wei-Ling Sun, and Jr. Rep. Donna Druery. Dr. Rivera-McCuthchen provided information on AERA proposals for 2018 in new York City.  Their meeting was in the Bronx and she stated there were lots of proposals committed. One of the future ideas for the committee is working with universities that have meeting sites. The attendees also discussed the on-going planning information and decisions for Foster-Polite and the Dialogic Forum, along with the success of the Connect Series. 

There will be several opportunities for positions will be available for the 2018-2020 school year. One of those positions will be for Junior Representative. Wei-Ling Sun (University of Texas) is currently serving as Division A Senior Representative and Donna Druery (Texas A&M University) is serving as Junior Rep. Please consider applying the Junior Rep position! Applications for Junior Representative will go out in January. Requirement: Must be a Graduate student until 2020.

From Nakia M. Gray-Nicolas, Ed.D., Dialogica Forum Chair and UCEA GSC Member:
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The 2017 UCEA Graduate Student Summit brought in over 200 graduate students form partner institutions and even non-partner institutions. Graduate students were able to participate in roundtable sessions, paper sessions that included mentor feedback, and panel programming aimed at professional and person growth. To close the GSS, Master Professor Award winner Dr. Margaret Grogan shared tips for maintaining balance in academia.

Presenting at AERA in NYC?  Need travel funds?
The Foster-Polite scholarship offers a $500 stipend to four graduate students who are members of Division A and who are accepted for the AERA Annual Meeting. Look out for an official call for applications in January.  For inquiries please contact
[email protected]

Are you a graduate student whose proposal was not accepted to the AERA conference but you are still interested in sharing and getting feedback on your scholarly work? If so, please consider applying to the Div A Dialogic Forum. Applications are due January 5th, 2018. Please visit the link for further details.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g_DPOPJ110ZYOeIsZTPDfYZ-I5Bg81-N/view?usp=sharing

Paper Title: Educational Opportunities for Immigrant Youth: An Ethnographic Case Study of an International High School

Chandler’s dissertation is an ethnographic case study of a public school for immigrant students where the kids have been in the United States for less than 4 years. The school is part of a network that is working to provide educational opportunities for immigrant students, and despite the students scoring in the bottom quartile for English language exams, the school’s graduation rate is 80%. Her dissertation examines the school’s practices at the cultural level, everything from instruction and assessment to social and emotional support, as well as the larger sociopolitical context.

Most enjoyable at AERA: Connecting with colleagues who are doing immigration work across the country.

Future plans: Pursue tenure-track faculty position at a university

​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!

​​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

​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:

1. How do you identify STEM education?
2. How is that identification different from the perceptions of STEM afforded by current policies in the nation?
3. In what way(s) do you envision equal opportunity in STEM education affordable to all students now and the future?
4. 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.
5. What are the pathways to achieving equal educational opportunity in STEM Education?
6. 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?
7. 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.

​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.