CEHD For The Record: Fall 2023

Sarah Curtiss, associate professor in the SOE, was awarded funding by the Engagement Scholarship Consortium for “Providing effective puberty sex education for all learners.” ($4,680)

CEHD’s Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood Education and Early Learning Center have received a federal grant to provide childcare access to undergraduate and graduate student parents as part of the Child Care Access Means Parents in School program. ($2M; 2023-2027)

Heather Farmer, assistant professor in HDFS, received a Health Disparities Loan Repayment Program award from the National Institutes of Health for the project “Interpersonal Racism, Structural Racism, and Blood Pressure in U.S. Black Adults.”

Sue Giancola, senior associate director of CRESP,  was awarded funding for several projects. She is the Evaluation PI for the following projects:

• Collaborative grant with the University of Delaware (PI: Hicks), from the National Institutes of Health Clinical and Translational Research program for a project entitled “Accelerating Clinical and Translational Research.” ($1.3M/$20M; 2023-2028)
• Collaborative grant with Brown University (PI: Colvin), from the National Science Foundation AGEP FC-PAM for a project entitled “Alliance for Relevant and Inclusive Sponsorship of Engineering Researchers to Increase the Diversity of Biomedical Engineering Faculty.” ($203K/$1.4M; 2023-2028)
• Collaborative grant with Old Dominion University (PI: Agho), from the National Science Foundation ADVANCE Adaptation for a project entitled “Re-envisioning Inclusive and Sustainable Excellence.” ($130K/$1M; 2023-2026)

Leigh McLean (PI) was awarded funding from the National Science Foundation for “Preparing Elementary Mathematics Teachers for Culturally Responsive Teaching: Connections to Student and Teacher Outcomes.” ($1M, July 2023 to June 2027)

Teya Rutherford (PI) and Chen-Chung Shen (co-PI in UD’s Department of Computer and Information Sciences) were awarded funding from the National Science Foundation, SaTC-EDU, for a project entitled “EAGER: Developing Metaverse-Native Security And Privacy Curricula For High School Students” ($299K, 2023-2025).

Brittany Zakszeski (PI) and Tia Barnes (co-PI) were awarded funding through the UD Anti-Racism Initiative (UDARI) for a project entitled “Systematically Identifying and Describing “Anti-Woke” State Education Legislation.”

Ann M. Aviles, associate professor in HDFS, was invited to speak at the Critical Race Studies in Education Association Conference this October in Chicago. She presented her research entitled, “The Racial Contract and White Saviorism: Centering Racism’s Role in Undermining Housing and Education Equity.” 

Christina Areizaga Barbieri, was invited to speak at several events this fall:

• Presented at the virtual Delaware Math Equity Conference. She presented her work titled “The Importance of Sense of Belonging in Mathematics Classrooms” virtually in October 2023. She also hosted a PLC session on the same topic later that day with Elena Silla. 
• Invited to speak to Delaware Mathematics Supervisors and Coordinators at the Delaware Math Coalition’s Coaches and Leaders September 2023 meeting titled “TARGETbyExample: A socio-cognitive approach to supporting mathematics development.”
• Invited to speak at Delaware Math Coalition’s Leadership Coaching Lab meeting with Delaware math teachers. The talk was titled “Supporting Learning & Belonging through Errorful Approaches.” 

Christina Budde, assistant professor in the SOE, was invited to speak at several events:

• Invited to speak at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and The Hunt Institute’s Webinar Series on Early Literacy. She presented at their Webinar 3: Early Literacy Instruction for Multilingual Learners in April 2023. 
• Invited to speak on the panel for The Science of Reading For Multilingual Learners at the Delaware Department of Education Annual Multilingual Learner Virtual Conference in April 2023. 

Heather Farmer was invited to chair and organize a session called “Socioeconomic Status and Health Inequities” at the Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Sciences this October in Baltimore.

Sue Giancola was invited to speak at several events this fall:

• Conducted a seminar at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. They presented “Evaluation matters” virtually to faculty in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in September.
• Invited to speak at the Northeast Regional IDeA Conference (NERIC) with Mary Culane, Ph.D. They presented “Lessons learned from the Delaware CTR ACCEL Evaluation” this September in Wilmington.
• Invited to conduct a series of graduate student workshops at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. She taught program evaluation topics, including evaluation standards, approaches, and logic modeling virtually to students in the Masters in Medical Education program this fall.
• Invited to speak at the American Evaluation Association Annual Meeting with Bill Trochim, Ph.D. (Cornell University). They presented “Telling the story of potential impacts in clinical and translational science” this October in Indianapolis.
• Invited to speak at the American Evaluation Association Annual Meeting with Jeff Klein, Ed.D. They presented “A different kind of story: Answering the question ‘What design should I use?’” this October in Indianapolis.
• Invited to speak at the American Evaluation Association Annual Meeting with Mary Culnane, Ph.D. They presented “Pathways to [potential] impacts using the Translational Science Benefits Model” this October in Indianapolis.
• Invited to speak at the American Evaluation Association Annual Meeting with John Stevenson, Ph.D. (University of Rhode Island), and Ingrid Philibert (University of Nebraska Medical Center). They presented “Stories of challenges to evaluation over time: CTR evaluator survey results” this October in Indianapolis.

Amy Grundy, senior educational leadership specialist, Ann Little, senior school improvement specialist, and Michele Savage, educational leadership specialist, were invited by the School Success Center (SSC) to facilitate a two-day training on the Delaware Teacher Growth and Support System on September 6 through 7, at the Pencader Conference Center. 

• Members of the SSC, as well as members of the Center for Disabilities Studies, Center for Excellence and Equity in Teacher Preparation (CEETP), CRESP, and The College School, learned about the new teacher evaluation system and collaborated with their peers about how their roles play an integral part in supporting the state’s efforts to ensure teacher growth, and ultimately, student performance. 
• This opportunity not only provided information about what is happening in Delaware’s schools but also allowed professionals from all areas of CEHD to partner in meaningful ways.

McKenna Halverson, was invited to speak at multiple events this fall:

• Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management 2023 Annual Conference. They presented “Nutrition Assistance Programs During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Quantitative and Qualitative Methods to Understand Impacts and Experiences” this November in Atlanta.
• American Public Health Association 2023 Annual Conference. They presented “Pandemic-era WIC participation in Wilmington, Delaware: Participants’ experiences and challenges” this November in Atlanta.

Myae Han was invited to speak at the National Council on Family Relations’ Korean Families Focus Group. She presented “Grant Writing: From ideas to practice” virtually in October.

Amanda Jansen was invited to be the keynote speaker at the STEM Summer Institute in Bozeman, Montana. She presented “Integrating Rough Drafts & Revising into Teaching & Learning: A Mathematics Perspective” on August 1, 2023. 

John Oluwadero, Ph.D. in Education and Social Policy student, was invited to speak at the 2023 Conference on Land Policy in Africa organized by the African Land Policy Centre, a joint initiative of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the African Union Commission, and the African Development Bank. He presented virtually on ‘Flood Resilience Planning in Smallholder Farmers Communities in Nigeria: A Policy Assessment’ in November. 

Elena Silla presented “Examining Students’ Variability in Procedural Flexibility Using Latent Profile Analysis” at the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics Research Conference in D.C. in October. She was also a discussant in a symposium titled “Incorporating Qualitative Data in Education Research: Across Contexts” at the Northeastern Education Research Association Conference in October in Connecticut.

Eric Sisofo, assistant professor in the SOE, was selected to be interviewed on Rounding Up with Mike Wallus podcast about teaching place value ideas to pre-service teachers and to elementary school children. 

Le Roy Whitehead, Ann Little and Michele Savage, educational leadership specialists from the School Success Center, led professional development for new teachers at Athens College, the alma mater of President Assanis. They presented in Athens Greece on November 3 and 4, 2023. 

Joshua Wilson, was invited to speak at the UD Board of Trustees Fall Retreat. He presented “AI-Enhanced learning: A new frontier for foundational courses” in the UD STAR Audion in October 2023. With other UD colleagues, Wilson also facilitates the university-wide AI for Teaching and Learning Working Group.

Brittany Zakszeski was invited to speak to the Kendal-Crosslands Communities about child and adolescent mental health this October in Kennett Square. 

Brittany Zakszeski, Marika Ginsburg-Block, associate professor in the SOE, and Cecilia Till, grant coordinator, were invited to participate in Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester’s roundtable discussion on the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in September.

The Center for Disabilities Studies’ Systematic Process for Enhancing and Assessing Communication Supports initiative, in collaboration with Brandywine School District and the Delaware Assistive Technology Initiative, hosted a three-day professional learning workshop on augmentative and alternative communication and literacy for Brandywine School District staff members.

The Gates Foundation-funded CREATEd project, led by Liz Farley-Ripple, professor in the SOE, graduated its first cohort of knowledge broker fellows and recently admitted a second cohort. CRESP’s Debbie Micklos, research coordinator, Samantha Shewchuk, research associate III, Carolyn Hammerschmidt, research associate III, and Carly Hill, research associate II, also contributed to this project.  

• CREATEd fellows work through a six-month curriculum designed to build capacity for engaging in knowledge brokering activities that work to strengthen relationships between researchers and practitioners in addressing issues of educational equity. They apply their skills through collaborative design, where they work with diverse teams to create research-informed, equity centered resources for policy and practice.

Eric Layland recently organized UD’s participation in the first national Coming Out Day Parade in Philadelphia with community partner Galaei and participation from UD’s faculty, staff, graduate and undergraduate students. Together, they pulled a giant rainbow flag through downtown Philadelphia. With Davy Knittle (UD Department of English) and Adam Foley (UD Office of Equity and Inclusion), Layland also recently launched the new UD Queer, Trans, and LGBTQ Studies Working group to bring together faculty and staff leading scholarship on LGBTQ+ related topics across campus.

William Lewis and CEHD alum John Strong are engaged in a year-long professional development project for improving adolescent literacy skills at Jackson County High School in Georgia, based on their book Literacy Instruction with Disciplinary Texts.

Sharon Walpole continues to serve as the Early Literacy Content Expert for the Council of Chief State School Officers Networked Improvement Community. This year’s cohort has over 100 teachers and administrators studying the implications of the science of reading for small-group instruction. 

Joshua Wilson has helped organize a year-long seminar series for UD faculty and staff on “Generative AI for Teaching and Learning.” This work has grown out of his service on the Provost-charged AI for Teaching and Learning Working Group.

John B. Bishop, professor emeritus in HDFS, was awarded the President’s Award from the Association of College and University Counseling Centers Directors in recognition of his dedication to the organization and collegiate mental health. The award also recognizes his effort to compile and publish a history of the organization.

CEETP has been awarded grant funding from the UD Anti-Racism Initiative (UDARI). The funding enables CEETP to host an innovative EdCamp at the University of Delaware this spring. This informal professional learning session will be modeled after in-service teacher EdCamps in which educators come together to discuss, present, and collaborate on all education topics. UD’s version is specifically designed to amplify the voices of students of color within the education programs at UD.

DIEEC was designated as a Delaware Health Hero through the 2023 Lt. Governor’s Wellness Challenge for its Shining the Light on You program. Designed by Rena Hallam, DIEEC director and professor in HDFS, and Laura Lessard (Department of Health Behavior and Nutrition Sciences), Shining the Light on You is an innovative health and wellness program tailored for family child care educators.

Heather Farmer was invited to serve as an Associate Editor for the Journal Ethnicity & Health. 

Sue Giancola was appointed to the Editorial Board for the New Directions for Evaluation Journal.

Gail Headley was among the research team of recipients of the Best Paper Award in the First-Year Programs Division at the June American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition. The research team included faculty and staff from UD’s College of Engineering, CRESP and Towson University.

CEHD 2023 Awards

• Lyndsey Gibbons: Dean’s Research Award

• Teo Paoletti: Dean’s Research Award

• Kenneth Shores: Dean’s Research Award 

• Myae Han: Excellence in Teaching Award

• Carly Hill: Rita Fillos Award

• Wes Garton: Staff Excellence Award 

• Becky Wilson: Staff Innovation Award 

UD 2023 Awards

• Katie Pollock: Green Hen Award

• Kenneth Shores: Francis Alison Society, Gerard J. Mangone Young Scholars Award in the area of Social Sciences and Humanities

• Elizabeth Soslau: Excellence in Teaching Award 

Sarah Clerjuste, Ph.D. in ESRM student, was invited to attend Purdue University’s Center for Early Learning: Emerging Perspectives in Early STEM Learning, Development and Education Workshop in October.

Sarah Clerjuste, Kamal Chawla and Olushola O. Soyoye, Ph.D. in ESRM students, were awarded competitive internships from Educational Testing Service, Summer 2023. 

Kamal Chawla defended his proposal titled “Machine Learning-Based Imputation Methods for Handling Missing Data in Meta-Regression” and is now a doctoral candidate. 

Elena Silla was invited to attend the Network for In Vivo Education Research Workshop in September in Vermont, led by Teya Rutherford. She was also invited to teach in-service teachers a developmental psychology course at the University of Notre Dame, Summer 2023. 

Taylor-Paige Guba, Ph.D. in Education student, was awarded the Diversity Scholarship for the 2023 Summer Program in Quantitative Methods through Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research. She also presented at the 2023 Mathematical Cognition and Learning Society Conference in Loughborough, UK and the 2023 National Council of Teachers in Mathematics Conference in Washington, D.C. Her presentation was titled Look At It This Way: Equal Sign Position and Blank Position in Multiplication Problems Affect Reaction Time.

Gabriella Morra, a senior undergraduate psychology student with an HDFS minor, began her position as lab manager for the M^3 lab (PI: Christina Areizaga Barbieri). 

Olushola Soyoye was recently given a travel award of $3K from the Centre of Measurement Justice to attend the 2024 National Council on Measurement in Education conference.

James Davis, master teacher at The College School and instructor in the SOE, plays bass in the local band, The Collingwood. They have gained local, national and international notoriety and recently their music video for “Jouissance” was selected for the 2023 Newport Beach Film Festival in Orange County, California. Additionally, The Collingwood are in the studio recording their new album, You Lust or You Rust, and preparing for a new music video.

Heather Farmer’s daughter read two books on her own and started Girl Scouts in October 2023. 

Myae Han is a choir director at the Korean Catholic Church in Delaware. 

Courtney O’Brian, graduate academic program coordinator, and her husband Michael welcomed their first child, Catherine Rose (Cate) on July 3, 2023. Courtney and Mike are loving every second of watching her grow and meet milestones like smiling, laughing and interacting with her “puppy brother” Sam. Cate will be attending the Early Learning Center beginning in January 2024.