Ketterlin Geller to Collaborate on $1.5M NSF Grant with SMU’s Lyle School of Engineering

Leanne Ketterlin Geller, Texas Instruments Endowed Chair in Education, and Director of Research In Mathematics Education, SMU Simmons

Simmons Professor Leanne Ketterlin Geller joins SMU Lyle’s Assistant Professor Corey Clark, also deputy director of research at Guildhall, and Associate Professor Eric Larson to research teaching computer science and computational thinking through the popular video game, Minecraft.

With a $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation, they will examine the fields of game design, human-computer interaction, machine learning, curriculum design, and education assessment by integrating STEM+C (computing) based curriculum directly into Minecraft.

Ketterlin Geller is engaged in research and scholarship focused on supporting all students in mathematics education through application of instructional leadership principles and practices.

She is the Texas Instruments Endowed Chair in Education and Director of Research in Mathematics in Simmons. She also is the faculty fellow, K-12 STEM Initiatives, for the Caruth Institute for Engineering Education.

 

 

NSF Awards Wilhelm and NC State $2.3M for Access and Equity Study of Math Instructional Practice

Associate Professor Annie Wilhelm, Department of Teaching and Learning, SMU Simmons

Associate Professor Annie Wilhelm and fellow researchers from North Carolina State received a $2.3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to conduct a four-year study of elementary and middle school mathematics instructional practice to respond to the growing needs of students who historically have been underserved in mathematics classes.

The project, Validation of the Equity and Access Rubrics for Mathematics Instruction (VEAR-MI), seeks to move the conversation beyond ambitious instruction and take initial steps towards specifying and measuring practices to support students in gaining access and more equitably participating in mathematics classes.

The goal is to provide foundational knowledge for improving mathematics teaching and learning, and address the critical need for research that directly links instructional practices to student achievement and participation.

 

Simmons, Dallas ISD, and Toyota Recognize First Year Work to Develop STEM School

 

Superintendent Michael Hinojosa, Dallas Independent School District, and Dean Stephanie Knight, SMU Simmons School of Education and Human Development, speak about first-year accomplishments in the development of the West Dallas STEM School.

 

Toyota, Dallas Independent School District, and SMU Simmons School of Education and Human Development formed a partnership one year ago to develop a new STEM-focused school in West Dallas. This past year, the partnership successfully laid the foundation for collaboration and planning.

“Our partnership works because Toyota helps us understand industry goals,” says Simmons Dean Stephanie Knight.  “Dallas ISD,  one of the largest school districts in the country,  knows how to help public school students thrive and the West Dallas Community stakeholders provide insight into its needs. SMU is charged with providing research and evaluation that will enable us to improve public education.”

Six core teams have been actively engaged in co-design, focusing on curriculum, professional learning and distributed leadership, building design, community development, and research and evaluation. These teams also have participating members from West Dallas communities.

Additionally, support teams have focused on developing data infrastructure to support research and continuous improvements, developing communications strategies, and anticipating long-term sustainable funding.

Planning for the school is supported by a three-year, $2M grant from Toyota to Simmons. The school is expected to open in 2021.

 

 

 

Petrosino and Jacobbe Join Simmons Faculty and Administration

Dr. Anthony Petrosino, Professor and Associate Dean for Research and Outreach, Simmons School

The Simmons School welcomes two new faculty members and administrators, Anthony Petrosino, Professor and Associate Dean for Research and Outreach, and Tim Jacobbe, Professor and Chair of the Department of Teaching and Learning.

Petrosino served most recently as an associate professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Texas at Austin, where he co-founded the nationally recognized UTeach program for teacher preparation in STEM.

He is a recipient of more than $17M in research grants from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Education, and the McDonnell Foundation. He currently has two active NSF funded projects. Petrosino is a learning scientist whose research focuses on scientific and mathematical reasoning in the context of experimentation, data modeling, and the development of expertise in STEM related fields.

 

Dr. Tim Jacobbe, Professor and Chair of Simmons’ Dept. of Teaching and Learning

Jacobbe, formerly an associate professor at the University of Florida’s College of Education, focuses his research on statistics and mathematics education. He assesses statistical concepts and the development of resources impacting the way teachers and undergraduate students learn content.

His contributions to statistics education were recognized by the American Statistical Association when they named him a Fellow for outstanding contributions to the field in 2016.

Both he and Petrosino will work on the development of the new West Dallas STEM school, which is planned in partnership with the Dallas Independent School District,  Toyota and Simmons.

 

 

 

Using Weyand’s Expertise, Sporting News Reports on Olympian Usain Bolt’s Speed

Peter Weyand, director of Locomotor Performance Lab in Simmons

Peter Weyand, Glenn Simmons Endowed Professor in the Department of Applied Physiology, explains why Usain Bolt is the fastest sprinter in the world and how his record holds. Weyand, a renown biomechanist, is cited by the Sporting News’ article, August 2019.

Weyand directs SMU’s Locomotor Performance Laboratory to explore the scientific basis of fitness, performance, and health using whole-body biomechanical and physiological approaches.

Doris Luft Baker Receives Fulbright to Assess Beginning Readers in Chile

Associate Professor Doris Luft Baker, director of Simmons’ Master of Bilingual Education program, and co-director of the school’s Ph.D. program, has been selected for a Fulbright award to conduct research in Chile. She will set up a norming study to provide researchers and practitioners with a better understanding of reading trajectories in beginning reading.

Luft Baker also will be able to screen and monitor Chilean students who may be at risk for learning disabilities. There have been no formative assessments in Chile to screen and monitor the reading progress of students from kindergarten to the third grade.

Her host institution is the Universidad Católica del Maule, and she begins her research in Chile, March 2020.