Two faculty members in SMU’s Simmons School of Education and Human Development — Anthony Petrosino and Leanne Ketterlin Geller — have been selected for the 2025 Moody Outstanding Mentor Award, honored for their exceptional guidance of doctoral and postdoctoral scholars.
Petrosino, a professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning, was nominated by Mark Sager, Ph.D., assistant director of research at The Budd Center. Sager said Petrosino’s mentorship “transformed my development as a scholar,” noting that he “recognized the potential in my interdisciplinary background and empowered me to pursue community-engaged research.”
Sager also praised Petrosino’s student-centered approach. “What sets Dr. Petrosino apart is his ability to see possibility in every student and cultivate it,” he said. “His mentorship reshaped my research trajectory and continues to influence my work long after graduation.”
Ketterlin Geller, the Texas Instruments Endowed Chair in Education, was nominated by former postdoctoral fellow Yanjun Pan, Ph.D. Pan described her mentorship as “holistic, warm and powerful,” emphasizing that Ketterlin Geller treated her as a “colleague-in-training,” adapting her support as Pan advanced in her scholarship.
“She gave me full intellectual ownership from the beginning,” Pan said, adding that a defining aspect of Ketterlin Geller’s mentorship is her “dedication to advancing underrepresented perspectives.”
The Moody Outstanding Mentor Award recognizes faculty who demonstrate exceptional commitment to nurturing emerging scholars. This year’s honorees, colleagues said, exemplify the care, rigor and inspiration that shape the next generation of educational leaders.
Nearly 75 researchers, educators, and non-profit leaders from across North Texas gathered for the second annual Consortium on Educational Research and Improvement (CERI) Conference, a joint effort which included Southern Methodist University (SMU), Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD), and several non-profit community partners.
The conference focused on key topics such as college and career readiness, integrating literacy and STEM for early learners, and the impact of after-school programs on student achievement and attendance. Educators and researchers from SMU and Dallas ISD presented research and insights across a wide range of additional subjects. Community partners, like Big Thought, Read Up, Catch Up and Read, Dallas Afterschool, Jubilee Park and Community Center and Vickery Meadows Youth Development Foundation, presented research to share their findings on the effectiveness of funding high-quality non-profit organizations that provide services to children and young adults across the DFW Metroplex.
Dr. Annie Wright, a co-lead for CERI and executive director of The Addy Foundation Center on Research and Evaluation (CORE), said the goal of the event is to identify effective strategies to learn “what works best in education.”
“Some attendees and presenters work in the classroom, some work in educational research, and others work in community-based learning settings; this offers us an opportunity to learn from one another what works best across all of the places and spaces where students learn and develop,” Wright said.
The keynote speaker, Dr. Christopher Hu, assistant professor of social and cultural studies in education at the University of Alabama, spoke about rethinking the relationship between research and practice.
“Collaborating and learning to dialogue across different organizations and priorities is more important than ever,” Hu said. “The need to build relationships is essential so that all parties involved in a research project can communicate their different priorities and goals.”
Hu emphasized that research projects are more successful when expectations are clearly communicated and understood among all team members.
Dr. Larry Featherston, chair of the Dallas ISD Research Review Board, said the educators who attended helped make the conference a success.
“It’s a great opportunity to get people from different backgrounds together to build relationships and break down walls, which results in some very exciting collaborative work,” Featherston said.
Dr. Jeanna Wieselmann of SMU’s Simmons School of Education and Human Development is part of a $1.5 million National Science Foundation grant aimed at preparing preservice STEM teachers to effectively facilitate discussions of real-world science problems.
Wieselmann will serve as the principal investigator for SMU’s portion of the project, which totals approximately $243,000. The collaborative research effort, titled Comparing Preservice STEM Teacher Preparation Using Virtual Reality Artificial Intelligence Simulations Versus Peer Teaching, involves five universities: University of West Florida, Drake University, Kennesaw State University, Texas A&M University, and Southern Methodist University.
The four-year project will engage 250 undergraduate STEM education students through teacher preparation programs at the participating institutions. It focuses on developing effective strategies for teaching students about scientifically relevant real-world problems.
“This research is important because novice science teachers often lack strategies for facilitating effective classroom discussions of complex scientific issues,” Wieselmann said.
The project will use innovative training methods, including virtual reality simulations with avatar students controlled by artificial intelligence and scaffolded peer teaching, to provide multiple ways for future teachers to access learning experiences. It will also produce and disseminate new teacher training materials designed to support STEM learning.
Wieselmann adds, “By encouraging students to solve real-world problems, we believe the project will increase interest in STEM fields and provide evidence supporting the use of scientifically relevant real-world problems in teacher preparation programs.”
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded $4,999,858 to Dr. Jeanna Wieselmann for her research projecttitled National STEM Teacher Corps Pilot Program: Elevating K-8 Science and Engineering Teaching in Texas.
There is a growing problem for many teachers of grades K-8, who are faced with teaching engineering as part of STEM education. The problem is that up until now, there has been little formal engineering training available to teachers. Simmons School of Education and Human Development Assistant Professor Jeanna Wieselmann, PhD, believes her research and work with teachers will change that.
Wieselmann will serve as Principal Investigator for the research project. Simmons Teaching and Learning Department Professor Anthony Petrosino, PhD, will serve as Co-PI along with Associate Professor of Civil Environmental Engineering Janille Smith-Colin, PhD, PE of SMU’s Lyle School of Engineering.
Wieselmann says the research is especially important now. “Science education standards have shifted toward the integration of engineering across all grade levels in U.S. schools, but elementary and middle school teachers rarely receive formal preparation in the integration of engineering and science.” She says that challenges are magnified in Texas, where new science education standards that integrate engineering were implemented in the 2024-2025 academic year.
According to Wieselmann, “With these new standards, there is a critical need for professional learning for Texas teachers of grades K-8. Teachers need support in effectively integrating engineering in inquiry-based science instruction.”
She says her team will recruit 20 expert science teachers of grades K-8 to serve as members of the Texas STEM Teacher Corps, as well as 80 additional teachers who will benefit from professional learning opportunities. Wieselmann adds the five-year project will address three goals:
To enhance the quality of science and engineering integration among K-8 teachers in Texas.
To elevate Texas STEM Teacher Corps members professionally.
To advance knowledge related to science and engineering integration, STEM teacher leadership, and STEM teacher retention.
Petrosino adds, “This project will include longitudinal research studies to advance knowledge related to science and engineering pedagogical content knowledge, STEM teacher leadership, and STEM teacher retention. It is exciting in that this work ultimately supports the development of critical workforce skills that are essential for preparing young people to thrive in a rapidly changing world.”
The 20 Texas STEM Teacher Corps members will each participate in the project for four years. Statewide mechanisms will be used to recruit these teachers. Lyle’s Smith-Colin says this groundbreaking research will benefit K-8 teachers and students. “Engineering concepts range in their complexity and accessibility to K-8 teachers. In this research, teachers will benefit directly from expertise in engineering skills and practices, engineering design, and engineering communication, elevating content knowledge within STEM teaching across the state of Texas, which in turn will directly impact students in the classroom.”
With both elementary and middle school teachers participating, approximately 12,000 students will experience immediate benefits as their teachers put into practice what they learn.
This regional alliance is led by faculty at SMU and Tarleton State University. Additional alliance partners include the Texas Region 10 Education Service Center, Teach for America, the Charles Butt Foundation, Stephenville Independent School District (ISD), Huckabay ISD, Glen Rose ISD, and Dallas ISD.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Award Number (FAIN): 2500229. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Imagine that a middle school student – at the click of a button – could use generative AI (GenAI) to produce a mathematically precise, beautifully rendered image to bring a difficult math problem to life.
Through a $899,988 grant from the National Science Foundation awarded to Candace Walkington, Ph.D., and her research team, they will examine how AI-generated diagrams could improve math learning for middle school students.
Walkington, the Annette and Harold Simmons Centennial Chair and Professor at the Simmons School of Education and Human Development, will serve as the Principal Investigator for the study. Her colleague at Simmons, Professor Jiun-Yu “Jerry” Wu, Ph.D., will serve as a Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI). The project builds on Walkington’s past work with the Louisiana-based AI startup Ailectric, a collaborator on the grant, with lead engineer Dr. Robert DiBiano.
Walkington’s research proposes a novel approach to making middle school math instruction more relevant and accessible to students from all backgrounds. Math word problems are particularly challenging for many students. The high-quality illustrative diagrams, created through open-source GenAI image-generating models that use ControlNet functionality, help students better visualize the problem.
“ControlNets allow for rich illustrative features to be layered over mathematical diagrams that the GenAI renders from natural language instructions, creating free, high-quality visuals to accompany a broad range of mathematical learning tasks,” Walkington said.
Walkington will initially interview teachers and Open Educational Resource (OER) developers. Leading Open Education Resource researcher Virginia Clinton-Lisell, Ph.D., from the University of North Dakota, a Co-PI for the project, and her team will pilot their AI-generated illustrative diagrams and methods for developing those diagrams with K-12 and higher education teachers. Finally, they will conduct an experiment in the ASSISTments online homework platform to test the effect of AI-generated illustrative diagrams on middle school students’ mathematical reasoning. Cristina Heffernan with the ASSISTments Foundation is also a Co-PI on the project and works with Walkington’s team on additional AI projects.
Walkington says her team will seek to advance research on how high-quality OER can be delivered to students in a cost-effective way, so the resources can better compete with costly commercial curricula to broadly impact a wide range of students.
“More research in AI in education is needed to determine how illustrative math visuals and open educational resources shape students’ mental representations and facilitate their interest and performance in mathematics learning,” Wu said. “It is exciting to know this research can help answer those questions.”
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Award Number (FAIN): 2507009. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Dr. Jiun-Yu Wu, professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning in the Simmons School of Education and Human Development, has been named as editor of Computers & Education, one of the most influential and widely cited international journals in educational technology, artificial intelligence in education, and the learning sciences. The journal announced the appointment in early August.
Established in 1976, Computers & Education is a top-tier, peer-reviewed journal ranked in the first quartile of education and educational research publications. With a 2024 impact factor of 10.5 and a CiteScore of 23.7, the journal publishes research examining how technology transforms teaching, learning and assessment across domains including AI, learning analytics, human-computer interaction, and technology-enhanced pedagogy.
“This reflects both Dr. Wu’s leadership in the field and Simmons’s growing influence in international research on technology and learning,” said Michael Harris, interim dean of the Simmons School. “Dr. Wu joins a select group of editors worldwide, taking responsibility for managing peer review, shaping editorial vision, and upholding the highest standards of rigor and impact.”
Wu’s work bridges learning science, data science and AI in education, with a focus on advanced statistical and computational modeling, multimodal learning analytics, and human-AI symbiotic learning. His research investigates how AI and data-informed approaches support learner engagement, self-directed learning, and cognitive and socio-emotional growth in technology-enhanced environments.
He has published extensively in Computers & Education and has served as associate editor of Educational Psychology and guest editor for special issues in Educational Technology & Society and Frontiers in Psychology.
“Serving as editor for Computers & Education is both a privilege and a responsibility,” Wu said. “The journal has been instrumental in shaping the field, and I look forward to working with colleagues worldwide to advance impactful, innovative and ethical research.”
In this role, Wu aims to advance scholarship that explores innovative uses of technology in education while addressing issues of human agency, empowerment and sustainability. The appointment opens new avenues for Simmons students and faculty to connect with a global research community shaping the future of learning.
Wu has led multiple international collaborations, including partnerships with National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, National Taiwan Normal University, Sookmyung Women’s University and global AI in education networks. Known for bridging Eastern and Western research communities, he fosters cross-cultural exchange and knowledge integration that enriches the global conversation on education and technology.
Wu’s recent honors include being named among the world’s top 2% of scientists by Stanford University from 2021 to 2024 and receiving Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Council Outstanding Research Award in 2024.
Learning the process of creating semiconductors and circuits might sound like a daunting task for many but it was the exciting focus for high school students attending a special summer camp recently held at SMU Simmons.
The inaugural Semiconductor Camp is part of the research project of Simmons School of Education’s J. Kyle Roberts, Ph.D. and Lyle School of Engineering’s J.C. Chiao, Ph.D.
Funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, the camp allowed high school students from the Dallas-Ft. Worth area to receive hands-on instruction in the process of building a semiconductor.
The camp was the first in a series of training materials that are being developed to help foster student matriculation into this STEM field. According to Dr. Roberts, “There is a growing push to have more semiconductor fabrication here in the U.S. and with that, we will need engineers who are ready to fill these needed roles. Through this summer camp, along with other materials being developed, we hope to foster student consideration for careers in this much needed field.”
The week-long camp concluded with a tour of the Texas Instruments facility in Richardson to view semiconductor creation in real time.
The research project aims to help high-school students develop skills and career interests in the semiconductor fields through both hands-on learning and an innovative game-based learning platform.
Approximately 120 students will participate in the program over the three years of the research project, where they will be engaged in the gaming platform and interact with industry experts to explore semiconductor career opportunities.
Left to right: Julie Sorrels, Sarah Guthery, Cynthia Barajas, Blanca Oliver.
Seven distinguished alumni were honored during the annual Simmons Outstanding Alumni and Student Awards Ceremony on May 15. Simmons School of Education and Human Development is proud to celebrate and acknowledge the past and current accomplishments of the honorees who serve to better their communities both locally and across the country. Dean Stephanie Knight and Simmons Department Chairs presented the awards.
Canyon Kyle is a distinguished Sport Performance Leadership graduate from the Department of Applied Physiology and Sport Management. He graduated Cum Laude from SMU with a BS SPL and a minor in Sport Management in 2021 and advanced his academic and professional journey by earning a master’s degree in Sport Management from Columbia University.
He now serves as Assistant Baseball Coach and Associate Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education at Columbia, where he leads athletic recruitment, manages prospective athlete development, and teaches senior-level undergraduate courses. Canyon’s unwavering commitment to student-athlete growth and leadership through sport directly reflects the values he cultivated at SMU.
Julie Sorrels graduated with a Master of Science in Counseling from SMU in August of 2020. She currently serves as the Mental Healthcare Clinical Manager at Resource Center in Dallas where she provides counseling services to the LGBTQIA+ community. She is fully licensed both as a Professional Counselor and Marriage and Family Therapist and is certified by the American Board of Sexology as a Clinical Sexologist.
At Resource Center Dallas, she serves as an internship site supervisor and mentor for current SMU students and is also a member of the SMU Counseling Department Advisory Board. Her service and community impact are the reason she is the recipient of the 2025 Department of Counseling Alumnus of the Year award.
Dr. Greses Perez had an established career as a civil and environmental engineer in her native Puerto Rico before graduating from the SMU Accelerated School Leadership Master’s Program in 2014. Greses met the challenge of producing a 30 plus page capstone project, working diligently with supportive faculty to improve her academic writing. She did this while teaching science to elementary school bilingual students.
Greses went on to Stanford where she would graduate in 2021 with a PhD in Engineering and Science Education and Learning Sciences. She is now the McDonnel Family Assistant Professor in Engineering Education at Tufts University. The Education Policy & Leadership Department is proud to have Greses as its 2025 Alumni of the Year.
Blanca Oliver, a migrant from Mexico, developed persistence and a can-do attitude in her childhood that carried her forward into a career as a successful paralegal.
Blanca received a Master’s in Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management in the Department of Human Centered Interdisciplinary Studies in 2021, where she excelled in the experiential learning environment. After graduation, Blanca entered her first political race and won. She is now a Justice of the Peace in Denton County. Blanca believes her time at SMU helped shape her as an effective communicator and leader which benefits her greatly in her position today.
Dr. Sarah Guthery, a PhD in Education, Class of 2017, is an Associate Professor of Educational Administration, Curriculum and Supervision at the University of Oklahoma. A former teacher and school leader, she uses econometric methods to study teacher and leadership pipelines. She has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and has received grant funding in excess of $200,000.
According to her PhD advisors, what most distinguishes Sarah is her inventive teaching and her dedication to mentoring emerging scholars. For example, she uses a statistics escape room and gamification of statistics to help students unlock their passion for research.
Dr. Dawn Woods received her PhD in Education in 2018 from SMU and is now an assistant professor in the School of Education and Human Services at Oakland University. She recently received a five-year, $781,196 CAREER award from the National Science Foundation in support of her research, entitled Sparking Number Talks to Strengthen Mathematical Identities.
Dr. Woods’ research focuses on cultivating and strengthening productive mathematical identities so that students will believe the effort in learning mathematics pays off. Her project has the potential to improve kindergarten to third grade mathematics education for students from persistently marginalized groups. Her research has been published in a variety of prestigious math education and STEM education journals.
Cynthia Barajas, B.A. in Psychology Class of 2012, is the recipient of this year’s Outstanding Alumni Award from the Teaching and Learning Department. The award recognizes her leadership and impact through SMU’s Alternative Teacher Preparation Program in partnership with Teach for America (TFA). She currently serves as Senior Managing Director of Partnerships for TFA Dallas-Fort Worth.
She has overseen the certification and onboarding of hundreds of TFA corps members, improved certification rates for underrepresented groups, and strengthened district partnerships. Her leadership has helped expand SMU’s partnership with Teach for America across Texas, supporting thousands of aspiring teachers and addressing the state’s teacher shortage.
Scholars from universities in South Korea and Taiwan joined SMU Simmons faculty at the 2025 International Visiting Scholars Symposium hosted by Simmons. The event, spearheaded by Dr. Jiun-Yu “Jerry” Wu, included a number of thought-provoking discussions of research projects done by the educators.
The event featured interdisciplinary talks from 12 distinguished scholars from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan and Sookmyung in Korea. Topics included exploring education, medical humanities, digital learning, AI, and disability studies. The talks touched on the popularity of Care Robots in South Korea, Exploring Why adolescents Experience Loneliness, Dialogic Reading Training to support Social and Emotional Communication, and Social Solidarity with People with Mental Illness and more.
The purpose of the symposium was to bring together leading scholars across disciplines to foster global academic collaboration. The event highlighted Simmons’ and SMU’s commitment to interdisciplinary research, international partnerships, and community engagement.
Dean Stephanie Knight expressed gratitude to the visiting scholars who traveled thousands of miles to participate in the symposium. The participants said it gave them a valuable opportunity to engage in conversations about important global issues and research innovation.
In a move to encourage interdisciplinary research and multidisciplinary collaboration across SMU, two prominent faculty researchers have been named to lead the SMU Technology Enhanced Immersive Learning (TEIL) cluster and oversee the new TEIL Center.
Dr. Tony Cuevas, Simmons Assistant Dean of Technology and Innovation, has been appointed by Dean Stephanie Knight as Co-Director of the Technology Enhanced Immersive Learning (TEIL) Center at SMU. Dr. Eric G. Bing, Dedman Department of Anthropology and Simmons Department of APSM, has been appointed Co-Director by Dedman Interim Dean, Nathan Balke.
Dean Knight says she is excited about the impact Cuevas and Bing will make. “Dr. Bing and Dr. Cuevas are truly a dynamic duo. Their leadership will guide the cluster as it expands interdisciplinary research and development in immersive learning, emerging educational technologies, and transformative pedagogical approaches.”
The TEIL research cluster was created by SMU leaders to bring together researchers, scholars and practitioners with an interest and expertise in immersive learning and AI in education and society to address large-scale questions that require interdisciplinary approaches.
Bing is a professor of global health with joint appointments at SMU in the Department of Anthropology in Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences and the Department of Applied Physiology and Sport Management in Simmons. He has expertise in global health, interdisciplinary research, community engagement, and innovative education. Bing says, “I’ve had the privilege of leading cross-sector collaborations, research initiatives, and strategic partnerships that advance technology-enhanced learning. I look forward to helping lead this multidisciplinary effort that continues to integrate immersive and experiential learning methodologies to enhance education with real-world application.
Cuevas, Assistant Dean for Learning Technology at Simmons and a clinical professor, expressed his excitement about the work ahead. “The new TEIL Center will formalize and further expand on the work of the TEIL research cluster.” Located in the existing lab space in Harold Simmons Hall, the new center will be dedicated to the work of the cluster. According to Cuevas, “It will also provide a space to promote transformational interdisciplinary research in technology-enhanced immersive learning, including basic and applied research, and engaging policy issues to improve our understanding of the interfaces among educational technology and immersive and intelligent learning systems.”
Cuevas has a deep background in educational technology, immersive learning environments, and applied research, and has been instrumental in integrating emerging technologies into pedagogy. His leadership in program development, faculty engagement, and research initiatives will be vital in advancing the cluster’s mission and ensuring its practical impact.
Bing and Cuevas will oversee strategic planning, research initiatives, and the development of collaborative partnerships, ensuring TEIL’s emergence as a leader in immersive and technology-enhanced learning.
Vision for the Research Cluster
The Technology & Immersive Learning Research Cluster will serve as a hub for multidisciplinary collaboration across SMU and beyond. It will:
Advance interdisciplinary research at the intersection of immersive learning, technology, and education.
Support faculty and student initiatives in research, development, and implementation of cutting-edge learning solutions.
Foster partnerships between academia, industry, and community stakeholders to drive innovation.
Help secure funding and resources to sustain the long-term impact of the center’s work.
Petrosino, a professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning, was nominated by Mark Sager, Ph.D., assistant director of research at The Budd Center. Sager said Petrosino’s mentorship “transformed my development as a scholar,” noting that he “recognized the potential in my interdisciplinary background and empowered me to pursue community-engaged research.”
Ketterlin Geller, the Texas Instruments Endowed Chair in Education, was nominated by former postdoctoral fellow Yanjun Pan, Ph.D. Pan described her mentorship as “holistic, warm and powerful,” emphasizing that Ketterlin Geller treated her as a “colleague-in-training,” adapting her support as Pan advanced in her scholarship.
