Lipsmeyer named Simmons’ Liaison to Texoma Semiconductor Tech Hub

Dean Stephanie Knight has named Dr. Lin Lipsmeyer, Department Chair of SMU Simmons Teaching and Learning Department, as Simmons’ Liaison in the Texoma Semiconductor Tech Hub (TSTH) announced by President Joe Biden in October.  SMU was the only site in Texas selected and will serve as the lead agency in the economic development initiative to strengthen, build and drive innovation in the existing semiconductor supply chain in North Texas and Oklahoma.

Dr. Lipsmeyer says she has always been interested in interdisciplinary and collaborative work built on partnerships and is honored and excited about her appointment and the work ahead. “The TSTH provides such partnership opportunities to strengthen future learning and workforce. Serving as the liaison between Simmons and the TSTH consortium, I hope to use my research, interest, and experience to help Simmons, SMU, and the Tech Hub members to build innovative workforce pathways and open up learning and workforce opportunities for all.”

The consortium has started planning its Phase 2 proposals and will have its first workshop for the TSTH members on December 13 to build the model to promote enhanced collaboration, expand the region’s technical workforce and catalyze the commercialization of technological advancements through the development of three main areas.

Simmons School of Education and Human Development hopes to be involved in the overall vision and involved especially in the area of Workforce Development to promote opportunities at multiple skill levels for students and adult learners to enter the workforce, acquire new knowledge and obtain advanced degrees and certifications while minimizing the time it takes to do so. Outreach education will begin at the K-12 level while adult learners can also find a pathway to advance their careers in the semiconductor industry.

Dr. Tony Cuevas- Simmons Assistant Dean for Technology and Innovation, Dr. Richard Duschl -Caruth Institute and T&L affiliate faculty, and Dr. Corey Brady- Director of the Technology Enhanced Immersive Learning (TEIL) Cluster will also represent Simmons at the December 13 Tech Hub meeting.  Dean Knight says, “I am confident these outstanding educators led by Dr. Lin Lipsmeyer will contribute their extensive expertise in research, technology, and teaching to  benefit the important work of the Tech Hub. This is an incredible opportunity for SMU and Simmons as part of the consortium to have a major impact on our country and the world.” For details of the Texoma Semiconductor Tech Hub visit https://www.smu.edu/News/Research/SMU-to-lead-Texoma-Tech-Hub-to-unify-semiconductor-supply-chain

Article co-authored by Simmons Researcher honored with Editor’s Choice in The Journal of Educational Psychology

Dr. Stephanie Al Otaiba, the Patsy and Ray Caldwell Centennial Chair in Simmons Teaching and Learning, has co-authored an article published in The Journal of Educational Psychology that was selected as the Editor’s Choice. According to the Journal, the article titled: The relations of kindergarten early literacy skill trajectories on common progress monitoring measures to subsequent word reading skills for students at risk for reading difficulties, was chosen for this honor  for “reflecting science that is incredibly important, impactful, and deserves additional visibility for the whole field.”

The study, published in the Journal of Educational Psychology (Clemens et al., 2023), addressed the need for reliable and efficient assessment data to inform early and preventative literacy interventions for students at risk of developing reading disabilities. Researchers asked two primary questions: Does growth on certain brief curriculum-based measures predict word reading skills at the end of kindergarten and first grade and which measures are better at predicting which students would have weak word reading skill profiles at the end of first grade?

According to Al Otaiba, “We learned that in fall of kindergarten it was important to monitor letter sound fluency (LSF), or the number of sounds that students name correctly in a minute. During this instructional period, LSF growth was best able to predict students who later struggled to read. However, by spring of kindergarten, as instruction starts to focus on reading words and texts, it was important to monitor word reading fluency (WRF), or the number of words read correctly.”  WRF includes short words (2-6 letters); some that are decodable and some that are irregular. Al Otaiba says she and her collaborators hope educators will take away from the study the importance of identifying problems earlier. “Instead of waiting to identify students formally as having dyslexia or a reading disability, typically at grade 3, kindergarten is an important time when schools and teachers can use reliable data from brief curriculum-based measures (LSF and WRF) across the year to adjust instruction and provide more intensive support and resources to prevent word reading difficulties.”  She says schools can also use this growth data to confirm their literacy programs are helping most students develop reading skills. By contrast, data for those few students with limited growth despite good instruction (i.e., those who have not responded as well) could be part of a comprehensive evaluation to determine whether students need special education. In other words, the data can be used to ensure children don’t have to wait to fail before supporting their instructional needs.

The article stems from federally funded research in which Al Otaiba served as Co-Principal Investigator with Dr. Nathan Clemens, who was the Principal Investigator. This was a 1.6-million-dollar measurement grant from the Institute of Educational Sciences at U.S. Department of Education titled:(R324A130214) Investigating the Technical Adequacy of Progress Monitoring Measures for Kindergarten Students At-Risk for Reading Disabilities.

The purpose of this grant  was to learn more about early assessments of risk for reading difficulties. The grant period was 2013-2017 during which Al Otaiba says she and her SMU Simmons team collaborated closely with Dr. Clemens and his team, first at Texas A&M and later at the University of Texas at Austin. The teams continue to publish several articles and present findings from the study.

The article on the study findings published in the November 2023 issue of  the Journal of Educational Psychology  was co-authored by Al Otaiba, Clemens, Kejin Lee, Ziao Liu, Alexis Boucher, and Leslie Simmons and can be found at https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2024-12677-001.html?fbclid=IwAR31XYj2bbLRzLdrR5RGtoTiIPdXcMr_FcYuBEpbAUjY1UNxviUZmQiMZvY

 

Mathfinder Camp at the Dallas Zoo

Students from throughout the Dallas area enjoyed exploring the lives of animals through the lens of mathematics. Mathfinder Camp was free to participants thanks to generous funding provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The Thanksgiving week camp was a joint effort between SMU Simmons, talkSTEM, and the Dallas Zoo.

More than 60 children aged 8-12 attended the educational camp where they got the chance to explore an exciting new math app currently in development. The Mathfinder app, a collaborative effort between SMU Simmons and talkSTEM, is designed to make math fun while sparking curiosity and creativity and instilling a lifelong love for learning in children. The mobile app uses Augmented Reality (AR) technology for use on iPads. Students used the app to watch videos that showed them how to see math in the animals and habitats at the zoo. The AR feature allowed them to insert holograms over their camera feed to see new things in the zoo surroundings.

SMU’s Candace Walkington, Ph.D.is grateful for the collaborative effort in working for the common goal of fostering a love for math and science among children. She also appreciates the data gathered to help further the success of the app. ”It was amazing to see the kids at the zoo using their ‘math lens’ to look at the zoo exhibits and generate their own observations and questions. The kids also loved sharing their mathematical discoveries with each other, their instructors, and even their parents at home.”

Koshi Dhingra, founder of talkSTEM, said, “We were thrilled to partner with SMU and the Dallas Zoo that allowed us to bring this unique educational opportunity to young minds in our community. We believe the camp showed children that math is not only essential but also a fascinating lens through which they can view all the places they go, including the zoo!”

Simmons Dean Stephanie Knight is extremely pleased with all aspects of the Mathfinder camp. “There is nothing better than when our Simmons research is taken into the community to directly serve youngsters by heightening their interest and understanding of math, reading and technology. The fact that it is a collaborative effort with talkSTEM, and the Dallas Zoo makes it even more exceptional. I applaud Dr. Walkington and her team for this excellent work and look forward to the impact the app will have when completed.”

The Mathfinder team plans to run additional camps in the Spring and Summer of 2024. The Girl Scouts of North Texas will participate in that camp at the Dallas Arboretum. The team’s current set of studies is looking at the impact that AR tools in the Mathfinder app have on learning. The long-term goal is to create an app that could be used anywhere to ask and answer mathematical questions about the world around you.

Dr. Corey Brady to Speak at International Conference

Dr. Corey Brady, Simmons Assistant Professor and one of the newest members of SMU’s Technology Enhanced Immersive Learning (TEIL) research cluster, will speak at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)’s Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology, in their speaker series, Experiences from the Classroom of the Future.

Dr. Brady, who is fluent in Spanish, will deliver his talk, A vision of STEAM: Constructing powerful ideas through participatory activities, in Spanish.

The UNAM is the largest public university in Latin America, and a center for STEM and STEM Education research.  The prestigious invitation to speak at the Experiences in the Classroom of the Future 2023 seminar came from the Continuing Education Network of the UNAM and the Network of Classrooms of the Future.

Brady will present in a live webinar on August 25 at 11 a.m. CST which will be transmitted on the Aula del Futura channel on YouTube.

SMU Center on Research and Evaluation (CORE) at the Simmons School of Education & Human Development chosen to take part in study funded by the LEGO Foundation

DALLAS (SMU) – SMU Simmons’ Center on Research and Evaluation (CORE) will join Temple University in conducting a “Learning through Play” national study. The LEGO Foundation has awarded a $19.98 million grant to fund the longitudinal study. SMU’s Center on Research and Evaluation (CORE) at Simmons will be the Dallas site lead for the national study and will receive $2.8 million over 5 years to conduct the work locally.

In partnership with Dallas Independent School District, a one-year pilot study is being implemented with Pre-K through 1st graders. CORE Executive Director, Dr. Annie Wright will serve as the Principal Investigator, with CORE Assistant Director Dylan Farmer and Dr. Toni Harrison-Kelly, Executive Director at the SMU Budd Center, serving as Co-PIs. The researchers will study how creating active, engaged, socially interactive classrooms can bring about deeper learning and joyful teaching.

A pilot study will take place in the 2023-2024 academic year with the full study beginning in the 2024-2025 school year. According to Wright, SMU CORE will coordinate all research activities for the project and will consult the national team on school partnerships, parent engagement and community engagement. “We are honored to be selected to be part of this important work; we believe it will strengthen our research-practice partnerships with Dallas ISD.” The study will hire a local research coordinator as well as coaches to work with the national Active Playful Learning team.

Leon Simmons Endowed Dean Stephanie Knight says, “SMU CORE’s involvement in this study speaks to the caliber of work being done by Annie Wright and her staff. Their reputation in education research and evaluation is well-earned. I know they will add valuable data to this equation that could ultimately lead to a way to re-imagine education in and out of the classroom.”

Wright adds, “Partnership projects like APL do not emerge overnight. The collaborative work with Dallas ISD to implement APL coaching stems from other ongoing collaborations, including the West Dallas STEM School, CORE’s long-term partnership with Dallas ISD’s Early Learning Department to observe classrooms using the CLASS™ tool for coaching and observation, and the Consortium on Educational Research and Improvement (CERI) between SMU and Dallas ISD have all laid important groundwork.”

The project is led by Temple University Professor Kathy Hirsh-Pasek who is a New York Times Bestselling author on Early Childhood Education. Six other universities from around the country including University of California Irvine and University of Virginia, will join SMU Simmons in conducting the study. SMU Simmons is the #1 ranked private graduate school of education in the southwest and in the top 50 among public and private graduate schools of education in the 2023-2024 U.S. News & World Report rankings.

 

Dominique Baker is Honored with a National Award for Excellence in Education Research for Work that Pays it Forward

Dominique Baker, Associate Professor of Education Policy in the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development, has received the American Educational Research Association’s (AERA) Early Career Award for 2023. The honor was presented at an awards ceremony at the AERA National conference in Chicago on April 15, 2023.

The award honors an individual in the early stages of their career no later than 10 years after receipt of the doctoral degree, for outstanding study in the field of educational inquiry.

Baker’s research focuses on the way that education policy affects and shapes the access and success of underrepresented minoritized students in higher education. She primarily investigates student financial aid, affirmative action, and policies that influence the ability to create an inclusive and equitable campus climate. She believes education policy can transform lives, but only if thoughtfully constructed based on evidence that includes the experiences of those directly impacted.

Baker says she is honored to receive the award. “Working within community to imagine a better world, and to find the evidence for the best pathways to improve our society is one of the privileges of my life.” She went on to say, “I will never have enough words to say how grateful I am so I will keep trying to show it by paying forward the support I’ve received.”

Simmons Dean, Stephanie Knight, says, “We are extremely proud of Dominique for her work that makes a meaningful difference in the lives of students and educators. This national award is very well-deserved.”

Baker joined SMU (Southern Methodist University) in 2016. Her research has been published in a variety of journals, including the American Educational Research Journal, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Journal of Higher Education, Journal of College Student Development, and Teachers College Record. Her work and expertise have also been highlighted by The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Public Radio, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Inside Higher Ed, amongst others.

Associate Prof. Walkington and Ph.D. Student Pruitt-Britton Write Ed Week Commentary Debunking Alleged Indoctrination in Math Textbooks

Simmons Associate Professor Candace Walkington teaches a class in Harold Clark Simmons Hall on the SMU Campus.

Education Week published a commentary by Candace Walkington, Simmons associate professor of mathematics education and learning sciences, and co-author, Ph.D. student, Tiffini Pruitt-Britton, who show that math textbooks are not about indoctrination, but fall short in promoting diversity and inclusion.

Their commentary comes at a time when political accusations inflame education discussions at the local and national levels. Some politicians are declaring what books schools should carry and what subjects should not be taught, such as critical race theory.

“We found no references to race or social justice let alone critical race theory, a framework for understanding how racism has been persistently embedded in policy. But our analysis did show a lack of substantial attention to differences linked to race, culture, gender norms, and sexual orientation in math-story content, they say. Read their commentary here.

Tiffini Pruitt-Britton, Simmons Ph.D. student, and co-author of Education Week commentary.

NPR’s Planet Money Podcast Interviews Associate Prof. Dominique Baker About her Research on Black Students’ Loan Debt

The Indicator, NPR’s Planet Money podcast, delves into the issue that Black students are more likely to default on student loans than white students. To examine this, reporters count on the expertise of SMU’s Associate Professor Dominique Baker, who teaches in the Simmons School’s Department of Education Policy and Leadership.

As they report, “We explore why Black borrowers are three times more likely to default on their student loans than white borrowers. From the intergenerational wealth gap to discrimination in the labor market to the type of majors and colleges they choose, find out how Black students are often disadvantaged even before college starts.”

Baker has been examining Black student loan debt and the for-profit schools that market heavily to people of color, who may later default because of the cost and lack of scholarships.  Baker believes the government should conduct fuller investigations of the for-profit school practices that often lead to students defaulting.

Simmons Associate Professor Dominique Baker, Department of Education Policy and Leadership

Listen to the podcast here.

 

 

 

NSF Noyce Track 4 Grant Award to Jeanna Wieselmann Makes Examination of Integrated STEM Instruction Possible

Assistant Professor Jeanna Weiselmann, Ph.D., Department of Teaching and Learning

Assistant Professor Jeanna Wieselmann, Ph.D., heads up a collaborative research team investigating how elementary teachers integrate their instruction of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).  The project, Research on Integrated STEM Self-Efficacy (RISE), will examine the STEM integration of 700 elementary teachers who experienced ten different teacher preparation programs across the U.S.

According to Wieselmann, quality integrated STEM instruction requires teachers to attend to the unique aspects of each discipline while also bringing them together in authentic learning opportunities for students, and this can be challenging. The aim is to support the national need to develop and retain highly effective elementary school teachers.

“Elementary teachers are often expected to teach integrated STEM, but teacher preparation programs have been slow to incorporate experiences that prepare teachers for this type of instruction, instead of focusing on mathematics and science as completely separate disciplines. ” she says. “Our project will explore how we can better support early-career elementary teachers to build their confidence and effectiveness in teaching integrated STEM lessons, with the ultimate goal of improving the quality of instruction students experience.”

Wieselmann, a faculty member in Simmons’ Department of Teaching and Learning, is the principal investigator of the project’s National Science Foundation Noyce Track 4 research grant (DUE-2151045) totaling $1.3 million. Additional principal investigators include Deepika Menon, Ph.D. (University of Nebraska, Lincoln), Sarah Haines, Ph.D. (Towson University), and Sumreen Asim. Ph.D. (Indiana University Southeast).

 

 

 

NAEd/Spencer Foundation Awards Dominique Baker Postdoctoral and Dissertation Fellowship

Dominique J. Baker, PhD, Department of Education Policy and Leadership

DALLAS (SMU) –Dominique J. Baker, a nationally recognized expert on education policy in SMU’s Simmons School of Education and Human Development, was one of the recipients of the 2022 National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowships.

 

Baker and 24 other pre-tenure scholars will receive a $70,000 award to further their research in areas addressing critical national and international issues in education. The award provides funding for fellows to focus on research and attend professional development retreats.

 

With this award, Baker will explore the links between race, racism, and how student loan policies are covered in the media. She will be analyzing more than 90,000 newspaper articles from eight outlets to determine how often, if at all, news media outlets use words or phrases that convey ideas about race and racism when writing about student loans.

 

She’ll use SMU’s high-performance computing cluster to do the research.

 

Earlier this year, the Russell Sage Foundation, in partnership with the Economic Mobility and Opportunity program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, also awarded Baker a $30,000 grant to look into the same issue.

 

Her research focuses on the way that education policy affects and shapes the access and success of minoritized students in higher education. She primarily investigates student financial aid, affirmative action and admissions policies, and policies that influence the ability to create an inclusive and equitable campus climate. Baker is the 2021 recipient of the Association for Education Finance & Policy’s Early Career Award and the Association for the Study of Higher Education’s Excellence in Public Policy Award.

 

For more on her research, see the following: