Kamata Heads IES Research Partnership to Improve Pre-K Quality

Akihito Kamata, executive director of the Center on Research and Evaluation (CORE) in Simmons, is leading a research partnership between his team and the Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD) to improve the quality of pre-K classrooms.

A $400,000 grant from the Institute of Education Sciences will allow researchers to examine pre-K classroom practices in all of the district’s programs.

The purpose of the research partnership is to systematically improve overall pre-K quality through the professional development Dallas ISD provides to instructional coaches and pre-K classroom teachers.

The partnership will focus on differentiating professional development for teachers based on teacher need, focusing on high-quality teacher–child interactions aligned with the CLASS observation instrument and the associated professional development system.

Vialogues at Columbia Teachers College Features Pavlakis’ Research on Homelessness

Assistant Professor Alexandra Pavlakis was interviewed for Vialogues, a video platform designed for Q&A’s, at Columbia Teachers College. The highlighted research was an article published in Teachers College Record, Contextualizing the Impacts of Homelessness on Academic Growth.

She also looks at local implementation of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (McKinney-Vento), which aims to reduce barriers to school success for students experiencing homelessness. She believes scholars often overlook this implementation but may play an important role in explaining inconsistencies between single-site studies.

Click here for her interview.

Feuerbacher Helps Organize Prosper Town Hall to Help With Suicide Prevention

Dr. Sarah Feuerbacher, director of Simmons’ Center for Family Counseling, helped Prosper residents organize a town hall after two people killed themselves during a 24 hour period. Her concern hit close to home since of one of them was her neighbor.

According to comments she made to NBC5, she said, “We need to be able to learn, we need to be able to do something for the families who are hurting right now and to help those who are hurting out there.”

Feuerbacher asked student interns to participate and provide counseling services to attendees who requested assistance.

 

 

 

 

Bing Takes Virtual Reality Surgery Simulator to the World Cancer Congress

Professor Eric Bing traveled to the World Cancer Congress in Kuala Lumpur to present how virtual reality for surgical training can positively impact health care in underdeveloped countries.

By discussing the Virtual Reality Surgery Simulator, which is a project created by SMU’s Simmons School and Guildhall, Bing shows that the technology reduces costs and is easily accessible. This is particularly important for locations with poor access to training facilities and staff.

For his video interview with ecancer.org, click here.

Pathways to Success Podcast Highlights Dean Knight’s Mission for Simmons

In an interview for Pathways to Success, a podcast hosted by Julian Placino, Dean Stephanie Knight discusses her passion for education and what led her to the top administration post at SMU Simmons.

For her, investing in public schools is important, and her commitment to urban schools made her explore what could be possible in Dallas.

During her first year on the job, she was able to forge a partnership with the Dallas Independent School District and Toyota USA Foundation to develop a K-8th grade STEM-focused school  in West Dallas. Listen to her story here.

 

Luft Baker Publishes Book on Second Language Acquisition

Associate Professor Doris Luft Baker serves as editor of Second Language Acquisition: Methods, Perspectives and Challenges, an up-to-date review of the complexities of languages found in teaching mathematics, science and social studies.

According to the introduction, each chapter provides a synthesis of the research on one of the topics and offers implications for practice and research.

Baker also included work by another Simmons faculty member, Candace Walkington, and former faculty member, Karla del Rosal. Additionally, Baker co-wrote a chapter with two of her Ph.D. students, Paul Polanco and Anthony Sparks.

Series on Integrating Berkeley Schools Features Richards’ Expertise

Meredith Richards, assistant professor of Education Policy and Leadership, provides her expertise in public school segregation for a new, three-part series, Beyond the Buses, by published Berkeleyside.

Her  2012 study and reflections about Berkeley’s integration plans are highlighted in the first article. Read here.

Richards Offers Cautionary Note on Districts of Innovation

Districts of innovation, which give public school systems more flexibility with policies, don’t require the public’s approval. Consequently, Assistant Professor Meredith Richards says community members may be not be aware of potential changes, such as waivers to teacher certification and class sizes.

For more on her study and observations, read her commentary in the Texas Tribune.

Forbes Article Outlines Walkington’s Approach to Algebra Research in NSF Grant

For Associate Professor Candace Walkington in Simmons, it is important to connect algebra to 21st-century jobs so students can develop an affinity for math. A $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation supports her approach. To read Forbes’ coverage of her inquiry, click here.

Associate Professor Candace Walkington

Hernandez Examines Adolescent Perceptions of Student-Teacher Sexual Relationships

In his study of how adolescents perceive  sexual relationships between students and teachers, Professor Frank Hernandez  sees that ages in a relationship influence judgments of impropriety.

Data reflects that relationships between older students (18 vs. 14 or 16) and younger teachers (21 vs 30 or 40) are less likely to be perceived as wrong and less likely to be reported. But when the power differential between students and teachers was greater, the situations were discerned as more wrong.

Results were published recently in the Journal of Child Sexual Abuse. Hernandez and co-authors, Jonathon McPheters and Jamie Hughes, received funding for the study from the Maguire Center for Ethics & Public Responsibility at SMU.