Dr. Mag Gabbert, clinical assistant professor in Simmons’ Department of Human-Centered Interdisciplinary Studies (HCIS) and Dallas Poet Laureate, has launched the city’s first Sidewalk Poetry Project.
Gabbert, who was named poet laureate for the City of Dallas in April 2024, was also selected as one of the American Academy of Poets’ 2025 Poet Laureate Fellows. The academy announced in August it was awarding $1.1 million to 23 fellows across the United States. The fellowships recognize poets for literary excellence and support projects that engage communities through the power of poetry.
Gabbert’s Sidewalk Poetry Project is a poetry-centered public art installation in which poems written by Dallas residents will be stamped into freshly poured sidewalks in 28 locations across the city. She worked with the City of Dallas’ Office of Arts and Culture to create a website that houses an informational video, instructions for residents to submit their work for consideration, and educational resources.
Gabbert says the creative initiative aims to transform everyday walks around the city into opportunities for reflection, imagination, and connection. In a recent KERA News story, Gabbert noted that poetry has the power to “help us grieve and celebrate, navigate nuance and complexity, and overcome failures of imagination.”
Simmons is proud that Gabbert is not only inspiring the students she teaches but is also enriching the cultural and artistic life of Dallas.
Friday, September 12, 2025, will go down as a day in SMU history that will not soon be forgotten. Simmons School of Education and Human Development joined in the celebration of the inauguration of the university’s 11thPresident Jay Hartzell in a big way.
The lawn in front of Annette Simmons Hall and Harold Simmons Hall was awash in colorful balloons, games, people and activities like Puppy Yoga that brought more than a hundred people out to join in the fun. Simmons’ inauguration celebration also served as a fun team building event for faculty, staff and students as well as a way to welcome visitors from around the campus.
Students attending the inauguration day event at Simmons said it was a great way to feed into the buzz about the growing Mustang Momentum at the university.
In his inaugural remarks at Moody Coliseum, Hartzell said this is SMU’s moment to reimagine what is possible and “to dramatically accelerate our academic, research and athletic ascent.” Simmons Dean ad interim Michael Harris said, “We at Simmons already lead the way at SMU in research and are anxious to be part of a trajectory that accelerates our work even more.”
Harris added, “President Hartzell has Simmons’ full support as he leads SMU into the next chapter.”
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.
From left to right: Gabriella Manrique, BS Psychology Miriam Al-Hamdani, BS Biology, BS Health and Society Tosin Ilesanmi, BA Human Rights Caleb Garcia, BA Political Science, BA Public Policy Alexandra Reyes, BS Geophysics, BS Biochemistry
Topics such as Child Marriage in Africa: Examining the Legal, Cultural, and Socioeconomic Realities Through the Power of Storytelling, as well as Islam, Healthcare, and Hesitation: Physician Trust Among Muslim Women in DFW are just two of the research projects presented by five SMU Scholars at the annual McNair Scholars Conference held this year at UCLA.
The McNair Scholars at SMU is part of the College Access program in Simmons and is designed to help students understand how to best pursue a graduate degree. College Access Director Dr. LaChelle Cunningham says the program is especially helpful to first-generation college students and others who might not otherwise have the opportunity to pursue research. She says it prepares them by helping them learn how to do and present their research, connects them with faculty mentors, and it gives them the opportunity to travel to other universities across the country to visit potential graduate schools.
McNair Scholar Tosin Ilesanmi says the program has helped her tremendously. “I now know how to approach research from a different perspective. Now I’m very confident moving forward applying for grad school.”
Cunningham says the SMU McNair program is very successful. “We see them entering grad programs, getting exciting fellowships. We have students who are now attorneys and others who very close to reaching their goal of getting their Ph.D.”
During the 2025 conference trip, the McNair Scholars toured the UCLA campus and research facilities, met faculty and current students, and received information regarding funding and the application processes for graduate school.
In addition to visiting college campuses, students are given the opportunity to explore the local communities to feel more comfortable about possibly living in the area during the time it would take to earn their degree.
Educators and schools aiming to provide targeted mathematics support for learners should participate in Project SCALE, a U.S. Department of Education funded project hosted by Southern Methodist University. Through a partnership with Project SCALE, participants will contribute to cutting-edge research aimed at improving student outcomes in mathematics and have access to a What Works Clearinghouse approved and Evidence for ESSA strong rated fraction intervention. The project supports an area critical to the future success of learners to address persistent gaps in fraction understanding that hinders student success in advanced math.
Project SCALE, led by Dr. Leanne Ketterlin Geller, is funded by the U.S. Department of Education as a replication study based on an in-school mathematics intervention, Fraction Face-Off (FFO, Fuchs et al., 2013) which was determined to have moderate evidence of effectiveness with 4th graders by the What Works Clearinghouse.
In addition to replicating the study with 4th graders, this project investigates the differences between in person and virtual training for interventionists, and the efficacy of FFO with 5th–8th grade students experiencing mathematics difficulties. The research will be hosted in the urban, suburban, and rural geographies nationwide, including the areas surrounding the three partner universities: Southern Methodist University; University of Texas, Austin; and University of Missouri.
Participation is free, there is no cost to the school or district. Teachers will earn a stipend for their participation.
This project is currently seeking partner schools for the 2025-2026 school year to implement this research-based intervention. This unique opportunity offers participating schools access to:
A 36-lesson intervention program targeting foundational fraction concepts and fraction arithmetic (addition and subtraction)
Comprehensive professional development to support successful implementation
Ongoing support and resources from the SMU Simmons team of experts
The FFO intervention is specifically designed for students experiencing mathematics difficulties and is best suited for:
Dr. Ketterlin Geller at SMU is joined in this research by partners Dr. Sarah Powell at the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Erica Lembke at the University of Missouri, and Dr. Sam Rikoon with American Institutes for Research.
The contents of this announcement were developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education (Department). The Department does not mandate or prescribe practices, models, or other activities described or discussed in this document. The contents of this announcement may contain examples of, adaptations of, and links to resources created and maintained by another public or private organization. The Department does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this outside information. The content of this announcement does not necessarily represent the policy of the Department. This publication is not intended to represent the views or policy of, or be an endorsement of any views expressed or materials provided by, any Federal agency.
Longtime Simmons professor Michael Harris will lead the Simmons School of Education and Human Development into its next chapter following the departure of Dean Stephanie Knight.
Harris will officially take his place in the Simmons Dean’s Office June1, 2025 as Knight concludes her deanship on May 31. Harris was named dean ad interim on May 14 by outgoing SMU Provost Elizabeth Loboa. “I’m honored by the opportunity to serve as the interim dean of the Simmons School,” Harris said. “I look forward to supporting our outstanding faculty, staff, and students at this critical moment, as we work together to expand the reach and impact of SMU Simmons.”
Harris joined Simmons in 2012 as a professor of higher education in the Department of Education Policy and Leadership where he also served as Chair from 2020-2024. His primary research interests consider the culture, strategy, and behavior of higher education institutions. He has taught graduate courses in organization and governance, academic leadership, organizational theory, and the history of American higher education. Currently, he is working on a book on higher education leadership under contract with Harvard Education Press.
Harris was a 2024-2025 fellow of the American Council on Education where he studied leadership and strategy at the University of Utah. At SMU, he has held other leadership roles including Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence. He is also a past president of the SMU Faculty Senate and served as Faculty Trustee during the 2023-2024 academic year.
His work has been published in leading higher education journals such as The Journal of Higher Education, Research in Higher Education, Higher Education, Innovative Higher Education, and Higher Education Policy. He has published four books, Teaching for Learning: 101 Intentionally-Designed Educational Activities to Put Students on the Path to Success 2nd Edition (Routledge, 2021) with co-authors Claire H. Major and Todd Zakrajsek, The Qualitative Dissertation in Education: A Guide for Integrating Research and Practice (Routledge, 2019) with coauthor Karri Holley, How to Get Tenure: Strategies for Successfully Navigating the Process (Routledge, 2019), and Understanding Institutional Diversity in American Higher Education (Jossey-Bass, 2013).
Harris is frequently called on by media for his expertise in following and understanding higher education, and has been quoted by The Associated Press, The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, TheHouston Chronicle, TheDallas Morning News, Texas Tribune, Texas Capital Tonight, Propublica, Marketwatch, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and InsideHigherEd, among others.
He holds a B.A. from the University of North Carolina in American History, a M.Ed. and Ed.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in higher education administration. In 2004, he received the AERA Division J Dissertation of the Year award.
Harris will oversee the five departments, various centers, institutes, and programs that make up the Simmons School of Education and Human Development until a permanent dean is hired. Simmons is ranked in the top 50 graduate schools nationwide according to the U.S. News and World Report rankings and is in the top 11 private schools in the nation and the top 3 public and private education graduate schools in Texas.
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.
