Faculty News

Your CU �鶹ӰԺ Guide to AERA 2025

Ichigo Takikawa — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 23:05:17 +0000

Your CU �鶹ӰԺ Guide to AERA 2025 Ichigo Takikawa Tue, 04/08/2025 - 17:05

Each year, the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting represents the world's largest gathering of education researchers and is a showcase for groundbreaking, innovative research. The 2025 AERA Annual Meeting will take place in Denver from April 23 to 27. The theme for this year’s meeting is “Research, Remedy, and Repair: Toward Just Education Renewal.”

Our faculty, students and alumni will be busy presenting, learning and exchanging ideas. Use this guide to follow and support CU �鶹ӰԺ researchers and their work. This year, we have current CU �鶹ӰԺ faculty and students featured in over 80 sessions!

AERA Colorado Reception

Attending AERA or in the local area?Join Colorado colleges and schools of education for the AERA Colorado Reception in Denver

April 26 at 7 p.m.

Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center

Enjoy food, drink and good company. Please register to join, non-AERA attendees and guests are welcome.

See the full CU �鶹ӰԺ AERA guide

In addition, Professor William Penuel will present the 2025 Wallace Foundation Distinguished Lecture on Saturday, April 26. His lecture, titled “Education for Flourishing: Building Initiatives and Partnerships for More Just and Sustainable Futures,” looks into how education systems, traditionally shaped by scarcity and exclusion, can instead be rooted in abundance, compassion, and dignity. He highlights work at the Renee Crown Wellness Institute at CU �鶹ӰԺ aimed at creating just and sustainable futures by engaging youth in culturally relevant learning, strengthening family-school connections, and nurturing compassionate educators.

CU �鶹ӰԺ School of Education faculty and students participation at this year’s AERA in Denver include:

41 faculty, 31 graduate students, 1 undergraduate student
21 roundtable sessions
24 paper sessions
18 symposia
9 poster sessions
6 research projects being presented were funded by Women Investing in the School of Education grants
4 invited speaker sessions
2 mentoring sessions
1 offsite visit and 1 business meeting for the Grassroots Community and Youth Organizing for Educational Justice SIG

Each year, the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting represents the world's largest gathering of education researchers, and it showcases groundbreaking, innovative research. Use this guide to follow and support CU �鶹ӰԺ faculty and students and their work at AERA in Denver April 23-27 — including over 80 sessions led by CU �鶹ӰԺ researchers!

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Cutting half the Department of Education’s staff will have devastating, possibly illegal, consequences: expert

Hannah Fletcher — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 14:59:52 +0000

Cutting half the Department of Education’s staff will have devastating, possibly illegal, consequences: expert Hannah Fletcher Fri, 03/14/2025 - 08:59

Recently, the U.S. Department of Education announced it was terminating nearly 2,000 of its roughly 4,000 employees. Both Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and President Donald Trump have signaled that they ultimately want to close the department completely. Kevin Welner, education policy scholar in the School of Education sees many reasons to worry in the new cuts.

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What DOGE’s recent Department of Education cuts could mean for researchers, educators

Ichigo Takikawa — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:51:04 +0000

What DOGE’s recent Department of Education cuts could mean for researchers, educators Ichigo Takikawa Tue, 02/18/2025 - 14:51

Daniel Strain , Nicholas Goda

Recent cuts have targeted the Institute for Education Sciences, the main research arm of the Department of Education, which collects data and funds research on what works in education. Read on for insights from Derek Briggs, professor of education and director of CADRE at CU �鶹ӰԺ.

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The power of being seen: Melissa Braaten on teaching, equity, and impact

Maddie Rudolph — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 18:09:17 +0000

The power of being seen: Melissa Braaten on teaching, equity, and impact Maddie Rudolph Wed, 02/12/2025 - 11:09

Maddie Rudolph

Meet Melissa Braaten, an associate professor focusing on science education and teachers' learning and the new Associate Dean for Undergraduate and Teacher Education. Braaten has been at CU �鶹ӰԺ since 2016, and before that, she was on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin and taught grades 5th through 12th for more than 14 years.

Braaten knew that she wanted to be a science teacher right away in college.

“I was motivated to be a teacher because I appreciated how my own teachers created learning experiences that helped me to expand my horizons, and I wanted to be a person who could do that for another generation of students.”

She notes that once she began teaching, she became deeply aware of the inequities and injustices that are a part of our society and schools. Her main focus as a teacher, teacher educator, and scholar is to work to change structures and build a more equitable and just world.

When considering what kinds of impact her own teachers had on her life, Dr. Braatan noticed one common thread: “Teachers who really recognized something specific in who I am and then connected some aspect of school to my life were the teachers who made a big impact.”

Braaten recalls her middle school literature teacher letting her choose books written by women focusing on women’s rights, and her high school government teacher intentionally making flawed human rights policies in model UN projects knowing that she would find the flaws and fight them.

“Each of these teachers took moments to know me, see me, and let me know that they heard me,” she said. “It mattered a lot for expanding my horizons. I'm still in touch with many of those teachers!”

Braaten is poised to be that kind of mentor for her students in teacher learning and STEM education programs at CU �鶹ӰԺ. Get to know more about Braaten and her passions inside and outside the School of Education here.

In her own words:

Can you recall a time when you felt proud of your decision to become a teacher?

“My most proud moments come from seeing my own former students as they flourish and find their paths in life. I felt very proud as a teacher in Texas when I was able to stand alongside my students as they created a Gay-Straight Alliance and fought against the school district's policy banning such student organizations. I felt proud when I worked with formerly incarcerated youth in South Seattle who persevered and insisted on their right to a high-quality education. I've never cheered so loudly as I cheered at the graduations where youth and their families celebrated walking across that stage. Those are the moments that make me most proud to be a teacher.”

What do you like to do during your free time?

“I love to go camping and hiking with my partner, Nate, so Colorado is the perfect place for us! We also like to spend time with friends where we live in Denver. We love to cook and eat together with our neighbors. We are big sports fans so we always try to go to soccer, basketball, baseball, and hockey games supporting Denver teams.”

What’s one thing you’re willing to spend way too much on?

“I'm willing to spend way too much for tickets to a Denver Nuggets game!”

Meet Melissa Braaten, an associate professor focusing on science education and teachers' learning and the new Associate Dean for Undergraduate and Teacher Education.

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Two CU �鶹ӰԺ professors elected to prestigious National Academy of Education

Hannah Fletcher — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 21:48:40 +0000

Two CU �鶹ӰԺ professors elected to prestigious National Academy of Education Hannah Fletcher Thu, 02/06/2025 - 14:48

Two faculty members in the CU �鶹ӰԺ School of Education, Derek Briggs and Kevin Welner, have been elected to the esteemed National Academy of Education (NAEd), the Academy announced in January.

NAEd members are elected based on outstanding scholarship or leadership related to education. Briggs and Welner join a group of just 22 national and international colleagues elected to the Academy this year.

“I am delighted that two of our CU �鶹ӰԺ colleagues have been recognized among the highest honors in education," said Fernando Rosario-Ortiz, interim dean for the School of Education.

Joe Polman, associate dean of research, added: “Drs. Briggs and Welner are leading experts in their areas of study who continue to push our understanding of the impact of educational policies and practices—from the meticulous work that Dr. Briggs uses to scrutinize methodological approaches to evaluating student growth to Dr. Welner’s creative and determined focus on bringing high-quality research to bear on closing opportunity gaps.

“We know they will be invaluable contributors to the Academy.”

Drs. Briggs and Welner are leading experts in their areas of study who continue to push our understanding of the impact of educational policies and practices -- from the meticulous work that Dr. Briggs uses to scrutinize methodological approaches to evaluating student growth to Dr. Welner’s creative and determined focus on bringing high-quality research to bear on closing opportunity gaps.” — Fernando Rosario-Ortiz

Briggs is a professor in the Research Evaluation and Methodology program, where he is also the director and founder of the Center for Assessment, Design, Research and Evaluation (CADRE). He joined the faculty at CU �鶹ӰԺ in 2003, and his research focuses on advancing methods for the sound measurement of student learning and for evaluating the effects of educational interventions on student achievement.

As a nationally renowned psychometrician, or someone who studies the measurement of students’ knowledge and abilities, and CADRE director, Briggs works with states and education leaders to provide technical advice on the design and use of large-scale student assessments. He is also an American Educational Research Association (AERA) Fellow and past president of the National Council on Measurement in Education.

“Prof. Derek Briggs is among the foremost leaders in the measurement field today,” said nominator Edward Haertal, professor emeritus at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, who agreed to share his perspective. “He is an enormously talented, multifaceted scholar engaging fundamental issues in measurement, identifying questionable practices and assumptions and pointing the way toward solutions...His election would add luster to our Academy.”

Welner is the director of the National Education Policy Center and is a research professor in the Educational Foundations, Policy and Practice program in the School of Education, where he has been on the faculty for 25 years. Welner has written and published extensively on opportunity gaps, educational reform, charter schools, private-school vouchers, ability grouping, school finance, and the area of interplay between education policy and the law. He is a former practicing attorney and the co-author of textbooks used in law schools and schools of education to teach education law. He is an AERA Fellow as well as a Senior Fellow of the Learning Policy Institute. He is also chair of the Board of Trustees of the Education Law Center.

“Professor Kevin Welner’s research contributions are unique in combining careful policy analysis on the use of the law in education with empirical social science analysis,” Polman added. “He is also one of the most skilled public communicators of education policy research in our field. Through their hugely influential work, he and his colleagues have literally changed misguided conversations in this country about ‘achievement gaps' into more productive efforts to identify and address educational 'opportunity gaps.’”

Briggs and Welner join four CU �鶹ӰԺ colleagues who are also members of NAEd: Rubén Donato, Margaret Eisenhart, Bill Penuel and Lorrie Shepard, who is a former NAEd president.

Carol Lee, current NAEd president, welcomed members to the Academy in a news release, adding they will join peers in making an indelible impact on education scholarship.

“Education, broadly conceived, is foundational to preparing students across ages to navigate the complexities of our democratic experiment in governance, the increased interdependence of our modern world, productive workforce participation, and their personal development as humans,” she said.

“Our distinguished colleagues now joining the National Academy of Education bring the range of expertise and commitments needed for our field to update itself and wrestle with these complexities continuously.”

Founded in 1965, NAEd is an honorific society that “advances high quality education research and its use in policy and practice.” Members serve on expert study panels that address pressing issues in education, and they engage in professional development fellowship programs.

Two faculty members in the CU �鶹ӰԺ School of Education, Derek Briggs and Kevin Welner, have been elected to the esteemed National Academy of Education (NAEd), the Academy announced recently. NAEd members are elected based on outstanding scholarship or leadership related to education. Briggs and Welner join a group of just 22 national and international colleagues elected this year.

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Supporting rural readers and teachers

Hannah Fletcher — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 20:19:33 +0000

Supporting rural readers and teachers Hannah Fletcher Thu, 02/06/2025 - 13:19

Get to know Elizabeth Dutro, the new Bob and Judy Charles Chair of Education

Last fall, Elizabeth Dutro was appointed to the Bob and Judy Charles Endowed Chair of Education—calling it one of the greatest milestones of her career.

That’s saying a lot for Dutro, who is a nationally respected expert in humanizing literacy teaching and learning. Her scholarship has been lauded with several national awards from organizations like the National Council of Teachers of English and prominent CU �鶹ӰԺ honors like the Provost Faculty Achievement Award, �鶹ӰԺ Faculty Assembly Teaching Excellence Award and Best Should Teach Award.

Dutro, who joined the faculty in CU �鶹ӰԺ School of Education in 2005, is consistently recognized as a wonderful mentor for both students and other faculty members.

Her work explores how difficult life experiences can inform literacy instruction that centers students’ knowledge, and her partnerships with teachers include opportunities for teachers to learn together in ways that complement their daily work and relationships with students.

Over the years, I have witnessed with admiration how this chair has empowered colleagues and mentors I deeply respect and admire to advance their scholarship, foster meaningful partnerships with schools and communities, and support opportunities for doctoral students. It is truly humbling to step into this role and continue building upon their legacy.”

More recently, her project, “Designing Responsive Literacy Instruction with Rural Elementary Educators: A Professional Development Partnership” with literacy studies doctoral student Olivia Cox, aims to build sustainable, collaborative relationships with rural elementary educators, specifically in Strasburg, Colorado. The project supports teachers in professional learning that is locally grounded, continuous, and tailored to the community’s needs.

Dutro’s work in eastern Colorado provided a kismet connection between her scholarship and the passions of Bob Charles, a long-time supporter of the School of Education who endowed the only active faculty chair in the School of Education with his wife, Judy, in 2004.

Charles’s interest in supporting teachers, particularly rural educators, was inspired by his wife Judy, an education alumna who devoted her career to teaching and, later, volunteering in their children’s schools.

“I know how much Judy loved teaching—it was in her blood—and I’ve always respected the work teachers do,” Charles explained.

Charles, who splits his time between Colorado and Arizona, sees special opportunities to strengthen rural education in both states. He has heard about the rise in remote and online learning in rural areas, but he is reluctant to consider online learning as the solution.

“Nothing compares to having a teacher sit down with a student and go over the work face-to-face,” he said. “I have just always felt the rural students are not getting the education they are entitled to.”

Dutro has rural roots in southeast Colorado’s La Junta, where her maternal side of the family goes back five generations. While she did not grow up in the area, she spent many summers and holidays in La Junta making memories with her family. She notes, when she visits the area, she is not known as “Professor Dutro” but rather her mother’s daughter and one of the many Klein cousins.

“Bob Charles’s commitment to supporting education research in rural Colorado deeply resonates with me,” Dutro said. “I feel incredibly fortunate that my career brought me back to Colorado, where I and my own children have been able to spend meaningful time with our large, loving extended family.

“A few years ago, with support from the School of Education’s place-based seed grants, I achieved a long-held goal of expanding my research to a rural region of the state. Over the past three years, Olivia and I collaborated with teachers and administrators at Strasburg Elementary School on a literacy partnership, creating a rewarding and impactful project that builds on my deep ties to rural Colorado.”

Those connections and opportunities have provided fertile ground for Dutro to understand the teacher-partners she works with in Strasburg, a town of around 2,500 people. Through the responsive literacy projects, Dutro and Cox engage with local teachers who act as “knowledgeable collaborators” working through professional development that integrates equity-focused literacy practices and the Science of Reading, an approach to teaching reading that is required in state policy aiming to improve reading achievement for young learners.

Dutro and Cox’s goal is to collaborate with school partners to enact instructional changes mandated by policy in ways that amplify teachers as knowledgeable experts and center children’s identities and strengths as literacy learners.

The five-year Bob and Judy Charles Chair appointment will support Dutro in deepening her work in rural Colorado and supporting education students with similar interests.

Dutro notes she is truly honored by the chair appointment, and the fact that she follows in the footsteps of other outstanding education scholars, including Margaret Eisenhart, Kathy Escamilla, and Ruben Donato.

“Over the years, I have witnessed with admiration how this chair has empowered colleagues and mentors I deeply respect and admire to advance their scholarship, foster meaningful partnerships with schools and communities, and support opportunities for doctoral students” she said. “It is truly humbling to step into this role and continue building upon their legacy.”

Elizabeth Dutro has been appointed to the Bob and Judy Charles Endowed Chair of Education— calling it one of the greatest milestones of her career. That’s saying a lot for Dutro, a nationally respected expert in humanizing literacy teaching and learning. Dutro’s work in rural Colorado provided a kismet connection between her scholarship and the passions of Bob Charles, who endowed the faculty chair with his wife and alumna, Judy Charles.

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Amanda Haertling Thein named incoming dean of the School of Education

Hannah Fletcher — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 17:20:55 +0000

Amanda Haertling Thein named incoming dean of the School of Education Hannah Fletcher Fri, 01/17/2025 - 10:20

Provost Russell Moore announced his appointment of Amanda Haertling Thein as dean of the School of Education, effective July 1, adding: "Dr. Thein has the leadership acumen, commitment and vision for launching the upward trajectory of the School of Education in a time when research in education and education policy, and the preparation of the next generation of educators, couldn’t be more critical."

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The Conversation: What would it mean if President-elect Trump dismantled the US Department of Education?

Hannah Fletcher — Thu, 21 Nov 2024 21:19:35 +0000

The Conversation: What would it mean if President-elect Trump dismantled the US Department of Education? Hannah Fletcher Thu, 11/21/2024 - 14:19

Donald Trump stated during his comeback campaign that he’d dismantle the education department if elected. CU �鶹ӰԺ education policy expert Kevin Welner weighs in on the past and potential future of the Department of Education in this piece in The Conversation.

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Best Should Teach Ceremony on May 2 to honor outstanding educators

Anonymous — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 21:15:03 +0000

Best Should Teach Ceremony on May 2 to honor outstanding educators Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 04/30/2024 - 15:15

The �鶹ӰԺ 2024 Best Should Teach Lecture and Awards Ceremony will celebrate excellence in education by recognizing outstanding CU �鶹ӰԺ faculty members, K-12 teachers and graduate student instructors with Best Should Teach Awards on May 2 at 6 p.m. in the University Memorial Center Glenn Miller Ballroom.

Free and open to the public, the event will feature Kevin Gannon, director of the Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence and professor of history at Queens University of Charlotte, North Carolina. Gannon will deliver his keynote "Is It Time to Change Your Mind?" on how might we (re)connect with our agency, and use it to anchor our practices in an ethic of hope.

Kevin Gannon is the author of Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto (West Virginia University Press, 2020), and his writing has also appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Vox, CNN, and The Washington Post. In 2016, he appeared in the Oscar-nominated documentary 13th, directed by Ava DuVernay. He is currently co-editing a volume of essays on campuses in crisis, as well as writing a book on “Zombie Ideas” in higher education.

The event, co-hosted by the Center for Teaching and Learning, School of Education, and College of Arts and Sciences, will honor five CU �鶹ӰԺ faculty members, three K-12 teachers from the School of Education’s partner school districts and lead graduate teachers in the Graduate Teacher Program with Best Should Teach Gold and Silver Awards.

The 2023-2024 Best Should Teach Gold Award Recipients include:

Nabilah Carlon, Chemistry
Alex Dietrich, Lockheed Martin Engineering Management Program
Deena Gumina, School of Education
Eyal Rivlin, Hebrew Language
Annjeanette Wiese, Humanities

Teacher honorees from partner school districts include:

Lori Hattendorf, �鶹ӰԺ Valley School District
Karen Mancusi, St. Vrain School District
Vickie Salazar, Adams 12 Five Star Schools

The Best Should Teach awardees were selected for their embodiment of the beliefs, behaviors, and skills of exemplary teachers. The call for nominations for CU �鶹ӰԺ faculty also include nominations from students from all colleges and schools across campus.

The late, lifelong educator Lindley Stiles and his wife Marguerite Stiles established the Best Should Teach Initiative in 1996 to celebrate excellence in teaching, and Stiles’ inspiring motto is inscribed on the Lucile Berkeley Buchanan Building:

“To those who come, I leave the flame! Hold it as high as you can reach. If a better world is your aim, all must agree: The Best Should Teach.”

The CU �鶹ӰԺ 2024 Best Should Teach Lecture and Awards Ceremony will celebrate excellence in education by recognizing outstanding CU �鶹ӰԺ faculty members, K-12 teachers and graduate student instructors with Best Should Teach Awards on May 2 at 6 p.m. Free and open to the public, the ceremony will feature Professor Kevin Gannon and his keynote lecture, "Is It Time to Change Your Mind?"

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Your CU �鶹ӰԺ Guide to AERA 2024

Anonymous — Mon, 25 Mar 2024 18:55:35 +0000

Your CU �鶹ӰԺ Guide to AERA 2024 Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 03/25/2024 - 12:55

Each year, the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting represents the world's largest gathering of education researchers and is a showcase for groundbreaking, innovative research. We are looking forward to the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting that will take place in Philadelphia, PA, April 11-14.

Our faculty, students and alumni will be busy presenting, learning, and exchanging ideas. Use this guide to follow and support CU �鶹ӰԺ researchers and their work. This year, we have CU �鶹ӰԺ faculty, students and alumni featured in over 80 sessions!

See the full CU �鶹ӰԺ AERA guide

AERA Key Sessions

Presidential Session:
Bilingual Special Education for the 21st Century: Reimagining the Future

Sat, April 13, 9:35-11:05 a.m. ET; Pennsylvania Convention Center, Level 200, Room 201A
Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching in Bilingual Inclusive Classrooms
Authors: Vanessa Santiago Schwarz and Elizabeth Silva Diaz

Spotlight on Philadelphia and the Region:
Weight of the Crown: Anti-Essentialist Futures for Black Girls’ Identity Construction

Fri, April 12, 7:45-9:15 a.m. ET; Pennsylvania Convention Center, Level 200, Room 201B
I’m Not Your Superwoman: Ethnographies of Softness, Silence, and Healing for Black Girls
Author: Alexis Hunter

Spotlight on Artificial Intelligence:
Critical Sociotechnical Perspectives on Young People Using, Experiencing, and Making Sense of AI

Thu, April 11, 2:30-4:00 p.m. ET; Pennsylvania Convention Center, Level 200, Exhibit Hall B
Chair: José Lizárraga

Each year, the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting represents the world's largest gathering of education researchers and is a showcase for groundbreaking, innovative research. We are looking forward to the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting that will take place in Philadelphia, PA, April 11-14. Use this guide to follow and support CU �鶹ӰԺ researchers and their work.

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Faculty News

Your CU �鶹ӰԺ Guide to AERA 2025

CU �鶹ӰԺ School of Education faculty and students participation at this year’s AERA in Denver include:

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Cutting half the Department of Education’s staff will have devastating, possibly illegal, consequences: expert

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What DOGE’s recent Department of Education cuts could mean for researchers, educators

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The power of being seen: Melissa Braaten on teaching, equity, and impact

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Two CU �鶹ӰԺ professors elected to prestigious National Academy of Education

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Supporting rural readers and teachers

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The Conversation: What would it mean if President-elect Trump dismantled the US Department of Education?

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Best Should Teach Ceremony on May 2 to honor outstanding educators

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Your CU �鶹ӰԺ Guide to AERA 2024

AERA Key Sessions

Presidential Session: Bilingual Special Education for the 21st Century: Reimagining the Future

Spotlight on Philadelphia and the Region: Weight of the Crown: Anti-Essentialist Futures for Black Girls’ Identity Construction

Spotlight on Artificial Intelligence: Critical Sociotechnical Perspectives on Young People Using, Experiencing, and Making Sense of AI

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Presidential Session:
Bilingual Special Education for the 21st Century: Reimagining the Future

Spotlight on Philadelphia and the Region:
Weight of the Crown: Anti-Essentialist Futures for Black Girls’ Identity Construction

Spotlight on Artificial Intelligence:
Critical Sociotechnical Perspectives on Young People Using, Experiencing, and Making Sense of AI