Publication and Presentation Roundup: A Look at Scholarly Work from College of Education Researchers from June-September 2021
Faculty and research associates at the NC State College of Education, including its Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research and Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, are publishing their research related to pressing educational topics in journals and sharing their work through national and international presentations.
Take a look at a selection of presentations and publications from our faculty and research associates from June through September 2021 below.
Editor’s note: The following list was compiled from information submitted by College of Education faculty and research associates. The list is divided into presentations and publications, and individual submissions are listed by date published or presented.
Publications
“Measuring undergraduate students’ beliefs about and career interest in bioproducts and bioenergy”
This article, co-authored by Professor Meg Blanchard, shares the results of a study that developed and validated two survey instruments that measure undergraduate students’ beliefs about bioproducts/bioenergy and related careers. Findings showed that students with majors more closely related to bioproducts/bioenergy held significantly more positive personal and societal beliefs about the subjects. The study was published on July 1, 2021, in BioResources.
“Understanding science career aspirations: Factors predicting future science task value”
This study, authored by Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor Gail Jones, examines factors that have been shown to predict middle school students’ task values related to engaging with science in the future. Findings document important ways in which youth access and exposure to science experiences, tools and scientists lay the groundwork for science motivation and ultimately to valuing future science tasks. The article was published on July 1, 2021, in the Journal of Research in Science Teaching.
“Strategies for building elementary students’ science content vocabulary”
This practitioner article, authored by Assistant Professor Jill Grifenhagen, Alumni Distinguished Professor Sarah Carrier and doctoral student Danielle Scharen ‘15, ‘19MED, ‘23PHD, presents strategies for building students’ science and literacy skills using the “Touch, Talk, Text” model of instruction. The paper was published on July 2, 2021, in The Reading Teacher.
“Special educators’ knowledge of student mathematical thinking”
This article, authored by Associate Professor Jessica Hunt, presents results from a course grounded in neurodiversity and students’ mathematical thinking that was designed to improve 20 special educators’ pedagogical content knowledge. Findings show that changes in pre-service teachers’ ability to anticipate students’ problem-solving strategies and adaptations of problems were statistically significant. The article was published on July 9, 2021, in the Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education.
This article, authored by Associate Professor Paula McAvoy, presents findings from a study of high school students who engaged in discussion of controversial political issues within Close Up Washington’s civic education program. Results show that deliberative strategy promoted more participation and more comfort with the discussion and resulted in more consensus within the group. The paper was published on July 14, 2021, in the Peabody Journal of Education.
“Defining rural: The impact of rural definitions on college student success outcomes”
This article, co-authored by W. Dallas Herring Professor and Belk Center Executive Director Audrey Jaeger, compares three definitions of rurality to better help avoid inappropriate or inaccurate decisions in assessment, programming and policy standpoints related to assessment and student success data. The article was published on July 16, 2021, in Theory and Practice in Rural Education.
“Measuring student discussion engagement in the college classroom: A scale validation study”
This article, authored by Associate Professor Paula McAvoy, presents findings from a scale validation study of discussion engagement using data from multiple in-person courses from public flagship universities in the United States. Findings demonstrate that the Discussion Engagement Scale has potential for measuring student-reported experiences with discussion in university courses. The paper was published on July 30, 2021, in Studies in Higher Education.
This essay, authored by Belk Center Senior Research Associate Laura Maldonado, ECMC Foundation Postsecondary Career and Technical Education Research Fellows Program Coordinator Jordan Dolfi, Associate Professors James Bartlett and Associate Teaching Professor Michelle Bartlett, describes an online writing group introduced to an Ed.D. program at NC State University during the summer of 2020, when the existing face-to-face program shifted to fully online delivery. The essay was published on July 30, 2021, in Impacting Education: Journal of Transforming Professional Practice.
“Cycles of development in learning about identities, diversity, and equity”
This article, authored by Assistant Professor Christy Byrd, details the specific aspects of knowledge that are essential to developing cultural competence and critical consciousness, as well as a sequence in which they should be acquired. The article explains how motivation can explain movement and stalling in development and analyzes the cognitive and motivational antecedents of resistance to diversity learning opportunities. The article was published on July 31, 2021, in Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology.
“Co-teaching with an immersive digital game: supporting teacher-game instructional partnerships”
This article, co-authored by Professor Eric Wiebe, investigates implementation approaches of nine biology teachers using an immersive digital game in their science classes, focusing on factors that contributed to their ability to instruct with the game and how their enactment of the game influenced the class experience. The study was published on Aug. 1, 2021, in Educational Technology and Research Development.
“The past, present, and future of Brown’s mandate: A view from North Carolina”
This article, co-authored by Assistant Professor Jenn Ayscue, uses North Carolina as a case study to evaluate factors that may influence whether all students will have access to de-segregated, high quality public education by 2054, a century after the Brown V. Board of Education decision. The article was published on Aug. 8, 2021, in American Behavioral Scientist.
Designing effective math interventions
This book, authored by Associate Professor Jessica Hunt, is intended to help educators design effective, learner-driven math interventions that promote participation and understanding and develop student thinking, as well as how to assess student work in a way that measures learning. The book was published on Aug. 13, 2021,, by Routledge.
“Intensifying mathematics interventions for struggling students”
This book chapter, authored by Associate Professor Jessica Hunt, describes the varying ways students reason about fractions and provides tools and activities along a trajectory to support and extend student thinking. The chapter appeared in the book Intensifying Mathematics Interventions for Struggling Students, which was published on August 17, 2021.
This study, authored by Belk Center Senior Research Associate Roshaunda Breeden, explores the experiences of seven Black women in senior-level positions in student affairs at predominantly white institutions, revealing strategies used and barriers faced when navigating racism and sexism in their roles. The article was published on Aug. 17, 2021, in the Journal of Women and Gender in Higher Education.
“An expert roundtable discussion on experiences of autistic autism researchers”
This publication, co-authored by Belk Center Postdoctoral Research Scholar Brett Ranon Nachman, provides an initial exploration into the lack of academic articles that focus on autistic scholars in autism research, focusing on autistic graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty who conduct autism and disability research. The article was published on Aug. 20, 2021, in Autism in Adulthood.
This study, authored by Belk Center Senior Research Associate Laura Maldonado, investigates whether postsecondary automotive technology students’ interests were congruent with their chosen career pathways. The paper presents findings that may be useful for educators, counselors and career development professionals who are interested in diversifying instruction and professional development strategies to promote future career success. The article was published on Aug. 25, 2021, in the Journal of Career and Technical Education.
“Trends in teaching Advanced Placement statistics: Results from a national survey”
This article, authored by College of Education Professor and Friday Institute Senior Faculty Fellow Hollylynne Lee, provides a glimpse into the professional learning beliefs and practices of high school teachers of Advanced Placement Statistics, showing statistics teachers generally do not use statistics-specific technology tools and rarely engage students with large data sets.
Findings call for targeted efforts to reach high school statistics teachers, engage them more in the statistics education community and encourage curriculum and instructional approaches that more closely align with recommendations and trends in college-level introductory statistics. The article was published on Aug. 30, 2021, in the Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education.
This study, co-authored by Professor Eric Wiebe, examines the gender and race difference in elementary students’ attitudes towards computer science, finding that male students had higher computer science attitudes than female students. The article was published on Sept. 1, 2021, in the International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction.
“The poetic humanity of teacher education: Holistic mentoring for beginning teachers”
This article, co-authored by Assistant Professor Crystal Chen Lee, explores the holistic approaches that seven mentors use to attend to the well-being of new professionals as they transition into the classroom. The study shows that teacher preparation must attend to teacher-students holistically and that sustaining teachers begins first with caring for teachers’ well-being, so they in turn can safeguard the well-being of their students. The study was published on Sept. 2, 2021, in Professional Development in Education.
“Educating high school Black males from within the #MeToo movement”
This article, authored by Professor Marc Grimmett, assesses the impact of the short, educational documentary “My Masculinity Helps” on Black, male high school students and finds that participants developed a more accurate understanding of consent and sexual assault and more affirmative attitudes toward active bystander behavior. The article was published on Sept. 15, 2021, in Professional School Counseling.
“(Re)envisioning considerations for disabled community college students”
This article, authored by Belk Center Postdoctoral Research Scholar Brett Ranon Nachman, explores the impacts of policies and processes on disabled community college students and presents five policy-related issues and recommendations on how various community college agents with the power to inform and enact policy can best serve disabled community college students. The article was published on Sept. 17, 2021, in New Directions for Community Colleges.
“Antiracist teaching in English language arts: Toward a full humanity for all students”
This paper, authored by Assistant Professors Crystal Chen Lee, Michelle Falter and Chandra Alston, provides three examples of antiracist teaching that can be reflected through reading and writing practices in K–8 English language arts classrooms. The article was published on Sept. 29, 2021, in Language Arts.
“Integrating the C3 Framework in the social studies: an action research study”
This study, authored by Associate Professor Meghan Manfra, addresses a persistent divide between the theory and practice of integrating inquiry in social studies. Based on the findings, the paper presents a theory of action to highlight key opportunities to shift instruction while acknowledging the factors that might mitigate those shifts. The article was published in Social Studies Research and Practice.
Presentations
Blockchain assessment: The future of credentialing
This presentation, delivered by Professor Jayne Fleener, provides insights from a futures perspective of the possible, plausible and desirable futures of using blockchain technologies in education. Using social inquiry and causal layered analysis (CLA), this study offers insights into complex social considerations for implementing blockchain technologies in education and addresses wider social factors that become important for implementing transformative change in education. The presentation was given on Aug. 12, 2021, during the Future of Education Conference.
Analyzing an interdisciplinary team’s interactions through an activity theory lens
This presented paper by Professor Meg Blanchard uses Cultural-Historical Activity Theory to examine a team of science education researchers and science/engineering graduate students as they co-developed high school science lessons as part of a grant-funded project. The study provides recommendations for maximizing the potential of interdisciplinary teams by capitalizing on strengths and knowledge that members bring to collaborative projects. The presentation was delivered on Aug. 30, 2021, during the European Science Education Research Association (ESERA) Annual International Conference.
Measuring undergraduate students’ beliefs about bioproducts, bioenergy, and related careers
This presentation, delivered by Professor Meg Blanchard, shares the results of a study that developed and validated two survey instruments that measure undergraduate students’ beliefs about bioproducts/bioenergy and related careers. Findings showed that students with majors more closely related to bioproducts/bioenergy held significantly more positive personal and societal beliefs about the subjects. The presentation was given on Aug. 31, 2021, during the European Science Education Research Association (ESERA) Annual International Conference.
Developing science career aspirations: An expectancy value model
This presented paper by Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor Gail Jones examined factors that have been shown to predict middle school students’ science task values, showing that factors related to science capital are key in shaping both students’ science achievement value and their family task achievement value. The presentation was given on Aug. 31, 2021, during the European Science Education Research Association Conference.
Gasps and chills: teachers’ perceptions of awe in science instruction
This presentation, delivered by Friday Institute Research Assistant Julianna Nieuwsma, Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor Gail Jones, Emma Refvem ’22PHD, Kathryn Rende ’22PHD, Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor Sarah Carrier, Associate Professor Cesar Delgado, and Assistant Professor Jill Grifenhagen, explores teacher’ uses of awe in their science instruction. The presentation was delivered on Aug. 31, 2021, during the European Science Education Research Association Conference.
Formative experiences that influence science teacher career aspirations
This presentation, delivered by doctoral student Emma Refvem ’22PHD, Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor Gail Jones, Professor Sarah Carrier, Friday Institute Research Assistant Julianna Nieuwsma, and doctoral student Kathryn Rende ’22PHD, explores the relationship of formal and informal science experiences as factors that contribute to science teacher career aspirations. The presentation was delivered on Aug. 31, 2021, during the European Science Education Research Association Conference.
This presented paper by Professor Meg Blanchard investigates the motivations underlying teachers’ decisions to implement project bioeconomy-focused lessons in their classrooms. Preliminary findings suggest the importance of teachers’ inherent interest and a focus on the value of the lessons for their students and a reduced focus on the personal costs to themselves. The presentation was given on Sept. 2, 2021, during the European Science Education Research Association (ESERA) Annual International Conference.
Lernbedürfnisse der Gesellschaft im Zuge der Migration (Learning Needs of Society in the Course of Migration)
This presentation by Associate Professor Chad Hoggan explores concepts and theories drawn from a two-year project with 19 scholars from across Europe who research migration, offering an international perspective on the role of adult education in addressing migration. The presentation was delivered on Sept. 17, 2021, during the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Erziehungswissenschaft (German Society for Education Research) annual conference.
Bridging elementary science and literacy: Sharing experts’ voices
This presentation, delivered by Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor Sarah Carrier and Danielle Scharen ‘15, ‘19MED, ‘23PHD, presented the voices of expert elementary teachers, science teacher educators and researchers, and literacy teacher educators and researchers who discuss the need for more authentic science instruction through the integration of science with the literacy-focused school day. The presentation was given on Sept. 23, 2021, during the Mid-Atlantic Association for Science Teacher Education (MA-ASTE) Conference.
The promise of free college: Dual enrollment in North Carolina
This presentation, delivered by W. Dallas Herring Professor and Belk Center Executive Directory Audrey Jaeger and Belk Center Research Affiliate Sarah Deal, describes a quasi-experimental instrumental design to demonstrate how one of North Carolina’s two dual enrolment pathways can provide lessons about equitable increases in postsecondary access and success. The presentation was given on Sept. 23, 2021, during the Dual Enrollment: Accelerating Educational Attainment Conference.
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