Ask The Expert

Jun 23, 2025

Ask the Expert with Assistant Teaching Professor Krispin Barr ’13PHD on Supporting Student Success

Assistant Teaching Professor of Higher Education Krispin Barr said student success involves the creation of welcoming campus environments that allow students to feel affirmed and, therefore, engaged and supported in their learning.

May 1, 2025

Assistant Professor Daniel Kelly On Social-emotional Learning in the Classroom

Research shows that students who have strong social-emotional competencies have improved academic and behavioral outcomes, stronger attendance and better mental health. However, Assistant Professor Daniel Kelly notes, social-emotional learning can look different for each person, particularly for K-12 students who are still growing and developing.

Mar 28, 2025

How Can Teachers Implement Effective Literacy Instruction? ‘The Key is to Know Which Strategies Are Actually Based on Research,’ Says Goodnight Distinguished Professor in Early Literacy Devin Kearns

Goodnight Distinguished Professor in Early Literacy Devin Kearns shares resources and video demonstrations of effective strategies for teaching in early literacy.

Feb 24, 2025

How Can Teachers and Parents Help Students Manage Cellphone Use in Schools? Friday Institute Director of Digital Learning Emma Braaten Shares Advice

Cellphones in schools have become a hot topic among parents, students and educators. Friday Institute for Educational Innovation Director of Digital Learning Emma Braaten shares strategies for educators and parents about how to help students manage cellphone use during school.

Dec 10, 2024

How Can Teaching and Learning Hubs Improve Community College Outcomes? ‘There is No Other Singular Program in the State That Has This Type of Impact,’ Says Program Director Monique Colclough

Community colleges offer a wealth of benefits to students, including affordability, opportunities to learn at their own pace and a route to earning a bachelor’s degree. However, for students to succeed at community colleges, the institutions need support, such as access to evidence-based strategies and community partnerships, says Monique Colclough.

Aug 1, 2024

How Can Teachers Integrate New Technologies Like AI Into the Classroom? ‘Be Open Minded and Take Risks,’ Says Friday Institute for Educational Innovation Executive Director and NC State College of Education Associate Dean for Translational Research Krista Glazewski

For more than 20 years, Friday Institute Executive Director and NC State College of Education Associate Dean for Translational Research Krista Glazewski has studied how complex problem solving can be supported through new, emerging and foundational technologies. Now, for the first time in her career, Glazewski said available technologies are finally catching up to practices and pedagogies that researchers and educators have envisioned.

May 21, 2024

Why Is It Important for Students to Understand How Scientific Decisions are Made? ‘If You Don’t Understand How Scientists Decide What Makes One Claim More Believable, Then It’s Actually Very Hard to Understand Science,’ Says STEM Education Department Head William Sandoval

For William Sandoval, head of the Department of STEM Education in the NC State College of Education, when preparing K-12 students to engage with real-world science, developing the skills to become career scientists is not nearly as important as helping them to engage with the science that will occur all around them in their everyday lives.

Feb 19, 2024

How Can Educators Design High-quality Distance Learning Experiences? Assistant Professor Ela Castellanos-Reyes Discusses Resources, Structure and Free Tools

Online learning can offer a variety of advantages to learners, especially nontraditonal students, and NC State College of Education Assistant Professor of Learning, Design, and Technology Ela Castellanos-Reyes says educators using online learning platforms can enhance the experience by embracing available resources and create engaging learning environments for students to be successful.

Jan 2, 2024

What Role Do School Counselors Play in K-12 Education? ‘We Really Attend to the Wellbeing of the Child With the Idea That Will Then Make Them More Successful in Other Areas,” Says Assistant Professor Rolanda Mitchell

Assistant Professor Rolanda Mitchell shares how school counselors can be a mental health resource for K-12 students and what to do when families or students are reluctant to use school counseling services.

Oct 24, 2023

Why is Inquiry-based Learning Important in Social Studies Classrooms? ‘I Very Much Believe Inquiry is a Life Skill,’ Says Associate Dean John Lee

Associate Dean John Lee says that when educators engage students in the social studies classroom, they should do so with the expectation that those young people are novices, who have limited prior experience with the content. While there are many teaching and learning practices that don’t account for this perspective, Lee said, using an inquiry-based approach can meet students where they are, honoring their current level of intellectual development while setting high expectations and encouraging them to take action.