Education faculty to present at premier national research conference

Several faculty members from the Augusta University College of Education have been accepted as presenters for the American Educational Research Association’s (AERA) annual conference in Washington, D.C., in April 2016.

Drs. Nikki Christodoulou, Andre Kemp, Nai-Cheng Kuo, Stacie Pettit, Laura Rychly,  Juan Walker and Judi Wilson, from the Department of Teacher Education, and Drs. Darla Linville and Olajide Agunloye, from the Department of Counselor Education, Leadership and Research, were accepted to present.

AERA is the premier national research society that strives to advance knowledge about education, to encourage scholarly inquiry related to education and to promote the use of research to improve education and serve the public good.

“Acceptance is a huge accomplishment for any education researcher. There are a lot of big names and to be chosen from among 13,000 submissions is an honor,” Walker said, who will present with three of his colleagues.

“This is the top-tier conference for which everyone aims. The best universities practically shut down their colleges of education during the conference, because everyone is there. This year, we’ll definitely be short-staffed that week,” Pettit said.

• Dr. Nikki Christodoulou will present “Digging into documents to examine social-political problems and implications in the curriculum.”
• Dr. Andrew Kemp has organized a panel discussion with a diverse assembly of higher education researchers called “The journey from doctoral student to a tenure-track job;” he will also present “Journeys of self: Critical reflections by teacher educators on their professional identity trajectories.”
• Dr. Nai-Cheng Kuo will present “Promoting family literacy through the five pillars of family and community engagement (FACE).”
• Kuo and Dr. Stacie Pettit will present “Supporting English language learners through Response to Intervention (RTI): What pre-service teachers need to know.”
• Dr. Darla Linville has organized and will participate in the panel discussion “Ethics and Eros: Theoretical Considerations of LGBTQ Young Adult Literature.”
• Dr. Olajide Agunloye will present “Shaping Education Policy in Global Context for The Future We Want.”
• Pettit, Dr. Laura Rychly and Dr. Juan Walker will present “Democratic Citizenship in Education 2016,” with Augusta University Pamplin College faculty member Dr. Craig Albert. The group collaborated earlier to release a new middle school social studies curriculum for the popular Model United Nations civics exercise, and are working to revitalize the activity.
• Pettit and Rychly will also present “What to do with what Disney has done: Effects of Disney’s stereotypes on students’ identities” and “‘How many do you have?’ Disney English (as a) language (of) acquisition.”
• Dr. Judi Wilson will present “State-wide implementation of edTPA in preparation for high-stakes testing: A mixed-methods study of the concerns of edTPA coordinators” with colleagues.

Learn more about the American Educational Research Association.