UMaine researchers presenting at 2024 AERA annual meeting

April 9, 2024 Faculty, In the News, News, Research and Outreach, School of Educational Leadership, Higher Education and Human Development, School of Kinesiology, Physical Education and Athletic Training, School of Learning and Teaching

The 2024 American Educational Research Association (AERA) annual meeting will happen April 11–14 in Philadelphia, with some pre-conference events earlier in the week. The AERA conference is the world’s largest annual gathering of education researchers and practitioners, and a showcase for groundbreaking, innovative studies in a variety of areas.

Here’s a look at some of the presentations, panels and other events featuring University Maine researchers:

Wednesday, April 10

  • Associate professor of curriculum, assessment and instruction Rebecca Buchanan will be a panelist at a pre-conference mentoring session. Members of the Council of Professors of Instructional Supervision (COPIS) and leaders of AERA’s Supervision and Instructional Leadership special interest group will collaborate and develop a plan for ongoing engagement in the field of instructional supervision.

Thursday, April 11

  • Assistant professor of special education Melissa Cuba will have a paper featured at a roundtable session on “Emerging Issues in Latina/o/x Higher Education Research.” Cuba’s research, co-authored with Monique Evette Matute-Chavarria of New Mexico State University and Carlos Lavin of the College of Charleston, is titled “Multidimensional Backgrounds and Experiences of Latinx Scholars in Academia.” 
  • UMaine College of Education and Human Development Postdoctoral Research Fellow Joo-Young Lee will have a paper featured at a session on “Research on Inclusive Math and Literacy Instructional Practices in Special Education.” Lee will present a study, titled “The Effects of Self-Regulated Strategy Development on Mathematical Writing for Students With Mathematics Difficulties,” co-authored with Jiyeon Park of Eastern Kentucky University and Elizabeth M. Hughes of Pennsylvania State University. 

 Friday, April 12

  • Assistant professor of educational leadership Esther Enright will have research featured at a structured poster session on “Constructing Educational Possibilities for Latin* Engineering Students: Call to Action for the Institutions and Systems That Serve Them.” Enright is coauthor of a study with Diana Garza of Boise State University, titled “Differing Perspectives on Being a Hispanic-Serving College in a Predominately White Institution.”
  • Buchanan and associate professor of higher education Leah Hakkola, along with former UMaine educational leadership faculty member Ian Mette, will be part of a roundtable session on “K–12 Partnerships That Advance Asset-Orientation, Equity, and Culturally Relevant and Sustaining Pedagogies.” Buchanan, Hakkola and Mette will discuss a research practice partnership between the Bangor School Department and the UMaine College of Education and Human Development that included a comprehensive equity review of school district practices, as well as professional learning opportunities for administrators and teachers. The professional development was designed to help school leaders use data to address gaps identified in the equity review and better support students from culturally and linguistically non-dominant backgrounds. The study is titled “Building Partnerships: Examining Equity and Supporting Faculty Development.”
  • Buchanan will participate in another roundtable session, “What Now? Exploring Dilemmas of Teacher Practice.” Buchanan’s research with co-author Margaret Clark of the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is titled “Watchfulness: Reflective Folk Art and the Craft of Teaching.” 
  • Buchanan will chair the AERA Lives of Teachers special interest group business meeting.

Sunday, April 14

  • Cuba, Buchanan and Hakkola will present at a paper session on “School-University Partnerships Supporting Teachers, Preservice Teachers and Students.” They will discuss their paper, titled “A Research Practice Partnership to Support Implementation of DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) Efforts.” The study involves a partnership between the College of Education and Human Development and a school district in Maine to strengthen diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) within the district. UMaine faculty members are leading a collaborative equity review that provides meaningful analysis of qualitative and quantitative data to inform the district’s DEIB efforts. As part of this effort, a report summarizes findings and provides recommendations, and faculty offer a series of professional development opportunities that explore aspects of intercultural competence, culturally sustaining practices and equity-oriented advocacy.
  • Catharine Biddle, associate professor of educational leadership and director of the School of Educational Leadership, Higher Education and Human Development in the College of Education and Human Development, will participate in a symposium on “Empowering Student Voice in Educational Practice: Student Voice to Student Outcomes.”
  • Biddle will chair the AERA Rural Education special interest group business meeting. 
  • Associate professor of special education Sarah Howorth will help lead a paper session on “Inclusion and Achievements for Students With Complex Support Needs.” The session is sponsored by AERA’s Special and Inclusive Education special interest group.
  • College of Education and Human Development Dean Penny Bishop will have a paper featured at a roundtable session on “Learning from Teaching in the Pandemic and its Effects.” Bishop’s study, co-authored with Katy Farber of Saint Michael’s College in Vermont, is titled “Pandemic Teaching, Burnout Theory, and Perceived Teacher Efficacy.”