Research - Research in Action
Over 40 CTL faculty and students participated in the 2025 in the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado! As the world’s largest gathering of education researchers, this event featured groundbreaking studies across a wide range of fields. Check out some of CTL's contributions:
Dean Erica Walker
Dean Erica Walker, Dr. Terika Harris (Teachers College, Columbia), Dr. Nasriah Clara Morrison (Teachers College, Columbia) and Dr. Nicole Fletcher (Fairfield University) presented at AERA roundtable session "Studies of Innovations in Mathematics." Presenting findings from their groundbreaking project, Storytelling for Mathematics Learning and Engagement, they shared more about the interviews and engaging resources they co-created with 30+ Black mathematicians and contended that "engaging teachers and students with stories of diverse mathematicians may expand their views of who can do mathematics and what this entails."
Dr. Ashley Moore
Assistant Professor Ashley Moore (Language & Literacies Education) presented at AERA roundtable session "Generating Possibilities Via Critical Reflections and Expansion of Methods." Dr. Moore presented about critical realism -- "a broad project to realize a post-positivist social science" and its relationship to interviewing. He shared five methodological principles for critical realist interviewing. To learn more about these principles, see Dr. Moore's recently published paper Getting Real About Critical Realist Interviewing.
Dr. Cathy Marks Krpan
Associate Professor Cathy Marks Krpan (Curriculum & Pedagogy) presented at AERA roundtable sessions "Supporting Teachers, Students, and Professional Development" and "Studies Focused on Mathematical Reasoning and Argumentation." Dr. Marks Krpan presented about mathematical argumentation and how to support struggling learners through "think-alouds" in elementary school classrooms. The studies explored how self-talk and thinking aloud can empower students to deepen their mathematical thinking. Dr. Marks Krpan also presented about the place of argumentation in elementary classrooms. Sharing samples of student work that disproved mathematical claims, she contended that students were deeply engaged with this argumentation tasks, even if they had no prior experience. Fellow attendees commented that Dr. Marks Krpan's work is an "exciting approach." To find out more about Dr. Marks Krpan's research, visit her website.
Dr. Shawna-Kaye Tucker
Assistant Professor Shawna-Kaye Tucker (Language & Literacies Education) presented at AERA roundtable session "L2 Writing Research Across Contexts: From the Primary School Years to Ph.D. Studies." Dr. Tucker presented findings related to her ongoing study that explores writing and literacy amongst primary school children with oral home languages. Dr. Tucker identified that the writing and "patterns of cross-linguistic influence were strikingly similar, with morphosyntax being the most prolific area of challenge." Shawna's presentation produced a rich discussion amongst fellow presenters and attendees. Stay tuned for a future journal article about the study!
Dr. Jim Slotta
Professor Jim Slotta and Preeti Raman (TMU) presented at AERA paper session "From the Margins to the Middle: Centering Learners From Understudied Environments" and roundtable session "Education as Empowerment: Participatory Action Research and Pedagogy." Both presentations centered around the team's research framework of "Critical Actional Learning" and associated program: "Critical Action Learning Exchange" (CALE). The paper presentation explored a school space lab (the "Critical Action Learning Lab") that the research team had developed in partnership with a school in India. Teacher interactions, discourse and artifacts the various cultural perspectives that can enhance both crticial action lessons and use of lab space. The roundtable presentation presented about the development of the CALE project and the five approaches to Critical Action Learning: Arts-based Critical Action; Critical Making; Storytelling; Community-Engaged Learning; Critical Action Games. To learn more about the "Critical Action Learning Exchange," visit the CALE website.
Dr. Cassie Brownell
Associate Professor Cassie J. Brownell (Curriculum & Pedagogy) presented at AERA invited speaker session "Division C Jan Hawkins Award and Outstanding Early Career Scholar Award Session" and symposium "United We Stand: Interdisciplinarity and Progressive Politics in Pre-K–12 Classrooms, Communities, and Curriculum." In 2024, Dr. Brownell was the recipient of the the Jan Hawkins award which "recognizes an early-career individual or small collaborative team that is engaged in research that combines practice and advocacy." Her speaker session explored her research program: her work exploring children's civic literacies and amplifying student voice via her partnership with the Be Loud Studios, a New Orleans community organization that supports youth voice via radio and media production. Dr. Brownell's symposium session presented about her Coastal Climate Kids project -- a year–long, multi–sited study with 150 children aged 7–12. The project developed and delivered a series of seasonal kits to these children with at-home exercises alongside a picturebook. The work produced from these kits illuminated "relations with their environment and coastal peers through visuals and words." To find out more about Dr. Brownell's research, visit her website.
